Story 19
Cork offers to help Dixie with an assignment. She starts having feelings for him even though she has known him since grade school.
Old Friends Are the Best
“I’m only 18,” Dixie said. “It seems too much to ask me to know my life goals.”
“You can change them. Just write what they are right now,” Cork said. “What do you plan to do next year when we aren’t in high school?”
“Well, I plan to go to college. And, I hope to meet some new friends,” Dixie said.
“OK,” Cork said. “You have two goals right there. You want to go to college, and you want to meet some new friends.”
“It sounds so clear when you say it like that. But, I have to come up with ten goals. Then, I have to write a résumé that is slanted towards my goals. That’s a lot!” Dixie said.
“I’ll help you,” Cork said.
“Great!” Dixie said. “Can you help me tonight?”
“Sure. I’ll come over to your house at 7:00.” Cork and Dixie were both 18-year-old high school seniors. They had been in the same group of friends for years.
That night, Cork rang Dixie’s doorbell right at 7:00. When Dixie opened the door, she was surprised to think about how nice he looked. She didn’t say anything, though.
They started by looking at her strengths and talking about jobs she would like. Then, he helped her write her goals and put them in order of importance. It started to get late, so they made plans to meet again on Thursday. When Thursday came, Cork was there right at 7:00 again. And, again, Dixie thought about how cute he looked. This time she felt herself blush as he came in.
They worked on her résumé for two hours. By the end of that time, Dixie was wishing she could go out with Cork. But, she thought, “We’ve known each other for years. He would think I was really odd to start liking him now. And, clearly, he’s just helping me. He would never think about going out with me.”
They had just finished her résumé when Cork said he had to go. Dixie said, “But all I have left to do is post it on the class site. Can you help me do that?”
He said, “It’s not due until Monday. I’ll come over on Saturday afternoon and help you finish.”
“Great,” she said. She was hoping her voice didn’t show just how much she liked the idea.
On Friday night, Dixie’s friends Ruby Gray and Pam Snell came over to Dixie’s house. They were watching their favorite TV show. Dixie was also folding some clothes. Ruby asked Dixie, “Isn’t that outfit cool?” Dixie did not answer. Then Ruby said, “Dix, don’t you have a shirt like that?” Dixie did not answer again.
Then Pam said, “Dixie, looks like your hair is falling out.” Dixie did not say a word. Pam continued, “You are getting uglier every minute, Dixie.” Dixie was quiet.
Then, Ruby turned the TV off. Dixie looked up and said, “Why did you do that? We’re watching our show.”
“Yeah, well, some of us are watching the show. But, you aren’t,” Ruby said. “What is going on with you? You don’t hear us talking. And, you’ve folded that t-shirt into a tiny ball.” Dixie blushed. Ruby gushed, “Oh, my! It’s a guy! Who is it?”
Dixie looked at them for a few seconds. Pam said, “Spill it right now, Dixie Arn. Tell us who it is.”
Dixie blushed again. Then she said, “I think I’m going crazy. I’ve started liking a guy and it doesn’t make sense. He would never want to go out with me.”
“Do we know him?” Ruby asked
“Oh, yeah!”
“Tell us!” Ruby and Pam screeched together.
“Promise you won’t say a word outside of this room?” Ruby and Pam both used their fingers to show their lips were zipped. Dixie went on, “It’s Cork Wiley.”
“What?” her friends asked together. “But,” Pam said, “We’ve known him since grade school. You never liked him before.”
“I know. I don’t know what’s going on. He came over to help me with an assignment. He was warm, funny, and smart.”
“Are you going to ask him out?” Ruby asked.
“No, I can’t. He doesn’t think of me that way. He’s coming back over tomorrow afternoon. I think I’ll go crazy having him here.”
“Let me get this straight,” Ruby said. “He’s already been here to help you, and he’s coming back?”
“He was here Tuesday and Thursday nights. We were almost done, but he had to go. So, he’s coming back tomorrow to finish.”
Pam started to laugh. She said, “You are so blind. No guy helps you three times on the same assignment unless he likes you.”
“It’s really not like that,” Dixie said. “He doesn’t act like he likes me at all.”
“We’ll see. Call us after he leaves tomorrow,” Ruby said.
Cork came over on Saturday right on time. He helped her create a password and post her résumé. The next day, Ruby and Pam came to Dixie’s house and woke her up. Ruby said, “Where were you last night? We both called a bunch of times.”
Dixie smiled. Then she said, “I guess I was wrong about Cork.”
What do you think?
- Cork showed Dixie the following ways she could choose to write dates on her résumé. Which way do you think she should use and why? Cork showed Dixie the following ways she could choose to write dates on her résumé. Which way do you think she should use and why?
- 6.27.10
- 6/27/10
- 6-27-10
- June 27, 2010
- 27 Jun 2010
- Instead of asking an adult, Dixie chose to ask her friend for advice on her assignment. What do you think about her choice?
What would you do?
- Say you were in a situation like Dixie’s. You are starting to like a friend for more than a friend. But, it seems silly to think he or she would like you back in that way. What would you do?
