12. I already messed it up.

Last night, I realized I forgot to embellish more on Floyd's* story. I was so excited to talk about Hugo* and how amazingly beautiful he was that I completely skipped over Floyd. Floyd and I continued to be really good friends throughout all of junior high. We played the same sports, we went to the same church, and we were even on the academic team together (no no, nothing like Keith's* story).

In my last year of junior high, just before Keith and I started, there was Floyd. Now if you remember, Floyd was the nice friend that consoled me when my heart was first broken at an elementary dance. I think that's why I always (and still to this day) had deep respect for him.

It happened during basketball season. We were hanging out at my friend Hillary's house after school waiting for the bus to cart us off to our game. I was definitely that girl that wouldn't do anything without peer pressure when I was in junior high. So when all of my friends started making out with their boy of choice (I promise my small town does have morals!), I caved and kissed Floyd. There wasn't anything magical about it. Also if I remember correctly, we convinced him to flash us. We only looked though. Even though I was kissing like it was going out of style, I was very prude at that age.

Sadly, nothing came out of kissing Floyd. It really was like kissing my brother.

Floyd is actually still a part of my life right now, but as nothing more than friends. He pops in and out of it randomly, but when he's in it, he provides some great stories. So I won't close the Floyd chapter just yet.


My name is Blake*, and I seriously giggled a little bit when I typed "we convinced him to flash us." Because I almost wrote "we convinced him to show us his pee pee." (I'm still twelve. It's fine.)


*all names have been changed to protect the innocent and not-so-innocent


I promise I'll get it right from here on out.

10. New school year, new boys

I finally realized that things were going nowhere fast between me and Harry*. I wish I could say that I finally gave him the boot, but I continued to want him for a very long time.

However, I started 8th grade top dog at my junior high, while he went to being a low freshman in high school. Eighth grade was a crazy year of boys. It started with my obsession with Harry, then I moved to an obsession with a kid named Keith*. Keith and I also went to church together. We both played basketball. We were both on the academic team for the junior high. Oh, and Keith also happened to be the junior high principal's son. Should have known it would be trouble.

The funny thing about our academic team trips is that we would always go to whatever school, dominate the competition, get something to eat, and then head home. This is where we got into trouble. A bunch of the kids in band were also on the academic team, and the rumors you hear about band kids are totally true. All of us older people would sit in the back, and 4 of the band kids would pair off and start making out. IN EIGHTH GRADE. Well, one of the couples put me and Keith in the same seat. We were both prude, so we just sat and talked while making out noises were going on around us.

At one point, Keith asked if he could hold my hand. I thought it was so cute. The next thing I know, Keith is my boyfriend, and continued to be my boyfriend up until that summer. He even bought me a Valentine's Day bear (which I found last weekend while I was cleaning out old boxes).

I honestly don't remember why we broke up. I just know we did, and I made him cry. I broke someone's heart shortly after mine was broken at a young and tender age.

Keith was a year younger than me, so when I went to high school, my obsession with Harry started right back up.

My name is Blake*, and seriously don't ever break someone's heart. You feel like a jerk.

 

*all names have been changed to protect the innocent and not-so-innocent

There's a little more to Keith's story, so stay tuned!

9. Crazy over one boy for far too long

I've learned that most junior high and high school boys will pay attention to whichever girl is convenient during the summer months. I wish I could say that Harry* was different than most boys, but if he were, I'd still be with him to this day.

Harry and I had attended church together for quite some time at this point, and I was one of the few girls that went to church on a regular basis. We also spent a lot of time outside of church together, hanging out at his house, going to movies, and just enjoying each other's company.

We also went to church camp together that summer. The problem with going to church camp is that I was no longer convenient for him. I can't tell you how many numbers he got during the week that we were at camp. He was the only one I wanted to talk to, so I didn't even attempt to get other guys' numbers.

He stayed in touch with one girl in particular for a while after we got back. Just before school started, he stopped talking to me completely. And it's because he was going into high school, and I was still stuck in junior high. He broke my heart. And it wouldn't be the last time he did either. (There is STILL more to Harry's story.)

