July 20th, 20--

I spent most of the day organizing books in my parents’ wall-to-wall bookshelves and I loved every moment of it. That is, of course, because I was also skimming through a lot of the books until Mom caught me, and from then on I behaved myself. I don’t know why she gets so irritated at me for reading through them when she knows that I’m in love with books! I could spend the whole winter in her store and would only come out to get something to eat if I got tired of the food in her café.

After putting several stacks of books in their designated places, I decided to take a break and walk around town. I went to the local pizza place and sat around waiting for my medium, cheese pizza to be made.

Once my pizza was packed and ready to go, I was able to escape the stares of our townspeople. I don’t understand what they think is so strange about a girl who dresses in normal clothes, has a normal family, and doesn’t interfere with their lives. I’ll probably always wonder about that!

Next, I grabbed my bike, balanced my lunch carefully on the handlebars and pedaled to one of my favorite places in town where I like to read and evade some of the gossipy high school students. Phoebe is constantly spending time with them, but the students at our high school have yet to make the connection between her and I.

My pizza soon disappeared, and I was left, sitting alone with my full stomach, wondering what to do next. I only had a couple weeks left before school started again, and I definitely did not want to waste a moment of my freedom!

Don’t get me wrong, I love learning, but I also love my independence!

I then realized that I had been a while since I'd visited the public library. I cleaned up the remnants of lunch, like a responsible citizen, then rode my bike back to the downtown area of Breckenridge and headed to our town’s library.

I’m a friend of some of the librarians, so I can get away with checking more books out than the majority of our city…mostly because I read so quickly and have the books returned by the next day.

I know my parents own a bookstore now, but I don’t want to pay the extra money to special order books only to read them once, then let them sit and collect dust on a shelf. Some books become my favorites, and those are read quite often, but special-ordering books is not fair to me, or the books!

While I was at the library, browsing through the “Classics” section, going through volumes by Mark Twain and C.S. Lewis, Michael Kent walked up and tapped me on my shoulder.

I spun around quickly, ready to pummel the person who had dared to intrude on my mission to find yet another great book to read.

When I saw it was just Michael I glared at him, and asked “What in the heck” he was doing here, “Scaring me like that?”

He looked down at me innocently and asked where I'd disappeared to this summer.

Now, let me explain something. Michael is very tall - 6’3”, actually, which I suppose isn’t too tall in the world of men, but compared to my mere 5’8”, he’s very tall! He has curly, dark brown hair, and deep hazel eyes (the kind that you always feel staring at you, which freaks me out!).

Well, back to what happened.

I stared back at him challengingly, wondering why he cared about seeing me on a regular basis. I said, “I‘ve been around…helping my parents set up their bookstore.”

“That‘s all? You haven‘t gone on vacation or anything?” he asked, leaning against one of the shelves casually.

“No. Nothing else,” I replied suspiciously, “Why?”

“Oh, I was just wondering…”

“You, of all people, never just wonder, Michael, and I know that. What are you up to?”

“I‘ve been looking around for you a lot this summer. This town can get very boring very fast,” he replied, staring calmly down at me.

I flushed slightly, and muttered, “My, it‘s warm in here!”

“It is?” he looked around to see if anyone else was reacting the same way to this mysterious warm spell that had attacked me. “I think it‘s just you,” he teased. “C‘mon. I looked everywhere for you.”

By then, I had recovered from my small moment of embarrassment, “Well, you obviously looked in the wrong places.”

After saying that, I selected a couple random books from the shelf in front of me and walked to the front desk, wishing the librarian would hurry up with the checking-out process so I could leave. I flinched when I heard Michael’s voice again.

“Are you free tonight?” he asked cautiously.

The fact that he sounded unsure piqued my interest.

“I don‘t have anything planned,” I smiled at him as I picked up my checked-out books and walked over to the oak double doors that served as the main entrance to the library.

Michael jumped forward to open them and I walked out into the bright sunlight.

“Should I take that as a ‘Yes, Mike, I’d love to hang out tonight,’ or a ‘Mike, you’re really boring me…get back to me in 5 years’?”

“Yes, Mike, I‘d love to hang out tonight!” I laughed at his impression of my voice. “Come over any time after 7, unless you want to go out to dinner around 6?”

“Dinner would be good…” he winked at me. “I‘ll be by to pick you up at 6.”

“Pick me up?” I asked curiously.

