Love Letters

“Why aren’t you excited?!” Andy yelled, gripping my arm. “Your birthday is in five days! You should be pumped up!”

I laughed and worked on my lock. “It’s not that big of a deal, A. I told the guys that I only want a small group going out to dinner. I don’t want to make a bigger deal out of it than what’s needed. Yeah, I’m excited that I’m turning sixteen but I’m not going into crazy party mode.”

I opened my locker and a small piece of paper fell from the three small slits at the top, right to the bottom. I bent down to pick it up and read it over.

You look beautiful in red.

I smiled and showed it to Andy. She raised her eyebrows.

“Who wrote that?” she asked. I shrugged.

“No idea,” I said. “I’m not even sure how they got it in my locker. You’re the only other person that knows my combination.”

“That’s what this is for,” she said, slamming her hand against the three thin slits at the top of my locker. “So you can receive notes from secret admirers.” She whispered the last part and I laughed.

“I wonder who wrote it,” I said, tucking it into my pocket.

“Maybe it’s from this Anonymous guy,” she replied. “I guess he likes you.”

“We don’t know that,” I said.

“Do you like him?”

“I’ve never met him.”

“So?”

“So how am I supposed to know whether I like him or not?” I asked, grabbing my binder and closing my locker again, clipping the lock together. Andy leaned against the wall.

“You don’t have to meet someone head on to like them,” she said. “You may end up liking him just because of his personality and if it reflects on you from the other night, I’d say you’re interested.”

“Maybe I am,” I said with a shrug. “Still, it’s too soon to tell. I’m interested in Dalton.”
Right on time, he walked around the corner with a few of his friends but when he saw me, he stopped and the smile that had been shining on his face just moments ago was wiped off immediately.
“Hey,” he said, clearing his throat. Andy quickly scurried off, leaving just Dalton and I because his friends had walked off as well, giving us some privacy.

“I owe you an apology,” I said, sighing. “I was . . . stupid and rude and I’m really sorry.”

He lifted a shoulder. “It’s okay. I get yelled at by girls a lot.”

“And that’s a good thing?”

“Not at all,” he replied. “I mean, it upset me more that you were kind of calling me a liar and believing Roxy over me but I’m sure anyone would have. I just hoped you would have seen passed it.”

“It took me a few minutes,” I said, flushed bright red. “I needed to hear your side, I guess. Anyway Dalton, I just really wanted to apologize.”

He smiled. “And I appreciate it, but do me a favour.”

“Sure.”

“Don’t listen to Roxanne,” he said. “She’s full of crap. I’ve known Ruby for a really long time and she’s one of my best friends and everything, but sometimes they’re like the exact same person. That’s one of the reasons I would never want to hook up with her. You know how most guys fear dating someone who is practically a clone of their mother?” I nodded. He raised his eyebrows and my mouth formed the shape of an “O” once I caught on.

“Which one of them is like your mother?”

“Both of them,” he said, laughing. “That’s what’s so scary.”

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Dear Anonymous,

I have to be honest; my friends and I have been trying to figure out who you really are. We can’t really narrow it down to anyone because there are only three people I talk to on a regular basis in the class. I would definitely like to meet you though, and not when Mrs. Hull tells us who our partner is because that just spoils the fun.

How are things going with the girl you like? Has there been any progress or does she still have no idea?

My birthday is this Friday, and I’m looking forward to it. Although, I think my friends are more excited about it than I am, haha. They definitely want to throw a party, even though I keep telling them not to. They keep hinting at reasons why they should be allowed but I’d much rather it just be a few of us instead of a large group. Those kinds of things are just hectic and unnecessary. Wish I knew you, and then you could come with us!

-Unknown.

P.S: I hope everything is working out for you.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

One of the girls on the soccer team—Josie—had randomly attached herself to me during practice—not in a literal sense where she was always making sure a part of us was touching, but she followed me around and acted like I was her older sister. It was sweet, but it was a little confusing. Plus, she looked up to me way too much. Every time I made a good play on the field, she would congratulate and applaud me like she was my own personal cheerleader.

She had even said “man, I hope I can be exactly like you when I grow up”. At first, I thought maybe it was just a stupid joke that the niner’s liked to play where they acted boisterous, outgoing and a little psychotic to creep people out but I found out that she was dead serious. She had no one to hang out with, so now I felt like a sibling to her.

She didn’t particularly annoy me, but she certainly had a way to her that made me find her irritating since she was always around. On Wednesday, I waited for Dalton in the back bleachers of the school for his swim meeting to be over and, of course, Josie followed. I was reading my book, continuously telling her I was listening when she asked me if I was, while she rambled on about how much better this school was than her own one. She was a very sweet girl, but she didn’t know what person space meant. She was sitting so close that she was practically on my lap.

“Whoa!” Josie exclaimed. I looked up.

“What?” I asked.

“Who’s that guy?” She pointed down to the pool where Trey was. He pulled his shirt off and threw it to the side, stretching his arms out. I hadn’t realized but basketball and swimming had treated him very well.

“That’s Trey,” I replied. “He had appendicitis a while ago and he’s not supposed to be swimming!” I yelled the last part just loud enough for him to hear that he looked up and grinned at me. The coach of the swim team stood on the side of the pool with his hands on his hips. I just figured it was because Trey was trying to convince him that the appendectomy didn’t mess with his ability to beat the pants off of anyone who stepped into the pool and tried to beat him. It was no surprise; Trey was the best swimmer on the team.

