Crushes Over Papercuts- A Mid 90s Tale

Chapter 3

"Jenny, wait up!"

I unsnapped my bike lock as Alex sprinted closer. "Hi, Alex."

"Hey", he paused to catch his breath, "On your way home?"

'Yeah." I strapped my backpack to the rear rack on my bike.

"Cool, can I walk with you?"

"Sure, but we have our bikes." I motioned to the hunk of metal peppered in what was left of its original yellow paint that hadn't yet chipped off.

"That's fine. I'll just walk fast to keep up."

Nicole shook her head but Alex didn't notice. The three of us left the school with Nicole on her bike and me walking my bike with Alex on the opposite side.

He pulled a leaf off a tree branch. "You weren't in first period yesterday or at lunch yesterday. I thought maybe you were sick."

The sound of acorns crunched under the wheels of my bike. "We went to the beach."

His jaw fell open. "You skipped? Why?"

"Try something different."

It was a poor explanation but it was the truth.

"That is definitely something different," he said, "especially for you." Alex tore at the leaf in his hands. "Is this going to be a regular thing?'

"No, definitely not. School is and will always be my first priority."

"So I shouldn't start taking notes for you in class?" he joked.

"That won't be necessary. I'll be there.'

He smiled. "Speaking of something different...I get my driver's license next week and my dad says I can borrow the car so...", he paused perhaps looking for the courage to continue his sentence but I secretly hoped he wouldn't as I sensed where this was going. "Maybe I could take you out sometime."

I must have taken too long to respond because before I answered he yelled up ahead "You can come too, Nicole."

She gave a little wave letting him know she heard him.

Kids who used to catch rides on their friend's handlebars to the local 711 to buy AirHeads and Jolt soda were now being gifted their own cars or borrowing the keys to their mom's station wagon. Sophomore year was already atypical.

"Yeah...maybe," I told him though I kept my eyes on the sidewalk.

I was hyper aware of the hypocrisy between my stated desire to go on a date and my reluctance to accept a date with Alex. My conversation yesterday at the beach was sincere. I wanted to get over my hopeless crush on Ben Avery and, if possible, fall for someone else but I didn't think that someone could be Alex and I lacked the courtesy or the courage to tell him that outright which only made things worse.

He cleared his throat. "Maybe I could do another story on you for the school paper? You know, like a follow up on last year's article." He spread his hands in front of him like he was reading a marquee. "Jenny Bloom: Disqualified for helping rival runner. Did her ankle ever heal?" He shrugged." The title needs work but you get the point. I kind of feel like I owe you since I got an award for your story."

"You earned that, Alex. Besides, my ankle healed long ago and I cost the team a win. Not everyone was so happy with me."

"Well, you're a winner in my book. I think helping that girl up and getting her to the finish line even after she clipped you is better for humanity than a high school track and field medal."

I dropped the kickstand on my bike when we caught up to Nicole standing in her open garage. "We're going to hang out here to study," I told Alex, still struggling to maintain eye contact.