It was lunch time at Royal Woods Middle School. Zach, Liam and Rusty were sitting at their usual table chatting while Lincoln, Clyde and Stella had gone to try and retrieve Lincoln's confiscated magician's hat from Mr. Bolhofner.
"So how'd your date with Giggles go yesterday?" asked Rusty.
"It was nice," said Zach. "We hung out at the park, I made her laugh, and she doesn't think I'm crazy."
"Sounds like a hoot." said Liam.
"Keep that up and soon you'll be as good a lady's man as me." boasted Rusty.
"You know Rusty, for always claiming to be such a lady's man, you strike out with them a lot." said Zach.
"I do not." said Rusty.
"If you say so," said Liam. "It's just, how many rejections and heartaches have you gone through compared to the rest of us?"
"Well maybe you guys could keep up with me if you asked more people out." said Rusty. "Besides, at least I can always hold my cool around women."
Just then Polly walked past their lunch table. "Hey Rusty." she said.
"He-he-y P-polleh," mumbled Rusty.
Zach and Liam snickered.
"If you're so confident, why don't you try and rekindle your romance with Polly?" challenged Zach.
"Yeah," said Liam. "You haven't spoken more than a back and forth hello to her in a while. And from the looks of things she still might have tender thoughts for you."
"Maybe I will." said Rusty.
"Nothing is stopping you." said Zach.
"Okay, I'll ask her out to the Burpin' Burger right now." Rusty took a sip of his milk before standing up. He wiped his mouth with his wrist and took a few steps away from the table until he realized the entire cafeteria would be watching him. "On second thought I'll do it after school," said Rusty, sitting back down.
Before Zach or Liam could say anything else, Lincoln, Clyde and Stella sat down at the table.
"Hey Lincoln, did you get back your magic hat?" asked Liam.
"No," sighed Lincoln. "We got caught and Mr. Bolhofner chased us down the hallway with a mop."
Meanwhile across the cafeteria, the Royal Woods roller derby team was sitting together.
"Sup gals," greeted Polly sitting down at the table. The tall girl looked up to see all her teammates smirking at her. "What?"
"You like Rusty Spokes don't you?" said Margo.
"No," said Polly, blushing.
"You walk past his table and say hi to him almost every day." said Maddie.
"Yeah cause I don't wanna be rude." said Polly.
"Don't deny your feelings," teased Maddie.
"Okay fine, maybe a little bit of a crush." muttered Polly.
"Well are you gonna do anything about it?" said Lynn.
"Naw, it would go nowhere. A guy like him probably has his eyes on a more popular girl." said Polly.
"I wouldn't be so sure," said Margo, too quiet for Polly to hear. She could see Rusty looking in their general direction.
The final bell rang.
"Alright Rust Man, it's now or never." Rusty said to his reflection in his locker's mirror. He spritzed on some cologne and made sure his hair was neat. He took in a deep breath, puffing out his chest. The freckled boy closed his locker door and started to walk. His stature gave the illusion he was confident, but really he was nervous on the inside.
Rusty suddenly felt four hands clasp onto his shoulders. He turned around to see his friends sans Lincoln with encouraging smiles. Rusty smiled and nodded back to them.
Thirty seconds later, the gang reached the middle school gym, this is where Polly would always hang out after the final bell. They scoured the gym and found her in the corner doing sit ups by herself.
Rusty entered the gym while the others waited outside. Once again he tried to look more confident than he actually was. "Hey Polly," he said upon reaching the girl in question.
Polly looked up, surprised to see Rusty approaching her. "Hey Rusty," she said. "What's up?"
"I was just wondering," said Rusty. "Do you like burgers?"
"Yeah?" said Polly. "Why are you asking?"
"Do you like Burpin' Burgers?"
"For sure!" said Polly. "That's my favorite restaurant in town."
"Would you wanna go to the Burpin' Burger with me this Friday night?"
Polly had a feeling this was where Rusty's questioning would lead to. However, it did not soften the blow one bit. Rusty, her long time crush, had just asked her out, that good luck ritual she did with Lynn this morning really paid off. "I'd love to!" the Roller Derby queen exclaimed, grabbing Rusty and lifting him up over her head.
"Awesome." heaved Rusty, his torso partially constrained from Polly's grip.
"Sorry, got a little excited there." said Polly, setting Rusty back down.
"It's cool dawg," replied Rusty, even though his face was beat red from the physical contact.
"How's 6:45 sound?" asked Polly.
"Sorry but I'm busy at 6:45. How about we go quarter to seven?"
Seeing Rusty act goofy allowed Polly's remaining stress to dissipate. "That's the same thing, dingus." she chuckled.
"Oh okay, I'll move some things around so I can go at 6:45." said Rusty, his nervousness entirely gone also. "Just for you." He gave a finger gun.
