Funny how I faced a dragon, a wicked witch, and a mysterious prison without being afraid at all, but now I was afraid just to talk to Michael. I kept twiddling my fingers. Eventually I decided to ask for advice from Charlotte, because she was my best friend and always the first one to ask about stuff.
"Charlotte?"
"Yeah, Elizabeth?"
"How do I talk to a boy?"
She choked on her water. "You've got a crush?"
"Yeah. What do I do?"
She shrugged. "What do I know? I've never had a crush."
"Really?"
"Really. But if you're afraid, I'll tell you this - don't be. Just go for it."
"I can't, I'm too scared."
"Elizabeth, you're the bravest person I know."
"Thanks. But... there are different types of bravery. And this one, I don't have."
She sighed. "You'll be fine. Just go for it."
And so I decided to listen.
"Emmy! Hi!"
"Hi Elizabeth."
"Where's Michael?"
She shrugged. "I dunno. Why?"
"I... want to ask him something."
Her eyes it up. "You going to ask him on a date?"
"Maybe..."
"Knew it! You two are totally in love!"
"Emmy... shush."
"Fine. But you a-are!"
At that moment Michael walked in. "Hey Emmy, Hey Liz" (he'd started calling me Liz. It was weird, but I was okay with it.)
"Michael..."
"Yeah?"
"You wanna... hang out sometime?"
"You mean... like a date?"
"Yeah, kinda like that."
He smiled. "Sure."
Apparently, I wasn't the only one who had mustered the courage to ask someone out on the date. Two other people had done the same... my brother and my nephew. Grace had agreed to go on a date with Henry, apparently. And Emma had agreed to date my brother again.