The Fifteenth Year

February: Part 7

Wednesday, February 9, 2005

Dear Friend,

Last night I called Jason about an hour after my dad and I spoke, and I asked him if he'd be willing to walk around the block with me.

"Are your parents okay with it?" he asked. When I said yes, he said, "I'll be out in an hour. I just got to finish my  homework. I have practice tomorrow so I'm trying to get it out of the way."

I eagerly waited for him to meet me outside, and when I saw him walk toward my house, my heart leapt. I stepped off my porch and reached for his hand. "Let's talk, Jason."

I began to tell him the good news as we strolled down the street. We didn't get very far before he figured out where the conversation was headed, and a giant smile came to his face and he picked me up and spun me around and kissed my cheek, erupting in a jubilant laugh. Then he kissed me in front of all our neighbors. No reason to hide anymore.

"Come on," he said happily, grabbing my hand and pulling me into a run toward our houses.

"Where are we going?" I laughed.

"To tell my parents."

To say they were surprised would be an understatement. Thankfully, they took it much better than my parents initially.

"Oh Cassie, honey," Monique had said, hugging me. "You've always been like a daughter to me. This really isn't too much of an adjustment for us."

Greg concurred. "And I mean, son, this is about fifteen steps better than that Lydia girl you were dating."

Thursday, February 10, 2005

Dear Friend,

You know that scene in A Walk To Remember where Landon and Jamie walk up to the school holding hands and his ex-friends are staring at them like "Wheat the heck?" and they're too blissfully happy to care? That's how it was this morning, minus the fact that the people that happened to look at us weirdly weren't ex-friends. Jason asked my parents if it'd be all right if he gave me a ride to school this morning. We held hands walking up to the school and stayed together until our classrooms forced us to take different  hallways. Some upperclassmen looked at us oddly as if to say, Isn't she a freshman? And the people in my grade were looking at us with expressions of, Cassie's dating a junior? Impressive. I think the thing that was the most bittersweet was when we reached our separating point, gave each other a quick kiss on the lips goodbye and Lydia happened to be standing nearby with her mouth hanging open in shock. I want to say it wholly felt nice to stick it to her after she called me so many times and made me feel unworthy and pathetic for Jason. But honestly, I felt kind of bad for her.

Friday, February 11, 2005

Dear Friend,

When school got out, Chloe and Tessa met Renee and me at Miss Burgess' classroom so we could all walk to the bus together. I asked my mom if the girls could come over for a couple of hours tonight so we could all go rollerblading at the park and she said it was okay.

"Not that I'm not excited to be getting our skate on," Renee spoke, "but doesn't Jason have a game tonight you'd rather be going to?"

"It's an away game. It's a couple of hours away. He told me not to go through the trouble, he said wait for the next home game," I replied. "You guys should come. We could paint our faces. It'll be fun."

"With my acne?" Chloe asked, horrified.

I smiled. "It'll be all right for one night, Chloe. Come on. You're the only other one here who understands sports. I thought you of all people would be on board with this."

"I am! I am! It's just...my face."

Tessa laughed. "You're such a lemming, Chloe."

"I am not!" she retorted. "I go with the flow!"

I smirked as we approached my locker. Chloe was kind of a follower. But we loved her. Then I frowned.

"What's on your locker? Another note?" Tessa asked.

"Maybe it's a death threat from Lydia," Renee stated unhelpfully.

"Shut up," I said as I got a closer look. Immediately my heart raced. It was a pink and red construction paper note shaped like a heart. I opened the flap and in permanent marker saw scrawled: Be my valentine?

"That is so sweet!" Tessa gushed.

I realized all the girls were looking over my shoulder.

"He took a page from the rom-com book," Renee said, playfully elbowing Chloe.

"You should totally respond!" Chloe encouraged. "It'll be so cute! He'll never expect it! Go to the art room before they lock it and grab some crafts and stick one on his locker!"

"Um, Chloe, she lives next door to him. Wouldn't showing up with a 'yes' suffice?" Renee asked.

"It's not the same! It's about the pursuit! He didn't like that when he made this for her! Where's your sense of romance?"

"You're right, Chloe," I answered. "As usual."

We all raced to the art room. It was locked.

"Oh no! Mr. Reynolds must've left early," I sighed.

"Hold on. Mr. Thomas has some streamers and stuff decorated in our room. I'm sure we can rip off some of that," Tessa said. "I mean, it's something."

So we hurried to Tessa's classroom and grabbed a couple things here and there. Renee grabbed a strip of red streamer and I grabbed this little Cupid decoration and we taped them to Jason's locker. I grabbed a permanent marker from my backpack and wrote on the Cupid "Always. -C."

"Awesome. He'll see it...Monday," Chloe realized.

I hung my head and sighed. Oh well. It was the thought that counted. I guess I could leave it there for him to see on Monday and tell him when he called me after his game tonight.