As Kat walked up to her locker, cascading red curls bouncing with every step, she noticed the red corner of an envelope emerging from one of its vents. She opened the locker, and the envelope dropped and slapped the ground more heavily than expected. She bent and picked it up.
Her name appeared in hastily scrawled handwriting on the center of the envelope. She flipped it over and used a fingernail to pry open the seal. It was a card! She extracted it carefully.
The cover was an artfully painted heart design that stated: “From a Secret Admirer…”
She opened it to find printed words wishing her a happy Valentine’s Day. Below it was written a single sentence.
“When I ask you to the midwinter dance, please don’t say no.”
The card warmed Kat’s heart. The cursive line spoke of a cute, timid person that she now had to meet. She resolved to answer “yes” no matter who the writer of the card turned out to be.
A moment later, Angelica appeared, stopping uncomfortably close to Kat to lord her still significant height advantage over the redhead. She seemed to be trying harder than ever to emphasize her beauty advantage over Kat as well, though it had clearly diminished, with caked-on makeup, revealing clothes, and new jewelry.
“Well, well, well. What have we here?”
Kat should have anticipated Angelica’s lightning-quick grab for the card, but she didn’t, and Angelica snatched it out of her grip.
“A secret admirer, eh? Who’s going to ask you to the dance? I wonder who that could be…?”
She laughed and flipped the open card over her shoulder, sending it fluttering to the floor behind her. She walked away, still sounding amused, her flock following closely behind.
Kat narrowed her eyes at the other girl in suspicion. What was Angelica up to now?
Eyes still focused on Angelica as she strolled around a corner out of sight, Jess came up behind Kat.
“Kat, you’re looking amazing today!” Jess gushed. Even with the obscuring effect of the book, her appearance was now easily attractive enough to draw attention. The thought reminded her of how hard Angelica seemed to be trying with her appearance today. It brought a smile to her lips.
Just try to keep up, Angelica.
Kat reached down for the card once more. As she rose, she noticed that Jess was attempting to suppress a smile.
“What do you know, Jess? Spill!!!”
“Nothing! I swear!” she said with a broad and growing smile.
“Jeeeeessssss....” Kat said in a bitonal warning. “I know where you’re ticklish…”
“No!” Jess shrieked, the threat of a full-on tickle attack more than she could handle. “Okay, okay! I know who your secret admirer is…”
“Yeeesssss?” Kat said, this time in a slowly rising pitch.
“It’s Rick!”
“From choir?”
“Yeah,” she said, eying me for my reaction.
He was cute! Quiet and introverted, but friendly. Kat couldn’t help but smile at the prospect of a cute guy being into me.
Jess giggled as she saw my reaction.
“Shut up!” Kat said, eyes alight with excitement.
Jess only giggled that much louder.
***
After school and a choir rehearsal in which Herr Kaufmann closed his eyes in pleasure as Kat’s increasingly divine voice flowed through the challenging arias of Die Zauberflöte, Kat hustled out to the hallway to catch up with Rick.
Either Rick had chickened out on asking her to the dance, or he was having second thoughts. She intended to create the perfect opportunity for him to ask her. Or not. She hoped it was the former.
She knew roughly where Rick’s locker was, but as she rounded the corner to the hallway where it was located, she screeched to an abrupt halt.
Angelica was standing before him, back turned to Kat, leaning toward him to give him a view of the cavernous cleavage on display in her slutty top. When she placed her hand on the boy’s arm, Kat knew for certain she was flirting with him.
Why? She must have found out who the card was from? Maybe one of her minions had overheard her conversation with Jess? She didn’t know. Right now, she didn’t even care.
She ran out of the school all the way home. When she made it to her room, she flung the door closed and collapsed face-first on her bed.
Her eyes, welling with tears before, let loose a flood now. Her shoulders rose and fell as her sobs began in earnest. Angelica’s other pranks hadn’t been fun, but they hadn’t hurt like this one.
She wanted to be angry, but she couldn’t. At the moment, her heart was too wounded to feel anything but the aching darkness of extinguished romantic hope.
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