It all started when Arno van Keef helped Beckie Applebaum with some notes, but before Arno knew it, Beckie was asking him out and bringing him flowers! What happens when Arno finds himself playing "the girl" in a role-reversed romance?
This story's...
Arno's last two periods of the day were Cloud 9 for him. He only had the vaguest idea what he and Beckie had said in Spanish (and she coyly refused to elaborate for him during science), but he knew she understood him, and hand holding is the same in any language.
Arno smiled to himself as he went to his locker. What strange turns life could sometimes take; just last week, Arno had been obsessed with Savannah Carmichael and was concocting plan after plan to get her attention, then suddenly Beckie Applebaum just dropped right out of the sky! And Arno van Keef couldn't have been happier for it.
Arno reached into his locker to put away the books he didn't need for the night and retrieve the ones he did. Just then a voice he recognized startled him.
"So are you and Beckie from Spanish class a thing now?" asked Traylor.
Arno spun around to find Tralyor and Quantell both standing there. Arno smiled sheepishly. "Uh... no—not yet, anyway..."
"I saw the way you and she were messing around during science," said Quantell. "And Tony says you and her were holding hands in Spanish."
"So what if we were?" asked Arno. "I like Beckie. I like-like her and I'm gonna make her my girlfriend."
Arno's friends grinned. "Well, judging from how she was looking at you, that shouldn't be too difficult," said Traylor.
"Hey Arno!" said a voice that made his heart jump. Arno turned around saw Beckie standing there in a red and gold basketball uniform with her hair in a ponytail.
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"Beckie!" exclaimed Arno.
"Sorry to interrupt," said Beckie, "but I just wanted to invite you to my basketball game this Friday."
"B-basketball game?" asked Arno.
"Yeah!" said Beckie proudly. "I'm on the girls basketball team, and it's been a great season for us. We've been unbeatable since Lola joined the team!"
Arno's eyes were running up and down Beckie as he took in legs, bare arms, and other details of her body normally concealed. "That'd be awesome," said Arno breathlessly. "I'll be there."
"Great!" said Beckie. "It'll be in the gym at 7pm. I'll see you then, mi bonita cariño."
Those words ignited a fire somewhere deep inside Arno. Well, he thought to himself, I won't be sleeping a wink tonight. "I'll see you then, Beckie—mi guapo liefling!"
Beckie laughed and waved before turning and heading off to basketball practice. Arno turned back to his friends. "Am I the luckiest guy ever, or what?" he said.
Traylor and Quantell looked at each other and grinned. "Bruh," said Quantell, "do you realize what she said in Spanish?"
"Do you even know me?" said Arno. "Of course not! But I'm pretty sure it's—"
"She basically called you her pretty darling," said Quantell.
Arno's eyes burst open at this. "You're screwing with me—"
"And you called her handsome!"
"What?" exclaimed Arno.
"Guapo means 'handsome,' dumbass!" said Traylor. "Guapa with an A means 'pretty.'"
Arno's face turned as red as a tomato. "Uh..." he began.
"Wait, you've been calling her 'handsome' and she's just been going along with it?" asked Quantell.
"Duh," said Traylor with a grin. "She's the boy."
"She's not a—" said Arno, thinking he was going to have a repeat of his conversation with his father.
"She's the boy and you're the girl," said Traylor.
"What?" asked Arno.
"Well, let's see," said Quantell, counting on his fingers. "She approached you, she asked you on a date, she pulled up to your place in her car and took you on a date, she calls you pretty and holds your hand, and now she wants you to watch her play sports. Bro, she's making you the girl in the relationship!"
"No she's not!" snapped Arno.
"She even came to his rescue when Quinton knocked him over!" exclaimed Traylor with a laugh.
"Dude, just name one thing—just one damn thing—you and Beckie have done where you were the guy," said Quantell.
"No problem," said Arno. "Well..." he froze, his mind completely blank. Arno now knew how Spongebob felt when he sat down to pen a brilliant essay, but got stuck after writing a particularly calligraphic 'THE'.
"Well?" asked Quantell.
"There was that time..." said Arno, his voice trailing off. "Uh, there was when..." It dawned on Arno. "Crap, you're right. I am the girl!"
Dr. Gilmore, the guidance counselor, happened to be walking by. She stopped and approached the three boys.
"Arno, did you just say you're a girl?" she asked eagerly. "Are you coming out? If you need, I have some pamphlets you can take home, and you're welcome in my office—would you rather go by Annie?"
Arno stared bewildered at Dr. Gilmore. "Uh, no," he said. "I'm a guy. We were just talking about something is all."
Dr. Gilmore nodded understandingly. "Some eggs take a little longer to hatch than others," she said sweetly. "You're still welcome to come and see me anytime you feel comfortable." She continued on her way.
Traylor and Quantell grinned. "I can't wait to see Beckie take you to prom," said Traylor.
"And she'll be wearing a tux and Arno will be in a dress!" laughed Quantell.
"No I won't!" snapped Arno.
"You say that now," said Quantell. Just then, Mr. Joliett walked by.
"Unless you boys are staying for tutoring or detention, you'd better move along," he said. "The bus is about to leave."
Arno, Traylor, and Quantell looked at each other. "We gotta move," said Quantell.
"Right," said Traylor.
"Thanks, Mr. J!" said Arno as he slammed his locker shut and he and his friends took off for the exit.
