“Hi, beautiful!” Matt said as I opened the front door.
“I wore this for you today,” I turned around and curtsied so he could see the cut-off and my skirt. I would have to put on a flannel to cover myself once we got to school, but until then it was all for the best boyfriend one could wish for.
“Looking good, Tai,” Tony said from the driver’s seat. Chris sat in the front passenger, allowing us to sit in the back together.
Matt opened the door for me, and I gave him a beaming smile.
“I have something else for you, babe.”
Matt took a small case out of this jacket and handed it to me. I opened it to reveal a gold necklace with an “M” pendant.
“It’s beautiful, thank you,” I replied as I put it on. “Riley’s at practice this morning?”
“Yep, he’s been smashing records this year,” Chris replied as I climbed in, and Matt followed me.
“We should go to the game and cheer him on,” I said as I clicked my seatbelt.
“If you want to go, babe, I’m for it.”
“What about you two?”
Chris looked at Tony and Tony nodded.
“Cool,” I said as Matt took a hold of my hand.

We had been friends forever, always playing outdoors and riding bicycles. They remained my friends after I passed my tomboy phase and there was one time, we all went camping in the woods. The guys thought I’d be more comfortable in my own tent, but I refused to leave their tent. It was warmer with everyone, and I would have felt by myself as they would have continued to talk. It was also that night that I stayed up and talked with Matt for hours about what we wanted to do. He talked about helping the world, being a superhero to the powerless and a beacon of hope to the oppressed. I asked him if he was Superman, and he shook his head. He asked me what I wanted to do with my life. I told him I wanted to be with him.
I’m going to take the car out there tonight.”
“You’re going to race, Tony?” Matt asked.
“Just this once. There’s these guys from Jefferson who think they can outrun me.”
“Be careful, Anthony,” I said.
“Thanks, Tai, I think I know how it will all turn out.”
“Just you?” I asked as Tony looked in his rearview mirror.
“Do you want to go, babe?” Matt asked.
“Sure, I’d love to. As long as I’m not in the car at the time. Matt and I will be your cheerleaders on the side.”
Matt smiled and squeezed my hand.
Tony parked in a spot reserved especially for him. He had stopped a robbery at the local bank and so as a way to repay him, the town gave him a special spot right next to the front of the building. It worked out for all of us, so we didn’t have to park in the nether regions of the parking lot. The four of us got out and walked as a group to the school.
I wouldn’t say we ruled the school, but everyone liked us at Liberty High. We were a part of the social fabric with Matt leading the pack. He had calmed down the gang activity by challenging them to wrestling matches and had a seven to zero victory. Riley towered over the rest of the football team, and he was the leader on the field. Coach may have called the plays, but Riley was in charge. Chris always mediated confrontations between the staff and student body. There was a time when a shooter entered the school and Chris was able to convince him to put his guns down, walk out of the building, and wait for the police to arrive. I was just happy to be one of their close friends.

“Have a great morning, Matthew,” I cooed and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
“See you at break. Love you, babe.”
“I love you too,” I replied as I walked down the hall to my first class.
I usually sat in the front row in Geometry, but someone was in my assigned seat. I didn’t care as long as the teacher didn’t and she wouldn’t, thanks to Chris working out the SSG, “Student Seat Guidelines” that allows us to sit anyway we wanted to as long as it wasn’t distracting. I found a seat in the back row next to what looked like a new student. She had blond hair that shined brightly against her white T-shirt with blue jeans, and her nails had a beautiful shade of green.
“Hi, are you new? I’m Tai.”
“Hey, Tai, yeah, I’m Katie and yeah, I’m new, kind of. I’ve been here in the past, but that was kind of another life.”
“Oh, I understand. New life expectations and all, right?”
“Exactly,” Katie replied. Her eyes sparked like emeralds, and I assumed she must have soon kicking contact lenses. “I saw you walking into the school with a group of guys.”
“Yeah, they’re my BBF’s, well, one of them, Matt, is my boyfriend.”
“I hope so, since his hand was so low on your back.”
My face turned red for a moment.
“Just kidding with you girl. I’ll bet they’re all good guys.”
“I can introduce you to them.”
“Cool,” Katie replied as we simultaneously brushed our hair from our faces.

