I fiddle with my thumbs and twirl my hair anxiously as I wait very (im)patiently for 11:55. Time is so mean to me sometimes! Thanks a lot, Kronos, for making the most important moments take forever to come and the most boring ones take forever to stop! I watch the numbers move slowly. 11:50. Still. I shouldn't have hid my book in attempt to not distract me from the most important ten minutes of 2017 and 18! Now I don't know where it is! Ugh. I look around the room at my friends. They all act pretty much the same every year. Rafael totally calm, Rodney pacing around the room, Tasha jittery and jumpy, Tracy (yes, of course she's here! She couldn't miss this! Plus, what's a little flu between friends?) buried deep in thought and last minute planning, and Jojo talking to anyone who will listen to flush out all of her nerves. The only people who have changed since the past year are Sadie and Adam. Last year, Sadie was so nervous she was practically tearing her hair out, and even Adam couldn't focus on his book. This year, they're totally calm and happy, holding hands but not (yet) kissing or anything else like that. I look at my watch, and oh joy! It's 11:54! I skitter to the front of the room and inject myself. Everyone else follows me, except for Sadie, who freaks out at the her sight of needles. Luckily she has Adam now, and I know she can't be scared around him. He squeezes her hand and she squeezes her eyes shut while he carefully injects her in the upper shoulder. I stare down the clock while it counts down. 10! 9! 8! 7! 6! 5! 4! 3! 2! 1!

I wrench open my eyes and see that I'm alone in Ms. Jar's room. Always the teacher I hate! Why? I patter down the hallways until I see Jojo's face peeking out of a corner in the room. I rush over to her. She hugs me happily but understands my true motive. She silently guestures towards Rafael, who's intently reading in the corner. I sneak up behind him and poke him in the shoulder. He yelps, and I smile with contented glee. But this was not what I'm here to do. I grab Rafael's hand and whisk him into an empty room. Am I really ready to do this? Well, I only get one chance a year. "Rafael?" I ask, making sure he's paying attention. "Yeah, Dawn?" He stares down at me with those special, blue green eyes that always remind me of the beach, my favorite place to be in the whole wide world. I take a deep breath. Guess its all or nothing! "Rafael, I've liked you ever since sixth grade, and I've always wondered if you feel the same. Will you go out with me?" I'm hopeful, but I know what happens next. Awkwardness, walking away, I can't always predict. As I brace myself, I see that Rafael still has his eyes trained on me. And he isn't disgusted or anything! Huh? I know something bad must happen. It always does! But nothing bad has happened yet. I look back up at Rafael, and all I hear next is one small word. "Yes." And then his lips are on mine.

DON'T JUDGE ME IF THIS STINKS! I'M TRYING! THANK YOU, READERS WHO I DO AND DO NOT KNOW! MORE WILL COME!!!