Anastasia

I met him in eighth grade. I was a southern girl transplanted to the Midwest. I guess my parents thought it would be fun to move to middle-of-nowhere, USA as the place to start anew. He was the first person to speak to me. It was lunchtime and he waved me over to sit with him and his friends. He seemed harmless enough. Jared was a nerd—or I should say he is a nerd. And, secretly, I was too. By high school I was lumped with the popular students while he skirted on the outside. He tutored me in English; I tutored him in math. My other friends questioned why I hung out with him. I guess he wasn’t cool enough. I never cared and neither did he.

Sophomore year I asked him to the Sadie Hawkins dance but Madison Mitchell beat me to it. They started dating after that and I started to spend less and less time with Jared. To pass the time I suddenly had, I hung out at my second best friend’s house. I met Natalie on the second day of eighth grade. She invited me to “her” table at lunch. I felt like I was betraying Jared by choosing to sit with other people, but he just thought it was awesome I was making friends.

Natalie and I had similar tastes in music and fashion but not similar tastes in Jared. When I started hanging out with her after school, I also started hanging out with her brother, Jason. He was a junior and kind of a big deal football player. He was also sweet, funny, kind, and smart. Our flirting led to a date which led to us being the talked about couple at school.

The summer after sophomore year came and went. On the first day back, I almost didn’t recognize Jared. Puberty had hit. When we locked eyes, he smiled and I realized how much I missed him. His hug was warm and familiar. We both agreed that we needed to get together and talked as though we had seen each other the whole summer. It was so refreshing to be able to confide in him again.

I was still dating Jason, but Jared and Madison broke up the weekend before school started. We had every class together that year and although neither of us really cared about football, we attended all the home games together. Thank god Jason wasn’t jealous. Natalie, on the other hand, acted like it was the end of the world.

After about three months I had had it with her snide remarks. Trying to talk to her about it calmly was impossible and we ended up having a huge argument. The first person I wanted to tell was Jared, but Jason was just getting home as I stormed out of the house. He said he would talk to her and everything was going to be all right and back to normal the next day. He underestimated his sister’s resolve to hold a grudge.

It was getting pretty late when I left Jason and Nat’s, but I needed to see Jared. I was able to hold back the tears with Jason because I did not want him to see me cry but, by the time I got to Jared’s and started reliving the drama, I couldn’t help but let the emotion of the situation envelop me.

He sat there silently and let me vent. Afterward, he wiped away my tears, kissed my forehead, put his arm around my shoulders and called her a bitch. That made me laugh and we just sat there—his arm around me, my head on his shoulder—for what seemed like forever. I called my parents to tell them I would be home late and then we watched Bruce Almighty to lighten the mood.

“Mom, I’m going to Jared’s to study.”

“Are you spending the night?”

“That’s not the plan, but you know what happens.”

“Maybe you guys should set an ‘end of study’ alarm.”

“Yeah, but we would probably ignore it.”

“Pack a bag just in case.”

Senior year and Jared and I are crazy busy. Between our part-time jobs and college prep, the only time we see each other outside of school is when I go to his house to study. What I haven’t told my parents is that we hardly study when I go there. Mostly we listen to music or watch a movie and talk about life and our dreams. It’s like a mini-vacation from running around and freaking out about endings that are also beginnings.

Jared is the only person I hang out with when I’m not at school or working. After Jason left for college we tried to make it work, but we never could find a chance to talk. We agreed that it was best if we were just friends, but Natalie started to give me a colder shoulder than usual as if my relationship with her brother was any of her concern. After our fight junior year, we were friendly but never hung out again. It’s fine with me because I don’t have time for her drama.

Before I walk into Jared’s room I know he is going to ask me if I’ve heard from UCLA, his top pick to which he has been accepted—early admission cause he’s a nerd. I have been accepted to two of my top three schools, but I’m still waiting to hear from them.

I walk into his room and he’s sitting at his desk. “Have you heard yet?”

“No. Not even a rejection. Hopefully this week though.”

“Rejection? Please. I told you, you got this.”

“Your confidence is reassuring.”

“That’s what I’m here for.” He gives a slight smile before adding, “What are we eating tonight? Chinese or pizza?”

“I picked last time… and paid.”

“Okay, pizza it is. Are you spending the night?” He glances at my bag.

“It’s a toss-up. Mom made me pack it just in case.”

“Jesus, I think ours are the only parents that let us spend the night together without supervision.”

Our parents trust us one hundred percent and I’m not even sure Jared likes me romantically. It doesn’t matter how I feel about him because he is the best friend I could ask for and I don’t want to mess that up. Honestly, I don’t really know if we would work as a couple, but I do find myself asking “what if” every time we are together. I’m way too chicken to bring this up with him. I wonder if he feels me staring at him sometimes when he’s looking away, like now as he’s ordering our dinner.

“We should study for finals,” he says when he’s done.

“They are like three months away.”

“It’s never too early to start,” he says, another smile forming.

I roll my eyes. “So what movie are we watching?” I ask as I lie on his bed.

“The Breakfast Club.”

“Sweet.” It’s one of our favorites.

Two weeks later the letter finally comes and I don’t want to open it without Jared. I have to work tonight so I place it on my dresser, text him, and try to remain calm.

Six hours later I pull up to my house and Jared’s car is in my spot. I park, run into the house, and head straight to my room. Jared is sitting at my desk, letter in hand.

“Did you open it?”

“Of course not. I was waiting for you.”

“Okay, well, open it!” I say as I throw my purse on the bed.

He stands up, slowly drags his finger under the flap, takes the letter out, and clears his throat. My heart is pounding as he starts reading to himself. I can’t read his expression and after about a minute I need to know.

“So?”

“Yes.”

“So what does it say?”

“I just told you. Yes, you’ve been accepted.”

“Oh my God,” I scream, moving my hand to my mouth and tears of joy form.

Jared puts the letter on my desk and gives me the biggest hug. “What did I tell you?” he whispers, “they would be idiots not to accept you.”

He pulls away just enough for us to make eye contact, bends down and kisses me. I kiss back.