Darlene might not be a Mormon. Cheryl had ignored her for a long time, thinking she was one of those Mormons who were "less than" the really shiny and clean ones. Darlene's hair was overly curly, her nose was really big and so were her eyes. She was as skinny as a scarecrow. And though Darlene wasn't a leader, her idea for meeting at the park every day automatically stuck. Cheryl started to sit near Darlene on the bus. And then, finally Cheryl invited Darlene to come over to her house one day, and finally she'd made a friend.

Meanwhile, Kanutsson kept noticing Cheryl. He bumped into her, literally, at school.
"Oof!" was the sound Cheryl made when Kanutsson did it. His shoulder whacked hers. "Jeezus!" she shouted at him.
"Yes, my child?" he taunted back.
"Knock it off!" she said as he walked away. Only an hour later did she realize he'd started making a play for her, and it made her laugh. He looked like a six foot tall grizzly bear, but he acted like a fourth grader. And though it was weird, Cheryl started coming up with insults to him, and he dug it.
"Hey, Kanutsson. I like your hat. Where'd you get it, the mortuary?"
He seldom had an answer to her because her mind was quicker than his. But he wasn't stupid. At the end of the year, both of their names were on the Dean's List, posted outside the principal's door.
Cheryl had just gotten done reading her name off the list and her heart was pounding. She turned around and a popular girl named Heather was jeering at her.
"I think they made a mistake and listed the worst kids, not the smartest."
"Step off, bitch," Cheryl had hissed at her and the popular girl had actually started to cry. Compounding the excitement of making the dean's list, this girl's whiny tears made Cheryl feel like being recognized academically wasn't worth it. On the bus ride home that day, Cheryl and Kanutsson were both quiet. Laura Woodsong said,
"Hey, I saw your name on that list thingy by the Principal's office. I wish I could do that good. Isn't there a banquet you guys go to?"
"I don't know. Now why don't you mind your own business?" Cheryl had said, and Laura looked hurt but Cheryl didn't want any more attention on herself. She wasn't even going to tell her parents.
Unfortunately, they received a letter in the mail. Mom made a big, damn deal of it and Dad took them into Provo for dinner. Cheryl disliked the way they fawned. If they really cared about her personally, they'd have done better in where they chose to live. So now it looked like all they thought about her was in the good grades she got. It sucked.
Finally, Kanutsson asked Cheryl out on a date to celebrate the end of the school year.