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Romance High School Funny

Cris had never regretted dying her hair blonde more than the fateful Sunday she decided to go to the beach. 

Or maybe, she had never been more grateful. 

Nonetheless, nothing could have prepared her for what would happen on the day she self consciously stepped out of her car, dyed hair in a ponytail and the sun mercilessly beating down on her. 

Going to the beach alone is not a fun way to spend a Sunday, but sitting home alone is almost worse, so she decided she’d rather at least take the chance of finding shells or swimming and maybe having fun rather than being yelled at by her mom again as she would’ve been had she stayed home.

She grabbed her phone, sunglasses, and purse from her car before slamming the door and curling her toes in her run-down sneakers. 

She started walking towards the sand when her foot caught on something or another and she fell smack dab on her face.

She wasn’t one for makeup, so the only thing bruised was her pride, though thankfully, no one was watching(she hoped).

She huffed and picked herself up, checked her phone for cracks, and set off again. The walk was long, the wind-nonexistent, the noise-extreme, the heat -neverending, the hair-on her face.

When she reached the sand, she had just about decided to walk right back to her car and drive herself to an ice cream shop when the look of the lifeguard caught her eye. 

The brown hair was the same as she remembered, the cheekbones a little more defined, and of course, he looked older, but it was unmistakably him. 

Middle school memories suffocated Cris in a blur and she nearly fell again before steeling her legs and sighing. She forced herself to look away and bit the inside of her cheek, wondering if he would remember her. Of course, she remembered him

Middle school crushes are like that one time you might have not answered the phone, and your mom never let you forget it. 

They always come back at the worst times. 

Cris adjusted her fingers around her phone and wondered how much money she had in her car.

Maybe a couple twenty dollar bills. 

How many pints of ice cream could she buy with that?

A light gust of hot wind blew by, reminding her how hot it was. 

She brought her eyes to the lifeguard chair again, glancing for a quick second before turning away. 

Five minutes.

She would take a dip in the water to cool herself down before leaving.

That was all. 

She walked with her head held up high and it took every fiber in her being not to look back at the person sitting in the lifeguard chair.

And it turned out, she didn’t need to make any effort.

He was coming down. 

It was evidently the end of his shift, and he was replaced by another guy, someone in his late teens as well. Cris tried to pay him no mind as she neared the shore, setting down her towel and phone to the side. She set them down a considerable distance from the water, took her sneakers off, and then inched closer herself. She plopped down and dipped her toes in the water, which was at just the right temperature. 

Of course, it would be perfectly normal for her to maybe stay for a little longer, and then go home, and that would be that. 

But this is a story, and there’s obviously more. 

Middle school was a very interesting time for Cris. She went through about three friend groups, braces, multiple sports, and only one crush. 

His name...well, you wouldn’t believe me, but his name is Romeo. 

Serious.

Cris wiggled her toes in the waves, staring at her pedicured nails. Peacefully.

At least, it was peaceful until someone sat down next to her. 

She was almost too scared to look to her side, but she forced herself to, and there, in sunbathed glory, was no, not Romeo, but Lorelle

One of the girls from Cris’s first friend group.

If she wasn’t talking, she was eating, and Cris wondered if she could escape before being forced to engage in small talk. 

“Hi! I’m Lorelle, what’s your name?” 

Evidently, she couldn’t. Cris held her breath, wishing to become invisible. 

“Hello?”

“Are all the people from my middle school past coming to haunt me?”

“What?”

“What?”

Lorelle laughed, dragging her finger in the wet sand.

“You’re funny, I like you. What’re you doing at the beach?”

Cris stifled an eye roll. Classic, nosy Lorelle.

“Cooling down a little.”

“Cool, me too! I was here with one of my friends, Nova, but she left earlier. Nova’s funny too, you’d like her I think- what’s your name again?”

Cris was spared that much at least. The whole reason she broke away from the first friend group was Nova. 

The girl was involved in drama like somebody paid her to do it. 

“I didn’t say.” Cris tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. If she didn’t recognize her yet, she wouldn’t give her any help, that was for sure. 

“Oooh, funny and mysterious. Say, do you happen to know that lifeguard over there? The one off his shift? You keep looking over and I was just wondering.”

Cris’s breath hitched.

She had been looking over?

She didn’t even notice. She forced her eyes to a specific pebble on the sand and grit her teeth.

