"JT, you're drooling."
The words cut into JT's dream and he tried to ignore them. The crowd cheered as he...
"JT?"
"Wha-?" he mumbled then realized there was indeed drool dripping from the side of his mouth. He opened his eyes and wiped it away quickly. Manny was leaning over towards him smiling. "Oh. Uh, thanks, Manny."
He had fallen asleep yet again in Biology during a slide show about dolphins. But it wasn't his fault. After all, the room had been dark and quiet and he hadn't gotten much sleep the night before, staying up to watch Die Hard and Die Hard 2 for the twelfth time.
JT leaned his head against his hand trying to remember the pleasant dream he had been having. Oh yes. He and Paige had been walking down an aisle of people about to be crowned Prom King and Queen. All the girls in school had watched them jealously wishing they were in Paige's place on his arm. He smiled at the memory. It quickly faded as he remembered reality. While Paige didn't seem to hate him with the fire of a thousand suns anymore, she was happily dating Spinner. And JT's chances of being crowned Prom King were about as likely as his chances of being crowned Prince of England.
Alright, I have to get over her, he thought determinedly. She's got a boyfriend and I can easily get a girlfriend. He glanced around the room, looking at the possibilities. Well let's see there's Manny of course, but she's still hung up on Craig. Plus she just saw saliva running down my chin, so no. Liberty? JT visibly shivered. I hope I'm never that desperate. Emma's got something going on with that new guy Chris. He couldn't think of any more possibilities. The rest of the girls were also either taken, out of his league or nearly as bad as Liberty.
The bell rang, startling JT. He got to his feet with a sigh and starting collecting his books.
"JT, that was some serious droolage," Toby said as he came up behind his friend. "I saw it all the way from the other side of the room."
"Thanks for telling me," JT muttered as they walked out of the room towards their locker.
"I did," Toby laughed. "I passed the message along through Manny."

"Oh well in that case, never mind," JT replied sarcastically. He fumbled with the combination then wrenched open the locker door. Glancing down the hall, he caught sight of Spinner with his arm around Paige. They seemed to be in deep conversation about something. Growing even more depressed, JT threw his books carelessly onto the shelf of the locker. "How did you do it, Tob?"

"Do what?" Toby asked as he sorted through his things.
"Get Kendra. You know, get a girlfriend."
Toby shrugged. "I dunno. It just kinda happened." His eyes took a dreamy look. "We both had the same interests and found each other attractive and now we're very happy—"
"Ok that's all good and well for you two. But what about me?" JT closed the locker forcefully. "I need someone. Someone better than Liberty," he added anticipating what Toby was about to say. "You have to help me find the perfect girl."

"You can't go looking for the perfect girl. You have to wait for her to come to you. Life isn't about searching for love. You have to just let things happen."
"Ok, Mr. Fortune Cookie, easy for you to say," JT said. "You found love." They passed by Paige who was laughing about something with Spinner, Ashley and Terri and she smiled at JT. He smiled back slightly. Then he squared his shoulders determinedly. "I just need someone new. Someone we don't already know. Someone like—Sean!"
Toby raised his eyebrows. "Sean? I don't think he's quite what you're looking for."

Ignoring him, JT hurried over to where Sean was standing. He had a bunch of papers stuffed in his back pocket and was handing one of them to a group of girls. As they walked away, JT tapped Sean on the shoulder.
"What's this? Looks like a flier for a party." JT tried to grab the paper but Sean pulled it away.
"It's none of your business. You're not invited," Sean told him.
"So it is a party." JT tried to see the address but Sean crumpled it up.
"Not for you," Sean said before walking away.
JT watched him turn a corner and disappear. His lips curled up into a smile as he looked at the paper he had managed to pull from Sean's pocket. "Is that right?" He scanned the sheet quickly. It was that Saturday evening at Sean's place. The flier promised plenty of beer and music. For JT it also said there would be plenty of girls to help him get over Paige.

+++

Paige strolled to school that morning, next to Spinner as usual. They were having a heated discussion.
"I don't think that the spirit squad should get the money," Spinner was saying. "The soccer team really needs the new equipment."
"Um, hello, have you seen the uniforms Bardell has? Ours look like something my grandmother sewed compared to those," Paige replied. "The ones from the catalog are totally hot."

Spinner smiled suddenly. "Well, maybe it's not such a bad idea after all. I wouldn't mind seeing my honey bunny in a cute new uniform."
Paige smiled up at him as he leaned in to peck her on the lips. She slipped her hand into his as they entered the building and headed for her locker. He leaned against the locker next to hers' as she began to spin the combination dial. "Did you hear about the party at Sean's house Saturday night?" she asked him.
"Uh, yeah, I heard something about it," Spinner replied.
"It's at eight o'clock but I figure we should get there at around nine just to be fashionable late," said Paige as she hung up her jacket.
Spinner straightened. "I can't go, remember? My dad won those box seats to the hockey game. No way I'm passing those up."
"Oh." Paige was disappointed. "So I'm going to have to go solo to this thing?"
"Well you can always go with Hazel or Ash or someone." Spinner put his arm around her. "But I'll miss you."
Paige had a funny feeling she knew what was coming. "Um, I'll miss you too, sweetheart."

Spinner had a rare serious look on his face. "Paige, I-I lov—"
"Ash!" Paige called out spotting the girl walking towards them with Terri at her side. Her chest flooding with relief, she heard Spinner sigh as he removed his arm from her shoulders. "Terri, hey."
"What's going on?" Ashley asked.
"Um, well, I was, uh, just wondering if you guys were going to the party on Saturday at Sean's. Spinner can't go so maybe we could make it a girl's night?" Paige avoided Spinner's eyes.
"Yeah, sounds great," Terri said enthusiastically. She waved the flier. "It sounds like it's gonna be a good party. He's gonna have a DJ and everything."
"Great," Paige replied, forcing a smile. "Can't wait."
"I just gotta make sure I stay away from the drinks," Terri said with a rueful grin. Everyone laughed. Paige noticed JT and Toby approaching. She smiled at him but he barely smiled back. She quickly turned her attention back to the conversation, unwilling to ponder JT's behavior.
"The end of the week can't come soon enough," Ashley was saying. "I've got a science exam and I heard we're gonna have a pop quiz in English on the reading, which I did not do."
Paige nodded in agreement but turned slightly to watch JT and Toby walking down the hall. She noticed that they were clutching the party flier and was surprised to feel her heart flutter slightly.