Electric Moonlight Shuffle

5. Communication Breakdown

It is 6 a.m. on Saturday morning.

I am at school.

If this isn't purgatory, I don't know what is.

Why am I here on this dewy dark morning?

Jamie Verona owes me big time.

But how did Jamie Verona rope me into coming to the prison I try to escape every day of my life on one of my two days free?? What scheme does he have cooked up now???

Great questions, Batman. Let me catch you up.

***

I'll keep this as quick and sweet as possible.

According to Jamie's midnight post-date phone-call last night, everything with Sage started off magical. I'll spare you the sappy deets, but here's the highlight reel, in case you care about that lovey-dovey bullshite:

1. One Jamie Verona, wearing a white button-down & his blonde hair perfectly gelled, shows up at the home of One Sage Henri, wearing a striped cotton sundress & her dark hair curled into a cloud. The excitement when Sage opens the door is palpable. Sage also wears "sparkly pink lipgloss" which reminds Jamie of Tinkerbelle. Jamie presents Sage with a wildflower bouquet. She loves it. She squeals.

2. On the drive to the carnival, they discover they are soul mates because they love the same music. (Rihanna, HAIM, Taylor Swift). (Yeah, him, Sage, and every other white girl in the tri-state area).

3. They walk under multi-colored fairy lights, holding hands. Sage smells like a dream.

4. They play the games in the stalls. When Flynn wins Sage a goldish, she applauds and names him Swedish.

5. They feed each other cotton candy. (Gross). Hers blue, his pink. When Sage laughs her mouth takes up her entire face.

6. They share a horse on the carousel. Sage wraps her arms around Jamie's waist, melts her warm cheek into his shoulder. The lights pulse around them, and the world blurs out. Jamie turns, they stare into each other's eyes, and it is magical. They almost kiss, but Jamie gets nervous, looks away.

7. They ride the Wonder Wheel, even though Sage is afraid of heights. She nestles up next to Jamie, squeezing his hand in her lap. Then: They're suspended at the top of the Wonder Wheel, high enough to stick their hands through the clouds. The whole city beneath them ripples, an expansive electric ocean: all the lights, all the lit-up rides. Up here, it's like outer space: stars, fireflies twinkling, a fingernail moon. Jamie leans in. Fireworks. (No, literally—someone sets off fireworks). The kiss is disrupted and they watch fireworks like supernovas light up the sky.

And then, they come down. And then, they walk back to the car. And then, it's time for THE BIG MOMENT. (THE KISS).

~~Now to understand what comes next, ask me how my Friday night went??~~

Wren, how did your Friday night go??

Amazing!!

You're probably thinking: So your date with Flynn went well??

HA! ABSOFUCKINGLUTLEY NOT.

Surely you remember how, when Jamie tried to set up me and Flynn, I was not really into it.

By the time Friday night rolled around, I was really not into it.

I texted Flynn at 6:51 (69 minutes before we were supposed to meet—I'm an actual 12-year-old boy). I said: hey ive got a migraine, all of a sudden. raincheck?