Erin

Chemistry

"So, Erin, tell me a little about yourself." It was after school, and Tyler and I were walking home together, since we lived sort of near each other.

"Well," I started, "I like... umm..." I realized my only hobbies were reading and social networking. I know it's a gifted school, but really! I can't tell a guy I like that I like to read for fun!

Wait, what? Did I just say I like Tyler? I can't like him! I have a boyfriend! What am I doing?

"Lost in dreamland, Erin?" he laughed. I quickly snap back to reality. "I, um, I guess I like to, you know, um, hang out, with my, uh, friends," I stammer. And by "friends" I meant David. Why am I so bad at talking to people?

"Me too, Erin," he says as he turns away down the street. He's said my name a lot in this conversation. What does that even mean? Does he like me? I push the thought out of my head. My life is complicated enough as it is.

"Well, this is my street, so I guess I'll see you tomorrow." He walks away down the street, calling out "Bye, Erin!" before he vanishes from my view. I'm walking by myself now, just me and my thoughts. That's the way I like it. All by myself.

-

As I arrive at my house, my first thought is, I need to call up David. I plop my backpack down on the counter and dig through it looking for my phone. I pull out the science worksheet from Mrs. Buckley's class. It's crumpled, and I place it face down on the table to smooth it out. Oh, I realize. The worksheet has questions on the back.

I grab a pencil and get to work answering the questions. Surprisingly not that hard; only a minimal amount of Google searching, despite the fact that we had a teacher that didn't teach us. After I'm done, I drop the sheet back into my backpack and notice my cellphone lying on the bottom. I'll call him later, I think. I move on, into the kitchen. I make some microwave popcorn, thinking about Tyler the whole time. Why do I keep thinking about him? I don't know. I eat the popcorn, thinking about how nice Tyler was to have offered me help finding my classroom, how kind he was to show me around, and how he always tried to be near me. I know he likes me. the more I thought about it, the more I knew.

I thought about Tyler as I went to sleep that night. And in that moment where my brain was almost fully deactivated, that moment just before I was dragged into dark, dreamy sleep, I was suddenly, shockingly, yanked awake.

I forgot to call David.

Now I'm concerned. I don't know why I'm thinking about Tyler more than David. I mean, David and I have been together for over a year. And up until a month or so ago, we had a really good, solid relationship. So how did it get so distant, so fast?

The fact that we no longer attend the same school is probably a factor. And then there's this whole new guy thrown in the mix. I bury my head in my pillow. I need to get some sleep. I can't worry about guys, my life is complicated enough as it is.