Chapter II

Friday morning Adam leaped from bed seconds before the alarm clock went off. On the way to school, he sat at the back going over his checklist. He almost missed the moment when Meg got on the bus but looked up from his notebook just in time to catch her taking a seat. He bit his lip – almost like a nervous tic – as she pressed her skirt against her thighs before sitting down.

“A perfect curve”, he thought, letting out a longing and almost inaudible sigh.

He continued to go over his plan, even if he'd already memorized it. In class, it was a bit difficult to keep it away from anyone else, especially the teachers, but he managed it. When the time came to skip school, he stared at his watch with a knot in his gut, **** to go through. His knees felt rested in place, unable to move. He constantly swallowed absently as if his heart was in his throat. He nervously wiped his brow and cheek, feeling sweaty and breathing heavily. “I can't move,” he muttered to himself.

“What was that?” said a familiar voice, jolting him and making him clench his jaw. It was Meg, staring at him up close.

“Uh... I.. can't move,” he babbled, his eyes wandering about anxiously. She shook her head with a smirk.

“Dude, you're sweating. Like, way too much. You feeling alright?”

Adam was at a loss for words, staring at her pretty face with no real answer. He was still holding on to the piece of paper with steps one through ten. “No,” he blurted and swallowed hard again. “I gotta get out,” he quickly added. He then tried to take a step forward but his leg just wobbled in place. It made her giggle.

“What, you got a fever? The runs, what?” she joked. “Hey, if you're sick, I can just get you out, I was looking for some reason to skip History class. Mrs. Stevenson is some annoying crone, isn't she?” she chuckled, taking up his hand. “C'mon,” she said as she dragged him and even though his knees were sticky and he stumbled on his feet, he somehow managed to walk in a straight line.

“This is so not part of my plan,” he mumbled to himself, staring down Meg's back – for comfort.

Meg dragged him out of school rather assertively, which definitely made Adam feel uncomfortable, self-conscious and confused; he'd spent so much time researching a way to finally take a long look up her skirt, and here she was dragging him along, seemingly ruining everything.

“So what's wrong with you?” she asked him. He just stared back at her with a blank look on his face. She shook his wrist. “If you don't come up with something, I will!” she chuckled.

“Ruh—ru-run. Runs,” he babbled. “I m-mean, my s-s-sstomach hurts!”

“Good enough!” she replied. As they reached the school gate, she blurted that out at the gatekeeper, hurriedly flashing her school card at him. She didn't really have to, as the guy was a fat middle-aged man with thick glasses and a bored, tired look on his face. He simply waved his hand dismissively at the kids.

Adam proceeded to go along with it, letting Meg lead the way out of school. Eventually they reached the bridge, where she finally looked back at him and broke out laughing, stopping at the middle of the bridge, letting go of him.

“Ahhh~! Freedom!” she chuckled, folding her arms over the railing and staring off into the distance. Despite the chilly weather and large gray clouds, the sky was a clear blue and the sun shone brightly in the distance. Meg looked over her shoulder at Adam. “So, how you doing?”

As he was staring down at the spot he'd be standing on and anxiously waiting for Meg to pass overhead, he sighed with exasperation. “Fine,” he managed.

“Aww, don't sound so down, dude. I know we haven't really talked in a long time and all, but come on. Chin up!” she told him with a friendly smile. Adam folded his arms and leaned against the railing, staring down between the gaps of the metal grating. Meg's lips drew a lopsided-smirk and leaned her head to the side.

“What's wrong? Does your stomach really hurt?”

“No – well, kind of,” he said. “It's nothing.”

She sighed and looked into the distance pensively for a moment. She then observed him in silence for a few seconds. He bit his lip anxiously, grasping at his sleeves nervously, refusing to look at her. Meg absently curled a lock of hair behind her ear with a deep sigh.

“Do you hate me?” she asked him. He just shook his head. “Then what? You're bumming me out... I know it's been a long time since we talked but...”

She shook her head and sighed with a nervous chuckle and a small sniffle.

“Look, I'm sorry I forgot about you, Adam. But I'm here now! We're still friends, right?” she told him, placing a hand on his shoulder and she smiled widely. “Talk to me, dude!”

Finally he reacted to the awkwardness with a chuckle, as her friendliness always cheered him up a bit. He'd forgotten about that, having grown used to stalk Meg for so long; they had been good friends once, but no more than that.

“Yeah, of course we are!” he told her with a small grin with a hint of sad, nostalgic expression. “Kinda sucks we're in different classes most of the time now, huh?” he added, biting his lip anxiously. He paused to take a deep sigh.

“Yeah...”

Meg nodded slowly at the floor, absently rubbing his back from side to side. She scooted over and leaned against his shoulder, taking her arm around him. She used to do that sometimes, too. Maybe it was her way to take some comfort from him.

“It's weird,” she blurted, pausing for a moment, and it seemed like she was going to leave him hanging, but after inhaling deeply, she continued her train of thought. “You don't realize you miss someone until you spend a long time without talking to that person.”

“You... miss me?” Adam echoed, as if he didn't believe it. The truth was, it wasn't that hard to believe. “Thought I was the only one,” he quickly added with a lopsided-smirk, making her chuckle.

“Hey, let's go do something together!” she said with a big smile, staring at him. He stared back, puzzled.

“What do you mean?”

“Well... I mean, uh... well, I've been thinking lately that we've sorta been drifting apart, and I don't want that to happen,” she said, biting her lip. “So... how about we do something special together now and... maybe do it again sometime?”

It sounded scary, coming out of her mouth like that. Promising, but scary – like a minefield, or a museum exhibit filled with security lasers. Or both. Adam would have to tip-toe through his way through the mines and the lasers without touching a single one.

“I want to look up your skirt,” he blurted. “I want to see your ass, Meg. I've always loved your ass and I've been planning for weeks now for a way to see it,” he continued. “If you hadn't dragged me out of school, I would be standing under the bridge, right there,” he pointed with his finger, “just to look up your skirt. Please let me see it.”

Needless to say, there was a long, silent pause between the two, and it seemed like he'd tripped and hit every. Single. Mine. Every. Single. Laser. Meg was speechless, staring at him. A nervous stare. A red one. Her whole face flushed gradually until it looked like a ripe tomato.

“Okay,” she said.