“I don’t know him. Not- well, not really.

“Curiouser and curiouser…” Lorelle squinted her eyes and Cris, taking in her shorts and bathing suit before shrugging and looking away. “Thought you looked familiar for a sec.”

Cris blinked twice and fixated her eyes on a new rock, pretending the almost recognition didn’t faze her. 

In reality, she was scared. 

She’d dyed her hair and moved to a new high school in hopes it would be a fresh new beginning. All it had brought her was a little more loneliness. 

“Anyway. Don’t you just love summer? I do. The warmth and s’mores and sunsets and y’know? Everything.”

Cris found herself smiling slightly at Lorelle’s familiar 30 mile a minute talking.

“Hey, do you know the lifeguard?” Cris asked slowly, moving her eyes up to meet Lorelle’s.

“Why? He goes to my school, so I know him but not well. His name- oh you aren’t going to believe me but his name is Romeo.”

Cris feigned surprise and raised her eyebrows at Lorelle. 

“C’mon, what’s his name?”

“I swear it’s Romeo! Cross my heart and hope to die!”

“Alright, alright. Think I should talk to him? I mean- no real reason, but, the more the merrier right?”

Lorelle furrowed her brows.

“Ohhh, you think he’s cute, don’t you?”

“Well-I mean-”

Cris’s cheeks flamed as she tried to think up an excuse.

Lorelle laughed.

“Kidding, silly. I’ll wave him over for you, you’re right, more the merrier!”

“Wait no I-” Cris cut herself off when Romeo looked their way and Lorelle began animatedly waving him towards them. She refocused on the pebble. 

So much for five minutes.

Romeo began walking towards them and Lorelle stood up to greet him.

“Hey! Romeo, right? We had APUSH together! How you doing?”

“Yeah, you’re Lorelle, right?”

Lorelle nodded and sat back down, patting the sand next to her. 

“Sit down, my friend wants to meet you!”

Romeo sat on the sand and smiled at Cris, who gave a small wave before refocusing on the sand. 

“Romeo this is-”

“Cris. My name is Cris. It’s nice to meet you.”

Lorelle squinted at Cris for the second time that day. 

“Say, don’t I know you? Romeo, don’t we know her? Which middle school did you go to?”

Cris froze. She brought her eyes to Romeo and felt herself turn into the shy sixth-grader she used to be.

Get a hold of yourself, Cris.

“Oh um...one in a different state actually.” The lie slipped out so fast, she barely even knew she’d said it.

“Oh! Then I don’t know you. But didn’t we know a girl names Cris in middle school? Romeo? Oh, come to think of it she was brunette I think. Romeo, you’re quiet, how you doing? How’s your summer?”

Romeo looked surprised that he had been mentioned. He obviously wasn’t used to Lorelle and her speed talking.

“I’m good.”

“That’s good, great. You know what I would kill for right now? Ice cream. Strawberry. Is there somewhere nearby?”

“Oh, there actually is. I live really close and there’s a shop near us.” Romeo said, pointing behind him. Lorelle clapped excitedly.

“Yay! We should go! I brought my purse. C’mon, we can take some pictures too!”

Cris’s eyes widened. Sure, she wanted ice cream.

But by herself.

Most certainly not with her ex-best friend Lorelle.

And even more most certainly not with her ex-crush Romeo.

Romeo shrugged.

“Sounds fun, I’ve got nothing better to do. Cris, was it? You coming?”

Both Lorelle and Romeo got up and stretched. Cris hesitated before joining them.

“Sure.” She looked at Lorelle as she spoke, scared to make eye contact with Romeo.

Cris wiped the sand off the back of her shorts and shoved her wet feet back in her sneakers. She was glad to find a hair tie at her wrist and tied back her hair into a messy ponytail. 

“To the ice cream! Lead the way?” Lorelle dramatically pronounced. Romeo nodded as they walked back to the direction of the exit of the beach. Somewhere midway, Lorelle grabbed a purse off the ground, and Cris assumed it was hers.

“This way.” Romeo led them out and soon they weren’t on sand anymore. They walked around a corner and came up to a small plaza. One of the shops was a small ice cream parlor that looked dark inside.

“Sure it isn’t closed?” Cris said, peeked through the window. 

“Yeah, it’s never closed. Come on.” Romeo beckoned them in, holding the door open. Cris and Lorelle filed into the small shop. It was slightly dark, but there was a bored-looking teen at the counter.

