About a Girl

Chapter 2: Secretly Friends

The next week, I didn't sit with Kurt at lunch, but we'd pass notes in the hallway, when no one was looking. My friends didn't even talk to me about him after the day I met him. It was a secret, but we were already becoming friends

I didn't know what he really thought of me, though. He had a biting tone a lot when I actually talked to him. But he really seemed to appreciate my interest in him, his likes, and dislikes.

On Wednesday he sent me a note during social studies. It read-

"Hey Stefanie, would you like to sit with me at lunch tomorrow? I can introduce you to my friends if you want. Nod if yes. -K. D. C."

I looked at him and nodded, then stuffed the note into my jean pocket.

Of course, I had to tell my friends. "I'm going to eat lunch with Kurt Cobain tomorrow," I explained to Norma and Helen as we packed our backpacks.

"Him? Why him?" asked Helen. She was a usually quiet redheaded girl.

I tried to make up a credible response. "I'm tutoring him in social studies. He needs help. Mr. Bradford said so. He asked me... after class."

"Obviously you," teased Norma. "You're half-Asian, so you're naturally smart."

"But remember- if Kevin asks, tell him I'm helping Kurt study... because I am." God, I didn't want Kevin to get jealous, even if I didn't have a crush on Kurt.

The next day, I did exactly as planned. I got my lunchbox and sat down right next to Kurt, then got a book out from my bag to make it look like we were actually studying. "Hey," I said.

"What's the book for?" he asked coldy, immediately followed by a smile. I examined everything about him. He had pretty long hair and was really thin and lanky, though not that tall. He had dimples when he smiled, and a particularly large one in his chin. But what stood out the most were his eyes, the color of the Pacific Ocean on a clear day. He wasn't as good-looking as Kevin, but he had the potential to become really hot as an adult.

"My friends... well, I told them that I'm tutoring you in social studies." At least I didn't lie to him. 

"Okay. Stefanie, I'd like you to meet Chris Novoselic," he announced, gesturing towards a brown-haired guy that practically dwarfed Kurt.

"Hi," Chris said quietly. "You're Stefanie?"

I nodded. "You've seen me, haven't you?"

"Yeah," he replied.

I was scared of what people thought, but I tried to be nice. I knew that a lot of people assumed that Kurt was gay because one of his friends was, and they bullied him for that.

But I really liked talking to him about whatever we wanted to. Usually he'd express his desires to start a band with Chris and make it big, which I found really interesting. He told me that he liked singing and playing guitar.

"That's so cool!" I said. "What kind of music would you play?"

"Alternative stuff," he responded. "Punk, I guess. What do you want to do?"

I didn't really know the answer. Ever since my dad, who'd taught me how to paint, died in 1981, I'd kinda lost sight of my dreams. "Something along the lines of art, maybe?"

"Sweet! Art is so cool. I love drawing. What kind of art do you like?"

"Um, I like painting. And designing stuff. Yeah. But I still don't know yet."

"That's awesome," he proclaimed. "Never lose sight of that."

By the time Thanksgiving Break arrived, Kurt and I had really hit it off. Not romantically, but just as friends. And as far as everyone else was concerned, I was just his tutor. But still, I couldn't help wondering how everything would turn out. I didn't want to be torn between the friends I'd known since freshman year and this social outcast I was somehow drawn to.