"Lizzie! Get up! You're gonna be late for school," Mom called in from
the hallway. "And I'm not driving you if you miss the bus again like you
did last week."
I grumbled and hid my face in my squishy purple pillow. I remember a time when my mom would come in and wake me gently. What happened to those days? Oh yeah. I turned thirteen.
Slowly tearing the covers away, I got out of bed and slid my feet into my fuzzy pink slippers. I trudged into the bathroom and looked at my "lovely" morning self in the mirror. I swear, I look ten times better later in the day. My pajamas were rumpled, my hair was a mess and my eyeliner was smudged all over the place since I'd forgotten to wash my face before I went to bed. But I quickly brightened when I remembered that today was the last day of middle school. I was so excited.
With a sigh, I brushed my teeth and went downstairs for breakfast, nearly tripping over my little, annoying brother Matt's sneakers that he'd left right in the middle of the hallway. I took my seat at the kitchen table in front of a big bowl of Fruity Pebbles and emerged my spoon into the sea of milk.
"Aaaah!" I heard Matt scream at the top of his lungs as he entered the kitchen. "It's the bride of...Frankenstine!"
"Shut up, you spiky-headed freak," I muttered back indifferently. "Or I'll give you a wedgie you'll never forget."
"Okay, okay," Matt replied, sitting down across from me at the table. I thought he was going to back off until he added, "just be sure to give your new husband my best regards." So I heaved a spoonful of soggy Pebbles at him, but missed. Unfortunately, my father had been walking to his seat at the same time and the cereal hit him square in the eye.
Matt started laughing in that little weasle tone that he has about him, and I handed my dad a napkin. He was fuming.
"I'm so..sorry," I said quickly, helping him sop the milk up from his shirt where it had dripped down from his cheek. "I was aiming for Matt."
"Well, you shouldn't be aiming at anyone," Dad put in, sitting down. "Your cereal is for eating, not for throwing at people."
Rolling my eyes, I brought my bowl over to the kitchen sink and ran up the stairs. I slammed my bedroom door shut behind me, as I usually do, and rummaged through the closet trying to find the perfect thing to wear. After about ten minutes of disicive thinking, I finally settled on a pair of stonewashed jeans and a bright red off the shoulder tank top. I brushed my hair, slipped into my favorite pair of brown clogs, and applied my make-up.
I thought if I hurried quickly enough, I could escape the house for school without running into any of my family members again. But I was wrong, so very wrong, like I am most of the time. I ran into my mother on my way out the door, two steps to freedom.
"Honey, don't forget to ask Gordo and Miranda if they want to come over for pizza after school," she reminded me. "It's a tradition. I wouldn't want them to forget."
"Okay, Mom," I replied nonchalantly and scooted out the door before she could remind me of some chore I had to do over the summer.
But as I was walking down the sidewalk to the bus stop, something inside of me jolted and I stopped in my tracks. Miranda and Gordo. Gordo. Oh, gosh.
How could I have been excited about going to school, even though it was the last day of school, after what happened yesterday? It made me sick to my stomach just to think about it. Yesterday, I sneaked a peek at what Gordo was writing in my yearbook before he was done, and I got the surprise of my life. Kate was right. Gordo liked me. And suddenly, everything all pieced itself together.
I liked him, too. Just the thought of it scared me at first, but after letting it sink in for a few minutes, I became more and more comfortable with it. So comfortable that I'd acted on my feelings, and just as the flash went off on the camera on our class picture, I kissed him. Not on the lips or anything, just on the cheek.
But the worst part was, I hadn't talked to Gordo since "the event". I was afraid. As soon as the picture was finished, realizing that I hadn't a clue in the world how I was going to explain myself or what I was going to say, I ran off without even telling him where I was going, and that afternoon I got on the bus and didn't look back.
Now, at the bus stop, I was going to have to face my fear head on. Whether I liked it or not, I was going to have to confront Gordo, face to face. At least Miranda's parents let her come home from Mexico early since she hated it so much there. She'd be there for me, even though I'd forgotten to fill her in on that little detail on the phone last night.
As I neared the bus stop, the people already standing there came into clearer view. And there he was. Gordo. My best friend. My biggest secret crush. Now was the moment of truth.
