Royal Hearts by Ruth Ann Nordin

weren’t taking this whole
thing seriously. Most of them were interested in standing around
and talking to their friends.
    “Hey, I didn’t get a chance to ask you about
Saturday,” Stacey said as they walked over to the booth featuring
the college in Toledo.
    “It went really well,” Ann replied. “He seems
like a nice guy.”
    Stacey picked up a few pens and brochures.
“Nice?”
    “Yeah, nice. What’s wrong with that?”
    “Nothing, I guess. It just doesn’t sound very
exciting.”
    “Well, I was nervous the whole time. It’s
hard to worry about excitement when I’m trying not to say something
stupid.”
    “Does he want to see you again?”
    “I think so. Lisa said he did. Carson told
her that he’s already talking about me as if I’m his
girlfriend.”
    Stacey put the brochures and pens from the
college in Toledo into the bag one of the students from that school
gave her. “That sounds promising. Do you like the idea of going out
with him?”
    Ann thought about it for a moment. “Yeah, I
like the idea.”
    “You like it a little bit?”
    She rolled her eyes. “A lot, okay? I like it
a lot.”
    “So the day was more than nice,” Stacey
teased.
    “I’m trying to be low key about this.”
    “You mean cautious.”
    “I hate getting all worked up over some guy
just to find out he doesn’t return my feelings.”
    “That is a bummer,” she agreed as she started
collecting brochures and pens from another college.
    Ann chuckled. “Are you going to grab
something from every table we come to?”
    “Why not? It’s like shopping…only I don’t
have to pay for it.” She turned to Ann and showed her a pen with a
picture of the state of Ohio on it. “You should keep this. It will
be a reminder of your friends. I don’t want you forgetting us when
you move.”
    “I could never forget you.”
    Stacey’s smile faltered. “I’m going to miss
you when you go. You’re like a sister to me, except you’re better
because you don’t steal my clothes or peek in my diary.”
    Not wanting to cry in front of the other
students, Ann quickly wiped her eyes. “I’m going to miss you,
too.”
    “Moving sucks. I wish I could go with
you.”
    “If you did, I wouldn’t dread it so much.”
Ann turned the pen over in her hand. It was a nice pen. She’d be
sure to use it when she took her notes in class after she moved.
With a heavy sigh, she put it in her pocket.
    Stacey cleared her throat. “We’d better get
moving. I have a lot more stuff to collect.”
    She laughed, glad for the distraction. “It’s
a wonder I take you anywhere. People are going to ask why you have
so many bags.”
    They made their way to a few other booths
before they stopped at the one for the local university.
    “Are you thinking of going to this school?”
someone asked them.
    Surprised, since no one had bothered talking
to them up to this point, Ann turned toward the cute blond haired,
blue-eyed boy.
    “Maybe,” Stacey answered. “Do you have any
cool pens?”
    Ann didn’t know whether to laugh or be
embarrassed by her friend’s question.
    “I don’t know how cool you’ll think they are,
but we do have some pens over there on the table.” He pointed to
the table with a poster featuring pictures of the campus.
    Stacey hurried over to the table and started
collecting everything she could find.
    Realizing the boy was still standing by her,
Ann said, “The truth is, my family will be moving to Florida soon,
so I won’t be going to college around here. That’s why I’m not
collecting anything.” She showed him her empty hands as if to prove
her point.
    “That must be tough,” he commented.
    She studied him in interest. She had the
oddest feeling that he understood her. “Did you ever move while you
were in high school?”
    “No, but I know what it feels like to be in a
strange new place. It’s taking me time to find my way around and
meet people.”
    “So did you move here to go to college?”
    “You could say