Riinnnnggggg! The school bell, loud and obnoxious, rang in Mary’s ear. Thank goodness there was only seven days of school left; Mary didn’t know how much more she could take.

On her way out the door, she met up with her friend Hannah. Together, they headed towards their bus. Besides lunch, this was Mary’s favorite part of the day because she got to spend the bus ride with her friends she didn’t have any classes with. As they reached their bus, a chorus of voices said goodbye to them. Lately, they’d been getting a lot more attention than usual. Mary supposed it was because of her new haircut.
“Hey guys,” Courtney, their other friend came up behind them. “Did you see Luke waving bye to us?” she asked excitedly.
“Nuh huh did he really?” asked Hannah.
“Yea! He winked too! Ohmygod he is so adorable!” gushed Courtney.
“I love his hair! It’s always so perfectly swooshed,” said Mary dreamily.
“Hey! Are you ladies planning on getting on the bus anytime soon, or were you just going to stand there all day? Hurry up!”
“Oops,” Mary giggled. She climbed onto the bus, the other two following her.
“Hey Mary want to sit with me?” asked Henry. He and Luke were best friends, and they were also the two cutest guys in school. Ever since elementary school, Mary had had a huge crush on him. Occasionally they had flirted, but they’d never really had much chemistry. Mary hoped that would change if they talked more though.

Mary stole a glance at Hannah and Courtney, who nodded eagerly.
“Um, sure,” said Mary.
“Sweet. So I was thinking, next week is the big end-of-year dance. Do you want to go with me?”

Most guys saying that would’ve been nervous, but Henry said it smoothly. Mary had to admire his nerve.
“Really? You mean it?” inquired Mary.
“Dead serious,” he said, then flashed a smile, his perfectly white teeth gleaming in the sun.
“Go to the dance with you? Uh, yes please!” She flashed a smile of her own.
“Cool. I’ll catch you later, this is my stop.” He waved and walked off the bus.

Hannah, Courtney, and Mary immediately put their heads together to discuss this event.
“Ohmygod what did he say?!” squealed Hannah.
“He wants to take me to the end-of-year dance!” Mary whooped. Suddenly she felt overly enthusiastic. All through the duration of the bus ride, she chattered away with newfound happiness. When the time came for her to get off, she said a cheerful goodbye and exited the bus.

She was already thinking about what she would wear, and how she would style her hair. Overhead, sunshine broke through the clouds and shined down upon her face. Contrary to what Mary had been expecting, it seemed as though the last few days of school were taking a turn for the best.