~The Next Day at School~

I could feel my lips burn when I thought of him, the ghost of his arms around my waist. I wasn't trying to obsess over him, really, it was just that my mind kept going back to that crazy afternoon. "Lucy!" My best friend, Max called. "You almost slammed into the lockers! Where are you today?" She caught my arm and pulled me into in alcove I didn't even know existed. Man, I still hadn't gotten used to the layout of the highschool and it'd already been 5 weeks.

"Did something happen yesterday? You're being all spacey today." She looked at me with a question in her steady gaze. I sighed. "Well," I began. And I told her the whole story, from meeting Kat, Angel, Scot, to the kiss, and to Brenden's question about the one chance. I paused there, somehow quite tired from telling the whole story. "And?!" Max practically yelled. "What did you say?" I sighed, feeling awfully confused about the whole situation. "I said that I could only promise one chance." I told her.

"Eee!" She squealed. "Is he a good kisser?" I blushed, my face hot. "He is, actually..." "Eee!" She squealed again, laughing at how red my face was, "Your face matches your hair." she teased. Then she grew serious. "I think you need to spend more time with this Brenden guy." She advised. "See if he deserves getting a kiss from a beauty like you." She nudged my hip with hers, giggling. I laughed; she wasn't usually much for compliments. 

Truthfully, I'm very proud of my body. Not vain, but proud. I worked hard to keep it this healthy, this strong. Long hours of walking instead of taking the bus, and going to the gym with a few of my best friends. And I'm completely in love with salads. Especially grilled chicken salads, those were amazing.

 "Alright." I laughed again. "I'll give it a shot." I added thoughtfully, "I do love playing with the children.. And I'm bound to see him sometimes when I'm there. It's not like I'm going to avoid taking that route home for something such as this." I gave her a hug. "Good idea, Max." "You know it!" She said against my hair. Then of course, Max being Max, she immediately tickled me so much that I slid to the floor to escape.

She sat on my legs, pinning me to the linoleum with her weight. "Just know, I'm always here for you bestie." She told me. "I know." I replied softly, looking into her gray eyes. They were familiar and comforting. Then I giggled, "Now get off me, ya lump!" She stood up and offered her hand to me. "Milady." She said with a bow. I smiled; she always made it a point to be courteous to the point of ridiculousness, that was just her way. I took her hand and pushed myself up.

Max held onto my hand even after I'd stood up, and I smiled at her. "Sometimes," I said with a laugh, "I think it would be much simpler to just date you rather than try to find a decent guy." She squeezed my hand, grinning. "I'm honored!" She bumped her hip against mine, both of us laughing. With that, we slipped back into the crowds of teenagers filling the hallway, still holding hands.

~At the End of the School Day~

"Now," Max gripped my shoulders, "if anything, anything else happens, I wanna know about it." "Okay!" I laughed. "I promise." I began to walk away, after giving her a quick hug; adjusting my backpack so it wouldn't bounce as much when I started jogging. "Lucy!" Max called from behind me. I turned around to see her waving at me, "Love ya!" I waved back, grinning at my best friend. "Love ya too, Max!" Then I turned around and started jogging. I smiled. I didn't know what I'd do without Max. 

And now, I had a play-date to make.