"Why thank you so much." said Polly sarcastically. "I am eternally in a debt of gratitude."
Rusty laughed.
"See you Friday Spokes." Polly gave Rusty a friendly punch in the arm.
"See you Friday." said Rusty as he walked away, Polly returning to her sit ups.
Rusty exited the gym and turned to look at his friends, all of them antsy to know what happened. The freckled boy tilted his head with a cocky smirk. "She said yes. I knew I was irresistible."
"And you only sweated half the capacity of Hoover Dam." teased Liam.
"It was hot in there." defended Rusty wiping his forehead.
"Either way, good job." commended Clyde. "You were direct and honest about what you wanted to say. Dr. Lopez would be proud of you; if she even knew who you were."
"By the way, where's Lincoln?" asked Rusty.
Right on cue Lincoln came running down the hallway with his magician's hat in hand. "Run guys run!" he shouted.
Clyde, Liam, Rusty, Zach and Stella turned to see Mr. Bolhofner running toward them wielding a mop. The five friends screamed and ran as well.
Friday evening came. Rusty waited by the edge of the Burpin' Burger parking lot. He was kicking pebbles along the pavement when all of the sudden a roundish object slammed into his back and sent him flying forwards. Before Rusty could faceplant into the asphalt, a hand grabbed onto one of his and caught him. He was yanked back up to his feet and spun around to be met with his date. "Oh sup Polly, didn't see you come by."
"No you didn't," said Polly. "That was my sneak up booty block,"
"I like it." said Rusty. He did not necessarily like the potential pain the move could cause him, but rather because of the contact. It could give him bragging rights to the guys later. "Shall we?"
"Sure thing bro!" said Polly. "How many burgers can you eat?"
"Usually around three or four at max." said Rusty.
"I bet I can eat more than you." challenged Polly.
"You're on!" said Rusty.
The couple walked inside the restaurant, which was rather empty. Since the roller derby team frequented the Burpin' Burger, the employees knew Polly well. So when Grant looked up, he greeted her casually. "Sup Polly?"
"Sup Grant," said Polly. "I'll take four double belchers with the mystery spice."
"Woah, you came to play today." said Grant as he tallied up the order. "And for you," he turned his attention to Rusty.
"I'll take the same, just hold the spices."
"You got it." said Grant.
"Ready, set, go!" Rusty and Polly tore into their first burgers. Neither of them ate particularly fast, but they did maintain a quicker pace.
As the two competitively ate their burgers, Rusty could not help but realize that Polly looked adorable while stuffing her face. He did not know what it was, but he felt a warm fuzzy feeling in his stomach. "I could look at her all day," he thought. Maybe that feeling was just the burgers he ate, but more likely the first thing.
Rusty finally turned away from his love interest to grab his third burger when Polly let out a loud belch. "And done!"
"Whu-how did you do that?" said Rusty.
"Natural talent." replied Polly.
"But remember, this competition isn't about speed, it's about quantity." said Rusty.
"True dat," said Polly. "I'll wait."
After about ten minutes, Rusty was stuffed like the Christmas stocking of an only child. He slowly took the last bite of his fourth burger. "And four."
"You look pretty full buddy," taunted Polly. "I was just about to order us some more burgers."
"I-I can do one mu-" Rusty started to say but his gag reflex cut him off. "Okay, maybe not."
Polly smirked. "I'm feeling generous, I could go order more burgers but we'll let this end in a draw."
"If you insist," said Rusty, returning the smirk.
The couple finished drinking their sodas. Afterwards they threw away their napkins and wrappers and headed for the door. While exiting the restaurant, Polly could not think about anything other than how cute Rusty looked. "Everything about his face makes me want to jump off a bridge, in a good way though." she thought. The roller derby queen suddenly wanted a kiss from this boy, and she was going to get it.
"I got the mystery spice on my burger," said Polly, thinking on her feet. "Do you think you can guess what it is?"
"Without some kind of luck I doubt it." said Rusty.
"Alright I'll give you a hint."
"Oka-" Rusty was cut off as Polly aggressively yanked the freckled boy toward her and locked her lips onto his. The roller derby queen only held the contact for about two seconds, and when she let him go, he almost flopped over onto the ground.
"Well?"
"Uhh," stuttered Rusty.
"Did I take it too far? Should I not have done that?" asked Polly, suddenly regretting what she did.
"No, it's just… that was neato." said Rusty. He immediately regretted using a word as geeky as 'neato'.
Polly internally sighed with relief and laughed at Rusty's awkwardness. "Yup. I'm a neato gal."
Rusty chuckled goofily. "But I couldn't quite get anything taste wise. Could you run that hint by me again?"
Polly gave Rusty a smirk and punched him in the arm. "Alright." She pulled Rusty back in for another few seconds of lip contact.
After they parted. Rusty stared at nothing, completely awestruck. A few moments later he snapped out of it. "I'm going to guess… mustard seed?"
