Are things heating up? Let's find out.
************
The dimmed lights were just coming up as Lizzie fixed her hair, after the usual make-out session in the movie theater with Gordo. She wasn't the only one. Tonight, in particular, Lizzie, Gordo, Ethan, Miranda, Kate, and Larry had all settled on going to see a movie. After some discussion, the group decided on the film "The Importance of Being Earnest", a critically acclaimed chick flick on Limited Release in select cities. As the semi-full theatergoers filed out, the happy couples did the same as they held hands. "That movie was so beautiful," Miranda cried. "How would you know? You probably didn't see 5 minutes of it with (ahem) other things to distract you," Gordo joked. "Hey look who's talking," Kate started. "Man, you guys move around so much while you kiss, it looks like you're break dancing or something!" The gang laughed loudly together. They didn't really care what other people thought. Things were going so well, it was very special to each of them. They hoped this time in their lives would never end. The group was just walking into the lobby as Lizzie asked, "So, did I tell you other guys about my new neighbors?"
"What new neighbors?" Gordo asked. "I'll take that as a no," Lizzie muttered, sarcastically. Miranda chuckled, "Yeah, Ethan and I already know, but Lizzie's new neighbors who moved into the Peterson's old house are from New York City." Ethan thought to himself for a moment. "Wow, that's pretty far," Tudgeman said with a smile. Kate shook her head. "Far? Isn't that an understatement?" she said. "No, it's only about roughly 3,000 miles," Gordo retorted, matter-of-factly. This comment garnered a few blank stares. "Well, I guess it's far enough."
"You're a real goofball, you know that?" Lizzie laughed. "So, any kids?" Larry asked. "Yeah, one. His name is Mark and he's 18. I haven't seen him yet, though." Lizzie replied. "Let's keep it that way," Gordo quickly commented with a sly smile. Lizzie rolled her eyes. "Don't worry," she started, "we'll be seeing a lot more of him around school I'm sure." Kate yawned lightly. "Well, I don't know about you guys, but I could use a drink. coffee, I mean. Gawd, chill out guys, it's not like I'm an alcoholic!" she cried defensively. Lizzie giggled. Kate was known to party hard, and could probably out-drink Dean Martin, but she knew when enough was too much. "I guess we're on our way to the Digital Bean," she continued. "Mmm, curly fries." Gordo dribbled, as visions of freshly made, lightly seasoned french fried potatoes danced in his head. Larry gave Gordo a confused look, and then turned back to the doors. "You know," he started, "Lizzie's right. You really are a goofball, Dave." The group laughed again as they walked out of the theater doors into the parking lot..
************
The last remnants of Lizzie's second hot chocolate were slurped down before she let out a satisfying, "Ahh." Even in the last week of August, hot chocolate could be extremely enjoyable, even more so at night. The Digital Bean had a few locals other than the group sitting around, but besides that, there was not much action. Kate and Larry had already decided to leave so only Ethan, Miranda, Lizzie, and Gordo were left to enjoy their last summer Saturday. Come Monday, it would already be September. The season went by fast, but they could still enjoy each other's company before the night was over. The four chatted about old times of Middle School and Junior High, to the more recent memories of High School. They were better times, in all honesty. Lizzie's friends were happier, closer, and a lot smarter. However, deep down they were all relatively the same people that graduated Kindergarten together. It's just that things change. Times change. People change. It's inevitable. The gang of friends knew this as the conversation began to delve a bit deeper than usual. After some time, there was an awkward silence in the middle, causing each of them to be left in a quiet period of contemplation. Lizzie shrugged it off first, and quickly decided that she should be the next to leave.
"I think I should get going now," she stammered. "Why? Is something wrong," Gordo asked sympathetically. "Oh, no, nothing like that. I just really have to get home! My parents are probably waiting for me," Lizzie quickly replied. "Alright, see you around, Liz," Ethan shouted to her. "Call me tomorrow, okay, Lizzie?" Miranda quickly commented. "Yeah, me too. I'll miss you," Gordo said, almost in a whisper, as he kissed her on the cheek. Lizzie gave him a quick smooch before saying, "Okay, I'll miss you too. Later guys."
