Puppy Love Confessions - Pt. 1

So, who was the first person you ever had a crush on (or your first boyfriend/girlfriend, if you prefer)? I'm talking about from waaaaay back when!

I remember too many names from back in the day. Kindergarden girlfriends/crushes were well mentally documented. There was one from pre-school who's face I vaguely recall, but whose name escapes me. After her there was Melissa Moody. We went to the same nursery school, Briarwood Day Care, in Atlanta just off of Martin Luther King Blvd. She was one of my first girlfriends, ever. You don't want to hear about that one, though.

For most of first grade, I was seriously crushing on Latrina White. She was a cute girl with curls (SHUT UP, DAMMIT, IT WAS THE 80's! :-p ) from another class. When my class's lunch period was ending, hers was just beginning. So, I didn't really have much of a chance to talk to her.

My solution?

Every morning before I left the house, I'd grab a handful of goodies from a candy dish we had at home and stuff them in my pocket. When we were lining up to leave the lunchroom, I'd keep an eye out for Latrina (and maybe somebody else named Keisha, but that one's hard to recall). When I'd spot her, I'd risk the teacher's wrath by darting from the line, walking over to her lunch table, from the left, dropping some candy right in front of her, then quickly exiting, without a word, from the right. I'd get my 6-year-old behind back in line and try not to look at her.

This apparently went on all year because I didn't speak to her until 2nd grade. In 2nd grade, I was very pleased to find that Latrina and I were in the same classroom. My best friend from the year, before, Apkan Jenkins, used to say, "You like that curly-haired girl?" I sure did, so being in the same class that she was and finally having a chance to overcome my shyness and talk to her made me all kinds of giddy.

As it turned out, my teachers decided that I wasn't being challenged enough by the curriculum (although they must've decided this when I was in 1st grade) because on the very first day of 2nd grade, they told me I'd be attending a 3rd grade class - all damned day long. I'm not sure why they didn't just skip me, but it was decided that I'd go to my 2nd grade classroom, every morning, then leave after they took attendance to go to my 3rd grade classroom.

So, I'd drool over Latrina in the morning, then basically leave for the rest of the day. The only time I got to see her, again, was during lunch. I went to lunch with the 3rd graders and, just like the year before, we'd be leaving when my 2nd grade class would arrive. The 3rd-grade boys had a tradition of racing back to the classroom immediately after lunch. My 2nd grade classmates would see this, so it was an opportunity for me to show off. ( I loved running even back then. )

Some time around then, my parents got divorced and I was shuffled around a bit. I ended up going to Florida to live with my grandmother and aunt, for a while, and I went to North Carolina to live with another aunt and uncle for a while.

So, for two years, I liked Latrina, but never really got to talk to her. As it turned out, I'd see her, again, and even get to talk to her.

But that's a story for another day.


So, tell us about your first crush.