“Just be ready at 6!” He shouted over his shoulder as he walked the one block it took to get to his house.

I shook my head and got on my bike, balancing the books on the handlebars like I had my lunch a short time earlier.

“Mike never ceases to amaze me…” I thought aloud.

When I got home, I put my bike in the garage and went inside.

My family’s house is rather large. It’s three stories tall, built in a Victorian style. My parents have the master bedroom and bathroom that are located on the ground level. The ground level also has a kitchen, dining room, living room, entryway, and laundry room. The second level has a library, Phoebe’s room, bathroom, game room, and my parents’ study. My room is on the third level, and it takes up almost the entire third floor, with the exception of my bathroom. My room is spacious, and has a lot of windows to let natural light in. I have a futon, an entertainment center, and a reading area with my own private library. Along with all of that, I have a desk which has a computer, printer, and plenty of notebooks, pens, and pencils. As you've probably guessed, I spend a lot of time at my desk, writing late at night.

On the way up to my room, I stopped in the kitchen to grab a soda out of the refrigerator.

When I closed the door, I noticed a note stuck to the front of the friedge with a magnet:

“Melanie and Phoebe,

We‘re going to stay late at the store. There‘s leftovers in the fridge if you want them. If you need anything, give us a call at work.

Love,

Mom and Dad”

“Interesting,” I muttered. I picked my books up once more and walked up the stairs.

When I reached my room, after checking to see what time it was (3:00pm), I set my books on my desk and turned on the TV to see if anything good was on.

After finding nothing worthwhile to watch, I turned the TV back off and turned on my computer.

Once my computer was up and running, I logged onto instant messenger. I was amazed to discover that my best friend Tara was online.

Tara80424: Hey! Where have you been?

M&MLoverCO: That seems to be the question of the day!

Tara80424: What are you talking about?

M&MLoverCO: Nothing. Just something Mike said.

Tara80424: Mike? As in Michael Kent?

M&MLoverCO: One and the same.

Tara80424: Where’d you see him at?

M&MLoverCO: We bumped into each other at the library.

Tara80424: Really? I never pictured Mike as a library-visiting person. He must have had his reasons for visiting.

M&MLoverCO: Yes. Apparently, he’s been looking for me all summer.

Tara80424: Seriously? I never would’ve guessed.

M&MLoverCO: Have you seen him at all lately?
Tara80424: Once or twice in passing, but nothing more than that.

M&MLoverCO: Hello, by the way!

Tara80424: What? Oh yeah, you never said hi back. Hello!

M&MLoverCO: What college are you going to attend once we get out of high school?

Tara80424: I’m actually thinking of taking a gap year and working somewhere in town to get some more money for college. Why? Where are you going?
M&MLoverCO: Colorado College. At least, that’s what I have planned so far.

Tara80424: Colorado College? Isn’t that in Colorado Springs? That’s a long drive!

M&MLoverCO: Yeah, I know. That’s the college I’ve been accepted to, so I think I’ll go there for at least a year and if I find a better college to transfer to, then I’ll consider that.

Tara80424: Sounds cool…although it’ll suck having you so far away for so long.

M&MLoverCO: I’ll come home as often as possible.

Tara80424: Ok, I’ll let it slide if you visit regularly. ;o)

M&MLoverCO: Wonderful! The last thing I’d want to do is provoke your wrath!

Tara80424: What’d Mike want?

M&MLoverCO: What?

Tara80424: When he bumped into you at the library - what’d he want? He obviously went to the library to see you. There’s no other reason he’d show his face in a building devoted to books.

M&MLoverCO: Ha. ha. You're so funny.

Tara80424: I know, I know. So - spill the beans! I want to know everything!

M&MLoverCO: All he wanted to do was hang out.

Tara80424: Hang out? Ooh! Like a date?
M&MLoverCO: No. Not like a date. We’re just going out to have some dinner and then he’ll probably drop me off at home and go on with life. There’s nothing going on between us.

Tara80424: Darn.

M&MLoverCO: What’s that supposed to mean?
Tara80424: Nothing at all.

M&MLoverCO: Come on, Tara. I’ve known you all my life. What are you implying?
Tara80424: I just think it’s a pity that there’s nothing going on between you two.

M&MLoverCO: What the heck? When did you come up with that crazy idea?

Tara80424: Melanie, you and Mike have known each other since before you two could stand. He’s only ever had eyes for you.

