Our after-school shopping trip had been a resounding success, the proof of that being the bag chock-full of socks for Abby—and some matching ones for me—dangling on one of my arms, and Abby happily dangling from the other, eager to get home and try them around the house. But first, I needed to attend to the small rumbling I felt on my arm coming from her stomach. Might as well, right? We were still at the mall, and there was plenty of good places for us to have a sit and eat something after all.
After a day of dealing with classmates, Vanessa’s spiteful stares, and my general worrying over stuff that was still far away, this was what I was needing, relaxed fun. But unfortunately that’s not how my brain operates, and with just a glimpse of the big, bold, golden letters over a black background with the name of the jewellery store at the mall was enough for me to have a relapse. And just as I was about to snap out of it, Abby tugged me in that direction.
“Let’s go check the earrings!” she chirped as I let her lead me around by the arm she was hugging.
“Earrings?” I asked, this being the first time I had ever heard her mention such a thing.
“Yup, earrings! I’m curious to see what kind of stuff they sell at that store.”
“…Are you interested in getting some?”
She looked at me as if she was surprised I’d even ask that.
“No. I hate needles after all,” she said, as if I had asked a stupid question.
“…You’re not thinking about me getting my ears pierced, are you?” I asked next, just as we now stood in front of the store.
“Not really, although, it’d look good on you.”
I hummed as I closed my eyes, my head aching as I tried to make sense out of my girlfriend. These flights of fancy weren’t out of the ordinary, but they still managed to get my mind all twisted up sometimes. Then, I imagined myself with my ears pierced, and… well, I agree, I’d look good, but… something made it feel wrong.
“I don’t think I’d ever pierce my ears,” I said, unsure Abby would even hear me since she was so focused staring at a pair of silver earrings with dolphins dangling from them. I was a bit surprised when she looked up at me.
“Hmm? Why? Do you hate needles too?”
“I pricked my fingers enough times sewing socks and stuff to not be freaked out by that. No, it feels… I don’t know… wrong?”
“Hmm, wrong you say?” she said, looking back through the glass, my eyes now following hers. “Did your mother wear earrings?”
That made it click.
“Ah! That’s exactly it! No, she had not!”
Abby giggled and bumped into me, calling me a “momma’s girl”. My face turned a bit red because I wanted to refute that but wasn’t finding any argument I could make to rebuke her words. It was another Abby win for the book.
Abby then pointed at a set that had a red rose as the stud while commenting how they would be a perfect fit for Claire when a familiar voice called out to us. Imagine our surprise when we turned around and came face to face with Miss Maple, our homeroom teacher.
“It had to be you,” she said with a smile. “You two already jump to the eye when alone, let alone when together like that. What are you up to instead of being home doing homework and studying?”
“Gee teach’, we also need some down time,” Abby huffed, clinging tighter to my arm.
Our teacher laughed, perfectly relaxed, while I was trying to figure out how to behave. This was the first time I had actually met a teacher outside of school. It was… well, “weird” doesn’t quite cut it.
“We were just out to get Abby some socks to wear at home,” I blurted out, ever the master conversationalist.
“Socks, huh?” our teacher mused. “That sounds more like something a married couple would do, not just, two high schoolers who are dating.”
My face turned bright red as I looked away, my eyes falling on the side of the display that had the rings while Abby explained that these socks were her early birthday present and so that I wouldn’t worry so much about her getting a cold from going barefoot around the house. Their voices sounded a bit faded as I questioned myself if we gave off that impression over just being two teenage kids going out. It was our normal, and as a result, it skewed our idea of what normal is—like me wearing garter belts.
Then, my vision was blocked by Miss Maple, as she stepped up towards the glass.
“This store has far more approachable stuff for kids like you than the one I used to work back when I was a student in university.”
“You worked in a jewellery store while studying?” I asked reflexively, cutting off Abby of doing the same question.
“I did, yes,” Miss Maple said, her smile a mix of nostalgia but also tiredness from just thinking about it. “My parents aren’t exactly rich, so I got a part-time to at least pay for my own food and help out with the rent of my place, even if just a little. It was hard, but I managed, as you can clearly see.”
