Aaron Blake. Hailey Jensen. NewsRadio‘s new season. Wednesday, September 24, 1997–at Hailey Jensen’s freaking house!
How had it all started? Aaron wondered, lying on his bed, taking a moment’s break from figuring out which shirt to wear. Just two days before, this had been the stuff of fantasy. And now, here he was, 45 minutes away from getting in his mom’s car and driving over to the girl whose name had been on the tip of his tongue since eighth grade.
It was no coincidence that Aaron sat behind Hailey in two of his six classes. Timing precisely when to arrive in a class on the first day of school was a skill he’d been practicing for years. He hadn’t yet spoken to Hailey this year (one of her best friends sat adjacent to her), but he was near her, and that was probably going to be enough.
But on that fateful Monday, as he was heading out the door to his bus stop, his mother stopped him to relay that new episodes of his favorite sitcom, NewsRadio, were advertised to be starting this week. Not wanting to forget, Aaron scribbled a reminder on the front of his Spanish notebook, and skipped out the door.
When Hailey Jensen took her seat in fourth period Spanish, that note must have caught her eye. She turned around and asked him if he liked the show. Aaron, caught off guard, gave a clumsy answer, but once Hailey revealed herself to be a fan of the show, they were talking as casually as if they were old war buddies. The spoke of the absurdity that was last season’s finale, “Space.” Aaron thought he would die laughing, hearing Hailey describe the goofy mustache Andy Dick sported in last season’s opener.
“So, yeah, new episodes are starting this week, apparently,” Aaron affirmed–thanks, Mom!
“That’s so awesome. Last year,” Hailey said, “my sister and I would always get together every Wednesday with a big bowl of popcorn and watch NewsRadio together. It was so fun. Like the highlight of my week.”
“That sounds like fun. I’m the only one in my house who likes the show.”
“Oh yeah? You should come over Wednesday, then.” And snap! Like that, Aaron would be spending time with the girl of his dreams (all but confirmed by their newfound mutual interest), at her house, in the evening. It wasn’t a date per se–but it totally was. And though it was ambiguous, Aaron had noticed that Hailey hadn’t been so wary and careful as to specify this Wednesday. She said “Wednesday,” which could very well imply that this was on its way to becoming a regular thing. Aaron sighed contentedly.
Wednesday. 6:18 p.m. Aaron was just reparting his hair for the eighth time when his younger brother Jeremy banged on his door. “Phone’s for you!” Jeremy yelled. “It’s some girl!”
Aaron opened the door and snatched the phone from Jeremy’s hand. “Hello?” Aaron asked, putting too fine a point on his question mark.
“Hi, Aaron? It’s Hailey.” It was Hailey! “So my sister just checked the TV Guide and it turns out that NBC moved NewsRadio to Tuesday nights. We missed the premiere!”
“Oh, no!” Aaron’s heart plunged deep into his bowels, but he knew he had to laugh it off. “It was last night! Oh gosh, that sucks! That’s so lame of them.”
“I know, right? Totally blows.”
“Man, weak,” Aaron muttered, but he knew he had to act quickly to save this. “Well, raincheck for next Tuesday, maybe? We can pretend it’s the premiere and act all surprised when last night’s episode’s in reruns.”
Hailey left a pregnant pause on the line. “That’s the thing, though,” she said slowly. “I have dance class on Tuesday nights? So, I’ll just make my sister tape it for me and I’ll watch it when I get home.”
Aaron’s body tensed and stiffened and so did his voice, “Well, maybe we can talk about it on Wednesdays. Y’know, in class?”
“Yeah, sure, totally, totally. Too bad about tonight, though. I’ll see you in school, bye—”
“Good-bye,” Aaron cut her off. Damn! Damn, damn, fuckpissshit damn!
“B’bye,” Hailey repeated. Dial tone.
And thus ended Aaron Blake’s one shot at high school romance.
: (But if his chance was busted up so easily, maybe it wasn't going to happen anyway.