vorfreude (n.)
the joyful, intense anticipation that comes from imagining future pleasures
* * *
AS much as I wanted to tell Eli my college plans as soon as my tour of SGSU concluded, I decided to surprise him. After all, I had to get revenge for all of the unwanted surprises he had given me over the past few months. And a taste of his own disgusting medicine would be the perfect way to do so.
So, I waited until I got home at the end of spring break. And that day happened to be decision day—the day each senior wears merch from the college they will be attending.
And to mess with Eli even more, I wore a black sweatshirt over my school's t-shirt.
When I got to my locker before school, he was waiting for me, decked out in Revere College Football merch. "Where's your shirt?" he frowned.
"Hello to you, too." I playfully pushed him out of the way to get into my locker.
"Hey," he grinned. "So where's your shirt?"
"Under my sweatshirt."
"You look hot right now—both types of hot. Need help taking your sweatshirt off?" He snuck a hand under the hem of my sweatshirt.
I smacked it away. "Nope. You need to wait," I said, sorting through the notebooks at the bottom of my locker.
He stuck his face in front of mine and pouted his lip. "I don't like waiting."
"I remember you bragging about your patience. Use some of that," I said, booping the tip of his nose.
He groaned, "Can you give me a hint?"
"No."
"Fine," he huffed, dramatically slumping against the locker next to mine. "How was your tour?"
"Good," I said as I took out my Calculus textbook and slammed the locker shut.
"Good as in you're going to SGSU or good as in you're staying in Boston?"
"Good."
"You're impossible."
"Think of it as payment for you being such a dickhead last week." I condescendingly patted the top of his head.
"Okay, I definitely deserved that. Have I told you how sorry I am?"
Before I could respond, Aubrey came racing up to us, dragging a bewildered Ethan behind her. "Charlotte! What is your decision?" Her face fell when she saw my plain sweatshirt. "Oh, um... is your dad still refusing to pay? Not going to college is fine, too. Forget that I said anything."
"She's deciding to torture us. We have to be patient," Eli mocked me.
"I'll tell you at lunch. The anticipation will make it better."
His eyes lit up. "So you're staying in Boston?"
"When did I say that?"
YOU ARE READING
Because of Haven Beach
Teen Fiction"The moon's really beautiful, if you think about it," I blurted. "Yeah?" he asked, mild amusement and curiosity mingling in his voice. "Yeah," I confirmed. "It's just- there's something about the moon that's ethereal. I don't really know how to desc...
