RIIII-IIIIIINNN-NNNNNNGGGG!!!!!
Stupid bell... Why must it be so darn loud? We're not deaf, ya know! Whatever, I just wanna get in the hallway and hopefully run into him again. (Pun intended.) Then I realize- I don't even know his name! I've liked him for 5 months and I still have no idea what his name is. Why didn't I ask him when I had the chance? Something must be wrong with me. Well, I'll ask him when I see him again. And what do you know? I could see him up ahead, talking to another guy. I smile and walk a little faster. I move to the middle of the hall so I was walking right in his path and stop about 3 feet in front of him. He looks down at me (yes, I'm short. Get over it.) and smiles that beautiful smile again.
"Well well well. Look who's almost run into me again!"
I laugh and look at him. "Hey, I made sure I was watching where I was going this time!"
He smiles and we walk outside together for lunch. I really hadn't been expecting to spend the day with him at school. I just thought I'd run into him, apologize, and keep walking, which is how I normally am when I do something stupid or trip on air. But I like this alternative way better. Hanging out with my crush? Heck yeah! I don't mind doing this every day. I could get used to it.
My thoughts are cut short when I hear him saying something. "Wanna eat out here? It's nice out today."
I look at the sky for a second and nod my head. I'm too preoccupied with my thoughts to say anything. He knows what I would have said, and we got our lunch inside and went back out to enjoy the sunshine while eating together. This is nice! I think. But honestly, I felt like we had been eating for an eternity. Am I eating really slow or something? I look down at my food and see that I've only eaten a few bites of my sandwich. Suddenly I don't feel so hungry anymore. I get up and throw my food away, then sit back down next to him.
Before I know it, I blurt out, "What's your name?" I mentally smack myself for being so forward. I could have incorporated that question into a conversation instead of acting like an idiot for not even knowing his name in the first place! My eyes widen at my abruptness, then go back to normal. I wait for his reply.
"Oh, yeah. We never introduced ourselves, did we?"
I shake my head no.
"I'm Jacob. What's yours?"
I forgot that he doesn't know mine either! "Oh, right. I'm Sophiah." I smile a little and he says, "That's a beautiful name. I've always liked it."
Okay, not what I was expecting. But I just giggle (since when do I giggle?). "Thanks."
"You're quite welcome."
He finishes his food and we get up to walk for a while until the bell signals the end of our time together. I really hate that bell sometimes...

After school, I haul butt to my bus. Don't ask me why, it's not like I was trying to avoid Jacob or anything. I was actually hoping to see him again before I left. But sadly, I didn't. So I got on my bus and looked longingly out my window, wishing he rode my bus. Heck, for all I know he has his own car! That would be cool. If we ever started dating, I wouldn't have to listen to people yelling like idiots or making dumb and crude jokes within my hearing range.
Well, maybe that could happen. But I can be very old fashioned. He has to ask me out and after a while ask me to be his girlfriend. One thing I hate more than anything is when two people who like each other just start acting like boyfriend and girlfriend without making it official. But that's just how I am. He can take it or leave it, but I have a feeling he won't care. He already seems to like me. Why else would he compliment me and eat lunch with me? Not because he's bored, that's for sure. I'm not stupid.
When the bus pulls up to my house, I get off and run inside, immediately making a beeline for the laptop. I get on Facebook and look up Jacob. I don't know his last name, but I know there can't be that many guys at school with that name. I type it in and wait for the results. He's the first person I see on the list. Yes! I click on his profile and check it out for a while. Wow, he likes some of the same bands as me! I keep scrolling and see that he's a Senior. Well, that's perfect! I've always liked older guys. Even though I don't have a love life, but that's just my preference when it comes to guys. Younger guys are so immature and stupid, whereas older guys are more mature and know how to treat a girl. At least some of them do. I scroll back to the top and ponder adding him as a friend. Is it too soon? No, it's not like I'm stalking him. If the topic comes up, I can just say I was surfing Facebook and stumbled upon his profile and thought since I was getting to know him (sort of), I could add him. That's not too bad, right? What the heck, who cares? Just add the man already! I hesitate a moment longer and then hit the 'send friend request' button. I sigh and stay online for a while.
