Click here to read Love in the Time of Ninth Grade, Part 1 and Part 2
The marching band’s haunted house was a success, raising $420 for new uniforms. Though Derek, Steve, and Lars were all reprimanded for going off the approved plan and causing injury to a student. They were tasked with dismantling the entire haunted house by themselves.
As Steve and Lars struggled with the giant skull heads, Derek slipped into the Fall Festival to look for Amanda. He found her sitting on a bench with an ice pack to her eye and walked over quickly.
“Hey!” he said with a wave, forgetting that he was holding the marshmallow gun. Amanda flinched at the plastic weapon sailing toward her head. “Oh, sorry.”
She continued to stare at him. Even without speaking, she made him feel calm. He took a deep breath and spoke. “Sorry about the sandbags. I knew they were a bad idea. And I’m sorry about your eye. If it makes you feel better, you can shoot me with this marshmallow gun.”
He held out the gun as a peace offering. Amanda lowered the ice pack to look at him properly. “Derek, right?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m sorry I called you a jerk. I was just mad.”
“I know. I mean, it’s a haunted house in a soccer field. It’s not actually supposed to be scary.”
Amanda managed a smile and looked at the marshmallow gun in his hand. “How about you buy me some cocoa to go with those marshmallows instead?”
His eyes widened. “Um…okay.”
And as they walked into the festival to find cocoa, Derek Nordvall no longer felt like the most anxious student in the ninth grade. With Amanda Winters at his side, he could handle anything.
THE END
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