hat Bryce held my hand after that； but he did start being a little friendlier to
me。 Especially in the sixth grade； after Mr。 Mertins
sat us right next to each other in the third row back。
Sitting next to Bryce was nice。 He was nice。 He'd say Hi； Juli to me every morning； and once
in a while I'd catch him looking my way。 He'd always
blush and go back to his own work； and I couldn't help but smile。 He was so shy。 And so cute！
We talked to each other more； too。 Especially after Mr。 Mertins moved me behind him。 Mr。
Mertins had a detention policy about spelling； where if
you missed more than seven out of twenty…five words； you had to spend lunch inside with
him； writing your words over and over and over again。
The pressure of detention made Bryce panic。 And even though it bothered my conscience；
I'd lean in and whisper answers to him； hoping that
maybe I could spend lunch with him instead。 His hair smelled like watermelon； and his ear…
lobes had fuzz。 Soft； blond fuzz。 And I wondered about
that。 How does a boy with such black hair wind up with blond ear fuzz？ What's it doing there；
anyway？ I checked my own ear…lobes in the mirror but
couldn't find much of anything on them； and I didn't spot any on other people's either。
I thought about asking Mr。 Mertins about earlobe fuzz when we were discussing evolution in
science； but I didn't。 Instead； I spent the yea