I never met an Eric I liked

It was two in the morning when the phone rang. Ellie knew it might be bad news about her great Aunt, but her mother brought her the house phone. It was Stacey, her old friend from eighth grade who moved to France.

Ellie was barely awake and didn't know what to say. They used to be best friends, but then Stacey moved with her parents and they hadn't kept in touch.

"Its been ages," Ellie blinked, trying to wipe the sleep from her eyes as she sat there in bed.

"Yeah, I know, I just wondered if your phone number had changed. Thought I'd chance it," Stacey told her.

"Not a lot has changed," Ellie assured her she was in the same house and the same people were around. Even Kyle. Of course, she said she didn't remember him.

"I bet you have a boyfriend now." Stacey shocked her, suddenly.

"Yeah, I guess I do." It just felt strange to say it. She never talked about boyfriends like Stacey did. It had never been a major issue to have a boyfriend. She was always the friend without a boyfriend. Yet she always had to do the boyfriend worship thing or Stacey would remark things to the nature that maybe Ellie didn't like boys at all.

"You guess?" Stacey laughed. "Reluctant Ellie, its not Roger, is it?"

"No," Ellie cringed at the thought of Roger. " no, you never met him. He's a grade a head of me, actually. Uh, his name is Eric." Why didn't she feel more comfortable talking about this? Was it possible to jinx it?

"I never met an Eric I liked," Stacey said seriously.

"What?"

"Just kidding," Stacey laughed. "Actually, I'm seeing a Todd and he's in college."

Leave it to Stacey to be in her own little world where the real men were. Her boyfriends were always something spectacular. She always had a way of making everything so much better. Todd had the perfect tan because he was a footballer, and he knew five languages.

"Cool." She listened to Stacey talk about him for another half hour. She thought of Rex. Some college boyfriend he'd be. It gave her a slight ache behind the eyes. Should she have made something up? What was so great about having a college boyfriend? Really? She was only going to be a sophomore in high school. Afterwards, when Ellie hung up, she said in a snide tone, "I never met a Todd I liked."

"What was that all about?" Her Mom was still up.

"Basically, a marathon commercial of how great her college boyfriend is." Ellie knew her Mom would tell her that she had to be thankful that her friend remembered her, but deep down Ellie knew it was the fact that Stacey had to rub it in that she had a college boyfriend, and Ellie was obviously behind the times with her high school boyfriend. Stacey also had her driver's license.

"Thank God, you don't have a college boyfriend," her mother then said. "I barely sleep as it is. I'd be worried sick."

Ellie couldn't help but smile, she bit her bottom lip.

She went back to bed then. She faintly remembered that night at their last sleepover in eighth grade before Stacey left. It was Stacey who had been with Roger, and she'd been so proud that knew exactly what Roger's penis looked like.

"Does it have a tattoo or something?" Ellie remembered giggling.

"No, its just huge." Stacey gasped.

Ellie took a deep breath, thinking Stacey assumed she'd be with Roger. Ellie cringed, again. How could she think that? Why would she?

Actually, Ellie was happy, all over happy as she squeezed her pillow, thinking of Eric. Stacey would never know it. She would never tell her anything about Eric. She liked keeping him a secret instead of making him out to be something so fabulous. Ellie doubted Stacey was that happy. Ellie wondered if she'd ever know who Stacey really was. Maybe Stacey didn't even know herself.