M&MLoverCO: Whatever. If he’s only ever had eyes for me, then what was going on between him and what’s-her-face last year? They seemed pretty serious about each other.

Tara80424: If you don’t care, then why’s it suddenly matter what women are in his life?
M&MLoverCO: I never said it mattered. I only wanted some explanation for his actions.

Tara80424: Take it easy. I can feel your irritation all the way over here. It’s just a theory. Who knows if he likes you?

M&MLoverCO: He would.

Tara80424: Ask him.

M&MLoverCO: No.

Tara80424: Uh oh. The short answers are starting. That means you’re upset.

M&MLoverCO: No it doesn’t.

Tara80424: Talk to the hand. ;o)

M&MLoverCO: Whatever

Tara80424: Have you been writing lately? You’ve obviously been hiding out and I can’t imagine you not writing for such a long period of time.

M&MLoverCO: On and off. Nothing much.

Tara80424: Well, you’d better pass something my way. I’m running out of interesting things to read.

M&MLoverCO: Fantasy novels can only satisfy a person’s appetite for so long, eh?
Tara80424: Bingo!

M&MLoverCO: Figures…

Tara80424: Well, have fun on your date tonight! I have to go - Mom asked me to cook dinner for our family tonight.

M&MLoverCO: Aw! I wish I didn’t have to miss that…you’re a wonderful cook!

Tara80424: 6 mouths are more than enough mouths to feed.

M&MLoverCO: But I know how much you love cooking - it was just a suggestion.

Tara80424: You already have plans for tonight and there’s no way I’m going to assist you in getting out of them.

M&MLoverCO: How’d you guess?

Tara80424: I’ve known you long enough to know how you go about attempting to weasel out of things!

M&MLoverCO: I suppose I should let you go, then!

Tara80424: Yes…you should! Stay out of trouble and have fun tonight!

M&MLoverCO: Ok. Save some leftovers for me!

Tara80424: Will do! Goodbye!

M&MLoverCO: I’ll talk to you later!

Tara80424 signed off at 03:20:39pm.

I logged off and decided to go get ready for my “date,” if one could call it that.

Since when did Mike care about me? I wondered where on earth Tara got such a crazy idea, but it started to make me wonder.

After I got out of the shower, I dried my hair and decided to put on makeup for once. (One thing about me that is drastically different from my sister is the area of makeup. She wears makeup every day, but it takes a special occasion to provide enough motivation for me to wear any.) I put on just enough to cover blemishes and look a little bit nicer than normal.

Then came the issue of what to wear.
By this time, it was 4:15, so I decided that I had enough time to put a lot of thought into such an “important decision.” Of course, God has a sense of humor, and I’ll explain that in a moment.

I heard the front door open and close, and who should appear, but my sister, Phoebe.

She burst into my room - she still has yet to learn the art of knocking on the door before entering a room.

“What are you doing?” she asked cheerfully.
“Still don‘t know how to knock?” I countered icily.

“Oh my God! You have makeup on!” she squealed.

I rolled my eyes, “Yes, I have makeup on.”

“What for? Do you have a date? Who are you going out with? Is he hot? Does he have a brother?”

“I‘m just having dinner with Mike.”

“Oh! What are you going to wear? It looks like you‘re taken care of otherwise.”

“I don‘t know what I‘m going to wear yet,” I replied, while turning to go through the clothes in my closet.

“I know just the thing for you!” she said, grabbing me by the arm and pulling me down the flight of stairs to her room. She pushed me into her bathroom and told me to wait there until she came back with some clothes to try on. She burst in a moment later with a pile of clothes over one arm.

“I tried to select clothes with you in mind. I know you don‘t like clothes that are very fancy, so I tried to pick the simplest stuff I own.”

She set the pile on the counter and walked out after making sure I knew that I had to try them all on.

I tried on a simple, white, long-sleeved shirt with some low-rise jeans, and decided to tie a multi-colored sarong around my hips that Phoebe had snuck into the pile as an accessory. I opened the door and stepped out to show Phoebe what I thought looked good.

“I‘m assuming this is a casual date?” she asked.

“I guess…” I muttered, since I was still unsure.

“Hm…I really think maybe you could try something else? That‘s just too casual. You don‘t want to give him the impression that you think that this doesn't matter to you.”

I went back into the bathroom, “If you say so.”

I then tried on a white, lace shirt that had white, sheer, long sleeves. I combined that with a plain, black, cotton skirt that came down to my knees.

