On Monday, school started. It never used to be a happy day. Despite the fact that I had the best grades in my class, I really could have lived without public education, away from all the high-school drama. But Mom opposed the idea of homeschooling me — apparently, it was good for me to interact with people my age. Sure.

She had come home at the weekend. We baked a huge cake together, gone shopping and to the movies, and talked a lot about her new job and our future plans. She seemed happy. But on Sunday evening she had to go back. So now, for the first time in years, I was grateful that school was resuming. It meant that I didn't have to be on my own all day.

I was still mad at Chloe for making other plans on my birthday, but I made up with her by Thursday, because not having a girlfriend to hang out with at school sucked, and, as I had found out, made you an easy target for the bullies. 

Also, I'd been dying to tell her the glamorous tale of how I'd been saved.

"Eww, but he was old, right?Like twenty-five or something? Do you think he was some kind of creep?"

"No, not at all. In fact, he was..." I blushed, already knowing she'd make fun of me. "He was more like... the perfect gentleman."

"Ugh. Such a 'you' thing to say. Anyway, if you liked him so much, why didn't you ask for his number or something?"

"Umm, Chloe. Have you met me?"

I didn't tell  her about the card. I was afraid she would make me call him, or steal the card and dial the number without my permission, just for a prank, or worse: to "help" me.

"All right, forget about creepy old man, because trust me, there will be loads of hot guys to choose from."

"Wait, what? Where?" 

"Were you not listening?? George's parents are away next weekend, so, since I'm being such a crappy friend about your birthday, I thought I'd make it up to you."

I already had a feeling I wouldn't like it. Chloe had this talent of always dragging me into trouble, and, for some reason, I could never say no to her.

"We're throwing a party a George's next Friday. It's not like you have anything better to do anyway, right? And George is inviting all the guys on the soccer team. All seniors. So yeah, there will be hotties."

"I don't know why you're so excited, you've already got George", I replied sourly. Call me weird, but muscly, sporty guys were not really my type.
"Oh come on, it's gonna be so good!"

"I don't know... don't think Mom's gonna be happy with me going to a party while she's not at home. I don't want to worry her."

"Then don't tell her!"

"I don't want to lie..."

"Not mentioning it is not lying. Come on, I'm super stoked about this! Don't let me down." I thought it was incredibly hypocritical of her to be talking about me letting her down, but I was too wimpy to say anything. Or who knows, maybe we would have argued for once, had Roy not poked his head through the door.

"Scarlett, are you coming?"

I picked up my bag, happy for the opportunity to end the conversation. "Gotta go. See you tomorrow!"

"Sure. And about Friday... you're totally coming."

I couldn't suppress a chuckle. "If you say so." 

♪❤♫❤♬❤♫❤♪❤♪❤♫❤♬❤♫❤♪

Apart from Chloe, Roy was the only other kid I already knew when I started high school. We used to be inseparable when we were little, but, as we grew up, we learned that boys befriended boys and girls befriended girls. Now we spoke during the breaks, sometimes took the bus together part of the way home, and, other times, not so much lately, went by the comic book store together. Neither of us were very social, yet Roy was one of the few people in the presence of whom I felt comfortable.

That afternoon we took the bus together, just like we always did when I didn't go straight from school to my piano lessons. We chatted at first about the new assignment for which we were going to work together as a pair, and then more about what each of us had been doing over summer. Roy would normally get off before me, but this time he stayed on the bus.

"I'll walk you home", he said. "Didn't you want me to have a look at your computer?"

My PC had been acting up lately and Roy was good with computers and everything-technology. I had mentioned it to him, it was only that I'd have preferred to choose myself when to do it. I tried to remember the state in which I left my room: I wasn't the tidiest of people, definitely not on school day mornings.

When we got to my house, I asked Roy to wait in the living room, while I ran upstairs to quickly make the bed and open the window.

"All good now", I called from the top of the stairs.

I sat on the bed while he started the computer. This was strange. I had never had a boy in my room before.

"I'll get you some juice, if there's any left." I was happy not to have to be in the same enclosed space with him, if only for a little while. Suddenly I'd become aware of the fact that he was a boy, I was a girl, and we were both teenagers raging with hormones.

I wondered if he was thinking the same thing.

"It's done", Roy said, when I came back with the glass. Admittedly, I had taken my time, but I wasn't expecting him to finish so quickly.

"Really? What was the problem?"

