her sisterâs 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 loudââTrevor Santosââbut I felt like the silliest person ever and couldnât 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.
âHello,â she said, her voice very quiet, like always.
âKendra, itâs Carolina.â
âHi.â
âSo what did you think of our first day of high school?â
âIt was good.â Kendra spoke her words really fast, like she didnât like the way they tasted and wanted to get them out of her mouth as soon as she possibly could.
âYou ever have a boyfriend?â
She didnât say anything. I almost said my mom was calling, which would be a lie, itâs just that Kendra was not easy to talk to like Peggy, even when Peggy was being space-out Peggy. But then she finally said, âNo, Iâve never had a boyfriend. Have you ever had one?â Which was the exact question I wanted her to ask.
âNo. 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
âHe likes you.â
âReally?â
âYes.â
âREALLY?â
She was quiet again. I felt stupid for getting so excited. Which I should. Because it was stupid. The stupidest. Definitely. Then Kendra said, âWhy are you so excited?â And I felt one hundred times more stupid, until Kendra somehow said the most amazing thing ever. âItâs just that youâre so pretty. Lots of boys must have liked you before.â
I couldnât 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, itâs 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 didnât want her to think I was conceited, âYouâre so pretty too.â 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 wouldnât 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, âThank you,â and then changed the subject, which was great, by saying, âSo are you going to accept his friend request?â
âYes. I donât know. Maybe. What do you think?â
âIf 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. Thatâs what my dad says. But it makes sense.â
âIt DOES make sense,â 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.
âHave you done the history homework yet?â 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 Iâd 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 donât even know why. It was fine that it was my first kiss, I just wish it
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