The Art of Reading Minds

I took a deep breath. My palms were sweating. Fear raced through my veins. Why am I so nervous? It’s just Annie. We’ve been friends for so long, and I know that she will always be there for me. “I’m bisexual,” I finally said. 

She looked at me, trying to suppress her smile. She gave up quickly and pulled me in for a hug. “I’m glad you told me,” she said. “I will always support you. You are my best friend, no matter what.” 

“Thanks,” I replied, glad to finally get my secret out in the open. 

After a few seconds, we pulled away from each other, smiling. She gave me a look that I couldn’t read. Usually, I am pretty good at reading people based on their facial expressions. It’s almost like I can read minds. But with Annie, it’s different. She is so extraordinary and therefore hard to understand. I really like that about her. It keeps our relationship interesting.

After a minute of thoughtful silence, she stood up from the chair in my bedroom that she was sitting on. 

“I wish I could stay longer, but my mom wants me to come home before dinner at seven,” she said with a sorrowful look on her face. She glanced over at my alarm clock. 

“6:48,” she said, mostly to herself as she read the clock. “And it takes me ten minutes to drive home from here.”

Then she turned back to me. “I’m sorry. I wish I could stay longer.”

“It’s okay,” I replied in a tone that I hope was reassuring.

She waved goodbye to me as she walked out my bedroom door. I heard the sound of her feet as she walked down the stairs. Then I heard her say goodbye to my mom and thank her for something. Then I heard the sound of the front door opening and closing. 

As I watched her back her car out of the driveway, I started thinking. She had spent a lot of time at my house over the last few months. Over those months, I had learned so much about Annie. Her full name was Annabelle, but only her mom called her that. She was really clumsy, but also really graceful at the same time. She always asked people about their middle names, but she never told anyone hers. I always found myself thinking about how special and unique she was, and every little detail about her was important to me. 

I was so lost in thought that I completely forgot that I just came out to her. I was worried, but I still told her that I was bisexual. And she took it so well, just like I expected. I laid on my bed with a smile on my face and slowly drifted off to sleep.

The next morning I woke up early, happy to start my day. I pulled on my favorite shirt and brushed my hair. Then I walked down the stairs and greeted my mom with a smile. “Good morning, Mom,” I said, pulling her in for a hug.

“Good morning, Mia,” she replied with a puzzled look on her face. “Why are you in such a good mood today? I mean, I’m not complaining, but...”

“It’s nothing,” I said. “I guess I just slept well and woke up in a good mood.”

“That’s good. Now you should eat breakfast so you aren’t late for school.”

I nodded and grabbed a granola bar and a banana. I took a bite of the banana and waved goodbye to my mom while walking out of our front door. I hopped in my car, turned on my music, and drove for twenty minutes on my normal route to school.

When I stepped out of my car, Annie was standing in front of the school, waiting for me. When she saw me, she waved at me and walked over. We talked about random things as we walked towards our first classes of the day. For some reason, she was easier to talk to than my other friends.

About a week later, I drove home with Annie after school. We listened to her music in the car. It was quiet, except for the music, but it was comfortable quiet. We had bonded even more over the last week. We spent time at each other’s houses and drove home from school together. Today, we were driving in her car to my house.

“I like your music,” I said, interrupting the silence. 

“Thanks,” she said cheerfully.

When we arrived at my house, we both said hi to my mom, and then we walked up the stairs and entered my bedroom. We took our normal spots in my room, her sitting on my bed and me sitting in my blue bean bag chair. It was quiet for a couple minutes. She must have been thinking. I wasn’t really thinking about anything, but I was studying her face. She looked nervous, but also confident. For some reason, I recognized the feeling.

Then it hit me just as she said, “Mia, I’m bi.”

“Bilingual?” I asked sarcastically.

She rolled her eyes, smiled, and gave me a hug.

After we pulled back from the hug, I was looking at her, trying to figure out what she was thinking. She looked a lot less nervous, and she seemed to be back to her normal self.

 “Stop analyzing me,” she said. “You know you can’t read my mind, right?”

“I know,” I replied. “It’s annoying.”

She smiled and winked at me.

I tried to play it cool on the outside, but internally, I was kind of freaking out. 

Is she flirting with me? Is she just messing around? Does she actually like me?

I must have spaced out, because Annie noticed and started waving at me.

“Hello?” she asked, trying to get my attention.

“Hi,” I responded, blushing.

“What are you thinking about?”

“Nothing,” I replied, a little too quickly.

“Okay...” she said, giving me a suspicious look.

Then there were a couple long minutes of awkward silence.

“I should go,” she said eventually. “My mom wanted me home early for something.”

“Okay,” I said. I didn’t really want her to go, but I don’t really like awkward silences.

We spent some time apart for a couple days after that, but it felt like a long time, considering the amount of time that we had spent together over the previous months.

After a few days to think about what had happened (which wasn’t anything, really), our friendship was pretty much back to normal. 

I drove over to her house one day, ready for things to return to the way that they used to be. 

I parked my car in the driveway, said hello to Annie’s parents, and walked into her room.

“Hi,” she said.

“Hi,” I said back to her.

It was quiet for a while. I was tapping my foot and she was fidgeting with the charm bracelet on her wrist. Then she broke the silence.

“Do you like me?” she asked suddenly.

I blushed and felt beads of sweat forming on the back of my neck.

“Umm, yeah,” I said hesitantly. “Of course I like you. You’re my best friend.”

“You know what I mean,” Annie said.

I knew exactly what she meant, and I knew exactly what I wanted to say, but I decided against it for two reasons. First of all, I didn’t know if she actually liked me romantically. This is one of those times where I wish I could read her mind. Also, whether she liked me or not, I wanted to protect our relationship, even if it was just a friendship.

“No,” I said. “I don’t like you like that.”

Annie’s face fell. I could tell that she was disappointed, and I instantly regretted lying about my feelings for her.