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You know those friends you get on really well with but never see outside school? Well, Mark Livermore was like that. We sat next to each other in French and spent hours working out ways to get our teacher to say 'derriere', which always cracked us up. But, if we saw each other in the street, we'd cross the road to avoid each other. One day Mark's mobile (cell phone) beeped in class. 'Texting's great isn't it?' I whispered. 'S'alright. But I prefer e-mail,' he hissed. 'What's you're e-mail address?' And that's how I discovered the truth about Mark. He was an e-mail addict. That night, the first message arrived. From: mark@demented.com To: allypally@droll.co.uk School was baaaaad, today. Ho'ws you? Did you know that Nick Lawford really fancies your mate Lucy? From: allypally@droll.co.uk To: mark@demented.com No way! But she's liked Nick for ages too! The messaging continued as we talked about how to set up Nick and Lucy, what music we liked, first kisses and loads of other secret stuff. Then I wrote, 'It's gonna be weird seeing each other at school.' But he didn't reply. In French on Monday, it was weird. I tried to have a chat with him: 'Hi Mark. Good weekend?' but he would barely look at me. 'Er, ok. How's Madame's derriere?' 'Fine, I think. About Nick and Lucy...' 'What? Oh right.' He turned away. I was stunned. It was as if five hours of e-mailing had never happened. But the next night, Mark was online again. From: mark@demented.com To: allypally@droll.co.uk Can I talk to you about something? From: allypally@droll.co.uk To: mark@demented.com Yeah, sure. Anything... We talked about some pretty heavy stuff - plans, hopes and dreams. But, at school, Mark still acted like it had never happened. He was two different people. 'Is something going on between you and Mark Livermore?' Lucy asked one day. 'No, why?' 'Just wondered if you fancied him.' 'Fancy him?' I exploded. 'Not Mark. He's just a mate.' But hang on a second. Was he? We gossiped and shared our secrets - just like I did with all my other mates. But the difference was, with my mates we did that stuff at school as well as by e-mail. The more I thought about Mark, the more I started to see him in a different light. He was hardly one of our school's most grogeous lads, but his eyes had suddenly become deep and lovely. 'God, I do fancy him!' I thought wildy. 'What am I going to do?' 'E-mail him and tell him,' Lucy suggested when I confided in her. I wasn't going to. I really wasn't. But I couldn't not e-mail him, could I? So, as soon as I got home that afternoon... From: allypally@droll.co.uk To: mark@demented.com Hi Mark, I've got to buy a birthday present for my little bro. H'es 12. ny ideas? Tonight's EastEnders. Yay! Eastenders rocks! From: mark@demented.com To: allypally@droll.co.uk 12 is difficult (I got a Fireman Sam duvet cover from my aunt!). Star Wars toy? Pic of naked laydee?? (joke!!) P.S. I love Eastenders too. I wasn't getting very far. I tried again. 'This probably sounds silly but...' 'But what?' I wrote a reply. I was going to send it. No, I couldn't! Oh God! I sat with my finger poised on the send key. Would I, wouldn't I? Then, my borther burst in. 'About my birthday. I was thinking...' But I never heard what he was thinking. He'd made me jump so high, I'd pressed the send key by mistake! And arghhh...'Mark, I think I love you,' zoomed into cyberspace forever! I waited. And waited. But two hours later it was all quiet on the online front. Two days passed. Nothing from Mark. Even worse, it was the holidays, so I had a whole week to think about the cyber mistake. I made a list. E-mails you should never send: 1. Never say anything you wouldn't say to someone's face. 2. Never forget you are talking to a real person and not a computer (Jenni's note: ?!?!?) 3. And never, ever tell anyone that you love them. Should I e-mail Mark again? I made another list E-mail Etiquette: 1. Just because you send an e-mail and don't get a reply, it doesn't mean the person you sent the e-mail to doesn't like you anymore. 2. On the other hand, if they don't reply, it probably means that what you said upset them. 3. ...and there's nothing you can do about it. It was not a fun half term. Finally, I returned to school, and French. Mark looked totally great but, even though I gave him my dest 'I didn't really send that dumb e-mail' smile, he didn't say a word. 'Hi, ok?' I murmured eventually. 'Uh-huh.' And that was it. I'd blown it. But I just knew I had to send him another message. After all, what had I got to lose? That night, I decided to give it one last try. From: allypally@droll.co.uk To: mark@demented.com I can't take it anymore. Please talk to me! I'm sorry about the message. Can't we just forget about it and be friends? I sat there at my screen and waited. And then, suddenly my heart lurched. From: mark@demented.com To: allypally@droll.co.uk What message? The last thing I got from you was, 'This probably sounds silly but...' I didn;t hear from you again. I read it again. Then I wrote,' You really didn't get my last e-mail?' His reply was an empahtic 'No.' After that, we messaged each other for several hours. I even told him about my rules of e-mail etiquette. 'I couldn't agree more,' he replied, 'But actually, there's a rule you've forgotten,' 'What's that? I e-mailed/ 'I'll tell you tomorrow at school.' Next day, in class, things seemed different. 'It was great e-mailing you,' he said. I stared at him. He'd finally admitted we e-mailed each other! At school. In front of people! 'I've been thinking...' he said, 'It's about the fourth rule of e-mail etiquette.' 'Oh yes,' I said. 'And what's that?' He grinned. 'If a message seems a bit out of character or you're not sure if the sender's joking, you pretend you never got it.' I froze. Oh no! 'So, er, you did get that e-mail after all?' I said at last. ' The one about 'I think I love...' His face turned red. 'Yep.' My face turned even redder. 'Oh. And?' 'Read your e-mail tonight and you'll see.' That night, the best night of my life, I stopped worrying about e-mails you should and shouldn't read as I rwad, 'I think I do too...' As seen in Bliss magazine. Back | Forward Advertised |