Chapter 1

This story takes place in the summer, before the first year of high school. There is a group of teenagers sitting on the grass and laughing.

“Hey everyone.” Aly cheerfully greets as she approaches the group. Jessica looked up first, shielding her eyes from the sun directly behind Aly. She was not alone. Jessica raised her eyebrow. Kim and Charlotte looked over at Aly. There was a boy standing beside her. They were holding hands.

“This is my boyfriend, James.” She introduced. The three girls exchanged a confused look, then resumed the conversation they had been having about a school assignment. Aly huffed, not impressed that she wasn’t the center of attention. She turned around and dragged the boy away with her. After she left, the three girls went quiet.

“That’s weird, right?” Jessica was the first to speak. Kim nodded.

“Aly has a new boyfriend every week it seems.” She added. Charlotte shrugged.

“This one isn’t hard on the eyes at least.” She added. Jessica laughed.

“You think he’s cute?” She rephrased. Charlotte shook her head.

“That’s not what I said. He’s just, better than the last guy.” She teased. Kim nodded.

“I do agree there. What was his name?” She asked, looking around. She taped her lip with her pencil.

“Angus I think.” Jessica answered. Kim nodded.

“He had such bad teeth.” She muttered. Jessica laughed.

“It’s a family thing, sadly. He just has bad genetics.” She explained. Charlotte raised her eyebrow.

“How do you know that?” She asked. Jessica shrugged.

“His brother is friend’s with my brother. I just hear random stuff.” She answered. Charlotte nodded.

“That’s a valid answer.” She confirmed. Jessica was quiet again.

“So, I know this is horrible, but, does anyone want to bet how long this boy is going to last?” Kim sneered. Charlotte was quiet, then nodded.

“5 bucks says it’s over within 1 week.” She boasted with confidence. Kim nodded.

“I could see that, but I’m going with 2 weeks. Jess?” She asked. Jessica shook her head.

“It’s childish to bet on someone’s happiness.” She argued. Charlotte shrugged.

“You’re such a goody two shoes.” Kim mumbled. Jessica rolled her eyes.

“You can call me whatever you want. I have morals.” She countered. Kim nodded.

“And you’re no fun.” She added. Jessica shrugged.

“I think I’m plenty fun.” She argued. Charlotte laughed.

“You’re both right.” She agreed. Kim laughed.

“You can’t agree with both of us!” She shouted playfully. Charlotte stuck her tongue out.

“I just did.” She disagreed. Kim rolled her eyes.

“I’ve got to get going. We’ll pick this back up tomorrow?” She announced, standing up from the grass.

“Yeah, we’ve still got a few weeks before school. We’ll get this.” Charlotte encouraged. Kim waved as she walked towards her house. Charlotte looked over at Jessica.

“What are your plans for the day?” She asked. Jessica let out a deep sigh.

“I have to go visit my cousin. The annoying one.” She complained. Charlotte nodded. The two girls stood up and collected their personal belongings from the grass. Charlotte waved as she headed home for the day. Once through the door, she waved to her mother in the living room and headed upstairs to her bedroom. Her door was the only one to the right of the stairs. She went into her room and closed the door. She flopped down on her bed, looking up at her ceiling. For some reason, her mind started to think about that brunette boy that Aly was dating. James.

For the next week, Aly brought James everywhere they went. He would accompany the girls to the arcade, to the beach, to the park. It didn’t matter what the girls had planned, James was probably going to be tagging along. It had become expected. Unfortunately, the relationship lasted longer than a week, and Charlotte was out $5. She was right that it would likely be insufferable. The two of them acted overly affectionate. They were always holding hands and nuzzling into each other. They gave each other pet names and used them more than any other word in the dictionary. It grew to the point that the girls weren’t inviting Aly to hang out anymore. She noticed the change, but there wasn’t much she could say. She did make an accusation that the girls were just jealous of her love. Charlotte replied that infatuation isn’t love. She was really into the Prozzak album “Saturday People” that had just come out. There was a song on the album about infatuation. Charlotte thought it fit perfectly to Aly’s situation. When Aly insisted she was in love, they dropped the subject.

