What My Girlfriend Doesn't Know

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What My Girlfriend Doesn't Know Page 15

by Sonya Sones


  And when he can complete a thought,

  Grace acts like it’s just about

  the funniest thing she’s ever heard.

  Henry keeps wrapping

  the little curl at the nape of her neck

  around his finger,

  and he hasn’t let go of her hand once,

  even to scratch,

  since we’ve been here,

  which seems like hours

  even though it’s probably only been

  twenty minutes.

  I don’t know how

  they’re going to manage it

  when the food comes.

  Dylan and I are just sitting here

  across from them in the booth,

  trying to make small talk.

  Our thighs

  aren’t even touching

  on the seat.

  AT THE MOVIES

  I’m sitting between Henry and Dylan.

  Dylan’s holding my hand,

  but I can tell he isn’t feeling it.

  He’s actually watching the movie.

  I mean really watching it,

  like it doesn’t even matter that I’m here.

  And the saddest part is

  that I don’t care.

  I’d almost rather snuggle up to Henry.

  But he’s too busy holding hands

  (and everything else)

  with Grace.

  WALKING HOME

  The light changes

  and Dylan and I head across the street,

  arm in arm.

  That’s when it happens:

  I notice our reflection in

  the window of Starbucks

  and I get this weird feeling

  that something isn’t quite right.

  Only I can’t put my finger on it.

  Then it hits me:

  what’s wrong is that it looks like

  I’m taller than Dylan,

  which is totally bizarre

  because I’m wearing my flattest shoes

  and I know for a fact

  that he’s taller than me.

  At least he was taller

  six weeks ago

  when we first started

  going out together.

  I’ve heard of people

  outgrowing relationships,

  but this is ridiculous.

  GOOD NIGHT

  We’re standing under the porch light,

  face to face,

  leaning our foreheads together.

  He’s playing with my fingers,

  whispering something

  about what a great time he had tonight.

  And all I can think about

  is that his hands look smaller than mine,

  like the hands of a little boy.

  Q AND A WITH CHAZ

  “Do you have a boyfriend?”

  “Yes.”

  “Doy you have a girlfriend?”

  “Yes.”

  Who is she?”

  Me?!

  “Yikes.”

  “Yeah.”

  Pickup ATA from H/C ed. @ %88

  Table of Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  Acknowledgments

  A Piece of Advice from Me to Me

  But It’ll All Be Over in a Minute

  Aw, Man

  But They Did Happen

  And I’ll Never Forget Those Kisses, Either

  Even So

  Which Will Truly Suck

  It’s Me She’s Racing Over To

  Sophie Takes Hold of My Hands

  So What Happens Now?

  But She Just Squeezes Them Even Tighter

  “Robin?!”

  And Neither Does Anyone Else

  Instead

  I’m a Hundred Percent Hers

  So I Make Sure No One Can See Us

  When We Round the Next Corner

  A Minute Later

  Mr. Schultz Says He Wants Us to Draw a Feeling

  We Don’t Have Any Other Classes Together

  After School

  Sophie Hurtles into My Arms

  When We Finally Come Up for Air

  She Tells Me Not to Worry

  Then-THWOMPI

  Sophie Rubs My Back

  Then We Get on a Roll

  When We Step Inside Her Front Door

  But a Second Later

  That’s All She Says

  A Partial List of Mrs. Steins Excuses for Coming into the Kitchen Every Five Minutes After That to Spy on Us

  But In Between All of Her Mom’s Interruptions

  Then She Asks Me

  “And Ray Davies,” Sophie Says

  It’s Time to Go

  On the Walk Home

  As I Pass by the Playground

  “Don’t Be Such a Murphy”

