“Yeah. But I go by Liz.” I replied, blushing. “Cool.” He said, turning back to his friends. Well, guess that conversation is over. Jake was fairly popular, cute, and I’ve heard from past girlfriends of his that he’s sweet at school but rude when alone. Also he enjoys watching cartoons.

I turned, annoyed that he wasn’t the right person, and saw Alex looking my way. When he caught my gaze, I took a deep breathe, smiled, and waved. He smiled back and gave a shy wave. I sat at his table, where him and a kid classified as part of the nerd group named Junior sat.

“Hey! Is this seat taken?” I chirped. “Hi! No, have a seat.” He replied, smiling again. “I’m Liz.” I introduced. “Alex,” he replied with a nod. Junior stayed silent, thank goodness.

“So, you have Mrs. Lasagna in sixth period language arts, right? What do you think about this pen pal business?” I wondered. “Yes, I do. I read the first letter but still have no idea. The person said something about movies.” He said. My brain stopped.

Alex was cute. His black-framed glasses complimented his floppy red bangs, and his smile was perfect. He was on the in-my-dreams suspects list. But now he’s officially ranked number one on the original list.

“Movies, huh?” I murmured. He nodded and went back to his sandwich. “Well, my friend’s waiting, so I’ll leave you to eat your lunch in peace.” I excused myself, then numbly walked over to Marge. “You look like you just saw a ghost.” She commented casually as I sat down.

“No, better!” I replied, starting to come back to life and smile. “I-I think Alex is my pen pal.” I said quickly. She dropped the granola bar in her hand and I laughed nervously. Marge blinked. “O.M.G. Spill!!” She shouted. I shushed her, my cheeks turning pink, and whispered her everything.

“Wow. That’s amazing!” Marge said. I nodded in agreement. It really was, but something felt off. I couldn’t explain why... almost as if this was too perfect, like in a book or movie or something. I shrugged and ate my lunch while Marge went on about the color pink.

“Alright everyone! How are we feeling about the pen pal thing?” Mrs. L started with. Some kids nodded, others shrugged. “Does anyone have suspects? Don’t shout, just raise hands.” She asked.

I didn’t raise my hand. Yes, Alex was a suspect. Yes, I did have a few others who were in the running. But I wasn’t about to admit that, and no one else did either.

“Okay then. All of you who wrote letter one will be writing letter three, a reply to the letter you got a day ago. So paper, pencil, and begin!” She shouted excitedly. I dug out the chewed up pencil and a piece of lined paper. Then I wrote.

Hi Anonymous #2,

Me again. How’s life going? Mine stinks a little, but I have nice friends to make up for it. I don’t want to give too much away, so I’ll stop there. Many sides, huh? Interesting.

What else could we talk about? How about books? I’m always a sucker for a good Rom-com. And yes, Angry Birds always counts. Looking forward to your reply,

Anonymous #1

“So your number one suspect is Alex?” Marge asked conspiratorially as the three of us (me, Jack and Marge) walked home. “Yep,” I said, not being able to hide my giddy smile. “Who are your suspects, brother?” Marge asked curiously as I told my dad I’d be going to the Thompson’s again.

“Suspects?” He asked, seeming like he didn’t hear our entire conversation. Marge rolled her eyes. “Yes suspects. For the pen pal assignment?” She said impatiently.

“Well, there’s that cute girl, Brittney. Or Mabel, that nerdy cute girl.” He said. “Why do you assume it’s a girl?” I wondered. “She said something about movies. Most guys don’t mention that kind of stuff.” He shrugged, and I scowled.

“Something wrong?” Marge asked, glancing at me. “Nope, but Alex said something about movies too. Why is that subject so popular?” I asked myself angrily. “Beats me,” She replied with a shrug. Then we were at their house, and Jack opened the door for us.

“Want a snack?” Marge asked, going with the normal routine and grabbing a bag of Doritos for herself and facing me. “No thanks.” I replied, breaking the routine. She gasped. “You’re not hungry?” Jack asked, sitting at the table with a pack of crackers.

“Nope. Too busy thinking about this pen pal business.” I replied, shaking my head. He nodded in understanding, and said, “What you need is a break. A distraction, if you will.” I gave him a questioning glance as he opened the back door.

