That boy has cooties, but he sure is a cutie!

Within the next year, I had made lots of new friends, mostly girls, because at this age I was still convinced boys had cooties.
Bo and Jameson were my only guy friends, our relationship consisted of them playing tag with me outside at recess. The end of 5Th grade rolled around and I had just turned 11. I'll never forget that spring day and the big news Bo had to tell me.
While waiting for the bus out in the hall, Bo pulled me to the side and asked me to meet him by the oak tree in front of the school before I got on my bus. The bell rang and kids rushed the hall excited to go home for the weekend, but my excitement was for something else, I was concentrated on what Bo had to tell me. I approached the big oak tree nervously. Bo was standing there in front of the tree like he said he would be, wearing that same half grin and cheeks still blushed. He grabbed my hand and proceeded to tell me the words I will never forget "Bella, you are the prettiest girl I've ever seen, I'm gonna marry you someday, but right now I just need you to be my girlfriend." Shocked and speechless all I could do was nod my head yes. There you had it, Bo was my boyfriend, my first boyfriend I've ever had. I couldn't help but wonder what my girlfriends were gonna think, I just remember thinking "maybe boy cooties aren't so bad."

That following Monday, when I arrived to school, I broke the news to my best friend Riley Jo, who of course laughed and teased me for having a boyfriend. Scared and confused, at lunch I refused to sit by Bo, I wouldn't talk to him in between classes even though he would wait for me. I was ashamed that my friends were giving me such a hard time, I decided the next day I was going to break up with Bo. When I told him the news, the half grin he always wore disappeared and he told me "I'm not giving up on you, Ill never give up on you." With those words spoken we went on our way, my first boyfriend lasted for a whole two days, but for some reason, I had a feeling this wasn't the end. I was too young for a boyfriend, it was puppy love, and my maturity level was not a place to be in an actual relationship, however it was fun pretending for a few days, after all he was the cutest boy I had ever seen. So why all of a sudden did my mindset go from "boys have cooties", to "man that boy is a cutie"? Why did Bo tell me he wasn't going to give up on me, why was I so special?Throughout the rest of the year, Bo and I remained friends. There wasn't a day where you would catch me without Bo by my side, and without Jameson by Bo's side. We were inseparable, the best of friends.
The last day of 5Th grade was filled with excitement, because everyone knew from now on we would be riding the bus to the next town over to go to school. Our small town only had an elementary school, but our county seat was a town with the population of 33,000. That meant we would be going to a new school, with new people and new teachers. Students were exchanging numbers, signing yearbooks as if we were never going to see each other again, but not me! I knew that I would always have Riley, Bo and Jameson, it was just a summer, how much could change in a summer right? I thought the worst that could happen is having a different class than them, if only it were that simple. Turns out, alot of things can change in a summers length of time.