The universe has conspired against me.  Today was supposed to be an epic start to the new school year.  The morning went well, that much credit I can give.  My outfit was perfection.  My mom tried to intervene, but she never thinks the jacket can come off once I’m out of her sight.  I definitely attained my goal of school-girl shy with a little vixen.  The guys all wanted to get at me I’m sure, but then homeroom happened.  I still can’t understand why we go to homeroom?  I mean we sit in a classroom waiting to go to our first-period class.  Why waste the time?  The powers that be lack shrewdness with their perfunctory ideas, lax communication and we blindly follow, because of our mindless teenage status, they make us the sheeple of the 21st century.  Back to homeroom, so I’m sitting with Sasha and Nate, I wish he’d already figure out he’s in love with Sasha, it’s really becoming so sad, I am about to tell them about Bermuda, you know to get the ball rolling on my almost summer fling, then something I never could’ve imagined happened.  Enrique walked through the door.  I felt my throat go dry and my palms started to sweat.  I was cool because he didn’t see me, but then that idiotic teacher had to open her big mouth.  

 

“So Jami I heard you went to Bermuda this summer.  Did you have fun?  Did you do anything exciting?”  

 

See the universe set me up.  Mrs. Jones had to become my mom’s bff when we moved here and of course she had to be in education, love being at the high school (like what’s that about?) and she’s my homeroom teacher.  All eyes were on me and that’s when he noticed me.  He had that smirk on his face I could have slapped it!  Or kissed it.  He’s so yummy.  My stomach was boiling over with butterflies.  I just laughed and shrugged it off.

 

“Oh it was fine.  No adventures.  Nothing eventful.  Just went to the beach and relaxed after a long summer being at camps and going down south to my grandparent’s.”

 

It should’ve ended there.  No.  Again universe.  

 

“That’s interesting that you were in Bermuda, because I went there too for vacation with my family.  We could’ve been there at the same time and didn’t know it.”  

 

“Oh, yes class this is Enrique, he’s starting his first year here at Steinham.  Tell us about your trip Enrique was Bermuda as dull as Jami claims it to be?”

 

“Oh now not from my experience.  We stayed for seven days and on the first day I met this beautiful girl.  Her skin was glowing.  Deep cocoa brown.  Braids hung long down her back.  Her scent was a like a flower that smelled like oranges, lemons, and limes.  She was just perfect.  We spent the whole time together.  We took lots of walks on the beach.  Talked about music.  We would dance the nights away and anytime we weren’t dancing you know we were, let’s just say if she was a virgin when she came, but now she’s no longer.”

 

“Enrique you smooth dog I know who I’m gonna be chilling with from here on out!”  

 

“Nathan don’t high five him.  He’s probably lying anyway.  No girl just gives it up like that!”  I felt the rage coming.

 

“That’s true, but she was in love with me.”  His brown eyes pierced through me with a slight smile on his face.  Enrique was smug.  I could’ve killed him right there, but he was literally saved by the bell!

 

Sasha could read my face and she knew something was up.  I tried to avoid her all day, but she caught me in the gym.

 

“Citrus and floral?  You’re the only one I know who lives by Happy from Clinique!”  Her eyes deadlocked on me.  She has an intuition like I’ve never seen.  

 

“Give it up!  You know that new kid don’t you?  Enrique?  And you had sex and didn’t tell me?”

 

“Well one yes I know him, but two no I did not have sex with him!  I thought about it, but on my last night there I told him I loved him.  He freaked and left.  I didn’t hear from him again.  Gosh I wish he didn’t transfer here.”

 

“So you’re still a virgin?!”

 

“Yes Sash I’m a virgin, same as you, so you can chill out now.”

 

“Well I thought since we were sophomores that I’d go ahead and find out what it feels like to go ahead and, you know, do it.”

 

“You didn’t?!”

 

“Yeah.”  Sasha seemed reluctant, but also pleased in her response.  She let her brown and gold dreads fall down.  The hung past her waist.  Sasha’s emerald eyes had a smile in them.

 

“With who Nate?!”  I could only guess that she and Nate took their friendship to the next level.  I mean they were together all the time, so it would be predictable for them to do the deed.

 

“No.  I mean I do love Nate, but he will never ask me out.  We’ve been friends since I moved here.  Did I ever tell you the first thing he said to me?  He walked right up to me in the hallway at school and said “I…”

 

“I have to be your friend.  I have to be in your life.  Yes, Sash I know, you’ve told me a million times the first year I moved here.”

 

“Well then I know that he knows how I feel, but he said needs time.”  

 

“With who then?”

