Aria grinned as she watched Jeff Hills stutteringly ask Marcy Swanson out for Valentine's Day. It was cute, in a way—like watching kittens trying to sneak up on each other and then jumping at shadows. The boys were so nervous that most of them settled for texting instead of asking in person.
She was in her fifth hour English class, learning about epithets. Mrs. Robinson had used Aria as an example, dubbing her Aria the Amazing. Mrs. Robinson was well into her seventies, with steel grey hair tied into a tight bun and a dress that looked like a donation from Anne of Green Gables. She was one of Aria's favorite teachers. She had an understated sense of humor and quick wit that always kept conversations interesting. She was also an amazing wordsmith. Listening to her put a sentence together was like watching an artist effortlessly paint a beautiful landscape.
Aria winced inwardly as Leslie Holmes rejected Timothy Drake's hastily whispered valentine. The poor kid had been working up the nerve to ask her out for days. Leslie was a boy magnet, with long, honey-blonde hair and a lithe, curvy figure that never failed to draw stares. Timothy wasn't bad looking, and he was a decent person as far as Aria had seen. There were rumors that Leslie was from a strict religious household. She claimed she wasn't allowed to date until she was eighteen years old, effectively ending the male competition for her affections before it could begin.
Aria sighed as the bell rang. It was always sad to leave the beautiful world of expertly crafted language that Mrs. Robinson wove. As she gathered her books and walked toward the hall, she noticed Leslie watching her quizzically. As soon as she noticed Aria looking back at her, she hurriedly looked away with a bright blush flooding her cheeks.
Okay, that was weird, Aria thought as she walked into the hall. What is the rumor mill saying about me now?
She met Cody in Miss Devons classroom, and they immediately jumped right into the history lesson for the day. Principal Wiley had both of them studying solo in Miss Devon's classroom every day now. They would devour the lesson in about a half hour and then spend the remainder of the time writing lyrics for a song based on the history lesson.
"You going to the Valentine dance with anyone?" Cody asked conversationally as he absently drew a comic of Thor smashing Loki's head into a pile of gore.
"Ha ha, very funny," Aria replied with a roll of her eyes. "In case you hadn't noticed, I'm the only lesbian in this school."
"Is that so?" Cody murmured, and Aria could see that he was working hard to suppress a smile.
"Is it?" Aria asked dryly.
"Well, some people aren't sure if you and Heidi are a thing," Cody replied, his lips twitching as he tried not to grin.
"Of course not," Aria laughed at the incongruity of the thought. "She's like a sister to me."
"Is that so?" Cody asked again, unable to keep the grin from spreading across his face.
"That's so," Aria confirmed firmly. "Who's asking?"
"Just a girl in one of my classes," Cody replied vaguely. "She wanted to know if someone had already asked you to the dance, like Heidi."
"And what did you tell this mystery woman," Aria asked in amusement. She was pretty sure he was making it all up to make her feel better about not having a date.
"I told her I was pretty sure you were available," Cody shrugged, glancing at her sideways. "She gave me a note to give you if you turned out to be available."
"Did she?" Aria asked wryly, growing more confident that he was pulling one over on her.
"Do you know who Leslie Holmes is?" Cody asked as he reached into a pocket and pulled out a neatly folded piece of paper.
Aria felt her mouth go dry as she nodded silently. Could he be serious? She felt her heart begin racing as she reached out a shaky hand and took the note from Cody.
"She's hot," Cody noted, looking supremely satisfied. "You could do a lot worse."
Aria wasn't listening though. She was completely engrossed in the short paragraph of text on the note.
'Aria, I would be honored and delighted if you would go to the Valentine Ball with me.'
Xoxo
Leslie
Aria reread the note several times as blood pounded in her ears. Was it really possible? Or was this an elaborate prank to make fun of the school dyke? She doubted it—the school had changed during the last several months, and almost everyone had accepted her for who she was now.
"It's not a prank," Cody told her confidently. "I could tell she was totally into you."
"What do I say?" Aria asked, feeling short of breath.
"What do you mean, what do you say?" Cody asked in exasperation. "You're a freaking poet. You tell her yes."
"Should I just send the note back to her?" Aria asked anxiously. "Or should I tell her in person?"
"Definitely in person," Cody grinned. "It will cut down on the awkwardness later if you actually talk about it now."
"Okay, this is so freaking weird," Aria muttered distractedly. "I don't even know what to do on a date, let alone how to dance."
"I'm pretty sure Heidi can teach you how to dance in record time," Cody said thoughtfully. "As for the date? You go out to eat and talk about what you like and what you don't like. It's easy—just talk about movies, music, books, yada yada you get the idea."
"Are you two actually getting any work done over here?" Miss Devon's asked lightly as she walked up and looked at Cody's comic with a rueful shake of her head.
"Aria just got asked out to the Valentine Ball," Cody told Miss Devons with a grin.
"Really?" Miss Devons replied with a wide smile. "That's fantastic! Who's the lucky woman?"
"Leslie Holmes," Cody told her with a smirk at Aria. "She's the super-hot blonde with the rockin body."
"Well this is exciting," Miss Devons said enthusiastically, ignoring Cody's assessment. "I noticed she was staring at you a lot during the holiday concert, but everyone else was too, so I didn't pay it any mind."
"Awkward," Aria groaned, putting her face into her hands.
The remainder of class consisted of Miss Devons and Cody giving her dating advice. When the bell rang, Aria bolted from the room before her brain exploded with all of the instructions they had tried to stuff into her head.