Jason’s eyes lit up, and with unmasked enthusiasm he said, “Sure! I was just about to ask you the same thing.”
I smiled at him. He had no idea what a favor he was doing me. “I usually meet up with Jill and Nick too. . . . Is that cool?”
Jason glanced toward where they were standing and in his usual congenial manner he replied, “Sure.”
Jill and Nick looked up as we walked toward them, and Nick said, “Hey, Liza Lou, what took you so long today?”
I hated when he called me that.
“Sorry, Nich-o-las,” I emphasized his full name, knowing that it bothered him. “I had to drop off some books at my locker. If I’d known you were waiting, I would have walked a little slower,” I said with a smirk.
Jill glared at us. It frustrated her that her boyfriend and best friend didn’t get along. “Okay, children, that’s enough. Let’s go get in line; I’m starving!”
“Jason’s going to eat with us today,” I said as nonchalantly as possible.
Nick was already pulling Jill by the hand toward the lunch line, but she flashed a smile over her shoulder. “Cool. How’s it going, Jason?”
He smiled back. “Good, thanks!” He waved his hand in front of him, gesturing for me to go first.
He really is a nice guy. I bet he’d treat his girlfriend like a princess, I thought to myself.
I considered the sweet notes he’d left for me and how nice it felt to have someone act like you really mattered—not to mention the bonus of having a buffer between Romeo and Juliet. Maybe I’d been too hasty in deciding I didn’t want to date him.
“So have you decided what you and Eliza are going to do for a day activity for prom?” Jill’s voice snapped me out of my musings.
“Yeah, but it’s sort of a surprise.” Jason winked conspiratorially at her.
“Oh, I see.” Jill smiled at me, raising her eyebrows and signaling that she wanted to talk more about this later. She knew all too well about Jason’s interest in me and my lack of interest in him.
I pretended not to see the look and continued loading my salad bowl with everything that looked edible and—more important—low-fat. Jill followed suit and began constructing her own salad masterpiece.
Nick looked at our trays in disgust. “Come on, Jason, let’s go get some real food. These girls eat like rabbits.” Jason laughed, and they both headed for the pizza and breadsticks I’d been trying hard not to smell.
“Eliza, what is going on? Did he invite himself to eat with you or something?” Jill whispered as we left the salad bar and headed toward the cashier. We each grabbed a chocolate milk carton (our single indulgence), and I handed my cash to the old lady behind the register.
“No, actually I invited him. He wanted to walk me to the cafeteria and . . . I don’t know. . . . He’s such a sweet guy.” I felt like I was on trial.
“He is nice, and it’s obvious that he completely adores you, but I guess I’m a little surprised. You’ve never been that into redheads, and you told me that you’re not attracted to him. Did something change?” Jill stared at me quizzically, and then we both looked over to where Nick and Jason were standing.
Jason was average height, and he did have red hair, but not flaming red. Suddenly I felt a little defensive of him and tried to see him in a new light—he wasn’t that bad looking! Granted, standing next to Nick didn’t do him much justice, but I was willing to bet lots of girls thought he was cute.
I heard Jill sigh and looked over to see her gazing all dreamy-eyed at Nick.
“Oh, Jill, look at you! It’s pathetic!”
She sighed again and shrugged. “I know. I just can’t seem to help myself. He’s so perfect! I can’t believe I got so lucky.”
“No way, he’s the lucky one. You could have any guy you wanted.” I looked at Nick, and from a physical standpoint I could see why Jill was so attracted to him. He was probably about five foot ten with blond hair (which was usually half-hidden by a baseball cap), hazel eyes, and tan skin, which I knew for a fact was compliments of the local tanning salon. He was constantly working out, and consequently he was fairly muscular, which he liked to flaunt by wearing muscle shirts. So, physically, yes, I could understand why she liked him, but personality-wise, I was still mystified by her choice.
The boys finished filling their trays and made their way toward us.
“I want to eat outside today. It’s been ages since I’ve sat in the sun,” Jill said.
We all agreed and made our way through the hall to the outdoor courtyard. As we reached the door and stepped outside, I stopped short, and Jason bumped into me.
