Page 24 of My (Not So) Perfect Plan

Claire sends me a youtube link and after I open it I crack up laughing.

ME: You totally Rick Rolled me!!!

CLAIRE: My favorite music finally became a viral thing. I had to.

CLAIRE: Plus, that song is awesome.

I watch the video again, trying to listen to it the way Claire would.

ME: I could totally see girls loving that song if they like 80s music.

CLAIRE: It makes me nostalgic for something I’ve never had.

I have to read her text a few times, but I still don’t get it.

ME: That was deep. Too deep for me to understand.

CLAIRE: You’ve never been sad about something you’ve never had?

Seriously? What did she think I was going through right now?

CLAIRE: Never mind. Stupid question. Are you really telling me that Never Gonna Give You Up didn’t make you feel all squishy inside?

ME: Nope.

CLAIRE: It’s like you’re not even human.

ME: Who are you ignoring at the lunch table while you text me?

CLAIRE: I told them all I have a secret boyfriend and now they are all trying to read my texts. It’s hilarious.

ME: What’s going to happen when they find out it’s me?

CLAIRE: You’re not my secret boyfriend!

ME: Then who is?

I laugh, because I love messing with Claire. I can imagine that scrunched up face palm thing she does every time I take the conversation into bizarre world.

CLAIRE: What?! No one! That’s why it’s funny.

ME: Aw, I really had my hopes up that I could be your secret boyfriend.

CLAIRE: ‘Kay. I’m not talking to you anymore right now, ya freak. See you after school.

ME: Can’t wait. ;)

For the rest of the afternoon, half of my brain is in ‘waiting for Claire’ mode, while the other half is working on my exercises, icing my leg, or attempting to distract myself from the fact that all of my dreams have been destroyed.

Mom wants me to start on a new plan for life, one that obviously doesn’t involve football. I really like woodworking, so I was thinking about trying to do something with that. I’m not great at it, but I figure if I get a good job with a carpenter, I can eventually start my own custom woodworking business. I’ll get married and have a few kids – weirdly, an image of Claire’s laughing face comes to mind when I think of the mother of my children. I quickly discard that thought because I know theonly reason she came to mind is because she’s the one I’ve been spending the most time with recently.

Come to think of it, where are all those girls who were so ready for a good time when I was on top of the high school football rankings? Was I back to being a nobody dweeb? The idea of losing all my status makes me sweat. Time for distraction.

I watch more Bones until the doorbell rings and my mother goes to get the door. I quickly shut off the TV, chuck the remote and grab for my t-shirt, which is hanging off the bed. It falls on the floor as I’m trying to grab it. I roll over, groaning as a twinge of pain pulses in my knee.

A pair of canvas chucks come in my line of sight, I follow them up to a slim pair of legs clothed in skinny leg jeans and then to a pink dress that falls mid-thigh. I swear it’s like the girl gets cuter by the day. Claire folds her arms and raises an eyebrow at my slow perusal.

She bends over and picks up my shirt for me before throwing it in my face.

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