It was after about 3 weeks that the relationship between Aly and James finally fell apart. Kim considered herself to be excellent at detecting splits. At least that’s what she said when she was trying to show Charlotte how to draw hands. Kim was naturally talented, and Charlotte wanted to learn how to draw. The lessons had been embarrassing, in Charlotte’s opinion. Kim, on the other hand, was an angel and always did her best to be encouraging. Even when the drawings were terrible. Charlotte learned pretty quickly that she was better at drawing boys than she was at drawing girls. The proportions seemed easier for her to figure out. She was determined to spend all summer working on her drawing. It wasn’t a surprise that she started carrying her sketchbook and pencil crayons everywhere they went. She was often lost in her thoughts, sketching lines when everyone else was throwing around a ball or swimming or just talking about boys. That had become a common subject in the group. Jessica was sure that Kevin had a crush on her in grade 8. She wanted to see if he wanted to pursue something, but she was shy. She really didn’t know how to ask. She confessed this to Charlotte at sleepover.

“Have you ever kissed a boy?” She asked. Kim shook her head.

“No. Why would I?” She dismissed. Jessica shrugged.

“Jennifer told me that people do that sort of thing. They, like, put their tongues in each others’ mouth and move them around.” She detailed. Charlotte made a grossed out face.

“Ew.” She groaned. Jessica shifted.

“Well, maybe it’s not so bad, if it’s the right person.” She mumbled. Charlotte raised her eyebrow.

“Who are you thinking of?” She pried. Jessica blushed.

“Kevin.” She confessed under her breath. Charlotte nodded. It wasn’t a complete shock. Jessica had mentioned that she thought Kevin had a crush on her in grade 8. It was likely. He always rambled when she was around, like he didn’t know how to use words properly. He was fine when she wasn’t paying attention to him though. Charlotte didn’t really know anything about girls and boys though. She had never been given any kind of talk and the sex education they had received left more questions than answers. She was told she would learn more in high school. When she got her first period, it was Kim who taught her what was happening, and helped her figure out what to do. In fact, Charlotte learned more from her friends than she could from her parents. She gave Jessica the only advice she knew.

“Just talk to him.” Despite the fact that she knew nothing about relationships, she had been told that talking can solve many problems. Counselors, therapists, social workers and teachers had all told her throughout the years. Jessica nodded slowly.

“We should play truth or dare!” Kim announced from the floor. She was sitting on the hardwood painting her toe nails a bright purple. Charlotte nodded.

“We could do that.” She agreed. Jessica huffed.

“I don’t think I want to.” She argued. Charlotte shrugged.

“What do you suggest we do then?” She asked. Kim and Charlotte waited for an answer.

“Charlotte, truth or dare?” Kim started the game. Charlotte laughed.

“Um, truth.” She answered. Kim seemed to struggle with a question.

“Were you jealous of Aly?” She finally asked. Charlotte bit her lip, then nodded.

“I guess, a little.” She confessed. Kim nodded.

“I knew it!” She claimed. Charlotte sighed.

“I guess I thought he was cute. He was kinda funny too. Like, in a dorky way, but, still.” Charlotte rambled. Jessica raised her eyebrow as she turned her attention to Charlotte.

“You actually like him? Like, like?” She asked. Charlotte nodded.

“A bit.” She mumbled. Jessica shook her head.

“I can’t believe it.” She screeched. Charlotte sat up and crossed her arms.

“What’s your issue?” She asked. Jessica kept shaking her head.

“It’s just that, I don’t know, I didn’t think that would be your type. He’s kind of,” Jessica trailed off.

“Dorky?” Kim finished. Jessica shook her head.

“I mean, that too. But, he’s just, not your level.” She hinted. Charlotte was quiet.

“Are you saying he’s too good for me?” She attempted to rephrase. Jessica quickly shook her head.

“No. The other way around.” She barked. Charlotte nodded.

“Oh. Well, it doesn’t matter. They broke up, so, he’s probably not going to be around, right?” She rambled. Jessica shook her head.

“His cousin lives three doors away from you, didn’t you know that? He’ll probably be around all summer.” She squeaked. Charlotte shook her head. Three doors away?

“I didn’t know that.” She mumbled. Kim nodded.

