Fenella’s POVEnd of 9th grade, 9 years ago…"Would you go out with me, Fenella?"Huh? I blinked in disbelief as I looked at the figure in front of me.What did he just say?I pondered in front of the soda vending machine. The 7th-grade boy just grinned, although I could catch a hint of redness on his cheeks. He adjusted his glasses and seemed to wait for me to respond to his question."Lloyd, you're kidding, right?"I had to be honest; my heart was pounding. This was the first time I'd been asked out on a date. What girl wouldn't be thrilled to be asked out?But, come on! It's Lloyd Evans! He’s Laird’s little brother!"Would you prefer it if I joked about this?" Lloyd asked, raising an eyebrow.Flustered, I didn't know where to look. Several times, I glanced back and forth between Lloyd's eyes, my shoes, or the corridor door between buildings.I truly didn't expect a boy of Lloyd's age to have the courage to ask me out. After all, I'm his senior. I'm in 9th grade, and Lloyd shouldn't
Laird’s POVI didn't expect to hear all of that. It's not like I wanted to eavesdrop, but I couldn't resist listening to their entire conversation. I hid behind the thick foliage on my neighbor’s house fence."What was that all about?" I asked, frowning.Fenella didn't answer and instead ran into her own house. I hurriedly walked to her front door and saw Fenella slamming it shut with a loud thud. Funny.I went inside my house and knocked on Lloyd's bedroom door. His room was right in front of mine, and I knew he was already inside."Come in," Lloyd said from inside the room.I opened the door as Lloyd was putting on a gray t-shirt and cargo shorts."Did you ask Fenella out on a date?" I asked cautiously."What? I didn't know you were into eavesdropping," Lloyd said casually, grabbing his newly bought game console."Cut the crap," I retorted.Lloyd's seemingly indifferent expression made me realize that he may have known about my presence from the beginning. He knew I had overheard th
Fenella’s POVI opened a teenage magazine and saw one of the articles I had read before. It was from three months ago, but I thought it was still relevant to me. The article's page discussed several tips for a successful first date."Wearing appropriate attire for the date location while staying comfortable." I read the first tip for myself.But I didn't know where Lloyd would take me. He didn't say. I thought about just wearing something comfortable. I opened my wardrobe and started choosing clothes for tomorrow. From one top to another and various pants from long to short.A dress? I glanced at the dress but immediately shook my head. I still vividly remember the last time I wore a dress for a boy, and it didn't end well. Laird said I looked ugly, like a clown.Fortunately, now I'm quite good at dressing up after following tips from magazines and YouTube videos. At least better than a birthday clown.My heart raced as I stared at myself in the mirror. I never thought Lloyd would ask
Fenella’s POVInitially, I thought it would be boring, but it wasn't. Lloyd challenged me in every arcade game. We even bet our tickets every time we win a game. Starting from the dancing machine game—even though I was the only one playing this game—skee ball, basketball, pinball, fighting games, and various other games.We also played bowling, even though we weren't very good at it. No one managed to make a strike. Especially me, who ended up putting more balls into the gutter than knocking down pins.Almost two full hours passed as we played games, then Lloyd took me out for lunch. He said the food there was bad, so he took me to another restaurant within walking distance.We shared a burger for two because I knew I wouldn't be able to finish one portion alone. I ordered a S'mores shake, while Lloyd ordered a chocolate milkshake.After I thought we were stuffed with all the delicious food, Lloyd dragged me to an ice cream shop right next to the burger restaurant. We both agreed that
Fenella’s POVI still can't forget about Laird this afternoon. It could be said that I was head over heels for him. If this is all just a dream, I don't want it to end quickly. If this turns out to be true, I want to confirm it again and again until I am truly convinced that this afternoon was not a dream.Laird and I, kissing?! It was my first kiss!I bury my face in the pillow, feeling hot. My hysterical scream might have reached my mother's ears.“Fenella? What's wrong?”My mother entered the room and opened the door. Her eyes widen in confusion as she sees my messy hair and flushed face. I could see my own embarrassing appearance in the mirror!“Oh, nothing, mom. I just can't wait to see the latest music video.”I quickly opened a rock band's online video streaming page on my laptop screen. My mother let out a long sigh as she slowly walked to my room's window. From the second floor, my mother could see something on the street in front of the house.“You should be studying.” My mo
Fenella’s POV"Laird!"I exclaimed, playfully squeezing his thigh. This time, he burst into laughter. Oh, how relieved I felt to see him laugh again. I joined in the laughter. My fingers then tickled him, and we both giggled on the quite crowded bus.Shortly after, the bus arrived at my school's bus stop. I squeezed his hand and gathered the courage to kiss Laird's cheek. He immediately blushed."I'll go first." I waved my hand at him, and he waved back at me with a shy smile.I got off at the still-deserted school bus stop. I couldn't believe that I managed to wake up earlier just to catch the same bus as Laird. He attended a higher-ranked private school that was farther away from mine. As I reconsidered everything, I realized that I was walking to my school alone.I wondered how I could get through the days that felt empty without Laird. Our situation was vastly different from our elementary school days. Everything seemed lighthearted at first, but now I feel a heavy cloud above my
Fenella’s POVToday, Laird had a friendly match. Of course, I watched to support him. I brought the cheerleading pom-poms that I usually use for school pep squad practice. Although everyone was watching me, I didn't care.I was guiding the supporters to prevent them from getting tired quickly. That's indeed the pep squad's duty. Wearing a red shirt and white skirt, I cheered every time Laird's team hit the ball, even though his team still lost in the end.After the match ended, I approached him, who had finished showering. His hair was still wet, and he sat alone in the front row of the players' changing room. I sat down next to him, but we remained silent."Did you come?" he asked."Of course. Didn't you see me jumping around with these pompoms?" I lifted both the red, blue, and white pompoms that were distinctive to his team."Oh. That's nice," he replied, rubbing the pompoms briefly.We sat silently again in the quiet hallway. I didn't know what he was waiting for, and he didn't sa
Fenella’s POVThat night, I cried uncontrollably. I rewatched the tragic teen romance movie with a sad ending that was launched on cable TV last week. The movie made me cry continuously, and I allowed my tears to flow as camouflage. My mother thought I was really crying because of the movie, not because of Laird."Fenella, it's 10 p.m. When will you go to sleep? Still watching the movie?" My mother came to my room."Yes, just a moment."I hugged my knees and kept staring at the TV screen in my room with red eyes. My mother didn't leave immediately. She tidied up my scattered magazines on the bedroom floor to put them on the bookshelf."Mom, do you know about Mrs. Evans?" I asked amid my sobs.