Disclaimer: All hail Marc Brown, creator of the Arthur series.
It was the first day back at school since the party. During lunch hour, Muffy caught up with Francine on a shaded bench.
"So what happened between you and Binky Saturday night? You never called to tell me," the redhead asked after taking a seat.
"I'm grounded. 'Can't use the phone."
"Why?"
"I stayed out way past curfew, by like two hours."
"Wow," Muffy smirked. "Must've been worth it for you to stay out that long. I want details!"
"There aren't any. We spent most of the time driving around looking for you."
"Why didn't you just call me? I could've told you where I was."
"I did call. Like every 15 minutes."
"Wait, was it from a payphone?" Francine nodded. "Oh, that was you? I didn't pick up 'cause I thought it that Romeo guy trying to get back with me after I left the coffee shop."
"Muffy, do us both a favor and don't meet with anymore guys you don't know. We're just kids, not adults. This whole blind date thing could get ugly."
"Believe me, I learned my lesson."
"Really?"
"Oh, definitely. I mean speaking of ugly; you should've seen the clothes he was wearing. I was so embarrassed. I felt like I was on a date with a homeless person. Blind dates are definitely not for me."
"That's what you learned?" the other girl asked rhetorically. Even in the face of danger, Muffy was still her old superficial self. "Whatever, I'm just glad you aren't gonna be meeting up with anymore guys you've never met before."
"Oops," Muffy grinned while unwrapping a turkey sandwich.
"Wait, don't there's another? What do you do, just sit up talking to different disc jockeys all night?"
"No, it's not a DJ. He requested me as a friend on Smilebook. We haven't made any plans yet 'cause he's going to prep school in England, but he should be coming back to the U.S. for summer vacation. We might be able to meet then. Oh, and then there's this other guy from Crown city. He's cute, but I saw a picture of his car and, ewe, it's so cheap looking," Muffy wrinkled her nose.
Francine just stared for a moment, feeling like she barely even knew Muffy anymore.
"So what do you plan to do with these guys? I mean, they all sound so much older. They're gonna expect stuff, if you know what I mean."
"Well, if we like each other then whatever happens, happens. It's not like I can get pregnant."
"Oh, please. How would you know?"
"Because my mom already put me on the pill," Muffy answered nonchalantly and continued to sift through her lunch bag. "Crap. Did you bring any napkins?"
Handing over a clean paper towel, Francine didn't know what to say after that. How long had Muffy been on birth control? Was this normal for girls their age? It had to be if her mother was in on it. But something still felt so unsettling about the entire idea.
Six days into being grounded for life, Francine's mother began wondering if she'd been too hard on the girl. For the time being, her daughter was responsible for maintaining all of the household chores and her curfew had been reduced to 8 o'clock. Of course, that was on top of losing both her phone and internet privileges outside of homework.
"I don't like punishing you, ya know?" Francine's mother said abruptly. She was standing in the threshold of the kitchen, watching her daughter scrub pans.
"Yeah, I know," Francine smiled. Being grounded sucked, but she would rather deal with a mother who breathed down her neck than one who just seemed to give up, like Muffy's mom. And the revelation made her feel good inside.
"Discipline is the foundation for raising a successful adult. I can't let you just do whatever you want willy-nilly. That would only set you up for failure when it's time for you to go out into the real world. People don't care about you out there," the woman finished softly.
"Mom."
"Yes?"
"If you knew someone who maybe needed more discipline in their life, but they weren't getting it…what do you think is the worst that could happen?"
"Why? Are you in trouble?"
"No, just hypothetically."
"Well, it depends on the situation, so I can't really answer that. But if I had to guess…I'd say wandering through life aimlessly and making one big mistake after another until one of them is so big that it can't be undone. That would be the worst in my opinion, because maybe a lot of those mistakes could have been avoided if only that person had gotten some discipline, some guidance"
At that point, Francine wanted to spill the beans. She wanted to spill every worry she had for Muffy and everything that had been going on. But what could her mother really do to help? Call Muffy's mom, the same woman who was giving her 14 year old daughter birth control pills. No, that wouldn't solve anything.
"Thanks, Mom," the girl replied.
"No problem, but you missed a spot," her mother gestured to a corner in the baking pan.
"Oh, Mom…"
"Keep scrubbing, Frankie. Keep scrubbing."
It took another hour, but eventually Francine was done cleaning the house. After a little homework, she settled down onto her bed and looked at the clock.
"7:30," she moaned to herself. There'd be no going out tonight; not even to the Sugar Bowl for a milkshake with Arthur, which had become sort of a Friday night ritual since Junior High. Besides, she was sure he'd rather being having that milkshake with Molly anyhow.
"Mom, could I use the phone to call Catherine. It's important," the girl asked upon finding her mother in the living room, sewing.
"Alright. But only Catherine."
"Thanks."
Francine shut her bedroom door and dialed her sister's number.
"Hello?" the older girl answered.
"Catherine, it's me."
"This better be important. I'm going out to karaoke tonight and I don't wanna be late."
"Well…" the girl began. She told her sister everything about the party she'd gone to with Binky and Muffy and how worrying about the redhead was beginning to wear her out. "I know you don't have all the answers and you probably can't help me. But I just really needed to get this whole mess off of my chest.
"Hm…I think I have an idea, but I need time to work all of the kinks out."
"Is it gonna make her mad? I don't want her telling Mom about—"
"Don't worry about that, okay? I'll take care of it. Anyway, I've gotta go," the older girl explained. "Oh, and if mom makes any more of that vegetarian lasagna could you tell her to save me some for once?"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah…"
"Alright, bye Frankie."
"You can kill it if you're done," Rattles said to Muffy, passing the cigarette over to her one last time. She sucked in the smoke and exhaled it through her nose. Smoking wasn't something she actually liked just yet, but it certainly made her feel older, more experienced.
"Thanks for the lift home," the girl said as they pulled up to her house. She smashed the remainder of the cigarette in the car's dusty ash tray.
"Can I get a kiss?" asked Rattles as he leaned over.
"Dream on. You're about two months too late for me to be even remotely interested," Muffy said while climbing out of the car. "See ya!" she winked and skipped off to her front door, smiling at the way she could still see Rattles staring at her through his refection in the living room window.
Just like clockwork, Muffy sat down at her computer and logged into her Smilebook account. She smirked at the new friend request that popped up on her screen almost immediately. MrChivalry, was the screenname. The tiny photo next to it looked promising and after clicking on it, she immediately accepted him as a new friend. He was very good looking. After reading his profile, she discerned that he was an artist living in a loft downtown.
"How chic…" she said to herself. Forget Londoner2K, Salsaman, Mars4Pluto and every other guy she had already added to her list of friends. This new one was much better and according to the smiley face at the corner of her screen, he was online too!
Muffy began typing a message to MrChivalry when she suddenly received one instead.
"Hey there! Im Darian" he wrote.
"Hi Darian. This is Alice. Luv Ur screename BTW…"
"Thanx. U must B mature 4 UR age 2 appreciate it."
"I hear that all the time LOL. Ur cute."
"Your hot…So U live in Elwood City…?"
TBC…