• Once upon a time: your classic story-starter. Once upon a time: which normally means that you’re in for a happy, innocent story, like mine. This is my story and it starts off with once upon a time.
    Once upon a time, there was a girl named Gabrielle Cortez. She lived in San Francisco and had long, chestnut-coloured hair and bright green eyes. That girl is . There’s also a boy. A boy that all my friends like to pair me up with. His name is Antonio Sandoval and everyone, cada uno, plays matchmaker with us. And really, I can’t even talk to Antonio anymore. Every time we talk to each other, everyone makes a big deal out of it. It’s not that Antonio’s ugly or anything; he’s actually really cute. He has shaggy, black hair and amber eyes. He’s also a math genius. The irony is that we don’t even like each other. Well, we didn’t like each other before. Everyone’s attempts have succeeded, in my favour anyway. As much as it embarrasses me to admit it… amo Antonio. I love Antonio.

    It’s my 15th Valentine’s Day and I decide to take a walk. It’s such a gorgeous day outside and it’d be such a waste to spend it inside. There’s rarely any snow in San Francisco, mostly, it’s just chilly. All I got for Valentine’s Day was a bunch of e-mails from my friends. Some just said “Happy Valentine’s Day!” and others teased me about Antonio. Though, my friends don’t know that I like him. While I’m walking, a dog comes running towards me. He stops in front of me and looks up expectantly.
    “Aww, aren’t you just the cutest thing?” I say to the dog. “And what’s your name, little perro?” I crouch down to get a better looks at the puppy’s collar.
    “Rosetta! Rosetta, where are you?” a voice calls from around the corner. “Rosetta! There you are.” Antonio says.
    My heart flutters as Antonio approaches. “No funcione lejos! Don’t run away, bad dog.” He scolds Rosetta. “Oh, hola, Gabrielle.” He attaches a leash onto Rosetta’s collar. “So, how are you?”
    Estoy bueno. I’m good.” I reply. “What breed is your dog? She’s adorable!”
    “She’s a welsh corgi. I got her for my birthday last year. I was going to name her Perrito but I changed my mind.”
    Perrito? As in puppy?” I ask, raising my eyebrows.
    He laughs. “Well, I’m not that creative. Unlike you, you’re brilliant when it comes to the arts. You have a beautiful voice and you’re a really good artist, too.”
    I blush. “Uh, thanks. Well, you’re really smart when it comes to math.”
    “Sure, but anyone can become good at math. What you do is way better than math.”
    “Ok, but math can get you further in life.” I point out.
    “Fine! You win!” Antonio raises his arms, defeatedly and we both laugh.
    “Don’t you think that it’s funny how everyone always pushes us together?” says Antonio.
    “Umm… yeah. It’s kind of ironic, isn’t it?”
    “Ironic? In what way?”
    “Well, everyone’s been trying to get us together for years but we don’t even like each other, correcto?”
    “That’s not true…” he says, looking away. Is he...blushing?
    My heart is pounding against my chest as Antonio picks a rose from a nearby bush. He takes a deep breath and says,
    “Te amo, Gabrielle. Will you be my valentine?”

    The End

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