The Cutest Boy In School

"Victorian Love Letter" Photo courtesy of http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/Valentines_Day_g135-Victorian_Love_Letter_p5746.html

***This is an original, previously unpublished fiction story that I wrote. Like a lot of my writing these days, Sandy's experience in school is loosely based on a similar incident in my own life. I hope that you enjoy the story.***

“The Cutest Boy In School”

Sandy had liked Pete for two years now. Ever since he’d first transferred into Mrs. Kennedy’s fifth grade class and sat down at the desk in front of Sandy’s own, Sandy had decided that he was the cutest boy in school. His hair was a shaggy mop of dark brown waves. His eyes were also brown, just a few shades lighter than his hair. It was his smile though that Sandy most adored. It was broad and toothy and endearingly crooked. Every time she saw that smile, Sandy felt a tingle from head to toe.

Did Pete also feel tingly when Sandy smiled? Dearest reader, if you had asked Sandy that question anytime over the last two years, she’d have sadly admitted that it was very unlikely. It wasn’t that Pete was unaware of her existence. Oh, no. He and Sandy had briefly spoken to one another on several occasions. He had even addressed her by name. Each time he spoke to her, Sandy felt a flicker of hope. Usually this was a brief flicker, since when he came across Sandy walking her dog before school each morning; he demonstrated more interest towards her dog than he did towards Sandy.

Her dog was a dachshund, one of those cute little wiener dogs that you see scurrying around like a relative to a caterpillar. Sandy’s dog seemed especially caterpillar-like, and she sometimes wondered if he didn’t really possess more than the standard four legs. A few times, when she’d watched him run, she could have almost sworn she’d seen a half dozen more legs pop out. Only when he slowed did the legs seem to vanish once again.

The first time he’d seen the dog, Pete had asked her its name.

“Mustard,” she replied with a blush.

“Mustard!” Pete had exclaimed. “Why do you call him that?”

“Well. . . He’s a wiener dog, and I only like mustard on my hot dogs.”

Pete laughed, gave her his crooked smile, petted and played with Mustard a little. He didn’t hang around her very long. He left with a wave and a quick. “Gotta go. See ya!”

Was it any wonder that Sandy had good reason to doubt Pete had any real interest in her? She had no reason to think that the feelings she harbored for him would ever be shared. At least, for the past two years, Sandy had no reason to believe this to be the case. Recent events led her to believe otherwise.

Notes had begun appearing in her locker at school. Love notes. On these notes were written things like “I like you”, “You’re the prettiest girl in school”, and “I saw the shirt you wore yesterday, and you look nice in green”. The notes were all signed “Your Secret Admirer”.

Sandy was so surprised by these notes that she would have thought they’d been slipped into the wrong locker if her name wasn’t written on the outside of them. She puzzled everyday over who they might be from. Of course, the first person she’d think of was Pete. This wasn’t, as has already been explained, because she had any real reason to think that he liked her. It was because Sandy couldn’t think of any other boy from whom she’d liked to get such notes.

Vicki, as girl in Sandy’s math class, asked her about the notes after she read one over Sandy’s shoulder. “Oooo,” Vicki almost squealed. “A note from a secret admirer! You’re so lucky! Do you know who it is?”

“I have no idea.” Sandy admitted. She went on to mention that there had been other notes before this one.

“Really? Someone must like you a lot.” Vicki responded.

Sandy hardly heard Vicki’s last comment Pete happened to walk by at that moment. Vicki didn’t miss Sandy’s clear expression of longing while watching Pete. Perhaps, if this timing had played out differently, then the events that happened next might not have taken place. It’s difficult not to wonder this when looking back on things.

Later that same day, Sandy received the last of these notes that would be put into her locker. This one read: “Hey, beautiful! Do you want to be my girlfriend?” Instead of the usual signature, “Your Secret Admirer”, this one was signed “Pete”.

To understand Sandy’s feelings at this point, picture yourself as a thirteen year old girl with a long held crush on the cutest boy in school. Imagine how you’d feel if the boy you’d secretly adored, gave you a note asking you to be his girlfriend. As you might expect, Sandy felt as if she were floating amongst the clouds. Only a bird could touch her now. It was as if someone had plucked her greatest wish out of her head and turned it into reality.