Practically any easy job in the area was taken by teens looking to make pocket change.

“Hi, there! One strawberry cone, please! What do you guys want?” Lorelle reached into her purse for the cash. 

“Oh, um, vanilla for me,” Cris said, scanning the walls of the shop.

“Mint.”

The guy nodded and started scooping up their ice cream. Lorelle plopped a five-dollar bill on the counter and took the cones, handing them to each of them in turn.

“Keep the change! Thank you!” 

The guy nodded again, putting away the money. The three walked out, licking their ice creams.

“Ah, ice cream. Always brightens my mood.”

“I second that,” Romeo said, taking a tiny bite of his mint ice cream.

They walked over to a small bench and sat together in quiet bliss, finishing up their cones.

Cris racked her brain for something interesting to say. 

It was just a boy. Anyway, she barely even knew him anymore. She decided not to care anymore. She’d imagine it was a different Romeo.

As Lorelle finished up her cone, something vibrated in her purse. She looked visibly annoyed as she rolled her eyes and dug through it, pulling out a phone. 

“Hello?” 

It was the quietest Cris had ever seen her. She sat unmoving, undoubtedly listening to someone on the other end of the phone.

“Ok. Bye. Yeah.” She dropped the phone back into her purse. Cris finished up her own cone and wiped her hands on her shorts. Romeo was still half done. “Sorry guys, I hafta go.” Lorelle sighed and got up. “Ya’ll have fun, okay? Here-ummm..” She reached her hand into her purse again, pulling out a pen and paper. “Write your number down.”

Lorelle made friends faster than Friday turned into Monday. And she did it all by being ‘spontaneous’. Cris took the paper and scribbled her phone number down. She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed her.

Romeo waved a little and soon Lorelle was gone, walking back towards the beach to grab her things and leave.

“So….are you a junior?” Romeo asked. Cris bobbed her head up and down. “Me too.” Romeo finally finished the last of his ice cream. They’d been sitting with Lorelle in between them, so there was now an awkward distance where she had been.

“What school do you go to?” Cris asked, though she knew the answer.

“Oh, Spring Hill. You?”

“Oakwood.”

“Oh, my cousins go there. Lorelle’s quite talkative isn’t she?”

Cris smiled. 

“Indeed she is. But it’s cool, she’s fun.”

“Yeah.”

Cris fidgeted with her fingers and Romeo squinted at the sun.

“I went to your middle school.” Cris blurted and Romeo turned to look at her.

“What? But you said-”

“I know what I said. I lied. It’s just- I had a crush on you in middle school and I thought it would be awkward and surprise-surprise, I just made it awkward didn’t I? Sorry.”

For a moment, Romeo just stared at Cris, who was furiously chewing her lip as she stared at the ground. After a second though, he burst out laughing.

“Wow. I thought no one could talk faster than Lorelle. Look, if that’s what this is about-and by this I mean your general refusal to look at me the whole time we walked- it’s really no biggy, that was just middle school.” 

Cris brought her eyes slowly to Romeo.

“Really? You don’t think I’m weird?”

“Nah. I had all the girls crushing on me in 7th grade,” Romeo winked. Cris rolled her eyes but laughed. He was right, wasn’t he?

It was just middle school. They were both older, much more matu-

“I’ve grown muscles no?” Romeo flexed his arms over exaggeratingly.

Cris sighed.

Ah, well.

Boys will be boys.


February 19, 2021 22:36

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63 comments

Unknown User
07:22 Feb 20, 2021

<removed by user>

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Amany Sayed
12:53 Feb 20, 2021

Thank you so much! Glad you liked it! :D Yes, I know I was really scraping the edge of the prompt! I just thought the romance in that aspect would be a tad rushed. Thank you for reading :)

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Niveeidha Palani
03:15 Feb 20, 2021

Romeo. Of course, the boy was Romeo. Typically, I've read all your stories. They all end with those hilarious motifs or those one-lined sentences. Adorable.

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Amany Sayed
03:30 Feb 20, 2021

Heh, yes of course. Actually, funny story with that, I was looking up 'non-cliche boy names' and that showed up and I was like 'y'know what that'll make it funny why not'. It's the only way I can think to end em. Thanks for your time!

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Niveeidha Palani
04:42 Feb 20, 2021

Interesting. Yes, made it hilarious. Mhm, yeah. No problem.