“Hm…that‘s nice, too…what do you think?” she asked me after seeing the outfit on me, honestly wanting to know my opinion.

I shrugged, “Personally, I‘m more comfortable in jeans.”

“Wonderful! The outfit you have on just doesn‘t look right on you. I‘ll lend you some jewelry to dress up that first outfit. I also have the perfect T-shirt to layer over the white, long-sleeved shirt.”

“Sounds good to me!” I smiled, because for the first time, I felt like I was remotely connecting with my sister.

“Great! Why don‘t you get changed back into that, then meet me in my room. You can leave the pile in the bathroom if you want.”

She then walked back to her bedroom to rummage through her extensive wardrobe and jewelry collection.

After getting dressed I picked up the pile of clothes, thinking I might as well do something nice for her since she had probably saved my evening!

I knocked on the door, and she shouted, “Come in!”

She turned around, “Oh! It‘s you! You didn‘t have to bring that back!”

“I just thought I‘d make it up to you since you‘ve been so helpful.”

“Oh, this is fun!” she grinned.

She held out her hands and they held a necklace made up of a black ribbon and a simple silver pendant, a few sterling silver rings, and two pairs of silver earrings.

She spilled them into my open hands, and I was rather amazed at the trouble she went to. “Thanks!” I said, hoping she knew that I meant it.

“What‘s a sister for?” she said. “Actually, I have to go, and I‘m sure you need to as well…it‘s 5:30...”

“It is?” I gasped as I looked at the clock. I must have spent a long time trying to find the right outfit before she saved me.

“Oh! I almost forgot to give you the shirt that‘ll work perfectly if it's layered over the shirt you‘re wearing,” she handed me a simple, dark blue T-shirt that said “Superchick” on it…the name of my favorite band. “I was saving that to give to you on your birthday, since I know that it‘s your favorite band, but I couldn‘t wait until then.”

“It‘s the perfect size! Thank you! Again!”

At that point I was truly amazed. I had no idea that she knew what sort of colors, people, or music I liked. It seemed that she wasn’t as snooty as I had originally thought. “I mean it, thank you so much for your help! You‘ve saved me a lot of embarrassment!”

“What are sisters for?” she smiled, then slipped past me and started to go down the stairs.

“Oh, Phoebe?” I called after her.

“Yeah?” she stopped half-way down the stairs.

“Mom and Dad won‘t be home till late. I‘d appreciate it if you left a note for them on the fridge, next to the note they left us…just to tell them where you‘ll be, how long you‘re be there, and all that good stuff. I‘ll make sure to do that too.”

“Sure thing! Have fun tonight!” she said. “I‘m sure you‘ll have a great time!” she then ran down the rest of the stairs, and a few minutes later I heard the door slam behind her.

I walked over to her dresser that had a large mirror on top. After putting on the jewelry and smoothing my hair, I looked down at the mini-gallery of pictures she had lined up on her dresser. There were pictures of our family from when we were younger.

She had a section of pictures dedicated solely to us, showing a picture from each year of our childhood…up until our birthday last year. It was amazing to see how we had grown up and become so different from each other. The true differences began to appear when we started high school, when students seem to feel the greatest pressure to express their individuality.

Then the doorbell rang. I ran down the stairs after slipping on a pair of nice shoes, and grabbing a hoodie, just in case it got colder later on that night.

When I arrived at the front door, I smoothed my hair one last time and opened the door.

“Wow! You look great!” Mike exclaimed.

“So do you!” I smiled, taking in his neatly combed hair, in addition to his ironed shirt and jeans.

“Am I under-dressed?” I asked.

“Not at all!” he laughed. “Come on! I have some great plans for tonight!”

“Just a minute! I have to leave a note for my parents to let them know where I‘ll be. I‘ll be right back!” I closed the door softly behind me and scribbled a note quickly to my parents and put it up on the refrigerator door.

“Ok! I‘m ready!” I said, bursting out the door and onto the front porch.

“Great! Let‘s go!” he said, leading the way to his shiny, black Camaro.

“When did you buy that?” I asked, my shock was very apparent on my face.

“I worked a lot over the summer, and that was what most of the money went to.”

“Amazing!” I said, then slid onto the passenger seat as he held the door open.

Mike shut the door carefully.

He appeared a moment later, then sat down in the front seat and started the engine.

“Wow!”

