• She looked out at the forest behind her. Having such a beautiful sight in her backyard was a definitely a pro on her long list of cons about moving. Even having been to Ouray almost every summer since she was little, the change of scenery and people was still a little shocking. Soon Mel would be starting school; Surrounded by people she didn't know. Why did her parents have to leave right before Junior year? If they had allowed her to stay and live with her Aunt Stace, she could've possibly landed a boyfriend! Her and Ian had been very close friends for a couple years now, and before she had left, she told him what she was feeling. But Mel was never able to hear what his response was because he went on vacation a few days before she left. He said he was going to "think things through" while he relaxed the last week of summer away. What he didn't know was her parents had decided to move a few days earlier than planned. So when he got back to give Mel his answer, she would be long gone.
    It had been three days since she had arrived at her new house in Ouray. She spent most of her days either in her room staring out the window, or exploring the woods in her backyard. Mel was all alone. Her friends were no where near her, and she hadn't seen any kids her age in the neighborhood. She sighed as she checked her cellphone again, hoping to find a message from Ian or Jayla. Jayla had been her best friend since kindergarten, and it had been unbelievably hard to leave her behind. She had made Jayla promise to call ASAP and write every weekend. She wasn't keeping that promise.
    "Melanii! Finish unpacking! We're going out to dinner soon."
    What a way to end one of the worst days of her life: family bonding. That means she's have to spend at least two hours with her busy-body mom, her silent-yet-stern father, and her annoying he's-not-possibly-related-to-me brother. This day just gets better and better. She went upstairs anyway and got ready as to avoid conflict. What is one to wear? she thought. After about an hour of deciding, she chose a black knee-high skirt and a purple tank top. She pushed all her junk from moving into her new walk-in closet. After she finished putting on makeup and earrings, Mel walked downstairs to see everyone waiting on her.
    "God, smelly! I'm hungry! Can we leave now?" shouts her brother T.J. She hated that nickname and he knew it. But did he ever get in trouble for anything? No.
    "You lit-"
    Her mom interrupted her interjection to the name by saying, "Yes, yes. Come on everyone. Let's get going or we'll be late for our reservations."
    -----------------------------------

    They got to the restaurant just in time. As they sat down, someone came and took their drink orders and said the waiter would be there soon. After what seemed like a lifetime, the waiter showed up. "Sorry I'm late folks. I'm new here and I wanted to make sure I did my best this evening. I stayed behind for some quick study-up. Now are we ready to order?"
    "Sure thing little man. And for the lovely young lady in the corner? What can I get for you?"
    Mel looked up, realizing that she hadn't been paying attention. She quickly figured out what he was waiting for and sptouted off a random answer. "I'll have the Chicken Salad with ranch please. Can you take out the cucumbers and tomatoes?"
    "I sure can. I will be back shortly with your food," said the waiter as he walked towards the kitchen.
    As Mel watched him go she realized that he was cute. Really cute. And that he had just called her alovely young lady. How old was he? I mean he said he just started here, so that means he could be just around her age. Maybe he would be with her at school Monday! What if they met and became friends? Would he remember her? Mel sighed as she thought about all the possibilities. As she started to ask her mother if the waiter had said his name, Mr. Nameless himself came back with the food.
    "I have the steak with mushrooms accompanied by a baked potato with no sour cream," he said as he slid the plate over to her father, "and a country fried steak with a dry side salad," handing the dish to her mother, "chicken tenders with Mac & Cheese for my man in the corner," sliding the chicken and cheese meal to her brother T.J., "and last but not least, a healthy chicken salad with ranch dressing for the lovely lady in the other corner." He gently slid her dinner over to her corner. As she looked up to thank him, she saw that he had a subtle smile on his face.
    "Thank you....." she snook a glance at his nametag, "Jacob." He winked as soon as his name was out of her mouth. As Jacob walked away, Mel tried to hide her breathing problems. Unfortunately T.J. noticed.
    "Oooooooooooo......Smelly's got a crush on the waiter!!!!"
    "Do not! And stop calling me smelly!" Mel yelled back.
    Her father was not going to stand for this. "Now cut it out you two! We are out in public at a nice restaurant. Behave or you're grounded."
    "Sorry dad," they said in sync.
    Mel went back to picking at her salad when she noticed something sticking out between the plate and the bowl. She slowy picked it up, trying to hide it from her family. As she opened the paper a smile came to her face. It was a note from Jacob. It read:

