Part 2

Monday brings a fresh start. My first three hours are traitor free. Lunch is a different story. All three of us have lunch together, and watching them be all lovey-dovey is making me nauseous. I leave the cafeteria and go sit by the stairs. The tears start to come again, but I hold them back. Ben was just a guy. A stupid guy that’s not worth crying over. At least, that’s what Mom said. I can’t help it…the tears start pouring. I huddle in a corner and just let it out. After awhile, I feel an arm around my shoulder. I look up to see my friend, Jake. He just hugs me and lets me cry on his shoulder. I don’t know how I’d make it through the day without him. He keeps me sane since Jess and I are in different schools.
When I finally stop crying, Jake walks me to my locker. He gives me another hug and heads to his next class. Courtney comes running up to her locker, which is conveniently located right next to mine. She’s about to have a mental breakdown because she is scared to death about our Spanish class. I calm her down and we head off. Lynn is in the class too. The teacher seats us alphabetically, so of course we are all on opposite sides of the room. I got lucky though, Ben and Beth aren’t here.
One of the people Ben hangs out with is sitting right next to me. I look over because I feel like he is staring at me. He looks away quick, embarrassed that I caught him. I smile. He is a little cute. I just wish I could remember his name. I’ve never had a class with him before or really talked to him, so the note he slips on my desk surprises me. I slide the note onto my lap and open it as quietly as possible. In a very sloppy, almost chicken scratch handwriting, it says ‘Ben’s an idiot. You are A LOT prettier than Beth. – Joe’ I can’t help but smile. I pull out my pen and write back ‘Thanks.’ I slip the note back to him, and after he reads it, he just smiles at me.
As we’re leaving the class, Joe walks up to me and asks what my next class is. Apparently, we both have Hay for 5th hour. He asks if we can sit together and I smile and tell him we’ll see what happens. Just as he is about to say something else, Courtney and Lynn practically tackle me. They noticed the note passing and are dying to know what he said. I smile back at Joe as I am almost literally dragged to my locker. The girls beg and beg me to tell them. I finally cave and repeat the note. ‘AWWWW,’ is all you can hear all the way down the hallway. I blush, bright red, and sprint down the hallway to Science class.
When I walk in, the only open seat is next to Joe. I smile and sit down next to him. He looks surprised that I took him up on his offer. We set up our pencils and notebooks. In the process, our arms touch and he blushes. I have to smile. I’ve never seen a boy blush like that before. A giggle slips out, and Joe’s blush just gets darker. I grab my notebook, rip out a paper and write ‘Do you really think I’m prettier than Beth?’ then slide it over to him.
He smiles down at the paper and writes back ‘A LOT. Ben’s stupid for breaking up with you…or letting you break up with him, I mean.’ We pass the note back and forth for the next hour. By the end of class, we’ve exchanged numbers, and have plans to hang out after school at the park by my house. I hope he doesn’t turn out like Ben.
Of course, my last class of the day and Ben is in it. Courtney is in this class too. Thankfully, the teacher lets us sit next to each other. We spend the entire hour making fun of Ben and trying to hit him with little balls of notebook paper. She always knows how to make me feel better. The last fifteen minutes of class, the teacher gives us free time. While Court and I are discussing my note with Joe from the previous class, Ben walks over. I try to ignore him, but I can’t. I finally ask him what he wants. He looks kind of sad, so I feel bad for him. He asks for a hug and I deny him. Court gives him a dirty look and tells him that his girlfriend would not appreciate him hugging his ex. Ben gets mad and goes back to his seat. He keeps giving us dirty looks for the rest of the class.
After I get home, I do my homework and clean my room. I don’t know if I should call Joe, or if I should wait for him to call me. Just to get another opinion, I call Jess.
“If you exchange numbers with a guy, and he says he’ll call you, should you wait for him, or just do it yourself?” I ask as soon as she answers.
“Is he cute?” She counters.
“I never said it was a real guy…this is a hypothetical question.” I answer, kind of angry that she already knows.
“Don’t hypothetical me. Is he cute?” She asks again.
I laugh before I answer her. “Kind of. I don’t know if I like him or not though.”
“Well, if he’s cute I’d call him. And how do you know if you like him if you don’t talk to him anyway?” She replies. Jess always has that ‘big sister’ tone in her voice when we talk about boys.
