to look for something that sparks my memory. Could be anything! Twirling my penâI drop my pen, pick up the penâI glide through the shop to you. You know me well enough to recognize a little panic. I pretend to engage you in polite conversation:
ME
(Quietly)
Help! I canât remember what Mia asked forâitâs gone right out of my head.
Puzzled, you peer at my pad and, seeing my useless origami, you bite your lip.
YOU
At least your pad looks nice.
ME
Thanks!
I glare.
Be helpful.
Did you hear?
You gaze thoughtfully in recollection but I know that face! I know you heard and youâre leading me on. You
hmm
uncertainly and I threaten you with a pinch. I have a killer pinch that youâve learned to fear.
ME
Tell me â¦
YOU
All right, all right!
You grin and push away my hand.
Jasmine tea.
ME
Thatâs it! I love you!
I give you a rushed hug.
Youâre the best.
When I straighten up, Mia is looking, and I laugh, embarrassed, saying something about friendly service, and flow busily but serenely back to my station.
CUT TO: LATER.
Iâm frothing milkâstill not something Iâm good at; it deflates in front of my eyes by the time I reach peopleâs tablesâand Mia comes up to the counter as theyâre leaving. Seeing her approach, I turn off the milk frother to be casually available.
MIA
Thanks, bye.
ME
Oh, bye.
Heart fluttering, I twirl the sprig of mint sitting on a saucer I cleared earlier. She is still there:
MIA
Hey, Iâm glad to see you so engaged in class. Can you meet me after school tomorrow? Thereâs something I want to talk to you about, if youâre interested.
Me. Interested!
Donât say okeydoke!
ME
Sure!
MIA
And Iâll see you on the theater trip tonight?
ME
You certainly will.
She begins to turn away, and I swallow. Hereâs my chance to find the courage to speak, to show her Iâm thoughtful:
Mia?
The first time Iâve said her name to her face.
I heard that things didnât work out with your boyfriend and Iâm sorry.
She turns back to me and smiles.
MIA
Thanks for saying so, but plenty of good has come of it. Right?
She means me? Probably not; why would she? But my heart skips three and a half beats before my body shouts at it in protest. I smile out loud.
She walks away and I resist the urge to dance. I was a veritable genius compared to last time. I absentmindedly nibble the corner of the mint leaf. Then I remember that itâs someone elseâs and I spit it into the palm of my hand.
THEATER TRIP. SCHOOL STEPS. 7 P.M.
I breathe in the fresh sweet air. Evening hours spent with MiaâMia, who wants to speak to me tomorrow! If we were watching a shoe for two hours I would go if it meant being with her. Itâs a gorgeous crisp night. The temperature has dropped and everyoneâs shivering. Right now, I like shivering.It makes me feel alive. Elle looks silly in a short skirt. Sheâs squeezing her knees together to generate warmth. Iâve knotted my scarf and buttoned it in against my chest but Iâve forgotten my gloves so I fold my arms and tuck in my hands and chin. Ryan takes it as a hostile pose and calls across the grass:
RYAN
Blah-blah-blah-blah-blah.
Today, everything bounces off. Mia wants to meet with me and it is a secret joy that fills me with importance and expectation. Looking at people grouped on the steps I think with a pang of excitement that I have reason to feel special, and I imagine, with a new sense of entitlement, the evening ahead. I went to all Miaâs lunchtime scene-study classes so I have some knowledge of the play weâre going to even though my intention to dazzle her with bright remarks was compromised by the thoughts that take over when Iâm in her presence.
When my mind returns to the steps, youâre kindly holding out your gloves to meâbut at that moment Mia comes down the path with Mrs. Keen and I forget about the