Prescott Harvey
The Girl
In the short break between third and fourth periods, Jay lead Colin up around Tutorial, to their secret spot. It was a little patch of sunny grass, surrounded by dense, thick trees. It was the only place at school were they could sit and relax, without worry of being mocked. They often came here between periods, and sometimes at lunch to talk about video games, board games, and other matters that required privacy. Now Colin sat cross-legged, picking at the grass around him, listening quietly as Jay relayed what had happened.
“I’ve told you about my dream?”
Colin shook his head.
“What? Yes, I have. Where I’m all dressed up, with that girl?” He shook his notebook. “The dream I’ve been telling you about since I met you? The mixtape I’m meticulously reconstructing?”
Colin looked vaguely into the wood. “Oh… The dream…”
“Yeah, it was her. Definitely her. Colin, I’ve seen her every month my whole life. And she recognized me. I saw it in her face.”
Colin nodded in a non-committal way. Jay sometimes wondered about Colin. He’d always been rather asexual. He never confessed to any crushes, or talked about girls at all. The only clue Jay had was that one time, in class, he’d caught Colin peering down the sleeve of Shayna’s shirt, staring at her boob. Jay had smirked, and Colin saw he’d been caught and turned bright red. Now Colin shuffled around on his legs.
“So... what are you going to do?”
“I dunno. I guess I gotta make my move, right? I mean she’s— she’s amazing. She’s the perfect girl in the world and—”
“You’ve talked to her?”
“I mean, I dream about her. That’s like, a thousand times more profound than talking to someone.”
Jay froze, realizing something.
“Oh my god. I think I just realized something. Colin… that dream is prom. I think I take her to prom.”
Colin nodded slowly. “That would be quite a feat.”
“That’s my dream. In my dream, I’m at prom with her.” Jay stood up. “I can’t believe I didn’t realize that before. I— I have to ask her to prom.”
“Do you think you should get to know her better first?”
Jay sat back down. “Hmm. You mean like spy on her? Follow her around in secret and such?”
“That wasn’t what I—”
“No, you’re right. We do need to know more about her. Let’s do it. We’ll spy on her, glean some information, then use it to ask her to prom. Meet me here after school.”
Colin sighed, as he always did before he gave in.