Crush Alert Read Free

newspaper meeting. As usual, Charlotte, Isabel, and Chelsea were the first to arrive. Eighth-grade editor-in-chief extraordinaire Jennifer Robinson was already in the office, but she didn’t count. The BSG had a theory that she slept there.
    “Did I go overboard on the heart thing?” Isabel asked.
    “Of course not! It is the season of love, after all,” Charlotte teased.
    Chelsea shrugged and shook her head. “Not for me!”
    “Come on, Chels.” Charlotte put a hand on her arm.“There’s got to be somebody you’d like to go to the dance with.”
    “I don’t like anyone right now,” said Chelsea. “Really.” She used to be shy and quiet, absolutely sure that no one liked her because she was overweight. But ever since the class’s adventure trip to Lake Rescue, Chelsea had gotten pretty fit and confident.
    “Isn’t there someone you think is even a tiny bit cute?” Isabel urged. “I mean, I do kind of like Kevin. We have so much to talk about since we both want to be artists when we grow up. I showed that poster to Kevin while I was working on it, and I swear we talked for two hours about the perfect shade of pink for the background!”
    “Umm, okay…well, Nick is kind of cute,” Chelsea blurted out. “He’s got nice hair and a great smile. You’re a lucky girl, Charlotte!”
    It was no secret Nick Montoya had a crush on Charlotte. Sometimes it seemed she was the only one who didn’t see it.
    Nick Montoya was the cutest boy Charlotte had ever met, but thinking about him that way made her feel embarrassed. “We really don’t have to have dates to go to the dance. After all, we’re only in seventh grade. Avery doesn’t want to go with anyone.”
    “What about…Chase Finley?” Isabel asked innocently.
    “What?” Chelsea yelped. “No way! Sure, he’s dreamy Kevin’s friend, but talk about obnoxious!” The girls lost it laughing. Chase Finley was like everybody’s annoying brother, plus he could be really mean.
    Jennifer stomped over to the door and flung it open. “Hello. This is a newspaper office, not gossip time. You’re late.”
    Charlotte began to apologize to “the Queen of the Paper,” and Chelsea stepped back, leaning against the bulletin board with one shoulder.
    Suddenly, it seemed like the whole wall was falling over! Chelsea twisted and reached behind her to push the bulletin board back up against the wall, but it was too late. Everything went pink, and with a huge crash, Chelsea was on the floor.
    “Chels! Oh, my gosh, are you okay?!” A very worried Isabel plucked the pink thing—the Valentine’s Day Dance poster—off of Chelsea’s face. The bulletin board was on the floor, cracked down the middle. About a million pink and green announcements fluttered over Chelsea. Is it time to die of total embarrassment? a shaken Chelsea thought, also thinking that just might be preferable to getting up.
    “You okay?” a concerned voice asked.
    Chelsea opened her eyes slowly.
    There was a boy standing over her. A boy she had never seen before. His cropped blond hair, tan face, and light green eyes were right off the pages of a surfer magazine. Were birds singing somewhere nearby? Was the sun shining down? Chelsea blinked. No, she was still on the floor in the Abigail Adams Junior High hallway, and the lights were all fluorescent. But the boy’s face was still there, and the worry in his eyes made her heart flutter.
    “That thing smashed right on top of you!” he said.
    Charlotte quickly grabbed Chelsea’s hand to helpher up. “Chels? Don’t worry; we’ll get this cleaned up.” She was usually the one to cause a major commotion, so she knew how horribly embarrassed Chelsea must feel.
    “I can’t believe they let you kids out of elementary school,” Jennifer groaned, and started picking up thumbtacks.
    The boy continued to stare into Chelsea’s eyes as she staggered to her feet.
    “Oh,” she mumbled as she started to feel an ache in the back of her