Lizzie walked out of the Bean, and slowly sauntered over to her Volkswagen. She really didn't want to leave already, but she had a lot of things on her mind. College was creeping up on her silently, and she hadn't even taken the SAT's yet. She appeared very anxious because she was still unsure of what she wanted to do with her life. On the rather short ride home, she thought about all these things, as well as having to leave home soon, which would mean leaving family, friends, and everything she knew behind. As she pulled into the driveway, she noticed the street was pretty desolate. No moving vans or unpacked boxes of stuff on the neighbors' lawn. Not even many cars were out on the road. She also noticed that all the lights were out in her house. "Hmm, they all must be sleeping already," she thought to herself. She hadn't realized it was already about 12:30 AM. She searched through her purse for her house keys as she stepped up to the front door. "Oh, great. I must have forgotten them or something. Damn."
She walked to the backyard, as her mother always left the sliding door unlocked for her. She didn't think it was so dark, but she could hardly tell with the bright front porch light on. As she stepped onto the back deck, she figured the only light around was the Moon's. She sat down on a chair and looked straight up at the sky. She ran her fingers through her hair as she began to stargaze, deep in thought about everything in her life, and then, the stars. "I thought I was the only one who did that," a soft, deep voice said out of the blue, causing Lizzie to quickly stand up from her chair and turn towards her left side, where the voice came from.
Lizzie backed down a bit after she realized it wasn't a burglar. Standing to the side was a rugged-looking guy, about 6'1, with dark shaggy hair, covering his eyes a little. He looked big, but it was just his baggy clothing that gave the impression. He wore a black undershirt with a white button-down, worn open, with a scratched spider decal on the back. His loose and extremely baggy jeans were crumpled over his clean white Adidas shell tops. He also was wearing a pair of black finger-less gloves on each hand and a long silver chain around his neck. This must be Mark. "I didn't mean to startle you, but it's not all the time you'd find someone doing the exact same thing you're doing, know what I mean?"
Lizzie was a bit surprised at first, and then she realized who it was and her slight fear changed into excitement. She would finally meet the new guy, and maybe get some new information on the family. She had laughed to herself, realizing that he was nervous. She paused before answering, "Um, well, yeah. Sure, I guess." "Oh, jeez, I'm such a mook. My name's Mark. You can call me Mark, or Marcus, or Markie, or whatever you'd like," he said, kind of fast. "Oh, well, my name is Lizzie. Lizzie McGuire. I've heard some interesting things about you." "Really? Well, hey, if they're bad, let me tell you they're not true! No sir, um, mam."
Lizzie laughed, "No, no, nothing bad. Uh, I know we just met and all, but would you like to have a seat, so we can, uh, chat?" Mark's head shot back in a surprised fashion. "Well, yeah, sure. Thanks." Mark slowly walked up to the deck and pulled a chair close, which is not very easy, since the chairs are rather bulky and heavy. He quietly sat down and gave Lizzie a short smile. "So, uh, how long you lived here?"
"Oh, all my life!" Lizzie said with some enthusiasm. Mark gave her another surprised look before saying, rather quietly, "Really?" "Yeah, for about 20 years my parents have owned his place," she replied. "Wow," Mark started, "I must have been in at least three different places in Brooklyn alone. Not to mention Queens or the Bronx."
"You've lived in all those places?" Lizzie asked, with a little shock in her voice. "Well, yeah, they're all relatively close, because they're all part of the boroughs of New York City. I would imagine it to be kind of confusing if you're not from the area," Mark replied. "Tell me about it!" Lizzie said with a light laugh. "Yeah, well, being on the opposite coast is very different from back home." "How do you mean?" Lizzie asked. "Well, okay. How about this? My family and I were in Los Angeles for a week or so last month. And I see that everything is real spread out. I mean, really spread out! It's a good thing that I've got a car down here, because I would never survive!"
