Alyssa is crushing hard on the boy with a buzz cut and a bad attitude. No one knew of her secret crush. Heck, it took Alyssa two years to finally accept it. Now she stares at the taut muscles, the buzzed hair, and the "I'm too good to be here" stance by the one and only Parker Reynolds.
Alyssa swoons internally and thinks "What I would do to date him." The only problem is that Parker has a bad reputation for fighting, riding a motorcycle too fast, and being the boy that dads don't want to see their daughter with.
"ALYSSA," her teacher Mr. Connors yells bringing her back to the real world in class. To Alyssa, staring at a cute boy is much more entertaining than learning about the Civil War. As a straight-A student, school comes easy for Alyssa. Turing back to class she answers the question Mr. Connors asks her with the right answer.
As Alyssa drifts off again, she is brought back to the classroom by what Mr. Connors says next.
"Next, I will pair you off to work on the Civil War project. "Jack and Diane. Alyssa and Parker. Carry and Will...." Alyssa is completely taken by surprise and unsure of what she just heard. The world around her has stopped spinning and everyone is staring at her.
"Go find your partner and discuss your assignment," says Mr. Connors. Alyssa makes her way over to Parker and sits beside him. Parker barely acknowledges she is there. Alyssa tries but he just doesn't care. Finally Alyssa says, "How about I do the assignment, we get an A and you just do nothing?"Angry, she returns back to her seat.
When the bell rings signaling class is over, she heads to her locker to get her car keys but is met by someone unexpected. Parker is waiting for her. Unsure of him, she checks to make sure she went to the right spot, which she did. "I'm sorry" says Parker. "I'm having a bad day." They discuss the project and decide to go eat and then get to work on it.
One day of project work became a week. A week became into a month, and before Alyssa knew it, they are dating. Neither one of them has been so happy in their lives. Alyssa finally sees Parker for who he was. He isn't bad, he is just misunderstood.
Alyssa's relationship is going well until the one person she hoped wouldn't find out about them now knows. Her father. He has never liked Parker since he started being the reason for so many police calls. Her father, being the police chief, has to respond to all the calls. Her father knew the kind of trouble that boys like Parker got into.
Alyssa and her father have been arguing for days about Parker, until finally, something changes his mind.
A car driving too fast hits a wet spot in the road. Alyssa is walking along the sidewalk to meet her dad and Parker to discuss their relationship. She is too busy with her thoughts that she doesn't notice the headlights of the car flying toward her. Parker who is walking from the other direction toward her, hears the tires squeal. Alyssa is also unaware of how close Parker is to her. Parker sprints to shove her out of the way of the car. Unfortunately, the car clips Parkers' legs and sends him flying to the ground hitting his head. He is knocked out unconscious. Her father is not able to do anything but watch his daughter's life possibly end. He has 911 on the phone with an ambulance on the way.
Alyssa has some scratches but those would heal. She sits with her father in the waiting room for the love of her life to be okay. As they sit waiting, her father tells her that, Parker and her have his blessing to be together.
When Parker wakes up, Alyssa shares the news for their relationship. The doctor informs them that, he suffers from a concussion and a broken right fibula but will be able to go home that day.
Her father shakes Parker's hand as they left the emergency room. "I may only know your bad side, but anyone who is willing to put my daughter's life before their own is good in my book." Her father says.
Author's Note: The story that inspired me to write this one is called the
Bear-Woman. The original story is a Blackfoot Native American story. It is a marriage tale about a woman who has a bear for a lover. The woman had several brothers, a sister, and a father who disapproved. The younger sister tells their father of the older sisters lover. The father and brothers go out and kill the bear enraging the older sister. I decided to use the father and the unaccepted love elements into my own story. I thought having an animal lover would be too strange to make the story more modern. I knew the overall theme of my story but I got stuck trying to make an ending for it. I didn't want anyone to die, unlike in the original story. I typically just allow myself to write and I will let the details sort themselves out. I wanted the story to be longer but I made myself edit it. I can get carried away sometimes. I chose the story I originally read because the title seemed cool. I was completely taken by surprise when I started reading it. I actually had to reread the second paragraph several times because it was not what I was expecting. As the story went on, I could understand why it was titled the way I was. If you are looking for a suspenseful read, than you should definitely look into reading this story.
by Stith Thompson (1929).
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