Gabriella, age 14 was sitting in room 302 reading her favorite book, Gone With the Wind. Every few minutes, she glanced up to gaze at Troy, who was also engaged in his own book about basketball. Then, all of a sudden, the bell rang. Everyone got up to leave. As she walked out the door, Gabriella walked by Troy and shyly said, “Hey Troy.”
He turned to see Gabriella standing next to him and replied,



“Hey Gabriella. Are you coming to the basketball game tonight?”
“I…uh…I’ve got to go, “Gabriella said quickly, and ran off.
Okay. That was awkward. Troy thought and walked away.
“Dude, why were you talking to Gabriella?” Troy’s friend Chad asked.
“She started talking to me first, “Troy replied.
“Well, I saw what happened,” Chad said. “And it looked like she was into you.”
“Into me?! Come on Chad. How could Gabriella be into me?” Troy asked.
“Man! You were so engaged into that book!” Chad said. “She was looking up from her book every two minutes to gaze at you for three minutes before going back to hers. And didn’t you see the way she was looking at you after class? Dude! She’s crushing on you!”
“Man, stop it. Gabriella is not crushing on me. If she was, she’d tell me,” Troy said.
Dude, don’t you know anything about Gabriella?” Chad asked. “She won’t tell you. She’s not one of those girls. But trust me, she’s desperate for you.”
“Well if you know so much about her, why isn’t she crushing on you?” Troy asked.
“You’re the captain of the basketball team,” Chad said.
“Whatever,” Troy replied.
Later that night, Gabriella ran home after her encounter with Troy. When she got home, she zoomed up to her room and closed the door. Five minutes later, someone knocked on her door. “Come in,” she said. The door opened and her sister Annie, age 13 walked in.










“Hey. How’d it go today? Did you talk to Troy?” she asked.
“Annie, I don’t want to talk about it,” Gabriella said.
“Come on Gabriella. You’ve been crushing on Troy for the past two years!” Annie said. “I remember when I was 11, and you’d come home everyday and all you could do was talk about Troy. Troy, Troy, Troy. You have to tell him. If you don’t, he’ll go and ask another girl out. You have to step out from where you feel comfortable and tell Troy how you feel, or you’ll never get your chance.”




Later that night, when Gabriella went to bed, she had a dream she’d never forget. She was performing a song in front of many people including her family, friends, and when she looked out into the audience, Troy! He was sitting in the second row and looked like he was enjoying what she was singing. After the performance was over, she saw Troy and said, “Hey Troy. Did you enjoy the show?”
“Yeah. Man, you’re a great singer Gabriella. I didn’t know you could sing,” Troy replied.
“Thanks. Oh, and I have something to tell you,” Gabriella said. “I have a crush on you.”
“You do! Oh man Gabriella. Why didn’t you tell me?” Troy asked.
“I’ve been trying to and…,” Gabriella said, and just then, she woke up. I talked to Troy. She thought. But aww man! It was a dream! She turned over to see the picture of Troy she hung up and sighed. The next day, she saw Troy in the hall and he said, “Hey Gabriella. You watch Animal Planet?”
“Yeah. I watch it everyday. Why?” Gabriella replied. Wow. Something we have in common. Cool! Gabriella thought.
“Well, I saw a thing on panda bears, and they’re getting killed,” Troy said.
“Wow. Um…,” Gabriella said, finding herself gazing into Troy’s eyes. Then remembering her dream, she started saying, “Hey Troy. I have a…,” Then she was cut off by Chad who called, “Hey Troy! Basketball practice in five minutes!”
“I’ll be there,” Troy called back. He looked back at Gabriella and asked, “Were you telling me something?”
“Oh, it’s nothing important,” Gabriella said. “I have a singing lesson in a half hour. I better go.” She walked down the hall and got frightened by a taller eighth grade bully who hit her and she ran out the doors crying. “Dude. You still clueless?” Chad asked. After Troy watched Gabriella run out the school he replied,



