The Girl Next Door

First period math seemed to last an eternity to Cam. He sat slumped in his seat at the back of the class, drumming his fingers and counting the minutes before second period gym. There, at least, he'd have a distraction. He wondered what Emmie was doing and what she was thinking of. At the thought of his sweet, gentle friend, his lips curved upward in a smile. It was still so hard to believe...all those times he'd hung out with her in the summer...he'd never imagined in all his wildest daydreams that he would actually one day fall in love with her. He wondered if she would ever know...
"Mr. Lund, would you kindly answer the question??" Cam looked up, surprised. Ms. Rachel was in front of his desk, staring down at him. He sat up straighter and looked down at his worksheet. Blank.
"Uh...um...which question, ma'am??" he said, as innocently as possible. Everyone snickered until the elderly lady whirled around with surprising speed for her age. The last few giggles faded and Ms. Rachel turned back to him.
"Mr. Lund, since you seem to be at too high a level to do the worksheet, why don't you explain to the class the Order of Operation. Up, up. Quickly now, to the front of the class." she said. Cam stood up reluctantly and made his way through the aisle of desks. Turning to stand facing the class, he began tapping his pencil against his thigh. He cleared his throat nervously.
"Uh...the Order of Operation...is...uh...this thing...that you...um...do to solve a math problem...it spells something...I think...um...wait; hold on, I know this...um...I got it!! It spells PENDANT...or something!!" Everyone laughed again. Cam flushed and hurried back to his seat. Ms. Rachel's tiny black eyes followed him the whole way. When he was sitting down again, she returned to the front of the room.
"Now that Mr. Lund has kindly joined us, who can tell me the acronym for the Order of Operation?? Yes, Lydia??" Cam sighed with relief.
The rest of the day dragged on, and Cam's attention seemed to be elsewhere. His friends exchanged glances and left him alone...they seemed to sense that he was in no mood to be bothered.
At last, the final bell rang. Cam rushed to his locker and out the front doors in hope of leaving before Emmie could catch up and walk with him. He had no such luck. There she was in all her beauty, leaning against the flag pole in front of the school. She grinned at him and waved.
"Hey, Cam!! What's up??" she said. She had a lovely voice. Cam shrugged and they began walking down the hill towards the intersection. Conversation ceased. He was deep in thought.
'I wonder if she's ever thought of me the way I think of her...probably not. In that case, I could NEVER tell her. I couldn't bear the humiliation. What if I told her and she laughed?? No, it would never do to tell her. Not yet, anyways. But what about when I can't take it anymore and have to ask her out?? I want to be with her more than anything in the world...I wonder if she knows that. No, I guess not...or else we wouldn't still be best friends. How did this happen?? One second, we're just best friends and nothing more...the next...this is all so--'Cam's thoughts were inturrupted by Emmie.
"Watcha thinkin' 'bout??" she said, poking him in the arm. At her touch, Cam felt his face grow hot and a fluttering sensation in his stomach made him laugh nervously. Emmie giggled. "Your face is SO red!! Were you thinking about something?? Oh!! I know!! You were thinking about a girl, weren't you!! Aw!! How cute!! Cam's got a cru-ush!! Cam's got a cru-ush!!" She laughed out loud and nudged him in the ribs. "C'mon, what's her name?? I won't laugh!!"
He smiled shakily and shrugged his shoulders. "No one. Just...nothing. Come on, the light's green." She winked at him and giggled again. They walked across the street and stood on the sidewalk in front of their houses. He held out his hand for their secret handshake, and Emmie grinned and slapped his hand before running into her house and closing the door behind her. Cam went into his own house and closed and locked his front door.
The Lund house was well-furnished. All the rooms on the first floor had fluffy white carpeting, and all the banisters where made of shiny, polished black wood. The windows were clean and nearly invisible. The furniture was all color-coordinated. Everything was just-so. Cam's own room had navy blue walls with a black trim. The floor had thick blue carpeting. The lamp had a dark blue shade. The bedspread was black with pale blue stripes across it. The balcony was Cam's favorite part of the room. It looked out onto the garden and Emmie's window with the same balcony. The guard rail was white marble with little black specks. A Japenese lantern hung on either side of the double glass doors. Two white marble benches sat beneath the lanterns.
It was on the blacony that Cam now stood, watching a bird hop along Emmie's balcony rail. It was a pretty thing, with dark feathers and a red chest. It looked at him with bright, intelligent eyes that reminded him of Emmie's own hazel ones. Cam sighed. Emmie. She really was something, wasn't she. Cam turned away from her window and entered his bedroom. Sitting down on the side of his bed, he clicked on the blue lamp and opened his nightstand drawer. Rummaging around inside of it, he pulled out a photograph. There was Emmie, sitting on a swing. Her long, copper hair hung over one shoulder. Her beautiful hazel eyess were crinkled in a smile. He felt his heart jump into his throat. Would she ever know??