Choose by Madison Fechter (guided reading books txt) 📕

So, today is the first day of school. I'm supposed to be excited, aren't I? I mean... I really wanted to see Jamie, but right now I feel kind of sick. It's my first day of tenth grade. I should be excited. Wait! Oh my gosh, who are they?! Those guys are super cute!

"Ariana! Hey!" I heard Jamie say and I quickly turned around.

"Hey, Jamie! Did you see those super hot guys yet?" I asked.

"Yeah. They just exchanged here from East Bridgeport High." she said.

"They went to East and they decided to switch to West? Why? What's the difference?" I wondered.

"I don't know, but it looks like those guys are looking at you." she says and she turns me around.

I look over in the direction of the two guys and I notice them staring at me and smiling. One of them was tall and thin. He had raven black hair that swooped to the side. When he smiled, I noticed he had a lip ring. He was glaring at me with his deep, intense brown eyes.
The other guy was at a medium height, I'd say like 5'11", and he was thin. He had golden brown hair that also swooped to the side, but his was longer. His eyes were a crystal green blue. It felt as if he was staring into my soul. As if he could see right through me.
I wanted to go over to them and say hi, but I don't know if I should. Should I pretend I was on the welcoming committee? No way, I am not going to lie. You know what? I'll just do it. I'll go over there and talk to them.

"Jamie, I'll see you in homeroom. I'm going over there to talk to those guys." I said.

"Good luck." she says back.

The guys notice me walking toward them, so they turn around and pretend they were just talking. I tap them on the shoulder.

"Excuse me. Hi, I'm Ariana. And you are?" I asked.

"I'm Kenneth." said the black-haired boy.

"I'm Shane." said the golden brown-haired boy.

"Hi. You guys are new here, right?" I asked even though I already knew the answer to that.

"Yeah. What homeroom are you in?" asked tall, black hair, and beautiful.

"Uh, room 233." I reply.

"So are we. Do you want us to walk with you?" asked the golden-haired boy. What's his name again? Oh right! Shane.

"Sure." I say quickly.

Kenneth brushes the hair out of my face and puts it behind my ear. Shane starts to get a furious look on his face.

"You know, you're really pretty." Kenneth says as we start to walk down the hall.

Shane leans over to whisper in Kenneth's ear. I hear him say, "Dude, I told you if we got a chance to talk to her, I would be the one to hit on her first."

"In your dreams." Kenneth whispers back.

I giggle a little and blush. They look over at me.

"What's so funny?" Shane asks.

"Oh, it's nothing." I said.

Shane walks around to the other side of me and grabs my hand as we walk.

"I hope you don't mind." Shane said.

"Not at all." I reply.

I could see the jealousy in Kenneth's eyes. It was cool having two boys fighting over me, but I hate to see them get jealous. If one of them were to become my boyfriend, the other would feel terrible. What would I do then? Okay, I need to stop worrying. That might not even happen. Then, Shane dropped my hand.

"We're here." Kenneth said. "After you, Ariana. May I call you Ari?"

"Yes you may." I answer.

I start walking down to the lunch room. I'm really hungry. All of a sudden, I hear footsteps behind me. They are really fast and they keep getting closer. I turn around to see Shane running towards me.

"Hey! Ariana!" he shouts.

Shane catches up to me and he hugs me. He is breathing heavily from running.

"Hey Shane. What's up?" I ask.

"Kenneth and I want to know if we can sit with you in lunch." he said.

"Sure. Of course." I reply.

Shane and I walk down to the lunch room together. I open the door and I see Kenneth sitting at my usual table waiting for me. We sit down and join him.

"Hey beautiful." Kenneth says with a smile. "I have something for you."

Kenneth hands me an origami rose that he had made. Shane takes it from my hands and puts it in my hair.

"There, it's perfect." Shane says.

"How come you always have to ruin things for me, Shane?!" Kenneth gets furious.

"I just want to spend some time with Ariana! We both have a crush on her, so we should both get to spend time with her!" Shane says.

"Fine. Ari, I know this sounds weird, but will you date both of us? We will both get to spend time with you. Whoever you find you like the best will become your permanent boyfriend." Kenneth states.

"Um, alright. I'll give it a try." I said.

I was so unsure of this plan. Going out with two guys at once is going to be difficult. This is exactly what I was worried about. If I choose just one guy, the other will get his heart broken.

"So, it's settled. You and I are going on a date tonight at six o'clock." Kenneth said.

"Oh, okay. It's a date. Then, tomorrow Shane and I can go on a date." I say.

"Great." Shane says sarcastically. I know he doesn't want to wait until tomorrow.

"So, for our date, how about we go to the drive-in and then head back to my place to hang out for a bit." Kenneth suggests.

"Sounds fun!" I say excitedly.

Being sixteen years old, my parents pretty much give me permission to go out late at night. So apparently today is my day with Kenneth because Shane just sat there at the table while Kenneth took me into the lunch line.

"Babe, I'll pay for you." he says.

Babe? He's calling me babe now?

"Thanks." I say.

We walk out of the lunch line with our trays in our hands and we sit down at the table.

"I'm sorry, Shane. Here, take my apple." I offer.

I'm so excited for my date with Kenneth! He is all I can think about right now. I have two outfits picked out. Which one should I wear? My black dress with the white lace? Maybe. My turquoise tank top, navy blue hoodie, jean shorts with the bedazzled pockets, and my purple bottle cap belt? Definitely.
So, I get dressed and I put my white high tops on. I brush my hair, tease it, hair spray it, and add a little blue bow. I'm so excited! I hear a knock at the front door. So, I quickly dash down the stairs and open the door.

"You look beautiful." Kenneth says.

"Oh thanks." I reply. I grab my purse and we walk out to his car.

As we are in the car, we are silent the whole time until we get to the drive-in.
The sky gets dark. Kenneth wraps his arm around me as we watch the movie. I don't even know what movie it is. I want him to kiss me. I keep looking over at him to get his attention. Oh Lord, please let him kiss me! He turns towards me.

"You okay?" he asks.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I say.

I stare at his lips, hoping he will notice. I love his lip ring. Oh my gosh! He notices my staring at his lips. He's leaning in. His soft, warm lips press against mine. I'm dazed as if this is some sort of