WYATT
Wyatt didn't bother checking if
Kareem was available to chat, as he kept himself hidden. Instead he shot him a
text. "Mandy Blake wants to do study sessions so she can learn more pop
culture. Cool with you?" He then went back to his Physics text, where he
had to read chapter one by tomorrow, no doubt the easiest homework for that
class all year. It only took a minute or two for Kareem to get back to him.
"Sounds good. She wants to
go full geek?"
"Must be it. Will probably
be every Tuesday and Thursday in school library. Talk more in morning."
"Cool. And try not to be
late."
Wyatt shook his head and
laughed. He never failed to be out waiting in the driveway by the time Kareem
pulled in each morning. Kareem drove him to school every day, starting last
year when he got his license and car. Wyatt had his own driver's license, but
no car. He had to borrow Mom's, which was out of the question on school days
since she usually needed it. He sent back a "Do my best."
"Cool. See you, bro."
Wyatt put his phone down, but
before he could pick his textbook back up, he heard the garage door rumble
open. Mom called earlier and said she'd bring home dinner, and he was starving.
He hustled out and met her in the kitchen.
"Ah, nothing like a mom
bearing food to draw her teenage son out of his room," she said.
He kissed her on the cheek and
said, "Welcome home and all, but, yeah, let's eat." He opened the
plastic bag and pulled out two containers. "What did you get?"
"Free food, so don't be
picky. I'll let you choose. Either a Bacon-wrapped Fat Dog with jalapenos and
mustard, or a BBQ Fat Frank Burger. Someone ordered them but called a few
minutes later saying they wouldn't be able to pick them up. Carlos snuck us
some fresh fries with my promise I wouldn't tell the manager."
"But you're the … oh,
yeah."
"Glad my sense of humor
isn't wasted on you, kid."
She was one of the managers at
Fat Frank's Gourmet Burgers and Dogs, a family restaurant attached to the Yorba
Linda Mall. She was also a substitute teacher for elementary schools in the
area. "Pour us some juice and get some plates. We don't need to eat out of
the containers since we're sitting at the table."
"Do you have the same shift
tomorrow?"
"Yup. I'll bring us
something again, even if it's not free. Don't get used to it, though. Remember,
I start back subbing next week, and then I'll actually have time to cook. And
I'll probably have the closing shift most weekends."
"Jokes on you. I like your
cooking."
"Not sure if that was a
back-handed compliment or a failed insult. Either way, I'll take it. I'm going
to change out of my work duds. Dish up dinner and choose which one you want. I
assure you I'm happy with either choice."
He nodded, and she left. He put
first the BBQ burger and fries on a plate, and then did the same with the
bacon-wrapped dog and fries. He started to move the burger to his place, but
stopped. What if she'd rather have that, despite what she said? He wanted the
burger, but he'd enjoy the hot dog, too, especially with the jalapenos. Instead
he put both in the center of the table so she could choose.
When she walked back in, she
rolled her eyes at him and grabbed the hot dog. They sat down and dug in. As
always when she brought home unwanted orders, it tasted fine despite sitting
under a warmer longer than necessary. He hoped tomorrow, though, that she'd ask
him what he wanted because he'd love to have a chili-cheese dog. Not that he'd
mention it, but if she brought it up.
"So," she said after
they took a few bites. "School. Good?"
"Yeah. Looks like it'll be
a fun year. Calc and Physics are going to be a lot of work, but they should be
good challenges. And Comic Book Pop Culture will be great."
"Is your teacher going to
sit back and set you and Kareem loose?"
"No," he said with a
snort. "But Kareem would like that. He's already planning on writing up a
list of things Mr. Yong should cover this year."
"Ooh, I'm sure Mr. Yong
will appreciate that."
"Sarcasm thicker than a vat
of honey left out on a cold winter morning," he said, chuckling.
"Now you're getting it.
But, seriously, tell Kareem not to do that unless he's specifically asked. Or,
if you won't, I will."
"I will." He wouldn't,
but he doubted Kareem would do it anyway. Mr. Yong's syllabus looked pretty
complete. Or at least as complete as they could hope.
"So school's good
academically, but what about the girl situation? Any cute ones in your
classes?"
Any cute girls? Only the most
beautiful, perfect girl in the history of ever. "Yeah, I guess. But it's
not like I'm going to ask any of them out."
She sighed and shook her head.
"I'm sure plenty of girls would love to go on a date with you. Believe it
or not, they're not going to bite your head off. The worst that'll happen is
they'll say no."
"Actually, they could say
'Hell no,' call me an idiot, and get the whole school to laugh at me." Not
that he actually believed that, but it was better than admitting the truth,
which was that no one at school could ever match up to Mandy.
"You know that's not going
to happen, right?"
"Maybe it wouldn't have in
your day."
"Yeah, way back in my day,
the magical late 80s and early 90s, where everyone wore neon spandex and acid
wash jean jackets and did the moonwalk to school while banging their head to
grunge music."
Wyatt barked out a laugh.
"Wait, I knew about the neon spandex, grunge music, and the moon walking,
but acid wash jean jackets?"
"Oh, you poor, innocent
soul. I've sheltered you too much. Besides, today, your day, you'd only get
cyber bullied."
"Great pep-talk, Mom. That
makes me feel so much better."
"What? Like that's a big
deal for you. You can use your computer wizard skills to stop them."
"You mean like blocking and
unfriending them?"
"There you go. See? More
than I would have known to do."
"Whatever."
"All I'm saying is you should
enjoy your senior year. Why not get a girlfriend? You haven't had one since you
and Mandy Blake were so close in elementary school."
Wyatt's face felt like it burst
into flames. Maybe Mom wouldn't notice, but there was probably no way she
didn't. Heck, the Wilsons across the street probably felt the heat. "What?
No, she wasn't my girlfriend. She was just a … girl … who was my friend. Same
as Luci Velarde."
"Sorry, kid, but I remember
with probably much more clarity than you. Luci was your friend who was a girl,
but Mandy was your girlfriend, even if you were too young to think about it in
those terms."
He stuffed a few fries into his
mouth so he didn't have to say anything for the moment. His mind flashed back
to that afternoon when he was eight years old, and Mandy not only said she
wanted to marry him some day, but had kissed him. Silly, innocent stuff, but a
memory he'd always cherish. How pathetic was that?
"Anyway," Mom said,
"I won't say any more about it. Just thought you might want a date before
high school ended."
"I'll keep it in
mind."
She rolled her eyes.
"Finish your dinner."
They talked more about each
other's day while they polished off their meals. After he rinsed the dishes and
placed them in the dishwasher, he headed back to his room to finish his
homework. His mind flashed back to the day he kissed Mandy. Not because of
that, but because of Dad. That was the first time he'd fully realized something
was wrong with his parents' relationship. A few months later, they were
officially divorced, and less than a year after that, Dad was gone, a victim of
a single-person, one-car crash. Well, victim was sort of silly to say. Wyatt
doubted it was on purpose, but Dad was fully to blame, as heavily dosed with
booze as he was. Everyone was lucky he'd been the only one involved.
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