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« Guys! I have a secret to tell you, promise you won’t tell anyone? » The circle of pre teen girls all huddled closer: « Oh my god, we promise we won’t tell anyone, » she raised her hand to her lips and pretended to seal her lips and throw a key away. « I have a crush on Zach!» Giggles, hushed whispers and excitement followed the bold declaration of the 12 years old. They pressed the first girl for more details. Crushes, romance and boys started to be the subject of their conversations more and more often. It started with one girl sharing her crush and soon the others followed with their respective crushes, one after the other. « Seiria you’re the only one here that doesn’t have crush yet! » « Are there really no boys in our grade that interest you? » Another asked. Seiria thought of the guys her age. « There must be one right? It’s so weird you don’t have a crush yet! » She didn’t understand why it was weird, but she knew she did not want to be weird. She went through a list of all the boys her friends didn’t have a crush on and randomly picked one: « Yeah, I never told you guys but I have a crush on Alexander. » Seiria said flatly. « No way! I can’t believe you never told us, I’m so mad at you! » her friend joked. « Isn’t he the most popular boy of our year? Seiria you guys would look so good together. » Seiria had no idea, she only hoped this would be the last time she will have to talk about her « crush ».
« Seiria, how do you not have a boyfriend yet, you’re like one of the most popular girls in our grade. » She was? Seiria somehow always found herself surrounded by people, friends? « Technically, she did have Alexander. » « Please, we were 12 and it ended after a week. » She huffed. « Certainly, there must be someone among the guys you keep rejecting? » Another said. « I rejected them for a reason, plus I’m too busy with fencing. » « All you do is fencing. Surely there HAS to be someone that makes your heartbeat go a little quicker? » « My heartbeat goes quicker when I exercise, when I fence or when I compete. » « You know that’s not what I meant. » She thought about her upcoming competition, the blue eyed opponent she will eventually face - as always - and her pulse quickened. « Seiria you’re kinda red, who were you thinking about? » Teased the girl next to her. « Just looking forward to my competition. »