Terri was reading a poetry book when the doorbell rang. The McGreggors weren't expecting guests, so Terri had no idea who it would be. It was the Thursday after Christmas anyway, so it wasn't a holiday. Terri pulled open the front door.

"Amber! Well, this is a surprise."

Amber, without thinking, just walked into the McGreggor home, clutching her head. "Oh my gosh, Terri, what am I supposed to do? How do I get out of this mess? Oh my gosh..."

Terri held her hands out to stop Amber. "Whoa, whoa. Slow down there, Amber. What mess?"

Amber babbled, "See, Jimmy asked me out and we're going to see a movie tonight, but I don't know what to wear, or how to act, or, Oh my goodness! I don't know how to kiss a guy, and...and...What do I do if he takes my hand? And..."

"Didn't you hear the part about slowing down?"

"I'm sorry, Terri, I'm just so nervous!"

"First date, huh?"

"Yeah, and I don't know what to do!"

"You do like Jimmy, right?"

"Yes...no...I don't know!"

"You don't know? What happened to the, 'I hope Jimmy was the one who gave me these chocolates'?

"I still like him. I think. But when Craig came over to give me my homework, he put his arm around me, and it just felt right. I belonged there, somehow."

"Sounds like a bad case of L-O-V-E."

"I don't love him! I don't even like him! If I like him even a tiny bit, I wouldn't have said yes to Jimmy."

Terri sounded skeptical. "I don't know about that..."

"No, honestly! If I liked Craig, I'm positive that I would've said no to Jimmy." Amber got confused. "Right?"

Teasing, Terri said, "I've told you before. I don't know the answer to that. Only you do. But I still think you're in love with Craig."

Jimmy was looking in the mirror, admiring himself. He knew he looked good. He was going to knock Amber off her feet. With his good looks and great taste, (not to mention his killer smile) he could knock any girl off her feet. Self-satisfied, he looked at the clock. Yikes! 6:57 already! He had better start going. He strolled out the door, confidence in every step.

Amber was waiting anxiously at the doorway. She kept on looking through the window, waiting to see Jimmy walk up the drive. Terri had managed to calm her down earlier, so Amber's heart did not pound as loudly as it did before. Terri had given her advice, and had even picked out an outfit for Amber.

Jimmy came into view. Amber's heart did not leap as she had thought it would. It quickened only a little, and it wasn't that noticeable.

Jimmy rang the doorbell. Amber opened the door wide, smiled nervously, and walked out onto the porch. Crossing her fingers and hoping for a good date, Amber tentatively took Jimmy's hand. She didn't look back at her home, where Mrs. Sullivan was sadly watching her daughter go away.

Craig was getting restless. There was nothing to do; he had already played outside with Angela, and he had even gone so far as to play every board game in the house. Craig was bored, and he couldn't think of any better alternative than to slouch on the couch and watch TV. Craig gave up on the television when the majority of the programs started to be game shows. It was 7:10 P.M., and Craig decided that he might as well have a night out with the guys.

He picked up the phone and called Sean. No answer. Spinner. Noone was there. Marco. Answering machine. He called Jimmy. This time, a lady answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hi. Is Jimmy there?"

"I'm sorry, honey. He just went to the movie theater on a date. Can I take a message?"

Politely, Craig said, "No, that's okay. But thank you anyway! Bye."

"Buh-bye, now."

The movie theater, eh? Craig got ready to go out. He wanted to see who Jimmy's date was.