“He is kind of cute. I don’t want him to think I’m one of those needy girls though. I mean we just started talking today in Spanish.” I explain.
“Who is it anyway?” Jess demands.
“Do you remember that Joe guy that came to the park with Ben a few times?” I ask her.
“Yes! He is kind of cute…and a lot sweeter than Ben was. Go for it…hang up and call him!” She practically screams into the phone.
“I… (BEEP) Oh…hold on, other line.” I click over and say Hello.
“Is Katie there?” Joe asks.
“Hey…it’s me. Give me like two seconds. I was on the other line with my friend.” I answer.
I switch back over, and tell Jess I have to go and quickly hang up. I click back to Joe, and he asks if I can still meet him at the park. I hang up and run off to fix my makeup. After I feel like I don’t look like I expect this to be a date, but still cute I’m finally ready to leave. I leave a note for Mom, grab my bike and head to the park. When I get there, I can see Joe sitting on the swings at the bottom of the hill. I throw my hair back over my shoulders, and coast down the hill. He gets up, and walks towards me.
“I heard you like to swing. Want to?” Joe asks.
I smile, loving the fact that he remembered what we talked about earlier. “Sure.” I answer.
We walk back down to the swings, and he holds mine still so I can sit on it. He sits on the swing next to me, and we start a game of 20 questions. 20 turns into 40, then 40 turns to 60. Finally, my Mom pulls up and yells for me to come home. I’m late for dinner when I get back, but excited that I made a new friend. While we are eating, Mom keeps looking at me weird. She will smile one second and laugh to herself. Then the next, she’s shaking her head like a crazy person. Sometimes, I really think all parents are crazy, especially my Mom.
As we’re cleaning off the table, I ask her why she kept looking at me weird. Mom just smiles and says ‘Boys.’ Then like the crazy woman that she is, she walks away to do the dishes. I start to follow her, but then the phone rings so I run off to answer it, hoping its Jess. Imagine my surprise when I hear Joe on the other line.
“Hi, I just wanted to tell you that I had a lot of fun earlier.” He says quietly.
“I did too. We should do it again sometime.” I slyly ask him to hang out again.
“Tomorrow?” He counters my invitation.
“Same place and time?” I clarify.
“Can’t wait. Got to go though. See you tomorrow in Spanish.” He quickly answers and hangs up.
I smile as I put the phone back on the charger. Mom walks in and gives me that weird look again. I blow her off and start my bedtime routine.
The next week is pretty much the same thing over and over. The only thing that changes is the conversations. Jake has lunch with me to distract me from the idiot lovebirds on the other side of the cafeteria, after lunch comes Spanish. The whole class Joe and I pass notes about how boring our morning classes are, and how annoying couples can be. Then we set up when we’re going to meet at the park. My English class is last of the day. Court and I have to re-read all the notes between Joe and I. She has to know every single detail. When school is finally out, I rush through homework and leave Mom her note. The park is my favorite place now, and after 4:30, you can always find Joe and I on the swings. Mom told me to be home by seven for dinner, but I’m usually a little late. She keeps giving me that weird look, but she never says anything other than ‘Boys.’
Finally, Friday! Jess is coming over tonight, and I can’t wait to see her. It feels like it has been forever. I have so much to tell her, and the phone just isn’t cutting it anymore. I get some bad news in first hour today. Jake isn’t here today. He’s out sick. Lunch is going to be hard. It’s the first time I’ll have to face Ben and Beth alone since that first day. I head to my locker after 3rd hour, to put away my stuff before lunch. As soon as I open the door, a paper falls in front of my feet. It’s Joe’s handwriting, so I open it right there. ‘I know Jake isn’t here today, so if you want company for lunch, I’ll be at the back table.’ I smile, and for some reason, I get butterflies in my stomach. I start walking to the cafeteria and pass Beth and Ben. She kisses him, trying to make me jealous. For the first time, they aren’t bothering me. I walk right past like I don’t even notice them.
I had a big breakfast this morning, so I’m not that hungry. I waste some time looking at the a-la carte line, waiting for Joe to go sit down. When I finally spot him, I walk slowly, stopping to talk to some other friends on my way to his table. I get close and he waves. Those butterflies are back again. I keep thinking ‘I can’t like him…he’s my friend.’ Even though I think I might be starting to like him. I sit down next to him and a few of his friends sit down. The boys all give him a funny look and gesture to me. He shrugs and looks down at his food. We settle into a light, sort of awkward conversation. When Joe finishes eating, he asks if I want to walk with him. As we walk away, all his friends whistle and yell, making both of us blush. He flips them off and walks faster.