  But I’m Not Feeling Particularly Entertained at the Moment

  I Crack Open the Front Door

  Since Whenever I Do

  Mur.phy (Mur’fē) n., pl.-phies. Slang

  I’m Practically Inhaling My Dinner

  She Answers Her Cell on the First Ring

  I Turn Out the Light Early

  But I Wouldn’t Feel Right

  Tuesday Morning

  Rachel Laughs Nervously

  When Lunchtime Rolls Around

  The Rest of the Week at School

  But Sophie and I Figure

  I’m Not Sure Whose Idea It Is

  Saturday Afternoon at the Museum of Fine Arts

  I Haven’t Shaved for a Week

  Though You Couldn’t Really Call This Thing a Beard Yet

  My STD Project Is Due Soon

  My Beard’s Completely Grown in Now

  After School on Tuesday

  The Whole Way Over to Sophie’s House

  When We Get to Sophie’s House

  I Knew This Day Would Come

  A Few Minutes Before Art Class on Friday

  And I Know Exactly How He Feels

  When I Pass In My Drawing at the End of Class

  After Class

  Friday Night

  On Saturday Morning

  Monday Mostly Stinks

  One Hour Before My First Drawing Class

  Mom Drives Me Over to Harvard Ten Minutes Early

  At Five Minutes Till Seven

  I Thought There’d Be More People Here

  Even So, I Feel Like I’m Crashing a Party

  The Old Guy Clears His Throat

  As the Laughing Dies Down

  Felix Hurries Over to Greet Her

  Yikes!

  Felix Gives Each of Us a Stick of Charcoal

  I Am One Sick Dude

  When the Two-Minute Timer Beeps Again

  Don’t Think?

  Is My Nose Growing?

  I Don’t Think I’ll Ever Get Tired of This:

  At School on Wednesday Morning

  On My Way to Lunch

  When Sophie Finally Comes Out of the Bathroom

  Lunch in the Bleachers Is Okay, I Guess

  As Soon as School Gets Out

  Then We Head Straight Over to My House

  Then All of a Sudden

  Here’s What I’d Like to Know

  As I Head Up the Ramp to the Carpenter Center

  But Then I Get to Thinking …

  When I Walk into Studio B

  Tessa and I Are Sharpening Our Pencils Before Class

  Gina Hoists Herself Up onto the Platform

  During Gina’s Break

  Class Is Over

  I’m Just About to Leap on Their Offer

  Though I Guess It Doesn’t Really Matter

  Dylan Just Stole My Hat Again

  It’s 4:00 p.m.

  On the Way Over to My Third Class at Harvard

  Before Class

  Geez

  This Is So …

  What It’s Not About

  When Class Is Over

  At Café Parad
iso

  Unlike, Say, All the People at Cambridge High

  Bowling with a Vengeance

  The Door to Studio B Swings Open

  And Then Without Any Warning

  Honk’s Elbow Snaps Me Out of My Daze

  I Loiter After Class

  At Café Algiers

  I Tell Sophie

  Don’t Get Me Wrong

  T.G.I.F.

  Such a What?!

  I’ve Got to Get Away from Here

  I’m Waiting for Sophie After School

  And Before I Even Know What’s Happening

  But Just Thinking About Having to Do That

  When I Get Home

  A Few Minutes Later, the Doorbell Rings

  I Fling Myself Back onto My Bed

  At Dinnertime

  I Have Got to Get My Mind Off Sophie

  Around Ten O’Clock

  Saturday Morning

  Saturday Afternoon

  Oh, No!

  Mom Sounds So Relieved

  Now Mom Gets Back on the Line

  My Heart Catapults Up Into My Throat

  I Don’t Know What to Do

  And I’m Gonna Have to Tell Her That

  When Sophie Finally Looks Up at Me

  So I Start Working on the Second Frame

  When I Finish the Boy’s Face

  Finally

  But I’m Gonna Have to Learn to Live with That Ache

  When We Stop to Catch Our Breath

  It Feels So Good, I Don’t Ever Want It to Stop

  Somehow

  And Then the Telephone Rings

  Now I Switch into Hyper Gear

  I Get Off the Phone as Fast as I Can

  Before We Leave

  And Even if I Did Tell Them

  When Worlds (Almost) Collide

  We Stop Off for Pizza at Pinocchio’s

  Then We Start Making Out

  A Few Seconds Later

  I Do Not Have a One Track Mind

  We Spend the Next Couple of Hours

  We Tack Our Best Creations Up onto My “Wall of Lame”

  Just Before Her Mom Arrives

  At School on Monday

  As We Head Across the Room

  When We Get to Our Usual Table

  Whoa

  Everyone’s Really Staring at Us Now

  We Spend What’s Left of the Lunch Period

  Just Before the Bell Rings

  A Few Minutes Later

  Just as the Bell Rings

  Schultz Strikes Again

  It’s 3:23 p.m.