“Oh, whoops, sorry!” I apologized and immediately began blushing.
“No problem, nothing spilled. Are you okay?” he asked.
“Yeah, um, it’s just so crowded I wasn’t sure where to sit,” I said, trying desperately to cover up the real reason I’d stopped in my tracks. Luke Matthews was sitting just two tables away from where we were standing.
No matter where I was when I saw Luke, my body always had the same reaction: I would sort of freeze and start blushing. My heart would beat wildly, and I’d have to remind myself to breathe. It was almost as if time stood still. I’d had a crush on him since the first day I’d seen him, and I could still recall that moment with perfect clarity.
It had been my first day of high school and I was a total mess of emotions: nervousness, anxiety, and, most of all, excitement. I’d planned weeks in advance what I was going to wear. Ours was a three-year high school, but despite the sophomore orientation, I still had no clue where half of my classes were.
I was walking down the hall through a sea of students looking for room 213 when I accidentally tripped on someone’s foot and landed flat on my face in the hallway.
“Oh, man, are you okay?” The words were said with sincerity by a voice so charming I had to see who’d spoken them. I looked up into a face so handsome my jaw dropped open.
A boy stood above me with his hand outstretched, and without hesitation I reached up and took it. As soon as I touched him, I felt an electric shock through my body. He pulled me up effortlessly, and I had to crane my neck to look up at him. He was at least six feet tall.
“I’m so sorry. That was totally my fault.” He was looking at me intently, and as I looked into his eyes, I felt like I was in a trance. They were a beautiful shade of deep brown with specks of gold in them. They were, without a doubt, the most incredible eyes I’d ever seen, and in that moment I felt like I could almost see into his soul. It was like an out-of-body experience, and I wanted the moment to last forever.
“Are you okay?” the boy had asked again.
“Yeah, I-I’m fine. Thanks for helping me up. I guess I wasn’t watching where I was going.” I couldn’t stop myself from staring at him as I took in every feature: the dark, wavy hair, broad shoulders, and a dimple in his left cheek when he smiled. He was smiling! At me!
“You must be a sophomore. Do you need help finding a class?” he asked kindly.
I felt relief surge through me. He was obviously not a sophomore—more likely a senior—but perhaps he wouldn’t be opposed to dating one?
“Um, yeah. I’m looking for room 213. Do you know where that is?”
“Yep, it’s up on the second floor, almost directly above where we’re standing. My class is in the opposite direction, otherwise I’d walk you there.” He gave me an apologetic smile that reached up to his eyes.
I felt like I was going to melt. “No problem, thanks for your help, uh . . .” I realized I didn’t even know his name.
“Luke. And you are?”
“Eliza Moore.” Why am I telling him my full name? What is this, some kind of business meeting? He must think I’m such a dork!
“Nice to meet you, Eliza Moore,” he said with a twinkle in his eye. “I hope you have a good first day.” And then he was gone, leaving me to relive that moment over and over in my dreams from that time forward.
“Where do you guys want to sit?
” Jill’s voice brought me back to reality, and I quickly started scanning the courtyard for an empty table. It seemed like everyone had had the same idea about basking in the sun.
I was about to suggest we go sit on the bleachers by the football field when Jason said, “Oh, look, there are four empty chairs over by Luke.”
Gasp!
He was already walking toward the table and hadn’t noticed the uncomfortable expressions on the rest of our faces. For Jason it wasn’t so bad; he was a junior and on the soccer team with Luke. The three of us, however, were just puny sophomores who would be totally out of place at a table full of seniors . . . well, almost full of seniors.
Chelsea Andrews had parked herself next to Luke and was flirting her little heart out. Everyone knew she had her sights set on Luke as her prom date, and she was pulling out all the stops. I felt a jealous rage as I watched her lean toward him using what I knew she considered to be her sexiest, most serious expression while he was talking. She would laugh at various intervals.
Chelsea had flirting down to an art. How could anyone compete with that? My heart sank, and the hurt combined with the humiliation of being forced to sit by them was almost unbearable.
