Chapter Six: she’s got something to say to me

Crackhead in Confusion

Chapter Six: she’s got something to say to me

Tuesday, October 28, 3 p.m.

Hey, I love you.

If only it were as simple as that.

Because I’m pretty sure that I might’ve been able to muster up the courage to say that this morning on the way to school in Mia’s limo. I offered to go over her Algebra homework with her and check to see if her equations were all right. She was beaming at me so brightly when I told her that all of the problems were correct. Our fingers brushed when I handed her back the paper. I noticed Lilly glaring at us throughout this transaction.

So, I guess you could say that life is treating me very well right now. Very well.

Anyway, instead of getting fired, Mrs. Hill is now actually doing her job. Wow. Principal Gupta gave her a warning but now, Mrs. Hill is watching all of us like a hawk, never leaving her chair. It’s kind of scary, to be honest. And we can’t even lock Boris into the supply closet either! No. We’re forced to listen to him playing Bartok.

Lilly has apparently been writing a book about the socioeconomic divisions that exist within the walls of Albert Einstein High School. I didn’t even know about the book until Mia started begging Lilly to read it. I even offered to publish it in Crackhead, but she had to get all snotty about it and said she was holding out for a "legitimate" publisher. How idiotic is that?

After a few more moments of Mia’s begging, Lilly said in her scary voice, "If people don’t stop bothering me about the book, I’m going to fling myself off of the top of the school water tower." Actually, that’s not exactly possible anymore because when I was a freshman the seniors decided to pull a prank and pour a bunch of tadpoles into it.

The Computer Club meeting after school was much less than productive. Kenny and Judith couldn’t stop talking about how much fun it was going to be at Rocky Horror. And then Kenny said he had invited Mia. I, of course, told him that I had already invited her and he said that he thought I might’ve, seeing as how Mia mentioned me.

This, of course, sparked my interest, and I asked what Mia had said about me.

"Well, I was asking her if she wanted to come with us all and she asked me if one of my friends was you," Kenny said, his eyes literally lit up. "And, of course, I said yes." Okay, so I was expecting a little more than mentioning me in passing.

But, hey, it’s a start.

Tuesday, October 28, 10 p.m.

"Um, hi. Can I have a…"

That voice…

"No. With the sauce on the side…"

So familiar…

"Yes. Thank you."

I was at Number One Noodle Son (which is obvious by now, but I go there about three times a week…sometimes more) when I heard a strangely familiar voice. And there she was. Her. It was the same girl that I had liked for so long. Her long chestnut brown hair was now shorter. Her liquid black eyes were as big and bright as ever.

Samantha Baker. She was dressed all in black, a big change from her all-pink wearing days. I hadn’t seen her for years, ever since she had moved away. Samantha stood at the counter, looking all around the restaurant. I tried to hide myself from her view but she noticed me almost right away. And, if I still liked her, I would have been ecstatic that she actually knew who I was.

"Michael? Michael Moscovitz? Is that you?" Samantha said, gazing right into my eyes.

But I didn’t feel nervous. I mean, why would I have been nervous?

I love Mia. And only Mia.

"Yeah. Hi, Samantha," I managed to say. She then walked over right in front of my table, her eyes glowing.

"It’s so great to see you! How long has it been? Four years?" Samantha said, not really asking me so much as asking herself. I nodded my head, smiling slightly.

"You look…different. What happened to the pink?"

"Oh!" Samantha exclaimed, looking down at her black ensemble. "I gave that up a year ago. I finally realized that cheerleading, to me, is just…mind sucking. I don’t know. What’s the point of waving around pompoms and wearing these disgustingly short skirts just to cheer on a football team?"

"I know what you mean," I said, before I could stop myself. "Not that I ever cheered…" Samantha laughed lightly.

"You look different yourself," Samantha said, scanning my face. I stuffed some cold sesame noodles into my mouth. "Older, I guess. Who would’ve known that you would turn out to be so cute?" Gee, thanks. I didn’t know that I was so terrifyingly unattractive before, I was thinking. "Well, not that you were ugly…Actually, I used to sort of have a crush on you back in eighth grade." I nearly choked on my sesame noodles.

"W-what?" I said before gulping down some water.

"Yeah, I used to think you were so smart and funny. And you had really nice eyes, I remember thinking," Samantha said, not meeting my eyes. She turned her head and saw that her order was ready. "Oh, hey, I have to get going. I’m only in town for the night. It was really great seeing you again, Michael."

"Yeah, nice seeing you too," I sputtered out. With one last smile, Samantha walked away, got her food, and left the restaurant. I was a bit dazed by what had just happened.

Samantha Baker had just admitted to having a crush on me when I was practically in love with her.

How much does it suck that I never told her how I felt?

A/N: Great scones, great scones. You know something that’s even greater than scones? Reviews! )