Milo

II

I got home from the bus, fixing myself a bowl of cheerios and turning the television to a documentary about sea lions. Every time my phone went off, I grabbed it and checked the message hopefully, disappointed to not see his number on the screen.

In the last ten minutes of the film, though, when my spirit was just about crushed, I saw his number flash across the screen.

(515) 555-6734: "hey, it's milo from vocal music. wyd?"

My heart raced as I entered his contact, then I typed a reply as soon as I could.

"not much. watching a movie about sea lions. wbu?"

It took me a while to decide the perfect text, deleting and rewriting, but I felt good about the one I sent.

Milo: "Haha. just finished math hw, drinking sweet tea."

We texted for what seemed to be forever, making jokes and sending random emoticons until I checked the clock and noticed it was 10:00 pm. I switched the tv off of animal planet and texted him,

"Gotta go, need to get some sleep. See you tomorrow?"

Milo: "Yeah! :)"

My text ended up being a white lie, as I was tossing and turning all night thinking about him.

The next four days went by the same way Monday had. Boring class, Milo, boring class, boring class, Milo, boring class, boring class, boring class, home, texting. On Friday, I had grabbed a coke from the fridge and before I even sat down on the couch I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket.

Milo: "will you go out with me?"

I screamed. Literally. Out loud. If I wasn't home alone someone would have thought I had been murdered. My aluminum can of soft drink leapt out of my hands in shock. I texted back at light speed, ignoring the 5-minute reply rule.

"Of course!!!" three exclamation points in a row didn't even express my excitement.

Milo sent me a kissy face.

Dear lord.

✂