He laughed, then pulled away from the sidewalk in front of my house.

“Where are we going?” I asked, looking over at him uncertainly.

“Since when have you been nervous about going places with someone?” he asked, laughing heartily. “Especially me, an trustworthy friend whom you have known since...forever?”

“Do you really want me to go into detail?” I asked, arching an eyebrow challengingly.

Mike slowed the car as we came upon a stop sign and looked across at me, pondering my question, “No, I suppose not, because of many reasons.”

“And those reasons would be what?” I inquired mischievously.

“Do you really want me to go into detail?” he asked, impersonating my expression a moment ago.

“No.”

He revved the engine, enough to startle me, then settled down and drove on responsibly.

After several minutes of silence I asked, “Why did you ask me out?”

“What?”

“Why did you ask me out on a date tonight? You haven‘t seen me all summer long, and before summer started you didn‘t want to be seen with me. Today you tell me that you‘ve been searching for me all summer long and I‘m now going on a date with you. Please explain this to me, because I don‘t know what to think!” I said shakily, attempting to hide the tremor in my voice.

“Well…because you‘re my friend…” he started, then broke off as he searched for more to say.

“Am I missing something? If you were looking for me all summer long, why didn‘t you call, write, or stop by my house, or my parents‘ store?”

“Why the interrogation?” he asked, pulling over to the side of the road and parking the car.

“Because I need to know your motives!” I said, thinking that what I had been saying would make it clear to him.

“Why?”

“Why, what?” I asked, exasperatedly.

“Why do you need to know?”

“Because I do!”

He sighed, “But, why?”

“Because I want to know why you‘re doing this, why we‘re on a date, why you‘re suddenly paying attention to me after all these years…after this summer…after, well, everything!”

“What are you so afraid of?” he asked as his concern began to grow.

“What are you talking about? I‘m not afraid of anything.”

He rolled his eyes, “What happened this summer?”

“Nothing!” I said, as I unfastened my seatbelt and opened the car door.

“Where are you going?” he asked.

I closed the door behind myself, “You ask too many questions,” I muttered.

“Says the girl who was just interrogating me,” he leapt out of his car and locked it, as I probably wouldn’t get back in the car.

“What happened this summer is none of your business,” I started to explain, but then I realized that I couldn't possibly explain it to him, or anyone else. No one would understand.

“Melanie!” he shouted, catching my attention. “What‘s wrong?” his tone softened when I looked back at him.

“Nothing. Nothing‘s the matter. I‘m going home.” I turned to walk in the direction of Tara’s house which was only a couple blocks away.

“Mel…”

“Go home, Mike. This was a mistake,” I walked a little faster.

“’Wait. Where are you going? I was gonna make espresso!’” he attempted pitifully.

I paused and turned to look at him, and tried to hide the grin on my face. “You‘re pathetic.”

“Don‘t you know it? Where do you want to go?” He gestured toward his car.

“I‘m gonna go to Tara‘s. She lives just a couple blocks away.”

“Thank you for stating the obvious.”

“Any time.”

“Do you want a ride?” he offered once more.

“No, I think the walk will do me some good,” I smiled comfortingly. “Thanks, though.”

“Okay.”

“See you around!”

“Bye.”

I began my slow, thoughtful walk to Tara’s house, and when I heard Mike’s car pull away and speed off I remembered that he never told me why he had asked me out. Tara was sure to ask why, and I knew she wouldn’t be that thrilled with nothing as an answer, but she’d have to live with it.

Ten minutes later, I wound up on her doorstep, ringing the doorbell. I attempted to look sad and disappointed in hopes of getting on her good side immediately.

Tara opened the door, took one look at me, and rushed me into her house.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

“It didn‘t work out.”

“With Mike? Then why‘d he ask you out in the first place?” she wondered aloud.

“He never said.”

“You never asked him?”

“I did, but he got all defensive…”

She rolled her eyes, “You mean you asked a ton of questions, he asked questions back, and you got defensive and left. Do I have it right?”

I blushed, “Pretty much.”

“Oh well,” she shrugged, walking away to her kitchen.

I followed her, “Just an ‘oh well’?” I asked, feeling rather shocked at Tara’s comment.

“You heard me. ‘Oh well’.”

“Wow!”

“What?”

“Well, I just thought you‘d have more to say. That‘s all.”

She laughed and shook her head.

I looked at her suspiciously, “What are you not telling me?”

