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CHAPTER44
MEG
Ididn’t sleep last night. My conversation with Tyler kept me awake. Now, I’m pacing back and forth in Jen’s classroom. Kids are trickling in, and school’s about to start.
“What am I going to do about Tyler?”
“It will all work out. You just need to talk to him.”
“I tried! He won’t listen.”
“You tried once.” Jen tilts her head toward me. “Try again.”
“I’m worried he won’t answer my calls.”
“You don’t need to call him. He’ll be at the school today.”
“No, he won’t. They finished the playground last week.”
“I know, but he’ll be here for the assembly about the playground.”
My steps pause. “Tyler will be at the assembly?”
“Yeah, he’s accepting an award or something for all the work his company did on the landscaping.”
“That’s it. I’ll corner him.” I start shaking my hands. “Wait, how do I corner him and confess my undying love with all of my students watching?”
“I could cover your class, bring them in here with me for a little bit.”
“What if he won’t listen to me?”
“You’ve got to make him listen.”
I point to myself as her words sink in. “I’vegot to make him listen.”
Ding!
“That’s the five-minute bell. I better get to my class.” I move to the door. “Jen, we’re doing this. Before he leaves today, Tyler will know how much I love him.”
* * *
This isthe longest morning of my life, waiting for the assembly to start. I bring my class into the auditorium. Since we’re a younger grade, we get to sit near the front. There’s a row of people lined up on the stage with a microphone up front. My eyes scan the faces until I see Tyler’s. I try to get him to notice me, but he’s talking with the guy next to him.
I sit down and wait for the rest of the room to get settled. My knees are bouncing up and down as nerves spin together inside my stomach. I feel like today is my only chance to reach Tyler. He needs to know how much I love him and that I’m willing to do anything to make our relationship work, and he needs to know itnow. It’s as if there’s a timer on a bomb, clicking down each second. I have to say what I need to say before we all blow up.
That’s the level of intensity I’m feeling right now—James Bond intensity.
Diane Carter stands at the microphone and welcomes everyone inside. She begins by recognizing all the families that donated money to the school so that we could remodel the grounds. She tells us they’ve put together a movie that shows the construction of the new playground. A white screen lowers from the ceiling, and the lights dim.
I can’t sit still as the movie plays. Nothing seems to matter in my life if I don’t have Tyler and Krew.
The crowd claps at the end of the movie, and the lights shine back onto the stage.
Diane goes to the microphone. “There’s a few more people I’d like to recognize. Mr. Swenson, our custodian, did an excellent job keeping the grounds surrounding the construction site clean and safe for our students.”Everyone claps again as Diane reaches to a table behind her and picks up an award for the custodian.
She continues going down the row of people who helped with the project, thanking them and handing them their prize. She’s almost to Tyler. After him, it will all be over, and I will have lost my chance.
My knees go from a slight bounce to a full-on shake. I’m working up the nerve until finally I stand. I’m walking toward the stage, and I don’t even know why. It’s dark in the auditorium, and with the lights on the stage, shining in their eyes, nobody sees me coming.