    Hey.
    I know we kinda just met and all (not even formally haha), but you seem really cool. Here's my number. Call/text me and maybe we could hang out
    :] :] (970) 394 - 8127
    I understand if this is a little weird. Lol So you don't have to do anything.
    -J

    This isn't possible. He doesn't even know her name and he wants her to call him? When does this happen in real life? She silently pinched herself to see if she was dreaming. "Ouch!" She yelped. Apparently she had pinched too hard.
    "What's wrong, honey? Are you alright?" her mother asked, genuinely worried.
    "Oh yeah, sorry mom. I'm good. I think I just hit my hand on the table."
    "Ok Mel. Hurry up and eat everyone. Some of us still have some unpacking to do."

    -----------------------------------


    When Mel got home she immediately went to her room and unpacked everything. Finally, as she finished emptying the last box, she found the address book Jayla had given her as a going away present. She flipped it open to the "J" section and quickly typed in Jay's email. She desperately needed someone to talk to and jayla was the only one who would understand.
    She waited all night, but when no reply came, she finally gave in to sleep. When she awoke in the morning, the first thing she did was run to her computer. She looked at the words "No new messages" like she had just read she was to die in seven days. Jay had abandoned her. They had known each other from the start; nothing short of sisters, and she just leaves Mel forsaken in a new state, a new town, and surrounded by new people. Why was her life falling apart slowly one by one? First she loses her home, then her friends, now Jayla...... Who's next? Oh no. Not Ian. She couldn't stand to lose him. But then again, maybe she already had. He hadn't returned any of her attempts to contact him, and Jayla obviously wasn't going to give him the right story. This just wasn't happening. She wouldn't let it. She'd find a way to talk to Jay and Ian, no matter. As she got dressed for her first day of school, she thought of ways to make her plan work.
    -----------------------------------

    Being in a new town and all, she had her mom drop her off at school, even if it was embarrassing. When her mom had driven off, she headed towards the office, or so she thought. By then the late bell had rung and every kid that had pushed through these hallways a minute ago was long gone into a classroom. She had to be close to the office building. Even though the school was pretty small compared to her old school, this was one place she'd never been to while visiting in the summer. As she paused for a drink at the drinking fountain, she heard a familiar voice echo through the halls.
    "Thank you very much Mr. Connors."
    "Oh it's really no problem, son. We have copies lying around here from since the school was built! I'm always willing to part with another."
    "Well I guess I should be getting to class. Thanks again!"
    She looked up from the water fountain and headed in the direction the voices came from. As she turned the corner, she bumped into another person, which made her fly backwards, and sent her books flying. She scrambled to gather things and move on from this embarrassing moment. "I'm so, so sorry! I really should watch were I'm goi-" her voice suddenly disappeared as she stared into the bright blue eyes of her waiter. Jacob.
    "Hello....." Mel had forgotten that she hadn't told him her name.
    "My names Melani, but i prefer Mel," she said with a smile.
    "Nice to finally meet you Mel. Did you get my note?"
    "Ugh....yeah i did."
    "Sorry it was on a napkin. Actually I'm sorry i wrote it at all. I wasn't able to talk to you away from being your waiter," he laughed to himself at the thought, "and i figured if I did get the chance it would be kind of embarrassing with the family right there."
    "Well thanks for the thought. Sorry I didn't call. Moving and what not, it takes up most of my time." This wasn't a complete lie..... Moving did take up a lot of time; just not of her's. She just didn't want him to know she was uneasy about this.
    "I'm sorry if it seems weird. I just wanted to get to know you better. I mean, obviously your beautiful, but I like girls who have substance. And, I don't know, it seemed like you had that." He shifted his weight as he pondered why he had just said that.
    "You...you really think I'm....BEAUTIFUL?" He looked away sheepishly as she spoke.
    "Well, yeah. Who wouldn't?" He waited for her to respond but she was too shocked to form words. "I can see that my words may have incappacitated you for a few minutes," he said using an annoucer's voice. "Well since your new to the school, would you like me to be your guide?"
    Mel was finally able to catch her breath long enough to say, "I would very much appreciate that. Thanks."

