THE LOVE QUIZ

[Author's Note: Before reading The Love Quiz, you need to know a few facts. Carolina Birdsong (Bird) and Josh, both 12, are best friends. Their families each have a cabin on Whitefish Lake. Bird and Josh love to swim, fish, and camp out. Bird has no interest in clothes, make-up or, so far, boys. But an older girl, Ginny, suggests that Bird and Josh are in "puppy love." Bird fears that without knowing it, her feelings for Josh may have changed. ]

The next day, after an afternoon of swimming, Bird changed into dry clothes in the girls' cabin. She spied two comic books lying on the floor below Lisa's pillow. She picked up Teen Romance. On the cover a beautiful girl was sobbing: "My best friend stole the only man I'll ever love." She picked up the other one, called Love Comics. Bird began flipping through it until she came to a page entitled "The Love quiz." Underneath the title it said, "Five questions will tell you if you really love him." Bird jerked the comic book wide open and peered down at the questions.

"1. Does your heart race when you think about him?" She pictured Josh and put her hand to her chest. Her heart was pounding. She gulped and went on to the next question.

"2. Does time seem to fly by when you're with him?" Lord! Bird remembered days when she had arrived at Melody Shores after lunch, and it seemed Josh's mother was calling them for dinner only moments later. Surely, she would answer no to all the rest. She read on.

"3. Do you dream about him at night?" I can't believe this! Bird thought. Just the night before she had dreamed of them swimming laps. She slapped the comic book closed. This was stupid. You couldn't tell anything from a quiz like this. Bird got up and rushed to the door. She put her hand on the knob and then stopped, went back, and grabbed the comic again. She rifled through the pages until she found the quiz and read the next question.

"4. When he goes away, do you count the days until he returns?" Oh no! When Josh had gone to Iowa last summer, Bird checked the calendar every day to see when he was due back. She felt dizzy. She didn't want to go on, but she had to. There must be one question to which she could answer no. And if the answer to any question was no, she reasoned, then you were not in love. She read the last question.

"5. If you had to choose between fishing with him and shopping for clothes with your girlfriend, would you go fishing?" Bird gasped and threw herself face down on the bed. The answer to every question was yes. Ginny was right. It was love!