My head nodded by itself as I took in that information and noticed my eyes drifting to Abby. In my mind was a single thought: whatever happens, Abby must not be put through that.
It didn’t matter if I was studying or not, currently, with my non-existent prospects besides being a housewife, that was something I was absolutely sure. Abby would wake up, have her breakfast ready, go to classes, come back to a clean, organised home and hot meal, and then she could focus on studying and relax together with me, while I’d do the cleaning, cooking, and a part-time or even full-time job, preferably perhaps the former. At least until I figure out what I really want to do.
Although… money really isn’t something she has to worry about, is it?
“I hope you don’t mind me asking, but… do you two intend on one day getting married?”
My head snapped back towards our teacher, my blood travelling back to my face as my breath got caught in my throat.
“We are just kids and all, but… we talked about it a few times,” Abby said, her voice mumbling a bit.
My head snapped back to her, and my God, was she adorable, even if I could only see half of her face. She was completely red, eyes glistening and with the goofiest smile on her face as she hid it behind my arm.
“You two have? Man, now I’m feeling like I’m lagging behind my students,” Miss Maple chuckled. “I didn’t even have my first boyfriend yet.”
Was our teacher supposed to tease us so much and about such topic!?
She seemed to realise that as she cleared her throat and went back to using the same expression she wore at school. That stern, but still kind one.
“Sorry, that wasn’t appropriate of me to say to you,” she began, a bit of red surging her face. “But anyway, how about I teach you a bit about rings so you two aren’t fleeced in the future?”
“Oh! There’s no—”
“Y-yes please!” I practically shouted before I could even hold back. Luckily, I realised what I just did, so I played it cool… or at least tried to. “Rings can be expensive, right? I’d hate giving money for one that wasn’t all that good.”
“Babe, as far as I’m concerned, our rings can be made out of an old, rusty tin can.”
My head snapped back at Abby, and she was looking at me as if she was being completely dead serious.
“I am being dead serious,” she firmly told me, having read my mind.
That was a kick to the head that shouldn’t have been. A part of me knew that was the very, very likely—almost certain, thing Abby would say if I had asked her about it, and I still went and fussed over that.
“Good, because that way, you can focus on the material and not the price, as sometimes you’re just paying for the brand and marketing,” out teacher calmly started explaining, my attention, perhaps instinctually, shifting completely to her.
She began by explaining that there were four types of rings for couples.
The first one was the promise ring. This was the one she said we’d likely buy if we were to step inside the store right now as it is for symbolizing a serious commitment and a promise of future fidelity and devotion. It's often given before a formal engagement, serving as a way to show dedication when a couple isn't ready for marriage, often due to age like us, finances, or other life circumstances. It's a way of saying, that the couple is serious about one another and wants to form a life together.
“Pfft, hehe! Violet and I don’t need that!” Abby giggled, bobbing side to side and pointing at her chocker that poked over the collar of her uniform shirt. “We have these!”
I had never thought of it like that, but she was right, our chockers served that very same purpose. I had agreed to buy and wear them with Abby on the day I realised my feelings for her and even confronted her sister about it, so yeah, I had then made that sort of promise to her.
“Are you sure?” I still asked, finding it hard that this was going to be that easy.
“Don’t go complicating what doesn’t need complicating, you big doofus!” she chirped, tapping my forehead.
Our teacher shook her head, saying that it was good to see that we actually held back during class while I rubbed the spot Abby had lightly tapped, my cheeks flushed as I fought a smile.
Our lesson moved on to the next ring: a commitment ring. It’s kinda like a wedding ring, but mostly used for people that don’t believe marriage is necessary.
“Nope, not for us,” Abby said with a click of her tongue. “I wanna be called ‘Abigail Evergreen’ after all.”
Couldn’t she just have her name changed regardless of our marital status? Probably, but since there wouldn’t be the “married” status associated with the name change, I guess that would defeat the point.
