Chapter 2 - Surprise, Surprise
(...Dimmsdale Mall...the next afternoon...)
As expected, the building teems with people coming and going. On a bench sits Timmy. The school day seemed to go on forever, almost as if the fates found some spare time to mock his dream. He looks around and lets out a sigh. His eyes wander a bit until they catch sight of an attractive young lady in a halter top and jeans.
"Wow."
"Hope you don't mind. I had to change."
"That's all right. It was totally worth the 45-minute wait", Timmy remarked with a notable absence of sarcasm.
"So...what do we do?"
"Well, we could..."
Timmy choked. He'd spent so much time waiting for the date that he hadn't planned it. He looks around at the many stores: Record Ranch, Stacks o' Knick Knacks, Nothin' But Greeting Cards (Timmy couldn't help but think 'Wow. They have stores for everything, nowadays.'). None of them seemed right. His eyes stop on a familiar place: ComicZone.
"...go get some comic books."
Just then, Trixie burst out laughing.
"Comics? That is good", she said as she wiped away a tear.
The pained look on Timmy's face proved that only she got the joke.
"Oh. You were serious."
Timmy remembered how he - incognito - ran into Trixie in there seven years ago.
"I thought you might've liked them."
"I might've once, perhaps..." she stated, her voice trailing off, "...but that stuff's for little kids."
Timmy gulped.
"Yeah, I guess you're right."
"We could go to Abyss. They always have a sale going on."
"Okay", the young man said as he shrugged his shoulders.
(...the food court...20 minutes later...)
Timmy and Trixie sit at a table. She reaches into a tote bag and pulls out a yellow garment.
"Isn't this fleecy tee just the greatest?"
"Wha-- Oh, yeah. Great."
Trixie puts the shirt back in the bag.
"How about we get something to eat?"
"Okay."
The couple scan the various eateries: Veg Out (a salad bar), Das Sub, 101 Flavors (which serves ice cream), Year of the Hungry Goat (a Chinese food place) and Mexican Border, among others.
"You think any of these places have low-carb menus?"
Timmy couldn't help but glare irritatedly at Trixie for that remark. Like a lot of people, he had grown quite weary of the low-carb craze, which, inexplicably, managed to survive for many years.
"We could always go to McKinney's."
"Ugh! No way! Have you ever been there?"
"Uh, yeah. That's why I suggested it."
"The food there is so greasy and fattening. And the people that work there...! I wouldn't be caught dead in a place like that."
Timmy sighs deeply.
"How about a salad?", he states flatly.
(...the Turner's house...that night...)
"...and this is the living room. So, what do you think?"
"Well, it's very...plain."
Timmy slumps down on the couch.
"Thanks."
"Oh, don't worry. It's not so bad."
As Trixie sits down beside him, Timmy stares ahead. Just then, his parents walk in.
"Hello, Timmy. Hello, Trixie", the adults greet in unison.
Mr. and Mrs. Turner stop suddenly and look back at the girl on their couch. They run to face the younger couple.
"Hi, uh, Tommy's parents," the rich girl said politely.
"Hello."
Mr. Turner reaches his hand out and pokes Trixie in the arm.
"Dare I ask what's going on?"
"Oh, nothing, Timmy", his mother fibbed.
The two adults walk up the stairs.
"Our son going out with Trixie Tang?"
"Yeah. It's like some parallel universe. Did Timmy have a goatee?"
"Honey..."
The Turners enter their bedroom.
"You know, honey, I think someone owes someone twenty dollars."
Mr. Turner extends his hand to his wife, but she folds her arms and glares at him.
"Fine."
The man digs in his pants pockets, but finds them empty. He looks in his wallet, which is just as vacant as the pockets. He dashes out of the room and down the stairs. Timmy is still staring ahead. A shadow falls on him. He looks to his side and gazes up at his father.
"Timmy, can I borrow twenty bucks?"
(...Timmy's room...an hour later...)
Timmy sits down on his bed and hunches over, holding his head in his hands.
Cosmo and Wanda pop in on either side of him.
"Oh, Timmy. Why so glum?"
Timmy opens his mouth, but Cosmo cuts in.
"I know. It's his bad posture."
Cosmo straightens Timmy out and dusts him off with his hands.
"One of the first things girls notice about you is posture."
Wanda takes her husband aside.
"Cosmo...!"
"...is right."
"He is?"
"I am?"
"Well, not about posture, but the part about the girls. I thought being with Trixie would be great, but it's not. She's as big a snob as ever."
"I suppose you'll be breaking up with her."
"Yeah, I guess. I just need to find the right way to do it."
(...Dimmsdale High...the next day...)
"Someone like Trixie might be a little more sensitive than other girls."
Trixie runs spiritedly through the halls. She, literally, bumps into Timmy and wraps him in a hug.
"Oh, Tommy, I've missed you so much", she said in a tone guaranteed to draw attention.
"I missed you too, Trixie, even though it's only been twelve hours since we last saw each other."
In the midst of the hug, Trixie spots Ethan putting some books into a locker.
"We make such a great couple. I can't imagine anyone better than you."
Trixie releases him from the hug. Ethan turns to face them, his curiosity peaked by her yelling. She takes Timmy's hand in her own and they walk down the hall.
