Love Is Not A Calculator

By: Sabrina, age 13

It was the fourth week back at school, September 2018. The eighth graders were in the middle of a ship-name high, bragging about their love calculator percentages with other people, regardless of whether they actually had a crush on them or not. One of the girls in grade eight even had become friends with a boy in grade seven and made a handshake and everything because of receiving a ninety-two percent chance of a lasting relationship when both names were entered on somebody’s computer while they were supposed to be working on a project. Crystal, a pretty blonde girl who wasn’t really popular, but knew it and didn’t mind, well, that’s not entirely true, but you’ll see how that turns out later. Crystal decided one night while doing some bible homework on her computer to test out this “love calculator” with her and her crushes’ name. She entered in the names Crystal Till and Parker Malikson. Parker was a boy at her school in the grade below her, whom she had had a crush on since her little brother’s 9th birthday party at the end of her sixth grade year, well, that was when she first started noticing him differently, she realized it as something much more than a twelve year old’s crush later that year, around the beginning of grade seven. Crystal and Parker’s younger brother’s were in the same grade and were best friends, so Parker and Crystal were sort of friends, but as Crystal scrolled down the page, she wondered if this website was really even worth her time, it wasn’t like she would stop liking Parker, even if it said 0 percent, she would never really give up, like Ginny never gave up on Harry Potter. She got to the answer and wasn’t too impressed or surprised when she read “fourteen percent”, what a waste! She decided to try a different website, truelovebecomesreal.com “seems promising” Crystal thought to herself as she clicked on the link. She entered the names in again and waited. A few seconds later, an exclamation GIF popped up and as she scrolled down, she read the paragraph that so urgently said. “Your crush likes you! Go tell him now, or you’ll both be missing out! Perhaps, he’ll even tell you before you get the chance to tell him! So don’t wait another day! We can one-hundred percent guarantee his answer will be yes.” “Yeah right,” Crystal thought to herself as she closed the tab and went to go get ready for bed.

The next morning, as Crystal went to go stand alone against the wall of the school while waiting for her best friend Stella to arrive, one of her old friends from last year, Lauren, who was the prettiest girl in school and the most popular girl in class ran up to her and said “Crystal, everyone is talking about how Parker likes you.” She said it like she was happy for Crystal, and Crystal believed she was, but she also believed that a good part of the reason Lauren was talking to her was because the juicy news involved her, nonetheless, Crystal replied “What? How do they know? Did he say something?” Lauren proceeded to tell the shocking tale of how when Parker came to school that morning, he openly announced that he was going to confess his feelings for her which he had only started to realize the night before, while he was getting ready for bed. Crystal began to think to herself that she was really lucky to have her crush like her, and then she realized that the paragraph she read on the love calculator website has said that her crush might even confess his feelings to her before she got the chance. “Must be a coincidence.” Crystal said aloud. “What must be a coincidence?” a voice that Crystal knew quite well said, a voice she heard in her head every second of the day, a voice she had involuntarily trained heart to speed up whenever she heard it. “Oh um, nothing.” Crystal replied while staring at her feet, pretending to be extremely interested in her shoes. “So um, is it true?” Crystal asked, she had never been the type of girl afraid to say anything to her crush, but she was quite scared he wouldn’t answer her and so she never said anything. “Crystal, I’m sorry I only just realized my true feelings for you, I don’t know what was blinding me for, well, up until around eight o’ clock last night-” “Eight o’ clock last night?” Crystal asked. “Yes, but, I really think it’s meant to be you know?” Crystal was only half listening to the love of her life confess his undying love for her because she had just realized that eight o’ clock last night, was around the time that she has used the love calculator to see if her and Parker would be a good match. “Hello? Crystal? Did you hear anything I just said?” Parker’s question snapped her back to reality, and she started to feel really embarrassed for not knowing what he had said. “Um, sorry I’m just, really tired.” Crystal tried to excuse herself with. “Never mind then, just… do you like me as well? And will you be my girlfriend?” Parker asked. A thousand thoughts were circling through Crystal’s head, but only one emotion was prominent; love. So, she finally said what she’d always dreamed of saying to him. “Parker Malikson, I really like you, and I have since the end of grade six at Kyle’s birthday party, people might think it’s weird that I like you because you’re younger than me, I don’t care what they think. I will be your girlfriend.”

The next few days were some of the most exciting days Crystal had ever had. Every morning she and Parker would talk while waiting for school to start, talk about homework and teachers at recess, and sit together at lunch. Crystal would have been the happiest girl on earth if it weren’t for the one pressing thought that was always in the back of her mind, the idea that somehow the love calculator forced Parker to like her. She had told Stella all of her worries, Stella admitted that it was strange, but that it was impossible for a website to force someone into liking another person, But Crystal could tell from her chocolate brown eyes, that deep inside Stella had her doubts.

On Thursday morning as Crystal was walking to the back of the school, she decided to find out if the love calculator scheme was really true. So over the morning, she and Stella devised a plan to find out what was really going on. At lunch break, her and Stella would hide in the girls’ bathroom and try out some other names on the love calculator, and see what happened.

As the lunch bell rang, Crystal and Stella raced into the girls’ room and waited for everyone to be gone. When they had made sure no one was there or right outside in the hallway, they went onto the website that Crystal had used earlier that week, and entered the names; Stella, and Dien…. Seventy- eight percent. “Yay!” exclaimed Stella as she thought about seeing Dien later that day when he came back from the high school campus. This year, the grade nine to twelves had moved to a different building, in order to grow the elementary and middle school more. “Well, I guess all we can do now is wait. I’ll stay with you after school today, then we can see if anything happens with Dien.” Crystal said.

