I stared at my alarm clock until I fell asleep. I tried to run through the events of the afternoon, trying to figure out how we could have talked, play a few games, dinner and then the never-ending feeling kiss. Then, the drive back home, and everything in seemingly under two hours. School got out around three-twenty, and it took at least ten minutes to get to her house and almost thirty to get to my house, if one drove the speed limit.
Sure, Jamie Morse once made record time to get to school form his house ten miles away in less than five minutes, but he was clocked in at near eighty. The sheriff let him off with a warning as he had never seen a 1972 Chevy truck go that fast without crumbing apart. Anna, however, did not break the sound barrier and STILL we arrived at my house in record time.

I was sure our game of pool took at least ten minutes and then air hockey game where I think we paid more attention to each other and not the game. Dinner was not like two slices of pizza and then done, but a table filled with food that was not there earlier, at least there was no evidence that Miss Joel had been slaving away on anything when I first walked in and neither when we all sat down. Maybe she had it delivered?
The time spent on the couch with Wendy puppy-guarding…was it all just in my head? Did everything really move at that quick of pace? Like a dream on fast forward?

Each time I added the minutes, it didn’t make any sense. I summed it all up with a “Who cares? A hot southern belle likes you and so does her family. Why are you harshing our mellow?” and fell asleep.

I woke up early in the morning to get ready for school. My normal routine would be to take a quick shower, throw on a pair of jeans, t-shirt and to not do a thing about my hair—to just let it look like I just woke up. Off course, when one leans their head back and to the side of a school bus, their hair goes everywhere anyway so I figured there was no reason to put in any effort. Except, I thought it could be a good idea to start caring about how I looked so I wouldn’t be Anna’s embarrassing shadow.

The bus ride usually took forty minutes. Forty long and restless minutes. There were multiple times when I thought I could run faster if I opted to open the side emergency exit door and take off down the highway. Clearer thoughts prevailed as I stayed in my seat and looked out the window.
We entered Reardan at seven fifty-two, with classes starting at eight after eight. I tried to look out the right-side window to see if Anna would be there and as much as I wanted her to, it was an overzealous thought.
“She’s not going to do that,” I whispered to myself as the bus lurched to a stop, the driver applied the brakes, and everyone stood up. The back of the bus, which included me, and a few other high schoolers dodged past backpacks and gym bags that were in the center aisle in order to get off the bus.
I stepped down and looked up to see Anna standing a few feet away from the sidewalk. She wore jeans with a black sweater.
“Good morning, Bryce!”
“Anna, it’s great to see you this morning.”
“You too. I see you’ve done something different with your hair.”
Anna’s hair looked the same as it did the previous day: flowing red like fire cutting across the night of her sweater.
“Yeah, I thought I’d run a comb through it a few times,” I replied as I tried to comb it with my fingers.
“I like the natural look. Kind of Huck Finn like. You’re only missing a hat.” I abruptly stopped and put my arm down. Anna reached out and mussed my hair. “Much better,” she said with a grin.
“Pa likes you,” Anna said as we walked to the building.
“So that means I’m allowed to come back?”
“Of course…I mean if he weren’t I’d still try to get you into the house. I could hide you in the barn.”
“What is in the barn anyway?”
“Pa’s office and workplace.”
“He works from home?”
Anna nodded.
“So, he knew I was there the whole time?”
“Of course,” Anna replied as I opened the front door of the school.

The hallways were crowded once again with students hustling to get their classes and there we were, taking our sweet time to get to our lockers. We stopped at mine, and I hurriedly shoved my backpack and then gathered my books for first period.
“I see William has a new nurse,” Anna mused as she looked down the hall.
I turned to see a new girl hovering next to William who was now simply hobbling on one crutch. “What a miraculous recovery.”
“He thinks the sun comes up just to hear him crow. Ugh, I shouldn’t have thought that.”
I closed my locker door and we hurriedly walked down the hall past William and whoever his candy striper was.”
“I’m not supposed to talk bad about anyone,” Anna said as she spun around to look back at William again. “I will make an exception in his case. Wonder what happened to Susan.”
I shrugged as we made it to her locker as the first bell rang. Anna carefully turned the combination lock, opened the door and methodically placed her lunch bag, books and folders she took home onto the shelves before she hung her backpack up and grabbed another set of books and folders for class.
“See you break?” She asked.
“I’ll meet you here at locker 245,” I replied with a wide smile.
“Your smile’s cuter than a Georgia peach, keep it on you,”
It was my turn to become a shade of red and I wanted to take her hands and pull her close, but we were both balancing our books. “I’ll see later, Anna.”
“You sure will,” she replied as she closed her locker and then stepped towards a classroom door. “We’re living in high cotton!” She turned and shouted to me.
I didn’t feel embarrassed; I felt elated by what she said.
Although I had no idea what she meant.