Raymond

Raymond's Crush


I was always jealous of Rob. He had it all. He was the star quarterback on the school's football team. Rob had always been an athlete. Ever since he was little he was faster and stronger than any kid on the playground. Rob also had the coolest best friend. His name was Hayden. Some people think Hayden is weird. He's a really big fan of the King Kong movies, but everyone still likes him. He's a little guy but has a lot of confidence. And no matter what, he's always by Rob's side.

But aside from his athleticism and friends, Rob had one thing that I could never get. Rob had Sara, the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. I always admired her from afar. We had a few classes together and I'd be lucky if she even accidentally bumped into me in the hallway.

My family could never associate with the likes of Rob and Sara.  My sister, Sharon, tried to ask Rob to the prom freshman year, and Rob's brother, Lawrence, humiliated her in front of the whole school. Sharon knew that Rob was dating Sara, but thought she could win him over, Lawrence didn't like that. He was super protective over Rob, so he threw a banana peel in front of her as she walked away and spilled her lunch all over herself in front of everyone. However, I actually wouldn't have even seen Sara if it weren't for Lawrence embarrassing Sharon.

I was so upset that Lawrence embarrassed Sharon that I had to find out who did it. No one messed with my sister and got away with it. I had to find out who this Lawrence guy was. When she pointed him out the next day, he was sitting at lunch with Rob, Hayden and Sara. While I was furious at Lawrence for what he did to my sister, I couldn't keep my eyes off of Sara. She was captivating. Sara came from a wealthy and powerful family too. Her dad, John, is in charge of the city's workout gyms. He only let Sara date guys that most would consider meatheads. He cared so much about strength that Rob even had to bench press in front of him before he asked Sara out, just to prove to her dad that he was strong enough for his little girl. 

My family is rich too, but it's not really important to me. Money isn't much when you have no one to share it with. My house has a ton of butlers and maids, but it's just me, Sharon and my uncle Mark that live there. A lot of space for only three people. No one ever comes around. "Raymond, why don't you ever bring a pretty girl home?" the maids tease. I tell them that I have a girlfriend, but she lives in a different town. When in reality, the only girl I'll ever love is in the arms of another man. I have to find a way to take her from him. 

(Pinterest) 

This story was based off of the Ramayana by Narayan. 

Author's Note: It takes a modern spin on the character of Ravana (Raymond). I made him a teenager with a crush on the modern-day version of Sita. I changed the setting to a high school and changed all of the characters' names. I tried to get as many in as possible. Rama's name was changed to Rob and I made him a jock. Sita was changed to Sara, Rob's girlfriend. I threw Hanuman in there too, and changed his name to Hayden. I even made him a fan of the King Kong movies as a reference to him being a monkey and turning giant to walk across the lake. I changed Shurpanakha to Sharon, and instead of Lakshmana mutilating her for trying to seduce Rama, Lawrence embarrasses her for asking Rob to the prom. I made King Janaka into John, Sara's fitness-obsessed dad. Instead of Rama breaking the bow for him, Rob had to bench press in front of him. And I made sure to incorporate Maricha as uncle Mark, and have Raymond's house be filled with butlers and maids, just like his home of Lanka is filled with servants. I thought that this modern spin on the story would be fun to write and fun to modernize the characters of the Ramayana. 

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