Chapter 9

POV: Simon


I had never been as impatient for school to end, before I asked Jeanette out again, as this. I just couldn't wait for the evening. It was just so exciting, even more so than the first. I hoped everything went alright.

There were two hours until school ended, and then two more until I would meet Jeanette. She was very cute, and almost as smart as me. She was less nerdy than me, as well. We might have a chance together. I certainly enjoyed Jeanette's company. I was almost certain that what I felt was a crush.

I looked up at the teacher, who was droning out his lesson in one unending monotonous tone. I looked through the window to my left, wondering why time moves slower in anticipation. It didn't seem to make any sense, while I could accept Einstein's General Relativity, I couldn't think of any reason for time to seem slower or faster in accordance with your mood.

I continued to think about Jeanette, and the date. I had to make sure I had enough money for the cab and the food, otherwise I'd have to ask Jeanette to help me pay, and that wouldn't be pretty. I reached down to my pocket to make sure my wallet was inside, to find the familiar shape of my phone. It was sitting on top of my wallet, so that if someone picked my pocket, they would only have my phone, and not my money and various cards.

The sun was moving to the west, inch by inch. It was almost unbearable. The class was eventually dismissed, but I still had one more to go.


The bell had rung, to indicate to the students that they should leave school, and I walked out of the gates with great impatience. I spotted Jeanette walking along the path, so I caught up.

"I can't wait for this evening." I told her, "It's going to be great."

"I hope the cab's not late." Jeanette looked worried, "I don't want this date to turn out like last time."

"You have nothing to worry about, Jean. It's going to work out just fine." I reassured her. Jeanette smiled and giggled.

"What are you laughing at?" I asked.

"Nothing." Jeanette dismissed. I gave her a curious look, "I was just picturing you and I eating the same strand of spaghetti." She paused, "It made sense in my head."

We reached the intersection that joined our streets, and parted ways, and I started down the path home. I was deciding whether a suit was too formal, when Alvin put his hand on my shoulder.

"Simon!" He yelled in my ear at the top of his voice, "Wanna play Halo with me? Theodore isn't that good."

"Unfortunately, Alvin, I'm going on another date with Jeanette, and this time, with no interruptions." I walked into the house.

"Come on, I didn't mean any harm. Just let it go." He sounded as sincere as was possible, for someone of his stubbornness. I wanted to stay angry at him, but it was no use, I couldn't help but forgive him. He was my brother, after all.

I decided that a suit would be appropriate, so I found one in the closet, and put it on. It was starting, and I couldn't wait to eat dinner with Jeanette.

"Special occasion no-one told me about?" Dave saw my suit.

"I'm going to have dinner with Jeanette, I was sure I told you." I paused, but continued, "I guess I was just too preoccupied to say anything." I had been thinking about the date ever since I asked her out. I could have forgotten to say anything to anyone.

"I hope it goes well for you." He said, "I can see you want to get moving, so I won't hold you here." I started walking to the door, when Theodore stopped me.

"Simon, I could use your help some time." I waited for him to explain, but he remained silent.

"What do you need help with?" I asked.

"You're in a hurry, I'll tell you later." He walked to the kitchen, and I resumed walking on my previous course.

Shortly, I reached the intersection, to meet Jeanette. I was a few minutes early, so I waited for her by a tree. It felt like ages before I finally saw a familiar figure walking up the path. I stood up and moved towards her.

"Hello, Jeanette." I greeted her warmly. She looked stunning, with her hair down and wearing a purple dress. "You look amazing." I told her.

"Thank you, Simon." she smiled to me, and we sat by the tree. I got out my cell phone, and dialed the number of the cab company.

"I'll just call a cab, and then we'll be off in no time." The phone rang a few times, before a voice spoke on the other side;

"Hello, you have reached Yellow Cab Co. How may I help you?" He was unusually polite, compared to most call centers.

I gave him our location, and there was a pause on the other side.

"Thank you, your cab will arrive shortly." He said, and hung up.

"All we have to do now is wait." I stated, "So, how are you going with the Rubik's cube?"

"Oh, I'm improving." She replied, "I still need to refer to the pages you gave me, though."

"Don't worry, Jean, you'll be speed-cubing before you know it." She blushed, something she did more often than was the norm in our peer group.

"I'll never be as good as you, Simon. You're so smart." I smiled at the compliment, but I knew I had to return it before I seemed too immodest.

"That's assuming that the gradient of my improvement is greater than, or equal to yours." I replied, "What if your improvement follows an exponential rise?"

"My point remains; you're so smart." I did consider myself above average, but I felt like she was giving herself a lack of credit.

"Your smart too, Jean. I'm just more of a nerd, that's all." Jeanette giggled. Our eyes met for an extended moment, but our trance was interrupted by a car pulling up beside us.

"This will be us." We stood up and walked to the cab, the door of which opened.

"Are you the kids who ordered a set of wheels?" I nodded, and we stepped into the back seats.

"Could you take us to the Italian restaurant; 'Valentino'?" I ventured. The driver nodded, and revved the engine. The cab moved off. I was feeling a bit nervous; we were on our way now.


This chapter took me longer than usual to write, and it stretched a lot more than I had expected, so I decided to split the date into two parts. If you want to see how the date goes, review. Your reviews are like a perpetual motion machine; there's no limit to the supply (good or bad) and the more I get, the more I feel like writing.

Since the Easter holidays are going on, I might have time to update through the week, but only if I get reviews.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you've enjoyed it so far.