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Amany Sayed
04:45 Feb 20, 2021

:)

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Niveeidha Palani
04:57 Feb 20, 2021

New story out too, if you're interested. :)

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Gabriella Trejo
15:06 Dec 15, 2023

What a fabulous, cute short story. I am a beginner in writing, so this is a perfect story for my inspiration!

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Amany Sayed
18:01 Dec 17, 2023

Thank you so much! I am by no means an expert lol, but I'm glad I inspired you :D

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Merryl Killip
23:07 Apr 01, 2021

I enjoyed this very much. I could picture the characters, the beach, the walk and the shop. We done. The only thing is the ending. Kind of wanted them to go on a date or something. Lorelle was so cool too.

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Amany Sayed
01:48 Apr 02, 2021

I'm so glad, thank you so much! You aren't the only one upset by the lack of romance lol, I just didn't want to rush things. Maybe I'll write a sequel to satisfy everyone :) Totally! Lorelle is my favorite type of person, super talkative! I consider myself a good listener and love talking to people like that, they seem so excited about what they're saying! Thanks again for your time!

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Frances Reine
00:06 Feb 26, 2021

Summery nostalgia. Love it.

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Amany Sayed
18:04 Feb 26, 2021

:D Thank you!

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Maryann Hammond
15:35 Feb 25, 2021

I LOVE THAT STORY! Honestly it's so relatable its scary XD. So much thought there. LOVE IT! sorry for the all caps lol

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Amany Sayed
18:03 Feb 26, 2021

Thank you! It's no prob, we love the excitement :D

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Maryann Hammond
18:44 Feb 26, 2021

Are you doing a story off of the prompts they've given us for this week?

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Maryann Hammond
18:44 Feb 26, 2021

Are you doing a story off of the prompts they've given us for this week?

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Maryann Hammond
18:44 Feb 26, 2021

Are you doing a story off of the prompts they've given us for this week?

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15:03 Feb 25, 2021

*waits for them to like each other...* This was different from your other stories, I thought they would end up liking each other or like he would say "me too"😭. I wasn't expecting that ending but I liked it! I like how your exploring the different sides of romance, heartbreak, one sided love, and everything else. Its nice! I would say, it felt like it was a bit fast paced compared to the other parts of the story, after Lorelle left. So just be careful of that... And except for that all the other parts of the story were really good! I loved ...

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Amany Sayed
15:12 Feb 25, 2021

Lol It was, wasn't it? Thanks! Ha, you noticed? I'm writing a sad one right now actually. oops, thanks. Thanks so much!

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18:48 Feb 25, 2021

Oh, so it was a planned thingg!! Can't wait to read what you come up with! And of course!

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Amany Sayed
19:00 Feb 25, 2021

Well I mean, kinda. :D <3

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Leslie Flemons
16:30 Feb 24, 2021

I love the beachy feel to this! It makes you feel like you're really there. I had to listen to beach music (specifically SpongeBob beach music ;)) to get more of the feel. I love that when Cris dyed her hair blonde, the two friends didn't recognize her. I especially loved Lorelle's extroverted spirit compared to Cris's introverted one. I wish that Cris could have spent more time with Romeo, though. But because of good ol' Lorelle, it's nearly impossible. I think the ending with Cris and Romeo should have been extended longer. Other than that...

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Amany Sayed
18:03 Feb 26, 2021

Ha, thank you so much!

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Charlie Murphy
17:57 Feb 23, 2021

Cute story. So, Romeo and Cris don't hook up?

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Amany Sayed
18:02 Feb 23, 2021

Thanks! I felt it'd be rushing it a little to put it in the story, but maybe in their own little future.

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Charlie Murphy
18:23 Feb 23, 2021

Cool. I read your bio. I write poetry too. Would you like me to send you a link to my site?

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Amany Sayed
19:44 Feb 23, 2021

Sure, why not!

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Charlie Murphy
19:58 Feb 23, 2021

https://www.charliemurphy.net/

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Amany Sayed
20:01 Feb 23, 2021

Cool! I have two poem stories on Reedsy, and a couple others here: amany.blog

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Nora Ouardi
13:38 Feb 23, 2021

I enjoyed this SO much! It was like a story that you would read on Wattpad lol. But in realness, this was awesome. Lorelle reminded me of myself, that over talkative extrovert . The vibe was out of this world! Great Job!

