"Did you miss me? 😂"
"Just a little 😂"

It's said that when people hear something funny, they look to the person they like most in a room. After listening to Jake's joke, as I gaze at Zack, I notice his eyes pointed right back at me, causing my heart to flutter.
"Jake, you're so weird," Ash laughs.
"Aw man, Lunch is almost over," says Caleb, another kid that had been having lunch in Mrs. Jewels room.
"Better clean up," I sigh.
"Clean up,clean up everybody everywhere-!" Mrs. Jewels laughs.
Half the kids in the room groan, the other half laughs.
The bell rings just as I drop my tray in the garbage, prompting me to scramble to grab my backpack.
"Have a good day!" I call, waving to Mrs. Jewels.
"To science we go," Zack says, lightly bumping my side with his elbow.
"Let's go," I laugh.

Ash: dude you and Zack kept looking at each other all of lunch
Ash: what's up with all that??
Me: idk man 😭
Me: We kissed once and ever since then it's been awkward staring-

I glance to Zack across the classroom. It seems most of the class had finished the assignment so we'd likely be moving on soon.

Ash: Damn
Me: yeah-

"Ok class, let's watch a video before class ends," Mr. Erb announces.
I slide my phone back into my pocket and direct my attention to the front of the room.

"Hey Ash!" Aunt Marie exclaims excitedly as Ash and I walk into the house.
In record speed Ash is pulled into a tight hug by Aunt Marie.
"Hey Aunt Marie," Ash laughs.
"I brought home a few paint color cards for you two to choose some colors to paint Lana's room if you want," Aunt Marie motions to a pile of cards sitting on the shelf she and I had put up on my first day back at school, "and I've got a separate pile for the three of us to look at during dinner- I want to paint the living room too."
"Ooooo," I glance to the cards on the shelf, "we'll grab those then head upstairs for a bit."
"If you make your decision by lunch time tomorrow maybe we can go buy some paint and get started," Aunt Marie suggests.
Ash and I both nod then say our goodbyes before heading upstairs.

"What about this one?" Ash asks, pointing to a burnt orange-ish color named 'Squash'.
"I think I'd hate myself if my room was all orange," I shake my head.
"Well you could do a second color too," Ash shrugs, "different colored trim or an accent wall? Maybe even a design like you had in California."
That familiar pang in my heart resurfaces when Ash mentions California. I miss it more than I thought I would.
"I don't know if I could make a design quite as cool as that," I shrug.
"Well those walls were kind if dark, maybe you could go with a more spring theme?" Ash holds up three different color swatches with soft yellows, purples, and greens.
I shake my head, "not those colors, but maybe a couple pastel colors wouldn't be so bad."
I spread out the small stack of pastel colors Aunt Marie had grabbed, revealing pretty pinks and blues.
"Or red, you like red!" Ash holds up a card with a few different reds on it.
"Imagine how light bulbs are going to make the red glow on everything else. It'll be like red tinted windows," I sigh, "I like red, but not on my walls."
Ash bites her lip and rumages through the colors some more.
I grab a few different paint swatches and hold them together, "how about this?"