No more than ten minutes pass when I get a new notification. I click on it and it says, 'Jacob has accepted your friend request'. I smile and get all excited, then realize how silly I'm being and calm down. He's just a guy, relax! He's not going anywhere. Don't act all crazy just because he shows a little interest in you. Be mature about this! I thank myself for the advice and update my status, then log off. I decide to do my homework (*Gasp* shocking!), which is only to read a few chapters in this new book we got in English. Not a hard book; in fact it's quite interesting, so I should be done in no time. After that, I brush my teeth and go to bed, not realizing how tired I am until my head hits the pillow and I fall asleep instantly.

I wake up earlier than usual the next morning and decide to get all dressed up today. Might as well look nicer than I normally do. No point in wasting all this makeup and cute clothes. I get dressed, put on a little makeup, eat breakfast, and run out to my bus stop. It's not so cold out today, I think. I have a feeling today's going to be a good day. I smile when Jacob pops into my head, and when the bus pulls up and I get on, I get excited knowing that when I get to school he'll be there too.
I get inside and walk to my locker, hating the fact that it's on the bottom and not on top. I've learned to not wear short skirts anymore, after what happened last time. It was an honest accident, I swear. I didn't even realize it, and luckily no one noticed except my best friend Lily. She's a good friend like that, warning me when embarrassing things happen. I bet none of my other friends would have even told me! So it's nice when Lily's around to help me. We've been friends since the 6th grade, which feels like forever ago. But we became instant buddies, and were telling each other our deep dark secrets by the next day. She's the only person at school who truly understands me and how I am, and I appreciate that.
I close my locker and turn the combination right as Lily comes running up to me. But she doesn't stop in front of me; she tackles me with a hug.
"Soph! I'm so glad to see you!"
"Yeah, you saw me yesterday too. What's up?"
"You should know. I saw you with that guy. Spill it!"
"Spill what? There's nothing to tell. I just accidentally ran into him on my way to class, and we ate lunch together. No big deal."
"No big deal? This is a MAJOR deal! Why didn't you tell me last night?"
"I wasn't thinking. Well, I was and it was about him, but I forgot to mention it. Sorry."
"Yeah, you better be. So are you two going steady yet?"
"What? No! We only just met!"
I sigh and start walking to class. Lily gives me that "you better give me more details" look.
"And there's nothing more to tell than that, okay? Oh, except that his name's Jacob and he's a Senior."
"A Senior? Way to go girl! Working your way up, aren't ya?"
I laugh in spite of myself. She knows I have no love life, if you don't include that one time with Doug when he kissed me because he liked me and then lost interest a week later. That was going nowhere anyway, and besides, he wasn't that cute. And he's dating my friend, Alexis, now.
As we're crossing the sky bridge, I see Jacob at the other end walking towards us. I smile and say, "Lily, there he is!"
She looks up and gets wide-eyed. "That's him?!"
I nod my head slightly and walk a little faster. Jacob comes up to me and says, "Hey Sophiah. How are you this morning?"
"I'm fine. Um, Jacob, this is my best friend Lily. Lily, meet Jacob."
"It's nice to meet you, Jacob," Lily says with confidence. She has a lot of that going on.
"Nice to meet you too." Jacob smiles at her.
"Well," says Lily, "I better be getting to class. See ya later Soph. Bye Jacob!" And with that, she disappears around the corner and I'm left alone with him.
"So, how is your morning going?"
I don't realize I'm staring at him while in another world. I shake my head a little and smile. "It's... Going. Just got better when I saw you."
Crap! Was I too forward? Darn, darn, darn...
"My thoughts exactly." Jacob looks down at me with the most sincere look I've ever seen on a guy's face. I can't help but feel like he's more than just a friend, that I just may be in love with him.
Wait, love? Already? What, we've only known each other for two days now? It can't be that. Maybe it's indigestion...
"May I walk you to class this morning, Sophiah?"
I subconsciously look around and then at him and say yes. We begin walking and for a second I feel like I'm not there. Almost like I'm outside of my body and watching all of this from up in the sky. Is that weird?
We stop in front of my classroom and Jacob takes my hand. "I'm really glad you ran into me the other day. I couldn't imagine going the rest of my life not knowing such an amazing, sweet, beautiful girl."
I blush and look down a little, but he grabs my chin in his hand and lifts it up so I'm looking right at him. Then all too soon the magic is gone and his hands are at his sides. I decide to steal some of Lilly's confidence and lean forward to kiss him on the cheek. I could tell he hadn't been expecting it. I thank him for walking me and then go into class.
What would Lilly think of this? I just kissed him on the cheek and I've only known him for 2 days!!! Something is definitely weird here...