“After having thought about the concept of you and Mike being together after our IM conversation, I decided that you two are definitely not meant for each other.”

“Well, you don‘t have to say it like that…” I replied.

“Like what?” she asked, obviously very confused.

“You know what like.”

“Of course I do, Mel,” she said gently.

I hugged her and smiled charmingly, “Great. What‘s for dinner?”

“Well, everyone else has already eaten, but I saved leftovers for you, like I promised.”

“Everyone already ate?”

“Yes. Well, no one ate at all. There was a major change of plans, and my mom, dad, and my brother and sisters had to drive to some town for a family thing. They left me to keep an eye on the house, which I‘m totally cool with. I rarely ever get the house to myself.”

“Sounds like a lot of fun!” I smiled half-heartedly.

“Would you like to spend the night?” she asked.

“Spend the night?”

“Yes! We only have a couple more weeks of freedom, and there‘s no point in wasting them.”

“Good point! I‘d love too! Let me call my parents and let them know I‘m staying here.”

“O.K. I‘ll go warm up your food,” she walked over to the fridge, got out some plastic food containers, and emptied a large pile of food onto a plate, then put it in the microwave to heat it up.

I went to the living room, picked up the phone and dialed the number to “Bookworms.”

After a few rings, my mom picked up the phone.

“Bookworms, this is Louise Sumter. How may I help you?”

“Mom?”

“Mel?”

“Yeah, it‘s me.”

“What do you need?”

“I just thought I‘d let you know that I‘m going to spend the night at Tara‘s, O.K.?”

“Sure, Mel. Have fun!”

“Alright. See you tomorrow!”

Mom muttered a quick “M-hm,” then hung up the phone.

“I hope she remembers that I‘m at Tara‘s tonight when she wakes up wondering where I am.”

“Who knows if she will? Mothers can be super busy with stuff and sometimes miss the details,” Tara said, popping her head in to check and make sure everything went alright. “My mom called me when my family was an hour away from town,” she laughed.

“That‘s funny?” I asked, looking at Tara with an expression on my face that looked like I had just been slapped. “I wouldn‘t be laughing.”

“You obviously haven‘t been around lately. My mom‘s been extremely busy.”

“That explains it.”

“Yeah. What do you want to do tonight? We don‘t have many more nights like this left. Once high school starts, we‘ll be busy finishing our senior year. After high school, we‘ll go our separate ways. You‘ll go off to wherever-it-is you‘re going, and I‘ll go to culinary school.”

“You finally decided on a career?” I smiled.

Tara rolled her eyes, “Of course! I talked with my parents about it, as well as some college counselors.”

“Drum roll, please,” I said, tapping on the wall next to me.

“I‘m going to go to the ‘Culinary School of the Rockies’!” Tara proclaimed happily.

“Where‘s that?”

“It‘s in Boulder.”

“What?” I gasped, “That‘s over an hour away from Colorado Springs! We‘ll never get to see each other!”

“Of course we will on breaks…” Tara started.

I sighed dramatically, “That is so not fair.”

“Hey! What‘s wrong with you, Miss Optimistic-ness?” Tara asked, looking concerned.

“You‘re my best friend. Well, my only friend,” I explained, “And I love hanging out with you, and now you‘re gonna be gone!”

“Like I said, we‘ll still see each other on breaks.”

“If you say so, but I still say it‘ll be terrible. How will I ever find someone to watch movies with, or go to the cafeteria with and criticize the lame food? I‘ll be a loner again.”

Tara walked over to me and gave me a hug, “You‘ll find someone really nice to hang out with. You‘ll be fine.”

The timer in the kitchen beeped.

“Are you hungry?” Tara asked, looking over at me.

“Yeah, I am.”

We walked into the kitchen and took the food out of the microwave.

“So, what‘ll it be? Video games? A movie series? Going out for a night on the town?”

“Do you have lots of chocolate?”

“No, In fact, I don‘t have any chocolate.”

“What? How can you NOT have chocolate?”

“Chill out! We‘ll go to the store and get some!”

“What if Mike‘s there? He‘ll laugh at me and treat me mean and…”

“Just hush up and get a coat on. It‘s chilly outside. I‘m gonna go get my car keys.”

I put on a coat from her large family’s collection and stood by the door, pretending to pout.

“Come on, Baby Melanie.”

“I‘m not a baby!”

“Could‘ve fooled me…” she teased sarcastically.

