I banged my forehead on the table for what was probably the millionth time that day and cried. copyright protection389PENANAauDCEZ6qFu
I had nothing. Absolutely nothing. copyright protection389PENANAjO6Ci50iVL
Nothing that would meet my boss' expectations. copyright protection389PENANAiwwkmR1kIK
It seemed as if there was nothing I could do to save my job now. copyright protection389PENANAY29s2bnv3R
After our confessions yesterday, Antonio and I had exchanged numbers. It had turned out to be a very bad idea - for me, at least. copyright protection389PENANA2xd9V76us2
Every two seconds I got a text from him, as he complained about his daily life.copyright protection389PENANAfZWBmEqzrI
But at least he wasn't going to lose his entire job altogether. Unlike me. copyright protection389PENANAnqw1bxVgxa
Staring at the blank Word document, I exhaled. copyright protection389PENANAbj3u6OdHcX
Suddenly, my phone vibrated. I almost fell off my chair, hitting the side of my head hard on the edge of the table. I cursed aloud, grabbing the vibrating phone off the table and hauling myself up. copyright protection389PENANAR5mCGSvJ7D
I struck a glance at the screen:copyright protection389PENANAB7SPUaB40b
Matilda copyright protection389PENANAot3M0p4u6R
Matilda? I thought. The girl from school? I still have her number...?copyright protection389PENANAU0bRsdic83
I picked it up. copyright protection389PENANAZD2z43SKFT
"Hello?"copyright protection389PENANApDBEjlqlVS
That was definitely Matilda. Her voice was almost exactly the same. We'd been in secondary school together, and we used to be close friends. Until...copyright protection389PENANAuYDfmQ1vzS
"Darren? You there?"copyright protection389PENANAj7K6XhyyAH
"Oh-h-h, yeah..."copyright protection389PENANAiM2qn7B78Y
"Hi..."copyright protection389PENANArbqzXKcsdC
"I haven't seen you for... Ages."copyright protection389PENANAOwEKI1iAGY
She giggled. copyright protection389PENANAlPTZNBcAqH
"I wanted to catch up with you. I found your number in my phone and decided... Why not?"copyright protection389PENANAMInNYBloRd
"Why not?"copyright protection389PENANAb57rgE1chB
"So, uh..."copyright protection389PENANAjNEmRWncgO
She paused, as if she had nothing else to say. I was the one to eventually break the silence. copyright protection389PENANAvA70zE8BCy
"I miss our school days."copyright protection389PENANApfAfhXbA8a
"Yes. The good old days, as it were. Before we became adults..."copyright protection389PENANA4ZuT2uCiaQ
"I have a lot of regrets. But they were good times."copyright protection389PENANA9L034cPnta
"Good..."copyright protection389PENANA2McMnSH1TZ
I could feel the hesitancy in her voice, as if she there was something on her mind. copyright protection389PENANAclQFuDOfPp
"This isn't about the whole... Crush on me thing, is it?"copyright protection389PENANAWbbCejREh6
"Oh! I..." Matilda replied quickly, and then stopped. "Can I tell you something?" she whispered. copyright protection389PENANAyTvWSG3q8z
"Of course. You can tell me anything you want!"copyright protection389PENANALssGNfaJbn
"Hmm."copyright protection389PENANAoamVQfR9Wr
Another pause, this time as if she was composing her answer carefully. copyright protection389PENANA0YnycgKJgk
"I never did have a crush on you."copyright protection389PENANAwZqLrHEYKH
"Then... How come you never denied it? Every time it was brought up, you'd turn away as if you were trying to... Hide something."copyright protection389PENANAS76pYjcDEh
"I was trying to hide something."copyright protection389PENANAix5CNYOEEF
"You... were?"copyright protection389PENANAsiqKSN5p5L
"And it wasn't my feelings for you. I'm sorry."copyright protection389PENANATvIjH6AsLm
"Oh... That's... Completely fine!"copyright protection389PENANAAa0GI9iKg9
I tried to imagine her face now. Little Matilda, all grown up. Her smile... She may not have been my childhood crush, but all the same, she was attractive. And her smile was the best of all. She had always been the shyest of all of us, but on that rare occasion where she did smile, we all smiled with her. Matilda always seemed so depressed, she rarely ever did smile. copyright protection389PENANAqiGQCvLHPl
I could hear rustling from the other side of the line. copyright protection389PENANAeO96MWyyzx
"Matilda... You okay?"copyright protection389PENANAlqSaGyzgWW
"... "copyright protection389PENANAHDcO32evq2
"Matilda?" copyright protection389PENANAd5Fmzptex1
"Aren't you going to ask me... Why?"copyright protection389PENANAt0Izueck87
"Why what?"copyright protection389PENANAXlOBpGrWdX