When we get out of ear shot, he apologizes for his friends being rude.
“They still think of you as Ben’s girl…but I don’t.” He explains.
“I know you don’t. I don’t care what they think…but if you don’t think of me as Ben’s girl, then what do you think about me?” I question him.
“I guess you could say I think of you as my friend…” He trails off.
“Oh, Okay. So, where are we going anyway?” I change the subject so he can’t see that I was hoping his answer would be different.
“To the track, nobody will be there and I figured we could finish our game.” He answers.
Once we get up on the track, Joe smirks at me and takes off running. I chase after him, and catch him quicker than he thought. We race around for awhile, and soon fall onto some old wrestling mats that are laying around. He looks at me and starts our game of 20 questions right where we left off the night before. Soon, we hear the bell ring and go to our lockers to get everything for Spanish.
Our note isn’t what I expected. Joe asks if we can hang out today, but I have to tell him no. I explain that Jess is coming over and that she’ll get mad at me if I ditch her to hang out with him.
‘Bring her with, I’ll bring my friend Jason.’
‘I don’t think she’d like that…’
‘Just ask her and call me later…please’
‘Why?’
‘Because I really want to see you tonight…I mean…I want something to do tonight, and I have fun hanging out with you.’
‘Okay…I’ll ask her. If she doesn’t want to, we can always do something Sunday.’
‘Even if she won’t, will you call me tonight? I thought of a really good question.’
‘Okay, but I can’t stay on the phone long.’
‘K.’
I get to my English class and make a mad dash for Court. We have got to talk about what Joe said! She says she thinks he likes me, but I don’t believe her. I guess I’ll have to get a second opinion. Instead of throwing away the note, I fold it up and put it in my pocket to show Jess later. The rest of class was kind of a blur. All I could think about was the fact that Joe said he wanted to see me tonight. School cannot end soon enough.
After school, and what seemed like the longest bus ride ever, I do my homework. The phone rings about halfway through, it’s Jess. She called to tell me she’s going to be later than she thought tonight, because her mom has to work late. I immediately call Joe and ask him to meet me at the park, and of course he accepts my invitation. I finish up my homework and for the first time since Joe and I started hanging out, I do my makeup like I would for a date. I leave a note for Mom or Jess, since she has a key, whoever gets there first and take the short bike ride to the park.
When I ride up, Joe has a friend with him. He introduces himself as Jason and says he was hoping to meet my friend. I explain that she’s running late but she’ll be around later. That’s when Dad pulls up. He calls me over to the car, which of course, is the cop car. He tells me Mom has to work late, so I’m on my own for dinner and that my little brother, Chris is staying at Grandma’s. I walk back down the hill to the boys with a smile on my face. They don’t look too happy though.
“Your Dad’s a cop?” Joe asks, sounding shocked.
“Step-Dad, and yea, he is…but I have an idea.” I reply.
“What’s that?” He questions with a smirk. I think he knows what I’m thinking.
“Well, my Mom is working late, and obviously Dad’s going to work. My little brother is going to be gone for the night, so I have the house to myself. Want to come over?” I explain.
Jason smirks at Joe and says “I’ll head home if you want.”
“No, you can come too. Jess will be there in a half hour or so and she wanted to meet you.” I quickly stop them from leaving me all alone in a house with Joe. I’ve heard the stories from other girls at school. I’m not ready to be that alone with a boy.
“Oh, well then in that case, if Joe’s going, I’m going.” Jason replies.
“So, are you coming?” I ask Joe with a shy smile.
“Sure. Where to?” He finally accepts the invitation.
“Follow me boys.” I answer as I jump back on my bike.
Once we get back to my house, I get us all something to drink and let the dog out. I turn on the TV, and sit next to Joe, directing Jason to the chair. We sit and flip stations until we find a movie that Joe heard was funny. Jess finally shows up about halfway through the movie. When she walks in, with the dog and sees the boys, she gives me a nervous smile and says we need to talk…NOW in the bedroom. I reluctantly get off the couch, Joe had his arm around me, and follow her to my room.
“What?” I ask her, kind of annoyed.
