Where is he? Jeanette thought impatiently. Simon was supposed to be home a half hour ago, and he hasn't shown up yet! Oh, I hope nothing has gone wrong…

Jeanette had been waiting for her counterpart for quite a while. Simon had had to stay behind and finish a project, so Jeanette had been alone for the trip home. Well, her sisters and Simon's brothers were in the car, too, but Jeanette chose not to listen as they unceasingly talked at her.

However, Simon was supposed to have arrived home thirty minutes earlier. As one would guess, he had not, and Jeanette was very worried.

Just then, Jeanette heard the front door opening. Could it be…? she thought. She peered out her bedroom door. No, not Simon, just Dave, carrying a truckload of groceries. He spotted Jeanette.

"Oh, hi there, Jeanette," he said, with a friendly grin on his face. He tried to wave, but did not succeed, and dropped all the groceries instead.

Jeanette slipped quietly back into her room as Dave began to pick up all of the groceries at once, to no avail. She sighed. Thirty-five minutes late…

The front door opened again. Jeanette heard a familiar voice exclaim, "Geez, Dave, what did you do, throw our groceries on the ground? Let me help you with that."

Simon! she thought as a slight smile crept across her face.

Jeanette walked over to Simon. "Hey, Simon," she said. "What took you so long?"

"Oh, hi, Jeanette," replied Simon. "The bus driver let me off at the wrong stop. Or rather, she forced me off at the wrong spot." He glanced at Dave. "I suppose I was just in time for Dave over here." He sighed heavily. "Say, uh, Jeanette, is it okay if I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure," replied Jeanette. "Do you want to talk right here or…?"

"Well, I was kind of hoping we could talk in…er…privacy."

"Oh. Okay, then," said Jeanette. "Why don't we talk in my bedroom?"

"Sure, I guess."

The two walked to the room Jeanette shared with her sisters.

"Hey, guys," said Dave, "a little help here?"

"So," asked Jeanette, "what did you want to talk about?"

"Well," said Simon nervously, "I, uh, wanted to talk about our, uh…" He took a deep breath. "I wanted to talk about our relationship."

"Oh," replied Jeanette quietly. This doesn't sound good, she thought. "Well, what about our relationship?"

"Well, I thought," Simon said, "that maybe we should, you know, take a slight break from our relationship."

On the outside, she kept her composure, but in her head, Jeanette's imaginary jaw dropped. A break? A break from our relationship? How did he get that idea in his head? "What do you mean, a break from our relationship?" Jeanette asked calmly.

"Please, allow me to explain the method to my madness," said Simon. "You see, Jeanette, I have a lot on my plate right now. I have a ton of work from school that I-"

"You don't have any more than I have!" interjected Jeanette.

"Yes, but I have things to juggle on top of schoolwork," said Simon coolly. "I have the drama club production coming soon- I don't want to mess that up. I have the invention convention coming soon… I just can't put a romantic relationship on top of all that. We can still be friends, but maybe, just for now, you could start, you know… seeing other people."

Jeanette thought for a moment, then sighed. "You know what, Simon? You have a point. How about this: as soon as you're done with whatever you're busy with now, we'll have that more romantic relationship. For now, though, we're just friends."

"All right, then," replied Simon. "Well, I have to go do my homework. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

Jeanette forced herself to smile. "Okay," she said as Simon left the room.

He wants a break, huh? Maybe I should appreciate this break, she thought. I could step outside my usual boundaries for once. She imagined it for a second, then shook her head. No, not that much. I still want Simon. Maybe I could get him back… but how? Then, suddenly, an idea popped into her head. I've got it! I know exactly how to get Simon back…