“When Alison gets back from camp, you’d know. She’d be complaining that he’s cramping her style or something.” She joked. Charlotte laughed. That did sound like Alison. She looked over at Kim.

“Truth or dare, Kim.” She called. Kim looked puzzled.

“Dare.” She answered boldly. Charlotte nodded.

“I dare you to try and lick your own nipple.” She instructed. Kim shook her head.

“There’s no way I’m doing that in front of you!” She squeaked. Charlotte laughed.

“You made me do it last week. Look, just turn your back to us and try.” She insisted. Kim groaned, but turned her back to the other girls. Charlotte could see her shoulder tense as she tried to angle herself. It made her laugh. Kim groaned as she turned back around.

“I told you I can’t do it.” She complained. Charlotte nodded.

“It was funny to watch you try.” She teased. Kim looked over at Jessica.

“Are you seriously not playing?” She asked. Jessica rolled her eyes, adjusting to lay on her side.

“Fine. Truth.” She groaned. Kim nodded.

“Do you want to kiss Kevin?” She asked bluntly. She had the question ready. Jessica scoffed.

“No! I mean, the thought crossed my mind, but only for like, a second. It’s not like it’s a regular thought or anything. I’m just, curious. His lips look so soft.” Jessica rambled. Kim started laughing as she threw a pillow at Jessica. Charlotte zoned out. She found herself thinking of James’s soft lips. She had noticed he bit his bottom lip a lot, so it was often red and swollen. She hadn’t really thought about kissing a boy before. Jessica’s voice came back into focus as she shouted at Charlotte.

“I’m sorry.” She mumbled. Jessica and Kim exchanged a look.

“What are you thinking about?” Kim asked. Charlotte faked a smile.

“Nothing.” She tried to lie. Jessica laughed.

“You’re a terrible liar.” She accused. Charlotte took a deep breath.

“I was thinking of James.” She confessed. Kim’s jaw dropped as she let out a light squeak.

“Really?” Jessica asked, still seeming surprised. Charlotte nodded. She wasn’t sure why he was on her mind. But he found his way there and seemed to set up camp.

“I think, maybe, I want to get to know him better.” Charlotte tried to explain. Kim nodded.

“I get it. You’ve got a crush.” She simplified. Jessica rolled her eyes.

“So, what are you going to do about it?” She questioned. Charlotte shrugged.

“I hadn’t given it much thought, to be honest.” She sighed. Jessica nodded.

“Well, you can always talk to him.” She mocked. Charlotte smiled.

“How about this? I will talk to James if you talk to Kevin.” She propositioned. Jessica was quiet.

“Deal.” She agreed. Charlotte was surprised. She hadn’t expected Jessica to agree. She bit her lip.

“Okay, but like, how does this work?” She mumbled. Jessica raised her eyebrow.

“How does what work?” She questioned.

“What are the parameters? Is there some sort of time frame? Like, what if both of us chicken out?” Charlotte rambled. Kim thought about it.

“Then you both lose. We have to come up with some sort of punishment.” She decided. Charlotte nodded. Jessica sighed, but also nodded in agreement.

“Okay. Well, depending on the punishment.” She agreed. Kim nodded.

“How about this, if you don’t tell them about your crushes, I will. Or worse, I’ll tell Brittany.” Kim threatened. Jessica’s eyes went wide. Brittany was the gossip in their grade 8 class.

“So either way, the boys find out?” Charlotte asked. Kim nodded.

“Exactly.” She agreed. The game ended there. Jessica put on a scary movie and we spent the rest of the night eating popcorn and jumping whenever the bad guy came on the screen. We fell asleep around 3 am to the sound of the DVD menu and occasional screaming.

In the morning, Charlotte went home, greeted by her stepfather. He asked how the night had been, if anything interesting happened. Charlotte just said it was typical, because it was. After getting changed into more comfortable clothes to hang around the house in, Charlotte thought she’d spend her day in the basement playing video games. It was Saturday, after all. When she got back down on the main floor, the back door was open. She walked over to see what was going on. Her stepfather waved. He was sitting with Dan, who lived 3 doors down. Charlotte shook her head.

“I want to play Crash.” She dismissed. Her stepfather laughed.

