Girlfriend
January 12, 2021
On Monday, October 26, 9:27 PM Basil texted me, “Yo I got asked to go on a date today”
“Might be fun. Who asked?” I texted back from my bedroom.
“Lorena”
“Actual dating at a small private school never goes well. Just ask Esther. But if you can manage to go have fun then I am all for it.”
“Ok”
Love in the time of corona for young teenagers looks like playing Minecraft over the internet together, texting constantly, and coming over to each other’s houses on Saturday afternoons to watch television and play Minecraft in person. No going out to the movies. No going out to High Altitude, the jumpy place. No going out to eat. There may be a barn dance at the end of the year though.
All throughout November, Lorena came to my Algebra class with Basil’s water bottle or wearing his sweaters. She’d swing her arms, his long sleeves floppy wings at the ends of her hands, and say, “This sweater is so big on me.” I made no comment, but when Esther and I went shopping to buy Basil a new sweater for Christmas, I wondered how Lorena would look in it.
I posted on Facebook, “That moment when you buy a sweater for your son and wonder how it will look on his special friend.” There ensued a heated debate on whether a girl wearing a boy’s sweater made them an official item.
That prompted me to be bold, “Basil, some people have been asking me if you and Lorena are a couple. What should I tell them?”
“Who’s asking?”
I didn’t want to admit to posting about him on social media though it was phrased in innocence.
I said, “A teacher saw you two in school. You look like a couple.”
They do look like a couple though there isn’t any public display of affection. Thought the kids wear masks and are always seated six feet apart, Basil and Lorena are always together, drawn near each other in any setting where the grades are mixed like homeroom and lunch. During orientation, they sat at the same table in the cafeteria, on opposite ends six feet apart, but still, the same table.
He said, “Yeah, we’ve kind of been dating for a couple of months.”
Lorena is a nice girl. They have fun being together. When he’s with her, Basil loses the defensive pose he shows to his siblings and smiles and laughs more. It’s good to see him happy.
It’s official. Basil’s got a girlfriend.
January 12, 2021
On Monday October 26, 9:27 PM Basil texted me, “Yo I got asked to go on a date today”
“Might be fun. Who asked?” I texted back from my bedroom.
“Lorena”
“Actual dating at a small private school never goes well. Just ask Esther. But if you can manage to go have fun than I am all for it.”
“Ok”
Love in the time of corona for young teenagers looks like playing Minecraft over the internet together, texting constantly, and coming over to each other’s houses on Saturday afternoons to watch television and play Minecraft in person. No going out to the movies. No going out to High Altitude, the jumpy place. No going out to eat. There may be a barn dance at the end of the year though.
All throughout November, Lorena came to my Algebra class with Basil’s water bottle or wearing his sweaters. She’d swing her arms, his long sleeves floppy wings at the ends of her hands and say, “This sweater is so big on me.” I made no comment, but when Esther and I went shopping to buy Basil a new sweater for Christmas, I wondered how Lorena would look in it.
I posted on Facebook, “That moment when you buy a sweater for your son and wonder how it will look on his special friend.” There ensued a heated debate on whether a girl wearing a boy’s sweater made them an official item.
That prompted me to be bold, “Basil, some people have been asking me if you and Lorena are a couple. What should I tell them?”
“Whose asking?”
I didn’t want to admit to posting about him on social media though it was phrased in innocence.
I said, “A teacher saw you two in school. You look like a couple.”
They do look like a couple though there isn’t any public display of affection. Thought the kids wear masks and are always seated six feet apart, Basil and Lorena are always together, drawn near each other in any setting where the grades are mixed like home room and lunch. During orientation, they sat at the same table in the cafeteria, on opposite ends six feet apart, but still the same table.
He said, “Yeah, we’ve kind of been dating for a couple of months.”
Lorena is a nice girl. They have fun being together. When he’s with her, Basil loses the defensive pose he shows to his siblings and smiles and laughs more. It’s good to see him happy.
It’s official. Basil’s got a girlfriend.
Syra's Scribbles 
It’s heartwarming that Basil has found someone who makes him happy.
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