I wonder what the Winter Play is gonna be. I actually look forward to doin’ a straight play because I feel like sinkin’ my teeth into some serious drama. Know what I mean? Hey, maybe we will finally get that chance to play opposite each other. It’s almost certain if you-know-who doesn’t try and steal my part. I know, I know . . . we aren’t talkin’ about her until she makes her DECISION on whether or not to be your girlfriend, but I think we both know her “True Colors” (one of the songs I put on your mix-tape.)
You know how I told you I was gonna go out for Halloween? Well, I’ve changed my mind. Minds do change, even in this town. Nope. I’m just gonna stay at my house and hand out candy. I’m a Senior, for god’s sake. I think my trick-or-treatin’ days are in my rearview mirror. So, if you and your friends decide on my neighborhood, you know you can always knock on my door. We give out real-size candy bars. We’re not rich at all, but Halloween means a lot to my mom.
Wow. I just realized that there are so many lasts in my life right now. Last opening night of a Fall Musical at South High. Last Halloween here. But with lasts also come firsts. And I’d say this is a first. This. Us. Me and You. Matt and Tara. The couple that could be. We could be a Supercouple, Matt. I know we could. I know I’m gettin’ way ahead of myself. I’m with an all-star athlete, Christopher Caparelli, and you are in waiting for . . . well, you know who. UGHHHHHH . . . WHY IS LIFE SO VERY COMPLICATED???
Have you stopped thinkin’ about our night at Camel Lot, Matt? I haven’t. The look on your face when I pulled up into the back parking lot of Brophy Elementary School and told you, “This is it. This is Camel Lot.” You were so cute. I know you thought Camel Lot was gonna be this far-off place, but it’s not. Sometimes the best things in life are right in front of us. But you gotta agree that it’s the best spot in town to stargaze. How do you know about all those constellations, Matt? I had glow-in-the-dark star stickers on my ceilin’, too, but you know as much as an astronaut.
So, the mix-tape I made you is a musical stroll down the memory lane that will forever be our first night together in Camel Lot. (I was surprised you didn’t ask me why I call it Camel Lot. I’ll tell you one day. If you ask.)
The first song is “Crazy for You” by Madonna. Followed by “Eternal Flame” by the Bangles. You know what? I’m not gonna tell you the rest. I purposely didn’t write the songs on the tape ’cuz I wanted it to be a surprise for you, and here I go revealin’. I’m gonna stop myself. Take a listen after openin’ night. Do you have a Walkman? Put it in there, lie on your bed, and remember.
That kiss was life-changin’ for me, Matt. And you do have very big lips. Like a girl. J to the . . .
What’s to become of us? I know we haven’t talked a lot since that night, but we’ve both had a lot on our plates. I think we can do this. You know what I mean? We can just consider it another thing that I help you out with . . . teachin’ you stuff about how to make a girl feel good. It’s not like we’re in love with each other and NO ONE WILL EVER FIND OUT!
We’re just friends. Really good friends who get each other. It’s almost like the universe, the constellations, forced us together.
Okay, Danny Zuko . . . until we meet again (which better be soon) . . .
xoxo,
Tara
P.S. Put this note in a safe.
P.P.S. Buy a safe.
Stef!
I was just walkin’ down F Hall and I saw Stacey Simon wearing your hearts-and-stars pock-a-book!
I feel light-headed. Before I leap to conclusions, Q explain? Did you drop it and couldn’t find it and she found it and was wearing it until she could find you and give it back?
Or is there more to this story?
Let me know as soon as humanly possible!
Love you (I think),
Tara
Dear Tara,
Joy said YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It was right after the show. I came looking for you to tell you, but you were talking to Chris. By the way, awesome flowers he bought you.
Thanks for making me that mix-tape. I am definitely gonna check it out.
You’re the best. Hey, maybe we can go to Uncle Chung’s all together or something. Get some crab rangoon and stuff.
I will never forget Camel Lot. That was a crazy night.
I’m probably gonna go trick-or-treatin’ in my neighborhood. Joy and I are gonna go as Daisy and her preppy boyfriend from Mystic Pizza.