    -----------------------------------

    As they walked around her new school, they laughed and talked about their lives. She told Jacob all about her old school, her friends back home, and her family. He listened intently, genuinely interested. Mel stopped talking and sat down on a nearby bench. He informed her that they had walked around the whole school, and the second period bell hadn't even rung yet.
    "Wow! This really is a small school!" She looked around at the breath-taking landscape. Even at school, she was able to grasp nature. He followed her glance and quietly laughed to himself. "What?!"
    "Nothing. It's nothing. I just..... I noticed you looking around, almost in awe. It reminds me of how I was when I first came here. I had loved nature before, but when I came to Colorado, I had it surrounding me. It was a little shocking."
    He's perfect. That's all she could think while she gazed upon his face. But then, an ugly thought started nagging at her brain. What was she doing flirting with Jacob when she obviously had feelings for Ian?! It was almost like she had those cartoon characters on her shoulders. On one side was the Devil, saying that if Ian really did care for her, he wouldn't be ignoring her. But then there was the Angel, bringing up that it was still unfair to him and herself; fliriting with someone she barely knew when she had dedicated herself to winning over Ian. As if the world were telling her to stop thinking about it, the bell rang for second period. Mel and Jacob said their goodbyes and promised to meet up later. As she headed for her classroom, she thought about possibly calling Ian when she got home. Even if she could just leave a message explainging what's going on she'd feel better.

    -----------------------------------

    Never had Mel been so happy to be in her new home. Her first day of school had been so tiring. Who knew in such a small town students would be so rude? All throughout the day she has been bumped and jostled in the halls. Kids tripped her during class and snickered when she asked a question during class. Through the expanse of her first day only two people had talked to her. Jacob abviously was the first, but the second person was a girl in her Literature class. They were working on a packet, and the teacher had allowed the class to either work alone, or with a partner. Mel chose to work alone since her cohorts were being immature, but out of nowhere a girl came and asked to work with her. Not knowing how to respond, Mel just shrugged her shoulders half-heartedly. As the girl sat down, Mel snuck a sideways glance towards her. She was pretty tall and kind of thin. She had what looked like blonde hair, but with streaks of brown throughout. She wasn't wearing the kind of clothes most of the kids wore. They chose to wear preppy clothes; lots of bright colors and plaid everywhere. A lot of the girls wore heels to school, while the guys wore designer shoes (or what Mel thought were designers; she could never tell). But this girl, she was wearing semi-tight pants, with flip flops, and a black t-shirt. Considering she was looking through peripheral vision, Mel wasn't able to read what her shirt said before the girl looked up.
    "By the way, my name is Victoria. Not Vicky, though. It makes me sound evil." She had a really pretty smile, even if it was covered with braces. Mel could tell that Victoria wasn't like everyone else, and that was one of the best things she had found out since moving.
    "My name is Melani, but everyone calls me Mel. I don't want to be rude or anything, but why did you come over here?"
    "Well.......I know how it feels to be the new kid, and I know how I felt when I was all alone during classes. So I figured, why not treat some other new kid the way I wished I was treated?"
    Mel knew they'd be fast friends.
    After they had finished the packet, Mel and Victoria exchanged numbers and emails so they could chat later. Mel lived only a couple houses down from her! It really is a small town, thought Mel, Jacob doesn't live far from me either.

