Seven thirty on a Thursday night. What could be better? With my headphones blasting in my ears and my pencil dancing between my fingers, I searched my room for something else to do besides Biology. Yeah, like I'd ever to bio anyway.
"BENDER!" Jen screamed, I could even hear it with my headphones on.
I slipped them off onto my shoulders and poked my head out of the window, watching Jen struggle to climb over the fence. "JENNIFER!"
"Guess what just happened!"
"Um,"
"Too late!" She said, climbing through my window and rolling off my bed onto the floor.
"Whoa, Jen are you-"
"No me first!" She pushed my legs aside and sat down. "I just got asked out."
I did my best fake smile. "Who done it?"
"Daniel Baker."
I stood up and put my textbook and binder on my dresser. "Nope,"
"No seriously he did, I just got off the-"
"No, I mean you're not going out with him."
Jen crossed her arms bitterly. "And why is that?"
"To put it quite simply," I plopped next to her, "that guy's a dick."
"John, you're a dick."
"Be that as it may, he's no good for you."
"And who is?"
"Paul Newman."
She shook her head. "Sorry man, he's been taken for a while." She climbed out and over the fence again.
~!~!~
Almost six o'clock, the next day. I could feel the anxiety in the air from Jen getting ready for her date. I knew better than to pop over and get in the way, but I eventually found myself sitting on her bed anyway.
"That you, Bender?" Jen called from the bathroom.
I laid down. "Who else?"
"Come over here!"
I pulled myself up and across the hall. Even in a robe with curlers in her hair, Jen was stunning. I sat on the edge of the bathtub behind her and watched.
"I need you to do me a favor." She said.
"What's that?"
"I need you to pick out what I should wear."
"Go like that. Take your hair down first, though."
"John, I'm serious!" She walked out and back to her bedroom. She pulled open a dresser drawer and slid open her closet and left again, calling back, "Go nuts!"
I had to be serious. Not for Dan's or even her sake, just for the sake of remaining close friends with her. "Where's he taking you?"
"A movie!"
Aw, how cliché.
I took out a pair of worn jeans with holes in the knees, a plain black T-shirt with a little California republic flag acting as a breast pocket, a long jade cardigan with black patches at the elbows, and her black Chuck Taylors.
Jen soon came back in, make-up on and half her curlers still in. "What have you got?"
I pointed to my pile of selected clothes on her bed. "You're welcome."
She cringed. "Is that really okay?"
"Jen, you hardly know him and all you're going to do is sit in a dark room for two hours. He's not going white tie, so you don't need to sweat it."
She let out a sigh. "Alright, I trust you. Let me just finish with my hair."
With that, I walked to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. I couldn't believe what I did. So what, I have a crush on her for years and then I help her get ready for a date just like that? And on top of that, it was a date with a good-looking, popular jock? I needed to get my head examined. But, I went along doing as I did before. I figured Jen was too nervous to eat, so I made her a little snack. As I was scraping peanut butter in the long stick of celery, I heard Jen again.
"John, can you come here?"
Back in the bathroom, Jen was fiddling with her hair. The curlers left her shoulder-length hair with the layers curving in and the rest underneath in rich curls.
"Do I look too fancy?"
"You look too hot for him." I answered, handing her the celery.
Jen shook her head and walked out past me to get to her room. "Not hungry."
I followed her and stopped the door from shutting in my face. "Yeah you are."
She groaned, took the celery out of my hand, and shut the door. I stood outside waiting to hear her eating. When I heard the first loud crunch, I went to the living room.
I never knew Jen to be the type of girl who would be scared of first dates, and I was doing everything I could do to keep her calm, but so far nothing was working. Having nothing to lose, I put on Jen's favorite Dinah Washington record.
A couple minutes later, I was back in the kitchen looking for something for me. I found a bag of tortilla chips, sat on the counter, and waited for Jen to emerge.
"Where are you, John?"
"In the kitchen with Dinah."
"Very funny," she said. Jen stepped out of the hallway into the kitchen with minimal grace but with maximum allure. Jean holes trimmed, shirt tucked in, cardigan sleeves pushed up, and canvas bag on her shoulder, I was ready to take her out myself. "How do I look?"
I painfully swallowed my premature mouthful of chips and smiled. "You look really beautiful."
She came over to me and leaned back on the counter. "What if he stands me up and this was all just a joke?"
"Then I'll kick his ass on Monday."
I took out a chip and handed it to her. She nibbled at the corner for a moment before asking, "What time is it?"
I glanced back at the clock on the wall. "Almost 6:30."
"Fuck," she walked over to the window and watched the street.
I stood next to her. "So what theater are you going to?"
"We're actually going to a drive-in."
I dropped the bag. "A what?"
She looked up at me, eyes widened and speaking voice lowered. "I didn't tell you that?"
"You forgot that part."
She looked back at the window silently.
"Look," I began to pick up my mess, "just don't let him kiss you."
Jen gasped and hopped over me. "Okay!" She put a hand on the doorknob and crossed her fingers. I copied her, staying low to the floor so Dan wouldn't see me.
With that, Jen was gone. I crawled over to the door and peeped out the little window, remembering that the Dinah Washington record was still playing. As Dan opened the little silver car door for Jen, I could hardly keep myself from busting my door down and taking Jen back in for myself. I managed to stay back and watch as Jen left with him.
Then the world discovers as my book ends
How to make two lovers of friends
I took the needle off the record and headed back over to my house. "What's your secret, Dinah?"
I feel like I should say that those two lines were pulled from the song "I Could Write a Book" okay thanks I'll add more soon so long very well pip pip cheerio.