"That's the best she could do? Meryl Streep, she's not", Ethan snorted as he walks into a classroom, past a girl with long black hair and glasses. She glances at the couple down the hall, then heads inside the same room.
"So, how have you been?"
"Fine. Trixie--"
"I've been all right. You know, there's a game tonight; we're playing the Cougars."
"That's sounds...good."
"Great. See you there."
Trixie gives him a kiss and runs off.
"I think we should see other people", Timmy said to no one in particular.
"Ladies and gentlemen..."
(...a football field...that night...)
"...presenting the Dimmsdale Sharks!"
The crowd cheers enthusiastically for the school's football team as they rush onto the field. From the sidelines, the cheerleading squad roots the home team on.
From the bleachers, Trixie cheers. Next to her is Timmy, his hands in his pockets. He exhales and his eyes go wide when he sees his breath as a cloud in front of him.
"I can't believe how cold it is out here."
"Maybe you should've brought gloves, like me."
Timmy faces ahead and tries to focus on the game.
(...45 minutes later...)
Trixie takes off her gloves and sets them aside. Timmy rubs his hands together and blows on them. He looks down at them and smiles a bit.
"My hands were getting kind of sweaty."
"Trixie, do you think that I could borrow your gloves?"
"I don't know, Tommy. How would it look if a guy was wearing expensive ladies' gloves?"
"Um...like his lady friend really cared about the warmth of his hands?"
Trixie playfully shoves him.
"You're so funny."
Timmy loses his balance somewhat and, in his attempt to steady himself, he knocks Trixie's gloves from the bleachers to the ground.
"Oh. Could you get my gloves, please?"
"Can I wear them?"
"Again, there's that sense of humor I love so much."
"But, Trixie--"
Trixie nods her head down, blinks rapidly and pouts at him.
"All right."
Timmy steps over the various patrons until he ends up on the ground. He spots the gloves lying in a patch of grass. He steps under the bleachers and approaches the patch. Timmy bends down and grabs the gloves.
"Ladies and gentlemen, please direct your attention to Dimmsdale's own, our cheerleading squad!"
At hearing this announcement, Timmy stands to his feet and peers out between the legs of a spectator. The girls perform a number of flips and tumbles, which garner applause.
"Hey you guys, this ain't no dream, we're cheering for the winning team! Can't you see it, don't you know, silly Cougars got to go!"
However, Timmy's attention is drawn to a girl with long, dark hair and glasses. As he glares at the mystery girl, he thought to himself, 'Could it be?'
Just as he finished his thought, the girl turns over her shoulder in his direction...and winks. Was she looking at Timmy? He assumed that no one could see him from under there. The girl joins her fellow cheerleaders in the routine. Timmy thought some more about her: the long hair threw him off, but her face (and glasses) seemed vaguely familiar. Timmy squinted at the cheerleader. His heart skipped a beat when he put it all together.
"Tootie?!"
(...Timmy's room...a couple of hours later...)
Timmy frantically paces.
"I can't believe it...Tootie?! But how...she was...but now...whoa."
Just then, his two fairies pop in.
"Timmy...careful, sweetie. You're making us dizzy."
"Come on, Wanda. It's not so bad."
"What's wrong?"
"Where do I begin? I couldn't break up with Trixie and now I find that the girl who had a crazy crush on me is a hottie, now", Timmy relates as he falls to his bed.
"And this is a problem, how?"
"Cosmo!"
"Hey, I may not be that bright, but even I could figure out who I'd choose."
Timmy looks up at Cosmo.
"What Cosmo's trying to say, I hope, is that you should follow you heart."
"Thanks, you guys...I think."
Timmy stares at the ceiling, a thoughtful look on his boyish face.
(...Dimmsdale High...the next morning...)
Timmy makes his way through the crowd of people to his locker. He opens it and grabs a couple of books. He closes the door and is greeted by the sight of Trixie.
"Hi, Tommy. I was thinking that for our second date, we could--"
Timmy raised his hand, urging her to stop.
"Trixie, I'm afraid there won't be a second date. Wait, wasn't the football game our second date?"
"Not really. It wasn't very intimate."
"Hmmm, I guess not. Anyway, I really need to say something to you."
By this point, the whole of the students are hanging on their every word.
"I'd been dreaming about this for such a long time, and now that it's happened, I'm a little...disappointed."
"What do you mean, 'disappointed'?"
"I thought I fell in love with the perfect girl: pretty, popular. But, in the last few days, I've found that I fell for an image, an ideal, a flashily-wrapped present with nothing inside. I thought about it for two hours last night. Actually, I thought about it for five minutes last night. I spent the rest of the time figuring out the best way to tell you."
"Tell me what?"
"Wait, now that I think about it, that was four minutes and 30 seconds longer than I really needed..."
"Tell...me...what?!"
Timmy took a deep breath.
"I'm breaking up with you."
"What?!"
"I'm breaking u--"
"I heard you, and so did the whole damn school!"
"I'm sorry, but this is something I had to do."
"I can't believe you! You don't know what you're giving up, Tommy!"
"I think I do. And, for the record, my name is Timmy, all right? Tim-my."
Timmy walks off and the crowd erupts in excited gossip and assorted 'ooohs'. Trixie stands in the hall, her mouth agape. She couldn't fathom the sad truth: she had been dumped.