"I'm not that awful am I?" Junie wanted to know. She recalled how Maddie laid down the law to both of them that night over pie and coffee. It was just wrong that Darry would want to know an eighth-grader. Of course, the only person she could think to discuss this with was Amy at lunch. "I mean. My cousin made it sound so bad. Darry is only a Sophomore."
Amy of course, didn't say much. She never said much. She played with the pudding, not letting herself have one bite.
"What's wrong with you?" Junie looked at her wide-eyed.
"Nothing." But Amy was being distant.
"How was your Halloween?"
"Not bad," she said. "I handed out candy at home." Actually, her dad worked in the City and she always went straight to the library after school. He would pick her up usually a little before five. Junie and Amy usually hung out. If there were ever any hang-ups with her dad then she would come home with Junie.
"Sounds horrible," Junie could hardly wait to tell her about Darry. "I loved Halloween! It was so good." She grinned. "I met a boy at the youth center and we..well, it felt like we spent a whole week together, you know." Oh, she could hardly look at her plate. She only wanted to think of her night with Darry.
They'd started the night in the game room at the Youth Center. That's where she first noticed him. He was having trouble with foosball so she showed him a trick and the rest was history as soon as he smiled at her. Before she knew it, he got her a hotdog. Of course, ketchup squirted on her top and he said it looked like blood. More laughter.
OK, somebody should have pulled her to the side and asked if she was on something. God, was it like a disease? She was on him. She was all over him. They were supposed to be waiting for the haunted house, but she kissed him in the dark hall and it was just the beginning of a potential something.
"I don't know if I'll ever hear from him again," she said she'd forgotten to get his number. She didn't want his IG. She wanted to keep this personal..and maybe nonstop. It would thrill her to text him while in bed.
"How could you?" Amy was serious, and then she broke into laughter. "You got the balls." She nodded. "I could never do something like that."
"I just wanted to, you know, be with somebody." She winced. After all the rejection she'd gotten with Rafe, anything looked good to her, especially an awkward gangly boy like Darry.
"You can't just expect it to happen like that. You need to be a bit more of a mystery," Amy told her.
"A mystery," this cracked her. There was no mystery to Darry. This guy definitely needed someone like her in his life.
Ellie,
ReplyDeleteThere is always something in us, some premonitory perceptions, something that brings us closer to certainties not yet revealed.
Kisses and good weekend!!!
Go for it girl!
ReplyDelete:)
ReplyDeleteSound like it could be a great match.
ReplyDeleteI guess now we know why Maddie was upset! The love bites lol. I get that she's worried about the age stuff. Kinda young. But I remember high schol lol.
ReplyDeleteMmm those olives look delish....
Oh, I was forbidden to date in eighth grade. I remember wanting to go to a dance with a boy in my class and I was told NO. I didn't really go on a real date until I was a Junior in high school and that guy was a year younger than me. Now, days the possibilities are endless in finding a date.
DeleteAnd well, even then I found my ways ..before I was in middle school. I remember a basketball tournament I was at, and it was crowded. An all day even. Of course, I was just a benchwarmer. I met a Tex Mex boy named Arturo who had a friend named Tim. And we did have fun eating Frito pie, drinking colas and watching the game. It was a big deal that he wanted to hold my hand. Not that we ever left the gym. I can't recall what happened, but before I knew it I was with Tim, and really I had just as good a time, eating candy, and laughing at his jokes. Yeah, like Junie it was a whole weekend wrapped up in four hours.
I also recall, when I was in high school and with my boyfriend, a middle school girl approached him and just went crazy. She was all over him, giggling and tickling him. He was in shock. I didn't know what to say. Finally, he took my hand and said, "Let's get out of here." And we made a run for it.
Of course, we all have different chemistry with people. Sometimes, it clicks, sometimes it doesn't. Still, it takes time to realize..is this really what I want? But many of us jump right in.
True! I think I was a sophomore when I dated first. My first GF I was with for 2 years. And you're right- chemistry can happen fast! Especially when we're hormone machines lmao.
DeleteThat's an awesome I love how you made a run for it :)
Uy tierno fragmento. Te mando un beso. https://thisisalittlepieceofme.blogspot.com/
ReplyDeleteUy nivel fragmento. Te mando un beso https://enamoradadelasletras.blogspot.com/
ReplyDeleteHello!
ReplyDeleteI was glad to hear that your absence was due to your road trip and not because you had a health problem!
There are people with whom I have a good chemistry as soon as I meet them and there are others that I don't know why I don't like them at all, I don't know why that happens!!!
Have a great weekend!
Ah, first lust! Junie really does paint a picture. And it's funny how she ends by musing that Darry needs a bold babe like her in his life. 💖💖💖
ReplyDeleteI love the rainbow cardi in the collage! 💙🌈