Last night, my wife and I endured the cold, our own sleepiness, and a gaggle of over-caffeinated teenage girls to watch the midnight premiere of Breaking Dawn, the latest in the Twilight series. I could say my wife dragged me to the movie, that I went to appease her.
But that would be a lie. I admit it: I like Twilight.
I realize this is odd. Before the show started, I walked to the bathroom. The women's bathroom was overflowing, a line all the way out to the Hunger Games poster. When I went into the guys' bathroom, there were two people.
I don't know why I am this way. I just know I am.
7 Things I Like In A Love Story
That being said, I don't identify with the women in these stories. I care about the dudes. I am straight, after all. So in honor of the guys who were at the Twilight premiere last night (all seven of you), here's a list of all the things that I like in a love story from a guy's perspective.
1. The guy who doesn't deserve her, but gets her anyway.
Let's be honest. Most guys don't deserve the girl they get. Girls are better looking, better smelling, and generally better at life.
So when someone who's kind of a loser, like Jim in Kingsley Amis' Lucky Jim, one of my favorite novels about a love story, gets a beautiful and intelligent woman to fall in love with him, I feel like it's just a very honest take on the world of relationships.
2. Self-torture.
A subset of the guy who doesn't deserve her is the guy who took a shot at her, failed, and now shrouds himself in self-pity for the next hundred pages. The best example of this, of course, is Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice. Mr. Darcy takes self-torture to another level because he goes emo like a gentleman should, with poise and honor.
My favorite part of the book is when he gets angry with Miss Bennett for rejecting his proposal, and then, instead of storming out and slamming the door, he dismisses himself coolly:
You have said quite enough, madam. I perfectly comprehend your feelings, and have now only to be ashamed of what my own have been. Forgive me for having taken up so much of your time, and accept my best wishes for your health and happiness.
Boom! He might as well have performed self-immolation.
3. Love at first sight.
I know love at first sight is a cliché and that it's not real and all that. But you have to admit, if love at first sight worked, it would be a lot more efficient.
Think about it this way. Romeo sees Juliet, falls in love, and like two hours later they get married. They don't date for five years like couples do these days. Two-and-a-half hours later, they're done.
Love at first sight is just a well-organized, time-saving way to do romance.
4. He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not.
“Bella, stop being such an idiot. YES! He likes you!”
This is the thought you have frequently throughout the whole Twilight series. Bella just doesn't seem to get it that Edward likes her. Over and over again, she doubts him.
It's annoying.
It's also genius. It takes skill to maintain the romantic tension in love stories, especially when both parties fall in love right away. Stephenie manages to maintain the tension throughout the novels by making Bella a complete fool when it comes to reading other people's regard.
5. Pining in private.
The best example of this is probably The Princess Bride. The poor servant, Westley, falls in love with the beautiful Buttercup, and keeps it a secret until he can improve his situation to make him worthy of her.
Secret love is a powerful thing. Speaking from experience, it can make you do some pretty crazy things.
6. Head over heels.
People in love see differently. They notice the color of their beloved's eyes, the shape of their lips, the way the light falls on their hair. These are things that are always there, and have always been there, but lovers notice them and are grateful for them.
As an artist, I am always trying to see better. I want to be surprised and delighted by life, so that I can, in turn, learn how to surprise and delight. Lovers see like artists do.
7. I would walk 500 miles.
After I fell in love with Talia, I realized I had a problem. She lived in Georgia, and I lived in California. Worse, I didn't know if she liked me. In fact, I was pretty sure she didn't since she wouldn't reply to my emails.
So I did what any guy who has read too many love stories and watched too many romantic comedies would do. I drove across the country, knowing that if I could just be there in person, I could get her.
And I did.
(I've always loved that song.)
How about you? Do you like love stories? What do you like about them?
PRACTICE
Let's practice creating some romantic tension today.
The prompt is, “Edward loves Bella.”
How did they fall in love? Does she initially reject him? Does he do something crazy to win her over? Write for fifteen minutes, and post your story in the comments when you're done.
WOW Joe I RARELY read blogs but this has to be one of the best!!! You didn’t miss a thing…..
Pssttt…heading out as we speak to see the 12:45pm show 🙂
Thanks Tara. Nice! Have fun 🙂
Just got back—that was TERRIBLE….I am so disappointed 🙁
Ha. Well, I said I wasn’t going to say anything…
I think there were some interesting things, and it was a hard book to adapt, but I definitely have mixed feelings.
