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27- Call Her From a Payphone

Emma

Emily wanted to go to the nurse to get a cure for her hangover. Being the good friend that I was, I walked her to the nurse's office. We didn't make it far as Jeremy was running inside the building for some reason. That was strange. Wasn't he aware of the rule that said no running inside? Apparently not. If he was aware, he wouldn't have smacked himself against an open locker. Just like that, his body was on the ground. Maybe Emily wasn't the only one that would end up at the nurse's office that morning. The two of us walked up to the scene. Of course, by a miracle, the silly boy would be fine and wouldn't require a trip.

"What's wrong with you?" I asked. "You get your bike back yet?"

Before responding, a moment was taken for him to catch his breath while he still laid on the ground. "Yeah, I found Melissa in the parking lot, but Ted showed up and made fun of me like usual. Thankfully, Melissa saved the day and made out with him."

"They were making out?" I interrupted. "Ted and Melissa?"

"Yes, but that's not the point." There was a point to this story? "While they were making out, Hailey was walking by and I ran into the school building."

"Still too afraid to talk to Hailey? Dude, she's in my drama class. Do you realize I was forced to perform a duologue with her at the beginning of the year? Out of the two of us, I've actually talked to her. Heck, I had to pretend to slap her. Now I wish I could've actually slapped her."

Without realizing it, a fist had been created. That fist punched a locker.

"There you are!" shouted Melissa who appeared out of nowhere. "Why are you on the floor?"

"Apparently, you were making with Ted and Jeremy saw Hailey," was my response while the bike thief helped the bike owner off the floor. "He was afraid of her and decided to run."

"Seriously?" Melissa began to howl like a hyena. "After last night, you still can't talk to her? Man Jeremy, you really need to grow a pair."

In response, Emily and I joined Melissa in laughter. Of course, that left Jeremy to be pissed as he walked away from us. He'd probably be the first one to first period again as usual. Melissa was tempted to follow him. Instead, she stayed with us and asked a question.

"Does the office give out visitor passes?"

Jeremy

Before the bell rang, I was on my way to first period. As usual, I would be the first one there. That all changed once something happened. Hector stopped me from entering class and handed me a folded-up note.

"What's this?" I asked not realizing that I could open it up.

"It's Hailey's number. To be more specific, it's her cell phone number."

Hailey's number? As in an actual seven-digit number? This was actually on the paper that my fingers held? So many questions went rushing through my mind. But it was clear that she knew I liked her last night at the party. A minute passed before there was enough courage to open it. Crump! Once it was opened, my fingers shivered at the sight of what was before me. In red pen, Hailey actually wrote her number down. The girl even put her name at the top of the paper with a heart next to it.

"She actually gave this to you? She knew that I liked her?"

"Looks like you really impressed her man," a smack on the shoulder was given. "Looks like you got yourself a woman."

"Uh," the shivering got worse as I forgot how to speak. A fever was breaking out. "What am I supposed to do?" The paper fell out of my grip leaving Hector to pick it up.

"You're supposed to call her. Say hello and start a conversation. I don't know, maybe even ask her on a date? Heck, why not ask her to prom? Seriously, you could go on a date and prom in the same week."

"I don't know if I can do that." My body stood there like a stiff board wanting to puke. "I wouldn't be able to call her until I got home. I can't do this. I just can't. I don't want her number."

"Dude, are you serious?" yelled Hector. "Stop making excuses and call her. It's not that hard to talk to her. You don't even have to talk to her in person. All you have to do is listen to her voice. How hard could that actually be?"

"I can't. What if she ends up hating me? What if I get her pregnant and her parents hate me for the rest of my life? I don't know. I just can't do it. I can't. Can I just go to class right now?"

"No, you can't go to class!" With that, Hector dragged me to the nearest payphone. "You're going to call her right now before the bell rings. Hell, if you have to be late, then you're going to be late because you're a senior who has a crush. We're about to graduate man! Now is the time!"

Yes, all my lungs wanted to do was scream. Why was I being forced to do this? Why? My lungs couldn't scream. They forgot how to do a simple task. Within a short time, we stood in front of a payphone. Hector paid for the call and dialed the long-awaited number. It started ringing and the phone was handed off to me. Yup, Hailey had yet to pick up her phone as it was still ringing. This felt like an eternity as I tried to take a deep breath with my eyes closed. I could do this. I could.

"Hello," Hailey spoke as she answered the phone.

Crap, she picked up the phone! My heart was racing a million miles per second. My forehead was numb. I couldn't respond. There were a few more hellos from Hailey. In the end, I found myself hanging up the phone to a disappointed Hector.

Wow! Come on Jeremy! Thanks for reading! Don't forget to comment and vote!

Have you ever used a payphone?

Are you feeling like Hector right now?