As my heart was beating fast, I didn’t know what to think. The plane was landing and that’s the part I hate the most. But I knew once I took that first step off the airplane, I was home. It was about 7:30 pm, and I had about a two-hour drive from the airport to little, old Manhattan. I couldn’t wait to see my grandparents and all my friends. Even though I might not get to see them this week, I knew that I would be back soon.

I just spent a year in Jordan with my mommy and step dad, and let me tell you… It was a whole different world. But a good experience also. And right now, it feels great to be back in the United States. I never thought I would miss my home as much as I did until that year. But I’m lucky I got that kind of adventure.

After I spent my week in Kansas, my mom and I went back to Virginia and spent the summer there with my step dad. It was quite boring and I didn’t want to be there. But everyday it got closer and closer to August, and that’s when I would be going back to Kansas. And even though I felt like dying over the summer, I survived.

All summer I was talking to my friend Allie. I talked to her at least once a week, if not more. She was a really good friend of mine and we talked about a lot. One day she was telling me about a boy named Brett Morningstar. She said she’s liked him for a while now, and they’ve gone out, but then broke up. Allie wanted me to talk to him, so I, being a good friend, added him on msn messenger.

One night, I was online, and then he got on, so I said, “Hi…”

Brett said, “Uh, hi. Who is this?”

“I’m Eleni, Allie’s friend.”

“Oh, why are you talking to me?”

“Cause she wanted me to talk to you about your relationship with her.”

“Oh, well there is nothing between us anymore. I liked her once, but not anymore. I don’t understand why she keeps going on about this.”

“Well that is a little harsh, but I understand.”

It was almost 10 o’clock here, so I said, “I got to go. Maybe we will talk again some time. Bye!”

“Maybe…” he says, and then I log off.

The next few days, I got online every night. And one night, Brett was online too. We started talking. I totally lost track of time and finally said bye for the night. But after a week, we talked everyday. And I developed a feeling that I couldn’t even explain. So I felt like I was taking two steps forward and one step back.



The night before the first day of school I was thinking about what eighth grade would be like. I thought it would be filled up with a bunch of adventures. I just couldn’t wait to meet new people or see what my classes were like. The farthest thing from my mind was drama because I didn’t think there would be much of it. But I was wrong and everything popped out at me like a surprise party.

The next day I woke up and got ready for school. And since the first day was only a half-day, it went by faster than a speeding car on a racetrack. When I got to school that morning, I saw a lot of people, old and new. But then I noticed something…no, someone. It was Brett Morningstar. He was different than I imagined, but still good-looking. He was nice and tall with golden blond hair and he just seemed like a sweetheart. But I was too nervous to talk to him.

That night Brett and I talked online. I asked him how his day went and then we eventually exchanged numbers. When we started texting, we didn’t have much to say to each other. But I had a feeling in my gut that just wanted me to tell him everything. And eventually we started talking all the time, which made me happy.

My best friend, Alyssa Muller, knew everything though. Only because we’ve been telling each other everything since we were in diapers. I wouldn’t go to anyone else. And she knew I haven’t been this happy in a long time. And so she told that I should go for it, and tells him that I like him. I’m not usually the type of girl who likes to take risks like that but she always gives me the best advice, so I went for it.

I finally told him one day how I felt and surprisingly, he felt the same way. At that exact moment, I felt the world stop and I only heard my heart go one hundred miles an hour. Everything fell right into place. And on September 3, 2003, Brett asked me out. My face lit up like sunshine and I said, “Yes!”

From then on I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face and my friends kept getting more and more suspicious. Eventually people found out that Brett and I were going out and they all looked at me weird, like I did something wrong. But I just shrugged my shoulders and kept walking. Then one day someone came up to me and said, “Aren’t you the girl going out with Brett Morningstar?”

I replied, “Yeah, why?”

“Oh, I was just wondering.”

“Ok then…”

“Yeah, you guys are defiantly not going to last,” they said with a smirk on their face. And then I just walked away with tears rolling down my face.

I told Brett about it that night and he told me to just not listen to them and keep my head held high and everything will be just fine. And I thought to myself, he is right. We can’t let people get in the way.

By winter break Brett and I were doing great. We were still together but we were both sad because we wouldn’t get to see each other all break. Both of our families made plans and we had to wait for school to start back up and it was ok. Over break though, there was drama and it was killing me. Two girls were trying to get with Brett. And I kept hearing stuff, so I confronted the girls and eventually it ended. But the sad thing was that one of the girls was Allie, my really good friend and Brett’s ex-girlfriend. And that was a friendship that just couldn’t be any more sadly.
Over the summer things were going spectacular. I had a ton of fun at all my camps and I loved going to the pool with my friends and Brett. Nothing went wrong during the summer and I thought everything was perfect.

Then there was one night that actually did make everything perfect. I was over at Brett’s house and my mom went out that night, so I was over at his house pretty late and I was ok with that. But anyways, we were just hanging at first, and then we went on a walk just to get away. Then around 6 o’clock we came back to his house to have dinner. After dinner we went downstairs and watched a movie. The movie was The Notebook because I wanted Brett to watch it with me. He didn’t really understand it at first, but then I explained the movie to him and he said, “Oh, I understand. That’s a really sweet movie. You know what it reminds me of?”

“What?” I say with a smile on my face.

“It reminds me of what we could be later on in life.”

“Oh, I see. That is the sweetest thing I have ever heard. But do you really think you would be with me later on in life?”

“Yes, because I love you.”

I just sat there with a blank look on my face. I didn’t know what to say to that. Yes, I love him, but I’m not even sure if I knew the meaning of love. As I was sitting there thinking, I could hear the TV upstairs singing Sponge bob Square pants, Sponge bob Square pants, and Brett’s little brother singing along. A few minutes past, and I finally said, “I love you too.” And then he just held me for a few minutes. Then we went upstairs and went outside on the porch and talked for the rest of the night.

Summer went by fast and school finally started. I would be a freshman, attending Manhattan High School. I figured people would be more mature now, but again I was wrong. Some people were nice, some people were mean, and some people were downright insane. And walking in those hallways and people all around, I just didn’t think I would make it.

People were still messing with me about dating Brett. And now the new people I started going to school with are saying, “Oh, he’s a bad person. You’re too good for him. He doesn’t deserve you.” But I would just ignore them and keep my head held high, just like Brett told me last year. And I know Brett and I will have a great year together.