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Authors: Tamara Hart Heiner
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situation. “What can you possibly do in half an hour?” She arched an eyebrow. “Well, Miss Jayne?”
I was ready for her question. “He took me on a picnic. He had it all prepared.” I couldn’t keep the pride from my voice.
“Jayne, he likes you!” She squeezed my forearm. “A picnic! Such an English thing to do! Do you like him?”
The tardy bell rang, saving me from having to answer. I waved to Dana. “See you in an hour!”
By the time I got to English for fourth hour, I was exhausted. Dana had peppered me with questions all through second hour, and then she’d stuck silly fantasies in my head about kissing and prom and my senior year.
After all the hype, I kind of dreaded facing Aaron. What if I’d made a big deal out of nothing?
How was I supposed to act, anyway? Like we were a couple or like we barely knew each other? Did I wait for Aaron by the classroom door? Save a seat for him? Sit next to where he usually sat? Or pretend like there was nothing going on between us?
I debated the issue in the hall for about ten seconds, and then I went inside the classroom. I would just play it cool. I put my books down on a table in the middle row, leaving a space beside me.
The lemon scent entered the room first, giving me a two-second warning, during which I dropped my head and pulled out my notebook. I pretended to study my outline, all the while holding my breath.
“Hi,” Aaron said, moving my books out of the way and sinking into the empty spot next to me.
I smiled and tucked my rogue piece of hair behind my ear. “Hi,” I replied, not turning my neck to face him.
He scooted his chair in to the desk and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk. I watched his fingers swirl a pencil between them, agile even in their larger size. I glanced down at my own hand. His had to be twice as big.
Ms. Siegfried called the class to order and we started to discuss the sexual tension in Othello. Aaron shuffled in his seat, his jean-clad thigh bumping mine.
My pulse fluttered. Talk about sexual tension.
He turned toward me and whispered, “Did you get in trouble last night?”
I shook my head. “No. The restaurant was pretty quiet. I was only a few minutes late.” I couldn’t resist asking, “Why do you come to JT’s all the time? Do you live close or just have a hankering for bagels?”
“I like talking to this cute girl that works there.”
I doodled a vine on my paper. I added blossoming flowers with five points, spreading out along the margin. “What color are your eyes?”
I could feel his gaze burning into the side of my head. “Why don’t you check for yourself?”
Tempting. But the thought of finding out how Aaron was going to die made my throat constrict. I couldn’t bear to find out that he was going to suffer a horrible and ignominious death, whether it be in a few months or a few years. “I can’t. I’ve got laser vision and I’ll burn your retinas.”
He laughed softly, a deep sound that warmed my chest like a cup of hot chocolate. “Fine. Have it your way. They’re blue.”
Of course they were. He was Superman, after all.
We drifted into silence and I tried to add some class notes to my doodles. Mostly I was thinking about Aaron and his blue eyes and how much I wanted to stare into them.
The bell rang and I stood, focusing on my backpack while I shoved pencils and books into it.
“Do you work tonight?” Aaron asked.
I nodded. “Yeah. Just till nine, though. Easy night.”
“I’ll come by before you get off. Maybe we can do something afterward.”
“Sure. That would be fun.”
He tapped his fingertip on my knuckle. “See ya.”
“Bye,” I answered. I studied the back of his head as he walked away. Dana was not going to believe this.
Ms. Montgomery handed us a stack of newspapers in journalism. “I noticed with the last school paper that some of you didn’t have your columns and bylines formatted correctly. That could have been my fault, as
I was ready for her question. “He took me on a picnic. He had it all prepared.” I couldn’t keep the pride from my voice.
“Jayne, he likes you!” She squeezed my forearm. “A picnic! Such an English thing to do! Do you like him?”
The tardy bell rang, saving me from having to answer. I waved to Dana. “See you in an hour!”
By the time I got to English for fourth hour, I was exhausted. Dana had peppered me with questions all through second hour, and then she’d stuck silly fantasies in my head about kissing and prom and my senior year.
After all the hype, I kind of dreaded facing Aaron. What if I’d made a big deal out of nothing?
How was I supposed to act, anyway? Like we were a couple or like we barely knew each other? Did I wait for Aaron by the classroom door? Save a seat for him? Sit next to where he usually sat? Or pretend like there was nothing going on between us?
I debated the issue in the hall for about ten seconds, and then I went inside the classroom. I would just play it cool. I put my books down on a table in the middle row, leaving a space beside me.
The lemon scent entered the room first, giving me a two-second warning, during which I dropped my head and pulled out my notebook. I pretended to study my outline, all the while holding my breath.
“Hi,” Aaron said, moving my books out of the way and sinking into the empty spot next to me.
I smiled and tucked my rogue piece of hair behind my ear. “Hi,” I replied, not turning my neck to face him.
He scooted his chair in to the desk and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk. I watched his fingers swirl a pencil between them, agile even in their larger size. I glanced down at my own hand. His had to be twice as big.
Ms. Siegfried called the class to order and we started to discuss the sexual tension in Othello. Aaron shuffled in his seat, his jean-clad thigh bumping mine.
My pulse fluttered. Talk about sexual tension.
He turned toward me and whispered, “Did you get in trouble last night?”
I shook my head. “No. The restaurant was pretty quiet. I was only a few minutes late.” I couldn’t resist asking, “Why do you come to JT’s all the time? Do you live close or just have a hankering for bagels?”
“I like talking to this cute girl that works there.”
I doodled a vine on my paper. I added blossoming flowers with five points, spreading out along the margin. “What color are your eyes?”
I could feel his gaze burning into the side of my head. “Why don’t you check for yourself?”
Tempting. But the thought of finding out how Aaron was going to die made my throat constrict. I couldn’t bear to find out that he was going to suffer a horrible and ignominious death, whether it be in a few months or a few years. “I can’t. I’ve got laser vision and I’ll burn your retinas.”
He laughed softly, a deep sound that warmed my chest like a cup of hot chocolate. “Fine. Have it your way. They’re blue.”
Of course they were. He was Superman, after all.
We drifted into silence and I tried to add some class notes to my doodles. Mostly I was thinking about Aaron and his blue eyes and how much I wanted to stare into them.
The bell rang and I stood, focusing on my backpack while I shoved pencils and books into it.
“Do you work tonight?” Aaron asked.
I nodded. “Yeah. Just till nine, though. Easy night.”
“I’ll come by before you get off. Maybe we can do something afterward.”
“Sure. That would be fun.”
He tapped his fingertip on my knuckle. “See ya.”
“Bye,” I answered. I studied the back of his head as he walked away. Dana was not going to believe this.
Ms. Montgomery handed us a stack of newspapers in journalism. “I noticed with the last school paper that some of you didn’t have your columns and bylines formatted correctly. That could have been my fault, as
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