“Where do you want to meet up?” she texted.  I sat in my bus seat, my body steaming with anxiety and excitement.  I couldn’t even type back due to my shaking fingers.  Where could we meet up that allows us to be isolated from the world?  What place in this school can serve me aid as I ask the most important question of my life.  My mind couldn’t think as my heart raced faster and faster with every second that passed by.  Suddenly I remembered one place that was free to anyone when we left school later during the day.

 

“What about the football field,” I typed back and slowly pressed the blue button to deliver my message.  Two minutes go by and no response.  I start to get nervous and overthink.  My guts start to twist inside me and the feeling doesn’t stop.  In the midst of my isolated thoughts, bubbles pop up on my phone.  I immediately shift my attention to my screen as I see the flashing text bubble indicating an incoming response.

 

“Great, see you there!”  I couldn’t believe my eyes.  I turn off my phone and smile to myself in excitement for what is to come, but also fear of failure.

 

The clock strikes noon.  Since it was the last day before christmas vacation, the school let all the kids out earlier as a half day.  I walk out of my class, exhausted from my last midterm exam.  My mind is still recovering from my constant glaring at the white sheet of paper I took my test on.  As I walked down the hall filled with kids yelling and shouting in excitement from there release of school for the next two weeks, I pull out my phone to text her, but she had already texted me.

 

“I’m here, where are you?”  In my realization of tardiness, I dash over to through the halls and out the doors of the school.  When I open the doors, I see a gathering of kids everywhere waiting for the buses.  On the other side of the buses is my destination.  I quickly maneuver through the mob of kids.  The loudness of the collection of voices mixed with the loud revving of the bus engine filled the air under the gray, winter clouds.  Finally, I made it to the other side, away from the chaotic sounds and onward to a peaceful sidewalk leading to the football field.  As I approached, I saw a girl sitting on a bench on her phone.  Though it was far, I could see her head slowly lifting up to see me and a beautiful smile forming across her face.

 

“Took you long enough,” she joked as I approached her.

 

“Well I had to take a little detour to get here,” I replied.

 

“So,” she stepped closer to me, “what did you want to ask me?”