Victoria seems out of it for the rest of the day. During classes, she laid her head down and stared out the window. She wasn’t smiling but she wasn’t smiling so Pasliee couldn’t tell if her thoughts were happy or sad. At lunch, she sat down at the locker and looked at her phone. That day when Simon was walking home with Pasliee, he asked about Victoria.
“Is something wrong with Victoria?” Simon asked.
“So you do like her!” Pasliee cheered.
“No, I never said that” Simon disagreed.
“But you never didn’t say it either” Pasliee said.
“She just seemed so out of it today. She walked right past me for the whole day without a rude comment, not even a groan or complaint” Simon remembered.
“Why’d you kiss her?” Pasliee asked.
“What kind of question is that?” Simon responded.
“I think that I’m the one to blame for her being out of it” Pasliee muttered.
“How so?” Simon asked.
“We were talking about her on and off boyfriend Blaze, she really misses him” Pasliee muttered.
“She has a boyfriend?” Simon asked.
“Well, an on and off boyfriend” Pasliee added.
“So, are they on or off?” Simon asked.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?”
“Pasliee”
“Off” Pasliee answered. The next day, Simon had some bad news for Pasliee.
“What is it?” Pasliee asked. The two were at home in the kitchen.
“I don’t know how you’re going to take this” Simon said.
“It can’t be that bad” Pasliee disagreed.
“Stacy and Tracy asked me out” Simon informed her. Pasliee gasped, furious.
“They did what?” Pasliee asked.
“See, I know you were going to be upset” Simon knew it.
“No! I’m very, very upset!” Pasliee disagreed.
“Why?” Simon asked.
“After all that we’ve been through-” Pasliee started.
“Pasliee-” Simon tried to tell her.
“They choked me!” Pasliee reminded him.
“Almost” Simon disagreed.
“Where’s the big difference?” Pasliee snapped.
“Well-” Simon started to say.
“Is there a big difference?” Pasliee asked, tears welling in her eyes.
“No, but-”
“The next thing I know you’re going to have married them and moved out of the house and-”
“Pasliee, I didn’t agree to the date” Simon informed her.
“You told them no?” Pasliee asked.
“I told them that the choice was yours” Simon answered.
“Definitely not, no way!” Pasliee exclaimed.
“Okay, then I won’t go” Simon agreed. Pasliee’s tears stopped and she hugged him.
“You’re the best!” Pasliee cheered.