Did you hear what the Winter Play is gonna be? The Diary of Anne Frank!!!!!!!! Holy shit!!!!!! What part do you want?
xoxo,
Matt (boyfriend of Joy Rebecca Bernstein!!!!!)
NOVEMBER 1991
Bloom,
I have an awesome safe. It’s fireproof!!!!
I have to clear out a bunch of my New Kids on the Block puffy stickers, but then I can lend it to you. Did you hear I got a job at Fanny Farmer Candy Shop? I can get you free gummy bears and Sour Patch Kids. I think it’s the best candy store in town, but some people are arrogant and only get their candy when they go into the city with their families.
You were so good in Grease! You should be a movie star! You already look like Keanu Reeves from the “Rush, Rush” video, and that combined with how talented you are equals so much!! So many people in our grade make fun of you for being in theater, but they’re just jealous. They all watch TV and movies. Where do they think those actors come from? THE THEATER!! I read that Eric Stoltz was in a lot of plays. And Christian Slater!
I love earth science! Mr. Sudmeyer is such a nice teacher, don’t you think? I think it’s awesome that I share a lab table with you. I’m writing this as you dissect an earthworm. Oh my god, Joey McIntyre is single!!! I read it in Tiger Beat. He only lives, like, 30 minutes from here. Do you think I’d ever have a chance with him? I know a million girls want to marry him, but I love him for him. And his awesome voice. Do you still like New Kids on the Block or not really ’cuz we’re at South High now? Either way, I still think you’re a great actor, Bloom.
Thanks for telling Andy Mackamolen that he was a jerk for calling me Thunder Thighs. He is sooooo mean, and it’s not like he’s gorgeous like you and the New Kids and Eric Stoltz and Christian Slater.
I heard you and Joy Bernstein are a couple right now? That makes so much sense. You are both so talented and cute. I LOVE JOY’S HAIR! Oh my god, she looks like the girl from Mystic Pizza and Satisfaction. You guys make the perfect couple. Do you think I should be on stage crew for the Winter Play? I hope you get a lead part again.
Okay, gotta pass you this note now that you’re done dissecting that poor worm.
Good luck,
Pammy Shapiro
P.S. Why do you need the safe?
Dear Pammy,
Thank you so much for lending me your safe. That is awesome of you.
I still think New Kids are alright. And I bet Joey McIntyre would like you a lot. You’re funny and cool and nice.
Andy Mackamolen is such a JERK! He always makes fun of everyone. You don’t have thunder thighs, Pam. You’re tall! Why is being different such a big deal around here?!
Besides, don’t listen to the mean people. I don’t. I don’t give a crap what anyone says about me. If I did, then I would be too afraid to go for my dreams. And if your dream is to meet Joey McIntyre, then you should go for your dream. So many people make fun of stuff ’cuz they’re afraid.
Yeah, you should definitely try for stage crew. It’s fun being involved in plays in any aspect.
You know I love gummy bears and Sour Patch Kids. Since first grade. Wow, we have gone to school together for a wicked long time.
Joy is amazing. I think we’ll be together for all of high school, even when she graduates a year before me. And hopefully we will get married.
Ummmm, I just need the safe for some writing I’m doing. Thanks for lending me it.
Matt Bloom
I know you listen to your answering machine messages religiously, so I’m fairly certain you have gotten all of mine. But just in case you didn’t get any of the seven of them, I will tell you here what I said . . . on all seven of them.
Stacey was holding my hearts-and-stars purse for a total of, I don’t know, one minute while I ran to the bathroom.
While she loves our matching purses, she does not want one. Not sure if that was your concern, but Stacey has her own style and never copies anyone else’s. Not that she doesn’t love what we made but she (A) just isn’t the kind of person who does things that other people do and (B) has so much respect for our lifelong friendship and thinks it is, her words here, “beautiful that you and Tara have each other and reflect your friendship in your purses.”
I hope everything is okay at your house. I’m assuming that is why you haven’t gotten back to me and why you blew off our night with Stacey. Not that I want anything bad to be happening at your house, but I just hope you’re not icing me out because Stacey was holding my purse.
I would appreciate a response. Thanks.
