That is such a cute story! I absolutely loved it.
I was confused by the last few lines of the first paragraph though, you might want to try clearing that up.

Other than that though, this is wonderfully crafted!

I like how you portrayed that small fear as expanding into other areas of her life. Very poignant!

This story was way cute! Love it! :D

Aw, this is an adorable little story.

The opening paragraph was a bit confusing. I had to read it a couple of times because I didn't understand how a Z could have a lollipop taped to it but then I eventually got it.

I love your little insert of why communism doesn't work because what you compare it to is so true.

"My paper heart began to beat with excitement" I love that line!

When the teacher was counting down the seconds you effectively built suspense as well as made me sad that little Zachary did not like her back.

I like how you end the story with a deeper meaning. The last sentence is so sweet that she learned something from Zachary who probably doesn't even remember her.

Overall, this is a cute and yet profound, relatable story! Excellent job!

Ah, the good old days of Valentines cards and first time crushes. This part was what kept making me want to read onwards, and it hooked me in because of a lot of the innocence in those days. Even though the story was still simple, it kept me in interest and made me want to finish to see what happened, just because it was about first time crushes. The characters were simple and done well for second graders, and it captured the ideas of a second grade crush very realistically. It was written well, and the plot obviously wasn't anything too complicated, but while simple, it was still a very good idea to write. Overall, it was a good story, and really is worth reading because it did bring me back to the days of handing out Valentines in school.