The Perfect Man

Peer Pressure

It was already April, and in two months, I felt like I knew the kids from my class very well and as a kid myself, I thought they were all right in anything.

Surprisingly, mostly everyone in my class had dated someone at least once, except for Angie, another girl, Andrea and I. We were all around 11-13 (like two students were 13 in 7th grade)

It had become a bad habit for me to just agree with my peers with anything and do whatever they told me, because I felt like they knew more than me and I thought that it was part of the culture here. It was not even because I wanted to be cool, because we weren't the cool ones at school, it was more like a loyalty towards my new family.

Everyone was saying that Junior and I should be together and Andrea and Carlos as well. And it was like the duty of everyone to see the two "cute couples" together before the end of the year. And as much I hated the idea of having a boyfriend in such an early age, I was ready to accept it if he asked. I didn't even see him that way, I wasn't ready for all the kissing and the hugging and the demonstration of "love" everywhere and all that stuff. For me, that was crap at that age.

Like a month before school was over, during lunch time, outside, one of my classmates separated me from Angie, my sister, and Joanna (my sister's friend) to "tell me something". In reality, they just wanted me to have some time alone with Junior so that he could ask the "big" question. While Junior was talking to me, I saw how Carlos was talking to my sister as well and I knew what was about to happen already. Part of me felt excited and part of me felt weird. I couldn't picture myself kissing someone. *yuck*
"You look pretty today. Did you wash your hair?", said Junior to start off his speech.
"Really? That's the best he can do? Isn't it obvious that I washed my hair today?", I thought, but instead, I said "Thank you, and yes I did."
"Oh. Um, can I tell you something?", he asked.
"Sure.", I answered.
"There's a girl in the class, and I like her a lot. Can you guess who it is?"
Of course, I wasn't dumb and didn't want to look desperate, so I started naming every girl in the class, until there was only me and my sister left. He kept saying no for each name I said, waiting for me to "realize" that I was the one.
"That's it, I think.", I said.
"Um, no. What about you? You didn't mention yourself."
"Because it's not me."
"What if it is you?"
"Ha... don't play with those things."
"I'm not playing. Do you want to be my girlfriend?"
"Really?? Just like that?!? Nothing like the movies? Where's the part where you tell me everything you like about me and then ask me to be your girlfriend?!", I thought. But, of course, I didn't say that. Instead, I said "Is this for real?"
And he answered, "Yes, do you want or not?"
I felt like he meant the offer was expiring, so I just said yes and we hugged. He tried to kiss me, but I told him to go one step at the time.

Angie was always against me dating anybody at such a young age, so I didn't want to tell her that Junior was awkwardly my boyfriend.

As soon as I finished with Junior, I asked my sister what happened, and she told me that Carlos asked her to be his girlfriend but she was smart enough to just say no. She said she felt bad for him, but she barely knew him. "Uh oh. What is she going to think now?", I thought. When she asked me, I denied everything and acted as if nothing happened over there. But she knew there was something fishy going on.