Muchly and Moreso,
Stef
Dear Tara,
I got a safe. So you can still write me notes. Why haven’t you written me back? I wrote you, like, 10 notes or more. I know you got them.
Anyway, I got a safe. Please write me back. I miss my friendship with you. And why are you ignoring me in the hallways and around the music room? Actually, anywhere I see you, you walk the other way or pretend I’m not there.
You’re my “big sister,” so please talk to me.
You and Chris seem super happy these days. I mean, whenever I see you guys together by your locker or in the caf, you always jump into his arms and make out with him. When I walked by you guys the other day in F Hall, did you pull up your shirt or was I seeing things?
I hope you are well. I hope life is treating you great. Maybe I will see you at auditions for Diary of Anne Frank????????
I am still hopin’ we can go to Uncle Chung’s together . . . me, you, Chris, and Joy.
I lo
I mean, take care,
Sat. Cat. Matt.
Hello Rick, William, Mickey . . . M . . . M . . . M-M-M . . . OH, right . . . MATT,
I’m sorry, Kid. I am once again strugglin’ with your name. I’m tellin’ you, your parents shoulda thought a little longer about your name ’cuz it truly is very, veeeery complicated to remember for popular, busy, half-of-a-Supercouple girls like me.
Oh my god, Matt, I am sooooooooooo (a thousand o’s) sorry you feel ignored by me. I’m a SENIOR, Matt, so I have a ton of stuff to tend to in the hallways. So, if I’m in the middle of chitchattin’ with my Senior girlfriends or hearin’ a Friday-night plan from another popular person or makin’ out with the greatest man this town has ever seen (CHRISTOPHER CAPARELLI A.K.A. HOTTEST GUY IN THE GREATER NEW ENGLAND AREA), then my sincerest apologies if you, a Freshman, got your feelings hurt.
Safe? Why did you get a safe? Did you rob a diamond store, Young Man? Don’t tell me ’cuz my uncle’s a cop and I will have to report you. I am confused as to why you got a safe and why you would be wastin’ ink tellin’ me about it. Do you have an obsession with safes, Matt? Is this an inside joke or somethin’? I truly wish I understood.
I am SOOO good. Thanks for askin’. Oh my god, my life is so busy lately. I have plans round the clock with important people, and I have colleges to apply to. This woman is gettin’ the hell outta this town and how. But I love it here, Matt. I’m no townie . . . but I have gotten so much from this place.
So, what is up and junk? Yes, I did get your notes. And thank you soooooo much for writin’. Did I read them? Well, I’m not at liberty to say.
Oh, so you saw my breasts the other day in F Hall? How random. I was showing them to the LOVE OF MY LIFE. I didn’t even see you there. I would never have pulled up my shirt if I knew you were there. Ewwwwwww . . . I just got nauseous. You saw my naked body? Oh my god, I need to, like, pretend I didn’t know that. Pretend, Tara. Pretend. K.
I’m psyched it’s gonna snow soon ’cuz I love skiing. And makin’ snowmen. And playin’ in the snow. I’m old but NOT THAT OLD!!! Sure, I don’t trick-or-treat anymore, Matt, but only average people who probably say “mint condition” dress up as Mystic Pizza couples and trick-or-treat.
I do lovvvvvve my winter time. What with the hot cocoa (mmmmmm, maybe Kev Brandolini will come home for Christmas break . . . I bet he’s even more muscular and gorgeous now that he’s in college), and I can’t wait for that first snow. I am a girl who loves the first snow of the season. I cuddle up with my lover by a roarin’ fireplace, and I talk of dreams and hopes. Then, when the streets are blanketed in snow and the town is hushed, I take my lover to Camel Lot, and let’s just say magical things happen.
I should have blindfolded you!! If you ever, EVER tell anyone in this ludicrous town about Camel Lot I will be seriously pissed off, and you don’t wanna see this girl mad. I am a very reserved girl, Matt, but when pushed to the edge, oh my god!!! Did you ever hear about the fight I got into with TaRitzah Rodriguez? It’s pretty legendary. She was bein’ a bitch to me for, like, three months in a row, always makin’ fun of me and crap. Finally, I snapped. I took off my earrings, and I socked the bitch right in her ear. She got cauliflower ear, Matt, but I don’t think it was because of me. I think she was a wrestler. Anyway, she was also pregnant at the time, but I just thought she was gainin’ weight. What? Like I’m supposed to assume 7th-graders are with child? TaRitzah Rodriguez was a trashy girl from the other side of the tracks for sure. I would never punch a pregnant lady, but news alert: Don’t get pregnant if you’re not married, Matt.
