Clark eagerly grabbed the Torch off the table and looked for the response to his question.
"Dear Very Confused, I assume this girl you speak of is probably a friend. Hence, why she wants you to treat her as a friend. If she is a friend, don't pay attention to her gender. However, if you are looking for more than that, make it clear to her. Start by giving her flowers. Smiling at her."
Clark looked up from the paper even more confused than before. Why couldn't he just be happy treating her like a friend? Out of all the friends who were girls in his life, she was probably the one he treated least like a girl and yet was the one that he was most aware was a girl. It hadn't started out that way. He had tried the traditional, gentle, charming approach that he always used with girls when he met Lois in the graveyard, but that hadn't lasted long. Lois was not flattered by it and lived to get a rise out of him. He wondered why that was. She didn't seem to treat everyone that way. She was always respectful to his parents. She didn't banter with Chloe. She bantered with people she didn't like. His eyes widened and he tensed up. Was it possible that she didn't like him? He relaxed. No, she always smiled afterward. If Lois truly didn't like someone, she wouldn't smile. It was strange that he already knew so much about her in such a short time. He couldn't guess why she seemed to take particular joy in annoying him. It brought him back around to why couldn't he just be happy the way things were? He didn't know that either, but he decided to take Lois up on her advice. He was going to make a stop to the florist.
A bell jingled as he went into the flower shop. "Be with you in a minute," called a voice from the back room. Clark reached into his pocket to pull out Lois' advice that he had cut out. He read it again. "Start by giving her flowers." He ignored the part that said if you are looking for more.
An older lady came out with a poodle style perm. She looked at him with a smile. She pulled off her glasses for a moment to remove a spot and then asked, "May I help you?"
Clark stuffed the clipping back into his pocket and stepped closer to the counter. "I want to buy some flowers."
"I figured that," she said with a chuckle. "What sort of flowers?"
"I don't know," Clark said, turning a little red. "It's for a girl."
She was still smiling. "Red roses?"
"Maybe," he said.
"Do you know what her favorite flower is?"
He shook his head.
"Well, roses are a good choice then."
He pulled out his wallet. "I don't have much with me."
"A single rose is sweet and denotes simplicity. I don't think she would mind."
"And we're just friends. A dozen might be too much anyway."
"Perhaps a yellow rose then. It stands for friendship."
"That sounds good. At least, I think we're friends. I do want us to be better friends."
"I think I understand where you're coming from now. Maybe a pink rose then? It also stands for friendship, but has a slightly more romantic color."
Clark smiled, "That sounds perfect."
-
Lois opened her locker the next morning and found a single pink rose sitting on top of her books.
"Why is there a rose in my locker?" Lois asked.
Chloe took a peek. "Better yet, why are your books in there. Lois, how do you expect to get your credits if you don't do your homework?"
"I have better things to do with my time." Lois picked the rose up and smelled it. She looked around to see if anybody was watching her. No one appeared to be.
Lois smiled and Chloe frowned at Lois' smile.
"Who knew I was the type of girl to get secret admirers? It's flattering and creepy at the same time. I wonder who it could be."
"I wonder," Chloe replied her frown deepening.
TBC
