I banged my forehead on the table for what was probably the millionth time that day and cried. 8964 copyright protection550PENANAK0n6ZVoQcx 維尼
I had nothing. Absolutely nothing. 8964 copyright protection550PENANAABywA0FEjM 維尼
Nothing that would meet my boss' expectations. 8964 copyright protection550PENANAxKcj7JmpGS 維尼
It seemed as if there was nothing I could do to save my job now. 8964 copyright protection550PENANA4OJliRlBPR 維尼
After our confessions yesterday, Antonio and I had exchanged numbers. It had turned out to be a very bad idea - for me, at least. 8964 copyright protection550PENANAs36dA4enCb 維尼
Every two seconds I got a text from him, as he complained about his daily life.8964 copyright protection550PENANAZ1he6FfeOG 維尼
But at least he wasn't going to lose his entire job altogether. Unlike me. 8964 copyright protection550PENANAEDrJ7Z167S 維尼
Staring at the blank Word document, I exhaled. 8964 copyright protection550PENANArHtNBfhnSP 維尼
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. 8964 copyright protection550PENANARFWIqZMfJ5 維尼
I struck a glance at the screen:8964 copyright protection550PENANANfYEG3YHBy 維尼
Matilda 8964 copyright protection550PENANA0Mje31vG5O 維尼
Matilda? I thought. The girl from school? I still have her number...?8964 copyright protection550PENANAU0oOrySx4y 維尼
I picked it up. 8964 copyright protection550PENANAxPteb5s5eC 維尼
"Hello?"8964 copyright protection550PENANAptF8vc3EQQ 維尼
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...8964 copyright protection550PENANAwlLo7pydGz 維尼
"Darren? You there?"8964 copyright protection550PENANAWMFA6UH9U2 維尼
"Oh-h-h, yeah..."8964 copyright protection550PENANAMxhEytFFqG 維尼
"Hi..."8964 copyright protection550PENANAwBGEZSBsYA 維尼
"I haven't seen you for... Ages."8964 copyright protection550PENANA7awwgTZwVF 維尼
She giggled. 8964 copyright protection550PENANAd7ox2sKPdO 維尼
"I wanted to catch up with you. I found your number in my phone and decided... Why not?"8964 copyright protection550PENANABiZstpMuYv 維尼
"Why not?"8964 copyright protection550PENANArurLFYtgpG 維尼
"So, uh..."8964 copyright protection550PENANAlh71cd9nTd 維尼
She paused, as if she had nothing else to say. I was the one to eventually break the silence. 8964 copyright protection550PENANAz8AptfiEqD 維尼
"I miss our school days."8964 copyright protection550PENANAvaQ55tebiv 維尼
"Yes. The good old days, as it were. Before we became adults..."8964 copyright protection550PENANAbhn56C0aoI 維尼
"I have a lot of regrets. But they were good times."8964 copyright protection550PENANAjPZ9HOwx1R 維尼
"Good..."8964 copyright protection550PENANAUDZtkQgzdf 維尼
I could feel the hesitancy in her voice, as if she there was something on her mind. 8964 copyright protection550PENANA8HuL0DhxWz 維尼
"This isn't about the whole... Crush on me thing, is it?"8964 copyright protection550PENANAg7zto3BviD 維尼
"Oh! I..." Matilda replied quickly, and then stopped. "Can I tell you something?" she whispered. 8964 copyright protection550PENANApNqX5Tt8N4 維尼
"Of course. You can tell me anything you want!"8964 copyright protection550PENANA1iqe4KSPYt 維尼
"Hmm."8964 copyright protection550PENANA0ss22pvNo2 維尼
Another pause, this time as if she was composing her answer carefully. 8964 copyright protection550PENANAzT7SyhwRzQ 維尼
"I never did have a crush on you."8964 copyright protection550PENANAjfiXZYqzoN 維尼
"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."8964 copyright protection550PENANAhumOukTvLW 維尼
"I was trying to hide something."8964 copyright protection550PENANAtUqTNi4VFi 維尼
"You... were?"8964 copyright protection550PENANAUlzUPpRwyY 維尼
"And it wasn't my feelings for you. I'm sorry."8964 copyright protection550PENANAYYd8aaOkvN 維尼
"Oh... That's... Completely fine!"8964 copyright protection550PENANAeZ7u2Hcbn7 維尼
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. 8964 copyright protection550PENANATKRRn7lx1c 維尼
I could hear rustling from the other side of the line. 8964 copyright protection550PENANAn5GVlCendx 維尼
"Matilda... You okay?"8964 copyright protection550PENANA0sv1ocHKo2 維尼
"... "8964 copyright protection550PENANA3Sn9Ji63sT 維尼