“Still clueless.” Then he walked with Chad to the gym. When Gabriella got home, she sprinted up to her room and locked her door. Twenty minutes later, someone knocked on her door. “Go away!” she yelled.
“Gabby. Open the door. Its mom,” her mom said. Gabriella got up and unlocked her door. Then her mother walked in. “What’s wrong?” she asked.
“I can’t take true love!” Gabriella cried.
“Is this about Troy?” her mom asked.
“Yes,” Gabriella said.
“Well tell him how you feel. He’ll probably say he feels the same way,” her mom said.
“I’m trying to, but I just get nervous, stutter, and run away. And Troy can’t tell I’m trying to say I like him,” Gabriella replied.
“I’ll get Annie,” her mom said.
“No!” Gabriella cried.
Then Annie walked in and said, “Why haven’t you talked to Troy?”
“Annie, I’m trying. But either I stutter or get interrupted,” Gabriella replied. “Have you ever been in love?”
“Yes. Remember last year? My crush on Charles Sweeny?” Annie said. “I didn’t stay shy. I got up, told Charles I liked him, and he asked me out. Troy will do the same thing if you just tell him how you feel.”
“No, he won’t. I’ve tried telling him without being obvious, and today I went right out and tried to tell him, but he didn’t care,” Gabriella said.
“Want some real advice that will get you to tell Troy you like him?” Annie asked.
“So far, your advice has failed,” Gabriella said. “But I’ll take it. What now?”
“Take Troy somewhere no one else is. Look him straight in the eye and tell him how you feel. It worked for me,” Annie said.
“I’d rather give up on true love and Troy,” Gabriella mumbled.
“Why?” Annie asked.
“He’s not chasing me back!” Gabriella said. “Why like someone when that someone doesn’t like you back?”
“You don’t know that for sure,” Annie said. “Troy probably does like you, but he’s just not showing it.”
“What? Like I’m doing?” Gabriella said.
“Just take my advice. Bring him here tomorrow night. I’ll be here to watch,” Annie said.
“I don’t want you to watch,” Gabriella said. “And I can’t look right at him.”
“Why?” Annie asked.
“I find myself staring at him,” Gabriella said. “Or more like…gazing.”
“Will you try? Please? If it doesn’t go well, you’ll never have to do this again,” Annie said.
“Okay. But I can’t tell him,” Gabriella said.
“What?!! Oh, oh. You mean tell him to come over? I can do that,” Annie said. “What’s his last name?”
“Bolton,” Gabriella replied.
“Thanks,” Annie said. She went to get the phonebook and looked him up. She called him. When Troy answered the phone, Annie said, “Come to Gabriella Montez’s house at six o clock tomorrow night and meet her on the patio.”
“Okay. Why? And who is this?” Troy asked.
“Don’t ask now. And you don’t need to know who I am. Just come over tomorrow at six,” Annie replied. She walked back into Gabriella’s room and said, “Troy will be here tomorrow at six. You’ll talk to him on the patio.”
“Annie! I don’t know what to say!” Gabriella cried.
“Just tell him what you’ve been trying to tell him. Tell him you like him. It’ll be easy,” Annie said.
“For you,” Gabriella said. “So, you do it for me.”
“Nope. You’re going to tell Troy yourself,” Annie said. “But I’ll make note cards if it helps.”
“Thanks,” Gabriella said. The next night, it was 5:55p.m. and Gabriella was nervous. Annie gave her the note cards and said, “Don’t worry. You’ll be fine.” There was a knock on the door and Annie whispered, “Good Luck!” Gabriella walked downstairs and saw her mom talking to Troy. When her mom saw her she asked, “Gabby, do you know why Troy is here?”
“You don’t need to know. I just wanted him to come over. I have something to tell him,” Gabriella said. She motioned to Troy to walk out on the patio with her.
“So, what is this all about?” Troy asked.
“Well,” Gabriella said. “It’s about something I’ve been trying to tell you for a while.”
“What is Troy doing here?” her mom asked Annie as Gabriella’s other sister Cheyenne age 9 and her dad came in.







“Well,” Annie said. “I’m seeing if Gabriella can tell Troy how she feels about him, and see if Troy feels the same way.”
Out on the patio, Gabriella was still talking to Troy. “I have a crush on you,” she said. “I’ve been trying to tell you this, but every time I tried, it felt like you didn’t care. So, I’m done.”
She started to turn away, but Troy caught her and said,





“Hey! That’s all? You’re just going to turn away?”
“Well, I didn’t know if you felt the same way,” Gabriella said.
Troy looked around and whispered,







“I’m sorry if you felt like that, but I feel the same way. I have all along.”
“Well if you felt the same way I feel about you, why did you act like you didn’t care?” Gabriella asked.
“I don’t know,” Troy replied. “But now I know you like me back, there’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time.” He leaned toward Gabriella, but Annie couldn’t help it when she yelled, “Yes! I told you to take my advice Gabriella!” Troy pulled away and Gabriella turned to see her family watching her and Troy. She turned back to Troy, and he leaned in again and kissed her! It was Gabriella’s first kiss and it was perfect. As she was kissing Troy, she realized that Annie was right. She didn’t give up on true love and she was glad. But, she was also a bit nervous. What was going to happen when she went back to school? Will kids think she isn’t “cool” enough to be dating Troy? Will she start blushing, and going pink every time she sees him, instead of running away? Maybe now that she knew, she could have a boyfriend. She also thought nobody would be more perfect than Troy. …But what will the kids at school think