WOW Joe I RARELY read blogs but this has to be one of the best!!! You didn’t miss a thing…..
Pssttt…heading out as we speak to see the 12:45pm show 🙂
Thanks Tara. Nice! Have fun 🙂
Just got back—that was TERRIBLE….I am so disappointed 🙁
Ha. Well, I said I wasn’t going to say anything…
I think there were some interesting things, and it was a hard book to adapt, but I definitely have mixed feelings.
haven’t read twilight. don’t plan to, ever (probably because i’d see so much of myself in bella – not being able to perceive people’s regard – but with nary an edward or jacob in sight).
but i like this post. i especially appreciate that you quoted from pride & prejudice. you’re the 2nd male world racer i know that has read and enjoyed the book — another reason why i am a buntie.
but this is helpful. especially as i try to truck away at my novel (which, if not this month, by year’s end i hope).
Great! I’m glad my weirdness is helpful.
And not only have I read and enjoyed P&P, I almost guarantee I’ve read it more times than you 🙂
I bet you have — I’ve read the book twice, but I own the DVD of the film adaptation starting Keira Knightley, which I almost guarantee I’ve watched more times than you. 😀
That’s only because I hate that version. I’m a purist–BBC all the way.
i do like the BBC. but i don’t have it. and well, i can’t watch it as often as i can. matthew macfadyen eventually grew on me as mr. darcy.
though lately, i think i’d prefer a gilbert blythe. but anyway.
Yeah you’ve got to love Gilbert.
Sara – did you just refer to yourself as a buntie??? is that like a bunting groupie???
Taylor Swift has Swifties. Joe Bunting has Bunties.
lol!! =)
haven’t read twilight. don’t plan to, ever (probably because i’d see so much of myself in bella – not being able to perceive people’s regard – but with nary an edward or jacob in sight).
but i like this post. i especially appreciate that you quoted from pride & prejudice. you’re the 2nd male world racer i know that has read and enjoyed the book — another reason why i am a buntie.
but this is helpful. especially as i try to truck away at my novel (which, if not this month, by month’s end i hope).
Great! I’m glad my weirdness is helpful.
And not only have I read and enjoyed P&P, I almost guarantee I’ve read it more times than you 🙂
I bet you have — I’ve read the book twice, but I own the DVD of the film adaptation starting Keira Knightley, which I almost guarantee I’ve watched more times than you. 😀
That’s only because I hate that version. I’m a purist–BBC all the way.
i do like the BBC. but i don’t have it. and well, i can’t watch it as often as i can. matthew macfadyen eventually grew on me as mr. darcy.
though lately, i think i’d prefer a gilbert blythe. but anyway.
Yeah you’ve got to love Gilbert.
Sara – did you just refer to yourself as a buntie??? is that like a bunting groupie???
Taylor Swift has Swifties. Joe Bunting has Bunties.
I’ve never read it either and not sure if I ever will. However, I did enjoy the “7 Things I like in a Love Story.” I was hoping for a Wuthering Heights reference, as opposed to Pride & Prejudice. Anyway, thanks Joe. I do enjoy reading your blog.
Oooh. Wuthering Heights… I think I borrowed it but never read it…
Next time you’re in town, I can loan it to you.
oooh. i’ll be in town in a few weeks.
I’ll hook you up.
Thanks, Nick 🙂
I’m sorry to say I haven’t read Wuthering Heights. After reading Jane Eyre, I got a bad taste in my mouth for the Brontes. Not that I hated it, but it’s just not my favorite. I like a stronger male character.
I definitely had a rough go around with Sense and Sensibility which tainted my reading of Pride & Prejudice.
Ha!
Sad, but true. Victorian literature at it’s finest. Maybe I’ll fall back into Ethan Frome, where the main character imagines he has had an affair.
Ethan Frome. Sledding gone wrong, right?
Yes. Sometimes I can’t believe they teach it for honors English.
It sounds like an interesting frame for a story though. English profs / teachers love double and triple framed stories. Atwood’s blind assassin will be in English lit classes eventually (have you read that?).
I’ve never read it either and not sure if I ever will. However, I did enjoy the “7 Things I like in a Love Story.” I was hoping for a Wuthering Heights reference, as opposed to Pride & Prejudice. Anyway, thanks Joe. I do enjoy reading your blog.
Oooh. Wuthering Heights… I think I borrowed it but never read it…
Next time you’re in town, I can loan it to you.
oooh. i’ll be in town in a few weeks.
