hi
my name's chloe people say that my head
is always up in the clouds
i guess i do spend a lot of time
fantasizing but you would too if you're
in love
i'm in love with michael isn't that just
the most romantic name
i can't help but think of the day when
he'll finally
ask me out i bet we'll end up together
they say that 25
of women marry their first loves watch
out a voice cried from behind me
i felt a pair of strong hands pulling me
back a moment later i was down on the
floor and a car horn was blaring in my
ear
i scrambled away from the curb that car
nearly hit me
with my heart painfully pounding i
turned around to see who pulled me back
o-m-g it's michael are you hurt
he cried didn't you see the red light
you can't cross the street yet
i'm okay i stammered my heart wasn't
just pounding because of the car now
michael's face was just a few inches
away from mine
suddenly he sucked in his breath is that
your phone
he gasped and pointed to something on
the ground oh
no i moaned as i gingerly picked up my
phone
the screen was completely shattered i
must have dropped it
michael helped me up but i could only
stand there and look horrified
michael lightly touched my shoulder and
asked me if i was okay
i could only nod when he said that he
had to go because he was late for the
game
i didn't know if i was feeling more
horrified with michael seeing me
so stupid or for my phone getting
destroyed
i dreaded going home i knew i was going
to get an
earful from my parents true enough when
i got to the kitchen i told my mom about
needing a new
phone what happened this time she asked
with irritation
i swear chloe that's the third phone
you've ruined
i couldn't even tell her that i almost
got run over that would get me so
grounded for the rest of my life can i
get a new phone
please i begged it worked the last time
but my mom just shook her head if you
want a new phone
you'll have to earn the money to buy
your own she said
we're not spending any more because
you're not paying attention
to your surroundings chloe you have to
focus on the real world
stop daydreaming i felt too sad to argue
how was i going to survive without my
phone
then i remembered my airpods oh no
they were connected to my phone i tried
to disconnect the bluetooth connection
but the screen was shattered i guess
i'll have to save up
more money for air pods as well i sadly
placed my air pods on top of the flower
canisters on the kitchen counter i
didn't want to hold them anymore
a few hours later i was lying on my bed
when jasmine came in
i've been calling you the whole day why
aren't you answering
she asked so i heard that you broke your
phone again
an irritating voice said at the doorstep
i turned and saw my brother
chris it's none of your business i told
him even if he's just a year older than
me
he always acts so superior he's such a
pain
just leave me alone i muttered i'm going
hey grand i just can't wait to tell mack
another klutz chloe story
stop using that name i shouted back as
he closed the door
and stopped telling people about me i
sighed and realized that there were
other
more important things to think about
right now jasmine and i had to think
about a project for our business class
we needed to make a real business and
make it happen whoever earned the most
money from that project
gets an automatic a i hope we earn
enough from this
she said i nodded i needed some money
for a new phone
we just needed a great idea for a
business our first idea was simple it
was walking dogs i mean
how hard can that be but apparently
jasmine and i didn't think it through
well enough
on the very first day of dog walking we
had to walk
eight dogs neither jasmine nor i
realized that we might have a problem
making these dogs obey
stop barking jasmine cried to miss
penny's chihuahua
mr elliot's labrador can eat you for
breakfast
but all that shouting and pulling at
leashes didn't work
the dogs were going crazy a few moments
later
jasmine and i were in the middle of a
furry island and the dogs were trying to
jump on each other
we couldn't even move because our legs
got tangled up with the leashes
can i offer you ladies some help said a
voice from nearby
i turned around and saw michael i can't
believe he's seeing me
again looking like a complete idiot he
whistled and whispered a few words to
the dogs
he must have done some magic the dog
started to calm down
but i was getting hypnotized by his
voice too
hey jasmine hissed as she elbowed me
we're
loose now she thanked michael and
practically pushed me to keep on walking
let's get this dog walking over and done
with today
she said looking and feeling angry let's
give these dogs back to their owners
this is a terrible idea so i guess
jasmine and i were back on square one
we needed another business idea i got it
jasmine cried when she saw me the next
day i thought about it
last night i couldn't call you though
