Chapter Text
John’s Big Mistake Chapter 1 By Isabella , Anvi, and Robert
John walked out of the school, trying to muster up the courage to tell his long-time fair-skinned crush, Sarah, that he liked her. There she was talking to Jessica, her blonde hair shining in the sunlight. He walked up to her. “Can I help you?” She asked. She was so polite… John felt his similarly pale skin flush. “I was wondering if you would like to go to the library after school with me today?” “Um, school’s already over, and besides nobody goes to the library anymore.” John saw Sarah’s gorgeous, brown-haired friend looking at him with one eyebrow raised, and felt embarrassed. John walked back home, one foot following the other. He walked, disappointed and thought about what his favorite singer, Ed Sheeran, said. “If you’re broken, I will mend you and I’ll keep you sheltered from the storm that’s raging on.” He stepped into his brightly lit kitchen where his Mom was standing doing the dishes. He stared and concentrated on the utensils. They helped him focus. “How was school honey? I‘ve been home all day. It's hard being a stay-at-home mom…” John reminisced about the conversation his mom had a week earlier and remembered why his dad wasn’t home. He had said he went bowling with his buddies, every day for three and a half hours, but it sucked for John because he needed to study for his social studies test. “Dad’s not here yet, is he?” “No, he’s bowling with Billy, Jake, and Connor.” “Oh, okay.” John then walked into his bedroom, where his little sister Katie was causing a ruckus. She was bending his baseball cards! “KATIE NO!!” “Oh, sorry.” Katie walked out of the room. John then walked out of the room as well, to go and pester his mother to make him Kraft Mac and Cheese for dinner. Dad arrived home 2 hours later. “Hey son, how was school?” “Bad, I got rejected.” His mother, who was still making Mac and Cheese, heard him. “HOW COME YOU DIDN’T TELL ME???!!!” “Guy stuff Ma.” “Well I deserved to know. Go to your room.” “C’mon Jill. don’t do that to him.” “Okay Mark. You’re right. This family is easy breezy.” “Anyway son, ask her to the movies. Not the library. Take my tickets that I bought for me and my buddies.” “Thanks Pop. You’ve always been there for me. When I hit my first home run, when I caught my first fish…” “Of course, son. I’ll be here when you’re 30 and get a girlfriend for the first time!” John’s dad cracked up laughing. Nobody else laughed. The next day John sneezed. He was so embarrassed. Nobody blessed him. In one hand, he held dandelions that he picked in the field, and 5 movie tickets in the other. John had to bring 3 friends. He decided to bring Jessica and Sally, Sarah’s best friends, and Liam, his best friend. “That girl Sally is kinda pretty… She looks like Snow White.” Liam was right. With her fair skin and black hair, Sally was gorgeous. Not as pretty as Jessica and Sarah though… At the movies, John made a move. He held Sarah’s hand. His hands were buttery and greasy from the popcorn. Sarah smelled like hot dogs. He loved it. Since it was a horror movie, Sarah and her friends screamed a lot, and once she even hid her face in his chest because she was scared. He loved it!! After the movie, Sarah didn’t remove her hand from his, which John took as a good sign. “ Hey Sarah, you smell really nice.” Sarah sniffed him. “Thanks, you smell like a true man.” Suddenly she leaned forward with her lips pursed. She wanted to kiss him!! Which was great! Well not really. What if he was a bad kisser? “Um sorry I have to go now. Momma says I have to be home before the street lamps go out.” She pulled away looking disgusted. “You’re just an annoying guy who doesn’t know how to treat a proper girl!” She walked away with her nose in the air. Well, there go John’s dreams. Jessica watched her go, looking sympathetic. “What did you do this time?” she asked, but it didn’t sound rude or mean in any way. “Why do you care?” “Because every boy she goes out with messes it up somehow.” “Well she leaned in to kiss me but I never kissed anyone before so I was nervous.” “Well… you just need practice.” The next day, John was happy. John went fishing with his dad the next day. He thought of Jessica when he saw the lips of the pufferfish. John wrote a poem about a girl… He wasn’t sure who he was writing about. The next day, John hung out with Jessica. They watched an Ed Sheeran documentary, called “The Life and Times of Ed.” When Ed performed “Perfect”, John looked at Jessica and thought she looked perfect. Jessica thought he still liked Sarah. But he didn’t. He liked Jessica now. Maybe his big mistake wasn’t a mistake after all. If he never blew it with Sarah he would have never seen the beauty of Jessica. Maybe, just maybe his big mistake wasn’t a big mistake after all.