In between: Failing at avoiding each other, still, melatonin making me late to school, and too much contact, again.
Monday
The rest of that weekend is spent working on an English essay and reading, before and after the interruption. It snows a little, so I don't see him again.
When I get to the café in the morning, I see him already in there talking to a friend and having coffee. He doesn't see me, so I look away quickly and go to mine and Carrie's table.
She's not there yet, probably in line, so I just look at my phone so I don't look at him again.
"Hey you," I hear her.
"Hey," I smile as she sits.
She splits her muffin in half and slides half to me on a napkin as I sip my coffee.
"Okay, tell me about therapy," She says when she's all settled with her muffin, banana, and tea.
"I talked about second and third grade," I reply, smiling.
"And...?" She laughs.
I laugh, "I talked about how we became friends," I started.
"You mean, when he hit you with a stick?" She laughs.
"That's the one," I laugh.
"What else?" She smiles.
"I talked about how me, him, and his sister all became friends, the time he showed me his boxers, how we accepted and supported each other, etc.," I explain.
"Wait," She says, mouth full of muffin.
I laugh, "Yeah?"
She swallows, "He showed you his boxers??"
I laugh, "Yeah, when we were in third grade."
"You have never told me that," She laughs.
"I honestly kind of forgot myself until I started talking about third grade," I reply.
"Surrrre," She laughs.
I laugh.
"Anything else?" She smiles.
"He told me I was his best friend as a kid," I look up, immediately smiling.
"Did he?" She smiles.
"Well, at the end of my explanation, I was going on about how close we got in third grade and how much we bonded. And I said 'he became my best friend', because he was," I smile, "And then later, he gets my attention screaming out his window at me, and told me that I was his best friend, too," I kind of laugh, but smile.
"Aw," She smiles.
I smile, finishing my half of muffin.
"He really screamed out the window at you?" She laughs.
I laugh, "Yeah, real romantic, huh?"
She laughs, "Totally."
When I'm at my locker before math, after Carrie heads off to the bathroom, I can smell him as he comes up to me.
"Is it against the rules if I say 'hi' to you?" I hear him.
I grab my math notebook and look at him, he's smiling.
"I don't know, probably," I laugh.
He smiles, "Hi, Jennifer."
YOU ARE READING
The boy next door
General FictionThey were best friends and like childhood sweethearts growing up. As they went through the awkward middle school stage, they kind of lose touch. But when they get to high school, they realize that they are kind of still sweethearts, in a way. And in...