"Bzzzt wrong," said Polly. "It was curry powder with a hint of lemon pepper."
"I demand a recount!" said Rusty.
"I'll give you something to count." said Polly with a laugh as she tossed Rusty over her shoulder and spun him around. "Don't vomit, don't vomit."
After what felt like forever, Polly set Rusty back down. The latter was so dizzy he could barely stand up.
Polly put her index finger on Rusty's nose to keep him steady. "That was three, count 'em three helicopter spins."
At this point Rusty was used to Polly's aggressive flirting style. "Only three, felt like five." he said.
"I gotta say I'm impressed." said Polly. "Most people I know can't handle three of those consecutively."
Rusty shrugged, the dizziness wearing off.
"Most boys would have dipped on me by now." muttered Polly.
"Tell me about it." said Rusty.
"Girls have dipped on you?" asked Polly.
"Tons," said Rusty. "You were the first girl to ever want to spend more than ten minutes with me." said Rusty.
"Well those other girls are missing out." said Polly. "You have tons of redeeming qualities. No other guys I know can eat four burgers in one sitting, or handle three helicopter maneuvers without vomiting, or willfully allow me to practice booty blocks on them."
"Ey thanks," said Rusty.
"And it's a two way street. Every guy I would try to hang out with was put off by my 'aggressive nature'." She used air quotes on the last two words.
"Well, you may be a teensy bit aggressive," said Rusty, trying not to offend her. "But if you can get past that you'll be met with a girl who's really fun, epic, passionate, and kind."
Polly was flattered. "You're a real one Spokes."
"I do what I can," said Rusty with a smirk.
The two sat in silence for a few minutes until Rusty let out an uncontrollable burp. "Sorry," he said.
"You should be," said Polly. "Cause that was weak." The tall girl proceeded to burp thrice as loud as Rusty did. "I cannot believe how good the burgers are here."
"I know right," said Rusty. "It's like a gift from the heavens."
"Though we should get in some physical activity to burn off the calories." said Polly. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"
Polly sped down the main road in Royal Woods, the wind whipping in her face. Rusty followed behind as best he could. He was no roller skate expert, but he knew how to keep his balance.
Polly was constantly pulling tricks and stunts that Rusty would try to replicate, but could not very well without nearly falling and hurting himself. "When will this girl ever cease to amaze me?" he thought.
As the couple flew down a large hill, Rusty felt a figurative and literal rush, especially when Polly reached over and grabbed one of his hands. However it was getting dark out, so he could not see super well. This proved to be an issue when a pothole tripped him up. The freckled boy flew free of Polly's grip and through the air, rather gracefully however.
Polly looked up and watched as Rusty attempted to grab onto a lamp post to catch himself. But his grip slipped which caused him to fly back and do three consecutive backflips before finally landing back on his feet.
"Can't believe I didn't-" Rusty began to say, but was cut off as he slammed into a dumpster. "-crash." he finished.
Polly rolled up next to Rusty and pulled him away from the dumpster. "That was the most epic triple half gainer I've ever seen!" she exclaimed. "I didn't know you like to do roller skate stunts."
"I don't usually," replied Rusty, his head still spinning.
"Just gotta watch what's ahead." laughed Polly pointing to the dumpster.
"Yep." replied Rusty with a laugh.
"Anyway my house is just around the corner from here." said Polly.
"I shall roll you the rest of the way there." said Rusty, taking Polly's hand.
The two rolled up to Polly's house and let go of each other's hands.
"Well this is where we part ways," said Polly. "It was fun,"
"Indeed it was," said Rusty.
"Would you wanna join me after school on Monday for some push up drills?" asked Polly.
"I'd love to," said Rusty.
"Alright, see you Monday." said Polly. She gave Rusty's cheek an affectionate pinch and slammed her rear into his stomach once again as she rolled up the driveway and through the open garage door.
Rusty let out a long sigh, staring at her house. "I gotta practice my pushups this weekend." he said upon realizing what he had committed to.
Rusty was super excited as he walked back to his own house. He was a little banged up sure, but that was part of the package deal when you went out with a girl like Polly. Any amount of pain would be worth it for a girl like her.
"Score one for the Rust Man!" Rusty said to himself. He pulled out his phone to text the guys and flex the success of his date, but he suddenly felt a rumble in his stomach. "Oh boy," Rusty groaned as he sprinted toward the nearest trash can and upchucked into it. With the combination of four burgers, helicopters and some intense roller skating, that was a recipe for yacking. "Worth it," mumbled Rusty as he peered up from the trash can.
"Hey kid!" shouted Mr. Grouse. "What are you doing in my trash cans!"
"Sorry sir!" said Rusty as he ran off.
"Lousy kids," muttered Mr. Grouse. "It's gonna be a pain to clean that up."