Chapter Thirteen: A Spark
They met at the agreed time. Arnold, being extremely excited, was there super early. Roxy had just barely made it on time.
"Hey. I almost didn't make it. A friend needed some help on a paper." gasped Roxy, who was out of breath.
"No problem. What would you like to eat?"
"You wanna go to the mall? We can eat at the Ruby Tuesdays there."
"Sure."
The two took the bus over to the Smith Haven Mall. It was midly crowded when they came. After the hostess showed them in, they started to look at the menu. A few minutes later, the waitress arrived at their table.
"What do you want to drink?" the waitress asked.
"Hmm, I think I'll have a diet coke and the sliders. You?" Roxy asked Arnold.
"I was thinking about sprite and a potpie." Arnold answered.
"Sounds good. Your orders will be in shortly."
"So...what have you been up to lately?" she asked casually.
"Nothing much. I mean, I don't really have a job now but school is keeping me busy."
"That's fine. I don't have a job either. Do you live on campus?"
"Nah. I commute. And you?"
"I live here. That reminds me- I should be too long or John'll get jealous. I let him know we were over here."
For a brief moment, Roxy thought she saw a look of disappointment in Arnold's face. She must have imagined it because the next moment, he was teasing her about her boyfriend. When the food came, the conversation lulled a bit and started back up when the bill came. Roxy started to reach for her purse when he intervened.
"I'll pay for it. Don't worry." he said confidently.
"You sure?"
"Yeah." After Arnold paid, they went window shopping.
"You know, I wish I had money to buy an Apple right now."
"Me too. A lot cheaper than HP, though I'm not sure if it's better."
"Right. Do you have any plans for later?"
"Yeah. I do."
"Oh. Well, I'll catch you later then."
"Yeah."
Although the two had separated, they had each other on their minds for the rest of the night. Roxy thought of Arnold while she was with John. It surprised her that she kept imagining what it would be like if Arnold was the one to kiss her goodnight. Not too far away, Arnold agonizingly reminisced over the nights events, wishing Roxy was his girlfriend instead of John's.
Author's note: I'm so sorry I took so long! I begged my mom to let me on hers, but she wouldn't let me. I guess this is what I get for being an electronic killer. I have a running list of 7 CD players, 3 TVs, 3 watches, 2 DVD players, 1 VCR, and 3 computers. I should have known when I killed 2 tamagotchis back in the day as a kid in the 90s. Lol!