He raised an eyebrow. “Do I know this kid?” He asked. “Well, he’s new and I thought it would be good to get to know him.” I replied, which was true. But he was not only my friend but my crush. “Is this new kid coming over to pick you up?” he asked again.

“Yep.” I replied. “Good. I want to meet him.” He said, setting the newspaper in front of him and scanning it. I sighed and realized I was wasting time, so I ran upstairs and dug around in my closet.

After fifteen minutes of picking and choosing, I decided on a light blue T-shirt and white jeans, with blue shoes matching the shirt. Then I applied a little makeup and pulled my hair into a ponytail before hearing the doorbell and rushing downstairs. But it was too late, and my dad beat me to the door.

“Hello young man.” He said, eyeing Alex up and down. He looked cuter than ever with his hair starting flat on the back of his head and gradually coming to an incline and forming a little mohawk-type point on his head.

His shirt was black with red writing, and he wore jeans, with red and black converse. “Hello sir,” he replied to my dad, shaking his hand. “Where are you taking my daughter tonight?” Mt dad asked. “To the pizza parlor downtown, Mr. Smith.” He replied with a smile.

“Okay. Bring her back by nine,” was all my dad said as he turned and smiled at me. “Bye dad.” I said as I closed the door. “Bye, have fun.” He said, although it didn’t sound super sincere. “Hey!” I chirped to Alex. “Hey. You look great,” he replied. I blushed.

“Thanks.” He opened his mom’s car door, and since we were only freshmen, we couldn’t drive. “Hi Mrs. Vega! I’m-“ I started. “Lizzie. Nice to meet you!” She finished with a smile. I nodded with an equal smile and said, “You too.”

Ten minutes later we were walking into the pizza parlor, him opening the door for me. The restaurant smelled of pizza and pasta, and my stomach was suddenly starving. “Table for two, please.” He told the waitress. She took us straight to a table and gave us our menus.

We talked a little, and he said something about his pen pal having nice friends. My heart stopped and a grin spread across my face. I was almost certain he was my pen pal. “Hi! My name’s Jen, and I’ll be taking your orders. What would you like?” A middle-aged woman came over.

“I’ll have lemonade with spaghetti, thanks.” Alex ordered, handing her his menu. “I’d like some iced tea with a small cheese pizza. Thank you!” I said, giving her my menu. She nodded and left. Alex and I chatted a little about school and friends and homework, things like that.

Soon our food came, and we were quiet as we ate. Towards the end, Alex held out a noodle and had his mouth on the other end, and I took the other end, like Lady and the Tramp. But as the noodle got smaller and smaller, and I was closer and closer to his lips, it just didn’t feel right. I bit my half and his hung limply.

I smiled sadly, and he raised an eyebrow as he slurped the noodle. “What happened?” He asked. I hesitated, not exactly sure what to tell him. “I’ll explain later.” I said quietly as the waitress came over with the bill. Fifteen minutes later, we were sitting on a bench outside the restaurant in the temperate night as we waited for his mom.

“I had fun tonight.” I started in the quietness. “Me too,” he replied with a smile. “About the noodle thing...” I started. “I’m sorry. Honestly, I’ve had a crush on you ever since I first saw you.

“But tonight, my heart just wasn’t in it. I don’t know why, but it just... wasn’t.” I managed to say, feeling his eyes on me as I stared at the sidewalk. “I understand,” was all he said after a minute of listening to the sounds of the city.

A car pulled up to the front of the restaurant, and Alex’s mom rolled down the window and called for us. He opened the back door for me and we sat next to each other. “So, how was it?” She asked as she glanced at us in the rear view mirror. “Fun,” I said with a small grin. She nodded and it was silent the rest of the way back home.

The alarm beeped, but I was already awake, staring at the ceiling and contemplating last night. Do I still like Alex? Does he like me? Would I want another date with him? These questions were swirling around in my head all night, and when I did manage to sleep for an hour or two, it was dreamless.

