May 6, 1998

Oh oh oh! Guess what! I am going out with Nathan! Yesterday, some of his friends told me that he liked me. I honestly thought they were lying. After everything that's happened, how could any boy ever like me again, let alone the most adorable boy in the sixth grade?

At lunch, Jenna and Erin ran over to Nathan's table to make sure he really liked me. When they ran back, Jenna told me, "He said, 'I really like her. Why won't she believe me?'" So I told all his friends to tell him that yes, I would go out with him.

Today, I wasn't sure if we were actually going out, so I asked his really good friend, Daniel, who said, "Yes!" Then Nathan came down the stairs and I ran away. The weird thing is, I haven't said a word to him since we started going out. [Running away from him probably didn't help.]

Yesterday, Melanie came over. We went bike riding to the library and Andrew and Chris Walker were there. So Melanie and I got back on our bikes and rode away. We noticed that Andrew and Chris were following us at a safe distance. [All the cool kids hang out at the library, apparently.]

Chris called out, "Emily!" Melanie and I rode a little faster. But soon Andrew and Chris were right next to us. Chris said, "Emily, why are you mad at me?" I said, "I'm not mad at you." He said, "But... you're being rude. I thought I was your friend."

I laughed. "How am I being rude?" Chris said, "You could be a little more friendly, Emily." Andrew said, "All we're asking for is a helping HAND." Chris said, "Those nice, pretty hands... just like you did for Zach." I said, "I did not give Zach a hand job." Finally, they left us alone and we rode home.

[This interaction strikes me as deeply creepy, especially since the boys behaving in such a threatening way were only thirteen years old themselves.]