don't remind me
i sighed i still can't believe that i'm
surviving this long
without a phone i felt so detached from
the whole world
but jasmine's idea was actually kinda
cool
we decided to make cute picture frames
with strips of colorful paper and glue
jasmine saw some online and they were in
demand we can use these beads and
glitter too
i added we were sure that people would
line up to buy our creations
we spent the next few days making them
and they turned out really well
i bet even boys will buy these for their
girlfriends jasmine said while we were
lining them up on the porch to dry
suddenly i had the perfect vision of
michael giving me the pretty pink frame
that i had just made
of course i would choose the best
picture of us to put in it
maybe we can take a picture in the park
at sunset i was so
engrossed in my fantasy that i don't
even remember jasmine going home that
day
so i was startled when my mom started
shouting by the front door
chloe it's raining so hard now didn't
you hear the thunder
she yelled are these your crafts on the
porch they're drenched
i ran outside and felt my heart dropped
to my stomach
mom was right some of the frames were on
the floor some of them were drowning in
puddles
even my favorite pretty pink one was
ruined
jasmine's going to kill me i groaned but
oddly enough
she didn't when i told her the news the
next day in school
she just shrugged it's a blessing in
disguise actually she said
i thought it over and realized that my
idea was
pretty lame i mean who needs a picture
frame when you've got pictures on your
phone
i wouldn't know i reminded her with a
sigh i was starting to realize that i
would have to live a few more months
without a
without a unless we made some real money come on
unless we made some real money come on
chloe
jasmine said this is supposed to be an
easy project
we just have to think of a business once
we have a great idea it'll be a piece of
cake
i jumped up and squealed that's it it
was the best idea ever the easiest way
for us to make some money
and an automatic a was to provide people
with what they loved the most
the answer was food so jasmine and i got
working
we had an avalanche of recipes baking
materials flour
eggs sugar and tons of sprinkles
for one whole day it was whisk mix and
bake
i promised jasmine that i would focus
and not even think about
anything else except making the perfect
chocolate cupcakes for our bake sale
after six hours of baking we were almost
done
i just had one last batch to pour into
the cupcake molds
unfortunately that's when my brother
decided to appear in the kitchen
what's with all the cupcakes he asked
don't touch
anything i said whacking him with a
spatula but
chris tried to swipe one anyway i tried
to grab it back
but ended up knocking the boxes of
ingredients all over the counter
stop it i cried and i heard something
plop
hey i just wanted a taste chris replied
laughing his eyes were twinkling with
some mischief as he ate one cupcake he
kept looking at my batter
finally my mom came in and shooed him
away from the kitchen
mom i'm going to hang out with mac and
the guys he added then he grinned at me
see you later loser i was so upset with
my brother that i wasn't paying much
attention to the batter i just wanted to
finish this so i could think of
something nasty to get back at chris
the next day jasmine and i set up a
table outside the cafeteria
people loved our cupcakes money was
pouring in i bet you can buy a new phone
with all the money we earned
jasmine told me happily but i wasn't
hearing her anymore i spotted michael
walking to our table hey
he said with a heartbreaking smile can i
buy one i blushed and offered him the
best looking one from the table
i expected him just to pay and leave but
suddenly
he pulled up a chair i heard that you
were slaving a way to make all of these
he said they're good i smiled shyly and
offered him another one
i'll eat another one if you eat one with
me michael added with wink
so i grabbed the nearest cupcake and
took a bite but
even before i could chew michael
suddenly asked me the most
amazing thing would you like to grab
some coffee later
i'll pick you up at home i gulped and
practically choked on the cupcake i
started coughing
michael gently patted my back yeah sure
i replied somehow and took a big sip of
water to stop my coughing
but i'll just meet you in the coffee
shop okay michael said standing up
see you later i watched him walk away
when i turned to jasmine
she had the biggest smile on her face
we have the best project and you're
finally going out with michael
she's squealed i'm so happy the hours
couldn't pass fast enough but finally
all
our cupcakes were sold jasmine offered
to add up all the money herself so i
could go home and get ready
but that's when i started to feel funny
it felt like there were huge
butterflies in my stomach i figured that
