" I'm sure you know I will be eleven in two weeks. There's something I've been wanting to ask you for-"
"And what might that be, Sherman?"
Sherman jumped. Mr. Peabody was standing in the doorway to Sherman's bedroom. Sherman turned as red as his hair. "There might be something I want to talk about."
Mr. Peabody smiled. "Let's go into the living room, shall we? Judging by the color of your face, I'd say you have something pretty important to talk about."
They sat on the leather couch on in the living room of their New York City apartment. "So Sherman, what do you want to ask? It must be pretty important if you were rehearsing it."
Sherman took a deep breath. "I'm not sure I you know this, but I never got over my crush on Penny Peterson. And I like her a lot. I think that I'm old enough to be in a romantic relationship. But I want your blessing. And there's something else. I was wondering if I could-" Sherman stopped. He couldn't go on. It didn't matter. Mr. Peabody had already figured it out. "You were wondering if you could ask Penny out." Sherman nodded.
"Ask out, like on a date?" Another nod. Mr. Peabody sighed. "Well that depends, Sherman. What exactly did you have in mind for your date?"
Sherman blushed even more. "Actually, I planning on using the WABAC."
"So you plan on taking her on a date through history?"
Sherman nodded. Mr. Peabody asked"And when exactly do you plan on taking her?"
Sherman blushed even more. "Well I was thinking maybe the Paris World Fair, to start off. Then one of Mozart's concerts. And I heard they threw some pretty awesome balls in seventeenth century France." Sherman was so red at this point, he looked like his face was about to explode. Mr. Peabody thought for a moment.
"Alright Sherman" he said. "You may use the WABAC. On one condition."
"Anything!" Sherman cried.
"You have to ask Penny out tomorrow."
"What!" Sherman cried. Mr. Peabody smiled. "You said anything Sherman. And I'm going to make this a little more interesting; tomorrow night is the only night you can use the WABAC for a date. And if the date goes well, you may start a romantic relationship with Penny. If the date goes badly, you can't date until your thirteen."
Sherman gulped. Mr. Peabody smiled and held out his paw. "Are we in agreement?" Sherman nodded and shook his father's paw. "Then it's settled. Any questions?"
"Um, yeah" Sherman said. "What if I don't ask?"
"Then you can't date until your thirteen" Mr. Peabody said. "Now off to bed. You have a big day tomorrow."
"Yeah" Sherman muttered. "I can hardly wait."