  Which Totally Sucks

  But Later

  Sophie Gives Me a Sisterly Peck on the Cheek Good-bye

  Right After Dinner

  So When I Head Over to Studio B

  Chelsea’s Back!

  Tuesday Morning

  This Is So Messed Up

  I’m Waiting by the Goalpost

  For a Long Time

  I Try to Tell Myself

  I’ve Survived Dinner with My Prying Parents

  I Drag Myself Out of Bed on Wednesday Morning

  Maybe There’s Hope for My Love Life

  I’m Still Kind of Dreading Lunch, Though

  But Lunch Isn’t That Bad, Really

  When She Runs Up to Me at the Goalpost

  As Soon as We Get Upstairs to My Room

  Then, Without Any Warning

  Guess Who’s Calling?

  I Sit and Seethe

  Sophie’s Cheeks Look as Red as if I’d Slapped Them

  Later

  My Charcoal’s on a Rampage

  During the Break

  At Finale

  Of Course, I’m Probably Only Imagining This

  It Isn’t Until a While Later

  On Thursday

  When I Get Home After School

  My Heart’s Trying Real Hard

  I’ve Been Spared!

  So I Wait Until My Mom Takes a Martini Break

  And Suddenly I’m Thinking About Sophie

  On Friday Morning

  It’s Basically the Same Drill as Thursday

  I Keep Trying to Snatch My Hat Back

  Late on Friday Night

  I Grab the Phone

  Tessa Says She’s Calling to Tell Me the Plan

  Richard’s “Undisclosed Sociological Event”

  Honk Performs an Impromptu Wedding

  Then, Eve Suggests We Bypass Lunch

  Feeling Triumphant

  When We Get Back to Harvard at Around Six

  Then Richard Asks for Some Tunes

  We Don’t Stop Rocking Out

  For a Few Seconds, No One Says Anything

  My Words Hang in the Air

  But Then Honk High-Fives Me

  After the Last Jell-O Shot Kicks In

  We Flop Down onto Tessa’s Bed

  But a Second Later, Tessa Stops Laughing

  Then Neil Sedaka Starts Singing “Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteen”

  And Then

  I’m Touching Her Breasts!

  I Pull My Hands Out from Under Tessas Shirt

  Its Okay with Tessa

  But a Couple of Minutes Later

  When the Cold Air Hits Me

  I’m Not the Type of Person Who Gets Carsick

  I Can’t Sleep

  What Do I Want?

  At Around Noon

  I’m Getting Ready to Meet Tessa

  Seeing Tessa

  Did Tessa Just Read My Mind?

  Then a Car Whooshes Past

  And, Right Away, Sophie Pops into My Head

  I Stop Right Where I Am

  But I Pull Away

  I Freeze in My Tracks

  Suddenly, There’s a Tornado in My Chest

  Her Hand Flashes Through the Air So Fast

  I Stand Here Watching Her Go

  I Try Everything

  After Midnight

  Dad Cracks Open the Door and Looks in on Me

  February Fourteenth

  All Morning Long

  And Every Time

  At Lunchtime

  When I Tell Schultz I Need to Skip Class

  4 p.m.

  It’s Starting to Snow

  So I Can’t Go Home

  It’s Not Till I’m Actually at the Museum

  I Take a Step Back

  But Then I Hear Footsteps

  Her Cheeks Flame Up

  I Want to Rush to Her Side

  I Take the Sketchbook from Sophie’s Hands

  Author Bio

  What My Mother Doesn’t Know Teaser

 

 

 


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