When it was really cold or stormy outside the school officials would
allow us to play in the gym but in the borderline days it could be
really cold and miserable outside and the principal and teachers
would force us out of the building. In those times the only way to
sneak back into the life saving warmth of the school was to pretend
you needed to use the bathroom or were picking up something vital so
as to not look like you were loitering. On one of these days there
were six cute girls who were hiding out in the legally ambiguous zone
between the two sets of double doors. It was like running a gauntlet
of girls to go and pretend to use the bathroom to stave off death by
exposure. When I was walking through one time one of the girls told
me as I passed through that, “Kristen likes you”. That was all
she said and I didn't stop or ask what she was talking about because
I was way too shy especially to talk to a girl. I was elated though
and was giddy as I fake went to the bathroom and hung out thinking
about what it meant that Kristen liked me. Did she think I was cute?
Funny? Smart? One thing that was for certain was that she had
impeccable taste. I was so excited that anyone had shown interest me
at all that I wanted a little more but I needed to play it cool, but
what I thought was cool may have been off base. I left the restroom
across the hall from the cafeteria went down the hall away from the
double doors that had the nest of young women and through the other
set of double doors at the end of the hall. I walked outside and gave
it a few minutes and walked over and through the girl's double doors
hoping that one of them would give me some details as I walked
through pretending not to see them. I went a little slower than usual
but none of them said anything. I walked back down the hall past the
bathroom, cafeteria, and back out the other double doors, back
outside waited a tick and once more in to the “Kristen likes you”
doors. Still the ladies were playing it close to the chest and were
silent on this trip through as well. Once again I was down the hall
past the bathroom and cafeteria and out the double doors again
outside and back in this time at a fast walking pace because recess
was drawing to a close and I needed to know without actually stopping
and asking what the story was. Once more through didn't yield any new
information and the bell rang sending us all back into the warmth of
class but I was left in a lurch, how and to what extent did Kristen
like me? I never got anymore information and as I grew older I
started to fear that they may have just been playing a joke on
Kristen telling a nerd that she liked him but it still made for a
little bright spot of hope in my life because what if she really did
I would think, what if?
