"You can sit beside me!" Lisa said as Kelly finished her introduction. "I'm Lisa."
Kelley smiled back at her and eagerly sat down in the desk beside her. "Nice to meet you Lisa," she whispered, as Ms. Hoover had once again taken to the front of the room and was droning on about something Lisa already knew about.
"Nice to meet you too!" Lisa continued. "We have a lot in common. I love to learn! Classic literature is wonderful, especially Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Mark Twain—"
"Don't forget George Orwell and Charles Dickens," Kelly added. "Where would the world be without 1984?"
"I know! Did you notice that it could apply both to the American revolution as well as the French?"
"I did!"
"Lisa, Kelly," Ms. Hoover said suddenly, "could you possibly save this discussion for lunch?
The two girls giggled, smiling at one another before their eyes went from each other to the chalk board in front of the classroom. It was one in the few times in her life that Lisa couldn't—wouldn't—focus on learning. She was too excited. Kelly seemed great. Kind, pretty, intelligent, open-minded (she was wearing pants—a rare thing for a girl in Springfield), pretty, courageous, beautiful hair, pretty…
Lisa shook her head when she realized how many times she had referred to Kelly as 'pretty'.
But she is pretty, she argued with herself. There's nothing wrong with acknowledging that. Mom is pretty. Marilyn Monroe is pretty. Condoleezza Rice is pretty. Kelly is…really pretty.
Lisa's eyes wandered over to her new classmate. Her eyes were bright, alive, hair, thick and gorgeous, the perfect length.
"Stop it!" Lisa hissed to herself. "Pay attention…you can...think about her later."
She risked one more glance at Kelly, who, she noticed, was looking back at her. When their eyes locked, Kelly looked away immediately with a nervous smile, but Lisa still noticed that the girl was blushing.