"I don't follow you," Lizzie said softly. "You see," he began again, "where I come from, the neighborhoods are very - compact. Everything is close together, I suppose because of overpopulation." He's starting to sound like Gordo, Lizzie thought. "You can get to almost anything with a little walk. I mean, anything! Laundromats, Chinese restaurants, off-track betting, antique glass shops, anything! Hey, and another thing, I don't see too many subways around here."
"You mean, that sandwich place? There's one inside the mall." Lizzie said. Mark paused, and quietly chuckled to himself for a moment. "What's so funny?" Lizzie smiled. "No, no. Trains, underground trains. Subways!" Mark cried. "Oh. Oooh. Oh. Yeah, subways! I knew what you meant." Mark laughed, "You're cute, kid. Real cute." "Hey, who are you calling a kid? I'm just a year behind you," Lizzie cried laughingly. "Oh, excuse me! Jeez, I didn't know you West Coast women were so sensitive!" Mark sarcastically said, holding his hands up in defense, with hints of his Italian accent in his voice. Lizzie laughed again, and looked back up at the sky. "Beautiful night," she said. Mark looked at the sky and then back to Lizzie. "Beeeautiful night, indeed," he replied with a grin. He stretched out his arms and let out a slight groan. He yawned lightly and stood up. Lizzie stood as well.
"Going?" she asked. "Yeah," he started, "unpacking all that crap has left me in the mood for some mineral water and a good night's sleep, you know? Hey, thanks for not being too freaked out when you saw me, you know? You're the first person I've really met in this town, and I hope we can be cool, you know?" Lizzie was starting to think that he was getting nervous again. "Just trying to be a good neighbor, I suppose. Mark, I don't want to seem too forward with this, but hey, I'm getting together with some friends tomorrow, and if you'd like to come you're more than welcome. It'll give you the chance to meet some new people in the neighborhood - you know?" Mark looked down, and then back to Lizzie with a slight smile. "Yeah. Yeah, that would be great. Thanks a lot, bud. Peace out, Liz Mc-G!" He turned back to his house, and strutted over to his back door in his own style. Lizzie smiled as she opened the sliding door, and quietly whispered to no one, "You're welcome."
************
The dimmed lights were just coming up as Lizzie fixed her hair, after the usual make-out session in the movie theater with Gordo. She wasn't the only one. Tonight, in particular, Lizzie, Gordo, Ethan, Miranda, Kate, and Larry had all settled on going to see a movie. After some discussion, the group decided on the film "The Importance of Being Earnest", a critically acclaimed chick flick on Limited Release in select cities. As the semi-full theatergoers filed out, the happy couples did the same as they held hands. "That movie was so beautiful," Miranda cried. "How would you know? You probably didn't see 5 minutes of it with (ahem) other things to distract you," Gordo joked. "Hey look who's talking," Kate started. "Man, you guys move around so much while you kiss, it looks like you're break dancing or something!" The gang laughed loudly together. They didn't really care what other people thought. Things were going so well, it was very special to each of them. They hoped this time in their lives would never end. The group was just walking into the lobby as Lizzie asked, "So, did I tell you other guys about my new neighbors?"
"What new neighbors?" Gordo asked. "I'll take that as a no," Lizzie muttered, sarcastically. Miranda chuckled, "Yeah, Ethan and I already know, but Lizzie's new neighbors who moved into the Peterson's old house are from New York City." Ethan thought to himself for a moment. "Wow, that's pretty far," Tudgeman said with a smile. Kate shook her head. "Far? Isn't that an understatement?" she said. "No, it's only about roughly 3,000 miles," Gordo retorted, matter-of-factly. This comment garnered a few blank stares. "Well, I guess it's far enough."
