After that hour and twenty minutes, which I’ll never, ever get back, I left school for the day. I walked with Reyna all the way to her house. She was talking about how life is like a river.
“We read this,” she handed me the paper she read.

Your life begins small, something like the drops of rain which become small streams and eventually great rivers which flow into the ocean.
Like these streams and rivers, we encounter obstacles and challenges. The streams and rivers overcome these obstacles by wearing them down or finding a path around or through them.
At times there seems massive floods, huge waterfalls, and raging rapids. Then there are the periods of smooth and peaceful flow. The thing to note is the flow never stops. It continues until the ocean is reached.
The river never passes the same point twice and is only at that point for the precise moment it is there. It flows immediately to the next point in its journey. It does not normally backtrack. Those few times it does, it becomes stagnant and brackish. The river does not struggle and strain, it simply flows on until it reaches its destination.
The river will at times change direction for obstacles encountered but will continue the journey to its goal. When one path is blocked, it seeks another path.
The river is patient, for it knows it will eventually reach its destination. It is also consistent and persistent.
There are many parallels between the river and our lives. As babies and children many small items of input from our outlook on life and influence the way our lives flow. Meager input equals meager flow, whereas greater input gives our lives greater flow.

“Wow! That. Just wow,” I said surprised, “Is Mr. Rumzed up to something? Seriously though, like, that isn’t English if he’s talking about life. That confuses me. As he would say, ‘nimis insert’. Is he Latin or something?”
“I don’t know, it bothers me too.”

I walked on to my house, thinking about what I and Reyna talked about. Maybe we should start a new club called L.I.F.E. I don't know what we would do with it. We could call in other people from our classes, but I won’t allow Mick Swift. He and his nerdy friends.  I wonder what the Roman Gods would be done. Vaporize him, maybe. That thought pleased me, then again the gods would vaporize me, for that thought.
I told Reyna that I’d pick her up around 9:00, so I picked her up like I said.
“Hey!” she started, “Thanks for doing this Jack, I appreciate it. Let’s go before my mom changes her mind.”
“Yea.” I agreed.

We sat down in a booth, her choice, I didn’t fancy the idea that she chose the booth. She got soon to be most expensive thing there, while I got the cheapest thing.
“So, what are you doing this weekend?” she asked.
“Water?” the annoying waiter asked.
“Go annoy another table,” I looked at his name tag, “Jeff Swift. Father of Mick Swift I assume.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Go away. Now. Your presence is irritating me.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Jack, not nice. Seeing how I asked you out I thought you’d be on your best behavior, but I guess not,” Reyna snapped at me.
“Sorry, ma’am, I’ll go.” I started to get up but she stopped me.
“I’m the one supposed to leave you. It’s not the other way around.”
“See you tomorrow?”
“Nope. Do not expect your name being shouted across the hall ever again!” she left me right then.
“I brought you here, and you don’t know who might take you,” I warned, “Let me take you to your house and I’ll leave you there.”
“Fine.”

I brought her in complete silence. I didn’t relish the idea, but nobody cares any more.
“So, I was thinking earlier that we should make a club called ‘Life is for Everyone’ or L.I.F.E. for short,” I stated.
“Maybe. You’re still not on my good side. You’re getting there, but, no.”
“Reyna, look I didn’t know you asked it like that. I thought it was just a friendly eat. Nothing more; nothing less.”
“Oh. I thought Alexis told you.”
“Told me what?”
“I like, like you.”
We stood in silence for about a minute, but it seemed like hours. “Really?” I regained my mind.
“I didn’t want to tell you because, well, I didn’t know how you’d react.”
I wanted to tell her I felt the same way, but my words wouldn’t come out. She looked stunning tonight with her blonde hair over her shoulders, braided with flowers in them. Her red dress shimmered in the moonlight, other than Victoria Falls she was the most beautiful person I know.
“Jack?”
“What?”
“You look flattered, what are you thinking about?”
“What are you thinking about?”
“This,” she pulled me in and kissed me. It was only on the cheek but it was the most memorable thing ever. She left me, speechless. I managed to say goodbye and left.