My first girl friend

Wendy and I both went to Steve Luther Elementary, but she was two grades ahead of me and a couple feet taller. Our moms were friends first, so Wendy and I became friends during all those "you have to go" visits to each other's houses.

We lived in the same neighborhood, so Wendy and I would ride our bikes together a lot. I rode the rusty frankenstein bmx that my cousin built for me, and Wendy had her pink banana-seater from Price Club with the shiny tassles on the handle bars. We were raised in frugal Taiwanese families. One of our favorite things to do was ride near a bunch of trees that had dropped their seeds on the concrete sidewalk. And when you crushed the hundreds of little bulbs under your wheels, they would make these delicious popping noises. Like microwaving popcorn!

We also did other fun stuff together like burning things with a magnifying glass, trading Garbage Pail Kid stickers, and making homemade fireworks with matches and aluminum foil.

Wendy was fun and we played together a lot, until things got weird one Halloween.

I went over to Wendy's house dressed as a vampire with too much styling mousse. She was already playing wih her friend Carol, and Carol's brother David. When I arrived, the girls didn't want the boys around anymore so David and I played downstairs while Wendy and Carol locked themselves in their room upstairs and did girl stuff. Pretty soon, David and I got bored and became extremely curious what the girls were up to. So we went on a secret mission to find out.

We crept up the stairs super quietly and listened at the door. I was looking under the door when it opened suddenly, and then slammed with the girls shrieking behind it. David and I scurried away to re-strategize.

At first, we tried to lure them out, but our Jolly Ranchers and dollar bills just kept disappearing under their door. Then we threatened to tell on them, so they unlocked the door but barricaded it. Finally, we tried pushing our way in, and that's when I was yanked into the room and locked in with the enemy.

Terrified, I quickly crawled to the opposite side of the room. The two girls stared at me and smiled devilishly. I looked at Wendy and my heart started pounding. She was wearing a cute Madonna outfit, her hair was done up, and she had make-up on. And I thought, 'Wow, Wendy is... pretty.' I felt weird. And happy. And eventhough David was pounding on the door and yelling, I kinda didn't want to be rescued.

As time went on, Wendy and I grew apart. She had junior high school stuff to do, and I had other crushes to nurse. Sometimes my cousin would tease me about my "girlfriend" Wendy. And I would feel weird all over again.