AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My friends cheer and clap, and some other students do, too, but most of them look at me like they still have no idea why some strange kid they don’t even know just made a presentation. Or like they have no idea what to make of my app.
I join my friends in the middle row as the principal and VP make some more announcements. They’re all grinning at me with expressions of awe and anticipation.
“Oh my gosh, Willow!” Ava whispers. “Your app sounds out of this world. I’m going to download it as soon as the assembly is over. I can’t wait to be matched with my Superman.”
“You guys better get matched with your soulmates or my app is a total failure,” I say with a laugh.
“I can’t believe this is what you’ve been working on all these months,” Lily whispers. “You’re so freakin’ cool, Willow.”
I just laugh again. “Thanks. But it’s no biggie. I just hope kids aren’t too scared to download it because they think I’m spying on them. The hardest part was making sure the app offers them as much privacy as possible.”
“I think they’ll download it,” Chloe assures me. “Who doesn’t want help finding their perfect match? And you know what I just realized?”
“Excuse me, in the middle row?” VP Rivera calls.
Chloe’s mouth snaps shut and she faces the front, her cheeks growing a little pink.
“Thank you. As I was saying…”
“What did you just realize?” I hiss to her.
Chloe looks at me like she wants to tell me, but she doesn’t want to get in trouble. I think she’s super worried about being on her best behavior because she’s scared Nakamura might take away her position as editor-in-chief. As much as I’m bursting to know what she wanted to say, I don’t want to do anything to jeopardize something she loves.
The principal and VP drone on for what feels like hours. I’m so distracted by thoughts about my app and how amazing it’ll be when I finally start seeing results that I’m barely paying attention to what they’re saying. Finally, finally, they dismiss us. My friends and I wait until all the other kids leave because we learned from past experience that invisible people like us tend to get squashed in a mass crowd.
“So?” I ask Chloe once the auditorium is mostly empty and the seven of us head for the exit. “I’m on pins and needles here.”
“Sorry. I just wanted to say that your app can also help people learn a lot about themselves and the kind of person that might be best for them. Like, let’s say a girl usually goes for bad boys and tends to get into trouble. Maybe the app will show her that she’s going after the wrong guys and might match her with a studious guy. Maybe she’ll give him a shot and realize he’s better suited for her.”
I think about it for a few seconds. “You’re right. I hadn’t considered that. That’s a good point. Maybe I’ll add that when I present my app at the coding competition.”
“Oh my gosh!” Lily grabs my arm. “This is so exciting. I can’t believe you made such an awesome app, Willow. You’re going to change the world.”
I chuckle as I wrap my arm around her. “I hope so.”
When we get to our lockers and retrieve our phones, I immediately check to see how many people have downloaded the app. Only five. My heart sinks. “Just five.”
“Six,” Chloe tells me as she downloads the app.
“Seven.” Liam throws me a grin.
“Eight,” Xavier adds.
“Relax, Willow,” Ava says with a giggle. “Give the kids a chance to download it.”
The bell rings for second period.
“Darn it,” I mutter. “I just want to stare at my phone all day and see the number of downloads rise.”
“I know the feeling,” Chloe tells me. “Whenever I post an article for the online newspaper, I constantly refresh the page for new comments. You get used to it…sort of.”
“Super.”
We all laugh before wishing each other goodbye and separating to our classes.
Chapter Thirteen
Willow