“Are you insane? There is 2 guys in the house and no one is home!” She pulls out that ‘big sister’ tone again.
“It’s just Joe. We’re just friends, and Jason is here for you.” I reply, trying to reel her in with the option of a cute guy.
“Was he the one in the chair?” She questions.
“Yea…why would I sit with the guy that wants to meet you?” I laugh at her.
“Fine, but they better leave before Mom gets home. She’ll kill us if she finds out.” She agrees to it.
We come back out and apologize. I go back to my seat next to Joe, and Jess pulls another chair up, closer to Jason. We finish the movie, and find another one. That’s when Mom calls. She’s going to be home in about 20 minutes, and wants to know what we made for dinner. We rush the guys out of the house, and throw some chicken nuggets and fries in the microwave, so Mom thinks it was just us here all night.
After Mom gets home, she looks at Jess and I weird. While she eats dinner, she’s watching us like a hawk. I can’t help but think ‘She knows…I’m so grounded!’ But, she never says anything. She just comes in the living room and watches TV with us for a while then tells us she is going to bed, and not to stay up too late. I can’t believe we got away with it. At about 10:30 though, the phone rings. I literally jump over Jess to get to it before she does. Just like I hoped, it’s Joe.
“Hey…sorry it’s so late, but I wanted to tell you something.” Joe starts our now nightly conversation.
“It’s alright. On the weekends, Mom doesn’t care about the phone ringing until like midnight. What’s up?” I ask.
“I had a lot of fun tonight. It was cool to get to just hang out with you. Oh, and Jay really likes Jess. He wants to hang out with her tomorrow if she’s not busy.” He replies.
“Well, we were going to stay at the house, and have a girl’s day. Hold on. Let me ask her if she wants to…” I cover the phone and tell Jess what Joe said about Jason. She practically squeals that she’s totally up for hanging out tomorrow.
I giggle into the phone, “She said that would be fun, but she doesn’t want to ditch me.”
“How about we all meet at the park, and they can do their thing, while we do ours?” He suggests.
“We have a thing?” I quickly retort.
“Well, kind of.” He laughs, “We do spend every day after school together and at least 20 minutes on the phone every night.”
“Okay…you have a point.” I giggle again, “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think we were flirting…or maybe even dating…” I let my sentence trail off on purpose. Trying to see how he feels about it.
“Who knows, maybe we are.” He replies.
I giggle again, “Last time I checked, I didn’t have a boyfriend.”
“Well, I don’t have a girlfriend either, but flirting is kind of fun. And you did a lot of it today.” He calls me out.
“I wasn’t flirting…just being nice. I was nervous having you guys in the house without Mom around.” I explain.
“Uh-huh…Sure.” He teases.
“Seriously…but anyway, what time do you want to meet tomorrow?” I change the subject.
“How about noon-ish?” He proposes.
“Sounds good. We’ll see you then.” I answer, trying to avoid talking about boyfriends or flirting anymore.
“Okay, and just for the record, you were flirting a little.” I can hear the smirk in his answer.
“Was not. I have to go though, Jess wants to talk.” I try again to get off the phone.
“Okay….then I guess I’ll talk to you tomorrow…” He trails off.
“Alright. Something’s bothering you…what is it?” I ask.
“I can’t talk about it right now…can we walk, just us tomorrow and talk?” He explains.
“Yea, I guess that would be okay.” I answer.
“Okay. Then I can’t wait until tomorrow. See you then. Good night.” He says quickly and hangs up.
I hang up and start to wonder what he wants to talk about. Jess pats the seat next to her on the couch. I sit with her and try to watch TV, but I’m too distracted. I finally get up and head to bed. I guess I’ll figure it out tomorrow.

Jess and I wake up extra early, especially for a Saturday. We have to shower, and look perfect for today. The guys made it sound like an almost date. The two of us spend the next 2 hours in the bathroom, trying on tons of clothes and different kinds of makeup. Eventually, Mom comes in and asks what we’re doing.
“Going to the park.” I quickly answer, holding the door halfway open so she can’t see the makeup and hair stuff on the counter.
“That’s a lot of makeup for a day at the park. Are you meeting someone there?” She asks, with an annoyingly knowing smile.
“Just some friends.” I reply.
“Oh, just tell her…she already knows.” Jess says from behind me.
“She’s right…I do. So what’s his name?” Mom smiles at me again.
