Wilson Mooney, Almost Eighteen Read Free

all wrong.
    That was my downfall. I didn’t know
when to shut-up. Open mouth and insert foot, those words should
have been tattooed on the inside of my eyelids.
    “ Yeah, I’m
fine.”
    I bent down and picked up the gigantic
eraser. I needed to get some erasing done. I’ve been told the
office had spies and narks and if they peeked into the window of
Max’s room and saw I was talking, I could lose my financial aid.
With six months left before I graduated, I didn’t want to mess it
up.
    Besides, part of me wanted
him to be intrigued, less was more. I wanted him to push. If I kept
part of my life mysterious, he would take the bait. Although, the
whole thing could backfire and he could lose interest leaving me
with the desperate act of flirting and asking stupid
questions. God don’t let me reach that
level of desperation.
    He stood for a moment
longer before he headed back to his desk and pulled out a blank
piece of paper. I could feel him staring at me. I wondered what he
was thinking. I knew what I wanted him to
think. I stole glances when I could,
adjusting my arms to see underneath. He scribbled on the paper,
folded it and stood behind me.
    “ Wilson, I know you’re
pretty much on your own. Well… I want you to take this, call if you
need someone to talk to. Okay?” He pushed the folded paper towards
me. He held it out in the open air between us. I watched it quiver.
I looked around, and made sure nobody saw me grab it from him
before I shoved it in the front pocket of my khaki shorts. I swear
he saw my heart pound heavy in my chest. I heard it.
    “ Thanks.”
    Here we go, he’s making his
move. I’m so ready for this! I’ll keep it cool for the next month.
Act like nothing is going on between us and when I turn eighteen,
nobody will be able to stop us. I will be a legal adult. My head spun off into images of us holding hands,
walking down the halls at school, and sneaking away for
lunch.
    Christmas break—public schools called
it winter break. I didn’t know what the difference was, except one
reminded me I shared a birthday with Christ, and the other made me
think about dirty snow. I will be here at the dorms because, well
let’s face it— I don’t really have any place to go. Maybe Max will
be here with me and he could take me to meet his parents. That
would work.
    I watched him strut back to his desk.
I couldn’t wait to open the note. I continued wiping the boards
while he packed up his books and laptop. He tossed a glance my way
before he dragged his briefcase across the top of his
desk.
    “ Want me to walk you out?”
The way he looked at me melted my heart causing it to drip into the
pit of my stomach teasing my butterflies fighting to be
free.
    “ That’s okay. I still have
the back board to clean.”
    “ Here, let me help you. Get
you out a’ here faster.” He grabbed the huge eraser out of my hand,
went to the back board and started wiping. OK, if that wasn’t a sign that he liked me then I didn’t know
what was.
    “ Thanks—” I stood and
watched him for a moment before I had to turn and wipe his words
from the board.
    “ You’re welcome,” he
continued.
    I wanted to remember this moment
forever.
     

Chapter Two:

    I sat on my bed staring at the folded
paper. There was a part of me that wanted to live in the moment
that he had handed it to me. The butterflies in my stomach, the
smell of the room, the letter quivering in his hand, I was there
again; in my mind. They say that your imagination is the key to
your soul. My deadbolt had been sprung wide open with my thoughts
about him.
    “ What cha’ doing?” a
squeaky voice invaded my moment. It was Cindy Browler, my roommate.
Typical rich kid, you recognize her name
right, Browler? Her grandfather is the
owner of the hip food chain Browler Burritos; thought you might now. They only
have about two hundred restaurants in the state of California
alone, which makes them one of the richest families in the state.
The food was edible,