Bryce LoskiAll ever I wanted was for Juli Baker to leave me alone. It all began in the summer of 1957,before the start of second grade.-Here we are. haha What do you guys think? I like this place. Its cool. Uh,what color is my room?-Just you wait.-Lets see whats inside. Hey, come on, buddy Bryce. Why dont, uh, you and I go help unload the vanand the womenfolk here can get in the kitchen and start setting up. Okay. Dad.For me, it was the beginning of what would be more than half a decade of strategic avoidance and social discomfort.-Hi, Im Juli Baker. Hey, hey, what are you doing? Dont you want some help? No. theres some valuable things in there. How about this one? No, no, no. Run home, your mothers probably wondering where you are. Oh, no,my mom knows where I am. She said its fine. It didnt take long to realize this girl could not take a hint. Its crowded in here with three people. I dont mind. Of any kind. You wanna push this one together? Bryce, isnt it time for you to go help your mother? Huh? Oh, yeah. I mean, nothing would stop her. I was about to tell her to get lost when the weirdest thing happened. I couldnt believe it. There I was holding hands with this strange girl. How did I get into this mess? Well, hello. I see youve met my son. Uh-huh.Finally, I did the only manly thing available when youre 7 years old. However, my troubles were far from over. The minute I walked into Miss Yelsons classroom-Bryce? Youre here. It was clear, school would not be a sanctuary. Hey, Bryce, wheres your girlfriend? I was branded for life. Hey, Bryce,why dont you ask her to marry you? Bryce and Juli sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G. My first year in town was a disaster. And the next three werent much better. But finally, in the sixth grade, I took action. I hatched the plan. Sherry. Sherry, wait up. Hi, Bryce. Heh. I asked out Sherry Stalls (I was wondering if you wanted to go). To full appreciate the brilliance of this planyou have to understand that Juli always hated Sherry Stallsthough I never understood why. Sherry was nice, friendly and she had a lot of hair.-At first, my mother wouldnt let me get my ears pierced, but I beggedThe idea was that Sherry would eat with me maybe wed walk around together, and hopefully Juli would lost interest. But I still cant get the hoops till Im 16. Oh, thats a shame. So Melanie wanted to get her ears pierced, but of course her mother said no. So she threw a fit and smashed her Johnny Mathis Greatest Hits album and she got grounded, so now she cant come to my pajama sleepover party. Things were unfolding quite nicely. -What are you doing for your science project?That is, until my supposed best friend, Garrett Einbinder took an interest in Sherry himself.-I was thinking of showing how split ends react with different hair conditioners. Thats fascinating.Loyalty gave way to dedire and Garrett, the turncoat told Sherry what I was up to. She didnt take it well. Word got back to Juli, and pretty soon she started up with the goo-goo eyes again. Only this time it was worse. She started sniffing me. Thats right, sniffing me. Whats that all about? My only consolation was that next year would be different. Junior high, bigger school. Maybe wed be in different classes and it would finally, finally be over.Juli BakerThe first day I met Bryce Loski, I flipped. It was those eyes, something in those dazzling eyes. -You wanna push this one together? His family had just moved into the neighborhood and Id gone to help them. Id been in the van all of two minutes when his dad sent him off to help his mom. I could see he didnt wanna go. So I chased after him to see if we could play a little before he got trapped inside. The next thing I know, hes holdidng my hand and looking right into my eyes. My heart stopped. Was this it? Would this be my first kiss? But then his mother came out. Well, hello. And he was so embarrassed, his cheeks turned completely red. I went to bed that night thinking of the kiss that might have been. I mean, it was clear he has feelings for me, but he was just too shy to show them. My mother said boys were like that. So I decided to help him out. Bryce? Youre here. I would give him plenty of opportunity to get over his shyness. By the sixth grade, Id learned to control myself. Then Sherry Stalls entered the picture. Sherry Stalls was nothing but a whiny, gossipy, backstabbing flirt. All hair and no substance. And she was holding hands with Bryce. My Bryce. The one who was walking around with my first kiss. My solution was to ignore her. I knew a boy of Bryces caliber would eventually see through a shallow conniver like Sherry Stalls. It took all of a week. Then broke up at recess. She didnt take it well. Now that Bryce was out of Sherrys evil clutches, he started be