Leslie and Mark, Mark and Leslie.  That’s how it had always been.  People said they’d get married someday.  They had been best friends from kindergarten until third grade, when they just fell apart.  Neither knew what really happened, but something obviously did happen. 

            In seventh grade, Leslie developed a crush on Mark.  But it was more than a crush, because the feeling had been there all along.  It was, as she’d written in diaries when she first met him, love. 

            By the end of seventh grade, Leslie hadn’t gained the courage to say anything to him.  Girls lined up to hug him good-bye, but Leslie stayed away. 

            Well, in eighth grade, Mark moved away when his dad got a new job at a different school. (His dad was the history teacher in the high school)  Leslie cried for months, and took up his old position as “Class Genius” or “Teachers’ Pet.”    

            Her best friend, Sadie, was the there the whole time.  “It’ll be OK, Leslie.  You’ll see him again someday.”

            “Dude, are you going to our prom?” Kevin asked his friend, Mark.

            “Yeah,” Mark shrugged.  What else did he have to do that night?

            “Sweet,” Kevin nodded.

            Mark shrugged again.

            They walked past a group of junior girls.

            “Hey girls,” Kevin smiled as he walked by.

            They chorused, “Hey,” and started giggling.  Well, all except Stephanie, who had her eyes on Mark.