June 18, 1997

Columbus Ohio,

Saturday Afternoon



Today my parents made me go to my Aunt Royse’s which I didn’t want to go. My mother pulled me out of the house, kicking and screaming. My mom told me I had to go because it was a family thing so I told her fine! I’ll go. I got into the car with a pouty face. When we arrived at my Aunt Royse’s she came running out of the house and didn’t even give me a chance to get out of the car! She squeezed me so tight I thought I was going to burst. She said hi to my mom and my dad then we all went inside. Lunch was ready so we all got our food and the adults ate at one table, and the kids ate at another table. When the kids were all done eating we got to go outside and play. I was swinging minding my own business when all of the sudden a ball hit me right on the back of my head. I yelled “OWWW!” the boy picked the ball up and said “Oh, I’m sorry.” I told him “it’s okay just don’t hit me again.” He said “I won’t, what’s your name? “My name is Roy”. I told him “My name is Ellie.” Roy asked me why I came here. And I told him “I’m here for a family gathering at my Aunt Royse’s house. Why are you here?” He told me he came here because his mom is friends with a lady named Carrie. I told him that was my mom. Roy said “Oh really?” That’s cool. Roy asked me if I wanted to toss the ball back and forth with him and I said “Sure!” Then my mom came outside and told me it was time to go home.

Ten Years Later


January 15 2007,

Monday


I was getting ready for school when I got a text from Roy saying that he is going to come to walk me to school. There was a knock on the door and it was Roy. I opened the door and he said “Okay let’s hit the road Jack!” I said “Hey I’m coming, I’m coming!” We were walking and all of the sudden I had a feeling that we hadn’t seen each other in a long time. It felt good talking to him. I asked him how his weekend went. He said “It was fine.” And he asked me how mine went. I told him it was “Okay.” He said “that’s good.” So I said “yup.” I stopped in front of him and I asked him “what’s up?” He said “nothing.” I told him “you’re my best friend if there is something wrong you can tell me.” He said “I know I can, and you can too, always.” I smiled at him, and then Stacey came up and was all happy. Stacey smiled at Roy and said with her high pitch voice “Hi Roy!” Roy said “Oh hey Stacey” with an annoyed look. Ellie returned the same look to Stacey then she smiled at Roy.


