Chapter 3 - Along Comes a Boy

3 weeks earlier, a young man named Trevor clocked in for the evening shift. He wasn’t looking forward to it - he was already tired, and annoyed that anyone ever thought it was a good idea to work over the December holidays.

In short order, he received his first call. And soon enough, he was on his way. Trevor arrived at the listed address, got out his car, and went up to the house, where he knocked. The door opened to reveal someone he knew well, though who perhaps didn’t know him.

“Thanks”, she said with a big, familiar smile, before shutting the door. Trevor was shocked. In his year delivering for the local pizzeria, he’d never made a delivery to someone from school. And holy shit, what a better way to break that streak than to deliver none other than Sadie Holloway, one of his grade’s hottest girls.

He’d only seen her for a moment, but she looked cute as ever, with an adorable little outfit to match. “Of course she dresses like that at home”, Trevor thought lustily as he went back to his car. “How cool would it be if she ordered again? Maybe I can strike up a conversation.”

Unfortunately, the holidays passed and Trevor never received another delivery order to Sadie’s house. He even checked the delivery records from other shifts, hoping to spot her address, but nothing. “I guess her family usually cooks this time of year”, considered Trevor as he pretty much gave up.

3 weeks went by and, soon enough, the holidays were over and it was time to go back to school, albeit for the last time. Trevor (and Sadie) were seniors due to graduate at the end of the semester, and senioritis was already creeping into the hearts and minds of the most dedicated students.

On the first day back, Trevor stood in front of his locker, chatting with friends, when he saw Sadie from a distance. Even from afar, she looked great. That big smile she always wore, that “I don’t care” hair, and gosh, those green eyes. And today she was wearing an oversized white hoodie with leggings - effortless, but to Trevor, oh so appealing. Then, she rounded the corner and was out of sight.

Entering his first class of the day, advanced math, the teacher told everyone to pick their seats. Scanning the room, Trevor took a breath when he Sadie there too, sitting alone on the far side. Seeing this as his opportunity, he promptly crossed the room and said, “Hey Sadie, mind if I sit here?”.

“Ah hey, not at all”, came the reply, her voice music to Trevor’s ears. He’d had a crush on Sadie for years and had barely ever spoken to her, let alone knew much about her. They’d had classes together a few times, but nothing ever came of it. Rather, he crushed from a distance. But, now was different - there were 5 months left until graduation. If he wanted to get to know her, now was the time.

Trevor searched the air for small talk when he noticed an open bag of lay’s on Sadie’s desk. “Not exactly a runner’s snack,” Trevor thought to himself, knowing full well that was a bag from the vending machine by the parking lot, one every senior had bought from at least once. But, not wanting to seem overly familiar, Trevor went with something general, “Did you have a good holiday?”.

Sadie gave a start, as if she’d zoned out mid-crunch. Then she was right back with him, “Yeah, it was really nice. My parents went away for a few weeks and I had the house to myself. It was super relaxing. How about you?”

Before Trevor could answer, the teacher began the day’s lesson. It was dry, uninteresting stuff, except for one thing that happened at the end. “I know this is, for many of you, your final semester here at Rose Falls High, and I bet math homework isn’t exactly on your list of things you’d like to be doing. So, I’d like to do something called Tandem Assignments.”

The teacher continued, “Get yourself a partner, and they’ll be your homework buddy for the duration of this class. You’ll do the assignments together - I want to see both names and handwritings on everything you turn-in, or I won’t accept it. Now, go ahead and pick your partner.

Trevor knew what to do. He wasn’t going to let this opportunity slip away. He immediately turned face Sadie a third time. “Wanna partner up?, he asked. And Sadie smiled that big smile, and answered, “Yeah, for sure. Could be fun”.

Trevor had never been more proud of himself.