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“You got your cards and candy for your friends and teachers?” Bridgette asked.
“Yes!” Milo said. “I even made extras! Just in case someone doesn’t get a valentine.”
“I thought everyone in your class gets a card and candy,” Bridgette said.
“Yeah, but you never know what will happen. Plus, if someone has less cards than someone else, I can give them mine!” Milo said.
“Well aren’t you just the sweetest?” Bridgette said proudly.
“Hi, Melissa!” Milo waved as he and his mother approached the bus stop. The redhead waved back excitedly.
“I love that friend of yours,” Bridgette said.
“Really?” Milo asked, confused. “But she’s not your daughter. You always say you love me and Sara.”
“Love comes in lots of different forms, Milo,” Bridgette said. “You love her, too, don’t you? Just as friends?”
“Yeah! Best friends!” Milo agreed.
Melissa wrapped Milo in a tight hug when he arrived. “Happy Valentine’s Day! I’m so excited for the class party!”
“Me, too!” Milo said. “I got cards that have Dr. Zone on them!”
“Nice!” Melissa followed Milo onto the school bus. They found an empty seat together and chatted excitedly all the way to school. Class went on as normal for the first half of the day. The third-grade class learned new words, Milo fixed his desk when the legs broke off, the class read a book they collectively started a week ago and then talked about the book, Milo gave his teacher the money his mother gave him to pay for a new book, and the class reviewed their geography. As they prepared for lunch, each third-grader put their handmade valentines mailbox on their desks for the party that would be after lunch.
“Milo, make sure you put your cards in the boxes before the end of lunch,” the teacher said as the students filed out the door.
“Right!” Milo nodded, pulling out the Dr. Zone Valentine’s Day cards his dad got for him.
“Why are you putting them in the mailboxes now?” Melissa asked.
“Just in case something happens while we’re delivering them during the party,” Milo said. “I’m planning to move my desk to the corner and sit there until the party is over.”
“That’s no fun!” Melissa said. “You’re supposed to be on my team for Valentine’s Day Bingo!”
“I can play from my desk,” Milo shrugged.
“If we can make it work, you should be able to join some of the other games,” the teacher assured, setting up the classroom for the party.
“Yeah! Here, let me help with your cards! Then we can go to lunch!” Melissa declared.
Once they were done, Milo and Melissa hurried to the lunchroom to eat. Like most of the students, they were only snacking on some healthy vegetables their parents packed in the hopes it would counteract the amount of sugar they were all about to eat during the Valentine’s Day party.
Melissa noticed a flash of pink when Milo opened his backpack. “Did you forget to put a card in someone’s box?”
Milo quickly shut his backpack. “No! It’s nothing!”
Melissa gasped dramatically. “It’s a personal Valentine’s Day card! You got a crush!”
“I do not!” Milo shushed her, hoping the loud cafeteria would drown out her excited squeals.
“You do you do you do!” Melissa bounced in her seat. “Who is it? Who is it?! As my best friend, you are obligated to tell me and I am obligated to sing the ‘Kissing in a Tree’ song! Tell me tell me tell me!”
By that point, Melissa was shaking Milo vigorously in her excitement. He managed to unhook her from his shoulders and sighed. “Okay, fine! Just don’t scream anymore.” Melissa scooted closer to Milo and turned an ear to him. Milo whispered into that ear, “It’s for Lisa.”
Melissa’s face dropped. “Lisa? You have a crush on Lisa?”
“Yeah,” Milo said with a blush.
“But she’s a doodie-head,” Melissa scoffed.
“That’s a bit of a kindergarten-level insult,” Milo noted.
“Daddy says I’m not allowed to use the words he uses to describe people he doesn’t like,” Melissa said. “Why couldn’t you have a crush on literally anybody else?”
“Lisa is cool! She’s popular and she’s pretty. Look over there! She must be really friendly if she has all those people sitting with her.” Milo pointed to where Lisa sat with a gaggle of other girls at a nearby table.
“I don’t think all of them are her friends,” Melissa mused. “Also, is that Amanda over there? The girl who wears all that pink all the time? What is she doing sitting with Lisa? I liked her. Why couldn’t you have a crush on Amanda instead?”
“Melissa, come on. Lisa can’t be that bad,” Milo said. “I really like her, and I’m trying to work up the nerve to give her this valentine. I even got her a little cake.”
Melissa rolled her eyes with a sigh. “Fine. I suppose you can’t fight third-grade love. So go over there and give her the valentine.”
“Are you sure?” Milo asked. “I was thinking of giving it to her during the party.”
“Nah, do it now in a public place,” Melissa said. “That way, if she doesn’t have a crush on you back, she can’t make a scene or else she’ll be embarrassed. She’ll have to turn you down nicely.”