“You know him?” Josie gaped.

“Yeah, he’s been my best friend for years,” I replied.

“How have you not jumped him?!”

I burst out laughing and put my book down. “We don’t do things like that. We’ve been friends for too long. Besides, I’ve got my eye on someone else.”

“Who?”

I leaned forward and pointed at Dalton. He stepped out of the pool and passed Trey, taking off his goggles and running a hand through his damp hair. I had never seen him with his shirt off before and now that I had, I was mentally begging for him to never put it back on.

“Him,” I said.

Josie gasped. “Oh God. He’s hot.”

I smiled and went back to my book. Eventually, she left to take the walk home and Dalton met up with me on the bleachers. His hair had dried rapidly and he didn’t smell like chlorine like he had expected; he smelled like soap, cologne, and a really attractive guy.

“Ready?” he asked. I nodded and stood up, grabbing my bag. As we walked down the stairs, I caught sight of Trey and Ruby. She wrapped her arms around his neck and planted a firm kiss on his lips. He smiled at her and took her hand, leading her away but since we were headed in the same general direction, we passed by them. Dalton gave her hip a little nudge and she smirked at him. When she glanced at me, her eyes were cold but she didn’t glare. She just turned away.

“What are you guys up to?” Trey asked.

“She’s tutoring me again,” he said. “I almost got a ninety on my last test and my mom kind of expects me to get it in general so I’m going to keep trying.”

“Well at least you’re improving,” Ruby said.

“She’s a good teacher,” he replied, smiling down at me. I grinned and looked passed him at Trey, who raised an eyebrow and then turned around so he wasn’t facing me.

“So are any of you guys going to the school’s haunted house on Halloween?” Ruby asked.

“There’s a haunted house?”

“Yeah. The grade twelve’s are putting a massive school-wide haunted house on so absolutely everything is going to be decorated—even the bathrooms.”

“Well that’s a little eerie,” I said. “I can’t say I’d want to have to go there.”

Trey laughed and Dalton grinned, but Ruby stayed quiet. Her lip didn’t even twitch and I can’t say that it was the funniest joke ever—or even a little bit close—but remaining stone-faced when the others are making an effort just kind of made me feel crappy.

“I’ll probably go,” Trey said. “Might be fun to see how scary the grade twelve’s can get.”

“Well knowing this year’s, they’ll probably make some poor grade nine crap his pants,” I said.

“I don’t want to go,” Ruby said, shaking her head. She looked up at Trey and her bottom lip popped out a little. “You know I scare easy.”

I wanted to roll my eyes, but I held back. Ruby had never bugged me until I found out that she didn’t like me and now, she annoyed me constantly.

Dalton looked down at me. “Do you want to go?”

I nodded. “Definitely.”

“Cool. I’ll take you,” he said and smiled.

“You don’t mind?”

“Not at all.”

“But isn’t it on the day of your party?”

“I can move it. I’m sure a lot of people will end up going so I might as well just move it to a Friday night instead of Saturday. If I put it on Halloween, it’ll just keep getting interrupted by little kids so . . .”

“Are you sure?”

He nodded. “Absolutely.”

I smiled at him. “Okay, thanks.”

“Any time.”

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

“So does that count as a second date?” Andy asked me, winking. “Maybe he’ll kiss you full on this time.”

I blushed. “I don’t think haunted houses ever count as a second date. See, when your date keeps jumping onto you and gripping your arm, that’s not very sexy.”

“That really depends on what you mean by ‘jumping onto’ and ‘arm’,” Pax said, snickering. I slapped him on the arm and his mouth opened and closed quickly, his face scrunching up in pain. “Ow,” he said obviously.

“Do you always have to make sex jokes?” Andy asked, rolling her eyes.

He shrugged. “Why the hell not.”

“Because it’s inappropriate,” she said. “Do you say this stuff to girls?”

“You’re a girl."

“Girls you’re attracted to,” I said.

He looked over at me. “I could be attracted to you.”

I raised an eyebrow at him. “I don’t think so.”

He cleared his throat and sat up a little straighter. “Hey baby, do you want to come over to my place after school and get a little—”

Andy flicked him on the ear and he yelped. I smirked at him.

“All right fine,” he mumbled, putting his hands up. “It was never meant to be.”

“Good,” I concluded, nodding and returning to my salad.

“I wonder how Trey and Ruby are doing,” Andy said, putting her chin in her hand and looking over my shoulder. I turned around and with a piece of salad sticking out of my mouth and looked at them.

“That’s really hot,” Pax said, laughing.

I glared at him and swallowed it. “They’re doing better,” I said. “I saw them yesterday and they were acting like they did at the beginning of their relationship.”

“You mean that time when they were all over each other?” Andy asked, scowling. “That’s gross.”

“Okay, not like that,” I said, shaking my head. “Although, he always did look kind of out of place, didn’t he?”

“Are you kidding?” Pax said, scoffing. “She was practically on his lap and he looked horrified.”

“I wonder what that was about,” I said, frowning. “You’d think he’d be into it.”

“But he couldn’t have looked more out of it,” Andy said, shaking his head.

“Maybe he was nervous,” I said. Pax start chuckling and I rolled my eyes. “Really?”

He lifted a shoulder. “It had to be done.”