The Perfect Couple

1

"Did you see that pass? Isn't Alan sensational?" I screamed. I jumped to my feet, pulling my best friend Kim Harris along with me. "There was no way Liam could miss scoring. Alan practically put the ball in his hands."
"I'll admit it was a good pass, but the game isn't important. That's why they're playing it on a Friday afternoon instead of at night like most of the other games," Kim said. "We always beat Sunnydale." She shook off my hand and sat down.
"So what?" I retorted. "Alan still made a great play." I would have cheered some more, but everyone else had stopped and sat down, so I did, too. By now Kim was studying the new shade of polish on her nails, holding her hand this way and that to view it from all angles. "What do you think?" She inquired, arching a delicately penciled brow. "Is this colour too loud?"
"Loud?" I said. "Just because it's fire engine red? Of course not! It's about as drab as that shocking pink top you're wearing."
If I have something to say I usually blurt it right out, without resorting to sarcasm. But I was hurt and angry that Kim refused to share my excitement over Alan's play. I was always enthusiastic about anything that interested her from a new hairstyle to a new boyfriend. Well, she could admire her red nail polish all she wanted to. She wasn't going to drag a compliment out of me even though the bright colour did look terrific against her golden hair and china-blue eyes.
I was going to sulk for a while and not say anything, but after a few seconds I couldn't hold back. "You could at least admit that Alan is a great player," I said. "How many sophomores get to be quarterbacks?"
Kim checked the edges of her nails, testing for a rough spot. "I still say we didn't need that touchdown," she said absently. "So why didn't he let up a little bit? Some guys don't like to beat up on a weaker team."
"He plays with all his heart that's why he didn't let up," I informed her. " But you won't give him credit for anything, will you?" I was almost choking now, but I had enough breath left to get off one last shot. "You've at least got to admit he's the best looking, most exciting boy in school!" The instant I'd spoken the last words I clapped a hand over my mouth, but of course it was too late. "I mean," I stumbled on, "that he looks so great on the field so tall and graceful and his hair is so dark and shiny where it shows under his helmet. You had to notice how his teeth flashed when he smiled and jumped in the air after getting off that pass."
I hadn't meant to blurt out all that, although it was exactly what I was thinking. I'd only made the situation worse. Kim was staring at me, her blue eyes bigger than I'd ever seen them before.
"You're really stuck on him, aren't you?" She gasped. When I started to speak she held up a scarlet-tipped hand. "No, don't bother to deny it, Kelly Black, because I'm beginning to add things up. I've noticed how you look at Alan in the halls and the way you're always dragging his name into the conversation, but I thought it was because you're such a sports fan. But" she shook her head sorrowfully, as if she'd just learned that I'd contracted a serious, possibly fatal illness "Alan Rogers!" She lamented. "Why him, Kelly? Of all the boys in Bayside High, why him?"