Week 6 Story: The Heart Wants What the Heart Wants

Image Source: Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

 Story Source: Tiny Tales from The Mahabharata by Laura Gibbs

This story is now in my portfolio as well!

_____

Danielle was distraught, her crush Andrew gave a valentine to another girl in her fourth grade class. She had loved Andrew ever since he transferred schools this last year, and was working up her courage to go and give him a ring-pop. She even attached a dog valentine with a french bulldog on it, which she recalled was Andrew's favorite type of dog. 

Danielle wasn't insecure, she knew she was pretty enough, she was just nervous and had a hard time talking to new people, especially boys. Angela however, was the talk of St. Paul's Charter School, she was the bubbliest and most extroverted girl in the fourth grade. 

 Andrew gave his best valentine to Angela. Angela was the kind of girl that had a full mailbox every year on Valentine's and she was sick and tired of it happening. Danielle couldn't eat lunch with her friends that day, even though it was her favorite meal, chicken nuggets. She snuck out to the rock garden in the back of the school and cried out there for hours. 

"Why is this happening to me, Andrew and I are perfect for each other. We both love to play four square during recess, we make such a great team. I just wish I could find a boy who is loyal, nice, smart, funny and can play four square as good as me!" Danielle said through sobs. 

"Are you okay?" Danielle heard a voice emerging from the bushes, it was Angela. "What are you doing here Angela, I don't want to talk to you." Angela sat down next to Danielle and offered her a bag of baked Cheetos from her lunch box.  

"I noticed you didn't eat lunch, and I didn't want you to be hungry and alone... so I wanted to join you," Angela said apologetically. Danielle was shocked, she didn't think that Angela would extend kindness to her, especially since Angela took Andrew away from her. 

"I know you had a crush on Andrew, but trust me you deserve so much more than that player," Angela said, "There are so many guys in other classes, and they're way nicer than Andrew! You don't want to be limited to Ms. Smith's classes options, there are plenty of other fourth grade classes with options, I can help you!" 

Angela seemed sincere, and so Danielle took her up on her offer to find other potential boyfriends to make Andrew jealous. Angela and Danielle decided to be friends, and at recess they would sit on the bleachers and take note of all the boys running around. 

"So you said you were looking for a boy who is loyal, nice, smart, funny and can play four square? See, that's asking a lot out of the boys at our school... BUT I bet we could find a guy with each of those things to give you attention, and maybe Andrew will realize you're much better than him!"

The friends decided to go on a search, they asked all the other girls in their class who gladly helped Danielle, because they loved the drama. 

"If you're looking for a loyal guy, Santino has perfect attendance! One time he came to class with strep and everything just to keep his record!" Whispered Dina, from Dr. O'Malley's advanced math class. 

"If you're looking for a nice boy, Wesley brought cookies to the office administrators for secretaries day! He also says bless you every time that someone sneezes in class, even during a quiz!" Edna said excitedly. 

"If you're looking for a smart boy, Randall won the district-wide spelling bee! He didn't miss one word! Not even the word 'restaurant'!" Lina giggled excitedly, she slipped Danielle a picture and sprinted away.

"If you're looking for a funny guy, you should talk to Amir! He won first place in the school talent show for his comedy routine!" Exclaimed Rita, one of the girls from Mr. Robinson's class. 

Danielle and Angela excitedly searched for the fifth guy to meet their expectations, but couldn't find one. Andrew was renowned for being the best four square player at their school, no one had ever beat him. Not once! Danielle and Angela nearly gave up hope, but that next Tuesday everything changed. A new kid walked outside from Mr. Robinson's class. 

"Who's that," all the girls whispered. They had never seen him before. "Oh, that's my twin brother Quinn, he was homeschooled for a while because he has issues focusing, but they thought it was best to get him social interaction, so he is going to start coming to class every Tuesday and Thursday for gym and electives!" Dina from Dr. O'Malley's class said. "He's really good at four square! I wonder if he could beat Andrew?!" 

All of the girls circled up to watch the smackdown of the year, as Andrew got crushed by the new kid Quinn. Andrew walked away looking shocked, he had never been beat before. After the match, Quinn grabbed a dandelion from the field and handed it to Danielle. Andrew looked upset, but the girls walked away giggling and giving him none of the attention he was used to having. Finally, Danielle had her five guys to hang out with at recess, and they cycled through to get the chance at pushing her on the swing-set. 

Angela's work here was done, but they remained friends throughout the years, realizing how much fun they had looking for a good catch in a sea of fish. 

__________________

Author's Note:

I wanted to give a more innocent and childlike storyline to Draupadi's past life story and her five husbands whom she shared. My first thought was about my little sister, she is in fourth grade and she talks about all of the guys that like her and play with her on the playground whenever I call her. It's always like "this boy is so dumb, I don't like him, but he pushes me on the swings and follows me around." The kind of childlike way of speaking about crushes and the implications of valentines day is something that is so pure and sweet and funny to me, and I thought it could be a cool way to rewrite the story in a much less serious way that could still carry the same point across. I attempted to format the prayer to Shiva in a similar way, but instead of praying for a man who was powerful and strong, tells the truth, is wise, is handsome and is skilled and fearless, I chose things that would most likely appeal to the younger kids with fleeting crushes. Since no fourth grade boy can be loyal, nice, smart, funny and good at four square, the girls had to find five different guys.