"You're a real goofball, you know that?" Lizzie laughed. "So, any kids?" Larry asked. "Yeah, one. His name is Mark and he's 18. I haven't seen him yet, though." Lizzie replied. "Let's keep it that way," Gordo quickly commented with a sly smile. Lizzie rolled her eyes. "Don't worry," she started, "we'll be seeing a lot more of him around school I'm sure." Kate yawned lightly. "Well, I don't know about you guys, but I could use a drink. coffee, I mean. Gawd, chill out guys, it's not like I'm an alcoholic!" she cried defensively. Lizzie giggled. Kate was known to party hard, and could probably out-drink Dean Martin, but she knew when enough was too much. "I guess we're on our way to the Digital Bean," she continued. "Mmm, curly fries." Gordo dribbled, as visions of freshly made, lightly seasoned french fried potatoes danced in his head. Larry gave Gordo a confused look, and then turned back to the doors. "You know," he started, "Lizzie's right. You really are a goofball, Dave." The group laughed again as they walked out of the theater doors into the parking lot..
************
The last remnants of Lizzie's second hot chocolate were slurped down before she let out a satisfying, "Ahh." Even in the last week of August, hot chocolate could be extremely enjoyable, even more so at night. The Digital Bean had a few locals other than the group sitting around, but besides that, there was not much action. Kate and Larry had already decided to leave so only Ethan, Miranda, Lizzie, and Gordo were left to enjoy their last summer Saturday. Come Monday, it would already be September. The season went by fast, but they could still enjoy each other's company before the night was over. The four chatted about old times of Middle School and Junior High, to the more recent memories of High School. They were better times, in all honesty. Lizzie's friends were happier, closer, and a lot smarter. However, deep down they were all relatively the same people that graduated Kindergarten together. It's just that things change. Times change. People change. It's inevitable. The gang of friends knew this as the conversation began to delve a bit deeper than usual. After some time, there was an awkward silence in the middle, causing each of them to be left in a quiet period of contemplation. Lizzie shrugged it off first, and quickly decided that she should be the next to leave.
"I think I should get going now," she stammered. "Why? Is something wrong," Gordo asked sympathetically. "Oh, no, nothing like that. I just really have to get home! My parents are probably waiting for me," Lizzie quickly replied. "Alright, see you around, Liz," Ethan shouted to her. "Call me tomorrow, okay, Lizzie?" Miranda quickly commented. "Yeah, me too. I'll miss you," Gordo said, almost in a whisper, as he kissed her on the cheek. Lizzie gave him a quick smooch before saying, "Okay, I'll miss you too. Later guys."
Lizzie walked out of the Bean, and slowly sauntered over to her Volkswagen. She really didn't want to leave already, but she had a lot of things on her mind. College was creeping up on her silently, and she hadn't even taken the SAT's yet. She appeared very anxious because she was still unsure of what she wanted to do with her life. On the rather short ride home, she thought about all these things, as well as having to leave home soon, which would mean leaving family, friends, and everything she knew behind. As she pulled into the driveway, she noticed the street was pretty desolate. No moving vans or unpacked boxes of stuff on the neighbors' lawn. Not even many cars were out on the road. She also noticed that all the lights were out in her house. "Hmm, they all must be sleeping already," she thought to herself. She hadn't realized it was already about 12:30 AM. She searched through her purse for her house keys as she stepped up to the front door. "Oh, great. I must have forgotten them or something. Damn."
She walked to the backyard, as her mother always left the sliding door unlocked for her. She didn't think it was so dark, but she could hardly tell with the bright front porch light on. As she stepped onto the back deck, she figured the only light around was the Moon's. She sat down on a chair and looked straight up at the sky. She ran her fingers through her hair as she began to stargaze, deep in thought about everything in her life, and then, the stars. "I thought I was the only one who did that," a soft, deep voice said out of the blue, causing Lizzie to quickly stand up from her chair and turn towards her left side, where the voice came from.
Lizzie backed down a bit after she realized it wasn't a burglar. Standing to the side was a rugged-looking guy, about 6'1, with dark shaggy hair, covering his eyes a little. He looked big, but it was just his baggy clothing that gave the impression. He wore a black undershirt with a white button-down, worn open, with a scratched spider decal on the back. His loose and extremely baggy jeans were crumpled over his clean white Adidas shell tops. He also was wearing a pair of black finger-less gloves on each hand and a long silver chain around his neck. This must be Mark. "I didn't mean to startle you, but it's not all the time you'd find someone doing the exact same thing you're doing, know what I mean?"
