Just when I thought I'd taken five huge steps forward with Miss Park , she took about ten back. She'd opened up to me that morning - hadn't she? She'd talked to me about relationships, and that indicated that she felt close to me. She'd touched my hand. And I swear, I solemnly swear, that we almost kissed. I kept thinking that it had all been in my head. I knew how sweet she was, and the hand was probably just in her nature. The almost-kiss could have been nothing, except my fantasies surfacing themselves in my head. And still, something made me think that I hadn't been making it up. I didn't know what that something was.

 

But that same day, after we'd talked, she barely looked at me. We didn't talk in study, or in English class. And at practice, it was like I wasn't even there. Of course, I wondered if I'd done something wrong. Had I gone too far in asking what was wrong? Had I overstepped my boundaries? Of course I had. It was none of my business. I'd screwed everything up.

 

"Okay, everybody sit except for this stunting group," Miss Park said that day at practice. She was working with one group individually who needed help, so the rest of us sat on the bleachers, got water, and watched. I couldn't focus on cheering; mostly, I just wondered what I'd done wrong.

 

As I watched, Miss park was stepping in for their backspot. She counted to two, then put her hands around the waist of her flyer...and tightened her grip...

 

I wanted to wring that girl's neck. The jealousy was unbearable. I wanted so badly to be in that position, but I knew I was in the exact opposite one. Not only was I not there for her to touch, but she wasn't even talking to me. I was angry, and upset, and so, so, jealous...

 

Then, the next thing I knew, I was covered in water. I realized I'd squeezed my bottle so hard I'd blown the cap off.

 

"Holy !" I yelled instinctively, and the girls stunting all looked confused. They let their flyer down, as I stood up, trying to shake the water off of myself.

 

"What happened?" Miss park asked, obviously referring to my sudden outburst.

 

"My water exploded" I said.

 

"How?" she asked.

 

"I don't know," I said. "It just happened" That was a lie. It had popped because I'd been holding it so tightly. I'd been holding it so tightly because she wasn't holding me and it drove me crazy.

 

"Okay, let's call it a day," she said. "chaerin , you need to change. You're goi