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Tilly

“Look at those abs! Oooooo!”

Nicole is holding up a book and running her finger seductively down the abs of theher upper lip with the tip of her tongue I cover hter

“Stop, would you? Oh od, you’re so bad!”

We giggle again, but continue staring at the cover It’s okay because Nic and I know one another well She’s rade, ere paired up for a science fair project I aravitated towards each other even without the science fair

After all, ere part of the small portion of students in the class that was actually looking forward to the project We were both outsiders at our school, observing but not so ; both heavy-set, aard, and total bookworms We’re the type that sits quiet in the back of the classroo on to our teachers’ every last word Is it bad to love learning? It certainly see that comes my way

But Nicole and I bonded quickly our sixth-grade year, especially after our project won second place in the science fair contest Our hypothesis was that we could get a battery to produce energy from lemon juice, and it did! The red ribbon looked so nice, and I was bea with happiness when I saw it

After the fair, our parents took us to celebrate at a local Connie’s Pizza, one of the classic Chicago-land pizzerias where patrons can write in sharpie on the brick walls while they wait for their order I remember the red and white checkered table cloths, and the di above theary sauce in the air, wafting off the iconic pizza pies Plus, if I had to guess, “Tilly & Nicole BFFS Forever” is still written in big letters above the old pizza oven built into the wall in theroom

But yeah, our nerdiness hasn’t worn off even years later, and we aren’t exactly the cool kids in high school Whiledown to the field across froe juice, we prefer to hit the toling alley and gush over our latest reads while knocking down soet a little crazy here and there Wild and fun just have a differentto us than to most of the masses For exa set only allowing trick shots; Nicole’s granny roll is alular throw at this point It’s hilarious, but anyone would laugh upon seeing it

Plus, we’ve lucked out with our schedules this year We have over half of our classes together, and this thankfully includes homerooiving us daily opportunity to gush over the ro the back wall of the room

It’s a little sad because there are no real-life boys interested in us, so weover the male ling a Fabio-inspired oofing around, but deep doe both know that ould kill for adown to his shoulders, and piercing blue eyes above a deadly sharp jaw line I can’t help but fixate on the trickle of sweatits way down and over his washboard abs, which of course draws ht v-formation just at the top of his faded blue jeans Neither of us have ever seen a man like that in real life

Nicole swings her bouncy brown curls over her shoulders as she spins around to show me the cover of the next book in the bin Behind her oversized glasses, her eyes are practically bulging with excitement

“Are you seeing this Tilly? Can you i a man like him to prom? I can see Samantha and her little posse already The looks on their faces would be absolutely priceless”