Chapter Twenty-Four: She Has All the Gifts:

Thinking back, Julia always had the attention of many boys. Wallace didn’t stand a chance. Jocks, nerds, goths, social outcasts, and everyone in between. All eyes were always on her. Wallace stood in the background when a guy tried to hit on her. He watched as they showered her with gifts and attention. His dream girl would smile and accept them gracefully. The country boy wanted to scream every time.

Strangely enough, Julia never went on a date with anyone. She wasn’t gay. She wasn’t looking for “the one”. She just wasn’t interested. Julia even went senior prom without a date. Her friends tried to hook her up on dates but she would politely turn them down. They would ask her why and she would shrug and not really give them an answer. For Julia, her future came first. That was what Wallace liked about her.

“What do you want to do after high school?” Julia asked him one day.

“Hm?” the country boy asked.

“Do you have any plans for the future?” she asked. Wallace shrugged and shook his head.

“I don’t know,” he said. Julia frowned.

“That’s not good enough,” she said, shaking her head. “You have to have a plan.” Wallace gave her a strange look.

“But they don’t always work out,” he said.

“Doesn’t matter,” Julia said. “You still need some semblance of a plan.” She was grabbing him by the hands now. Wallace’s cheeks turned beet red. Julia quickly let go of his hands.

“Sorry about that,” she said.

“No, it’s fine,” Wallace said with his face turning redder. He cleared his throat. “What do you want to do?” Julia lifted her chin.

“I want to go to New York for college,” she said. The country boy gave her a confused look.

“Why would you want to go there?” he asked. She held up her arms in the air and twirled.

“I always wanted to be an actress,” she said. Even back then, Julia was part of the drama club. They saw her as their darling. She took pride in her acting skills. Wallace nodded.

“Okay,” he said. “Which school?” Julia broke into a little smile.

“Behold,” she said. She reached into her school bag and pulled out the flyer. Wallace leaned in close for a look. A puzzled look came over his face.

“New York School of Arts?” he asked.

“Uh-huh,” she said. Her face glowed as she said that. The country boy couldn’t help but smile and nod. Something about her levelheadedness made like her more. Even through all of this, the boys kept hitting on her.

This all started back in junior high. A freshman in high school started hitting on her over the summer. They met while she and Wallace were volunteering in the children library. He spent half of the summer hanging around the children’s section. Wallace didn’t enjoy him around but what could he say? The library recruited the freshman for the summer reading program. He and Julia got along really well. But she never took it closer. Eventually, the freshman gave up and found someone new. Wallace found himself secretly glad for it.

From then on, that became a cycle. A boy would walk up to Julia and hit on her. She would get all friendly with them. It would go anywhere and then the suitor would give up. Although glad, Wallace couldn’t help but wonder why she hadn’t been on a date.

“How come you haven’t had a boyfriend yet?” he asked days before they were to graduate. Julia shrugged and shook her head.

“I’m not attracted to any of them,” she said. Wallace tilted his head.

“What are you attracted to?” he asked. Julia took a moment to think. She finally shrugged and shook her head.

“I don’t know,” she said. “I haven’t really thought about that.”

“Oh,” the country boy said. He didn’t know how to take this. Wallace had the fear of becoming another boy to fizzle out with his attraction. But something inside of him wouldn’t give up. Maybe he would be the one to change her mind and have her love him back.

Reality told him otherwise. Or maybe not…

Wallace but his fingers to his lips. She did kiss him after. The country boy watched as she walked away. His cheeks turned bright red. Wallace found himself unable to move or speak. What was happening?

Meanwhile, Julia smiled to herself.