Three Days to Fall in Love

The Assembly

1 day

"He asked you to go to a party?" Alexis whisper-shouts.

"Yeah."

"And you said . . ."

"Sure." I shrug my shoulders. The offer he made was no big deal. To any other girl, it probably wouldn't be, but to me it is. I act like it isn't.

"You've never been to a party. You've never really gone out on a date before. You got asked out by the dude you like. I don't know if this is a bad thing or a good thing," she laughs.

"It's a good thing. Duh." I tug on the black cap that fits snugly on my head.

"Oh my gosh." Alexis stares past me.

"What?" I ask trying to turn around. Alexis hits my shoulder. "What?" I ask again.

"He's coming over here," she whispers, her eyes wide. "What're we going to do?"

"Why are you worried?" I ask her. Shouldn't I be the one freaking out right now?

"Oh yeah, huh? You're the one who likes -" Alexis puts on a very fake smile.

"Likes what?" I hear Parker ask from behind me.

"Chocolate," she replies. She turns to me. "So make sure it's a white cake, hon. I'm going to go chat with some losers over there. Care to join?"

"I'm fine," I say. I watch her walk over to a group of friends and they instantly begin to laugh.

"You're baking a cake?" Parker asks. I turn towards him and shake my head. "Then what was that about?"

"She's a bit crazy," I explain. "The last time I tried to bake something, I almost burnt my house down."

Parker chuckles. "Tonight," he asks, "can I pick you up at seven?"

"Seven's good," I say, trying to act nonchalant.

"Great."

We awkwardly stand their for what feels like an eternity, but is really only a mere second. Parker turns and looks to his group of friends he must've been talking to earlier. Oliver is the only one looking back. He starts to pucker his lips, but Parker turns back around, his face heated. He looks up at me and smiles softly.

"Um," Parker begins. "Do you have any plans for tomorrow?"

"Other than to graduate? No." I smile at him and try to hide the fact that I'm totally embarrassed by my lame joke. "Do you?"

"Just a family dinner. After graduation. Wouldn't want to miss that," he says. His joke is actually funny and it works a laugh out of me.

"I might actually skip the ceremony." My tone is serious and for a second, Parker believes me. I break the seriousness with a small grin. "I don't know if I look that good in this thing," I gesture to my gown.

"You look great in it," Parker whispers. His cheeks redden and he coughs while looking away.

"Thank you," I say. I pull at the cap on my head again.

Parker turns back around. "Here's what I know about you," he says. "I know that you can't bake, your best friend is strange, and that you look good in a cap and gown. What else?"

"I graduated at the top of our class," I mumble. "I'm an only child, my favorite color is purple, I've never had a cavity, I like to drink tea. There's a lot about me that you don't know."

"I already know that you have no siblings and that your favorite color is purple," Parker says.

"Really? How?" I ask.

"You told me when we were younger. I didn't forget about you, Quinn," he admits.

"I didn't forget about you either. You have two younger sisters and your favorite color is blue." I smile sheepishly at the ground.

"Why did we ever stop talking?" he asks. "Do you know?"

"You cha-"

I'm cut off by our school's activities director, Miss. Reynolds. "Okay! Let's get lined up! You don't know the exact order, but you do know that our valedictorian and salutatorian are in the front! Get moving!"

Alexis runs up to me. "Perks of having a smart best friend. We get to walk first. Let's go." She grabs me by the arm and drags me to the front of the crowd. We line up in rows of two.

This is just the award assembly. A place where they recognize the significant scholars so they won't have to do it on our actual graduation night. Takes too much time.

"Are you ready, Lex?" I ask her.

"No."

"I just hope I won't trip."

"You won't," Parker says from behind me.

I turn to see him and his friend, Oliver. They're standing right behind us, meaning one of them graduated as second in our class.

I turn back around and smile, knowing that the old Parker is still right there, behind me.

-

Hmm. Embarrassed Parker. Smart Parker. Cute Parker.
Thanks for reading.