“UGH! Mom, he’s just a friend. His name is Joe, and Jess’s new friend’s name is Jason.” I answer her, annoyed with both of them.
She laughs, “Okay. Would you like some help with the makeup situation? The counter looks pretty destroyed.”
“Please!” Jess and I beg in unison.
After Mom helps us get our hair and makeup just right, we rush to the bedroom to find the perfect outfit. Jess goes with a pair of shorts, a black t-shirt, and flip flops. I decide on a pair of jeans that are a little too low, a green tank top with a white button up over it, and sandals. Now that we feel pretty, and are going to be fashionably late, we can leave. I hop on my bike, and Jess borrows Mom’s. When we finally get there, the guys are waiting by the edge of the woods for us.
“Hurry! I want to show you something.” Joe yells at me as I put my bike up.
“We’re coming.” I yell back.
“No, just you. You owe me a walk, and I know you don’t like the woods, but I promise nothing will happen. Jay wants to talk to Jess.” He answers.
I’m kind of scared to be alone with him, but Jess tells me I’ll be fine and if I need her to just scream really loud. I walk down to the woods and Jess heads to the slide with Jay.
“Where are we going” I ask Joe, in a small, scared voice.
“It’s a surprise. Just trust me. You’ll like it, I promise.” He answers with a smile.
“Alright.” I say, grabbing his arm.
We start walking along the path that leads into the woods. We walk in complete silence for a while. I’m still holding Joe’s arm when he turns and smiles at me.
“What?” I demand.
“Nothing…I just didn’t know you were a cuddler when you’re scared.” He retorts.
“I’m not cuddling. This is just…..insurance. In case I get lost.” I try to sound like I’m not scared.
“Whatever.” He laughs at me.
We keep walking, further and further into the woods. Then Joe looks at me and says “Do you trust me?”
“That depends…why do I need to?” I ask back.
“What I wanted to show you isn’t on the path, but I know how to get back.” He explains.
“You promise you’re not going to get me lost?” I question.
“I promise.” He reassures me.
“Let’s go then.” I reply, squeezing his arm tighter.
We step off the path and he pulls my arm off him so he can move some branches. Then he turns around and grabs my hand instead. He leads me through the woods to a huge tree. The tree has some planks of wood nailed to the side that form a ladder. The ladder leads up to a platform. Joe starts to climb up, and waves for me to follow. We make it to the platform and he turns back towards the park.
“Cool isn’t it?” He asks.
I can see everything from up here. The path that leads back to the park, and the park itself. Then I see Jess and Jay on the swings. Jay has Jess’s chain in his hand, pulling her closer to him. She looks up at him and says something, then he leans down and kisses her. I blush and look at Joe.
“Oh…I don’t think we were supposed to see that.” He says, surprised.
“I don’t think so either.” I reply, giggling.
“What is so funny?” He asks.
“It’s just that they just met yesterday, and we’ve been talking for like forever.” I answer “Jess isn’t usually like that with boys.”
“Oh. Wait, does that mean you want me to kiss you?” He looks confused.
I giggle again. “No, I mean…I don’t know. But we should probably head back before they start to wonder where we went.” I explain.
“Oh, Okay. Let’s go then. I’ll go down first in case you fall. I don’t want you to get hurt.” He answers, sounding kind of upset.
We climb down the ladder, and I accidentally on purpose slip on the second to last step. Joe catches me, and I realize that I like it when his arms are around me. I blush and start to walk back towards the path. He smiles and grabs my hand, pulling me in the right direction. When we finally get back to the path, I get up the nerve to talk to him again.
“So, yesterday you said you had a really good question, and you said you wanted to talk today. Where should we start? I ask.
“Oh yea…I forgot about that.” He answers. “It wasn’t really that good of a question actually.”
“Okay, then what did you want to talk about?” I try to keep a conversation going.
“Nothing important. It was just something Jay said that made me think last night, but never mind.” He quickly replies.
We walk the rest of the path in silence and Joe lets go of my hand. Both of us are thinking about seeing Jay and Jess kiss, and wondering if we want to do the same thing. When we get back to them Jess gives me a huge smile and pulls me away for a minute.
“He asked me to be his girlfriend!” She squeals.
“Oh…well congratulations, I guess.” I reply, trying to sound happy for her.