As the high school shuttle rolled into the parking lot after school, Crystal found herself feeling very anxious. This would determine if Parker truly only liked her because of the love calculator. Crystal and Stella watched while Dien walked out of the bus and started trotting towards them. “Here he comes.” Whispered Crystal out of the side of her gritted smile. “Believe me, I can see that.” Stella replied. Crystal could almost hear Stella’s heart beating faster and faster as Dien got closer and closer. When Dien finally reached them, he said the exact things that Stella had always dreamed of hearing, and the words that Crystal was dreading the very most. “Hey Stella, I just wanted to say that I think you’re really pretty, and you’re the kindest person I’ve ever met. I just wanted to ask you if you wanted to go to the high school’s Back-to-school party with me?” when Dien had finished, Crystal was almost pale as snow, and sick as a dog. But Stella still replied, with a high-pitched voice that evened out as she continued talking. “The high school’s back-to-school party, right, um, I think that it’s on a Tuesday, I can’t, I have soccer practice. But, thanks so much for, um… asking. And um, I think that you’re.. really nice too.” Dien’s face fell as if he had been training his entire life for this, and that it has all been a waste and lost forever. Crystal recognized this as well, and she knew that Stella would feel horrible for the rest of her life if she wasn’t able to make it up to him. Then Crystal remembered, the grade eight dance! Only grade eights could go for sure, but anyone else from the school was allowed to go if they were going with a date from grade eight. “Hey, what about the eighth grade dance? You and Dien could go together if you invited him.” Crystal was pretty proud of saving the day with that one. “Of course!” exclaimed Dien. “I mean, if you want me to go with you.” He said sheepishly. “I would love to go with you Dien.” Stella answered. “Awesome, I’ll meet you tomorrow night then.” And as Dien walked off and left with his family, drove away in the van with the license plate number Both Stella and Crystal had memorized and disappeared from sight Crystal had a feeling that both her and Stella had a major problem on their hands.

That night, as the two were talking on Facetime, Crystal had a strange thought occur. “Stella, how come nobody else’s love calculator pairs came true?” “I don’t know Crystal. What if.. wait! You used a different website then the other kids did, didn’t you?” Stella questioned. “Yes, I did. I didn’t like the answer I got from the main website, so I clicked on a different one. And we used that same website for you and Dien.” Crystal replied. “It was called, “truelovebecomesreal.com”.” “Well how do we fix this? It’s not like you can erase the past.” Stella mused. “Maybe you can! Stella, when we went to enter your names, then mine and Parker’s names popped up as suggestions. If there was a way to get rid of that, delete the records… of course! I’ll just clear my history!” Crystal exclaimed. “That might work. But, what about the dance?” Stella asked. “We’ll go to the dance with Parker and Dien, then at the end, we’ll delete my history, and make it look like we broke up!” Crystal figured out as she explained. “Ok, but then you need to ask Parker to the dance, tomorrow.” Stella replied. “Fine, I’ll ask him as soon as I get to school tomorrow morning. I’ve got to get to bed. Goodnight.” Crystal said. “Goodnight.”

The Next day, as Parker ran up to her, she felt sick to her stomach. She had always pictures herself rescuing Parker, never the other way around, always pictured herself having to make the first move, but now that it was actually happening; she kind of liked the idea of the guy asking the girl out. But it was a grade eight dance, she had to ask him, or he wouldn’t be able to go. Parker couldn’t ask her to her own dance. She also had to remember that of course he would say yes, the love calculator made sure of that. So, even though she wanted to hide in the bathroom; Crystal tried to confidently approach Parker; but as she reached him, it took all her willpower not to turn around and run. “Hey Parker, I know it’s kind of last minute but, would you… want to go to the eighth grade dance with me?” Crystal finally managed to get out of her mouth. Parker’s face light up instantly. “Of course I do!” he exclaimed. “Awesome.” Crystal replied. “Then I guess I’ll meet you back here tonight.” Crystal suggested. “Ok, great.” Parker answered.

The night of the grade eight dance was a night of fun for everyone except Crystal. Even Stella seemed to have forgotten that the only reason she was off dancing with her crush was because of the love calculator. But then, the time came; when Crystal had to expose everything; and as she and Stella snuck out of the gym and into the bathroom, Crystal realized that after tonight, Parker wouldn’t like her anymore, and if he remembered the last few days, she would have to confess everything, and how she managed to put him under the spell of having a crush on her. Even if Parker didn’t remember, everybody else probably would, they would tell him, and things would be eternally awkward between them. But, against all her emotions, she opened the website that had started everything and deleted the name suggestions and cleared her history. “It’s done.” Said Stella. “I guess now all we can do is wait and see what happens now.” Crystal replied. And as the two of them walked back into the gym, nothing looked any different; until Lauren came up to them and said “Oh, hey guys, who did you come with?” Crystal and Stella looked at each other. “Parker and Dien.” Stella replied. Laura laughed. “Parker and Dien aren’t even here, and I know that you guys would be way too scared to ask them.” And so Crystal and Stella went home that night and never mentioned anything about that week ever again, but deep down, they would always remember the best few days of their lives.