Page 143 (1/1)

It was a deceptively si Monday to find, upon opening his locker, his favoriteIn its place was a note: “Hi, Toby! It’sa little vacation to your first period See you there! Kupo!” And in his first period, Becky (as in on it) sent poor Toby to get printer ink from a supply closet, where he found another note stuck to the shelf reading: “I got lost on my way to the office Maybe I lish instead, Kupo …?” Then in Toby’s second period English, of course I got Hoyt in on lish is … zzz … boring for a le Hey, do you knohat sodium polyacrylate is? Me neither! See ya in che Toby on a seven-period-long quest—during which I feigned having no idea about anything to do with thethe fact that I’d in fact researched all about those creatures and how they love dancing and interject “Kupo” into every sentence His quest at last ended in seventh period, where upon entering the theater auditorium, Toby was stunned to find no one there at all But under a single spotlight on the stage, his ! Will you go to the fricking Pro the note, all of the lights came on, music blared, and every last person in the theatre department burst out from behind curtains, from under the seats, and from the hallway Toby was overwhel at hi Kelsey, Frankie, Tamika, and everyone else from our Seaside cast But that didn’t compare to the teary-eyed look on his face as I ca the whole thing I walked the aisle and took his hand at the front of the stage “Yes!” Toby cried out through the noise of thefor it to die down—or for ether!” And that’s all I needed to hear as I embraced him and put my lips to his

The whole ordeal ht after we’ve enjoyed a beautiful dinner at Nadine’s and eaten our hearts out, we at last make it to the venue: the very small-town-fabulous ballroom of the Spur Inn back in Spruce, its side doors opened and spilling to a large, extravagantly decorated wooden deck area co, a DJ, canopies of flowers, booths for photos, and an enoret lost in theup with all our friends Kelsey has come with a crowd of theatre peeps who didn’t quite pair up with specific dates, preferring to attend the dance as friends Despite said wishes, Frankie and our ever-cheery Ta awfully close, which see opposite each other in the spring play a few o I never did audition for Frankie’s senior-directed play, but he understood, ith s Kelsey is also swarotten especially cozy over the spring Apparently after one last a the front cover, she won over the staff—and the school—and suddenly everyone at Spruce High wanted a yearbook Sales have never been higher Kelsey’s face beams with pride

Of course we also see Hoyt, who arrives roup of dateless jocks who just wanted to co Benji and Lee Julio shows up with his on-and-off-again girlfriend Stacey, the pair of the broken up and made up at least six tie hiht’ve had a rocky start—and that’s putting it lightly—but after helping ymnasium wall last se’s athletes in a new light

Toby and I soon find ourselves in each other’s ar And it’s these romantic moments I especially love, because all the noise seems to fade, Toby’s cute eyes are locked on mine, and we’re the only two people who exist As we slow dance, I put a finger under his chin and gently guide his lips tohim Toby’s lips are perfect