Lazy Afternoon with My Friends

Today after school, Quinn and Ashley came over to hang out.  We didn’t really have anything to do, so we planned on just watching a movie or listening to music or something.  We were thinking about playing a board game, but most of the best ones technically belong to my cousin Allie, and she was at her friend Brittany’s house with most of the games we might have liked to play.  So we just hung around and watched music videos on demand and ate pretzels and drank lemonade.  But after a while, Lucy (of Lucy and Keisha’s blog) and her brother Dylan came over.  My older sisters and Dylan wanted to watch the TV (for some lame teenager program) so Quinn, Ashley, Lucy, and I decided to go play outside.  I put my skates on (because I wear them as much as I possibly can!) and we ran around outside, goofed off, and they all took turns pushing me around since I was the only one on wheels.  We had so much fun just doing nothing.   That’s the best kind of day!

The Jealousy Bit (Part 2)

So, I told you all last time about Peter asking Claire to go on a date and the foolish way I conducted myself afterwards.  Well, here’s the promised details of the horrid date!

I rode my bike to the theater and met Marco out front at 4:00 yesterday afternoon.  We went to the dollar theater, which shows movies that have been out of the theater for a while for $1 or $2, depending on the time of the showing and if it’s in 2-D or 3-D.  We got tickets to see The Hobbit, and went inside and stood around the concession counter.  Marco bought us popcorn while I watched and waited to see Peter.  After a few moments, I saw Peter, Claire, Anthony, and Angela all walk in.  Anthony and Angela walked over and got in line for popcorn, so I turned away really quick, hoping neither of them saw me.

Marco and I stood around, me watching out the corner of my eye, until Peter and his group went into the theater and then we followed them.  I led the way to seats right behind Peter and Claire.

I’m not sure if he saw me, or if he felt me giving him one of those looks that could freeze oil, but he turned around and saw me.  We locked eyes, and then he noticed Marco.  He looked angrier than I had ever seen him.  Well, good.  He turned away from us, and I could see that he crossed his arms and looked pouty.  He kept glancing over his shoulder at me, and I would make a face at him.  I guess I did that one time too many, because Peter took Claire’s hand in his and looked over his shoulder at me with a smug look on his face.

I don’t know what came over me.  I felt like I had a fever, but only on the inside.  I grabbed a whole handful of popcorn and threw it at Claire and Peter as hard as I could.  Peter turned around and threw a handful of his popcorn right back at me, and Claire shouted, “You stop that right now, Wendy Stein!”  Well, we all got into a shouting and popcorn throwing match right there in the theater.  Anthony and Angela tried to get us to all stop the commotion, but we weren’t listening to them.  We weren’t even listening to each other… just all being mad and horrible.  I’m so ashamed to think back on it now.  Marco was so embarrassed that he tried to leave, but before he could, an usher came and asked us all to leave the theater.  Less than twenty minutes into the movie, and we were all thrown out and told that we were banned for the next month.

But as soon as we were out of the theater and onto the sidewalk outside, Claire shoved me as hard as she could and I fell onto the pavement.  “I hate you!” she shouted.  “You ruined everything because you were jealous that Peter wanted me instead of you!”  And the worst part of it was that she was right.  I knew she was.  This whole thing had been my fault.  I should have left well enough alone instead of butting into Peter’s date and trying to make things difficult for him.  Claire, who lived within walking distance of the theater, ran off in the direction of her house, as Peter helped me up.  Marco called his mom to come pick him up and walked as far away from us as he possibly could, and Anthony and Angela walked across the street to the frozen yogurt shop… probably more to get away from me and Peter than anything else.

As soon as we were alone, I tried to say that I was sorry, but before I could open my mouth, Peter started to speak.  “I don’t like you dating Marco,” he said quietly.  “Well, I don’t like you dating Claire,” I replied.  He smiled a little smile and said, “I didn’t like it either.”