“How do you know that?” Milo asked.
“I saw it happen between two characters on Dad’s soap opera last night,” Melissa said. “Now go! You are Milo Murphy, and nothing scares you!”
“Except this,” Milo said with a gulp. But at his friend’s urging (and literal pushing), he took out the handmade Valentine’s Day card and small cake snack. He made his way two tables down to where Lisa, Amanda, and their friends sat. It felt like walking a mile away. He stopped next to Lisa and cleared his throat. “H-hi, Lisa.”
Lisa turned, flicking her hair over her shoulder, and her face immediately dropped when she saw Milo. “What?” she demanded.
Milo felt his nervousness rise, so he skipped the speech and held out the valentine and cake. “For you! Happy Valentine’s Day!”
Lisa stared at the card and cake with disdain. “What is that?”
“A valentine. For you. I already gave out everyone else’s for our class party. This one is for you. Specifically.” Milo had to clamp his mouth shut to stop himself from rambling anymore.
“Could you not stand so close to me? And get that stupid valentine away from me! It might explode!” Lisa snapped. “And that cake might be poisoned, too!”
“It won’t explode. And my mom bought the cake at the store. I didn’t make it,” Milo said.
“That’s very nice of you, Milo,” Amanda said.
Lisa turned and glared at Amanda. “Do you want a valentine from a freak? Stop talking, Amanda.”
Amanda shrunk down sheepishly, casting an apologetic look to Milo.
“I didn’t mean to make you mad,” Milo said.
“Well you ruin everything anyway. Why wouldn’t I be mad?” Lisa snapped, ripping the Valentine’s Day card and cake from Milo’s hands. She dropped the cake, stomping on it, and tore the card to pieces. “Why would I want a valentine from a freak like you?!”
Milo didn’t answer. He looked around to the other kids at the table. A couple of them were snickering at his expense. Some of them were trying to ignore the situation. Others looked like they wanted to say something but were stuck for words. Milo swallowed hard and retreated to his old spot next to Melissa.
After she was done glaring at Lisa, Melissa patted her friend’s shoulder. “That certainly didn’t happen in Dad’s soap operas.”
Despite wanting to punch Lisa, Melissa was stopped by Milo and his insistence that they finish their lunch and go to recess before the party. He was still pretty bummed about the incident with Lisa; but when it was time for the party, Milo immediately cheered up. He got his treats and sat at his desk in the corner to keep Murphy’s Law to a minimum. Melissa moved her desk and sat with him the entire time, including when the class played bingo together. Milo’s card spontaneously caught fire, and Melissa won the second game and split the giant candy bar prize with him.
Then, it was time for the pinata. “I’ll go wait out in the hall!” Milo announced to the teacher.
“No, no! Come take a whack at it,” the teacher said. “I even had my husband bring bomb shields for us to hide behind.”
“Okay!” Milo hurried to the teacher, happily taking the small baseball bat.
“Here, put this on.” The teacher tied a bandana around Milo’s eyes. “Also, put on this helmet.” The teacher clipped a bike helmet onto Milo’s head. Milo waited for the teacher to finish spinning him around and then started feeling around for the heart-shaped pinata. He took two swings and managed to actually hit the pinata the second time.
“Did I get it?” Milo asked.
The pinata suddenly exploded like a balloon popping, raining candy down on everyone.
“Yep!” Melissa answered Milo’s question.
“Good thing I got a second pinata,” the teacher chuckled. “Why don’t you all go through your Valentine’s Day mailboxes while I set up the next pinata and game?”
The third-graders ran to their desks to see what fun characters other kids got for their cards for everyone. Melissa dumped out her cards on her desk and took inventory of the candies attached to the cards.
“Twelve chocolates, nine fruity candies, and three of those hard candies all grandmas have in their purses,” Melissa reported. “What about you?”
Milo opened the door of his paper mailbox and tilted it. But nothing came out. He looked inside, thinking something was stuck. To his shock, there wasn’t a single Valentine’s Day card in his mailbox. He showed it to Melissa to confirm there wasn’t anything in there.
“What’s the matter, freak?” Lisa asked with a snigger. “Didn’t get a single Valentine’s Day card?” Amanda sat next to her, her head ducked down so that her hair curtained her face.
“We were all supposed to get at least one from each classmate,” Melissa said.
“Sure, but that doesn’t mean we all do,” Lisa said. “It’s okay, freak. Why would anyone love you? Valentines are supposed to be from people who love you.”
“So why did you get any?” Melissa snapped. “Go away, Lisa.”
“Nothing to say, freak?” Lisa demanded.
