Boy Meets Girl (Shawn Hunter from BMW Love Story)

chapter six

A few weeks passed and I had finally eradicated my crush on Shawn. I reflected on my feelings about him and realized I was just another victim of teenage infatuation and that it really wasn't a big deal. During those weeks, I kept my distance from him and kept our interactions friendly. In order to maintain those measures, I had to make strict rules for myself. I could only hang out with him when Cory and Topanga tagged along, and I had to find other friends to work with on school projects. I didn't think Shawn noticed nor cared about the dynamics of our new relationship. Like most fifteen year-old boys, he was oblivious to the affairs of love. Not to mention, he was a notorious ladies' man. Shawn never fell short of female attention, so I doubt I had any serious impact on him.

Also during this time, Topanga and I had become pretty good friends. She and Cory became exclusive, which, consequently, made me and Shawn the honorary third wheels. Nevertheless, I supported them as a couple and was happy to see them so cheery and lovestruck. As for my mom, our relationship slowly began to deteriorate. We didn't talk as much as we used to in Worchestor. Whenever she came back from work, I normally welcomed her home and went back to doing my homework while talking on the phone with Topanga. Of course, her busy work schedule exacerbated the situation. As time went on, we became more like roommates and less like an actual family.

It was now the middle of September and I had gotten fairly used to life at John Adams High and Philly in general. The gang had shown me around the malls, movie theaters, and hangout spots of the town, and I had to admit that Philly wasn't as bad as I originally thought it would be, but I still missed Worchestor and the life I had back then. Nothing could ever change that.

September was homecoming season at John Adams High. I was very interested in learning about the school's festivities and traditions. At my old school, homecoming season was a grand occasion, a whole event. My high school treated our homecoming with the same energy, enthusiasm, and grandeur of an HBCU (historically black college/university) homecoming. Needless to say, I did not have the same expectations for John Adams High.

"Hey kiddos," Cory's elder brother Eric greeted us in the lunch line. He was holding a big brown box of what appeared to be buttons? Cory raised an eyebrow at his brother's sudden friendliness.

"What do you want, Eric?" Cory questioned suspiciously as he swiped a side of tater tots from the lunch line.

"Make sure you and your friends vote for me for homecoming king on Friday," he said as he winked at the four of us.

"You've gotta be kidding me," Shawn groaned.

"Nah, I'm serious. Vote Eric Matthews for homecoming king!" Eric cried as he attached a button with his face on it onto Shawn's plaid jacket. "I think I have a solid chance of winning. Rebecca Frierson is campaigning for queen and if I ask her to homecoming, and people see she's my date then I'll win king," he explained. I cringed immensely.

"I don't think that's how that works," I commented.

"Yeah, that doesn't make any sense," Topanga added.

"Whatever. I'll show you guys that Eric Matthews is homecoming king material."

"Well, you probably should have thought about that before you printed your face on buttons when there's clearly a booger in your nose in this picture," Cory pointed out. Eric dropped his jaw in embarrassment and ripped the button off of Shawn's jacket.

"Ouch!" Shawn remarked. I struggled so hard to fight back a laughter as Eric stared at the button before throwing it back in the box.

"Man, I knew I should've done the coupons!" Eric complained as he raced out of the cafeteria.