Jess runs back over to Jay and they start talking like Joe and I usually do on the swings. I don’t see him anywhere, so I start to walk back to my bike. When I get there, Joe is grabbing his from our spot.
“Oh, I didn’t hear you walk up. I figured you and Jess wanted some girl time, so I’m going to head home.” He explains.
“Okay…if you want to. She kind of ditched me for Jay though. Apparently they’re dating now.” I answer.
“I heard the same thing from Jay.” He replies “I hope it works out for them.”
“Yea, me too…” I trail off, feeling the tension between us. “Can I at least have a hug before you leave?”
He looks surprised that I asked, but leans in and hugs me anyway. Then he grabs his bike waves at me as he rides away. After about 5 minutes of watching Jay and Jess, I yell down the hill that I’m going home and that I’ll leave the door open for her. She smiles and waves me off.
I don’t hear from Joe for the rest of the weekend. Jess goes home Sunday night, and after she leaves, I go straight to bed. Mom comes in to make sure I’m okay, and I tell her I don’t feel good. When I wake up Monday morning, I’m nervous about going to school. I don’t want to see Joe after how awkward things were on Saturday. I fake sick and Mom lets me stay home.
That afternoon around 4, I decide to call Court and ask what homework I missed that day. I need something to do. She gives me the homework list from Spanish and English. Then she tells me about the huge breakup between Ben and Beth that I missed in the main hallway during second hour. After that she tells me that Joe was asking about me, and said if she talked to me to tell me to call him. I tell her I don’t want to talk to anyone because I’m still not feeling too well and that I’ll see him tomorrow anyway. She tells me to feel better and we hang up. I go and start the homework that Court told me was due tomorrow. Mom comes home from work and makes chicken noodle soup for dinner. We are both hoping that it will make me feel better. I tell her I still don’t feel good and I’m going to bed early. Joe never calls.
For the next few weeks at school, Joe and I don’t talk. Things are still weird between us, and neither one of us understands why. A few weeks turns into a few months, then finally I can’t stand it anymore. I miss my friend, I miss talking to him. I write an apology note, and slide it into his locker right before 3rd hour. I hope that I’ll get an answer at lunch or in Spanish.
At lunch, I am too nervous to eat. I go sit on the stairs that lead up to the track instead of in the cafeteria. I want to be alone, in case Joe decides to ignore me. I don’t want my friends to notice. Ten or fifteen minutes go by, and I hear footsteps coming down the hall. I poke my head around the corner and see Joe walking towards me. He smiles and asks if the other side of my stair is taken.
“Nope. I was hoping you’d come find me.” I answer with a smile.
“I just came to give you this.” He hands me a folded note. “I’ll see you in Spanish…oh, and your old seat will be open if you want it back.” He says and walks away.
I wait until I make it to the corner stall in the bathroom, so no one can read over my shoulder. I can’t help but smile when I read the note.
‘I was really surprised to see a note from you in my locker. I thought you hated me, or something. Jay told me you never ask about me, or anything when you’re with him and Jess. Anyway, I kind of missed you too. I always have fun talking to you. And you were the first person I ever showed the old tree house to. Maybe we can go back when it warms up outside again. Hope to get a note back soon. –Joe’
I rush to my locker and grab my stuff for Spanish early. I’m waiting by the door when the teacher comes and opens the door. She smiles but doesn’t say anything when I sit next to Joe’s usual seat instead of the new one I picked out. Everyone finally comes in and Court stops and asks why I’m not sitting by her. I tell her a little lie and say I got in trouble for my grade in this class and I have to be able to pay attention. Then Joe sits down. I wait until Court turns her back and slip him my return note. He reads it and smiles at me. A few minutes after class starts, he slips a piece of paper under my notebook.
‘Can I call you tonight?’ Is all it says.
‘Sure…same number.’
‘Alright. Talk to you then.’
I ignore Court yelling for me as I walk to my locker. I’ll talk to her in English. Right now, I’m just happy that I have my friend back. I take my time walking to class. Court catches up to me about halfway there and walks the rest of the way with me. I don’t tell her about the notes or that Joe is supposed to call me tonight. I want him all to myself. All this time away from him made me realize that I really like him. I mean like boyfriend like him, not just friend like him. I don’t want to hear her tell me how to flirt with him or anything, so I just leave him out of the conversation.