I’ll hook you up.
Thanks, Nick 🙂
I’m sorry to say I haven’t read Wuthering Heights. After reading Jane Eyre, I got a bad taste in my mouth for the Brontes. Not that I hated it, but it’s just not my favorite. I like a stronger male character.
I definitely had a rough go around with Sense and Sensibility which tainted my reading of Pride & Prejudice.
Ha!
Sad, but true. Victorian literature at it’s finest. Maybe I’ll fall back into Ethan Frome, where the main character imagines he has had an affair.
Ethan Frome. Sledding gone wrong, right?
Yes. Sometimes I can’t believe they teach it for honors English.
It sounds like an interesting frame for a story though. English profs / teachers love double and triple framed stories. Atwood’s blind assassin will be in English lit classes eventually (have you read that?).
yeah for team edward….love you:)
🙂
yeah for team edward….love you:)
🙂
Great post! And I also love the song!
Thanks Missy.
Great post! And I also love the song!
Thanks Missy.
Not about Edward and Bella, I’m 54!!!! But I’m a sucker for love stories… And yeah… we’re all bunties here:)
Only when the evening chill sets in does Thong realize they’ve been talking for hours and that he should leave.
“Not before you get all that mustard off your face,” she tells him as he stands up to go.
“Oh,” he exclaims, his hand reaching up to wipe his jaw.
But she’s there before him.
“Let me,” she says, bending towards him, napkin in hand ready to dab the yellow off his chin.
Her face is very near Thong’s. She’s slightly taller than he is and he can look up into her eyes, as they focus down on his mouth. They’re very dark, the pupils expanded. On her left lower lid, a single eyelash has fallen onto her perfect skin. There are little flecks of grease on her glasses, a crumb of bread on her lower lip.
This is a different woman, he tells himself again.
He forgets that he’s flying cross-country next week to resettle with Sixth and Huong, that there can’t possibly be a future to this.
“No, let me,” he says, catching her wrist and leaning in towards her face to pick the breadcrumb from her very soft, light pink mouth with his long fingers.
“Now that we are both quite clean …” he leaves the question hanging.
She lowers her eyes.
He kisses her.
It is a Vietnamese kiss, the merest brushing of lips, followed by a deep drawn in breath against the side of her nose, as if he is absorbing her essence; another manifestation of the exotic otherness she’s been charmed by all fortnight. Nina falls and cannot be saved.
Heftier than she is, he’s still slighter than anyone she’s known before. His hairless bronzed skin, smelling faintly of incense and the sea, is something entirely new to her. His arms and legs are strong but lithe, what taut flesh there is barely covering his sharp bones. There’s an elegance to his movements, the careful cupping of his hands on her jaw line, the deliberate running of his lightly stubbled chin along her collarbone. She receives him like an emissary from a strange land, his otherness emphasized by the imprint of the silver circlet fastened to his thigh, pressing into hers.
Her body is a new experience for Thong. With her milk-fed bones and hard solid flesh around the hips and across her breasts, she feels entirely different from the bird-boned soft-fleshed Vietnamese women he’s known before. Nor does she feel like that ample roughed-skinned American journalist he’d slept with on and off until her assignment ended. Silk-skinned yet hard with no excess fat, she’s how he has always imagined a fusion of East and West should be.
They fall into bed and in love deluded by their own illusions. He thinks he’s finally found America. She expects him to lead her home to the motherland she never knew.
Wow. This is quite good. Steamy.
There is a major flaw though, and that is the way you jump between characters thoughts. Here’s where you make the shift,
“It is a Vietnamese kiss, the merest brushing of lips, followed by a deep drawn in breath against the side of her nose, as if he is absorbing her essence; another manifestation of the exotic otherness she’s been charmed by all fortnight. Nina falls and cannot be saved.”
And those two sentences are excellent, but in the first we’re in Thong’s head and then we’re in Nina’s. This disorients the reader and throws off the momentum of the scene. If you’re going to switch to another character’s thoughts the convention is to show the change with a double space.
Like that.
It’s unfortunate that this is a rule, because otherwise your scene is excellent, especially the way you compare their two mindsets at the end:
“They fall into bed and in love deluded by their own illusions. He thinks he’s finally found America. She expects him to lead her home to the motherland she never knew.”
I love it.
Thanks Joe Bunting.
This is a BIG USEFUL COMMENT as far as my other stuff goes. So… when writing say a 15,000 word chapter, what strategies are there aside from punctuation to go from one person’s head to another if one is writing in the 3rd person.
