And when he can complete a thought,
Grace acts like it’s just about
the funniest thing she’s ever heard.
Henry keeps wrapping
the little curl at the nape of her neck
around his finger,
and he hasn’t let go of her hand once,
even to scratch,
since we’ve been here,
which seems like hours
even though it’s probably only been
twenty minutes.
I don’t know how
they’re going to manage it
when the food comes.
Dylan and I are just sitting here
across from them in the booth,
trying to make small talk.
Our thighs
aren’t even touching
on the seat.
AT THE MOVIES
I’m sitting between Henry and Dylan.
Dylan’s holding my hand,
but I can tell he isn’t feeling it.
He’s actually watching the movie.
I mean really watching it,
like it doesn’t even matter that I’m here.
And the saddest part is
that I don’t care.
I’d almost rather snuggle up to Henry.
But he’s too busy holding hands
(and everything else)
with Grace.
WALKING HOME
The light changes
and Dylan and I head across the street,
arm in arm.
That’s when it happens:
I notice our reflection in
the window of Starbucks
and I get this weird feeling
that something isn’t quite right.
Only I can’t put my finger on it.
Then it hits me:
what’s wrong is that it looks like
I’m taller than Dylan,
which is totally bizarre
because I’m wearing my flattest shoes
and I know for a fact
that he’s taller than me.
At least he was taller
six weeks ago
when we first started
going out together.
I’ve heard of people
outgrowing relationships,
but this is ridiculous.
GOOD NIGHT
We’re standing under the porch light,
face to face,
leaning our foreheads together.
He’s playing with my fingers,
whispering something
about what a great time he had tonight.
And all I can think about
is that his hands look smaller than mine,
like the hands of a little boy.
Q AND A WITH CHAZ
“Do you have a boyfriend?”
“Yes.”
“Doy you have a girlfriend?”
“Yes.”
Who is she?”
Me?!
“Yikes.”
“Yeah.”
Pickup ATA from H/C ed. @ %88
Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Acknowledgments
A Piece of Advice from Me to Me
But It’ll All Be Over in a Minute
Aw, Man
But They Did Happen
And I’ll Never Forget Those Kisses, Either
Even So
Which Will Truly Suck
It’s Me She’s Racing Over To
Sophie Takes Hold of My Hands
So What Happens Now?
But She Just Squeezes Them Even Tighter
“Robin?!”
And Neither Does Anyone Else
Instead
I’m a Hundred Percent Hers
So I Make Sure No One Can See Us
When We Round the Next Corner
A Minute Later
Mr. Schultz Says He Wants Us to Draw a Feeling
We Don’t Have Any Other Classes Together
After School
Sophie Hurtles into My Arms
When We Finally Come Up for Air
She Tells Me Not to Worry
Then-THWOMPI
Sophie Rubs My Back
Then We Get on a Roll
When We Step Inside Her Front Door
But a Second Later
That’s All She Says
A Partial List of Mrs. Steins Excuses for Coming into the Kitchen Every Five Minutes After That to Spy on Us
But In Between All of Her Mom’s Interruptions
Then She Asks Me
“And Ray Davies,” Sophie Says
It’s Time to Go
On the Walk Home
As I Pass by the Playground
“Don’t Be Such a Murphy”
But I’m Not Feeling Particularly Entertained at the Moment
I Crack Open the Front Door
Since Whenever I Do
Mur.phy (Mur’fē) n., pl.-phies. Slang
I’m Practically Inhaling My Dinner
She Answers Her Cell on the First Ring
I Turn Out the Light Early
But I Wouldn’t Feel Right
Tuesday Morning
Rachel Laughs Nervously
When Lunchtime Rolls Around
The Rest of the Week at School
But Sophie and I Figure
I’m Not Sure Whose Idea It Is
Saturday Afternoon at the Museum of Fine Arts
I Haven’t Shaved for a Week
Though You Couldn’t Really Call This Thing a Beard Yet
My STD Project Is Due Soon
My Beard’s Completely Grown in Now
After School on Tuesday
The Whole Way Over to Sophie’s House
When We Get to Sophie’s House
I Knew This Day Would Come
A Few Minutes Before Art Class on Friday
And I Know Exactly How He Feels
When I Pass In My Drawing at the End of Class
After Class
Friday Night
On Saturday Morning
Monday Mostly Stinks
One Hour Before My First Drawing Class
Mom Drives Me Over to Harvard Ten Minutes Early
At Five Minutes Till Seven
I Thought There’d Be More People Here
Even So, I Feel Like I’m Crashing a Party
The Old Guy Clears His Throat
As the Laughing Dies Down
Felix Hurries Over to Greet Her
Yikes!
Felix Gives Each of Us a Stick of Charcoal
I Am One Sick Dude
When the Two-Minute Timer Beeps Again
Don’t Think?
Is My Nose Growing?
I Don’t Think I’ll Ever Get Tired of This:
At School on Wednesday Morning
On My Way to Lunch
When Sophie Finally Comes Out of the Bathroom
Lunch in the Bleachers Is Okay, I Guess
As Soon as School Gets Out
Then We Head Straight Over to My House
Then All of a Sudden
Here’s What I’d Like to Know
As I Head Up the Ramp to the Carpenter Center
But Then I Get to Thinking …
Tessa and I Are Sharpening Our Pencils Before Class
Gina Hoists Herself Up onto the Platform
During Gina’s Break
Class Is Over
I’m Just About to Leap on Their Offer
Though I Guess It Doesn’t Really Matter
Dylan Just Stole My Hat Again
It’s 4:00 p.m.