January 17, 2007

Wednesday
Stacey and I were in the bathroom in the school. Stacey started talking about Roy which annoyed me! She was putting on her lip gloss and then she started talking about his beautiful brown eyes! I was just standing there listening yet not really listening to her. She went on about his voice and his smile so I told her, “Can you please stop talking about Roy?” Stacey had a shocked look on her face and asked me “Why?” I told her “Because that’s basically all you ever talk about.” Stacey said “No I don’t, not all the time.” I gave her a look that said Ummmm yeah you do! She just giggled and said “Well maybe I do sometimes. I told her “You do most of the time Stacey.” She said “Okay sorry, why do you sound so stern about it Ellie? You like him or something geesh!” Then she just smiled. I told her “no I don’t like him, why would you even ask that?” She said “because it seems like you do and you seem annoyed with me.” I told Stacey “I may seem annoyed but I don’t like him.” Then Stacey said “Okay sorry for even bringing it up.” I told her it was okay. Stacey and I walked to 4th period together. Then Roy was in the hall talking to his friend Michael. Roy and Michael walked over to me and Stacey. Roy said “Hey Ellie what’s going on?” I told him “Nothing, me and Stacey are just heading to English.” Roy said “Fun, want me to walk you home after school?” I said “Sure why not!” Then Roy and Michael were walking away and Michael gave me a wave good- bye and I told them “See yeah later”. I looked at Stacey and said “Okay let’s go to English before we’re late.” She had a look that showed what! I said “What? Come on Stacey were going to be late!” She said “Oh yeah okay let’s go, who cares anyway it’s not like Mrs. Russell is going to notice. Heck you get to walk home with Roy but that’s okay! Don’t worry about me!” I looked at Stacey like what’s going on? She said to me “Come on Ellie let’s go before we are late, yippy!”
Stacey and I walked into English and sat in our seats. I was taking notes when Stacey put a note on my desk that read “Why would Roy ask you to walk you home?” I had no idea what to say. Why does she care, Roy and I are just friends and she knows that. So I wrote back, “He asked to walk me home because he wants to walk me home.” Then I gave the note back to Stacey. She wrote back: “Just friends? “Are you sure that you guys are nothing more?” I was so annoyed with Stacey; she is making a big deal out of nothing. So I wrote, “Yes, Stacey! Roy and I are just friends, you know that”. I gave the note back and she put, “I know, but you never know, what if you and Roy start dating, I have a feeling that he may like you Ellie.” Then I read what she wrote, it made me so mad! He doesn’t like me; we’re just friends, that’s all. Roy can’t like me we’re just friends. So I wrote, “Yeah I doubt it Stacey. He likes me okay…just as friends!” Then the bell rang and it was time for history. Stacey and I went our own ways and Roy was in the hall. He walked over and said to me “Yo Yo Yo girly what’s going on?” I looked at him like what did you just say? Then I said “Roy you’re weird and nothing just heading to history.” Then Roy looked down and said “Okay what’s that in your hand?” I said” what?” Roy there is nothing in my hand. He put his hand in mine and took the paper out of my hand. I looked at him with a smile then I noticed that he had a piece of paper in his hand. I said “oh that paper don’t read that, give me it back!” Roy said “it can’t be that bad Ellie”. I said “Roy Lavern Reed give me that paper, I am not going to say it again”. He gave me the piece of paper back. I told him “Thank you now if you don’t mind I’m going to be late for history!”



January 2007,
Saturday

Ever since Wednesday, I can’t stop thinking of when Roy touched my hand but I know that nothing is going to happen between us. Roy and I made plans to go to a park. He text me saying he will be over here soon. I text him back saying “okay, I’ll be waiting whenever you get here.” When Roy finally got here we headed to the park on, Bloomingdale Street. Roy and I fought over which swing we wanted. Roy and I noticed a little boy and a little girl tossing the ball back and forth. Roy said “This reminds me when we were little.” I smiled up at him and said “Yeah it does Roy. “Then I told Roy “yeah and I remember how your hair looked it was disheveled.” Then Roy said with an embarrassed look, “Hey my hair was not disheveled it was on the messy side, so there!” I just laughed at Roy and he laughed too. Then he told me he had something to tell me. I had a feeling it was something serious and I was so nervous, what was Roy going to say to me? I looked up at him and I noticed he was looking at me. I asked him “What is it?” Roy was getting ready to tell me right when my mom called. I answered my phone with an annoyed voice. “Hello, yeah mom I told you I was going to the park with Roy.” I rolled my eyes and Roy just stared up at me. I told Roy “Hold on okay?” Roy just nodded at me so I kept listening to my mom babbling away about her day. I said “mom I have to go okay can I talk to you when I get home?” My mom said “Oh yeah honey you can, I’m sorry tell Roy I said hi.”I hung up the phone and I told Roy that I was sorry and what was it you wanted to tell me? Roy said “Oh nothing!” I told him “Well it seemed like it was important, you know you can tell me anything.” Roy said “I know I can and I like how I can be myself around you Ellie”. Let’s walk around and talk about something. Then he helped me get up off of the swing and he looked into my eyes and just smiled. I told him “What? Roy said “come on lets walk so I can tell you what I wanted to say to you. I told him “Okay. He started telling me that we have been friends for a long time and I could tell that he was kind of stuttering because he was nervous. I just waited for him to tell me what he wanted to say. He stopped in front of me and said “Ellie I am having different feelings for you, I like you more than just friends.” I stood there like “Oh my gosh he does feel the same way!” I told him “Roy I like you that way too, I have for a long time” He put his hand in mine and said “I’m glad Ellie, will you be my girlfriend”?