The first day of sophomore year I walked down to the school bus stop. My best friend since we were toddlers, but who had spent summer somewhere else, was already standing there waiting.

- Hi, Sally! Love that dress!

Sally looked at me surprised. I don’t know why. That dress really was beautiful and it made her look gorgeous. The thin black pantyhose made the most of her stunning legs.

- Jake! You knew. You knew all the time!
- Yep. I probably knew before you did yourself

I answered my best friend who the last time I’d seen him had been known as Sal, short for Salomon. I was happy for her. It had taken her much longer time to come out of her shell than I had expected and hoped. I was looking forward to what new relationship we would have. I really was.

The other kids on the bus took the emergence of Sally surprisingly well. We didn’t really care. We kept talking to each other. Sally had become the lovely girl I for many, many years had known to be there and eagerly waited to see. That smile of hers was delightful. However, the school bus was not the right place to tell her what I desperately wanted her to know.

We talked about other things such as how we had spent our respective summers. I had been worried because I had learnt that our nemesis, Bob the school bully, was going to spend the summer in the same small village by the lake as Sal. Bob had made freshman year hell for us. I had no expectations that sophomore year would be better even though Sal, through gritted teeth, had promised to come up with a solution. When I asked Sally how she had managed with Bob in the same small village she gave me a strange smile

- At first it was awful but then something really weird happened…

At that moment the school bus stopped. We got out and walked to the main entrance.

Oh no! Bob was standing there waiting with his goons.

Sally walked straight up to Bob and kissed him! WTF!

Bob didn’t hit her. He returned the kiss. Gently, lovingly! His face got a goofy expression and he laid his arm protectively around Sally’s shoulder. Sally turned her head towards me:

- I told you I’d find a way to stop the bullying.

The young couple walked away. They were very obviously very much in love. As the girl of my dreams departed I looked at the clock. One minute past eight.

There would still be the memories but I knew that I had lost someone I loved very much.

On a Monday morning at 08:01.