FEBRUARY 15TH, 1999

I arrive at school early on Valentine's Day, excited to see Kayla Jay. I enter the classroom. No one's there. I sit at my desk, fidgeting with her card, trying to pull it out of my backpack.

After a few minutes, I hear the sound of small boots in the hallway, getting closer. I keep fiddling with the red envelope, assuming it's just Olivia. She's always the first one here. But the footsteps stop at the door.

Curious, I look up and see her. My beautiful Kayla Jay is standing in the doorway, grinning wide as usual.

"Kayla!"

She runs straight toward me and slams into me with an unexpected hug.

"I was trying to get here before you." She giggles and sets her backpack down. Her eyes drop to the card in my hands.

"What's that?" she asks, biting the corner of her lip like she's pretending not to know.

At last, the moment has come to express how I feel about her. My nerves flutter with excitement. The thought of her reaction makes me anxious, even though we've become close friends.

"It's for you," I say, passing it to her.

She opens my card, looking at the messy mix of construction paper and glued-on cutouts of hearts.

Under her breath, she reads my uneven handwriting: "Will you be my Valentine forever?"

I look at her hands. There's no card for me. I can't help feeling a small wave of rejection.

Glancing up from the card, her smile fades as our eyes meet.

"How long's forever?"

"I dunno," I shrug.

"Put your hand out, Jake," she says, maintaining eye contact.

I lift my hand and watch her reach into her pocket. She pulls out a homemade bracelet. I see the red heart-shaped beads with silver spacers, little strawberry pendants, and lettered beads. Her hands quiver as she slips it over my tiny half-fist. Her expression is serious, as if waiting for my approval. I look closer at the letters. It reads, "til we're old."

"What does it mean?" I ask, quieter now.

"My mom helped me, but the hearts are for Valentine's Day. This strawberry heart means always remember. The second one means always keep your promises. And the third one means to never give up on someone."

"Wow, this is so cool!" I reach over and give her a hug.

"I'll be your Valentine forever, Jake, til we're old and wrinkly," she says, wrinkling her nose with that quirky smile.

"Like our grandparents?" I try matching her expression.

She explodes into giggles as she slaps her hands onto my desk. "My grandparents are like ninety-eight! He married my grandma after World War One!"

"Wow, that's really old!" My eyebrows shoot up. We laugh harder.