T.J's POV
Vince and I saw a girl with long black hair and gasped. Vince was the first to speak up.
"Hey, I'm Vincent LaSalle but everyone calls me Vince and this is my friend Theodore Detwieller but everyone calls him T.J"
"Hello, I'm Diana Carpenter. What are you doing here?" Diana asked us kind of awkwardly.
After a moment of silence Vince finally spoke up. "We thought we'd come and introduce ourselves"
"Diane, whose at the door?" I heard someone say.
"Just some neighbors" Diana replied back.
After another few moments of awkward silence I finally spoke "We heard two teens in this house are going to be starting at Third Street High tomorrow"
"Yes, my stepsister Lee and I are. We're a bit busy unpacking right now, I'm going into grade 12. My sister is going to grade 11" Diana said nonchalantly.
"Okay Diana, hmm, Vince and I are in grade 11 on the school sports teams. If you and Lee wants, we could um...show you both around school, no pressure or anything. We're just asking" I stuttered while asking Diana.
''Um..I don't think Lee would want to she's a little nervous and stuff trying to get settled, sorry" Diana told us apologetically.
''Do you um...mind if we could uh...meet Lee?'' I asked a little nervously.
''Lee is helping our brothers with some things''
''It's okay we were just asking. My house is three doors down over there if you two ever change your mind Diana, just trying to be neighborly''
''Thanks T.J, I'll talk to Lee tonight and see what she thinks about you and Vince possibly showing us around...I better get going we got a lot of unpacking left to do''
''Ok no problem Diana, by the way welcome to the neighborhood'' I said with a smile. She smiled back and waved.
Just as we were about to leave out the door way, I took a glimpse at one of the picture frames on the desk, it was a picture of the gang. Mikey in the back writing poetry, Vince on the right side of Mikey with a basketball under his arm, Gretchen on the left side of Mikey holding a science book, in front of Vince is Gus and Cornchip girl, his arm around her, beside Cornchip girl stood Spinelli and I, with my arm over her shoulder and her kissing my cheek. It was the last picture taken before Spinelli left us.
Vince and I then stepped off the porch and started heading back to my house for another game.
That night, I couldn't get to sleep because I couldn't stop thinking of that picture and how I missed the good old days at Third Street Elementary with all the pranks and stuff. I thought maybe I was just imagining that picture there because I missed Spinelli so much.
Soon I started falling asleep. The last stuff I thought about was the day Ms Finster sprained her ankle, the day Spinelli called Ms Grotke 'mama', the day we got trapped in the Ashley's clubhouse and when Randal told everyone Spinelli's first name was Ashley, but the one memory I couldn't help but think of was 'The Experiment' I loved kissing Spinelli, heck, she was my first kiss to. If I could turn back time, I would go back to that day we kissed.
I love Spinelli, people would tell me it's just a little crush, but I know for a fact it wasn't. There was something between us...a bond, a bond that no ordinary friends have. She was the closest to me, maybe even closer than Vince and I were.
I like to think she'll come back again and we can finally be together. I hope she's out there thinking of me.