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"It's never easy being 17. It's also never easy being 17 and in love for the first time."
Joe looked at the last sentence he had just written in his diary before scratching it over. Then he closed his diary and rolled over on his back. He must have drifted off to sleep because he couldn't remember his sister being in his room.
"My little brother is in love," Esther teased while she made kissing noises. It was clear she had been reading Joe's last entry in the diary, she was holding. "How cute."
"Give back my diary," Joe shouted as he pounced at Esther but because Joe didn't have any control over his long limbs, he fell off his bed instead.
"Is so cute," Esther said and made kissing noises again. "You being gay, in love, and writing a diary about it. It's so romantic. When will there be a movie about it?"
Before Joe could catch Esther, who jumped over Joe's bed in one jump, their mother stood in Joe's room.
"What are you two doing?" Kendra wanted to know.
"Nothing," Esther replied as she hid the diary behind her back. "Just talking with my favourite little brother. Right, Joe?"
Esther elbowed Joe, who nodded. Their mother looked at them once before she left.
"My diary," Joe said as he reached out his hand. "Please, Esther."
Esther gave Joe the diary back before she got Joe to sit on the bed and she took a chair.
"So, want to talk with me or our dear mother about your crush?" Esther wanted to know. "I would suggest me because I'm not a member of the tennis club."
"There isn't much to tell," Joe replied. "He hasn't even noticed me."
Esther gave Joe the time he needed.
"He is a year older than me and even taller than me," Joe said. "Esther, he is so wonderful. Those eyes that always change colours, his marble skin, the mole next to his lip, and not to speak of his perfect nose. In other words, he is perfect. And because he is perfect, he hasn't noticed me. Have you looked at me lately?"
Joe held out his arms before he wrapped them around himself again. Joe hated being a skinny teenager, that no clothes would fit his body.
"Yes, I have. In fact, I have since you were born, and do you know what I see?" Esther asked which made Joe shake his head. "I see a wonderful young man with the most amazing curls, a smile that lit up every room you enter, and not to forget, your kind heart."
"Maybe one day I'll believe you," Joe said. "When I'm done being a skinny teenager."
"You think that you're having it hard as a teenager?" Esther wanted to know. Joe just nodded. "My life was perfectly fine until I suddenly over the night got these." Esther pointed at her breasts. "I went from being someone boys didn't want to talk with to suddenly having the entire football team's attention. And not always in a good way."
"Have they hurt you?" Joe wanted to know. "If they have I'll kill them."
"No need to worry, Joe," Esther replied. "I'm glad that dad insisted on me learning self-defence."
"Good to hear," Joe replied. "But promise me you'll let me know if there's anything."
"I promise you," Esther replied. "What I was saying is that you aren't the only teenager struggling with problems. It might feel like it, but you aren't as alone as you think."
"I'm glad to hear it," Joe replied. "I better get some sleep. I got an early shift."
"When you're back from work," Esther said. "We're going to talk about your crush and how we'll get him to notice you."
"No, no, no," Joe protested. "Please don't. I want to figure it out myself."
"Fine, fine, but you got my number if you want to talk," Esther replied. "Night."
Joe was eating breakfast when Esther came running into the kitchen wrapping her bathrobe around her.
"I have been turning and turning while thinking who your crush could be all night, and I know it," Esther said with a smile. "There's only one person in town that fits the description you told me about. It's Nicky di Genoa. Or am I wrong?"
Joe disappeared behind his book. He didn't want to look at his big sister but Esther placed her hand over the book.
"I got my answer," Esther said proudly of herself. "Now, that we both know it's Nicky, we can come up with a plan."
"Esther," Joe said but stopped speaking when he heard footsteps in the hallway. It turned out to be the dog. "As I said yesterday, I want to figure it out myself."
"Yeah, yeah, I know," Esther replied. "But are you sure you don't want my help? Just a little push, maybe?"
"I'll let you know if I want help. Ok?" Joe asked and Esther nodded. "See you later. Say hi to mom and dad from me. And don't forget to feed and walk Baloo. It's your turn."
