Young Love

Brooke and Chris are boyfriend and girlfriend. It became official after Chris got into a fight with Brian over her. They've been together for about a year now, which for 7th graders translates to 9 adult years.

Every time I assign a partner activity those two sparrows pair up and pour over their papers. Actually, it's more that Brooke provides the answers while Chris sits there unanimatedly. She's actually a very smart girl who's mum about her own intelligence. To her future mortification, she totes around a picture of Chris in her the plastic cover of her binder. On top his bucktoothed photo, she scribbled, "Chris is SEXY...Luv 4eva". The appeal is somewhat understandable: Chris is a little skater, blonde, and wears flannel shirts. He's also about a foot shorter than she is. I often catch her unabashedly smiling at him as he hunches over his paper, copying her work.

Bobby Sanchez is my resident troublemaker. He loves challenging me with condescending snorts of laughter when I try to joke around with the class. You can imagine how cute that gets. He's a class clown with a dash of animosity for authority figures. I noticed some tagging on his backpack and expected the same "Wilmington" or "Wilmas" that the kids brandish with pride. But his was different. Written in white out were the words, "Randy Sanchez you will be missed. I will never forget you. RIP". Sneaky, pissy, chatty Bobby Sanchez.

I too remember tossing around "4eva" and "always" so freely. And not because they were cheap but it was a time when forever was a possibility. Life, or at least love was what I made it to be. Now, shackled by reality and experience, I ogle at foreign, young love that dares to give, and give, and grieve.