What do you even want from me, Matt? Why are you writin’ me all these notes now? Your folding has gotten very good, by the way. Hmmmm, wonder where you learned that from!
I have a ton of preparation to do for the Diary of Anne Frank auditions. What part do I want? Well, Anne Frank, of course. You can tell your wife, Joy Rebecca Bernstein, that this Irish Catholic girl will be hiding in the attic this time around. K, hon? I will land the coveted role of Anne Frank. Hey, if a proper bat mitzvahed girl can be Sandy in Grease, a girl who had her first orgasm in church can play Anne Frank.
Fine, Matt. You can write me back and I will read your note, but only, and I mean only, if you state quite clearly what it is you want from me.
I have a ridiculously full life, and I don’t have the literal time to get into it with a Freshman. You are lucky, very lucky, I have responded this time.
Be well in all your future endeavors,
Tara Maureen Murphy a.k.a. soon to be Anne Frank
Hey Stefanie,
Ever heard of people being wicked busy? I had to buy two new sleeves of microcassettes for my answering machine because I’ve been getting soooo many messages as of late. I actually had the bright idea to make myself a Return Call Sheet and I put it on my corkboard. I swear you are next or the next after the next. It’s a long sheet.
Honestly, Stefanie . . . how many times do I have to say thank you for that time years ago when I spent a few nights at your house because my parents were goin’ through some stuff? My GOD! No, Stef . . . sorry to bum you out, but everything at my house is soooo great!
And as for missing the night with you and that girl Stacey . . . sorry, hon . . . it just wasn’t my top priority. Getting the role of Anne Frank is.
Hope you and Stacey had fun even though I wasn’t there. Was she so upset that I bailed? I will add her to my call sheet to say hello. I’m sure I have her number somewhere.
Best,
Tara
Dear Tara,
Thank you so much for writing me back. I appreciate it a lot. You asked me to state clearly why it is that I am writing you. Here goes nothin’ . . .
I can’t stop thinking about you. And that kiss. Our kiss. That ni
ght at Camel Lot when you kissed me.
I know you are in love with Chris. And I’m in love with Joy. But I guess I also have feelings for you. I’ve never met any girl like you, Tara.
I think you’d make a great Anne Frank.
Much love,
Matt Bloom
Dear Sweet Matthew,
Hi, my Matthew. It’s me, Tara. I got your note, and I have to say I cried. And some of my tears fell onto your note, smudgin’ your beautiful handwritin’. But that’s the price you pay when your heart feels things.
I have hidden your note (much like Anne Frank hid her diary) in my safe. Who knew that my safe would become the keeper of notes from Matt Bloom? I certainly didn’t expect this twist so late in my high school career. Mattttttttttttttttttttttt. Hi. Shhhhhhhh. (While you read the rest of this note I want you to imagine me sittin’ backstage in my candy cane skirt, okay? My long hair is wet, and I am brushin’ it with my awesome brush. You enter. Backstage left. And you approach me. I feel shy, so I try to not be attractive, but you won’t allow for such nonsense. You say, “Keep brushin’ your long hair.” I tell you that I feel fatigued from so much brushin’, so I hand you my brush. I think you are gonna keep brushin’ my hair, but you don’t. You throw my brush, and it smashes into bits and pieces against the wall, and then you hold me . . .) Shhhhhh . . .
Matt, I feel so old and mature but still a kid in so many ways.
I know that your feelin’s for me are pure and hard core. How could they not be? I feel the same way about you. This is crazzzzzzzy.
Look, I’ve never done anything like this before, but I have watched General Hospital. There are ways for star-crossed lovers to sneak around town and ultimately, some day in the future, end up on the docks together and hop aboard a container ship headed for somewhere better.
Folded Notes from High School Page 5