Chapter 39 - Ready To Hear The Answer
"May I have your attention - Would Kelly Anderson please report to the office - Kelly Anderson to the office."
The nasally voice of Mrs. Gundlach, the school secretary, came over the loudspeakers just before the end of sixth hour. I smiled and looked up from my quiz, leaning over the side of my desk so that I could see out of the classroom door.
Kelly was right across the hall in French II. She emerged from the classroom with her books in her arms and saw me smiling at her. She cocked her head with a curious squint and silently mouthed, "What did you do?" I raised my eyebrows, frowned, and shrugged slowly, then replaced the expression with a wicked grin.
"Happy Valentine's Birthday, Kelly," Mrs. Dimarco said loudly from behind me, surprising and purposely embarrassing both of us. She did it good-naturedly. I could tell by the smirk on her face.
"Thank you, Mrs. Dimarco," Kelly said, blushing as my whole Physics class tried to look into the hall. She scooted quickly away.
A couple minutes later the bell rang, and I entered the hall to see Kelly coming towards me trying to balance a large glass vase with sixteen red roses in it, plus her books. I hurried over to her and took her books for her so she could focus on the flowers. The girls were starting to congregate already. Not just our friends, but quite a few girls in general crowded around to look at the bouquet.
"Dang, girl!" DJ proclaimed. "You must really know how to keep your woman happy to deserve those!"
Both Kelly and I went wide eyed at the comment, causing the crowd of females to laugh.
"DJ!" Kelly complained.
"That's my sister you're talking about!" Kristy scolded. She was holding three roses that were sold as part of a Student Council fundraiser.
"Hey!" I said, "who's sending you roses? I just got you one."
"The other two were anonymous," Kristy said as she looked at the roses. "I just assumed they were all from you."
I glanced at Mey while the girls were focussed on Kelly's bouquet and Kristy's roses. She was gently smiling and looking at Kristy. It broke my heart a little to see how Mey wanted Kristy to know she was loved, even if she would probably never know by whom. How frustrating it is, I thought, to be in love with someone and not be able to shout it from the rooftops.
The crowd around Kelly was in awe of the gratuitous display of stereotypical Valentine's Day gift giving. I guess most girls just love romance, even if it isn't their preferred flavor.
"I wish my boyfriend was romantic enough to send me a bouquet like that."
"All I got was a half dozen carnations."
"Aw, sixteen roses for her sixteenth birthday."
"I hope my boyfriend's paying attention."
Teachers started reminding us that the next bell was in less than two minutes, so everyone began to disperse.
"I'll grab your books, Kelly," Pixie said. "You'll have to bring your flowers to class. They'll never fit in your locker." She hurried away, leaving me to walk Kelly to her next class.
"Ani, you already got me that huge box of chocolates." Kelly was smiling, but as usual, she was worried about how much I had spent on her.
"It's my first Valentine's Day ever with a date, plus it's your birthday. You're doing me a favor by letting me make a big deal out of it."
YOU ARE READING
The Gods of Song and Poetry
Romance"Was that flirting? It kind of felt like flirting. No. Couldn't be. She just thinks the senior girl is cool, like all of my sister's other friends. I was just wishing it was flirting. She's the new girl, she's super cute, and she makes me feel reall...
