After the first day of school when I found out I was going to be with Lily Miller in more than just one class, I panicked. What if i say something stupid? What if she hates me? Why would anyone like a big nerd like me? I'm just about as nerdy as you can get. Except I don't have acne. All of these things were flowing through my head as i was standing at my locker after Lily left in a hurry. Her beautiful, long, straight, hair flowing down her back. Her blue eyes filled with rushed expressions. 

I watched as she went down the hall.  Her dress flowing behind her. I just wanted to be friends with her. I'm not asking her to marry me, just to like me enough to. She was deffinitly the one who I wanted to find the solution to my variable. I know, I know, that totally screams dorky, but I've stopped caring,  I just wanted to reach for her, tell her my feelings for her. 

What a dork I am. I find Lily and I are in a nother class together. I casually sat down next to her and she totally flipped her lid. Of course I played the nobody likes me card on her though, and she totally caved. She's one of those people who are suckers for the unliked. Well, I guess you could say I was one of the unliked at Dagwood High. No one ever talked to me unless they were telling me to do their homework or just simply to get out of their way. 

Enough about my dreadful life. I always get depressed when I think about the fact that my mom is my best friend. Here in all of Tallahassee, Florida, I can't find one person more interested in me than my mother. Not even my own father likes me more. Apparently wearing bubble wrap while hunting to protect myself from unwanted cuts and bruises, isn't his definition of manly. 

When I got home that day, I went to my mom and asked her if she knew the Miller family. She said she did. Lily's mom, Tiffany, and my mom went to Dagwood High together. Apparently they were best friends. She used to go the her house all the time. She even bought her parents house to make sure it didn't get bought out of the family. That's where they live now.

***

It's been about a month since school has started and since I'm well acquainted with the pre-algebra teacher, she told me to try and help Lily with her work. So I decided to have my mom and I go down to her house and have our mothers play catch up while work with Lily on her algebra assignments. I really hope it works. I don't want to be the awkward, creepy little boy who just shows up at random girls' doors to help them with algebra 

I try and play the nice guy when I'm with Lily throughout the day. I think I'm growing on her. She doesn't rush off when we're together at our lockers anymore. Which it actually took about a week or two to stop that. She doesn't socialize with me yet, but we're getting there. Once i get my charm on her while I'm at her house, she'll be mine forever. Well, if she can get past the fact that I'm a nerd. Let's just hope she has a sense of humor. 

I never have really been a charmer. Every girl I've ever tried to "charm", ended up throwing whateveritr was in her hand at me. Whether it be food, a book, or once, a girl even slapped me. Of course i cried. I mean that girl had an arm! I got laughed at by everyone around when the tears swelled up in my eyes. I hid my face and went to the bathroom, but I accidentally went into the girls bathroom. That made me the peeping-tom of the year. Thankfully, halfway through that year, some guy was caught sneaking into the girls locker room and hid in the lockers to see them change. 

Well, today is the day I make my appearance at Lily's house. I'm kind of scared. What if she hits me like that other girl? What if she remembers the peeping-tom thing? What if! What if! What if! There are so many things that could possibly go wrong. I decided to do what my father always told me to do, Just suck it up and be a man, but of course it then resulted in me getting mauled by an animal. We;re just going to hope Lily doesn't try to maul me.

I got into my mom's car today and we were all ready to go. I was scared out of my wits. It wasn't too long of a drive. Maybe about ten to fifteen minutes. We pulled up and her house was amazing. It was completely white, with yellow shutters. It was two stories and had a balcony on the second floor. We got out of the car and I think my mom caught onto my anxiety. She looked at me and said,

"Hey, she's just a girl, honey. You don't need to worry." She looked sympathetic. 

"Mom, she's not just a girl. She's Lily MIller!" I said, emphasis on the MIller. 

"That's how your father used to feel about Tiffany. That's what made us break up. I liked him but he liked her. She didn't like him though. Believe it or not, your dad used to be just like you in highschool. No lie. Except he had the pocket protector and everything."

I jist looked at her with surprisement. She new just what to say. I took a deep breathe and knocked on the door. 

"Tara? Tara Smith?"