"I just cleaned your registry and installed a couple of drivers. You're not getting that error anymore".

"Thanks."

What now? Should I just kick him out? Or suggest watching a movie or something? Maybe not. I didn't want him to get the wrong idea.

"I guess I'm just gonna go now", Roy said. He seemed nervous and, somehow, even more awkward than usual. I didn't understand why, but I was grateful he was sparing me the choice.

"Cool. I'll see you tomorrow at school."

I locked the door behind him, then made myself a sandwich and took it up to my room to eat it in front of the computer, while lazily browsing the internet. After a while, I got bored of watching YouTube videos and closed the browser, to see an unknown file on my desktop, named "OPEN ME".

I double clicked on it.

"Iris" by the Goo Goo Dolls started playing, and a picture of me staring into the distance faded in. I didn't remember ever taking that picture, so I assumed he took it without me noticing, like the cheeky stalker that he was. In a big, blue font the words "From the very beginning" floated on the screen, followed by a series of pictures of me and Roy in primary school, at his birthday party, wearing colorful cone party hats; me in fourth grade, playing piano at the Christmas celebration; both of us trick or treating; a picture of me on a school trip; us again, in sixth grade, after the math competition. All of these were interspersed with slides of text: "You were a big part of my life". "You're smart and clever", "You're talented", "You're beautiful", "You're a good friend and we have so much in common." "For me, you're the perfect girl. But..." picture of him with a sad face, followed by another slide of text: "Until now I haven't had the courage to say it." "Will" "You" "Please" "Be My Girlfriend?" A bouquet of roses concluded the presentation.

I sat on the chair without moving for a good couple of minutes after the slideshow ended, just blinking, trying to process what I'd just seen.

Roy wanted me to be his girlfriend.

He wasn't a bad match for me. He was no means hot, but he wasn't ugly either (a bit like myself, or so I thought). He wasn't stupid. He wasn't brilliant either, though. Out of all the boys I knew, if I were to imagine myself dating one of them, it would have probably been Roy.

But I wasn't sure I could see him in that way.

While rejecting him could put a time-out on our friendship, a failed relationship would completely destroy it. Plus, I didn't feel ready to have a boyfriend; I wasn't even that interested. I had never had a crush on a boy before, never on anyone "real", except for maybe Mr Blake, my old physics teacher in school —and, of course, the man-in-the-suit, which was just another impossible one.

I asked myself if this was normal. Maybe there was something wrong with me, maybe if I said "yes" to Roy, I could pretend to, or even become "normal", whatever that meant.

The business card lay on the desk, next to my diary. I picked it up and stared at the row of numbers written in small print and again, at the name. I huffed. Even if he had given me the card himself, it wasn't like I would have the guts to ever call him. What would I say? He was just a stranger.

I put the card back on the table, facing upside down, and stared at the computer screen, frozen on the last slide."Will you please be my girlfriend?"

♪❤♫❤♬❤♫❤♪❤♪❤♫❤♬❤♫❤♪

I didn't go to school the following day. I didn't want to face Roy, plus I would have been late for English, and I hadn't even read the novel that we were supposed to discuss — I liked reading, but not the compulsory reading. I ended up spending my morning in a café with a double espresso and strawberry jam pancakes, then browsed through an antique bookshop until lunchtime, when I bought myself a sandwich and read on a bench in the park for a couple of hours. 

Back home, I spent the rest of the day finishing the novel that I picked up in the bookshop earlier. I barely noticed that it got dark, only when I couldn't see the writing anymore I got up to turn on the light and grabbed a bag of chips from the kitchen. I couldn't be bother with dinner. 

I was feeling pretty down by the time Mom phoned right before midnight, to wish me a happy birthday, but I tried to appear as cheerful as I could. I had no right to whine. Ever since dad had left us, she had been working hard so I could live in a big house, wear nice clothes and afford all the piano tuition; she didn't deserve me upsetting her over something so silly.

After she hung up, I suddenly felt terribly lonely. I tucked myself in bed, but right as I was drifting into sleep, a popping noise made me jump. It wasn't anything out of ordinary; old houses make all sorts of noises, and I was used to the clacking and popping in the ceiling, especially on hot days. But for some reason, I couldn't sleep anymore.

I grabbed my blanket and my pillow and moved to the lounge sofa, with the TV on, staring at the screen without really following, until the voices finally lulled me to sleep.