middle school

The day before yesterday, I taught a bunch of 7th & 8th graders here at the Museum. They were a nice bunch.
I was herding them onto the elevators to go downstairs and leave the building at the end of their visit and, while we were waiting for one to come, I overheard a girl ask a boy "do you have a girlfriend?" My attention was taken away for a moment and when it returned, the girl was saying "well, can we just be friends then?" and the boy was avoiding eye contact and saying "ummmmmm." The tension was palpable. I could taste the tragedy creeping up the back of my throat. Then she said "I don't care if you have a girlfriend . . ."
Then the elevator came.
Phew.