Cherry Tree

Chapter 7

Catherine's POV
3 weeks later

Journal entry 6

It's been 3 since I discovered Jake. We have been getting really close through these days. He's told and showed me so much. Almost a week ago, he told me about his family. It's really sad how his family died in that fire. I feel really bad now that I think of it. I thought of how terrible my life is. Well, I wouldn't say terrible, but it's not a normal life. I didn't have any friends, my family doesn't have as much money as most families, and my only life was really the library. But when I compare my life to his, I live in paradise. He hasn't really talked to anybody, he needs to work for everything, he can't get a job, he can't go to school, he doesn't have a family, and his real home burned down. Wow, I do live in paradise.

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I now have a daily schedule. I used to just do whatever I wanted when I wanted, but now I stay organized. Every day, I wake up at 8, get ready for the day, get homeschooled from 10 to 2, go see Jake until dinner (usually around 6), eat, do other stuff that I feel like doing, and go to bed. Sometimes my schedule gets messed by either my parents, or going to the library.

So, today after school I went to Jake's like usual. When I walked through the door, he seemed really excited. He was standing up kind of doing a little dance/ swinging back and forth thing. He stood there looking at me with a wide grin.

I gave him a look that kind of said 'seriously' and he cleared his throat. Jake told me to come sit down so I did. He seemed to be shaking a bit nervously. He seemed to be having a little argument in his head by how his expressions keep changing.

I just sat there kind of awkwardly. I decided to get his attention, so I moved to put myself in a more comfortable position and bumped him a bit in the process. He shook his head, seeming to be getting out of his train of thought. "Sorry, I was just thinking. I have something I need to tell you."

"What is it?" I ask.

He seems to be getting nervous again. It takes about a minute to answer. "I uh, umm, would, um, you, uh..."

I look at him funny and say, "Yeah, uh, spit, uh, it, uh, out!" I said the "Uh"'s a bit more dramatically than he did. I laugh a bit. But when I see his serious face, I all of a sudden stop. "I got all ears." I say, pointing to my ears.

His confidence seems boosted up as he asked, "Will you go on a date with me?"

I gasped a lot louder than I thought I did. This was not what I was expecting.

After seeing my reaction, he adds, "Well, it's just I've seen you for almost a month now and I..."

I cut him off and say, "Yes! Of course I will!"

Jake smiles and leans forward. Once he does, I do too. My first kiss. I swear I felt sparks and butterflies. What made it more special is that I think it was his first kiss also. Since we both don't know what it was like to kiss someone, it just turns out to be short and sweet.

"That." I said. "Was amazing."

He nodded and said, "Friday night work out for you?"