Ten!
The whole gang is crowded around a 16-inch TV in my boarding house waiting for the ball to drop. And the girl I've been in love with for the past three years is standing so close to me.
Nine!
He's standing so close to me. His hand just brushed mine. Criminy, doesn't he know how much this is killing me?
Eight!
Neither of us are drinking (Helga never drinks, and I didn't want her to feel left out), but I still feel intoxicated just from being near her. Why can't I tell her how I feel?
Seven!
We've come a long way over the last decade, me and Arnold. We don't fight so much anymore. I'm perfectly pleasant to him now. But I've still never told him how I feel.
Six!
I've never had this problem with any other crush. But then again no other crush ever made me feel so flustered. Gerald always says I'm a bold kid, but he's wrong. I just don't get scared about the right things.
Five!
That's my New Year's resolution. I'm going to tell him this year. It won't be tonight. It probably won't be this month. But by the time December 31st rolls around again, I'll have summoned my courage and told him the truth.
Four!
I can't afford to keep waiting like this. Who knows what she'll be doing a year from now? I want her to spend the next New Years with me. And the next one after that… and the next one…
Three!
Maybe when I tell him it will freak him out so much that next year he won't want to be anywhere near me, and we won't be attending the same house party, celebrating this holiday together.
Two!
I want to kiss her. Is there any chance she wants to kiss me?
One!
Or maybe… just maybe… one year from now, he'll want to kiss me when the countdown reaches zero.
Zero!
Everyone is cheering and popping bottles of champagne. I'm just staring at her. She's noticed and is now giving me a quizzical look. "Helga…" I'm so nervous, but I lean in. "You wanna be my first kiss of the New Year?"