    -----------------------------------

    At dinner, her parents wanted to hear everything about school. Her brother gladly opened up all of his unneeded information, while she quietly ate her food. Unfortunately her mother noticed that Mel had not spoken since the meal had started. "Honey? Did everything go alright at school today? You haven't said much."
    "School was school."
    "Well, did anything fun happen? Any new friends?"
    "A couple. Hey mom, I'm really not feeling well. May I be excused?"
    "Of course Mel, I understand how hard a new school is. Good night."
    As she headed up to her room, she thought about calling Jacob or Victoria. But after a few minutes of pondering her idea, she decided against it. I'll see them tomorrow she thought. Although she had gotten her room cleaned up, her bed still had a few stray items from the move covering her spot. Not feeling like putting things away, she shuffled her way to her open window. The seat was cool from the mountain breeze. Sitting next to that open window with that forest breeze coming through the woods was intoxicating. But just as Mel started to enjoy her moment, her cellphone rang. It made her jump and she had to regain herself and rush to catch the call. When she answered with a hello, it was cut off by a sudden "MEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLYYYYYYYY!!!!!"
    "JAYJAY!!!!!!!!!!!!! OH IT'S BEEN FOREVER SINCE I'VE HEARD YOUR VOICE!"
    "Oh Melly I'm so sorry I haven't called! I got my phone taken away for three weeks and I have to sneak out and use Ian's cell to make calls!" Ok so this would explain her absent calls, but what about Ian? He obviously had his phone in working order.
    "I'm so glad you called Jayjay! It's been forever and I feel so alone here. T.J.'s more annoying then ever and my parents rarely talk to me. But There is some good news! It is SO beautiful here and I met two new friends! One is Victoria and she was so very friendly and then the other is this AMAZing guy named Jacob; oh I know you'll just love him! Check you're email soon because I wrote to you about him!"
    "I'll do that right now Mel! In the meantime Ian would like to say a few words! Ha, he keeps giving me this look, like, get off the phone I have something important to say. But he's Ian being Ian so I have no idea what he wants. Talk to you later!" In the background she heard Jayla hustling Ian to the phone. Mel giggled at the thought of him having to pause his video game to talk.
    "Melani? Is that you?"
    Mel's breathe caught. She loved when he said her name, because with his accent it sounded so romantic. He was definitely the only person she liked hearing her full name from. "Well yeah its me Genius! How come you haven't called?!?!?!"
    Now it was his turn to be silent. "I didn't call because.....well, because...."
    "Spit it out! Come on, come on I know you can say whatever it is."
    "I was afraid of how you would reaction to my news..."
    "Well I can't tell you how I'd react until I know what is going on."
    "Melani. I'm gay."
    It felt like the world stopped turning. Mel couldn't breathe, and she certainly could not talk. She only heard the faint sound of a stream from the backyard, and Ian's attempts to grab her back into attention. How long had he known? Did he come up with it after she had confessed her feelings for him? Why does this all have to happen now? She slowing started catching her breath. What had felt like a lifetime was actually about a minute. "Ian? Are you still there?"
    "Oh thank God Melani! I thgouht for a second you had fainted!"
    "I was close to it. So -I don't know how to go about asking this kind of stuff- how did all of this come about?"
    "I've been trying to figure that out too. I kinda just hit me, you know?"
    "No. I really don't know. Oh well. After I calm down and think this through, I think we should arrange a vacation for you a Jayjay to come visit me."
    "Oh Melani that would be absolutely amazing!!!! I can not wait! I'll go talk to my parents as soon as we're done chatting. Jayla! Did you hear?! Melly here wants to plan a trip for us to come visit her!" She waited intently for her scream of excitement, but nothing came.
    "Hey Ian?"
    "Yes oh Great one?"
    "Don't call me that! I'm not that great. I haven't even finalized the idea yet. Anyway, where is Jayjay? I figured she'd be screaming her head off and jumping up and down."
    "Oh her? Ms. Jay over here has started emailing some guy from school. I think is name is Mark....or Matthew? I don't know. But right now they are instantly flirting via messenger. Man, that girl will never learn Melly."
    "How right you are. Well you keep her in line, and try to stay out of trouble yourself, ok? I've got to go, so I'll talk to both of you tomorrow. Later Alligator!"
    "In a while Crocodile!"
    And with that she left. This day turned out to be more stressful that imagined, and Mel was exhausted. She moved away form her window and pushed all of the junk on her bed to the floor. Flopping on the bed, she set her alarm, turned on her radio, and dozed off into her Dreamland.
    -----------------------------------