Next up was the engagement ring, the one I was the most worried about. I already knew that it meant the intention of marrying someone, and as I had expected, it typically has a diamond in it, although some couples now choose a different stone, and as a consequence, they can be quite affordable nowadays.
“…Couldn’t we just simply use the wedding ring as the engagement ring too?” Abby said.
“Huh!? B-but Abby!? What about the tradition?”
She frowned and tilted her head at me, my outburst having struck a nerve. She didn’t scold me or anything, instead she just gave my blazer a tug so I’d lower my ear to her lips.
“Remind me again, in what order did Miss Violet officially get me as her girlfriend that summer night?” she whispered, her voice exasperated but still filled with love.
“…Forget I said anything,” I mumbled under my breath.
Abby sighed and shook her head before asking Miss Maple to continue with her lesson. Our teacher was giving us a bit of a side-eye and frowning as she regarded us, most likely very curious about what Abby had whispered into my ear that had completely disarmed my protests.
“Well, you could, and a lot of people do that,” Miss Maple said, her face returning to normalcy as she spoke. “And honestly, for young couples who might have just gotten a job, or even who are still studying, that might be the best course of action. You could get a simple band made out of a durable material and get it inscribed with something as I’ve seen once when I was working at that jewellery store.”
“See babe?” Abby said, looking smug. “No need to complicate what doesn’t need complicating, right?”
“…Haah, right.”
All of this “uncomplicating” gave me a huge headache that had me grasping my forehead. All of this worrying, studying, budgeting, and planning for nothing. Well, about the rings. There’s still what I’ll be doing with my life besides my relationship with Abby after high-school, when to propose to her and the honeymoon, but at least now I knew I didn’t have to break the bank getting her two rings, it’d be just one, and a relatively inexpensive one at that too.
…An old, rusty tin can, huh?
“…Pfft, hehe!”
Like Abby, I didn’t care if it was made of the finest gold or had a stone the size of an egg as long as Abby was happy, and judging by the way she was nuzzling my arm, she was very happy with our unexpected conversation and future prospects. I just wished it had been me bringing this up and not just luck, fate, or what have you, that brought this conversation about.
“Anyway, I have stuff to do, classes to prepare, evaluations to plan, teacher’s stuff in general, so I’ll be leaving now. And don’t let this talk get to your heads and distract you from your studies. You’re too young for thinking about marriage anyway.”
We watched our teacher walk away before Aby and I shared a look.
“It’s funny, isn’t it?” she asked. “How adults expect us to plan our whole life at our age, but if we are in a good relationship and wish to pursue it, then we’re suddenly too young to also consider that?”
It wasn’t what I had in mind when I looked at Abby, but she was kinda right. It’s kinda frustrating how adults treat us like we are too grown up for some stuff, not old enough for others, but then expect us to have the foresight to almost plan our entire lives until retirement while still in high-school. I get that education and all that can have a big impact and make it easier or harder to start our lives as adults, but solely focusing on that without considering our relationship and what we want from it feels very wrong. That’s why I’m having such a hard time lately. Well, was having a hard time. It was slightly easier now.
Abby and I could follow everyone’s lead, like going to university, getting jobs, a house and then marry, getting a kid if we felt like we wanted that and could afford it, but how long would that take? Why couldn’t we get married after graduating high-school for example? By then, Abby and I will have known each other for three years and have been practically living together for almost as long as that. Or what, are we supposed to wait fifteen years to finally get married without people thinking we rushed it? Why should we even care? It was our life, our decisions, so why—
“Babe, calm down,” Abby called, bumping her body against mine as we walked. “There’s smoke coming out of your ears and your face is kinda scary.”
“Sorry. Sorry, I just…”
“Got a bit too lost in your own head?” she said, putting into words what I was finding strangely hard to describe. My headache was making it hard to think coherently. “I know.”
“…Could you… could you give me a massage when we get home? After we see how the socks look on you, that is?”
“Hehe! When I’m done with you, you’ll feel like boneless chicken.”
For all it’s worth, as worries come and go, Abby was always there for me to rely on, and that was worth the whole world.
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