01

My name is Jamie Collins, and this is my story. This story took place in a tiny town called Castle Rock, Oregon.
This is a story in which I spot a lonely boy in the back of the bus, on my first day of junior high.
I don't know why I decided to sit next to him. Did I feel bad? Probably.
A sat down next to the boy who was the first to touch lips with mine, the first to leave me in a puddle of my own years and tissues, the first to make my heart flutter, and the first to giggle with me as the powdery white snow floated around us, snowflakes getting caught in my eyelashes, the first to make my cheeks turn tinted with the color of bubblegum pink.
I don't know why I chose to sit next to him, but I'm glad that I did.