Forever for a Year by B. T. Gottfred Page A

her sister’s party, and then we said good-bye. After I hung up, I really wanted a new friend. Not to replace Peggy, but a second friend, so I could have someone else to call when something so major was happening, like now. With Trevor Santos. Maybe his name was sexy.
    I said it out loud—“Trevor Santos”—but I felt like the silliest person ever and couldn’t bear to spend one more second alone with my own brain.
    So I called Kendra, because I had her number, and because I talked to her the second most today.
    â€œHello,” she said, her voice very quiet, like always.
    â€œKendra, it’s Carolina.”
    â€œHi.”
    â€œSo what did you think of our first day of high school?”
    â€œIt was good.” Kendra spoke her words really fast, like she didn’t like the way they tasted and wanted to get them out of her mouth as soon as she possibly could.
    â€œYou ever have a boyfriend?”
    She didn’t say anything. I almost said my mom was calling, which would be a lie, it’s just that Kendra was not easy to talk to like Peggy, even when Peggy was being space-out Peggy. But then she finally said, “No, I’ve never had a boyfriend. Have you ever had one?” Which was the exact question I wanted her to ask.
    â€œNo. Never. But this boy I met today. I might like him. And he sent me a Facebook friend request. What do you think that means?”
    â€œHe likes you.”
    â€œReally?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œREALLY?”
    She was quiet again. I felt stupid for getting so excited. Which I should. Because it was stupid. The stupidest. Definitely. Then Kendra said, “Why are you so excited?” And I felt one hundred times more stupid, until Kendra somehow said the most amazing thing ever. “It’s just that you’re so pretty. Lots of boys must have liked you before.”
    I couldn’t breathe for a second, and my eyes got watery, not sad but happy, so not tears, just so emotional because no had ever called me pretty before. I mean, my mom and dad had, and my brother, Heath, but no one else, ever. Even though Kendra was a girl, it’s almost better to come from a girl, because boys can be morons a lot, but girls are usually very smart. Then I said, because I didn’t want her to think I was conceited, “You’re so pretty too.” And this was TOTALLY true! You should see Kendra. She has skin with no pimples, and lips that old actresses have to pay for, and big, bright eyes, like they could be white suns, but smaller. Duh. But I worried she wouldn’t believe me because I said it right after she said it to me, and then I worried she thought I liked girls in a romantic way, and then I was silent.
    But she said, fast but nice, “Thank you,” and then changed the subject, which was great, by saying, “So are you going to accept his friend request?”
    â€œYes. I don’t know. Maybe. What do you think?”
    â€œIf you just want to be his friend, do it right away. But if you want to be more than friends, then you could wait. Boys like girls more when you make them wait. That’s what my dad says. But it makes sense.”
    â€œIt DOES make sense,” I said, and I was sooo happy I called Kendra, and was sooo excited to have a new friend, especially one who was really smart and gave good advice.
    â€œHave you done the history homework yet?” Kendra asked, which was great, because it let us talk about school and not just boys, but then we talked about boys again, and Kendra said she had only kissed three boys, which was two more than I’d kissed. And the one I kissed was in sixth grade when kids still had birthday parties, and I was still invited, and we played Spin the Bottle, even though it was a shoe not a bottle, and I kissed Nicholas Durant, who was not very cute. Everyone calls him Licker now, and I don’t even know why. It was fine that it was my first kiss, I just wish it