 

“Jami, promise me you won’t say anything to anyone.  I mean swear on Anne-Sophie’s hands!”

 

“Whoa!  You’re being a little too pretentious don’t you think?!”

 

“Swear!”  Her eyes locked with mine and I saw how serious she was.

 

“Swear.  I won’t say anything.”

 

“I met this guy…an older guy…this summer and we did it.  Actually it was more than once.”  You could see a hint of blush glow behind her freckled caramel face.

 

“An older guy?  How old?”

 

“Thirty.”

 

“Thirty?!  Did he know how old you were?”  

 

“No.  He thought I was twenty-four and about to graduate college.  I made sure he didn’t have a way to contact me after the summer was over.“

 

“How did you even get away with that?  I mean how in the world did you meet him?  Was it good?”  This was a serious subject, but I was also curious at the same time.

 

“Well it hurt the first time, it was a good hurt though if that makes sense, but after the third, fourth, tenth time, it was amazing!  He was so gentle and sweet.  I met him when I was working in the college library at NYU this summer.  He’s a professor in the English Lit department.  Lucas Callesano, Professor Lucas Callesano.”

 

“Callesano?  He’s Italian?  I didn’t know you liked, well you know the swirl.”

 

“You talking about me when you almost had a little Rican in you?!”

 

“He’s not little, he’s at least 6’1”!”

 

“I know I’m just kidding.  Yeah it was definitely different being around a white guy.  You know I stayed the night at his flat on like five different nights?  I hung out with a few of his friends.”  I saw she was smiling to herself.

 

“You’re in love with him?!” 

 

Her being unable to refute gave me my answer. 

 

“Sash no!”

 

“I can’t help it.  He just knew what he wanted and I was it.  All that time we spent together, we connected.”  When she started crying I knew that she missed him.

 

“So Nate?!”

 

“I’m hoping that being away from Lucas and spending time with Nate will ease the pain.  You know they never talk about the pain that you feel and the closeness you long for afterward.  I can’t believe I did this actually, but now I guess I have to live with it.”

 

“What about Lucas?  Do you think he’s in pain?”

 

“I just left.  I told him I would meet him at the park, but I never showed, and the tracfone my mom got me I threw it in the trash.”  

 

“This is not you Sasha.  You’re wiser than any other kid I know.  You don’t just play with people like that.  However, I’m sorry it all happened and you’re hurting now”

 

“I am too.”

 

I guess the universe wanted to get back at both of us, because once we went to our last class for the day Sasha got the biggest gut punch of all.  Let me just say that our last class was English and guess who decided that they no longer wanted to teach on the collegiate level?  If diaries could guess right?  I would’ve never seen it coming.  

 

We were sitting there in the class, the last bell rang and our teacher was nowhere to be found.  After five minutes of wondering if the teacher would show, in bursts this tall white guy, blond man bun, looked like he came from money, swimmingly-blue eyes behind nicely rimmed glasses and a close shaved beard.  He sipped his coffee as he made his way to the board.

  

Nate and Sasha were playing in the back of the class when he announced his presence.

 

“Hello everyone, sorry I’m late I had to caffeinate, my name is Mr. Callesano and hopefully I’ll make english interesting for you this semester.”

 

Sasha froze and turned forward in her seat.  Her face, bewildered, sorry, ashamed, longing.

 

Mr. Callesano stopped and saw Sasha sitting in the back of the class, her hand holding Nate’s.  His face flushed red and realization swept over him.  I saw that grown man’s heartbreak and he couldn’t react outwardly.  I don’t think I’d ever wish something like that on anyone.

 

“I have your course schedules.  Can I get someone to volunteer to pass these out?”  His voice became faint.  

 

I couldn’t help but try to come to his rescue.

 

“I will.”

 

“Ahh thank you and your name?”

 

“I’m Jami.  Jami Causey.”

 

“Thank you Jami.  Let’s do roll call really quickly.”  His voice breaks.  “Sasha Anderson.”

 

Sasha stared ahead.  Nate gave her a nudge.

 

“Here.”  She managed a whisper.

 

Those ninety minutes were the longest in my life.  I’m not sure what’s going to happen, but I do know that two people fell in love this summer and they both are not over each other, yet they are fifteen years apart in age.  If I were Sasha I don’t know what I’d do, but I know one thing for sure, I’d hope really hard my parents would never find out!

 

I decided to call Andrew after school.  I knew he was more pure un heart than Enrique would ever be.  I didn’t care if he was from Tennessee, a long distance real anything was better than a short distance quandary.  His number didn’t work though.  Maybe he pulled a Sasha on me as well.  I guess I’ll never know.