Tween Trauma, part 5

TRAUMA QUEEN published this week! One of the high points was Aladdin MIX author Anna Hays sharing this memory of tween trauma!


Falling Head Over Heels

I was lucky enough to be seated next to the cutest boy in art class. The first letter of his last name followed the first letter of my last name and destiny took care of the rest. One day in class, while trying to strike up a conversation with him, surrounded by a group of other adoring young females, fate handed me a humiliating twist. While adjusting the high metal stool at the long communal table to get a closer look at my crush's perfect brown eyes, I somehow slipped off my seat and fell flat on my butt. I think I even bounced off the floor. That's how hard I came down. It was kind of like being in a car accident where everything is suddenly in slow motion and sound stretches wider than the Mississippi. The laughter in the room echoed in my ears, and in an instant, my almost big moment with this dreamy boy was gone. Each time I walked into class after that, I recreated every embarrassing detail in my mind, dissecting it over and over again, and kept to myself. Falling hard for someone never hurt so bad!

P.S. By senior year in high school, the cute guy with the perfect brown eyes and I had "fallen in love" and he ended up being my first real boyfriend. Fate is an unpredictable friend and when she wants to, she can be very kind...

--Anna Hays, author of Portia's Ultra Mysterious Double Life