 

My name is Blake*, and you should NEVER give someone the opportunity to break your heart more than once.

 

*all names have been changed to protect the innocent and not-so-innocent

8. There is more to junior high romance than what there may seem.

It took me all of about 4 months to realize that there was no way I was going to be able to make a move on Nathan*. So instead, I let another boy catch my attention...

Enter Bane*. Bane and I became friends through a mutual friend. She lived down the road from him, and she and I were best friends. The guy and I played basketball together, and at one point Bane and I hit it off really well. Now, I know what you're thinking, getting involved with a best friend's friend is just a recipe for disaster. It surprisingly wasn't.

About halfway through the year, Bane and I started hanging out regularly. We quickly exchanged numbers and began hanging out on an almost regular basis. Bane was the first person I ever kissed. I don't want to spill too much about it, just know that it was sloppy and awkward, just how first kisses usually are.

When Bane and I finally broke up, it was messy and ugly. I broke his heart. I don't know why, but after about three months, I just didn't want to be his girlfriend anymore. He cried a lot. I just couldn't keep my mind off of Harry*. Even though Harry still never payed me much attention, he was still everything I wanted. Summer after seventh grade year, we finally started talking to each other on a regular basis.

My name is Blake*, and first break ups are always the worst.

*all names have been changed to protect the innocent and not-so-innocent

Update on Bane:
Bane and I went to high school together. He and I never really spoke much more throughout high school, and we have since lost touch with each other. I have no idea what's going on with his life currently....

7. Seventh grade saw another first...

So in seventh grade, I started off the year still madly in love with Harry. At the beginning of the school year, a very cute boy named Nathan* caught my attention. Nathan was unfortunately forbidden because of his race....yes my family was very racist. I won't share which ethnicity he was, but just know that there are about 5 races within my family that would be unacceptable for me to date. Instead, I spent a good amount of time shamelessly flirting with him in the hallways.

Nathan was super cute. He was a star athlete in two of the three sports he played, and had no problem letting everyone know he wanted to be with me. Because he was such a friendly and outgoing guy, he was also a pretty likable guy. Hardly anyone disliked him.

The only bad part of Nathan's story is that I was never given any kind of chance whatsoever to see if there could have been any kind of future between the two of us.

So what was my first in seventh grade? The first first was a forbidden love. As nice as Nathan was, dating him would have been completely out of the question.

The next first is a story for another day . . .

My name is Blake*, and thankfully my family has overcome their racism.

*all names have been changed to protect the innocent and not-so-innocent

Update on Nathan:
Nathan moved away from my school after his freshman year in high school (he was a year older than me). He went to an in-state school, where he met a pretty lady and they now have a kid together. We recently reconnected via my favorite social networking site, and he's still just as attractive as ever. I'm just not trying to have any baby mama drama.

6. Sixth numbered post to correspond with sixth grade, how convenient.

I left you last night with the story of Noah* and I. Noah took up almost all of my fifth grade year, and I went into the summer between 5th and 6th grade excited for the upcoming school year. I was allowed to start attending the youth group at my church, and there was a boy going into 7th grade that I was IN LOVE with, Harry*. Harry and his family had been a member of the church longer than I have, but something about an older boy just got me.

I began to start doing things I thought Harry would think is cool just to hopefully get his attention. I even started pushing myself to lift heavier weights in our summer weight lifting program just in the hopes that he would think I was cool.

The downfall of that summer was that I didn't get to go to church camp with our youth group. Harry came back with about 3 or 4 numbers of girls he had met that week. My hopes were crushed slightly, but I hoped that he would come around and see that we were meant to be together (ohhh how DUMB I was when I was a kid!)

I went into 6th grade still utterly in love with Harry, but it went nowhere fast. We hung out with a lot of the same people because we both played sports, but that was about it.

Honestly, I can't remember if I had a "boyfriend" at all that year. Even though Harry never made it to that point, he was my obsession for many years, so you can bet that he is still a part of this story!

My name is Blake*, and talking about all these boys I was "in love with" in junior high is ridiculous.

*all names have been changed to protect the innocent and not-so-innocent