“Shut up dude, no she doesn’t,” I voiced as I started to turn red with anger and embarrassment, “There’s no way she does, stop screwing with me.”
“I’m not kidding you Max, she really likes you, you should totally go for it,” Joe grinned, “You’ll probably mess it up but you could at least give it a shot.”
“No Joe you know me all too well, I will get really shy and weird and I’ll look like an idiot, she doesn’t like me anyway dude, your messin’ with me,” I refused.
“C’mon Max, my sister wouldn’t lie about this, I’ve even asked her, and she…”
“You asked her!!! Joe why on earth would you do that?” I interrupted
“Max she really likes you, please do it, please ask her out, or just talk to her, do something, you can’t just leave this situation alone,” he persisted with intensity.
“Alright, whatever Joe, I’ll think about it,” I finally surrendered.
The bell rang, I stood up and left the room without even talking to Joe, I just couldn’t deal with that right now. I walked down the hall to math but on the way I realized that she was in my class. She would be there and I would have to think about all of this, I didn’t want to think about it though. As I stepped in the door way I was relieved to see she wasn’t there yet, I proceeded to my seat in the back of the class, where I preferred my seat to be.
As soon as I sat down, she was in the door, she was standing there, like the sun after a rainy day, she was there. I smiled a faint smile and couldn’t stop staring, I just couldn’t get my eyes away. Even when she noticed me, I just kept staring awkwardly, how could I look away. She smiled at one of her friends and began to laugh at something, her smile, the snow that shines when kissed by the sun, her laugh an angel singing from the heavens.
She doesn’t know who I am, who is Joe kidding. A person like her could never notice a person like me. She would never even think about me. She would never even glance at me. I doubt she even knows I’m in any of her classes, or even in her school. I know she doesn’t know.
“Hey Max, what’s up?” asked my friend Kyle.
“Not much, just wishing I wasn’t in school right now,” I complained to him.
“Yeah, I feel that,” he grinned as he sat down, “At least it’s Friday though, this weekend is long overdue.”
“I know, thank god, I think I would curl up and die if it wasn’t Saturday tomorrow,” I over exaggerated to him, “I just wish math wasn’t our last class, this is gonna’ drag on forever.”
Just as I had prophesized, math seemed to drag on for what seemed like years on end. Eventually; however, the bell did ring and we were released to our lockers which seemed to sing in the hallway after being opened and closed a thousand times.
“See ya’ Joe, see ya’ Kyle,” I shouted to my friends as I exited the boisterous locker room.
“Bye Max!” called a voice I couldn’t recognize.
I spun my head around to see if I could find the person who said it. I saw a girl duck her head around a corner and I just got enough of a glimpse to see who it was. It was Julie, one of her friends. That could only mean that she also knows about this, either by Joe telling her, or maybe someone else.

I got home at 2:45 in the afternoon and as soon as I did I did the only homework I needed to do. I did not want to be doing this over the weekend. I went upstairs and grabbed my laptop. My door opened and my Mom stood where the door had.
“So I didn’t ask you in the car,” she recalled, “How was school today, you look kind of flustered. Did you have too much school work? Or is it something else?”
“Just school work,” I moaned, “I’m fine though, really. Gonna’ try and finish it today so I don’t have to worry about it this weekend.”
“Ok,” she nodded, “If anything is wrong just tell me. Oh! Don’t forget we’re driving into Hartford tomorrow to try that new Italian place. Grandma really wants to try it so that’s where we are going to eat.”
“Ok, sounds good,” I approved.
She walked away and I started with my homework. Just before I could I started getting text messages from Joe. All he was talking about was her, ‘Ask her out’ he said, “At least talk to her,” and the last one read, ‘My sister says that Kate really likes you.” After I read them all I just threw my phone, I’d rather do my homework than talk about that right now. I know there’s no way a girl like her will ever notice a guy like me. This whole thing is a mess, maybe I can just forget about it and move on with my life.

“So you still haven’t talked to her, have you Max?” nagged Joe.
“No dude, I told you, I don’t believe you, there is just no way,” I replied
“Max, she really does like you, and you should really give her a chance, she’s a nice person and I don’t think you really know how much she likes you. She has been texting my sister for so long about this now. C’mon Max, I told you about this two weeks ago, you have to do something,” he persisted with passion.
“Whatever Joe, let me do my work,” I said as I continued to do my Spanish.
Just as I said those words I caught Kate staring at me out of the corner of my eye. She was staring at me, at me! She was still looking and I know she isn’t zoned out. This girl must know who she’s staring at, right? She finally noticed I had seen her and she swung her head in the other direction, she turned red.
“Joe,” I mumbled.
“I though you wanted to do your work,” he grinned.
“I can’t talk to her, I’m too nervous dude, there must be an easier way. I can’t do this. I can’t Joe, I just can’t.” I continued to mumble.
“Max she’s just like you,” he sympathized, “She is shy and nervous too, but she will say yes if you ask her, she really will.”
“No, I can’t, this is impossible, I can’t.” I resolved.
“Alright dude, suit it yourself,” he shrugged.
Whatever, what does Joe know.
Saturday night rolled around again, two weeks of this, two long weeks of Joe pestering me. I don’t know what to do, I don’t know how to do this. My phone started going like crazy, it was Joe again, ‘Here’s her number,’ he texted, ‘Text her,’ ‘Now,’ ‘Now,’ ‘Now,’ ‘Do it now,’ ‘Now,’ ‘Max do it now,’ he went on and on, I ignored it and threw my phone into my desk. I couldn’t stand the buzzing of my phone.
Finally, I had enough, I took out my phone and texted him,
“Fine.”
I typed, “Hey Kate, it’s Max from Math and Spanish class.”
What if she doesn’t answer, what if she thinks I’m a weirdo for doing this, what if…
“Hey :),” she responded
We texted all Sunday afternoon, all night, even after midnight. The week rolled around and we were both shy, but after school when we could text I got to know her for her. She had so many things to tell, and all I had to do was read. We talked every day and every night via text messages. I finally asker her out the Wednesday of the next week, but besides that all we did was text. Text, text, text, but there was something about it. I didn’t need to hear her voice; I knew what it sounded like. Everything she said while texting made me more and more glad I had texted her. I grew to like her more, and more, and more until I had only one word for my feelings, love. I began to love this girl and everything about her. One night when we even talked on the phone I had said,
“I love you,” and she replied with,
“I love you too.”
This girl was my everything, she made me so happy, especially happy that phones were invented, because without them, I would not be able to have my digital love.