“Hey, Luke, what’s up?” Jason said as he sat down at the table.
Chelsea threw Jason a smile but her eyes were full of venom. It was painfully obvious that she didn’t like us encroaching on her space.
“Hey, man, are you ready for the game today?” Luke asked. I thought I detected a hint of relief in his eyes at Jason’s interruption. Maybe Chelsea’s tactics weren’t as powerful as I imagined.
The rest of the table quieted down as everyone looked up at our arrival. I noticed a few raised eyebrows, but after it appeared that Luke approved of our presence, the conversations resumed, and Nick, Jill, and I all breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all. If only I could somehow manage to tune out Chelsea’s incessant giggling.
Jason and Luke talked about soccer for a few minutes while I pretended to focus on eating. I loved listening to Luke talk. Everything about him seemed to have some magical quality. He seemed not to have even noticed me, and I wondered if he remembered my name or that day in the hall so many months ago.
By a stroke of amazing good fortune, I’d ended up having seminary with him this semester. It was my last class of the day and the one I looked forward to the most. Although Luke sat in a corner desk toward the back of the class and I sat toward the front, I still managed to glance back at him occasionally. Just being in the same room with him was special.
“So, Eliza, what are you doing tomorrow?”
I looked up at Jason from the cherry tomato I’d skewered with my fork. “Um, not much. I have to work in the afternoon. How about you? Do you have any fun weekend plans?” I was a little nervous about where this was heading.
“Well, actually, I was hoping maybe you could go out tomorrow night.” Jason was looking at me, but Luke had turned away and was pretending not to listen, and I sensed that Jill and Nick were putting on the same act. Chelsea, on the other hand, was staring at me with a smug expression and even leaned forward, waiting for my answer.
Suddenly, the area around me was very quiet. In our school, asking someone out on a date was a subject everyone was interested in.
I hated being the center of attention. I could feel my face start to get hot as I blushed. I couldn’t think clearly enough—or fast enough—to come up with an excuse, and the silence was getting a bit awkward, so finally I said, “Sure, what do you want to do?”
I could almost sense a collective sigh pass around the table. Apparently nobody wanted an uncomfortable date rejection to spoil their lunch.
“Well, a group of us were thinking about going bowling and then out for ice cream. Right, Luke?” He turned to Luke, and I felt my eyes widen in surprise. I had no idea they were that good of friends.
“Yeah, we’re getting together around seven at my place.” Luke kept his eyes on his tray and his tone was less than enthusiastic. Was he bothered that Jason had invited a sophomore?
“Oh, how fun! I love bowling!” Chelsea cooed as she batted her big blue eyes and gave Luke a stunning smile.
Jill’s snort turned into a cough. I struggled not to laugh either because I knew we were both thinking the same thing: Chelsea, bowling? I was willing to bet she’d never set foot in a bowling alley before, much less put her perfectly pedicured toes into stinky bowling shoes.
“Who are you going with, Luke?” Chelsea looked at him with feigned innocence, as though it didn’t matter one way or the other, but the hint was obvious.
Luke cleared his throat and now it was his turn to be in the spotlight. “Well, actually, I asked Whitney Dawson. Do you know her?”
“Oh, yeah, she’s really . . . nice.” Chelsea’s face fell and there was an uncomfortable shift around the table. Apparently we were going to have an uncomfortable date rejection after all.
Jill whispered in my ear, “Maybe the princess doesn’t get everything she wants after all, boo-hoo.”
I smiled and nodded, but inside I felt crushed. Luke was definitely bothered about something, and I was afraid it was me. He’d been so nice to me that day in the hall, but obviously he didn’t want to date sophomores. He was the only guy I’d ever heard of who had turned down Chelsea Andrews; most guys would give their front teeth to go on a date with her. I looked down the table at Chelsea and for a brief moment felt sorry for her; it would be so embarrassing to be rejected like that in front of everyone. She was daintily picking away at her piece of pizza and in between bites was chattering away to Luke as if the previous conversation had never happened.
