"Do you think she could be watching me right now?" he asked, clearly unable to hide the excitement in his voice.
"She didn't say she was from this school though?"
He nodded, "True. But I swear I can feel her this morning."
"Feel her? Please... stop, I think I am going to throw up, you sound like my mothers' Mills and Boon."
Suddenly Mike took me by the hand and looked into my eyes, "His heart ached for her like it had never ached. His soul felt like it had been torn apart without her, and his body—"
"Okay, shut-up. Now I'm just worried, if I didn't know better I would say you have a stash of those things under your bed."
"Maybe I do, maybe I'm a secret romantic."
"Doubtful."
Brett walked up to the table and slapped his food down and I made an instant move for his fries.
"Yo, so what you two lovebirds up to?" He asked and I almost choke on my mouthful of food.
"Nothing perv." I deflected quickly.
"I was just telling Maria that I'm a secret romantic."Mike pipped up.
"You?!?! You wouldn't know if romance slapped you through the face. In fact, you wouldn't know if romance was sitting right next to you. Like, now." Brett clocked me and I almost died. I drop my head and immediately fiddled with my cuticle.
He knows, he knows. But what? Did he know I was the one that had kissed him?
"I'm going to the library," I shot out of my seat before my bright red face betrayed my secret. "I ... I... have to get a book out for History." I rushed off without looking back, but as I reached the library and walked in, my phone lit up and I looked at it.
It's my Gmail.
Subject: Romance
Message: My friends think I'm not romantic, so I decide to prove them wrong by writing you a poem. Roses are Red, Violets are blue, you can't hide from me forever, because I will find you.
I burst out laughing and the librarian shot me a very evil looking stink eye. I put my finger over my lips to indicate that I would keep quiet and rushed away to the back of the library. I stared at Mikes message for a moment or two before knowing how to respond.
From: [email protected]
Subject: Romance right back at you
Message: Roses are Red, Violets are blue, if you play by my rules, I might reveal myself to you
I pressed send and my heart rate immediately sky rocketed, within seconds my phone lit up again.
Subject: Romance x
Message: Roses are Red, Violets are blue, I'll do anything you want, as long as I get to kiss you
I swallowed. Gulped. If I thought my heart was racing before, now it was just going onto full-blown cardiac arrest or something.
From: [email protected]
Subject: Romance
Message: Roses are Red, Violets are blue, Mike, Mike, Mike, I'm so totally hot for you.
God! Crap! I couldn't believe I'd just written that. Me? Maria? The girl that doesn't even know how to flirt had just written... that.
Subject: WOW
Message: You are you? Please, tell me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
From: [email protected]
Subject: !!!!!!!!!!
Message: Absence makes the heart grow fonder.
Subject: ????????
Message: It's already fond.
The bell suddenly rung and without thinking, I wrote back.
From: [email protected]
Subject: Got to go to class
Message: X
I regreted it the second I'd press send.
Subject: OMG
Message: You are at my school! Unless you're hearing the same bell I am from somewhere else.... Run along to class... I'll be looking out for you. XXX
Mike
"God, stop smiling like that it's making me nauseous," Brett, ever the love cynic, said to me, while biting into his cheeseburger.
"You're just jealous," I said. "You better come jogging with me sometime," I pointed at his burger, it's a bit of a running joke with us all. Brett is always saying that getting a girlfriend is going to be tough, what with his paunch and all. He says it jokingly, but I don't think it's really a joke to him at all. He's always been the chubby kid, he used to get teased for it, but now he's the funny chubby kid that everyone likes because he can laugh it off- only, I don't really think he's laughing.
"Sure I'll come jogging with you, when you're not such a dick.' He bit into his burger.
"How am I a dick?" I grabbed half his fries and he scolded me.
"Mmmmm, lets see. You're pinning for some fantasy women when there are some real ones right here. Close by."
I shook my head, "She's not a fantasy. I didn't imagine that kiss. Trust me it was very real. And she's very real, check this out," I slid my phone over to him and he briefly glanced down at it.
" Now I'm really nauseous, I mean... roses are red???" He shuddered and pretended to gag for added effect.
Then he stopped and looked up at me oddly. "And you really, I mean really have no idea who it is?"
"Nope." I said, "All I know is she goes to this school."
"And she chews some minty, cinnamon gum." He added.
I studied him. I still got the sense that he was holding back. "I swear if you know who she is and am not telling me, this friendship will be terminated. Do you know who she is?"
He shook his head. "No I don't. But you do. Just search your heart Mike, search your rosy red, violet blue heart."
He started walking off.
"Hey, what the hell does that mean?" I shouted after him, but he didn't turn back to me.
