Published June 10, 2025

Young Love

A playful memory of my first crush: a second-grader who loved to pick his nose.

Panel 1: Classroom door with welcome sign. Caption: My first crush was in second grade. Panel 2: Adrian in a heart. Caption: Adrian was a short, quiet boy with blonde, almost white, hair. Panel 3-5: Adrian farts and the class laughs. He starts crying and I think “he’s so sensitive.” Caption: I still remember the moment I fell in love with him. Panel 6: Adrian and I in the schoolyard, both with serious expressions, I say “I’m in love with you.” Caption: Later, I told him how I felt. Panel 7: Adrian says “Ew.” Caption: He didn’t feel the same.

Panel 8: Heart with a new boy in it, arrow pointing to it saying “The only other kid who picked his nose during story time.” Caption: I recovered from this heartbreak quickly. Panel 9: New boy and I side by side, picking our noses. Caption: Clearly, it was meant to be. Panel 10: Zoomed out scene of us picking our nose surrounded by our classmates while our teacher reads from a book Panel 11: A booger on my finger, surrounded by golden lines Panel 12: Me looking at the booger, satisfied Panel 13: Me smearing the booger in front of my new crush while making eye contact.

Panel 14-16: I use the snot to draw a heart-shape on the floor Panel 17: I lean into my crush, who still has a finger up his nose, and think “Your move” Panel 18: My crush pulls a booger from his nose and looks at it Panel 19: I gasp Panel 20-22: My crush sucks the booger off his finger, slurping and gulping Panel 23: The snot heart on the floor says “ouch”

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