An Unrequited Moment

Today was the day. She had stayed up late making that decision and planning it out. When the bell rang to signal the end of 4th period, she ran out of the door first and headed to the commons so she could look like she was standing there nonchalantly. Carmen at first half-leaned on a table but felt awkward so she shifted to stand with hands on her hips. That felt more natural, so she relaxed.

As her eyes scanned the area that was filling up with students, her eyes linked with Mrs. Withers, the old librarian across the way. They were very familiar with each other as Carmen spent a lot of time in the library reading and discussing books with her. She realized they had the same akimbo stance.

Carmen sat down on one of the chairs surrounding the table. She crossed her legs and positioned her skirt in a way she hoped was flattering. She continued to scan the crowd for a particular face. Suddenly, she worried that sitting with her legs crossed would cut off her circulation and put her feet asleep, so when she got up to walk, she’d fall down. Instead, she readjusted her legs so that they were crossed at the ankle. This made her feel like a little old lady at church. She didn’t want to appear like a fuddy-duddy, so she stood up again and leaned with one hand on the table.

“Hey, Carmen,” Matthew said as he passed by. He was so cute. Many girls longed for his attention. Carmen knew him well as they were next-door neighbors until junior high. She saw him more as a brother.

“Hey, Mattie,” she responded while peeping over his shoulder. The object of her desire was still not in sight, yet she received death glares from a handful of girls who envied her ability to chat so easily with Matthew.

“Wanna come over this weekend?” he asked, hopefully.

“Maybe, Mattie,” she replied, distractedly. “I might have plans. I’ll get back to you.” Matthew’s friends didn’t understand his desire to spend so much time with someone they deemed a nerd. They didn’t know what Matthew knew. Carmen is amazing. She’s funny, intelligent, and never bored because she’s so creative. Matthew feels inspired when he’s around her. He felt a little disheartened because he worked up the nerve to invite her over so he could tell her he liked her more than a friend, but he also understood she didn’t have full control over her schedule as her parents often made plans for her.

Carmen had no idea that Matthew had spent the better part of the school year pining for her and carrying a torch. She was as oblivious to it as the object of her desire was to her. But today was the day she was going to make the first move and break the ice. If only Matthew wasn’t standing there awkwardly trying to make chitchat. She did appreciate the fact that she probably looked more nonchalant with a person standing with her. She decided the pros outweighed the cons and didn’t shoo him away.

“Hey, Matthew,” said a boy named Tyler who was Matthew’s best friend. He approached them and just stood there as awkwardly as the other two.

“Carmen,” Tyler said, “I really like your skirt. It’s very pretty. Really.”

“Thanks,” she muttered, absentmindedly as she continued to look through the masses. She just wanted him to go.

“Hi, Tyler and Matt,” said Clarissa, a bubbly blonde who was very popular.

“It’s Matthew,” Carmen and Tyler insisted at the same time. Clarissa just giggled. Right behind Clarissa were two of her friends. This was the opposite of what Carmen wanted. People in groups are more unapproachable. Though she planned to do the approaching, this was ruining everything.

“Can y’all just go away?” she muttered.

“You don’t own the hall,” one of Clarissa’s lackeys stated.

“Whatever,” Carmen replied. “I was here first and not planning to join a group.” Matthew subtly blushed, but no one noticed.

“You need to chill, Car,” Tyler said. “What are you doing after school? You should come over and hang for a while. I’ll help you relax.”

“I’m busy,” she stated. During this exchange, Matthew’s face darkened and then brightened. It was obvious Carmen was brushing Tyler off. He at least got a maybe.

“I’m free,” Clarissa said.

“Me too,” said her friend.

“If y’all are going I want to go,” said the other one.

“Whoa guys, I don’t know if my mom would let a whole group come over,” Tyler quickly uttered. “I’ll let you know later.”

“I can’t wait to hear from you,” Clarissa said.

“Come on, Clarissa,” her friend said. “We’re going to be late.”

“In a minute,” she responded. “We’ll be fine.”

Carmen was beyond annoyed. Nothing was going to plan. The plan was to be standing alone and casually say hi to her crush. If she got a hi back, she intended to follow up with a compliment. She had run over several scenarios in her mind, but she decided it would be best to not plan a compliment ahead of time and instead base it on the moment even though that’s the riskier option. Now, she was surrounded by her friend and some idiots. As she was ruing her current situation, Billy walked up.

“Hey guys,” he said, “Is this where y’all hang out between classes now?”

“No,” Carmen replied through gritted teeth.

“It should be,” Matthew said.

“You’re right!” Clarissa exclaimed. “Let’s meet back here on Monday! This is fun!”

“We’ve got to go now,” her friend said. “We’re really going to be late.” Clarissa conceded and the three girls walked off.

“Billy, you want to come over tonight?” Tyler asked.

“Sure,” he responded. “Who all is going to be there?”

“Just me and Mattie and maybe Carmen,” he replied.

“Carmen might be there? I’m definitely down,” he said.

“Hey, what about me?” Matthew joked.

“I’m not going to be able to make it. I’m busy,” Carmen informed them.

“That sucks,” Billy said. “Well, guys, I better get going too.” Matthew also needed to leave, but he wasn’t going to leave Tyler alone with Carmen.

“Dude, isn’t your class across the school? You better hustle,” Tyler said trying to get rid of his friend so he could talk to Carmen alone. Carmen and Matthew were both wondering when she got so popular.

“I’ll risk a tardy,” he explained. “I never get to spend time with Carmen anymore now that my family moved.” Carmen was stewing. She wanted both of them to go away. She was now going to be late, and it was obvious her crush wasn’t here. She felt annoyed and resentful at the two boys vying for her attention. Then it happened. Carmen turned away to stomp off to class and bumped right into the captain of the basketball team who towered over her.

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Kyra said. Carmen’s heart started racing and the butterflies in her stomach began frantically beating their wings as her palms got clammy.

“No worries,” she replied as Kyra stooped to pick up the book Carmen dropped.

“There you go,” Kyra said then walked off. Carmen sighed and called after her, “Really, don’t worry about it. It was no big deal.”

“Cool,” Kyra called without looking back. Carmen smiled and headed to the office to get her tardy with Matthew. Five minutes had already passed and they were both late. Unfortunately, their love would stay unrequited…for the moment.