I stomped out the front door after her, “You‘re sooooo funny, Tara.”

“I know.”

She unlocked the car and I yelled, “SHOTGUN!”

“Thank you, Captain Obvious! I‘m driving so you already know you‘ll get shotgun.”

“Aw, you‘re no fun.”

“Says the girl who was pouting two seconds ago,” she started the car and pulled out of the driveway.

“I‘m a Mood Ring Girl. What can I say? Gotta love RelientK.”

“Oh no! Not the rhyming!”

“Will you stop whining?” I smirked.

“Do you like chocolate flavored with orange?” Tara asked with a serious look on her face.

I opened my mouth when I realized for the billionth time that there is no rhyme for “orange.”

“Very un-cool, Tara.”

“What?”

“You know what. Don’t play innocent with me. You know that I know that you know that I know that you know that I know that you know there‘s no rhyme for orange.”

“So?”

“You wanted me to quit rhyming.”

“It worked.”

“That it did.”

Tara pulled into a parking space in front of the grocery store.

“I don‘t see Mike‘s car anywhere, so I think it‘s safe,” I said after scanning the parking lot meticulously.

“Great. Can we go inside now? I‘m freezing!”

“Sure.”

“Thank God!”

We ran inside, quickly made our selections: Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ice cream, dark chocolate bars, chocolate covered donuts, and brownie mix.

“Do I get to help bake?”

“Nope. That‘s my job! Besides, you‘re dangerous when let loose in a kitchen...plus you should take time to enjoy a bowl of ice cream.”

“Thank you so much! I hate any form of cooking if I have to participate in it. I‘d rather cut off my own head than cook.”
“I know that.”
“Good, because if you had asked me to bake, I would‘ve refused. I‘d rather chop off my own hand and eat it than cook.”

“I know that, too.”

“Then it‘s settled!”

“Good,” Tara stood on her tiptoes to see how long it’d be before we reached the register.

“Hey, go find a movie we haven‘t seen yet, ok? It‘ll be a while.”

“Do I have to?”

“Fine. You can get one we‘ve seen before!”

“Yay!” I ran over to the video selection and finally found a few of our old favorites that I was sure Tara wouldn’t mind seeing again.

I made my way back to the checkout lines and found her chatting with one of the cashiers.

“Sorry I took so long.”

“No problem!” Tara smiled over at me. It was the kind of smile that you know immediately, after seeing it countless times, that the person wearing it is smitten with “love.”

“Let‘s go!” I nudged her in the ribs with my elbow.

“I‘ll see you later, then,” she smiled at the guy at the register, then finally re-discovered her feet. “Did you see how cute he was? He‘s soooo hot, Mel! Do you think he likes me?”

“Yes, I saw him. Now, can we go? I‘m starving, and I‘m sure you are too!” I replied, desperately trying to change the subject.

“Sounds great to me!” she said dreamily.

“Can I dye your hair hot pink?” I asked, testing to see if she was cognizant.

“Sure…”

“Can I bake?”

“What?” she asked, snapping out of her dreamy state. “No way! What else did I agree to?”

“Oh, nothing.”

“Whatever it was, the answer‘s NO!” she said, driving away from the store.

When we got back to Tara’s house, I dished myself up a bowl of ice cream, then went into the rec-room and turned on Tara’s family’s wide-screen TV.

After a few minutes, she walked in with a mixing bowl and spatula in her hands.

“Here you go. Here‘s the last of the brownie mix. The rest is in the oven!”

“Oh, thank you!” I smiled over at her.

“What was his name?”

“Craig.”

“He was very cute, by the way,” I said, around licks of brownie mix.

“I knew you‘d think so! Do you think he likes me?”
“How can anyone not like you, Tara? You‘re so…likeable!” I answered.

“That‘s not what I meant, and you know it!”

“Alright, in all seriousness, I think he likes you very, very, very, very, very much!”

“Aw…Thanks!” she said.

Soon we made a dent on the chocolate inventory in Tara’s house and had watched a movie or two. We lost count in the wee hours of the morning. After a while, I got so tired that I fell asleep on the couch. Tara woke me up long enough to get me some blankets and pillows. Then we crashed on the couch and fell asleep. Well, Tara did. I stayed up and wrote all of this down. Now, after writing this long journal entry, I’m very exhausted and my hand is cramped. I’m going to take my leave now and get some well-deserved sleep.

Good night!

-M&M-