"Matilda?" 8964 copyright protection550PENANAzTNlX74SXo 維尼
"Aren't you going to ask me... Why?"8964 copyright protection550PENANA8xouRYhZwW 維尼
"Why what?"8964 copyright protection550PENANAXXxtEpMMKe 維尼
"Why I was trying to hide something. What was I trying to hide. That," she said. 8964 copyright protection550PENANADyDWhIHHa7 維尼
"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..."8964 copyright protection550PENANAIhsINtsekQ 維尼
"I want to tell someone. I think maybe... If I tell the right person, I might start to feel... Better about it."8964 copyright protection550PENANAlQc7avkjge 維尼
"Okay, then. If you want to tell me, fire away."8964 copyright protection550PENANABNFk4tmmBi 維尼
"Please... Keep it secret?"8964 copyright protection550PENANANAnKzdJD9x 維尼
"Of course."8964 copyright protection550PENANA0F6yiZQ7b4 維尼
"Okay... Here goes..."8964 copyright protection550PENANAJeTcIjtiaF 維尼
She took a breath. 8964 copyright protection550PENANAjujj7Fvegj 維尼
"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..."8964 copyright protection550PENANAtffUlQ9K45 維尼
Pause. 8964 copyright protection550PENANA4BvWcQfvxK 維尼
"The truth, which is...?" I asked quietly. 8964 copyright protection550PENANAln3T52ktaw 維尼
"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."8964 copyright protection550PENANAsjCDZtu4Ye 維尼
"How can you be so sure?" I asked, a little pointlessly, already knowing the answer. 8964 copyright protection550PENANAprkQBoOYb7 維尼
"I'm... Uh..."8964 copyright protection550PENANAVWAODnN4lV 維尼
Her voice was so quiet now, it was barely audible. 8964 copyright protection550PENANAO213L1zDlT 維尼
"Lesbian."8964 copyright protection550PENANAn6BDJaqT52 維尼
"Yes."8964 copyright protection550PENANACRUqkhQYzG 維尼
"Hey, guess what?"8964 copyright protection550PENANAkM7kLyTewZ 維尼
"...what?"8964 copyright protection550PENANAW0pgaTO2P8 維尼
I inhaled and tried to sound cheerful. 8964 copyright protection550PENANA90vJRe7htN 維尼
"So am I! Well, not lesbian, but..."8964 copyright protection550PENANAFLcW5sXJ3W 維尼
She sounded like she was going to burst into tears. 8964 copyright protection550PENANAms2wTHS1w9 維尼
"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!"8964 copyright protection550PENANAXPffGqGUH7 維尼
She sounded very indignant. 8964 copyright protection550PENANAkcVaARyrjd 維尼
"What... Whatever are you talking about?"8964 copyright protection550PENANAyIa0yOQh41 維尼
"Huh? What? You mean... You were serious?"8964 copyright protection550PENANAzrUJFl788A 維尼
"Deadly serious. I'm gay."8964 copyright protection550PENANAdDK1serdWc 維尼
"Serious serious?"8964 copyright protection550PENANAV67RFLNRiQ 維尼
"Serious serious."8964 copyright protection550PENANAo0buR1LPZs 維尼
"So..."8964 copyright protection550PENANAoggZBVNTdm 維尼
"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..." 8964 copyright protection550PENANAInVqu3PAnV 維尼
I stopped abruptly. 8964 copyright protection550PENANACwav5ga7cK 維尼
"There are, of course, the haters out there..."8964 copyright protection550PENANAfVYdJQ0wxe 維尼
"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. 8964 copyright protection550PENANAriOHYIV7Pz 維尼
"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."8964 copyright protection550PENANAwZuU1jyoZV 維尼
"United."8964 copyright protection550PENANACCY2Ls8gR9 維尼
"United." 8964 copyright protection550PENANAkMds4l5tH3 維尼
Pause. 8964 copyright protection550PENANAbJrE4D7u6f 維尼
Then...8964 copyright protection550PENANAvCvZZ9xGcU 維尼
"Thank you so much... Darren."8964 copyright protection550PENANAbizj1vS74n 維尼
I smiled. 8964 copyright protection550PENANAq6A4w4P3Dm 維尼
"Thank you too."8964 copyright protection550PENANAGqUEAe87a0 維尼
I put the phone down and couldn't help but grin.8964 copyright protection550PENANAZdUFcIX0q6 維尼
My conversation with Matilda had just given me the inspiration I had needed for my article. 8964 copyright protection550PENANAGHcrAzqtyJ 維尼
In a nutshell? 8964 copyright protection550PENANA785utPwA12 維尼
Matilda had just saved my job. 8964 copyright protection550PENANAfXuS2S4V64 維尼
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