Why doesn’t she just wolf down a few slices? I’m sure her perfect size two figure never changes no matter what she eats, I thought bitterly. Just then she laughed at something Luke said and tossed her long blonde hair over her shoulder. Whatever pity I felt for her vanished.
I had to get out of there. I stood up and pushed my chair back with a bit more force than I meant to.
“Eliza, where are you going? The bell hasn’t even rung yet,” Jill asked. She, Nick, and Jason all looked up at me in surprise.
“I know. I just need to use the bathroom before my next class.”
“Do you want me to come with you?” Jill probed. She knew something was up, and she probably thought it was about my date with Jason. I hadn’t told anyone about my secret crush on Luke, not even Jill. I knew he was way out of my league; I didn’t need Jill to rub it in.
“No, it’s fine. I’ll see you after school.” I turned to Jason. “Thanks for eating lunch with me. I hope you have a good day.” I reached for my tray, but he grabbed it first.
“Don’t worry about that. I’ll take it back.”
“Thanks,” I said, giving him a smile. I really appreciated all the little things he did for me.
He beamed. “No problem. I’ll pick you up tomorrow around six forty-five?”
“Oh, um . . . sure.” I realized how unenthusiastic I sounded, so I tried to brighten my tone. “Sounds great. See you then!”
I started walking toward the door when I heard Nick call out, “Bye, Liza Lou!”
I froze in horror, hoping Luke hadn’t heard my nickname, but Nick was so loud I knew everyone had heard. Without turning around I said, “See ya, Nicholas,” and escaped to the hall and headed toward the solitude of the girls’ room.
My name had always been a sore spot for me. There just weren’t that many Elizas running around these days, even in Utah.
There had been a particularly bad day when I was in the third grade and some kids at school teased me, saying I had an “old lady name.” I had run home and thrown myself on my bed, crying. My mom came in and asked what happened. I sobbed to her that I hated my name. She stroked my hair and told me that I was named after my great-grandma Eliza Porter, who was one of her favorite people. Mom said she’d always hoped to have a little girl so she could name her Eliza. I could tell I had hurt h
er when I said I hated my name, so I’d never brought it up again, but secretly, I wished I’d been the second-born daughter so Courtney would have been stuck with the name instead of me.
I was almost to the bathroom when I noticed Keira Davis sitting on the floor with her lunch tray balanced on her lap. She had just moved here from New Jersey, and even though our school was pretty big, she definitely stood out. Her clothes might have been in style on the East Coast but here they made her look out of place. She had short, spiky blonde hair and a nose ring, which gave her an overall “stay away” vibe.
Some of the girls in my seminary class had befriended Keira when she first came to school. But after Keira expressed zero interest in going to seminary or reading the Book of Mormon, they’d dropped her like a hot tamale. Apparently, she hadn’t been the “golden investigator” they’d been hoping for.
Keira looked up at me as if sensing my thoughts, and feeling embarrassed, I quickly glanced away and made a beeline for the bathroom door.
• • •
I leaned against my car and gloried in the delicious heat radiating off it. Finally, I’d made it to the weekend! I looked at my watch again and sighed in exasperation. Why did I feel like I spent half of my life waiting for Jill? I searched in my bag for my pink flip phone, pulled it out, and sent her a text: “Where R U??” I closed my eyes as I tried to let the stresses of the day melt away.
“Taking a nap?”
I opened my eyes and frowned at Jill. “Took you long enough that I could have. Why don’t you ever reply to my texts?” I picked up my bag and walked around the car to unlock the driver’s side door.
“Sorry, it’s just so hard to say good-bye to Nick sometimes. I’ve been dying to talk to you!” She looked at me with a face full of excitement, and I smiled. It was hard to stay mad at Jill for long.
“Soooo, spill it, girl! Do you like Jason? He was so sweet to get your tray at lunch. And I bet he left you another note today, am I right?” I nodded, and she squealed in delight as she grabbed my bag and searched for the note. She unfolded it and read the words aloud, then sighed, “Oh my goodness, that is so romantic! You have to like him, Liza! If you two started dating then the four of us could double.” She was bouncing with enthusiasm, and I had to remind her to buckle up before she got us both killed.
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