Snow Day

The snow fell gently as we trudged through drifts and banks to get to the frozen pond. The sun was bright, but the chill in the air was biting. Our entire neighborhood crew was bundled up, ready for snow day games. I was hoping to play capture the flag, boys versus girls. The new guy who had just moved in a few houses down had joined us. His name was Joey. He was walking ahead with Daniel, and as he laughed at something Daniel said, he turned back to look at me. When Joey caught my eye, he gave me a once over and winked unabashedly. I blushed hard and looked away. No one seemed to notice. My stomach flip-flopped nervously as we made our way down the hill.

We collectively decided to play capture the flag. “Boys against girls?” Daniel suggested. He had read my mind. The new guy piped up. “Why don’t we pick teams? I can be a captain, and Daniel can be a captain.” Daniel beamed while his little sister Rachel groaned. I deflated a little. People always got cutthroat when it came to picking. The girls were always picked last. “I’ll pick first, since I’m the oldest,” Daniel said haughtily. I knew he’d pick TJ first, which he did. I rolled my eyes. Daniel had been my best friend since birth. However, once middle school started and puberty kicked in, he got weird. He stopped wanting to hang out with me and replaced me with TJ and Matt. He never picked me for teams anymore, even though I was one of the fastest in the group.

TJ trotted over in the snow and fist bumped Daniel. Everyone turned to Joey. He only knew the guys from hockey practice since he had just moved here, so I figured he’d ask Matt next. Matt also anticipated this, and took a step forward. Joey didn’t hesitate. “Katie,” he said, making direct eye contact with me as he grinned. Everyone froze. I stood there dumbfounded, until my feet carried me towards him. I had no idea he even knew my name. Daniel’s face was crimson. Matt’s mouth was agape. TJ looked confused. Rachel looked back and forth between Joey and I, as if we had some secret she wanted to figure out. Jenny was the only one smiling.

I stood next to Joey and he leaned down to fist bump me, imitating Daniel and TJ. I laughed as we bumped mittens. Daniel stood there glaring until Joey grinned at him and said, “Your pick, man.” Daniel blushed and said “Matt” without looking at him. He was still staring incredulously at Joey. I could see the wheels in Daniel’s brain turning. He couldn’t comprehend picking a girl over a boy for a game. I don’t think it had dawned on Daniel that Joey clearly had a crush on me, and he wasn’t trying to hide it.

Rachel and Jenny were left. Daniel cut in before Joey could pick his next teammate. “You can have both girls since Rachel barely counts as a player since she’s younger than everyone.” Rachel’s face fell. Joey wasn’t fazed. “Heck yeah! The more, the merrier!” he yelled. “I’ll call our team, ‘Joey and the Ladiesssss.’” I smiled up at him. I thought it was sweet that he wanted to make everyone feel at ease. Jenny caught my eye and mouthed “Oh my god” as Joey turned to lead our team to our home base. She leaned in close and whispered, “He’s so cute, go for it!” into my ear while Joey wasn’t looking.

As he broke down a game plan to the three of us, I studied his face. He had bright blue eyes, and freckles littered the bridge of his nose. His sandy blonde hair peeked out of his snow hat. He was tall too, taller than Daniel, who had previously held the title for tallest boy in the group. He caught me staring and winked at me again. I smiled but didn’t look away this time.

Our home base was in a copse of trees across one side of the pond. Joey’s plan was to have the two of us guard our flag, while Jenny and Rachel tried to get the boys' flag. Daniel yelled across the pond that they were ready and that we could start, and Joey waved in agreement. Before anyone could start running or dodging, Joey leaned down and caught one of my light brown braids in his hand. “You’re so pretty,” he said sincerely, looking into my eyes. “Th-thank you,” I stammered. I was completely caught off guard. I’d never had a boy so unabashedly tell me how he felt before. Usually, they went through channels of friends and told fifteen people they had a crush on you before you even heard it, and if you reciprocated the crush, they pretended like the whole thing was a joke.

Joey put my braid down and smiled at me. “Do you have a date for the winter dance yet? I start school on Wednesday, but my guidance counselor told me about it when I got my class schedule.” I shook my head no, unable to speak. I finally croaked out, “No one has asked me yet.” I immediately regretted that response. It made me seem like a desperate loser. “Good,” he said, “Would you be my date then?” I grinned and nodded. “I’d love to,” I responded. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Daniel sprinting towards our flag. I flew through the snow and caught him. “Jail!” I shrieked triumphantly. Joey cheered me on. It was the best snow day I’d ever had.