“Uhh, that was an accident.  I didn’t mean…”

Bette smiled and grabbed Tina’s small, shaking hand.  “It’s ok… if it wasn’t an accident, Tina.”

Seeing the accepting look in Bette’s eyes, Tina nodded.  “It wasn’t an accident, Bette.  I think I like you… I mean, I think I have a crush on you.”

“I like you too,” Bette said, not believing she was admitting to these feelings.  “Do you want to… be my girlfriend?”

“Can two girls date?  I mean, if I’m your girlfriend, what are you to me?”

Bette thought this over, it was new to her too. “Hmm.  I’ll be your girlfriend too!”

“Ok!”

The two girls made there way to where the buses were parked and both tried to hold back tears.  Bette approached one of her teachers and asked, “Mrs. Johnson, which bus am I supposed to be on?”

"Last names A-O on bus 1 and P-Z on bus 2.  So, Ms. Porter, you are on Bus 2,” Mrs. Johnson replied.

Bette made her final goodbye to Tina, and was making her way to the bus when she heard Tina yell her name.

“Don’t make me say goodbye again, Tina. I don’t want to cry the whole way home.”

“No, silly! You forgot to give me your phone number and address so I can call you tonight,” she whispered the last part, “my girlfriend.”

Both girls giggled and made sure no one heard them.  Bette took out a sheet of paper from her notebook and wrote down her contact information and gave it to Tina. 

“Don’t forget to call me or I’ll get worried!”

“I won’t forget Bette!” Tina said and stuck out her tongue and crinkled her nose. 

“Ok, then I will talk to you later, Tina Kennard.” Bette tried to keep a smile on her face, but she felt like crying.  She made her way onto bus 2 and waited for it to finish loading with students.

Unbeknownst to Bette, Tina was also making her way onto the bus, when Billy Michaels stopped Tina.

“Hey you know Bette right?”

Tina knew about Billy Michaels.  She knew that he was always asking Bette to be his girlfriend, but Bette always turned him down.  Now that Bette and her were girlfriends, Tina saw this guy as a threat.

“Yeah, so?”

“Well, she’s my girlfriend so I want to know what she said about me this weekend,” Billy said with a snobbish tone in his voice.

Tina rolled her eyes.  “If she’s your GIRLFRIEND why don’t you ask her?”

“I will, but you have to give me her phone number!”

“No.  If she’s your girlfriend, you’d have her phone number already,” Tina said, she enjoyed annoying this little boy.

Billy was getting annoyed with Bette spending all of her time that weekend with Tina so he tried to think of an excuse.  “Well, she just changed her number, so I don’t have the new one yet.”

“Shut up, Billy,” Tina said, she knew he was lying.  “She isn’t your girlfriend… she’s my…” Tina stopped herself before she embarrassed herself and Bette.  “She’s my best friend!”

Billy was getting more and more angry, he started reaching out to Tina and grabbing the piece of paper.  Tina began to get scared that he would rip it.  “Just ask her yourself, don’t touch me, Billy!”

Finally, with one final push, Tina toppled over and Billy grabbed the piece of paper that fell from her hand.  After he got a hold of it, he ran onto his bus and hid the paper in his back pack.

Tina was left crying on the dirt behind her bus, where no teachers saw the incident.  Tina finally got up and chased after Billy, only in time to see both Bette’s bus and Billy’s driving away. 

(Present Time)

Bette shrugged and answered the phone anyway.  “Oh! Hi, Tina!”