Read It's All in Your Mind for Free Online

running.
    With my bag of prizes banging against my leg, I struggled to keep up with him as we laughed and ran all the way back to the motorcycle. As we zoomed back to Nicki's, I leaned into every curve the way Nolan said I should.
    When we pulled into the parking lot, Nolan hopped off the bike, took my hand as I dismounted, grabbed my bag of prizes, and put his arm around my waist as he walked me to my car. Once there, he handed me the prize bag. "Here you are."
    "Thanks." I held up my hand with the huge fake diamond ring. "This is the best prize."
    "Just don't try to pawn it."
    "Oh! I'd never ...," I started to say, before Nolan interrupted with a dry chuckle and I realized he'd been joking. "Well ... I had a wonderful time this afternoon."
    "Yeah," said Nolan. "It's been cool. Say, why don't you give me your phone number. Seems only fair, since you have mine."
    He wanted my phone number! "S-sure." My hands trembled as I fumbled in my purse for a pen and a scrap of paper. I wrote down my number. "H-here you go."
    "Thanks." Nolan took the piece of paper and stuffed it in his shirt pocket. Then he took my face in his hands and pressed his lips against mine. "Later."
    He turned and walked away.
    "Bye!" I called after him as I waved to the back of his head. My mouth was still warm from his kiss as I stood and watched him buzz away on his motorcycle.
    "Well. Fancy meeting you here, Vija Skalbe."
    I turned and looked up into the freckly face of Joel the Genius. His tomato-red hair looked brighter than usual in the afternoon sun. "Hi, Joel. W-what are you doing here?"
    He held up a brown bag. "Meatball grinders. My mother's teaching my sister's Pollywog swim lessons this month, so my mission is to pick up supper on the way home. I'm caddying over at the Monroe Country Club, and this was an easy stop. What are you doing here?"
    I wondered if he'd seen Nolan kissing me. "Oh, I, uh, I went to the Sachem Town Fair. A, um, friend drove. I just left my car here."
    "Really?" Joel cocked his head to one side.
    "Yes!" I held up the bag. "Look at all my prizes!"
    Joel raised an eyebrow. "That's quite a haul. Nice ring, too. When's the wedding?"
    "The wedding? Oh. Ha, ha! Good one, Joel!" I babbled. "Well. I'd better be going."
    "Me, too. I don't want dinner to get cold." He tapped the sack of meatball grinders.
    "Right! Ha, ha! Bye!" With that, I hopped in my car and shut the door before I could possibly make myself look any more hysterical. I took a few deep breaths to calm myself until Joel rattled off in his old clunker. I remembered him saying something in math class about paying twenty-five dollars for it because it wouldn't even start. A lot of the guys razzed him, saying he'd thrown his money away. Well, the car wasn't much to look at, but obviously he'd gotten it to run.
    When I got home, Mama and Papa were just sitting down to dinner.
    "Hi, Vija," Mama said. "How was the beach?"
    "The beach? Oh, the beach! Well, um, I discovered there was a Town Fair over in Sachem, so I went there instead. Look at all my prizes!" I held the bag open so Mama and Papa could see.
    "You won all that?" Papa asked.
    "I ... er ... it's all mine!"
    "Congratulations," said Mama. "Now wash your hands. We were just getting ready to start dinner without you."
    "Oh. Dinner. Gee. I'm not all that hungry."
    "Not hungry?" Dad's eyebrows shot up. "But it's sausage and sauerkraut night!"
    "I had a lot to eat at the fair."
    "I see," Mama said.
    I couldn't quite read the look on her face. Was she suspicious? Did she somehow know I'd been with a guy, that'd we'd kissed? How could she know!
    "Well, I hope you didn't waste a lot of money. It's hard enough to come by."
    I gulped. I certainly couldn't tell her I hadn't spent anything at all, that Nolan had paid for everything. Then she'd want to ask about Nolan, and, though I knew all I needed to know for now, I wouldn't have all the answers. "I didn't spend much. Really. Um, I'm kind of ... sweaty. I'm going to take a