“You have all day to play video games. Come spend time with the family.” He insisted. Charlotte rolled her eyes, but headed outside. She sat down at the table across from Dan. He smiled. Joanne was wandering around, chasing the boys in her backyard. Charlotte looked over at the pool. It was inflated and the hose was currently filling it up. Unfortunately, it was still covered in mud from the last time it was used. Charlotte’s stepfather was hosing off the sides and trying to spray the mud loose. Charlotte watched as the mud mixed with the water.

“I think that needs to be dumped.” She announced. Her stepfather nodded.

“I’m just washing it.” He insisted. She shrugged, turning her attention to the boys. Ryan was only wearing a diaper while Shane was in a cute dinosaur jumper. Charlotte watched as Joanne scooped Ryan in her arms and headed inside. Shane sat in the grass and started playing with his feet. Charlotte giggled as she watched the toddler. She was caught off guard as a hand landed heavy on her shoulder. Her stepfather was standing beside her with a big smile on his face.

“You should get in.” He hinted. Charlotte raised her eyebrow.

“It’s filthy.” She dismissed. Her stepfather chuckled.

“That’s the point. You can take a shower after.” He insisted. She shrugged as she stood up. She had put on a dress, so she stepped into the pool with her bare feet. The water was still running. Her stepfather grabbed the hose from the pool, covered the spout with his thumb, then splashed Charlotte.. She groaned as the cold water sent shivers throughout her body.

“Stop!” She shouted. He laughed, delighted by her distress. She looked down at her soaking wet dress. It was time to get out of the pool and get changed. Before she could, Dan called his nephew over.

“Have you two met?” He asked, motioning towards the pool. James nodded.

“We’ve hung out a few times.” Charlotte added. Dan nodded.

“Have either of you mud-wrestled before?” He cooed. Both teenagers shook their heads. Dan laughed.

“This is your chance!” He hollered. Charlotte’s stepfather started laughing, then motioned to the pool.

“She’s already dirty. May as well.” He invited. James nodded and cautiously approached the pool. Charlotte nervously shifted as his feet touched hers. He wiggled his toes in the layer of mud at the bottom of the pool. Charlotte had done the same thing when she got it. It almost felt like being at the beach, but it was disgusting because there wasn’t supposed to be sand in the pool. Charlotte smiled.

“So, do you really wanna do this?” She asked under her breath. James shook his head.

“Oh come on!” Dan called in the background. James rolled his eyes.

“Just pretend.” Charlotte suggested. James nodded as he put his hands on her shoulders. He gently pushed her back. She moved her hands to his shoulders as well, more grabbing him for balance than instigating. They pretending to shove each other around a bit, gaining laughter and cackles from the grown men cheering them on. Charlotte couldn’t help but notice James’s lips now that they were so close to her own. She thought about kissing him. She noticed his nose was littered in freckles. It was cute. Suddenly, Charlotte lost her footing and went down on her knees. James was the winner.

“Well played.” She joked. He held his hand out to her. She accepted as she climbed back up. He held onto her hand until they were both out of the pool, then let go. She dropped her arms to her side and rushed into the house. She went straight to the upstairs bathroom and turned the shower on. She got into the water, still clothed. After the dress was rinsed off, she pulled it off and draped it over the shower curtain rod. She did the same with her undergarments. Once she was naked, she soaped herself up and cleaned away what was left of the mud. There was a feeling on her skin that she couldn’t rinse off. An electricity. A warmth spreading throughout her body. She didn’t understand what it was. She thought she might be getting sick from playing in the water. She turned the heat down gradually as she finished her shower. She toweled herself off and scurried into her bedroom to get dressed. Since her outfit for the day had been ruined, she decided to just get back into her pajamas. She pulled on a pair of plaid pants and a large t-shirt and headed down to the basement. Her PlayStation was set up in the basement recreation room, so the upstairs TV was available for the parents to watch their programs. She decided to play Crash 3: Warped. She was trying to complete the game for the second time. She turned on the TV and flopped down on the couch with her controller. For some reason, she couldn’t shake the image of James’s face from her mind. No matter how hard she tried to distract herself, he was still on her mind when she went to sleep that night.