I couldn’t help but feel a little better.  I should have known better than to really think Peter would want to go out with Claire.  We apologized to each other right then and agreed to apologize to both Claire and Marco.  We also agreed to pay them, Anthony, and Angela back for their tickets and popcorn, since it was our fault no one saw the movie.  We agreed then that we wouldn’t be dating anyone else.  We’re still not boyfriend and girlfriend and we're not dating, but our understanding has been slightly adjusted… I guess you’d call it an exclusive understanding.  But I made myself a solemn promise that I would never do anything that embarrassing and foolish over a boy again.  I used to make fun of my older sisters, and I now I feel like I’m turning into them!  And I’m not even a teenager yet!

The Jealousy Bit (Part 1)

Hello, readers!  I hope there are still a few of you out there.  I’ve had a lot of crazy stuff going on lately…

So, as you all know, I’m very… fond… of my friend Peter.  Yesss…. I like him.  A lot.  But he is not my boyfriend.  He likes me too, and we’ve told each other this, but we’re not like dating or anything.  We’re really just not ready for it.  But I guess even though I know he’s not my boyfriend, I sort of think of him as… mine.  I know that may be sort of petty, but I can’t help it!  We have an understanding, and it works well.  Or at least it did, up until recently.

Peter came to me the other afternoon and announced that he wanted to go on a date.  Immediately, I began to blush.  You see, I thought he was asking me on a date.  But he wasn’t.  He was informing me that he wanted to go on a date, so he had asked “a girl we know” to go to the movies with him.  He went on to say that he would have liked to go with me, but his parents said he couldn’t.  My feelings were kind of hurt… I thought his parents liked me.  So I was standing there in the middle of campus, right in front of the library at lunch, trying not to cry as this guy… my guy… tells me how his parents are making him date some other girl.  He said they were worried that he and I spend too much time together… that we’re more serious than we ought to be.  But it’s really not like that.  The most serious thing we’ve ever done is hold hands once or twice and hug.

When we hang out, we never call it “a date,” but he had specifically said he was taking this girl on a date.  It was a double date, actually.  His best friend Anthony and Angela, this girl that he likes, were going as well.  Peter didn’t want to tell me who he was going with, but I had to know.  I didn’t want to know… I had to.  It was twisting my stomach in knots to just stand there and wonder who he could be taking, but he wouldn’t say.  He just kept saying “it doesn’t matter.”  He even told me that I might take the chance to go out with some other boy.  But I didn’t want to go out with another boy.  All the other boys in our grade are smelly and rude.  They’re not like Peter.

By the time I went to my next class, I tried really hard to put Peter and his new girlfriend out of my mind, and I was able to, for the most part.  But when Claire and Marisol walked in the class, Claire was grinning from ear to ear.  They sat down right near me and I heard Claire brag to Marisol about her big plans.  She said she had a date to go to the movies.  She turned and looked right at me and asked, “Wendy, do you think Peter would like me better in my blue dress or my green jumper?  I want to look good for our date.”  My face turned beet red, and I had to move away from her.  I knew I’d say or do something to her and end up getting myself in trouble.  How could Peter take Claire Lozano, the meanest girl in our whole school… our whole city!… on a date?  It made no sense!  Claire has always liked Peter (more reason for her to hate me), but he’s never liked her.  She makes him nervous, but apparently not too nervous to date her.

I got to thinking about how Peter said I should go out with some other boy.  Maybe I’d do just that.  Two could play that game.  So when I went to marching band rehearsal the next period, I just worked up my courage and asked Marco Garza, another clarinet player, if he’d like to go out with me.  Maybe this was kind of mean… Marco is really nice, and I had heard from a few people that he had a crush on me.  I knew I was using him, but I didn’t care.  He said he’d go with me, and we made plans.  It was just a coincidence that I happened to pick the same theater, the same movie, and the same showing as Peter and Claire.  At least that was what I would say.

Anyways, I’m really ashamed to be a part of this, but it’s too late to pull out now.  Plus I just have to know what happens between Peter and Claire!  I’ll update you all with the gory details after the date!