Personal Narrative Essay: Phoenix, Arizona

Monaco
She
Phoenix, Arizona. My home. You would think with name like a bird of fire it would be inspiring, breathtaking even magical. But it isn’t. It’s just another desert city. And I’m just another desert nobody on another desert summer day.
He
She’s a hurricane. She’s the greatest and most devastating of storms. Even in the bone dry summer, she changed my world and brought rain and snow and hail. She rained down on me when I least expected it. Before I could even get my umbrella out, she soaked me to the bone and the chill doesn’t recede. She’s my whole and my entire. She’s infinite.
I’ll go wherever you go, chase you through the streets of Monaco
She
Today is the day I’ve been dreading; my maths exam. As I get on to the ancient, rusting bus (no air-con for the win), my mind tries to decipher the seemingly endless stream of numbers that fill my textbook.
Maths has long been the bane of my existence, but my parents always beg me to do it. “Keep your options open, you’re good at maths,” they say with their condescending version of caring. But I’ve never liked it and never less than today. I’ve always been alone on the bus so I always sit with my back against the window, my feet on the seats, in spite of the faded yellow sign at the front of the bus warning ‘Feet and Food off or YOU’RE off’.
He
She dreams of travelling the world. To every nook and cranny, to every city and every country. She dreams of Paris, London, Tokyo, Sydney, but most of all, she dreams of Monaco. The sparkling beaches, the cars, the yachts don’t tempt her. It is the art, the aura, the audacity, the beauty.
I’ll run wherever you are, trust the rivers lead me to your heart
She
After getting off the bus, I quickly walk towards my locker and put my books away. I always take them home, no matter what homework I have, I can’t trust the off-white walls of this school to hold them, to keep them safe, because these walls have never kept me safe.
He
When I’m with her I feel alive; more alive than I have ever felt. I hardly know her, but I feel like I have known her my whole life. She is electric, more than just human. She thinks she’s average, like she’s just part of the crowd. She’s something else. She sits alone, well she did at least. She’s savage in self-deprecation but still holds herself high. I’ve never felt like this over a girl before. There’s been the odd fling here and there. There was Susie at the Halloween Ball, Lauren at the Drama performance but never anything like this.
Every night, every day, lost in the light of your flame
She
I trudge towards room 23, which is placed in the darkest corner of the main building. Ironic, considering it will be the place where my inevitably bleak future is decided. I open the door (which doesn’t even fit its frame) and walk in to faces which I know, but don’t really. There’s Mr. Lambert, Sam Williams, Laura French and Wesley Renton. All custodians of the dark art of algebra. I sit in the back corner, next to the huge cobwebbed windows overlooking the car-park. I sometimes wonder how we become anything in this world. I imagine if all the people that own those cars were next to each other, how long the line would be. The scale of the Earth makes us truly insignificant, but still, they tell us that we are special.
He
She doesn’t believe she is special.
She never believes me when I tell her. She could be the princess of the world and she would never admit her beauty, which lies within and without. I know we’ve only just begun on this journey, but she’s already fascinated me and has me coming back for more.
Nothing will get in my way, even if the brightest star burns out tonight
She
I focus on Mr. Lambert who is dutifully going through the instructions. I feel sorry for him sometimes; a life of teenagers and Maths must really take its toll. He mentions the time limit and the structure of the exam, but I don’t really listen. I’m too busy staring off at a distant jet, flying high, glimmering in the summer sun. Mr. Lambert finishes and hands out the test paper. He reaffirms to everyone (first time for me) that we have 5 minutes reading time before a 2 hour test period. I know that these will be the last 2 hours of my innocent life and I know that it is already over.
He
I feel like she saved me. She saved me from the boring. The long. The tiring. The cycle of life.
Why don’t you close your eyes, and leave it all behind
She
I sit and stare at the page. The numbers are a blur; letters from another language that only the others can read.
He
She’s beautiful, outside as well as within.
Wake up in paradise, where the sunset never dies
She
And I run. I burst through the abstract door and I spear down the corridor. I spring down the stairs and I run out the back doors. I just run, to the furthest part of my mind, wherever the cold outlines allow me. I fall. I fall under a tree; I lean back and stare at the sky. Wishing I could glide like the silver speck, effortlessly gliding over the horizon.
He
I think she’s so cool; she’s so different yet so amazing. I think I have a new girlfriend.
We’ll never say goodbye, don’t ever say goodbye
She
Coming out of my daze, I see a figure walking towards the place where I sit, dead inside, but finally free.
He
I saw her run and fall. I walked over to the grand oak where she sat. And said,
“Hey.”
I’ll go wherever you go
To win your heart, princess of Monaco

Sam Smith