Lizzie was a bit surprised at first, and then she realized who it was and her slight fear changed into excitement. She would finally meet the new guy, and maybe get some new information on the family. She had laughed to herself, realizing that he was nervous. She paused before answering, "Um, well, yeah. Sure, I guess." "Oh, jeez, I'm such a mook. My name's Mark. You can call me Mark, or Marcus, or Markie, or whatever you'd like," he said, kind of fast. "Oh, well, my name is Lizzie. Lizzie McGuire. I've heard some interesting things about you." "Really? Well, hey, if they're bad, let me tell you they're not true! No sir, um, mam."
Lizzie laughed, "No, no, nothing bad. Uh, I know we just met and all, but would you like to have a seat, so we can, uh, chat?" Mark's head shot back in a surprised fashion. "Well, yeah, sure. Thanks." Mark slowly walked up to the deck and pulled a chair close, which is not very easy, since the chairs are rather bulky and heavy. He quietly sat down and gave Lizzie a short smile. "So, uh, how long you lived here?"
"Oh, all my life!" Lizzie said with some enthusiasm. Mark gave her another surprised look before saying, rather quietly, "Really?" "Yeah, for about 20 years my parents have owned his place," she replied. "Wow," Mark started, "I must have been in at least three different places in Brooklyn alone. Not to mention Queens or the Bronx."
"You've lived in all those places?" Lizzie asked, with a little shock in her voice. "Well, yeah, they're all relatively close, because they're all part of the boroughs of New York City. I would imagine it to be kind of confusing if you're not from the area," Mark replied. "Tell me about it!" Lizzie said with a light laugh. "Yeah, well, being on the opposite coast is very different from back home." "How do you mean?" Lizzie asked. "Well, okay. How about this? My family and I were in Los Angeles for a week or so last month. And I see that everything is real spread out. I mean, really spread out! It's a good thing that I've got a car down here, because I would never survive!"
"I don't follow you," Lizzie said softly. "You see," he began again, "where I come from, the neighborhoods are very - compact. Everything is close together, I suppose because of overpopulation." He's starting to sound like Gordo, Lizzie thought. "You can get to almost anything with a little walk. I mean, anything! Laundromats, Chinese restaurants, off-track betting, antique glass shops, anything! Hey, and another thing, I don't see too many subways around here."
"You mean, that sandwich place? There's one inside the mall." Lizzie said. Mark paused, and quietly chuckled to himself for a moment. "What's so funny?" Lizzie smiled. "No, no. Trains, underground trains. Subways!" Mark cried. "Oh. Oooh. Oh. Yeah, subways! I knew what you meant." Mark laughed, "You're cute, kid. Real cute." "Hey, who are you calling a kid? I'm just a year behind you," Lizzie cried laughingly. "Oh, excuse me! Jeez, I didn't know you West Coast women were so sensitive!" Mark sarcastically said, holding his hands up in defense, with hints of his Italian accent in his voice. Lizzie laughed again, and looked back up at the sky. "Beautiful night," she said. Mark looked at the sky and then back to Lizzie. "Beeeautiful night, indeed," he replied with a grin. He stretched out his arms and let out a slight groan. He yawned lightly and stood up. Lizzie stood as well.
"Going?" she asked. "Yeah," he started, "unpacking all that crap has left me in the mood for some mineral water and a good night's sleep, you know? Hey, thanks for not being too freaked out when you saw me, you know? You're the first person I've really met in this town, and I hope we can be cool, you know?" Lizzie was starting to think that he was getting nervous again. "Just trying to be a good neighbor, I suppose. Mark, I don't want to seem too forward with this, but hey, I'm getting together with some friends tomorrow, and if you'd like to come you're more than welcome. It'll give you the chance to meet some new people in the neighborhood - you know?" Mark looked down, and then back to Lizzie with a slight smile. "Yeah. Yeah, that would be great. Thanks a lot, bud. Peace out, Liz Mc-G!" He turned back to his house, and strutted over to his back door in his own style. Lizzie smiled as she opened the sliding door, and quietly whispered to no one, "You're welcome."