"Metaphors! Metaphors make the world turn."

"That's a metaphor!"

"You're sharp, Jill."

"Sharp's a metaphor!"

"You caught that one like a good first baseman."

"Metaphor!"

"Caught you. Like makes it a. . .?"

"Simile. I shouldn't of missed that one."

"Missed. That's a metaphor!"

"Very good, class. Carry these metaphors in your back packs. And capture any that you hear other people using. Extra credit for sharing your plunder with us in class."

"Plunder? What's that?"

"That's another metaphor, Jeff, for the words you are going to find and bring to class. If you hear someone use a metaphor, write it down and repeat it in class."

Ms. Parsons had finished her lesson on Twelfth Night with a quick review of terms. Most of the students left with the bell, but when she looked up, Cindy Carlson was standing by the door.

"Did you want to see me, Cindy? I thought you made a good point in class today about the Duke and Viola. You seem to like the play."

"Oh, well, yeah. I like Shakespeare." Cindy moved a little closer to her desk, but seemed distracted.

"What is it, dear? Do you have a question?"

"No. No, I'm fine. It's just. . . ."

"All set? Let's go." Josh Allenson had been putting his papers together, but now he touched Cindy's elbow and smiled.

"Wait a minute. What is going on here? Nobody told me anything about this!" Mock anger. Stage stuff.

"Nothing's going on, Ms. Parsons. I just asked Cindy if she was all set." Josh put a blank smile on his face.

"Nothing? This girl has been wiggling like a cat, for no apparent reason, and then you don't just ask if she's ready, you touch her arm and ask. I'm not blind, you know." She pushed her glasses to the back of her nose.

"Really it's nothing, Ms. Parsons. I was just on the beach the other night, Walrus Sands, over in Rye, and I found Josh howling at the moon."

"She was the one howling."

"Well, maybe I was. But I asked him what he was doing there, and he said he was just out for a walk, did I want to come along. And now, I can't get rid of him. What's a girl to do?" Cindy threw her hands up in the air.

"Good heavens. If I were a match maker, which I am most certainly not, but if I were, I wonder if I would have matched you two up. Well, no. I don't think so. You are my two favorite students. But so different. And the two of you together? My goodness."

"Gotta go, Ms. P." Josh grabbed Cindy's hand and pulled her toward the door. "See you tomorrow."

"Did you see the look on her face? She couldn't believe it." Josh was still laughing when they got to their lockers.

"Fair enough. It took us most of this year to catch on, and how many classes, how many times, have we been together and not even noticed?" Cindy rolled her eyes.

"I noticed you that very first day, in grade school, no, at the beach when we were toddlers. Something about the way you wore your Pampers."

"You jerk. You didn't even know my name until last month. So you were mooning over me since babyville, but never noticed that people were calling me Cindy?"

"Well, yeah. Sure. Your beauty made names seem unimportant. You got math this period?"

"It's on my schedule."

"What's that mean?"

"It means I'm skipping it and taking you downtown for lunch. Let's go." She raced away down the hall and then Josh was beside her as they went out the back door and down to the parking lot.

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