I mean, one strategy is just to avoid the other person’s head entirely. Have your character observe their body language–raised eyebrows and hand resting on chin–but steer clear of entering their head. You can even make them guess what the other person is thinking. This can actually increase the sexual tension, because tension is created by doubt which is created by not knowing what the other person is thinking. If the character doesn’t know, and the audience doesn’t know, it can be a good thing.
Not about Edward and Bella, I’m 54!!!! But I’m a sucker for love stories… And yeah… we’re all bunties here:)
Only when the evening chill sets in does Thong realize they’ve been talking for hours and that he should leave.
“Not before you get all that mustard off your face,” she tells him as he stands up to go.
“Oh,” he exclaims, his hand reaching up to wipe his jaw.
But she’s there before him.
“Let me,” she says, bending towards him, napkin in hand ready to dab the yellow off his chin.
Her face is very near Thong’s. She’s slightly taller than he is and he can look up into her eyes, as they focus down on his mouth. They’re very dark, the pupils expanded. On her left lower lid, a single eyelash has fallen onto her perfect skin. There are little flecks of grease on her glasses, a crumb of bread on her lower lip.
This is a different woman, he tells himself again.
He forgets that he’s flying cross-country next week to resettle with Sixth and Huong, that there can’t possibly be a future to this.
“No, let me,” he says, catching her wrist and leaning in towards her face to pick the breadcrumb from her very soft, light pink mouth with his long fingers.
“Now that we are both quite clean …” he leaves the question hanging.
She lowers her eyes.
He kisses her.
It is a Vietnamese kiss, the merest brushing of lips, followed by a deep drawn in breath against the side of her nose, as if he is absorbing her essence; another manifestation of the exotic otherness she’s been charmed by all fortnight. Nina falls and cannot be saved.
Heftier than she is, he’s still slighter than anyone she’s known before. His hairless bronzed skin, smelling faintly of incense and the sea, is something entirely new to her. His arms and legs are strong but lithe, what taut flesh there is barely covering his sharp bones. There’s an elegance to his movements, the careful cupping of his hands on her jaw line, the deliberate running of his lightly stubbled chin along her collarbone. She receives him like an emissary from a strange land, his otherness emphasized by the imprint of the silver circlet fastened to his thigh, pressing into hers.
Her body is a new experience for Thong. With her milk-fed bones and hard solid flesh around the hips and across her breasts, she feels entirely different from the bird-boned soft-fleshed Vietnamese women he’s known before. Nor does she feel like that ample roughed-skinned American journalist he’d slept with on and off until her assignment ended. Silk-skinned yet hard with no excess fat, she’s how he has always imagined a fusion of East and West should be.
They fall into bed and in love deluded by their own illusions. He thinks he’s finally found America. She expects him to lead her home to the motherland she never knew.
Wow. This is quite good. Steamy.
There is a major flaw though, and that is the way you jump between characters thoughts. Here’s where you make the shift,
“It is a Vietnamese kiss, the merest brushing of lips, followed by a deep drawn in breath against the side of her nose, as if he is absorbing her essence; another manifestation of the exotic otherness she’s been charmed by all fortnight. Nina falls and cannot be saved.”
And those two sentences are excellent, but in the first we’re in Thong’s head and then we’re in Nina’s. This disorients the reader and throws off the momentum of the scene. If you’re going to switch to another character’s thoughts the convention is to show the change with a double space.
Like that.
It’s unfortunate that this is a rule, because otherwise your scene is excellent, especially the way you compare their two mindsets at the end:
“They fall into bed and in love deluded by their own illusions. He thinks he’s finally found America. She expects him to lead her home to the motherland she never knew.”
I love it.
Thanks Joe Bunting.
This is a BIG USEFUL COMMENT as far as my other stuff goes. So… when writing say a 15,000 word chapter, what strategies are there aside from punctuation to go from one person’s head to another if one is writing in the 3rd person.
I mean, one strategy is just to avoid the other person’s head entirely. Have your character observe their body language–raised eyebrows and hand resting on chin–but steer clear of entering their head. You can even make them guess what the other person is thinking. This can actually increase the sexual tension, because tension is created by doubt which is created by not knowing what the other person is thinking. If the character doesn’t know, and the audience doesn’t know, it can be a good thing.
Ah, I love this post. Thanks for this.
Thanks for stoppin’ by Erika. Glad you enjoyed it.
