times a week. When they were young, they’d come with their mothers, but now, they’d go alone. And they’d always get a Frappuccino, or ice cream, or lemonade. It wasn’t that Natalie minded being there without Hannah, and with Kyle. She just wished that Hannah wasn’t mad at her.
In fact, Hannah being mad at her was enough to put Natalie in a bad mood. I can’t believe this , she thought. I’ve been looking forward to my first date for, like, my whole life. She decided to put on a happy face. “So, Kyle,” she said. “What did you do this summer?”
“Oh, you know, that acting school,” he said, turning to look at Nat.
“Right, duh,” Natalie replied. “Was it fun?”
“Yeah, it was really fun. I learned a lot.”
“Cool,” Nat said.
“So, you had a boyfriend this summer, huh?” Kyle asked quietly.
Natalie whipped her head to look at him. “What?”
“Simon, or whatever. The guy Hannah was talking about.”
“He wasn’t my boyfriend.”
“Oh. Okay. Do you still talk to him?” Natalie thought she heard a little jealousy in Kyle’s voice.
“I haven’t talked to him since camp,” she said honestly. But she felt slightly annoyed that she was being forced to defend herself.
“Oh, cool,” Kyle replied, looking visibly less nervous.
They skated in semi-silence for a half an hour or so. And for the first time in her life, Natalie found herself not able to think of anything to say. Quick, Nat, come up with something, she thought. Anything. TV, sports, school. . . . But she couldn’t think of a thing. She didn’t know what the problem was, whether it was Kyle talking about Simon, or feeling bad about Hannah. I guess this Hannah thing is bothering me more than I expected, she admitted to herself. Or maybe dating’s just harder than I expected! She remembered, though, that she and Simon had never had trouble coming up with things to talk about at camp. Could it be that Natalie and Simon just had more . . . chemistry? Whatever that meant, anyway.
She noticed that they had skated in several loops to end up near the opening to 79th Street. “Hey, Kyle?” Natalie said tentatively. “I think I should head home.”
Kyle looked taken aback. “Oh . . . okay,” he said. “Um . . . do you feel sick or something?”
She checked her watch—it was only four thirty. “I . . . uh . . . promised my mom I’d be home by five,” she lied, crossing her fingers behind her back. “And it’ll take me a little while to get there,” she added for good measure.
“Okay,” Kyle said. He looked at the ground. “Thanks for hanging out, Nat,” he said. “I had a really good time.”
“Me too!” Natalie said, forcing a smile.
I did have a good time , she thought, as she skated down 79th Street toward Broadway. But I just want to get home . She was already looking forward to maybe ordering in some Thai food and relaxing on the couch in front of a good Hilary Duff DVD . . . and not thinking about friends or boys or about growing up. Just being Natalie. Wasn’t that perfectly okay?
To: Alyssa11
From: NatalieNYC
Subject: Boys, etc . . . .
hey, alyssa. so, today i went on a date with kyle (you remember, i talked about him at camp). it was okay. i mean, it was fun—we went rollerblading in central park. but he’s not as cool as simon was. he didn’t want to stop and get frappuccinos . . . and i don’t know. it just wasn’t what i expected. he’s a fun guy, but . . . he kept asking me about simon. and i just didn’t feel like explaining anything. we didn’t have that much to say to each other. sort of a letdown.
i guess part of the problem is my friend hannah. she’s been really weird since i got back from camp. saying things about me having boyfriends, and just acting generally un-hannah-like. and the other day, when i was going off on my date with kyle, hannah got really awkward about it. it really put me in a terrible mood.
i’m having a good time in middle school, but i feel
In fact, Hannah being mad at her was enough to put Natalie in a bad mood. I can’t believe this , she thought. I’ve been looking forward to my first date for, like, my whole life. She decided to put on a happy face. “So, Kyle,” she said. “What did you do this summer?”
“Oh, you know, that acting school,” he said, turning to look at Nat.
“Right, duh,” Natalie replied. “Was it fun?”
“Yeah, it was really fun. I learned a lot.”
“Cool,” Nat said.
“So, you had a boyfriend this summer, huh?” Kyle asked quietly.
Natalie whipped her head to look at him. “What?”
“Simon, or whatever. The guy Hannah was talking about.”
“He wasn’t my boyfriend.”
“Oh. Okay. Do you still talk to him?” Natalie thought she heard a little jealousy in Kyle’s voice.
“I haven’t talked to him since camp,” she said honestly. But she felt slightly annoyed that she was being forced to defend herself.
“Oh, cool,” Kyle replied, looking visibly less nervous.
They skated in semi-silence for a half an hour or so. And for the first time in her life, Natalie found herself not able to think of anything to say. Quick, Nat, come up with something, she thought. Anything. TV, sports, school. . . . But she couldn’t think of a thing. She didn’t know what the problem was, whether it was Kyle talking about Simon, or feeling bad about Hannah. I guess this Hannah thing is bothering me more than I expected, she admitted to herself. Or maybe dating’s just harder than I expected! She remembered, though, that she and Simon had never had trouble coming up with things to talk about at camp. Could it be that Natalie and Simon just had more . . . chemistry? Whatever that meant, anyway.
She noticed that they had skated in several loops to end up near the opening to 79th Street. “Hey, Kyle?” Natalie said tentatively. “I think I should head home.”
Kyle looked taken aback. “Oh . . . okay,” he said. “Um . . . do you feel sick or something?”
She checked her watch—it was only four thirty. “I . . . uh . . . promised my mom I’d be home by five,” she lied, crossing her fingers behind her back. “And it’ll take me a little while to get there,” she added for good measure.
“Okay,” Kyle said. He looked at the ground. “Thanks for hanging out, Nat,” he said. “I had a really good time.”
“Me too!” Natalie said, forcing a smile.
I did have a good time , she thought, as she skated down 79th Street toward Broadway. But I just want to get home . She was already looking forward to maybe ordering in some Thai food and relaxing on the couch in front of a good Hilary Duff DVD . . . and not thinking about friends or boys or about growing up. Just being Natalie. Wasn’t that perfectly okay?
To: Alyssa11
From: NatalieNYC
Subject: Boys, etc . . . .
hey, alyssa. so, today i went on a date with kyle (you remember, i talked about him at camp). it was okay. i mean, it was fun—we went rollerblading in central park. but he’s not as cool as simon was. he didn’t want to stop and get frappuccinos . . . and i don’t know. it just wasn’t what i expected. he’s a fun guy, but . . . he kept asking me about simon. and i just didn’t feel like explaining anything. we didn’t have that much to say to each other. sort of a letdown.
i guess part of the problem is my friend hannah. she’s been really weird since i got back from camp. saying things about me having boyfriends, and just acting generally un-hannah-like. and the other day, when i was going off on my date with kyle, hannah got really awkward about it. it really put me in a terrible mood.
i’m having a good time in middle school, but i feel
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