On the Way Over to My Third Class at Harvard
Before Class
Geez
This Is So …
What It’s Not About
When Class Is Over
At Café Parad
iso
Unlike, Say, All the People at Cambridge High
Bowling with a Vengeance
The Door to Studio B Swings Open
And Then Without Any Warning
Honk’s Elbow Snaps Me Out of My Daze
I Loiter After Class
At Café Algiers
I Tell Sophie
Don’t Get Me Wrong
T.G.I.F.
Such a What?!
I’ve Got to Get Away from Here
I’m Waiting for Sophie After School
And Before I Even Know What’s Happening
But Just Thinking About Having to Do That
When I Get Home
A Few Minutes Later, the Doorbell Rings
I Fling Myself Back onto My Bed
At Dinnertime
I Have Got to Get My Mind Off Sophie
Around Ten O’Clock
Saturday Morning
Saturday Afternoon
Oh, No!
Mom Sounds So Relieved
Now Mom Gets Back on the Line
My Heart Catapults Up Into My Throat
I Don’t Know What to Do
And I’m Gonna Have to Tell Her That
When Sophie Finally Looks Up at Me
So I Start Working on the Second Frame
When I Finish the Boy’s Face
Finally
But I’m Gonna Have to Learn to Live with That Ache
When We Stop to Catch Our Breath
It Feels So Good, I Don’t Ever Want It to Stop
Somehow
And Then the Telephone Rings
Now I Switch into Hyper Gear
I Get Off the Phone as Fast as I Can
Before We Leave
And Even if I Did Tell Them
When Worlds (Almost) Collide
We Stop Off for Pizza at Pinocchio’s
Then We Start Making Out
A Few Seconds Later
I Do Not Have a One Track Mind
We Spend the Next Couple of Hours
We Tack Our Best Creations Up onto My “Wall of Lame”
Just Before Her Mom Arrives
At School on Monday
As We Head Across the Room
When We Get to Our Usual Table
Whoa
Everyone’s Really Staring at Us Now
We Spend What’s Left of the Lunch Period
Just Before the Bell Rings
A Few Minutes Later
Just as the Bell Rings
Schultz Strikes Again
It’s 3:23 p.m.
Which Totally Sucks
But Later
Sophie Gives Me a Sisterly Peck on the Cheek Good-bye
Right After Dinner
So When I Head Over to Studio B
Chelsea’s Back!
Tuesday Morning
This Is So Messed Up
I’m Waiting by the Goalpost
For a Long Time
I Try to Tell Myself
I Drag Myself Out of Bed on Wednesday Morning
Maybe There’s Hope for My Love Life
I’m Still Kind of Dreading Lunch, Though
But Lunch Isn’t That Bad, Really
When She Runs Up to Me at the Goalpost
As Soon as We Get Upstairs to My Room
Then, Without Any Warning
Guess Who’s Calling?
I Sit and Seethe
Sophie’s Cheeks Look as Red as if I’d Slapped Them
Later
My Charcoal’s on a Rampage
During the Break
At Finale
Of Course, I’m Probably Only Imagining This
It Isn’t Until a While Later
On Thursday
When I Get Home After School
My Heart’s Trying Real Hard
I’ve Been Spared!
So I Wait Until My Mom Takes a Martini Break
And Suddenly I’m Thinking About Sophie
On Friday Morning
It’s Basically the Same Drill as Thursday
I Keep Trying to Snatch My Hat Back
Late on Friday Night
I Grab the Phone
Tessa Says She’s Calling to Tell Me the Plan
Richard’s “Undisclosed Sociological Event”
Honk Performs an Impromptu Wedding
Then, Eve Suggests We Bypass Lunch
Feeling Triumphant
When We Get Back to Harvard at Around Six
Then Richard Asks for Some Tunes
We Don’t Stop Rocking Out
For a Few Seconds, No One Says Anything
My Words Hang in the Air
But Then Honk High-Fives Me
After the Last Jell-O Shot Kicks In
We Flop Down onto Tessa’s Bed
But a Second Later, Tessa Stops Laughing
Then Neil Sedaka Starts Singing “Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteen”
And Then
I’m Touching Her Breasts!
I Pull My Hands Out from Under Tessas Shirt
Its Okay with Tessa
But a Couple of Minutes Later
When the Cold Air Hits Me
I’m Not the Type of Person Who Gets Carsick
I Can’t Sleep
What Do I Want?
At Around Noon
I’m Getting Ready to Meet Tessa
Seeing Tessa
Did Tessa Just Read My Mind?
Then a Car Whooshes Past
And, Right Away, Sophie Pops into My Head
I Stop Right Where I Am
But I Pull Away
I Freeze in My Tracks
Suddenly, There’s a Tornado in My Chest
Her Hand Flashes Through the Air So Fast
I Stand Here Watching Her Go
I Try Everything
After Midnight
Dad Cracks Open the Door and Looks in on Me
February Fourteenth
All Morning Long
And Every Time
At Lunchtime
When I Tell Schultz I Need to Skip Class
4 p.m.
It’s Starting to Snow
So I Can’t Go Home
It’s Not Till I’m Actually at the Museum
I Take a Step Back
But Then I Hear Footsteps
Her Cheeks Flame Up
I Want to Rush to Her Side
I Take the Sketchbook from Sophie’s Hands
Author Bio
What My Mother Doesn’t Know Teaser