This is a Love Note.

Oh great. Nat The Narc strikes again.

This time it was because someone slammed a basketball by her feet. One minute she was reading a book on the fall of Rome, the next she was laid out on a bleacher. 

Only 30 seconds or so passed before she was up again. Mr. Patterson ran over to check on her while the jerks who threw the ball laughed. Narcolepsy was a joke to them. And sure, it was funny in the 4th grade when Nat used to fall asleep in the grass during recess and missed the end of period bell. Or when she face planted into her jello at lunch. Not as much fun when she started falling down stairs or passing out during fire drills. 

Most people avoided her. I am most people. She’s like a ticking time bomb. You never know what’s going to set her off. 

I was walking home later that day when I saw her purple messenger bag a few paces ahead. I fell back a little. Nat and I live on the same block so it’s not like this is a surprise. We both get out of school at the same time. By unspoken agreement, we never walk home together. 

The surprise was when Nat fell flat on her back in the middle of a crosswalk when a car’s backfiring startled her.

I ran over and knelt by her side. Luckily, her bag cushioned her fall. I shook her shoulder but she hadn’t come to yet when the light changed. 

A man behind me honked and yelled out of his car window, “Hey! Is she alright? Should I call 911?”

“She’ll be fine, thanks! She just tripped!” I scooped her up and carried her to the sidewalk. 

Her eyes drifted open halfway there. At first it looked like she didn’t recognize me, then she gasped as I put her down on her feet, “You saved my life!”

My brow furrowed, “Not really.”

“Yes, really! Thank you so much, Alex!”

There were tears in her eyes. I rolled mine. “Whatever. Let’s get you home before you pass out again, Narc.”

She scoffed, trailing behind me, “I didn’t pass out. I lost muscle control. It’s not the same.”

I put my hands in my pockets and picked up the pace. Just 2 more blocks. “Oh yeah? What’s the difference? Either way you end up on the ground.”

“The difference is that I’m conscious the whole time so I can hear everybody laughing at me when I fall.” 

She said it so matter of fact like this was a reality she accepted a long time ago. I thought about all the times I laughed during one of her episodes. The jello incident stood out. I was sitting right across from her when it happened. I’d laughed so hard, milk came out of my nose. She was crying when the lunch attendants came to check on her. She was still crying when they took her to the restroom to clean up.

“Sorry,” I muttered. I was practically running at that point. 1 more block.

She waved off my apology, “It’s fine. Thanks for not letting that man call 911. My mom would never let me walk home again if she knew I fell in the middle of the street. I just switched to a new medication though so I should be getting better soon.”

When we made it to her front yard, I said, “See ya,” without slowing my stride but Nat grabbed my arm and forced me to stop. She was biting her lip and avoiding eye contact, “Um, do you mind if we walk home together for a couple weeks until the new meds kick in?” 

She looked up at me with big Bambi eyes. I’d never been close enough to see the little green flecks in them. She smiled, “I promise I won’t bug you at school. I just don’t want any more accidents on the road.”

I glanced at my house 3 doors down. The driveway was empty. I considered saying no. I didn’t want to babysit a narcoleptic know it all. The last thing I needed was for my friends to find out. I wasn’t sure I could survive the ribbing. But what difference would it make? We already walked home at the same time every day. And it’s not like I wouldn’t help if I saw her collapse again.

“Fine,” I sighed, “See ya tomorrow.”

The next day I tried to pretend like we weren’t walking together. Most of the people who left school this late, the chess geeks and jocks, headed towards the parking lot on the other side of the building. I hung back a few steps behind Nat until the other students heading in our direction turned down other streets. It was supposed to look like we were two students who just happened to be walking in the same direction except Nat wouldn’t shut up. She kept looking back to tell me about how the Queen’s Gambit inspired her to join the chess club. She kept up a constant chatter the entire way home.

By the 3rd day, I didn’t mind. She was funny. On the way home that day, she told me a math joke that actually made me laugh. 

“Why are math books so darn depressing?”

“Cause math sucks?”

“No. It’s because they’re literally filled with problems.”

When we got to her house, Nat turned to me with a serious expression, “Do you want to come inside and hang out? I can help you with your math homework.”

I looked down the street at my empty driveway. Mom probably wouldn’t be back til 9 again. I hitched up my backpack, “I don’t need—”

“My mom’s making lasagna for dinner. It’s really good. She uses three cheeses, and mixes beef and lamb with homemade ragu sauce.” There were those Bambi eyes again.

I glanced back and forth between my empty driveway and Nat. My mom probably didn’t have time to cook before she went to work this morning. I ate the last of the leftovers yesterday so that means frozen chicken nuggets for dinner. I looked back at Nat. She was holding her breath.

“Fine. I’ll stay.”

Two weeks passed like that. Me and Nat walking home together. Nat inviting me over to hang out. Sometimes I went, sometimes I didn’t. Her mom was a good cook. On top of lasagna, she also made a mean meatloaf and her fried chicken was fire. 

I walked out of the school building on Friday looking forward to her chicken piccata. Nat was waiting for me on the corner. Before I could make it to her, my best friend Matt called my name. Matt was standing with a few guys from the football team. “Hey! Wanna come to my house? We’re gonna play Jackbox.”

I glanced back at the corner. Nat was watching us. “I don’t know. I should probably go home.”

“Come on! We can order pizza. Your mom’s not home, right? She won’t mind. I’ll drive you home after.” 

I glanced back again. Nat had already turned away and started walking home without me. I guess that made it easy. There was a pit in my stomach when I walked to the parking lot with the guys.

That weekend I played GTA online with Matt, but I couldn’t stop thinking about Nat.

“Hey Matt, what do you think about Natalie Parker?”, I asked through my headset while speeding down the highway as Matt threw a grenade out the passenger window.

“You mean The Narc? I don’t think about her. Why?” Matt started shooting an AK-47 as the police gained on us.

“She’s not so bad, right? She doesn’t pass out all the time anymore.”

“Didn’t she pass out in gym like last week?”

“That was two weeks ago. And she doesn’t pass out. She loses muscle control.There’s a difference.”

“Uh sure, whatever. Do you like her or something?”

My thumb twitched and I accidentally drove off a bridge. 

“Dude!” Matt yelled through the headset, “What the hell man!? I don’t care if you like her. If Sleeping Beauty’s your thing, good for you. Now can you get your head in the game? I’m trying to win a trophy. Now we have to start over.”

“Sorry man.” I wiped the smirk off my face and pushed Nat out of my mind. 

Until Monday when I saw her sitting by herself in the cafeteria. We both had 5th period lunch. Usually I sat with Matt and Nick at a table in the back. I was heading that way but I changed my mind when I noticed the same jerk who threw the basketball at Nat in gym was slamming his lunch tray on the table beside her to try to startle her. Nat’s head was buried in a book, completely unphased. 

I slammed my tray down across from her and glared at the asshole. “What to fuck are you doing?”

The jerk had the audacity to look surprised. “Geez, just trying to have a little fun. No big deal.”

“Go to hell.” I held his gaze until he slunk away with a bemused shake of his head.

Nat was shocked when I sat down across from her. She clutched her book to her chest, glancing around at the crowded cafeteria. A few of the students were staring at us. Most were too busy eating and talking to give a crap. “What are you doing?”

I smiled at her as I scooped up some mac and chese. “Eating, duh.”

“Here?”

“Yep. Is it okay if I eat lunch with you from now on?”

“Um sure. Of course.” Nat blushed and hid her smile behind her book.

I hid my smile behind a mouthful of mac and cheese.