For Always Read Free

twisting of my stomach made me feel queasy. Is that what he really thought of us?
    He smiled. “I am a lot older than you two.”
    “Oh please, a few years,” Maria rolled her eyes, “Get over yourself!”
    “According to this,” he took his arm off my shoulder, pulled out his wallet and handed me a photo ID, “I’m 21. This gets me into bars, clubs. Anywhere I want to go.”
    “Let me see that,” Maria snatched it out of my hand.
    “How old are you really?” I asked.
    “Eighteen,” he answered.
    “Anyone with half a brain would realize this is a fake,” Maria said as if she were an expert on the subject.
    Jordan snatched his ID away from Maria, placed it back in his wallet, and then put his arm around my shoulder again. This time he made a conscious decision to put it there. Something about this small gesture made me feel pretty and frilly, and lighter than air. I couldn’t wipe the wide, clownish grin off my face.
    We lived seven short blocks from the movie theater. Jordan walked with us all the way home. More than half way there, he pointed his house out as we passed it. I perked up with interest.
    He lived in front of the bus stop. I never noticed him outside. Maria and I stood off to the side in the morning, away from the others. I often kept my head down, eyes glued to the cement as I stood there, unless Maria and I were speaking. The other kids made me nervous. They knew each other and made fun of everyone. I wanted to keep off their radar.
    And then he looked at me, “So Steph, what did you think of the movie?”
    I stood speechless. What could I say? Uh Jordan, I don’t remember the movie. I am super focused on the fact you live directly in front of the bus stop, yet I have not once seen you on the bus?
    Maria saved the day, “I loved the way they flew on the broom sticks. If only I could do that.”
    I looked down at the ground and smirked thinking she already does.
    “Hey,” Jordan squeezed my shoulder, “What’s so funny?”
    I shook my head, and worked hard to wipe the smile off my face. “Nothing.”
    “How come you don’t talk to me?”
    “I did on the phone.” The words slipped out before I had time to think. I darted my eyes to the side and bit my bottom lip feeling queasy again.
    He grinned. “I mean when you see me.”
    I shrugged and looked down. “I don’t know. I guess I don’t have much to say.”
    He raised an eyebrow and chuckled, “Yeah, right.”
    “Why do you care?” I challenged.
    He ignored the question completely, which made me wonder, why did he care?
    “One of these days I’ll get you to talk,” he assured me.
    Much too soon we arrived home. My moment with Jordan ended. Before heading up the steps to our respective homes right next door to each other, Maria kissed Jordan on the cheek and said goodbye. I started to head up my side of the steps when he called to me.
    “Stephanie.”
    I turned wondering what he could possibly want.
“No goodbye kiss?”
    I almost choked. I thought I imagined it. But he stood there, waiting. I half expected to see smoke rising up around us while slow music played in the background. I thought of B-rated movies starring gorgeous actors cast as lovesick teenagers. And there I stood, in my first starring role, the unknown love interest. It was an opportunity I wasn’t about to pass up.
    I kissed him on the cheek, said goodbye, and went in the house. I ran to the window and looked out after him. I watched his figure for as far as I could see, growing smaller and smaller in the distance.
    My mother came into the living room and asked if I had a good time.
    “The best,” I answered.
    I went to sleep that night with a smile plastered on my face. In a boy/girl sort of way, Jordan knew I existed!
    Two
    Long before the day arrived, I knew this Halloween would be unforgettable. Every year, Maria’s mother, along with my own, would go on about how kids of today don’t know how to have fun. They told endless stories about the good