A couple of weeks later, Esther was going to a party and asked Joe to drive her. Because Joe didn't have anything better to do that evening he agreed. But Joe didn't know why he agreed to help Esther carry 20 pizzas inside, because Joe knew that Esther's friends never hang out with him when they visited their house because he was a year younger than them.
"Be a dear and place the pizzas in the kitchen," Esther said as she placed the last eight pizzas in Joe's arms. "Since you're so much stronger than me."
"You owe me big for this," Joe said as he tried not to drop all the pizzas. "And I mean big."
"Yeah, yeah, I know," Esther replied before placing a kiss on Joe's cheek. "Kitchen down that way."
Esther pointed behind Joe before she walked away with a friend. Joe's plan of stealing a pizza and leaving in a hurry got ruined the moment he set a foot in the kitchen.
"You know," A voice said behind Joe when he entered the kitchen. "My papa would be happy to hire you as a pizza delivery guy with those skills."
Joe turned around and looked at Nicky. It almost made Joe drop all the pizzas.
"Let me help you," Nicky offered as he took the first ten pizzas. "It makes it easier to look at your wonderful face with those beautiful dimples."
Joe didn't move at all because he wasn't sure if he had just heard Nicky call him wonderful and beautiful.
"Earth to Joe," Nicky said with a smile as he waved a hand in front of Joe's face. It brought Joe back to the moment. "There you're."
"Sorry," Joe said as he placed the pizzas next to the others. "What are you doing here? I haven't seen you with my sister's friends before."
"Your sister and I are working together. And I might have talked her into this plan of mine to have a moment alone with you, Joe," Nicky replied. "Hope you don't mind."
"Not at all," Joe replied. "But why do you want to have a moment alone with me?"
Nicky stepped a bit closer to Joe while rubbing his neck sheepishly.
"I so want to ask you out on a date," Nicky replied. "Every time I saw you at the supermarket, I lost my nerves. I made the mistake of telling your sister that, and she said she wanted to help me. And here we're."
Nicky took Joe's hand in his. It made them both smile.
"So, do you want to go to the diner with me now?" Nicky wanted to know. "I heard we both have a thing for the treasure chest dessert. You know the one with 15 scoops of ice cream, popping candy, sponge cake, pineapple, whipping cream, and nuts. If we help each other, we got a bigger chance of finding the treasure."
"I would love that," Joe replied. "It sounds better than pizza and the party next door."
When Joe got home at 2 AM, Esther was sitting in the living room waiting for Joe. When she saw her brother, she almost ran over to him. The only thing preventing her from doing it was their parents sleeping two doors down the hallway.
"So, tell me," Esther begged. "How was it? Was it as you dreamt off?"
Joe smiled as he hugged Esther.
"Thanks, sis," Joe said. "For not doing what I told you to do."
"Don't mention it," Esther replied. "So, tell me everything."
"Not going to happen," Joe replied. "Some secrets are between me and my diary."
"I'm so going to search through your room tomorrow, if you don't share with me first," Esther warned. "You know I would do it."
"Ok, bedtime both of you," Their father said. "We're getting up at 6 AM because of the long drive. So, bed, both of you."
Esther and Joe said goodnight to their father before heading upstairs.
"I'm so going to get it out of you in one or the other way," Esther said. "It's after all my fault you ended up with a date with Nicky."
Joe kissed Esther on the cheek.
"Maybe one day I'll tell you all about it," Joe said. "Night Esther."
"Seriously, Joe?" Esther asked. "You can't just leave me hanging like that."
"Bed," Their father shouted. "Or else you're getting up at 5.30 AM to walk Baloo before the drive."
Joe winked at Esther before closing the door to his room. When Joe lay in his bed looking up at the ceiling, he was so happy about his date with Nicky and couldn't wait for the next date next Friday. Tomorrow the long drive, he would tell Esther some of the things that had happened on the date, but not all. Something was just meant for him and his diary.