How to Find a Valentine

How to Find a Valentine (in Ten Days or Less)

February 4th, 7:20 AM [English Class]

I walked into class, dropped my stuff, and announced to my two friends, "I need a Valentine. And I need it now."

Aiden didn't say anything, as he was bent over his English homework, due in five minutes. Kristen, however, raised her eyebrows.

"What about Sam? Y'know, your boyfriend?"

"We broke up last night -"

"What?!"

"- but then this morning I remembered that I need a Valentine, and I'm running out of time. I only have, like- Aiden, what day is it?"

"It'sthefourthBiancashutupplease," he hissed quickly, still scribbling furiously.

"I only have ten days left! I'm screwed."

"Well, then, maybe, you shouldn't have dumped Sam, your boyfriend, of two years. How, exactly, did that happen?" Kristen was more furious than I expected. She hated Sam when he first moved here.

I sighed and tried to explain. "We were talking last night, and we had an argument, and we broke up. I didn't dump him. I just sort of dropped him."

"OK, but either way, he's still in the trash," Kris argued. "Why would you dump him if you need a Valentine? That was the stupidest thing you've ever done. Why do you even need a Valentine anyways? Isn't that more of a want?"

"I didn't remember that I needed a Valentine until this morning, and yes, usually Valentines are wants, but I need one."

"Why?"

"Georgia."

The one word made Kristen's face darken. Even Aiden looked up from his homework for a second. "Oh, that's not good."

"What has she done this time?" Kris asked with a sigh, like she's resigned herself to listen. I knew that she actually loved the installments of the Georgia story.

"OK, so, like, when we were in kindergarten, Georgia was bragging about how she got the most Valentines in her little box, and I of course couldn't take that, so I said that I would have more Valentines than her by the time we were in high school. And this is our last year until high school, and Georgia and I are tied, and so this year I need a guy to be my Valentine. Maybe two, if it looks like she's going to have one." I grabbed a piece of paper. "What are the names of all the guys in the grade? And if I really need to I could go for a seventh grader. Maybe."

"Hang on," Kristen said, pulling her notebook over and flipping through it. She pulled out a page and started to get the little end bits off. "I have one."

She handed it to me and I stared at her. "Why do you have this list?"

She blushed. "Don't ask stupid questions."

I was about to ask another 'stupid question' when Mr. White rushed into the room, coffee spilling onto the already brown-stained carpet. "All right, all right, settle down, folks. Mr. Robinson, put the pen down."

Aiden threw his pen down and put his hands up. "I wasn't doing anything, Mr. White."

Mr. White sighed and class begins.

12:45 PM [Lunch]

I sat with Kristen and Aiden, as always. "OK, so I was looking over the list and, like, there's only like twelve guys who could hypothetically work. Because like half the guys have girlfriends, and then there's the gays, and then there's Aaron, who I wouldn't go out with if you paid me."