This is from an elementary child’s perspective. Let me know if anything gets too confusing. Thanks!
The bell rings. 12:15pm. I can feel my tummy grumbling, so I am so happy it’s finally lunch time. I usually like Ms. Shipp’s Algebra lectures, but after lunch, during recess, Zay is going to ask Ryan and Alex who they “like-like,” and I’m hoping one of them picks me. We form a line at the door; my paper bag lunch hangs to my side as we march down the two flights of stairs to the back yard area where we can sit at our picnic tables. Every girl in my class knows what is going to happen once the half hour is up for our lunch break, so we are all giddy with excitement. Brittany, Rachel, Dana, and me all find our usual seats and begin chatting away. Brittany starts, “I bet Ryan won’t even like anyone.” Rachel jumps in with her two-cents, “Yeah, well I bet Alex will pick Lindsey. He’s always staring at her during class.” And while I blush in silence all of the girls join in together with the, “EwWw…”
We hear the bell ring again, telling us that recess is now in session, and we are free to get out of our seats and head to the black top area in the front of the school. The four of us girls follow closely behind Zay as we reach the basketball courts on the black top where Ryan and Alex are playing. Zay, without fear or hesitation, walks right up to the two boys and begins her questioning:
“Hey boys…so us girls were wondering something…”
Ryan and Alex stop the ball as it bounces off the backboard and look towards the group of girls huddled on what was supposed to be their recess basketball game. “O yeah…what’s up?”
“Well we were wondering… if you had to like someone in the class, like, “like-like” someone, who would it be?”
Ryan and Alex look at each other as if they weren’t sure what would be the coolest response. Should they actually say someone who might be a someone standing in the crowd before them or should they play it cool and not actually tell? As the seconds feel like forever as the clock ticks on while they debate between themselves, us girls, fiddle with our hair and fingers as we wait.
Ryan is the first to respond, “Well, I don’t know about Alex, but I don’t like anyone in the class.” His face turns a slight shade of pink as he makes eye contact with every girl in the crowd. Then Alex, looking at his best friend next to him, responds, “What do you mean by “like-like” someone?”
Zay quickly replies, “Like is there a girl in the class you have a crush on?”
Alex’s face is blank. He takes a look around the crowd of girls. He looks at Ryan. Then I see him look at me. He continues to fiddle with the basketball; rolling it between his two hands.
Zay cuts in before he can speak, “It’s just if you had to like someone in the class, who would it be?”
This time I know I make eye contact with Alex. His face still blank, but his cheeks become more crimson right before he speaks. “Well, I guess if I had to like-like someone, I would pick…Lindsey.” All the girls look at me. I lose eye contact with Alex as the girls giggle and swarm around me in excitement.
Zay starts in again. “Okay…so Ryan if you had to like someone, who would it be? And you can’t say no one. You have to choose one girl.”
Ryan and I make eye contact, but then I look away because I would be too embarrassed if both boys picked me, and what happens if they then ask me who I would pick? I wouldn’t know what to say. Luckily Ryan looks directly at Brittany and then at Zay. It figures he would like Brittany or Zay; both of them are athletic and Brittany has long beautiful blond hair. Not to mention, Zay is the best basketball player we have on our girls’ team and she is the fastest runner in cross-country. Of course, he would pick one of them. Ryan finally brings his eyes to a pause, looks at Alex, and slowly pulls Zay aside, away from the rest of us girls. We can’t hear his response but I can tell he does actually say something by the way Zay’s eyes light up after the whispering finishes. Ryan returns to Alex and grabs the basketball from his hands. “Let’s finish this game before the bell rings.”
All of us girls scurry over to Zay to have her dish on what Ryan told her. All at once, each girl in the group asks variations of the same question, “What did he say?” “Who did he pick?” Zay looks at each girl, making each girl she looks at think it might be her. Then she stops and as she is begins to spill, “Well he said if he had to like someone…” The bell rings. Teacher chaperones begin blowing whistles trying to get all of us back into formation to head back to class. All of us girls, hurry into our lines but try to get Zay to tell us the rest of the sentence. More whistles blow, and we are rushing towards the entrance. It’s too late. There is a mandatory silence while walking through the hallways, so we are no longer able to speak to one another. I see Ryan and Alex. Alex still has a blush look and sweet eyes as he looks in my direction, but Ryan keeps his feelings hidden as I look for any clues as who he might have picked. Our teacher tells us to face forward while walking, so I guess if there were any nonverbal communications happening, I wouldn’t be able to tell. I quickly look forward and walk on wondering who might have picked.
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