So then I went, “I guess we better—”
And Michael went, “Yeah,” and put his hand on the limo door to hold it open for me. But as I started to duck in there, he put his other hand on my arm, and when I turned around to see what he wanted (even though I kinda already knew) he went, “So can you go, on Friday night?”
And I went, “Uh-huh.”
And then he kind of pulled on my arm in a very Mr. Rochester-like manner, causing me to take a step closer, and faster than I’d ever seen him move before, he bent down and kissed me, right on the mouth, in front of his doorman and all the rest of Fifth Avenue!
I have to admit, Michael’s doorman and all of the people passing by, including everyone on the M1 bus that went barreling down the street at that very moment, didn’t seem to take very much notice that the Princess of Genovia was getting kissed right there in front of them.
But I noticed. I noticed, and it felt great. It made me feel like maybe all my worrying about whether Michael loved me as a potential life partner as opposed to just as a friend had maybe been stupid.
Because you don’t kiss a friend like that.
I don’t think.
So then I slid into the back of the limo with Lilly, a big silly smile on my face that I was totally afraid she might make fun of, but I couldn’t help it, I was so happy, because in spite of not having on my Queen Amidala underwear, I was already having a good semester, and it wasn’t even fifteen minutes old!
Then Michael got in beside me and closed the door, and Hans started to drive and Lars said, “Good morning,” to Lilly and Michael and they said good morning back and I didn’t even notice that Lars was smirking behind his latte until Lilly told me when we got out of the limo at school.
“Like,” she said, “we didn’t all know what you were doing out there.”
But she said it in a nice way.
I was so happy, I hardly even heard what Lilly was talking about on our way in to school, which was the whole movie thing. She had sent, she said, a certified letter to the producers of the movie of my life, and had no response, even though they had had it for more than a week.
“It is,” Lilly said, “just another example of how those Hollywood types think they can get away with whatever they want. Well, I’m here to tell them they can’t. If I don’t hear back from them by tomorrow, I’m going to the news media.”
That got my attention. I blinked at her. “You mean you’re going to have a press conference?”
“Why not?” Lilly shrugged. “You did it, and up until recently, you could barely formulate a coherent sentence in front of a camera. So how hard can it be?”
Wow. Lilly is really mad about this movie thing. I guess I’m going to have to watch it myself to see how bad it is. The other kids at school don’t seem to have thought much about it. But then they were all in St. Moritz or their winter homes in Ojai when it came on. They were too busy skiing or having fun in the sun to watch any stupid made-for-TV movie about the life of one of their classmates.
From the looks of the number of casts people are wearing—Tina was by far not the only one to sprain something on her vacation—everyone had a much better time on their break than I did. Even Michael says he spent most of the time at his grandparents’ condo sitting on the balcony and writing songs for his new band.
I guess I am the only one who passed the whole of my break sitting in parliamentary sessions, trying to negotiate parking rates for casino garages in downtown Genovia.
Still, it’s good to be back. It’s good to be back because for the first time in my whole entire academic career, the guy I like actually likes—maybe even loves— me back. And I get to see him between classes and in Gifted and Talented fifth period—
Oh, my God! I totally forgot! It’s a new semester! They are assigning us all new schedules! They are passing them out at the end of Homeroom, after the announcements. What if Michael and I aren’t in the same Gifted and Talented class anymore? I am not even supposed to be in Gifted and Talented at all, seeing as how I am neither. They only put me in there when it became clear I was flunking Algebra, so I have an extra period for independent study. I was supposed to be in Tech Ed for that period. TECH ED! WHERE THEY MAKE YOU BUILD SPICE RACKS!
Second semester is Domestic Arts. IF I GET PUT IN DOMESTIC ARTS THIS SEMESTER INSTEAD OF GIFTED AND TALENTED I WILL DIE!!!!!!!
Because I ended up getting a B minus in Algebra last semester. They don’t give you independent study periods if you are making B minuses. B minus is considered good. Except, you know, to people like Judith Gershner.
Oh, God, I knew it. I just KNEW something bad was going to happen if I didn’t wear my Queen Amidala underwear.
So if I’m not in G and T, then the only time I will see Michael will be at lunch and between classes. Because he is a senior, and I am only a freshman, so it’s not like I’ll be in advanced calculus with him, or that he’ll be in French II with me.
And I might not even be able to see him at lunch! We could conceivably not have the same lunch periods!
And even if we do, what is the likelihood that Michael and I are even going to sit together at lunch? Traditionally I always have sat with Lilly and Tina, and Michael always has sat with the Computer Club and upperclassmen. Is he going to come sit by me now? No way can I go sit at his table. All those guys over ther
e ever do is talk about things I don’t understand, like how Steve Jobs sucks and how easy it is to hack into India’s missile defense system….
Oh, God, they are passing out the new class schedules now. Please don’t let me be in Domestic Arts. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE
Tuesday, January 20, Algebra