After Geometry, Katie walked with me down the hallway.
“You’ve been to Europe?”
“We’ve been everywhere over the years.”
“Are your parents in the military?”
“At one time, yeah, but after that we just went wherever we wished.”
“That is so cool. Matt wants to take me to Paris and then Rome.”
“That’s so sweet, and expensive.”
“Well, one time, he asked me to imagine we were standing on top of the Eiffel Tower. I held his hand and closed my eyes, and when I opened them, it felt like we were really there. We looked at the lights of the tower at night, and he held me closer. I know it wasn’t real. But the memories felt real.”
“I hope you get to go to Paris,” Katie said with a nod. “Hey, can you tell me where Mrs. Dolenz’s English class is?”
“Sure,” I said with a smile, “she’s on the third floor. Matt has that class too. Say hi to him.”
“Will do. Thanks, Tai,” Katie replied with a wave. I hurried off to my locker to get my books for US History.
I hated that none of my close friends were in any of my classes. Matt and I could never synchronize our classes due to the activities he was involved in, and I was happy about that. We saw each other at break, lunch and after school at his house for some studying, talking, and, if he was ready for it, I would do whatever he asked of me.
There was one person in my US History class that I would talk and compare notes with and that was Shelly Whitman. Shelly was a beautiful girl in her own right. and we could talk about clothes, makeup, and how we should do each other’s hair. There were times she stared at me and then abruptly turned her head.
“Hey, Shell,” I called out as I placed my book and notebook on the desk.
“Tai?”
“Yeah?”
“I heard about something,” Shelly sang.
“What did you hear?” I asked, intrigued. There was always an important announcement every time Shelly used her sing-song voice.
“Can you still wear a white dress?”
“Religiously?” I asked.
“I’ll take that as a no,” She replied with a laugh.
“Why?”
“You’re getting a proposal today.”
“I am?”
“From what I heard, it’s going to be tonight at a race or something.”
“Whoa,” I whispered. “I mean, we’ve talked about it.”
“I’m jealous of him,” Shelly said as she stood up and looked into my eyes.
“You are?” I asked as everyone else in the room seemed to vanish. There was only Shelly in front of me. She grabbed my face and kissed me on the mouth.
I was shocked and appalled for a moment, but those thoughts vanished as I tried to move around my desk without breaking contact with her lips. Shelly then placed one of her hands on my chest and pulled at my neck as we continued to kiss. My mind was empty of any thought—only for Shelly in front of me. I reached out and caressed her. Nothing else mattered at that moment except for how she made me feel.
Shelly took a step back and I anxiously awaited what she would say or do.
“He doesn’t really love you. He loves what you can do for him.”
“Who?” I asked.
“Matt Williamson,” Shelly whispered.
“Oh-no,” I cried, as I let go of her hand and took a step back. “I…I gotta…I gotta…”
I fell back against my desk and then to the floor.
“Tai, Tai, wake up,” Matt’s voice rang in my ear. “You okay, Babe?”
I looked up to see his face and felt his hands holding up my head. “I don’t know what happened, I felt dizzy and then…” I refused to mention what had happened with Shelley and I in tears as the pendant was gone. Matt had just given it to me and now I couldn’t find it.
“The necklace fell off somewhere, Matt. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay, Tai, it can be replaced, but you can’t. Can you get up?”
I nodded as I got up off the floor and walked out of the room with Matthew.
“You can rest for the rest of the day if you need to.”
“Do I?” I asked.
“I think you should,” Matt said as he led me to the nurse’s office to lie down. Riley, Tony and Chris stood outside the door.
“You okay, Tai?” Riley asked and then he took a step back and looked down the hallway.
“I’m fine, just a little tired.”
“We’ll take care of you, Just rest” Chris replied as I felt relaxed and fell asleep.