19 minutes

447 words

One Valentine

Valentine's Day was one of the worst possible days in a miserable senior year of high school for Charlie Eppes. At 13, he was much younger, much smaller, and a lot less mature than the seventeen and eighteen year old boys in his class. Of course, he was old enough to find the girls in the class very attractive, but he was too young for them to even notice him.

The only girl who seemed to treat him as a real human being was Val Eng. She was his lab partner, and she was actually nice to him. He knew he and the fat kid with the Coke bottle glasses were the only ones who were pretty much guaranteed NOT to receive a single valentine. But he also knew that he wanted to do something special for Val.

On February twelfth, he sat down across from his mother at the dining room table. "Mom? You're a girl..."

Margaret tried unsuccessfully to stifle a smile. "Yes, I am."

"I want to do something special for a girl in my class, and I need some help."

Margaret bit her lower lip and touched Charlie's cheek. "Oh, Sweetie..."

"I know, I know. I can do the math, Mom. She's five years older than me. To her, I'm a little kid. But she's actually nice to me. I want to get her something. Would it be okay if I gave her a box of chocolates and a pretty card?" He smiled wistfully. "I'd like to get her some roses, but that would probably be too much." He glanced up hopefully at his mother. "Wouldn't it?"

"I think the chocolates and card would be just right. I'd skip the roses." Once again, her heart broke for her younger son. It was a mistake to let him skip so many grades. He could run circles around his classmates in math, but he was such a little kid. And situations like this just made her wish she could turn back the clock.

Charlie nodded sadly. "I'll buy her the biggest, best box of chocolates I can afford. And I'll find the prettiest card." He smiled as he stood. "Thanks, Mom." He was halfway up the stairs when he stopped. "I know! I'll buy her roses when I take her to the prom!" Before Margaret could object, he was up the stairs and gone.

She should follow him and explain that he was just setting himself up for yet another heartbreak. But somehow, she couldn't bring herself to do it. He said this girl was nice. Maybe, just maybe, she'd be nice enough to accept Charlie's invitation to the prom in a couple of months.