"Why I was trying to hide something. What was I trying to hide. That," she said. copyright protection389PENANA5IXCUoyfmW
"Oh... I suppose... I'm a bit curious... But it's really none of my business, so if you don't want to tell me, you don't have to..."copyright protection389PENANATcjXCnOQaW
"I want to tell someone. I think maybe... If I tell the right person, I might start to feel... Better about it."copyright protection389PENANANE4vR0CeSe
"Okay, then. If you want to tell me, fire away."copyright protection389PENANAtV8xUkfDJL
"Please... Keep it secret?"copyright protection389PENANAHTCtEImxKt
"Of course."copyright protection389PENANANufLI3eb1R
"Okay... Here goes..."copyright protection389PENANAlxRppm3B19
She took a breath. copyright protection389PENANA1LUr9aHPz8
"My friends made up the rumour about our crush. It was just with random boy - don't take it too personally. But they did it for me, to hide the truth..."copyright protection389PENANAnqxWfy3Jkp
Pause. copyright protection389PENANAVf8SabEkuD
"The truth, which is...?" I asked quietly. copyright protection389PENANAkoT7AD3d6a
"I don't think I'll ever get in a relationship with a man. I don't think... No... No, not for me. Never. I... Never really feel that connection, you know, when you feel like you're in love... I don't think I'll ever feel that with a man."copyright protection389PENANARgpGEPOolO
"How can you be so sure?" I asked, a little pointlessly, already knowing the answer. copyright protection389PENANAwXae059EM8
"I'm... Uh..."copyright protection389PENANAACw1FsaBmH
Her voice was so quiet now, it was barely audible. copyright protection389PENANAuniEyHzRUO
"Lesbian."copyright protection389PENANAkHhGJzb49x
"Yes."copyright protection389PENANAO7va56keZ5
"Hey, guess what?"copyright protection389PENANAJFB7mr47ms
"...what?"copyright protection389PENANAGrXRDQVDAg
I inhaled and tried to sound cheerful. copyright protection389PENANAQF7mxT019Q
"So am I! Well, not lesbian, but..."copyright protection389PENANA1Y7indr7M2
She sounded like she was going to burst into tears. copyright protection389PENANAQzhbYqbvKw
"Darren! I know you're trying to make me feel better, but... Don't you feel guilty? It took me a lot of courage to tell you this, and now you... You... Make fun of me!"copyright protection389PENANAipnK4Pfr9z
She sounded very indignant. copyright protection389PENANArsVnpCpxcy
"What... Whatever are you talking about?"copyright protection389PENANAY3okOfytS5
"Huh? What? You mean... You were serious?"copyright protection389PENANAevNtrInfl7
"Deadly serious. I'm gay."copyright protection389PENANAn797GEUQiV
"Serious serious?"copyright protection389PENANAM5RMOeAOzN
"Serious serious."copyright protection389PENANA4g8wrosgZ5
"So..."copyright protection389PENANAVME0JOP2im
"You're not alone in life. You see? There are so many other people out there too," I exclaimed. "There's no need to feel embarrassed! Well..." copyright protection389PENANAWdZC7ADJDz
I stopped abruptly. copyright protection389PENANAVUvNCy6A2U
"There are, of course, the haters out there..."copyright protection389PENANAZbjPK5PzFb
"Outside of school, I had friends too. But when I told them... Some of them reacted badly. Called me inhuman. Unnatural. Alien. And much, much worse... And I went to bed crying every night." She was whispering again. copyright protection389PENANANMwevTf7JQ
"I know, but..." I reassured her, gently. "But the main thing is, you're not alone. There are others out there too. And there are also the supporters. The people who don't hate us. Of course, there will always be someone who doesn't like us but we will face the haters together, okay? You and me, and other LGBT friends we can find, we will stand together."copyright protection389PENANAjC3cPIeHZK
"United."copyright protection389PENANAZjfbHcCBWB
"United." copyright protection389PENANAHkxHKd5pl5
Pause. copyright protection389PENANAXRjDU9KBya
Then...copyright protection389PENANAXfBhf7Jxvh
"Thank you so much... Darren."copyright protection389PENANA5a4rEw8Wyi
I smiled. copyright protection389PENANABN1z54iE32
"Thank you too."copyright protection389PENANAWKpEq4VVuo
I put the phone down and couldn't help but grin.copyright protection389PENANAKhw0UIDl9c
My conversation with Matilda had just given me the inspiration I had needed for my article. copyright protection389PENANAsROT9QSNub
In a nutshell? copyright protection389PENANAXzVGETNh3c
Matilda had just saved my job. copyright protection389PENANAYTQET4gUxh
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