Chapter 8

It was Saturday, the day of Ephram and Amy's "date".  She was anxious, he was nervous.  They both didn't know what to expect and had no idea how the night would progress.  Delia had plans to spend the night at Nina's house with Sam.  They were going to bake brownies together.  Ephram had even gelled his hair for the occasion.  He was wearing khakis and a tee shirt.  As he heard his dad calling him from downstairs, he quickly grabbed thirty bucks and placed it in his wallet.

"Ephram! It's ten to six, we have to leave," he yelled upstairs.  Ephram came running down the stairs, grabbed his coat, and headed outside.  He waited by the car as Andy and Delia ran over to Nina's house. 

"Nina, thanks for watching Delia tonight.  I hope she's not too much trouble"

"Delia, causing trouble…please!" she said sarcastically, "Tell Ephram to have a good time with Amy"

"I will, thanks again Nina", Andy said as he kissed Delia on the forehead, "Be good sweetie! Bye"

***

It was now five to six, and they were supposed to pick up Amy at six. 

"Dad, can we get going now?"

"Yeah, I just want to make sure Delia gets into the house safely"

"Dad, she's on the porch.  What do you think could possibly happen between the porch and the door?"

Nina's front door shut as Andy slid into his seat and put in his key.

"So, are you nervous?"

"Yeah"

"Care to go any further?" Andy asked.

"Not really"

"Is Amy excited?"

"She just wants to go see the movie.  I just happen to be the person she convinced to be dragged along"

"Which movie are you seeing again?"

"Chicago"

"That should be a good one Ephram.  I hope you make it out alive"

"Shut up" Ephram said as he turned to Andy and smiled.

Several minutes later they pulled into the Abbott's driveway.

***

Amy was excited about her night planned.  She was really anxious to see the movie, but she was also a little worried about what Ephram was expecting to happen.  Amy thought of it as a movie with a friend.  Ephram saw it quite differently. 

She had showered and blown out her hair.  She was wearing a patterned skirt with a light blue sweater.  She wanted to be comfortable but look attractive too.  She had on some natural looking makeup with a shiny pink gloss.  At a few minutes after six, she heard some honking from outside.  She went to her window and saw Ephram waving from outside.  She grabbed her bag and took twenty dollars from her drawer.  She ran downstairs where she found her dad sitting on the couch reading the paper.

"Dad, I'll call you when I'm coming home, bye!" she said quickly as she ran out the door.

"Hey Ephram!" she said as she gave him a quick hug.

"Hi Amy" he said as he opened the car door and the two slid into the back seat together.

"Thanks for taking us to the movies Dr. Brown"

"Oh…it was no problem Amy"

They rode the five minutes to the theater in pure and utter silence.  It was really uncomfortable for the both of them.  Amy didn't know if it was because they were going to the movies together, alone, or because they were in a car with Dr. Brown and just couldn't talk the way they normally do.  They got to the movies and Amy thanked Dr. Brown again and got out of the car.  As Ephram was about to do the same, Dr. Brown said, "Ephram…just have fun, and above all, make sure she has a good time too."  Ephram nodded and climbed out of the car.

***

"That was awkward" Ephram said.

"Yea…I know what you mean.  I hadn't realized your dad could be so intimidating"

"I have to be with him all the time, consider yourself lucky"

"Amy, what's wrong?" he asked as he watched her facial expressions turned to a look of fear and confusion.  He followed her gaze, but had no idea of what she was staring at.

"Amy?"

"They're here" she said quietly.

"Who? Who's here?" he asked again.

"Kayla and Jen and Becky"

"Oh…them"

"And Paige too"

"Great" he said sarcastically, "It's ok.  They're probably seeing Lord of the Rings, remember?  I'm sure we won't run into them"

"Yeah…I'm sure you're right"

They got onto the line to buy tickets.  Ephram couldn't tell if Amy was standing next to him or behind him, so when it was his turn, he bought two tickets.  Amy was looking really worried.

"Are you scared of them seeing us together?  Of what they would say?"

"I'm not scared" she said defensively, "It would just be a situation I would like to avoid"

"Understandable" Ephram said nodding his head, "Just try to loosen up, okay? If they see us together, then they see us.  We'll deal with it when it happens"

"You're right Ephram.  I just want to have fun"

They got on line at the concession stand.  Amy pulled a ten-dollar bill out of her wallet and handed it to Ephram.

"For the ticket" Amy said.

"No…it's okay, I got it"

"Come on Ephram, it's not like it's a date or anything"

"Well then, let me at least pretend it is, okay?"

"Okay" Amy said blushing.

They got one popcorn to share and they each got a soda.  As they were heading into the theater, Ephram noticed Amy's change in speed.  He looked around and saw Kayla and Co. talking in the lobby of the theater.  As Amy started walking faster and faster, Kayla spotted her and started calling out her name.  Ephram knew it was something she couldn't avoid, so he grabbed her arm and swung her around to face Kayla.

"Amy! Didn't you hear me?" Kayla asked.

"Oh…sorry Kayla, guess not"

"Who are you here with?" Kayla asked looking at Ephram, obviously not understanding the situation.

"I'm here with Ephram, like I told you yesterday"

"Oh…I didn't think you'd actually go through with it.  Actually hanging out with him", she said glaring at Ephram, "I hope you realize what this is doing Amy?"

"Doing to what?"

"Well to your reputation of course" Kayla said laughing.

"I don't really care Kayla" Amy said.

"Amy, can I talk to you", she looked at Ephram, "In private?"

"Are you going to be okay?" Ephram whispered into Amy's ear.

She nodded and Ephram walked a few feet away, giving them some privacy.

"We've been talking" Kayla said.

"We? Who's we?" Amy asked.

"Well you know…me, Paige, Jen, Becky"

"And…"

"And we feel that you've been really distant lately."

"Distant would be an understatement Kayla.  Don't you think I've been dealing with some pretty heavy stuff lately?"

"Well yea…but it's not like we're not here for you"

"Excuse me? You're the one who's always telling me to get over him.  You never understood and you never will Kayla!  But you know who does understand?"

"Him" Kayla said grudgingly, looking over at Ephram.

"His name is Ephram.  Get it right.  He understands.  He understands because he's not a selfish jerk like you.  He knows what it feels like to suffer, something you have no idea about"

"Amy, all I came here to say was that you're not you lately and that since you and Ephram seem to have so much in common, maybe you should be hanging out with him instead of us"

"So…what are you saying exactly?"

"I'm saying that if you continue to hang out with him, I don't think it would be cool for you hang out with us too"

"So, it's one or the other.  You or him?"

"Yes"

"But…forever"

"Yes"

"Okay" Amy said as she turned around and grabbed Ephram by the arm, pulling him into the theater.