i was just excited and nervous about my
date
i prayed that i wouldn't humiliate
myself in front of michael i was
massaging my grumbling stomach when
chris popped inside my room what's wrong
with you
he asked then he saw my phone on my desk
hey someone's calling you
i told him not to mind it i wouldn't be
able to answer it anyway
chris suddenly looked at me then back at
the phone
what i groaned nothing he said and there
was a twinkle in his eyes again
what's with the fancy face he added do
you have a date or something
i nodded once still massaging my tummy
chris made a gagging noise
who'd want to date you he asked with a
smirk i smirked back at him
you'd be surprised i replied as i left
praying that my stomach would settle
down
i finally got to the coffee house and
sighed happily when i saw michael
we sat and sipped our coffee we talked
and laughed
i've known him for a while now but i had
no idea that he would be this great
my tummy kept groaning and buzzing but i
tried to ignore it
when i checked my watch i sighed i
didn't want our date to end but i had a
curfew
michael offered to drive me home i was
starting to feel all tingly and excited
will he kiss me goodbye he opened my
door like a gentleman
and walked to the driver's side suddenly
in the quiet of the car
i heard a voice kiss him kiss him i
looked over at michael who was just
getting in
kiss him the voice said again the voice
sounded oddly familiar
oh my goodness was it fate or was god
talking to me
i looked at michael again to see if he
noticed anything but he was busy
fiddling
with the stereo kiss him i heard one
more time
so i did his face was just inches from
mine i bent my head to catch his lips
i closed my eyes and that kiss was the
most
wonderful thing in the world then
suddenly i felt a jolt in my stomach i
covered my mouth and started to heave
what's wrong was i that bad michael
gasped i tried to shake my head but i
couldn't
the only thing that my body allowed me
to do was to lean down and puke
coffee came out the cupcake came out and
i felt something else
pop out i was too horrified to open my
eyes and look
what's that michael said while looking
at the yucky brown gunk on his car floor
i opened my eyes is that an air pod
he gasped my eyes flew wide open and i
looked closer
i couldn't believe what i was seeing how
did i ever manage to eat an air pod
then i remembered the cupcake a lot of
things fell on the kitchen counter while
i was baking
the airpod must have landed on one and i
ate it
michael became very quiet as he started
the car all the while i
sat and felt absolutely humiliated
i took a quick glance at him and i was
surprised to see his shoulders shaking
i'm so sorry i gasped michael couldn't
keep it in anymore
he pulled over and started to laugh he
laughed for so long
and each second the past made me feel
worse you're really something else
he said between gasps i felt so hurt how
could he be so mean
no wait he hurriedly added when he saw
my face
what i meant was that you're amazing
every minute with you is like
an adventure i love how crazy and
unpredictable you are
somehow even with puke on the floor i
managed to smile and melt with his words
michael practically said that he loved
me he dropped me off and said that he
would just have his car clean
he promised to come back in a little
while i think i floated
all the way to the front door and found
my parents in the living room
great news my dad said when he saw me
jasmine called she said that your bake
sale earned the most money
you won my parents went over to hug me
then my mom took out a box
we're so proud of how you really focused
on this project chloe
she said with a smile i think that
merits a reward too
here she handed me the box and there was
a new phone inside
wow i cried thank you
they spent the next hour gushing over me
saying that i was probably going to grow
up to be a business tycoon or something
chris even came over and patted me on
the head you're not such a loser after
all
he said i tried to take it as compliment
how was your date
did he even kiss you i stared at chris
suddenly
things began to click into place he knew
all about the airpod
he saw it falling into the batter he saw
me clutching my tummy when my phone was
lighting up he knew
that i swallowed one and it was his
voice i heard
suddenly the doorbell rang and i jumped
up michael grinned at me
hey mac my brother cried come on in
let's watch the game
michael shook his head sorry dude i have
other plans tonight
i saw my brother's jaw fall open when
michael reached out to hold my hand
were you calling my phone today i asked
my brother sweetly
it was so nice of you to check up on me
my date went great by the way
this has been a perfect day even with
all the puking
i got a phone an a and a kiss and i'll
never forget the look on my brother's
face
when he finally realized that his little
sister
is dating his best friend