I didn’t even remember getting up, dressed, and eating breakfast, but twenty minutes later I was on my front porch with Jack and Marge. “You look tired,” was the first thing Marge said. I blinked, suddenly becoming aware. “Oh, yeah. I barely got any sleep last night.” I replied.

“Up all night with Alex?” She said, eyeing me suspiciously. “Hardly. The date ended early. When he tried to kiss me, I just... wasn’t feeling it.” I replied, rubbing my eyes and yawning the last part.

Jack looked awkward, as if he was trying to not act relieved. I raised an eyebrow at him, and he turned towards the street. “We’d better get going.” He said. Marge and I raised an eyebrow at him, but started walking and talking like normal (although I was yawning almost the entire time).

“Hi class! I’m happy to report that those of you who wrote letter three will now be receiving letter four at the end of class!” Mrs. Lasagna announced excitedly. I blinked. English? It was already English class? I thought, not remembering almost the entire day. Wow, I really need some sleep.

Then class whizzed by, and she was already calling names. “Lizzie, here’s your letter.” She said, handing it to me. I grabbed my bag, took the letter with a, “thanks”, and waited outside the classroom. “Ooh, letter number four!” Marge exclaimed, looking eager to open hers. I chuckled lightly.

We started walking home. “I still can’t identify my pen pal.” Marge complained. Both Jack and I remained silent. “So, Liz. Can you come to our place today?” Jack asked. I thought before shaking my head. “No, sorry. I’m so tired, I desperately need a nap. I barely even remember today,” I said, and Marge laughed.

“So you don’t remember Alex saying how much fun he had and that he wants a date two?” Marge asked. I widened my eyes, and noticed Jack had his jaws clenched. “What?!” I shrieked. Marge looked at me questioningly. “Are you gonna say yes?” She asked as we walked onto the porch of the station.

“I don’t know, are you going to act all mysterious and weird if I do?” I asked. “Hey, I just don’t know if you and Alex are right for each other. And I don’t want my best friend getting hurt.” She said, but I could tell there was more as I stared at her with slight annoyance.

“Um, I think I can decide who I want to be with.” I replied, my voice rising a little. “I know that!” She exclaimed, seeming surprised as her voice rose to match mine. “Well then why are you acting this way?” I nearly shouted. “Because... because.” She said, starting with a shout but then looking away. “That’s not an answer.” I said angrily. No, furiously.

“I-I just don’t want you to make the wrong decision.” She said, and for the first time since we started this fight I noticed Jack was up ahead on the sidewalk, waiting for Marge. “I think I can decide what I want to do and if it’s good for me or not.” I spat.

“Fine. But don’t some crying to me if he breaks your heart!” She cried, throwing up her arms and walking away. Tears threatened as I realized what I had started, but I held them back as I stiffly went inside and ran to my room. Marge and I hadn’t fought in so long, I had almost forgotten how much it hurt.

I buried my face into my pillow and started to cry, but only let a few tears fall before attempting to collect myself and reaching into my backpack to grab some homework. But as I felt around, my hand came to the letter and I pulled it out. Slowly and shakily unfolding it, I started to read.

Dear Anonymous #1,

Life’s a little rough right now, with my parents being away so often. And when they are here, they fight and make each other mad. But I also have nice friends, and that’s really nice in a time like this.

Do you consider yourself something? Or what about your hopes and dreams? I’d always wanted to climb a huge mountain or go scuba diving for some random reason.

Books, huh? Well, I enjoy comics, (which I know sounds really childish) but I could also go for an action novel if I had to. Rom-com books are a little too sappy for my taste, but my sister loves them and is always talking about them to me. Talk again soon,

Anonymous #2

I grinned while reading, thinking about Alex. Maybe I would go on a second date with him. But for two reasons, and two reasons only. One, because he’s going through hard times and I need to be there for him. And two, because I want to officially prove my theory of him being Mr. Mysterious.

If he isn’t, I guess I’m going to need a plan B.