Melissa turned and saw Milo staring at his desk. His eyes were filling with tears. “Milo?” Melissa asked.
“It’s okay. I just need to go.” Milo stood up hurriedly and ran out of the classroom.
Lisa laughed nastily, turning to Amanda. “Loveless freak. He should’ve just stayed home where nobody has to even look at—”
Amanda jumped when Melissa tackled Lisa to the ground.
Milo found his way to his favourite hiding spot: underneath the bleachers in the gym. He hugged his backpack to his chest and buried his face in it. He didn’t want to admit that it really hurt to not get a single Valentine’s Day card. He had accepted that Melissa was his only friend when they started first grade together. During second grade, Melissa helped him engage with the other kids. While he couldn’t say he made any new friends, at least the kids were friendly to him.
“Milo?” Melissa crawled over to him and sat next to the Murphy boy. “Are you okay?”
Milo shrugged, hugging his backpack tighter.
“Lisa’s wrong, you know,” Melissa said. “Mort swears he put a Valentine’s Day card in your mailbox, and he says he saw at least five other kids put cards in, too. She must have done something to your cards.”
“Or nobody loves me,” Milo said, his voice muffled in the fabric of his backpack.
“I think lots of people love you, Milo. Your family, your friend. I love you,” Melissa said. “You know, in a best friend way because all boys—except you—have cooties.”
Milo laughed lightly. “That’s good. Because I love you, too, in a best friend way because all girls—except you—have cooties.”
Melissa giggled. “There’s my guy! And, hey, even if you didn’t get any valentines for some crazy, stupid reason, I have a way to fix that!” She held out something for Milo, and he had to look up in order to accept it. He did a double-take when he got a good look at Melissa.
“Whoa. What happened to you?” Milo asked. Melissa’s ponytail had half-fallen out, and she had paint and glitter spotting her face like freckles.
“You should see what happened to Lisa,” Melissa snickered. “Here! Take it! Happy Valentine’s Day!”
Milo took the heart-shaped paper Melissa gave him. Painted words read, “Happy Valentine’s Day to My Best Friend!” Milo realized with a start that the entire card was made up of the valentines Melissa got today, taped and cut in the heart shape. “But these are your Valentine’s Day cards! I can’t take these!”
“No, it’s your Valentine’s Day card from your best friend!” Melissa said, hugging him. “I want you to have it. Let it be my pinky promise that I will never ever abandon you!”
Milo finally smiled. “Thanks, Melissa. I promise I won’t ever abandon you either.”
Melissa sat with Milo for a while longer before she managed to convince him to go back to the classroom. Once there, Milo saw the extent of Lisa’s damage: paint and glitter were all over her skin, hair, and clothes, and her hair was drenched in fruit punch, and there was a cupcake stuck to her butt. The teacher reminded Melissa that she was forbidden from going to recess for the next week due to the fight and then asked Milo if he was okay. Milo confirmed everything was fine, but the teacher was clear that Lisa’s words were cruel and unnecessary. She would also be sitting in at recess.
“I could have sworn there were cards in your mailbox, Milo. I’m so sorry,” the teacher said.
“It’s okay. I got a really nice card from a friend of mine.” Milo hugged Melissa.
As the school day came to a close, the third-grade class worked together to help clean up. The teacher even packed some of the leftovers into goody bags for the kids to take home. Milo and Melissa went to their cubbies to get their things. As Milo pulled on his coat, he noticed another small paper goody bag that had been hidden in his cubby.
“What’s that?” Melissa asked. “I thought you already got a goody bag.”
Milo opened the bag, and he gasped. He showed Melissa, and she gasped, too. About two dozen candies and Valentine’s Day cards were in the bag, all labeled with Milo’s name. On top of the valentines was a note, which Milo read aloud. “‘Lisa took these while you were trying to hit the pinata. She said she wouldn’t be my friend anymore if I didn’t help her. I’m sorry. Happy Valentine’s Day.’”
“What kind of excuse is that?” Melissa scoffed. “Who wants to be friends with Lisa anyway?”
Milo tried to figure out where he had seen this handwriting before. “Well, it was nice of this person to give me my valentines back. You take yours back, Melissa.”
“Nope! I don’t need any valentines. That is your valentine from your best friend in the whole universe,” Melissa declared. “But I will take one of your chocolates if you’re willing to part with that one with the strawberry filling.”
“Totally!” Milo agreed. He passed that chocolate and two others over to Melissa before tucking the bag in his backpack. He also carefully placed Melissa’s card to him in his backpack, pressing it in a notebook so the precious gift wouldn’t be crushed.
It was the best Valentine’s Day card he ever got, after all.