SEPTEMBER 20
3 WEEKS
Christina and I are lounging on her bed, staring at the ceiling through the gauze of her canopy bed. A bag of Doritos and a tub of gourmet chocolates sit between us, and empty cans of Diet Coke adorn the nightstands. We're supposed to be working on our new, year-long English project, but neither of us can muster the motivation.
"I don't see why we have to choose a classic," she says. "We should be able to pick any book, really. What's so great about Shakespeare and Chaucer and Salinger?"
I chew on my lip. "I don't know. I'd rather read The Vampire Diaries."
"I'd rather watch The Vampire Diaries," Christina says.
I snort. "I doubt listing the reasons a vampire makes a good boyfriend will get us anywhere."
Christina sighs. "Let's just go with Shakespeare. We have to read and contrast at least three works, right? And at least there are CliffsNotes and movie versions."
I twist a purple knit scarf around my hand as I consider this. "I guess."
"Good. Now we can go do something else," she says, and then reaches into the Doritos bag.
"I've been dying to get to the craft store in town. I have this idea of something to do for Tobias."
We finally sit up, something we haven't done for nearly an hour. The sugar rushes to my head and I have to sit still for a moment until it clears.
"That's totally sweet. When do I get to meet him, anyway?" She's already pulling on her shoes, which I take to mean she's down with the craft store trip.
I slide my arms into a zip-up hoodie. "Soon. Maybe next weekend or something. He hasn't met my mum or anything either. It's kind of new still."
"Oh, please, you're head over heels," she says as she switches off her bedroom light and we walk toward the front entry.
"Well, sort of," I say, suddenly feeling shy about the whole topic. I've never done the boyfriend thing before.
I follow Christina to her car and slide into one of the leather bucket seats.
"Well, you guys have kissed, right?"
I grin sheepishly.
"Oh, my God, you have. Why didn't you tell me? I totally would have told you!" I shrug.
"It's a long ride to the store. Spill. Now."
"Where do I start?"
Twenty minutes later, we're strolling the aisles at the craft store looking for some special glue required for glass. Christina decides she needs her own craft so that we can work on them together, and she's currently grabbing stickers for a scrapbook.
"What about this?" I say, showing her some sheets of beach balls and pails and little sand castles.
"Sure. Sounds good!"
I nod and toss a few sheets into the basket. It is filling up quickly, as if Christina intends to document every day of her life.
"I think we probably have enough. Let's go to the beach and find some sea glass. Then we can both get started."
Christina nods and reluctantly leaves the spinning display of stickers behind as we head to the cashiers.
I link my elbow with hers. "What page are you doing first?"
She smiles. "Well, I have this really annoying friend, see. So I was thinking I'd put together a few pages and draw little horns all over her and black out her eyes."
I snicker.
Sixty-two pounds later, we leave the store, our hands filled with bags of supplies.
I wonder what Tobias will think when I hand him my heart.