Ah, I love this post. Thanks for this.
Thanks for stoppin’ by Erika. Glad you enjoyed it.
what a good post.
🙂 thanks chelsea.
what a good post.
🙂 thanks chelsea.
Thank you for posting this entry, and I enjoyed reading it! About a year ago, I wrote this blog about the Twilight series. I thought you all would enjoy hearing a female’s perspective. Best, Margaret 🙂 http://skirt.com/lastunicorngirl80/blog/team-jacob-new-moon-can-beat-another-potentially-bad-date
Thank you for posting this entry, and I enjoyed reading it! About a year ago, I wrote this blog about the Twilight series. I thought you all would enjoy hearing a female’s perspective. Best, Margaret 🙂 http://skirt.com/lastunicorngirl80/blog/team-jacob-new-moon-can-beat-another-potentially-bad-date
Joe you are friggin hilarious 🙂
Thanks. I do my best. 🙂
Joe you are friggin hilarious 🙂
Thanks. I do my best. 🙂
The ship was too shiny to ignore, too odd to bypass. It was shaped like a giant egg, but its surface was veined like a morel mushroom. Feeble fins protruded from its rear and sides. Carhardt had no idea how those little nubs would help the ship maneuver in atmo, but that must have been their purpose. The ship was on the ground. It must have been able to steer somehow. Carhardt studied its grey bulk, his whiskers twitching. It was almost completely dark except for a faint luminous gleam beneath the cockpit. He shouldn’t have done it, but the pull of the mysterious was too strong. The package was secure under his coat. Daisy would wait at the cafe. He grabbed the ship’s lowest ridge and hoisted himself up.
The ship was too shiny to ignore, too odd to bypass. It was shaped like a giant egg, but its surface was veined like a morel mushroom. Feeble fins protruded from its rear and sides. Carhardt had no idea how those little nubs would help the ship maneuver in atmo, but that must have been their purpose. The ship was on the ground. It must have been able to steer somehow. Carhardt studied its grey bulk, his whiskers twitching. It was almost completely dark except for a faint luminous gleam beneath the cockpit. He shouldn’t have done it, but the pull of the mysterious was too strong. The package was secure under his coat. Daisy would wait at the cafe. He grabbed the ship’s lowest ridge and hoisted himself up.
You do realize that Twilight is a love song to abusive relationships, right?
I’m very sympathetic to those who view the book like that. Honestly, I think that’s a misreading of the text, but I can definitely see why people would say that.
Besides the fact that you’re a fan, why do you think it’s misreading the text?
I didn’t appreciate the Twilight Saga (mainly because: I found the book badly written (like a fanfic), I found Bella totally uninteresting (ordinary, dull, a bit stupid sometimes), and the whole plot wasn’t made for me (I was bored most of the time)), yet I agree with Joe about the misreading concerning th abusive relationships. I find this point of view a bit overrated. In real life, this relationship would be abusive, mainly because you don’t have in real live this “true love” that excuses everything. It’s a film or book stuff the idea of the guy overrating or wrongly acting because of love that somehow irradiates him, and it’s quite a common one. On that subject, Twilight isn’t worse than most shoujos or even fairytales. It’s a very conservative book, with patriarcal/sexit views that are exagerated because we’re in a fiction, and a one with fantastic (so the guy acts even more weirdly because he’s not human, he’s more like a beast, which is another fantasm for the old idea of the poor little lamb/bella and the ferocious lion/Edward. What we find in Twilight is no more than fantasms from a woman coming from a patriarcal society (being weak and finding the true love that will protect her, in the person of a “perfect” man, that does everything bigger than in real life because we are in a fantasm/novel). Because Edward is “so in love”, his protection seems abusive, but at least Bella can defy that, she won’t be punished for that, and he will never do “bad things” to her because he’s mean or bad. His “bad treatment” (and I agree with readers about that: I dislike the way he treats Bella sometimes) is coming from his “too much love” (… I dislike that idea, but that’s quite a common idea/fantasm) and from his beast side. Now, we are in real like, and someone who would look for that kind of treatment, unless she’s dating a vampire, would be wrong but we can’t say it’s the fault of Twilight^^. Anyway, I hop this helped you (and sorry for my awful English, it’s not my native tongue).
Aww a perfect romance. Someone who believes everything will work out.
Well okay. I guess I can try. Okay okay, come here, listen.