Joe calls me that night, just like he said. We spend an hour on the phone, catching up on everything. Then we start talking about what we’re doing over summer break. It’s only a few weeks away. Then I tell him my news, that I’m super excited about.
“I’m switching schools next year. I’m going where Jess goes.” I tell him.
“Oh…well, I guess that’s exciting.” He replies, sounding sad.
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
“It’s just…we just started talking again and now you’re leaving. It kind of sucks.” He explains.
“I’m just switching schools. I’m not moving. We can still hang out after school, and all summer.” I try to make him feel better.
“Oh! That makes it sound a little bit better.” He answers.
I giggle. “Why? Would you miss me if I moved?” I ask him.
“Yea, I really would.” He replies.
“Oh…I don’t know what to say…” I trail off.
He laughs and asks if I want to have lunch with him tomorrow. I tell him that sounds fun, and we hang up. I feel like I’m floating as I’m getting ready for bed. I think he might like me, and I’m excited.
The next two weeks are just like it used to be between us. Every chance we get, Joe and I are talking or passing notes. We spend a few hours together every day after school, and call each other every night. The end of the year is right around the corner, and I don’t want to start the summer without a boyfriend. I tell Court about it in English, and she says she’ll take care of it. That kind of scares me, but I leave it alone.
A few days later, Court comes running up to me right before lunch.
“I can’t talk long, I’ll be late for class. Just remember I love you! See you at the pep rally!” She tells me and runs down the hall.
Now I’m really scared. I hope she didn’t tell Joe what I said. I walk to lunch and go straight to the table. Joe sits next to me, and we talk about the usual stuff. ‘Phew! Court didn’t say anything to him’ I think to myself. Joe finishes his lunch and tells me to wait for him outside the gym so we can sit together. I head to the gym to wait.
I hear thundering footsteps coming up behind me, and turn to see who it is. Court and Lynn practically run into me. They both have huge smiles on their faces and won’t tell me why. That’s when I see Joe walking up, reading a note. The writing on the paper looks like mine as he gets closer, and that’s when I figure out what Court did. I blush, brighter than ever before, and run into the gym. I try to find a seat away from the girls and Joe, but they catch up to me and sit next to me. I can’t believe Courtney would do this to me. She wrote a note to Joe, pretending to be me, telling him how I feel about him. Joe scoots closer to me on the bleacher and taps me on the shoulder. I look up at him, mortified.
“Do you really want to be my girlfriend?” He asks with a giant smile on his face.
“Ummm…about that…I didn’t write that note.” I tell him.
“You didn’t?...It looks like your handwriting…” He answers, confused.
“Court wrote it….”I trail off.
“Oh…Well…Ummm….I don’t care who wrote it. Is it true?” He asks.
“Can I read it before I answer that?” I inquire.
“Sure.” He replies and hands me the note.
I read the whole thing, totally embarrassed that she would do this to me, and happy that she did at the same time. All of it is true, and I really do want to be his girlfriend. I hand him the note back.
“Yea, it’s true.” I finally answer his question.
“So, you’ll be my girlfriend?” He asks again.
“If that’s what you want…” I trail off, afraid that he doesn’t really want it.
“Why else would I call you all the time? I thought everyone knew that’s what I wanted.” He answers.
“Then…I guess I am.” I smile at him.
He gets a big smile on his face and grabs my hand. Court and Lynn were listening in, of course and they turn around and practically scream ‘AWWWW!’ I’m still too far in shock to care. I don’t remember any of the pep rally after that point. All I remember is holding Joe’s hand, and the walk to my locker. He stands there with me, on our last day of 8th grade. Finally my boyfriend, and I have to leave. He’s helping Court and I clean out our lockers, and when we finally finish he gives me a hug and says he’ll call me in a few hours. Court, being the annoying friend that she can be, turns and says ‘Really? You’re not going to kiss your girlfriend?’ Joe and I both blush, but just to shut her up, he pulls me in for another hug, tilts my chin up with his hand and quickly kisses me. I can’t stop smiling as I walk to the bus. This is officially the best way to end a school year!















I wake up early the next morning, with the sun. The birds are chirping right outside the window, and I love the sound. I can’t help but smile when I look over and see his head on my shoulder, arm wrapped around my waist. This is the most comfortable place in the world, but unfortunately, I have to wiggle out of his grip. I’m going dress shopping this morning. Time to find the last dress I’ll wear as a single woman!