• CURTAIN UP: Act One, Scene One

    “Ohmigosh,
    he’s so cute!”
    You say,
    and instantly it’s
    crush-central.
    No one understands,
    not even you.
    But you don’t care
    ’cus he’s the apple
    of your eye.

    Act One, Scene Two
    You’re nervous
    to tell him.
    You’re scared
    of his reaction.
    Yes—
    no—
    maybe?
    You don’t know,
    and your friends
    say the same.

    Act One, Scene Three
    You get a tiny push—
    and you try to
    compress it—
    but it doesn’t work.
    A spur-of-the-moment
    burst of adrenalin
    makes you open
    your mouth:
    “I like you.”
    And he keeps nodding,
    but then he stops.
    Mid-nod—
    mid-sentence—
    mid-step.
    “Oh,” his eyes pop open
    in realization.
    Your heart sinks
    right to the floor.

    CURTAIN DOWN, INTERMISSION

    CURTAIN UP: Act Two, Scene One
    You freak out
    all weekend long,
    about what Monday morning
    will bring.
    Will he hate me?
    Will he not care?
    Your BFF says it’s the latter,
    but you’re not so sure…
    “But he’s a guy!” you argue,
    and you keep
    freaking out
    once more.

    Act Two, Scene Two
    Monday arrives.
    “Hi,” you say nervously,
    and he returns it stiffly.
    He’s so weirded out!
    your thoughts scream.
    He’ll never be
    my friend
    again.
    or so you think.

    Act Two, Scene Three
    “It’s okay,” he says at lunch.
    “we’re still friends.”
    Your heart soars—
    your smile spreads—
    and you want to sing out
    (badly)
    with joy.
    “Thanks!” you say warmly,
    and he returns your smile.
    Your worries fade…
    you think everything’s alright…
    but you’re wrong.

    Act Three, Scene One
    Things go great...
    for a while.
    Then he starts
    to drift away,
    and you start to worry
    all over again.
    Did he change his mind?
    What did I do?
    What should I do?
    You ask yourself—
    and then your friends—
    but you all draw up
    blank.

    Act Three, Scene Two
    Then he returns.
    You don’t know why,
    you don’t really care,
    ’cus he’s back.
    You get along great—
    talk endlessly—
    and you think things
    are back to normal.
    (Or whatever that was
    to begin with…)
    And you don’t suspect
    a thing…

    Act Three, Scene Three
    “Hey,
    can we talk,
    this afternoon,
    after school?”
    Your heart does backflips,
    as you say “Yes!”
    But when the time comes—
    you never readied yourself
    for—
    “I feel sorry for you,
    because I like someone else.”
    He says, and your anger flares.
    (You saw it coming,
    but that doesn’t hit
    until post-retort.)
    “Save your pity for someone else,
    ’cus I don’t need it!”
    And you walk away.
    Then suddenly—
    you find yourself
    head-over-heels
    for your science partner.