Bubbling over with joy, Sandy saw Pete approaching. She stood in front of her locker, note in hand, grinning broadly as he walked toward her. I wish I could report otherwise, but Pete did not even glance in Sandy’s direction. Thinking he didn’t know she was there, as he began to pass her, Sandy called out to him.

“Hi, Pete!”

He looked over at her. “Hi, how’s Mustard doing?”

“Good! He’s good!” She replied in an overly loud voice.

“Cool.” He stood there a moment, staring at his feet, before quickly turning away. “Gotta go. See Ya!”

Sandy wasn’t sure how long she stood there, staring after him with what was no doubt an expression of shock on her face. Gradually, she became aware of the laughter of a nearby group of girls. The group consisted of Vicki and three other classmates. They were looking at Sandy and were laughing heartily.

“Hey, Sandy!” Vicki shouted over at her. “How is your secret admirer? I don’t think he likes you anymore.”

A sick feeling flooded Sandy’s stomach. Dread was making itself manifest. She thought that Pete hadn’t acted like a boy who had been sending that girl love notes or like a boy who had just asked a girl out and was still waiting for an answer. He hadn’t acted like her admirer, secret or otherwise. All of the notes had been in the same handwriting, so, if Pete hadn’t given her the notes, then who had? Who, in particular, would have given her love notes and signed his name to the last one?

Sandy hadn’t told anyone except Vicki about the notes, but it was obvious that Vicki’s friends, those three girls that she was with now, must know about them too. Horrified, she realized that Vicki, or one of her friends, had written the notes! That’s why they were laughing at her after she’d talked with Pete. They knew the notes weren’t from him!

It was all a cruel practical joke! Boys didn’t pay much attention to Sandy; these girls knew she wasn’t popular. So, they’d decided it would be funny to write her love notes to get her excited about someone liking her. Then, they’d figured out that Sandy liked Pete, and they had signed his name on the last note. They thought it was especially funny to see Sandy’s expression when Pete walked away.

These girls knew that Sandy was disappointed, confused, and hurt. As she realized the notes were a joke, she was also embarrassed and humiliated. Hurting their classmate this way had been Vicki’s idea, but the other three girls had known about it all along. They considered hurting Sandy, a classmate they hardly knew and who had never done anything to them, merely a form of entertainment.

Looking back at this, years later, can I tell you, sympathetic readers, that these girls eventually learned their lesson? Did they learn the error of their cruel ways and grow up to my kind, sensitive adults? Alas, to my knowledge, I can not tell you that is the case. As far as I am aware, they grew up to be adults with as much empathy as a bunch of toads. Fortunately, I do have some good news to report.

The year after the final love notes incident, Sandy’s family moved, and she started attending a different school. Thus, she didn’t see Pete again until they ran into each other one day when they were both twenty years old.

“Hey, how’s Mustard doing?” He asked.

“Mustard died two years ago.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, Sandy. He was a good dog.”

“Yes, he was. I’m thinking about getting another one.” She told him. “A dalmatian.”

“Let me guess. You plan to name him ‘Spot’.”

“No,” Sandy replied with a smile. “I’d name him ‘Stripe’.”

He laughed. Pete then went on to tell Sandy that he used to be grateful that he could use Mustard as an excuse to talk to her. It turns out that Pete had always liked her as much as she had liked him. He used to get so nervous when he spoke to her that he could only do it a short while before his anxiety overwhelmed him. That’s why he’d always say “Gotta go. See ya!” and then leave so abruptly.

Older and less insecure, Pete was over his anxiety when speaking with Sandy. Pete hadn’t gotten over liking her nor had she gotten over her crush. The two started dating, and fell in love. During this time, Sandy told him about the mean practical joke that Vicki and the other girls had played on her in seventh grade. Both of them appreciated the irony that they had really liked each other the whole time, though neither had been aware of the others feelings.

Pete and Sandy were married. On their first wedding anniversary, he gave her a handwritten note with her gift. The note had Sandy’s name written on the outside and read “Hey, beautiful. You’re still the prettiest girl I know. I love you.” It was signed “Your Secret Admirer, Pete”. He wrote her an identical note every anniversary thereafter for the many years that they were wed. Sandy kept every one of them.

-The End-

Until I type again,

Kami