“Race you to the swing set!” He shouted as he bolted to the playground in their backyard. “Hey, no fair! You had a head start.” I hollered in protest, catching up to him and jumping on his back. Marge stood in the doorway, laughing and shaking her head.

Jack and I both put our feet on an end of the two-seat swing and took turns pressing on the suspending strings to make it move. “Alright lovebirds, it’s been a half hour! We’d better get to work.” Marge said after what seemed like five minutes. “Aww, no fair!” Jack whined, making me laugh.

We were inside the structure, and he slid down the slide, landing on his feet and meeting a strict Marge at the bottom. I slid down behind him. “Lovebirds?” I quietly questioned Marge as soon as my feet touched the ground.

“I know you’ll never admit it, but you two are cute together. And you seemed like you were enjoying yourself.” She replied casually as we walked back towards the door, and I was thankful Jack had gone inside. “You’re right, I won’t.” I replied, dropping the subject.

We worked on homework, then settled in on watching a movie. “What should we watch?” Marge asked as she dug in their large movie bin. “Angry Birds!” Jack shouted, making me laugh. I realized what he said, which made me stop short and gasp, then coughed at the amount of air that whistled through my throat. Angry Birds?

“What? What happened?” Marge asked, rushing over to me. “Nothing, I’m fine. I-I just forgot to fill out something for math is all.” I replied, grabbing a strand of hair and twirling it. “Like I’ve said before, terrible liar. What’s up?” Jack asked, raising and eyebrow.

“Fine,” I sighed. “It’s something involving my pen pal. But I can’t give away anything...” I trailed off, giving Marge an “I’m sorry” look. She eyed me suspiciously, then both of them shrugged at the same time and I burst out laughing. “She’s really losing it,” Jack said, pretending to be scared.

“No, you both shrugged at the same time. Twins that are opposites that shrug at the exact same time is funny.” I replied. They’re not identical twins, but their faces have similar features. Their hair is the same color, and so are their eyes. So I guess they’re pretty much identical. But they’re so different in personality.

“Okay then...” Marge replied, turning back to the movies. I made popcorn in their microwave, and we settled into Angry Birds after all. It was almost eight o’clock by the time we finished, and Jack walked me to the door as I grabbed my bag and carried my books in my arm.

“I don’t think your dad would want you to walk alone in the dark. Marge, lock the doors behind us.” He said, knowing my dad too well. My dad is overprotective, but he still lets me go and have fun as long as I’m with people he knows and trusts.

“Okay, bye Liz!” Marge yelled from the living room. “Bye M, see you Monday!” I replied before Jack closed the door. We started walking, and it was silent for the first few minutes but I could feel his crystal blue eyes on me. “So, Liz...” He started. “So, Jack...” I copied, smiling a little.

“Was that gasp because you hate Angry Birds?” He asked. “What? No, not at all. That was my first time seeing it, actually. It was funny,” I admitted. “Okay, so then what was it for?” He continued. I gave him a sad smile.

“I wish I could tell you, I really do. But it would give too much away, and I’m hoping its only a coincidence.” I said, looking away. When I looked back, all he did was shrug. “Okay, I understand. But I’m open and listening, just like Marge.” Right, Marge. My best friend and twin of Jack, plus unofficial matchmaker.

We arrived at the fire station. “Thanks for walking me home.” I said, facing him. A shadow overcame his face as he turned away from the street light, and it made him look mysterious. “No problem. I think Marge is making plans for us this weekend.” He replied, his voice going down in volume.

“I can’t tell if that’s a good or bad thing. You do know she’s playing cupid with us, right?” I replied, my voice coming to a whisper on the quiet street. “Yes,” was all he said, his voice also a whisper. “Yes? You’re not upset?” I asked, almost silent as he brushed my cheek. But he was close enough that he could hear me.

“Not at all. It allows me to spend more time with you. You know all these years I’ve never really gotten to know Lizzie Smith, my sister’s best friend and an amazing girl?” He said, moving closer and twirling a strand of my hair. I blushed and looked at the ground.

“Wow. That’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me.” I replied. He smiled, and this felt magical. But I just... couldn’t. I wrapped my arms around him and gave him a hug, saying another thanks and goodnight. As I walked away, I replayed that scene in my head.

What. Just. Happened?