Nick
Yes, this is Nick…Who is this?
Emma’s face heats as she looks down at her phone.
Emma
This is Emma Smith…I had your number saved in my phone from like, 5th grade.
Emma
You seriously haven’t changed it since then?!
Nick
Wait! Emma Smith? From Ms. Vanwyke’s class?!
Emma
Haha, yes! You remember me?
Nick
Of course! How could I forget you?
Nick
I threw spit wads at you all throughout math class.
Emma
You always blamed it on Reid!
Nick
And Reid was too nice to say anything…
Nick
So yes, guilty as charged. It’s about time I confessed, lol.
Emma
Haha well just so you know, I haven’t sat in the back row of classes ever since.
Emma
You really caused me some deep psychological damage ;)
Nick
Oh jeez! I’ll have to make it up to you somehow…
Nick
Anyway, what made you decide to text me tonight?
Emma
See, my friends and I went to this movie tonight.
Emma
Some romance flick about a guy and girl who fall in love at a dog park.
Emma
And they were all swooning over the lead actor.
Emma
He’s this new star, and they all said he was soo handsome and soo sweet.
Nick
Did they now? What else did they have to say about him?
Emma
We all agreed he might get a big head if he received too many compliments ;)
Nick
Well, that just seems judgmental. But…
Nick
It’s probably true, lol.
Emma
Then I told my friends I happened to know him.
Emma
Yes. About 15 years ago, I went to elementary school with him.
Nick
Did they believe you?
Emma
NO! It was infuriating!
Emma
They told me to prove it.
Emma
So, that’s when I texted you.
Nick
So it wasn’t really a “hey, how are you doing?” kind of text then.
Nick
More like a “hey, I need to win this bet” kind of text.
Emma
Okay, when you put it that way, I sound super insensitive and rude…
Emma stares at her phone, waiting for Nick to respond.
Her heart jumps into her throat.
Emma
OMG, I am SO insensitive and rude!
Emma
I should never have bothered you. I’m really sorry.
Emma
I’ll delete your number from my phone right now. Seriously.
Nick
Lol, NO! Emma, hold up a second. I’m totally messing with you.
Nick
How can I help you prove that we knew each other in elementary school?
Emma
Do you have a picture of us together or something?
Nick
Hold on…I think I have an idea.
Nick
Okay. Check your Instagram.
Emma
OMG. You did NOT just post that picture of us in turkey costumes to your Instagram!
Emma
AND you tagged me?! My friends are going to flip.
Emma
Wait…it’s already gotten like 100k likes already. How is that even possible?!
Nick
Well when you have 18 million followers…
Emma
Lol no biggie, you’re just super famous. I get it.
Emma
So wait, back to my question before…
Emma
How do you still have the same number you had in 5th grade?!
Nick
Lol, funny you should ask.
Nick
In 5th grade, I had a tracker phone.
Nick
My parents and a few friends had my number, but that was it.
Nick
I had a different number until like 2 months ago…
Nick
But then my phone was hacked. I had to get a new one.
Nick
Switched back to the tracker phone and got my old number back.
Nick
So it looks like you were lucky with your timing!
Emma
So now that my friends have ZERO doubt that I knew you…
Emma
I guess I should send the “hey, how are you” kind of text, huh?
Nick
Lol, thank you. How kind of you to ask!
Nick
I’m doing well. Getting used to all this fame and attention.
Nick
Or trying to, at least.
Emma
Is it amazing? Being in the spotlight?
Nick
I don’t know…at times, it feels like no one around me actually knows who I am.
Nick
It’s like they think my entire life is about being famous.
Nick
They don’t understand that really, I’m just a normal person.
Emma
Not quite as simple as the 5th grade then, huh?
Nick
What are you up to these days?
Nick
Did you become a librarian like you always wanted?
Emma
Haha wait, you remember that?!
Nick
Of course! I mean you had the dorky glasses for it and everything!
Nick
It seemed like the perfect career for you.
Emma
Hey now! Those glasses were cool, thank you very much.
Emma
But no, not a librarian.
Emma
I decided that rather than giving people books to read…
Emma
I’d write the books instead.
Nick
Wait, so you’re a writer?
Emma
Well, I’m trying to become a writer.
Emma
I’m finishing up graduate school for creative writing.
Emma
And I’m working on my novel now.
Nick
That’s amazing! I should have known that’s what you’d choose to do.
Nick
Because you were already an AMAZING writer in 5th grade!
Nick
Remember that story about Mr. Hopper and Ms. Frog you wrote?
Nick
I think it actually brought tears to my eyes when you read it to the class.
Emma
OMG, how do you remember all this stuff?!
Nick
To be honest, I kind of had a major crush on you from like 2nd grade and on.
Emma
Whaaaat?! Yeah right, Mr. Spitwad.
Nick
Think about it. I was a 5th grade boy with a crush.
Nick
Spitwads are like, the language of love at that point.
Emma
Well, too bad you moved away after that year…
Emma
Who knows, we may have held hands by now if you hadn’t ;)
Nick
Lol my biggest regret.
Emma
Listen, I have to get going for the night.
Emma
I’m doing a reading from my novel tomorrow and I still need to pick the passages :/
Nick
I’m really glad you texted me.
Emma
And I’m glad your phone got hacked!
Nick
Although, I guess it turned out fine in the end. I got to talk to you.
Nick
Have a good night. Talk to you later?
The next night, Emma is saying goodbye to the owner of the bookshop…
Nick
That story was even more beautiful than the one about Mr. Hopper and Ms. Frog.
Nick
Seriously, it was inspiring.
Emma
Wait, were you at the reading?!
Nick
Maybe…I thought it’d be fun to stop by to see an old crush.
Emma
OMG, you are nuts. Thank you for coming!
Nick
Of course. Do you want to meet me outside in 5?
Nick
I’d love to take you to dinner.
Emma
Well, I guess we can do that. On one condition though.
Emma
You’re not allowed to sit behind me. No spit wads from you tonight, mister.
Nick
Haha you have yourself a deal. See you soon.
Emma skips out the door of the bookshop.
She’s never been so happy that her friends didn’t believe…
That their new favorite movie star was her old crush.
