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Dear Breakup Girl,

I am a mature 15-year-old teenager who is in year 10 and knows a girl who is in my home class and some other classes of mine. We talk now and then for a couple of seconds. I know she doesn't hate me (duh), but I have a strong "love at first sight" feeling in my gut whenever I talk to her.

A) Should I ask her out even though I don't know if she feels the same way about me?

B) How do I ask her out?

C) Would my pimples/pimple scars have any major effect on her decision?

PS: I'm not that good at school and have a terrible job at McDonald's that I always think about quitting.

--Alex

Dear Alex,

A) Be my guest. And let's hope she'll be yours. But doing so might be even scarier than the saturated fat content of a Big Mac. Because first of all, when you ask someone out, you don't necessarily know the outcome; that's why you "ask" (not, say, "tell"). But just as you have surmised, easier said than asked. The "love at first sight" feeling that puts that special sauce in your gut can also tie up your tongue. Which brings us to:

B) Keep it simple, kiddo. (No Mayor McCheesy flourishes, like flowers, or telling her that you're in love with her.) And also pretty -- but not too -- specific. If you say, "I was wondering if you'd like to go out sometime," and she says "Sure," (who-hoo!), then you've got to go through the whole thing all over again when you think of what to do! Instead try something more like: "I was wondering if you might like to go see The Iron Giant sometime next week?" OR -- perhaps less scary -- "I was wondering if you might like to go see The Iron Giant with my friends and me sometime next week?" Hey, it's a start.

C) Well, sweet pea -- brace yourself -- they might. Like, the bad kind of effect. Lame and heinous, but true. But listen: I ran your question by my pal P., someone who can totally relate (he had zits and a job at Arby's). P. said: "If they do dissuade her, she wasn't worth having -- at least not at this point in her own emotional development. And speaking of development, zits do clear up so if she rejects him on that score the last laugh will eventually be his." Corny, but true. (Did I mention that P. now has a stellar wife?) . Oh, and I also love to tell the tale of a young man I knew who was (a) a sufferer of pronounced acne, and (b) the most popular guy on campus. He was fortunate to have -- or have created -- things that gave him confidence besides his complexion.

PS: That's where your PS comes in. Is there something you can do, Alex, to jumpstart things at school, to step away from the fryalator? See, neither situation is helping your confidence (and one might not so much be helping your skin). How about hitting the books a little harder (or asking for whatever help you need), not to mention pounding the pavement for a new non-terrible gig? Still, I'm glad that there's already at least one thing in your life that you're always thinking about initiating. Hey, it's a start.

Love,
Breakup Girl

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