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Amany Sayed
19:45 Feb 23, 2021

Haha, thank you! She can be me sometimes, I'm an ambivert, depends on the people I'm with. Thanks for reading!

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Avani G
02:19 Feb 23, 2021

HAHA! This was so funny! I loved the ending, I like romance but I've been getting kind of sick of it this week. The ending was a nice break from the mushy gushy stuff. Good job, Amany. 😊

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Amany Sayed
19:45 Feb 23, 2021

Yay! Thank you :D

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Kristin Neubauer
17:24 Feb 21, 2021

Cute! One of the things I really liked about this story was how very real it felt. You took one episode of Cris' life that wasn't particularly dramatic, but you brought so much color and life to everything - the characters, the setting, the history - that I felt I was right there with them. That's a really interesting lesson to me. That a story doesn't have to be a thriller or super-emotive to be so high-quality and enjoyable. So much of it is about the great writing and really letting the characters sing, which is what you have done. ...

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Amany Sayed
19:44 Feb 23, 2021

Thank you so much! I strive for that in my realistic fiction stories. Aw, thank YOU! I'm so glad you enjoyed it :D

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Kate Winchester
15:59 Feb 20, 2021

Your title drew me in, and I’m glad. It was a fun read. If I may give you one critique, I was a little confused bc Cris said that Romeo had ended his shift so I thought he had left the beach. When Lorelle waived him over, I was confused. Overall though, I enjoyed your story and the end was funny. I liked that Cris blurted out the truth. 😊

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Amany Sayed
00:27 Feb 21, 2021

Yay, I'm glad! Oh, I had meant it in the way that he stayed at the beach, bored, after his shift ended. Apologies for the confusion! Thanks so much!

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Ally Kate
15:44 Feb 20, 2021

So great! From the title to the story itself, everything was so descriptive and real. Heartwarming and funny, I loved the whole vibe of it. Great story!

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Amany Sayed
00:26 Feb 21, 2021

Thanks for the feedback!

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03:52 Feb 20, 2021

This was another amazing, cute, sweet, and PERFECT romance story you've written! Loved the names, and what you did with the prompt! And yes, boys WILL be boys (well, at least the immature ones) Great job!

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Amany Sayed
03:56 Feb 20, 2021

Thank you so much! Yay, thank you! (true that) Thanks for your time!

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06:02 Feb 20, 2021

The pleasure was mine! :D

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10:44 May 31, 2022

How I Got My Ex Husband Back.. Am so excited to share my testimony of a real spell caster who brought my husband back to me. My husband and I have been married for about 5 years now. We were happily married with three kids, two boys and a girl. Four months ago, I started to notice some strange behaviour from him and a few weeks later I found out that my husband is seeing someone else. He started coming home late from work, he hardly cares about me or the kids anymore, Sometimes he goes out and doesn’t even come back home for about 3-4 days. ...

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Maya -
18:26 Feb 27, 2021

Hi! I was wondering, would you like to be a character in my reedsy-cast series? If you do could you fill out the form in my bio? :DDD

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Yaaaas! This is such a fun story. I have a couple random things to say... First of all, LOVE DA ENDING. Hilarious, quirky, and very, very true 😂 Secondly...” “I second that,” Romeo said, taking a tiny bite of his mint ice cream.”” goodness, this line. THIS LINE. I swear my teeth cringed just thinking about taking a bite of ice cream XDDD The only advice I have is to maybe fix the column of ‘She-s’ near the beginning. As in, there’s a few two-line action paragraphs all staring with “She” (*action*), which is technically fine, but it’s good t...

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Amany Sayed
21:19 Feb 24, 2021

Thank youuuu! Hehe. Lol, I agree. You gotta lick it! Hmm, I believe I've been approved, but I see what you mean. I actually knew while writing, I was just too lazy to change it... Thank you so much for reading!

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:D Yessss lol, same, I’ll often see something in a story of mine but am too lazy to fix it XD Always! :3

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The Cold Ice
04:00 Feb 24, 2021

This is wonderful. Keep writing. I loved it. Amazing. Well written. Would you mind read my story Leaf me alone.

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I love this story Amany!

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Amany Sayed
00:27 Feb 21, 2021

Much Appreciated!

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Of course Amany! Please check out my new story and scroll down to the comments if you WANT to be a character in my 100th story! :)

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