About a boy

Every day, I got off the bus in Albany to go to Vo-Tech. (That's right, I was a math prodigy honors English pothead who went to Vo-Tech. What of it?) Anyway, every day I got off the bus in Albany to go to Vo-Tech and there he was. I'd walk with Laura while he stood in the doorway, watching me. I'd sneak looks at him and he'd catch me, smirking.

I wasn't shy, but I did have a boyfriend who I was rather fond of. Until that boyfriend dumped me a month before the prom. (Also, his best friend dumped Mrs. F and Mrs. F's brother, who was also friends with them, dumped Julie. It was like a coordinated effort to get out of going to the prom.) Still, every day, I got off the bus in Albany to go to Vo-Tech and there he was. Only now Laura was hissing at me to "go fucking talk to him!" I was shy. He was hot. I thought he was out of my league. So I didn't.

Finally, I had my chance. Laura and I volunteered to go around to all the classrooms and take yearbook orders. We walked into the Culinary Arts class, his Culinary Arts class. He stopped his prep work and watched me intently.

"Wanna buy a yearbook?" I asked him, smiling.

"Yes," he said, not smiling back.

The next day, I got off the bus in Albany to go to Vo-Tech and there he was. Again, I said and did nothing.

A few weeks later the yearbooks came in. One night, I sat in my room working on homework when my phone rang.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Jessica?"

"Yes. Who is this?"

"This is Jason."

I didn't know a Jason.

"From Vo-Tech. I'm in the culinary class."

Oh. My. God. Just then, my other line beeped. I asked Jason to hang on and clicked over. It was Laura.

"Jess omigod that guy from Vo-Tech with the black hair that you totally love just called me and asked me for your phone number! I gave it to him!"

He called Laura? How did he get Laura's number?

I clicked back and he explained. He'd looked me up in the yearbook and checked out what bus I got off of one morning. He then asked around until he found out that my high school was in Schenectady. He looked my last name up in the phone book. There were too many of them. He then looked up Laura, who had a more unusual last name than I did, and called the three listed until he got her on the last try. He explained who he was and asked for my phone number. I thought he was out of my league, and he went to all of that trouble just to get my phone number.

Just once, I'd like someone to jump through a hoop or two to get to know me again.