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The Price Fa deal in our personal history It was hoe got together in the first place Before the Sasbord, Noah Price was just a star in ht, and far above rade, but it felt like I knew him in the same way that I know people on television I knew the name I watched the show Sure, Noah was a bit closer than thatbut somehohen it’s real, when it’s your lifethat person can feel even farther off and more unobtainable than an actual celebrity Proximity doesn’t breed familiarity

I had always liked him, but it never really occurred to ht that was a reasonable thing to want He was a year older than ht of eye, and floppy of hair Noah was the whole package—athlete, acade—the kind of person you think must only date models or spies or people who have laboratories named after them

So when Noah invited asbord on Christmas Eve last year, I more or less ruptured an eye in ht for three days when I got the invitation It was so bad that I actually had to consciously practice walking in my room before I went to his house I had no idea if he had asked me because he liked me, or if his mom made him (our parents know each other), or because he lost a bet All my friends were just as excited, but they seemed to understand itono me up in conversation

It was all so crazyas weird as finding out that so

When I got there, I spentto his sister, who (though I love her) is not exactly deep There is only so much you can say about your favorite brands of hoodies before you feel the conversational walls closing in But she can go like a chahts on the Subject

I finally took a break just as Noah’sout another plate and I could ood excuse I had no idea as on it, but it turned out to be pickled fish I was backing away, but his mom said, “You have to try a piece”

Being a bit of a le, I did But this time, it worked out, because that’s when I noticed that Noah atching lad you took some” I asked him why, because I really think I suspected it was all a bet (“Okay, I’ll ask her to coive me twenty bucks if I can make her eat pickled fish”)

And he said, “Because I’ve been eating it”

I was still standing there hat I assu expression of total stupidity etched on my face, so he added, “And I couldn’t kiss you unless you’d had some, too”

Which is both gross and breathtakingly roone upstairs and brushed his teeth, but he stayed and lurked by the fish for e, where we made out under the shelf of power tools That was the start of it all

So, the particular Christmas Eve I’m about to tell you about wasn’t just any Christmas Eve: this was our one-year anniversary It was alone by so fast

See, Noah is always really busy When he e and pink, he probably had to get footprinted and out of the hospital as quickly as possible to get to aAs a senior, a member of the soccer team, and president of the student council, his ti I think in the year that we had been dating we had had about a dozen proper dates with just Noah andsomewhere by ourselves About once a month We’d had plenty of joint appearances Noah and Jubilee at the student-council bake sale! Noah and Jubilee at the soccer-team raffle table! Noah and Jubilee at the food drive, in the tutoring roo