How Not to Do Valentine’s Day in Middle School

Not all chocolate is created equal, apparently.

In primary school I learned that girls have boyfriends.

Pick a boy you like. Who do you like?

I was never asked, “what do you like?”, or “what do you want?”

Do I even want a boyfriend? Of course you do. There simply was no other option.

My boyfriend was Paul. This was confirmed by the ticking of a box on a neatly folded piece of paper. (Do you like Paul? Yes. No.)

We never spoke because I was overcome with shyness and anxiety. But that’s just what it means to have a crush, right? Or so I’m told.

Valentines Day was coming up. I felt the pressure to join in on the gift giving for this monumental event. Girls were getting white teddy bears and heart shaped chocolates.

I bought Paul a Mars bar. That’s chocolate, right?

Apparently that was wrong.

The faces of my friends laughing at me will be forever burned on my brain. Paul seemed pretty happy though.

Thank you for reading! You’re great.

© Copyright Rhiannon James, 2022

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