See that man over there. Yes him. Man is he something. She saw him a year ago, she was a hostess then. Ran about the room serving waters at a little Chinese place. Not the real Chinese food, but still delicious.
But she didn’t eat MSG then. Which was terribly sad on reflection. Okay. Okay. Getting distracted. But yes, he came in. He was in a group like he was hiding out in them. But he smiled and his blue eyes were so blue. That for the time they shared that look that was all of everything in her world. The whole world were the blue eyes, and there were endless oceans around them. Engulfing, encompassing.
And she was busy, the place was so busy. She couldn’t stop moving for a minute. She wanted to just stand there. Forever. And yeah she knew how stupid she would look but she didn’t care damnit! Because she loved him. She knew she did and that was perfect. BEing in love is perfect and people should just let love work out. Don’t make Romeo and Juliet have to die for it. Can’t you see how cruel that is??
And soon like a light, he flicked out, and was gone. His group ate and joked for a bit then paid and then with them he drifted out to the place that they had come from. And she wondered if he was gone forever. She obsessed a little wondering, but was also relieved. Because she could not handle that weight of knowing him, she knew that. But she had been affected still. The hull of the boat in her mind knew that that man was out there now. And she was going to see him again.
And next year… When she changed jobs handed in her form, came to the interview. The interview she would decline, the dull place, she was above cashiering now. She would do something worthwhile. It was starting with secretary. But that would be the beginning. And cashier is a big zero, get you no where occupation. She swam that raft way too long.
But then like no one’s business he was there. He handed the boss lady a paper, whispered in her ear. Didn’t even see me! she thought. And turned around and was gone.
He looked at her and smiled before. It was flirtatious and daring. And not just because everyone in general is nice. No that first smile was more then that.
Then she ended the interview. She would come in for training next week if she agreed to. That night she had gotten a call back from a company that wanted her as their secretary. And not just any place, but a personal business. How cool, over time she could get to learn the ins and outs of owning a business. But if she didn’t take the cashier job then she may not see him again. If she took the job she’d see him too much. Plus it was a nowhere job, and she had a chance at soemthing better now.
She took the job for cashier. Though she soon learned that man became her manager and all kinds of wrong started to go off in her head. That she was doomed.
“You Idiot!” She said to herself after she started to drive herself home. “This is not going to work. And yet what choice did I have really?” she thought. But still after she looked back on it years later, she would wish she hadn’t taken it. Somethings you should never have to experience no matter the lessons you learn from it.
“Edwards love Bella.”
Edward blinked. He read the card again: Edward loves Bella.
“Who the hell is Bella?” He narrowed his eyes at the bold letter prints. The Times New Roman lettering glared at him and he glared right back and he could almost see the beginnings of a tore boring into the paper film.
He turned around, she was sitting behind at his back from the class. She was reading a book, twig-lighters or something, daintily lifting a page and nodding silently.
“Liz, you know anyone named Bella?”
She paused mid-lift of a page, blinked, then continued reading. She shook her head “no”.
“Who the hell even knows I’m Edward?” He scratched his head reading the card again. It was a plain card, no frills, stupid girly design. “Only my mom calls me Edward, I’m known as DD here.”
Liz spoke up. “Well “DD” who do you think would know you are named Edward?”
His eyes shot up and bit his lip. “Besides you? I have no idea.”
She closed her book and sighed. She leaned on her elbowed hand and stared blankly into the bleak empty space. She yawned and stretched her arms on the desk.
“I wonder who Bella is.” He flipped the card over and played with it on with his hands. “I hope she’s hot. Cheerleader maybe.”
Liz laughed silently and rolled her eyes. “Cheerleaders are overrated.”
“Blonde.”
Liz played with the ends of her brunette hair.
“Right mix of fit and fat not too chubby and not too thin.”
Liz grasped her thin wrist, her hand giving a large space.
“Plus she needs to be a little dumb and ditzy.”
Liz adjusted her glasses, it reflected the warm gaze of the afternoon light on her desk. Her math homework lay there, her A grade mocking her.
“Yeah, well” Liz said. “Have fun with Bella.”
Edward came up to her desk yawning. “Eh, you’re right, cheerleaders are overrated. You gonna come to game practice at the PC club?”
He didn’t wait for her to answer and left for the the door. Liz blinked as she spotted the card on her desk. Her fine lettering mocked her again and she found herself flushing.
She picked it up and noticed writing on the back end of the card. Written in his precise lettering. “But DD likes Liz better.”
Liz smiled.