Danik

Vika stared at the screen, rereading the message from Danik: "Meet me by the old oak tree at seven. Don't tell anyone." Her heart was pounding wildly. Danik, the captain of the football team and every girl's dream, was inviting her, Vika, on a date? Under the old oak? That was so romantic!

She put on her new denim skirt, which her mom thought was too short, and her favorite Guns N' Roses t-shirt. She spent a long time in the bathroom fussing with her mascara, hoping he would notice her eyes.

When Vika approached the oak, Danik was already there, leaning against the trunk. In the moonlight, he looked even cooler.

"Hey, Vika," he said, and his voice made her knees go weak. "Listen, I need a favor..."

He hesitated, blushed, and pulled... an algebra textbook out of his backpack. Vika frowned in confusion.

"Can you help me with my homework? There's a test tomorrow, and I don't understand these square roots at all..."

Vika felt her cheeks flush. All her romantic dreams of a first kiss shattered against the harsh reality of algebra. But then she smiled. Maybe love does start with algebra, who knows? And besides, spending the evening with Danik, even while solving quadratic equations, wasn't bad at all.