The summer after 6th grade came and went pretty quick for me. A lot of things went on that summer within my family, and my parents decided that it would be a good thing for my older sister Ruth, my older brother Matthew, and me to attend the same Christian school that Nathan went to, part-time. Home-schooled children were allowed to do this at this Christian school.
I was beyond excited. I had always loved being home-schooled. One of my best friends was home-schooled, which was awesome because we got to hang out all the time, and do school at each others house. And my Mom had always made home-schooling so much fun. We did tons of field trips, both with just our family and other home-school families. She made learning tons of fun, and I enjoyed not being tied down to a school's schedule. But ever since meeting Nathan, I really wanted to go to his school. So my reasons for wanting to go to school had nothing to do with being unhappy with home-schooling...just simply that I had a serious crush on a boy that I had only met one time.
We started going to the school in November, about three months into the school year. My parents hadn't made the decision to send us until then, so that is why we ended up starting late in the school year. I remember how nervous I was the morning of my first day going to this school. I had spent a long time the night before picking out my outfit, trying to make sure I looked pretty enough. I finished up my school at home, and then my Mom drove Ruth, Matt, and me up to the school.
I was going for Science, Study Hall, and PE. I remember having a hard time paying attention to what was said in Science that day. I kind of felt like I was in a dream. I was so nervous being in the same room as Nathan. At the end of the day, I was putting my books in my locker, when I saw Nathan walking towards me. He came up to me and apologized for how rude he had been back in May, calling me "gorilla lips." He said he felt terrible about it and that he really thought I was very beautiful. I couldn't believe he had just told me I was beautiful!
My Study Hall class was in the library. Nathan sat two tables away from me. About two weeks after being at school, I asked the teacher if I could switch to a new table. I told her that one of the boys at my table was very distracting, and I wasn't able to get my homework done. I really was telling the truth, but mainly I just wanted to sit at the same table as Nathan. Thankfully, she had noticed that this particular boy had been talking to me way too much, and allowed me to move to Nathan's table. Of course, Nathan was more distracting than anyone else could have possibly been, but the two of us worked really hard at not letting the teacher see how much we enjoyed sitting next to each other. Study hall mainly consisted of us talking quietly, passing notes, laughing softly, and on occasion...actually getting some homework done. It was my favorite part of every day that school year.
Even in 7th grade, boys and girls get into putting "titles" on their relationships with each other. I remember a lot of the kids saying "Is Nathan your boyfriend?" or "Are you guys dating?" A lot of the boys at the school would "ask a girl out." Most of them weren't old enough to "go out" anywhere together other than to school, so it was kind of silly. But when you are a kid, it seems like a big deal. Well, to be honest, Nathan never asked me to be his "girlfriend." Even though prior to my coming to his school, he had asked several of the girls "out." You see...we became something bigger, something better. We came best friends.
We spent our days talking to each other whenever possible. Nathan gave me notes all the time, but I was always so nervous to give him very many back. We stood at each others lockers between classes. We walked with each other to class. He teased me a lot, but never called me "gorilla lips" again. I cheered him on at all of his basketball games. We sat together on the bleachers during the other games. We were near each other as much as we could be.
7th grade flew by! I felt like I blinked and it was May again. Nathan and I turned 13 that month. I'm 13 days older than he is. He jokes now and says he likes older women :)
Right before the end of the school year, they had the basketball awards ceremony. My brother Matt, played on the basketball team and so did Nathan. My whole family attended the ceremony. Nathan wore a tie that night. I remember thinking how cute he looked in it! After the ceremony my Mom took a picture of Nathan and me together. It was the first time I had ever had my picture taken with just me and a boy, other than one of my brothers. I felt so awkward. I didn't know how close I should stand to him, or where I should put my hands. You can tell by the picture how uncomfortable both Nathan and I were at that moment.
The good ol' film days :) It was very dim in the room where this picture was taken, and obviously the flash didn't work very well. But I'm happy that I have this picture as a memory of how we looked back then. Nathan hadn't hit his big grow spurt. A few months later and I wouldn't even come above his shoulder! I still had braces, and wasn't allowed to wear much makeup yet.
A week or so later, our 7th grade school year ended. We said good-bye on the last day of school, feeling a little bit very sad. We weren't sure when we would see each other next, and I wasn't sure if I would be going back to school for 8th grade.
...to be continued