Here goes nothing, I thought to myself as I approached the bus stop and looked him right in the eye.
I grumbled and hid my face in my squishy purple pillow. I remember a time when my mom would come in and wake me gently. What happened to those days? Oh yeah. I turned thirteen.
Slowly tearing the covers away, I got out of bed and slid my feet into my fuzzy pink slippers. I trudged into the bathroom and looked at my "lovely" morning self in the mirror. I swear, I look ten times better later in the day. My pajamas were rumpled, my hair was a mess and my eyeliner was smudged all over the place since I'd forgotten to wash my face before I went to bed. But I quickly brightened when I remembered that today was the last day of middle school. I was so excited.
With a sigh, I brushed my teeth and went downstairs for breakfast, nearly tripping over my little, annoying brother Matt's sneakers that he'd left right in the middle of the hallway. I took my seat at the kitchen table in front of a big bowl of Fruity Pebbles and emerged my spoon into the sea of milk.
"Aaaah!" I heard Matt scream at the top of his lungs as he entered the kitchen. "It's the bride of...Frankenstine!"
"Shut up, you spiky-headed freak," I muttered back indifferently. "Or I'll give you a wedgie you'll never forget."
"Okay, okay," Matt replied, sitting down across from me at the table. I thought he was going to back off until he added, "just be sure to give your new husband my best regards." So I heaved a spoonful of soggy Pebbles at him, but missed. Unfortunately, my father had been walking to his seat at the same time and the cereal hit him square in the eye.
Matt started laughing in that little weasle tone that he has about him, and I handed my dad a napkin. He was fuming.
"I'm so..sorry," I said quickly, helping him sop the milk up from his shirt where it had dripped down from his cheek. "I was aiming for Matt."
"Well, you shouldn't be aiming at anyone," Dad put in, sitting down. "Your cereal is for eating, not for throwing at people."
Rolling my eyes, I brought my bowl over to the kitchen sink and ran up the stairs. I slammed my bedroom door shut behind me, as I usually do, and rummaged through the closet trying to find the perfect thing to wear. After about ten minutes of disicive thinking, I finally settled on a pair of stonewashed jeans and a bright red off the shoulder tank top. I brushed my hair, slipped into my favorite pair of brown clogs, and applied my make-up.
I thought if I hurried quickly enough, I could escape the house for school without running into any of my family members again. But I was wrong, so very wrong, like I am most of the time. I ran into my mother on my way out the door, two steps to freedom.
"Honey, don't forget to ask Gordo and Miranda if they want to come over for pizza after school," she reminded me. "It's a tradition. I wouldn't want them to forget."
"Okay, Mom," I replied nonchalantly and scooted out the door before she could remind me of some chore I had to do over the summer.
But as I was walking down the sidewalk to the bus stop, something inside of me jolted and I stopped in my tracks. Miranda and Gordo. Gordo. Oh, gosh.
How could I have been excited about going to school, even though it was the last day of school, after what happened yesterday? It made me sick to my stomach just to think about it. Yesterday, I sneaked a peek at what Gordo was writing in my yearbook before he was done, and I got the surprise of my life. Kate was right. Gordo liked me. And suddenly, everything all pieced itself together.
I liked him, too. Just the thought of it scared me at first, but after letting it sink in for a few minutes, I became more and more comfortable with it. So comfortable that I'd acted on my feelings, and just as the flash went off on the camera on our class picture, I kissed him. Not on the lips or anything, just on the cheek.
But the worst part was, I hadn't talked to Gordo since "the event". I was afraid. As soon as the picture was finished, realizing that I hadn't a clue in the world how I was going to explain myself or what I was going to say, I ran off without even telling him where I was going, and that afternoon I got on the bus and didn't look back.
Now, at the bus stop, I was going to have to face my fear head on. Whether I liked it or not, I was going to have to confront Gordo, face to face. At least Miranda's parents let her come home from Mexico early since she hated it so much there. She'd be there for me, even though I'd forgotten to fill her in on that little detail on the phone last night.
As I neared the bus stop, the people already standing there came into clearer view. And there he was. Gordo. My best friend. My biggest secret crush. Now was the moment of truth.
Here goes nothing, I thought to myself as I approached the bus stop and looked him right in the eye.