So there I am, sitting in class learning about square roots and ratios when out of nowhere a piece of paper (a rather heavy piece) flies toward me and lands perfectly in my lap. Curious to know who the culprit is, I look around and see Sam smiling at me. He's this guy I had a major crush on last month, but he never noticed and when Lilly blurted that I thought he was cute, he stopped making eye contact with me. I haven't spoken to or looked at him since the day before that incident. And believe me, I took care of Lilly after that, and she knows better now.
I decide to stop thinking about that and open the paper. A gold heart falls in my lap and I pick it up. I flip it over and on the front side I see my name printed in a cursive-like scrawl. Then I notice that it has a slit all around it and suspect that it opens, so I work on it until I see more writing inside. The words "en vivo, risa, amor" are written nicely, along with a rose engraved on the other side. I remember learning that in Spanish class a few weeks ago! (Yes, I have 3 classes with my old crush, and it's hard). I smile and look back at Sam. He looks at what he threw me and turns back to his work. I finally look at the piece of paper, which says in small quick writing, "I think you're cute too. Movies, Friday at 7?"
Now I feel bad. I meet Jacob and everything's going great until Sam comes into the picture all of a sudden. What do I do??
I place the heart in my pocket and scribble a message on the note, fold it up, and flick it as hard as I can toward Sam. Sadly, it doesn't reach him. Instead it lands by the leg of the table a little ways from his feet. But he sees it and picks it up, to my relief. I stare at him nervously, apprehending his reaction when he reads what I wrote. To my surprise though, he looks at me and nods his head as if he understands. I smile kindly in response and continue with my work.
Wow, that sure was close!
After class, I go to my secret place to take a breather. However, I'm interrupted by a familiar voice already there. Jacob? I don't know. I turn the corner and see him sitting on my bench. How did he find this place? Or that I'd come here after class? Weird... I sit down next to him and decide to express my thoughts with him.
"How did you know this was my secret hiding place?"
Jacob looks up, somewhat confused. Then he says, "Oh, well... It's a long story."
"I've got time."
"Okay..." He sighs deeply and then looks at me again.
"Sophiah... Listen, you may not believe this at first, and it probably won't make sense, but... These past few days have all been a dream."
I stare at him incredulously. "What?!"
"I know, it's crazy. But I swear it's the truth. Do you remember when you ran into me?"
"How could I forget..."
"Well, we crashed into each other so hard that you fell and hit your head on the ground, causing you to go unconscious."
"No, it can't be! These past few days have never felt more real to me!"
"Did you experience any kind of out of body feeling since then?"
"No! Wait, there was that one time yesterday when you walked me to class..."
I look at my hands and sit there awkwardly, trying to absorb all of this.
"So, you're not real?"
"Oh, I'm very real. I'm just part of your dream."
"So where.... Where's my body right now?"
"At St. Joseph's hospital. You're mom's there too, watching over you. And your sister's been visiting frequently since she heard what happened."
"Am I in a coma??"
Jacob takes my hand and places it in his lap.
"No, it's nothing like that. You've just been sleeping all this time. That's why things have been so weird the past few days. And how I knew this was your secret place."
"That makes a lot of sense."
"Soph, you need to wake up."
I look up at him suddenly.
"Why?"
"Because people are worried about you. And yeah, you could stay here with me forever, or you could spare your family the grief and wake up and we could meet in real life. But you have to choose soon. If you stay asleep too long, your body will let you stay in that dream state forever."
"What if I don't wake up? Will we really be together forever?"
"Of course. But please, don't do this to your family. Sophiah, you need to do what's right. Wake up."
"Let me think..."
I look away and sigh loudly. How could this happen? I'm never that much of a klutz! I can't believe this... I guess I should just finish this.
"Okay Jacob. I'll wake up."
"Good girl. I'm going to miss you."
"I'll miss you as well. I guess this is goodbye."
"Only for now. Bye Sophiah."
Before I know it, my eyes are opening and I see my mom in the corner of the hospital room watching me. So he was right...
I whisper, "Mom?"
"Oh baby! You're awake! How did this happen? Are you all right?"
"I'm fine mom. I just fell."
We talk a moment longer, then the doctor comes in and examines me and says I'll be able to leave in a few days. I sigh and try to fall back asleep so I can see Jacob again.
I guess nothing as amazing as that happens in real life anyway. It's all just a dream. We let ourselves imagine things that please us or make us feel better and then go there in our minds to get away from the real world. But it never lasts; it's only there for a minute, and then it's gone. All there is left is that dream that stays with you forever, and then it's just a dream that fades...