This is your NEW school
All characters mentioned in this(except ones that I made up)belong to Rockstar Games. I do not make money off of this.
Contains slightly worse language than in the game and sexuality. – XX-THIRST
Chapter 11: Nights Out
Gwen sat at her desk, pulling on a pair of mustard yellow socks, adding to an already hideous outfit consisting of a mahogany sweater and an olive green pencil skirt. She then slipped on maroon loafers. Her metal head roommate , Rosa Soto, noticed the girl getting dolled up ( so to speak ) .
" What are you dressing all up for ? ".
" I... well... I have a date ".
Rosa immediately ceased strumming on her guitar, almost snapping a string.
" You're kidding. I don't mean to sound rude, but really ? With who ? ".
" It's a secret ".
" Oh shucks. That bad or that amazing ? Ew, it's not Leo , is it ? ".
" No. It's someone... unique... ".
" Unique as in sub-par ? ".
" No ".
" That new kid, Jerry Hopkins or whatever his name is ? ".
" No, Rosa. I mean, he's not the worst, but... oh, what can I say. I'm more attracted to brains than brawn ".
" Don't tell me it's that weird Gary Smith guy he hangs out with ".
" No way. There's obviously something wrong with him ".
" Then who is it ? ".
Gwen gave her a sly smile. " Like I said, it's a secret " . She said no more on the matter as she pulled the Sling Shot 3000 out from underneath her pillow and a portable telescope from underneath the bed. Admittedly, it felt positively delicious to have a secret like this all to herself. The night Simon had made his offer, once she had returned to her dorm room, the urge to squeal into her bed pillow had been overwhelming. And the urge was there now too. But she prided herself on being mature . As she left the dorms for her date ( very thought of it almost made her giddy ) , Gwen happily bounced along the way, if not clumsily like.
" Shit ,Simon. You're going in your school uniform ? " chided Gary.
" I've never been on an outing like this. How would I know what to wear ? ".
" What are you, some kind of idiot ? ".
Jimmy pulled Simon towards him . " Quit it, Gary. Now Simon, don't you have any other clothes ".
" I don't suppose I can go out in my pajamas... ".
" You have NO other clothes ? ".
" I'm not one for a having large wardrobe ".
" Ugh, come on, maybe we can find you something at one of the campus stores ".
Simon was dragged to a clothing shop in one of court yards. He was completely stumped as to what to wear on a date, so Jimmy had to pick out clothes forhim.
Gary , being his usual 'helpful' self, kept offering suggestions from the girls' clothing section.
" Oh ,won't this just bring out your purty green eyes ? " he said, holding up a yellow shirt with a floral design and a lacy collar.
" How daft do you think I am ? I know very well that's a girl's shirt ".
" Your voice is high enough, no one's going to know the difference ".
Gary was shoved out of the way by Jimmy , who held a light green dress shirt and slate grey slacks in his arms.
" Here. I think they're your size ".
While Simon changed, Jimmy noticed Gary had wandered over to the hair care rack. He was using a hair brush as a microphone, singing along ( off-key ) to the song playing on the radio.
' Better that he's just goofing around rather than burning the store down or something. Shit, I hate having to babysit him '.
Emerging from the changing stall , Simon walked over to Jimmy and Gary. They offered their opinions.
" You look fine to me ".
" Not bad, considering Hopkins picked those out ".
" Really ? That's ace! ".
" Knock it off with the dork talk ".
" It's not dork talk! I'll have you know-".
" Enough guys! " interrupted Jimmy. " Simon, you need one more thing. A gift. Girls like it if you bring them stuff ".
" But whatever shall I buy for Gwen ? ".
" Acne cream ? A paper sack? Ooh! A certificate for one free plastic surgery! " Gary interjected. His comments were ignored as the two other boys continued their conversation.
" She's one of those nerdy chicks, so I guess flowers, jewelry and chocolate are out of the question ".
" Wasn't her diary muddied up by that Lionel fellow ? We could always buy her a new one ".
" Great idea ".
" Golly good! By the way, who's paying for all these things ? ".
They both turned and stared at Gary. He shrugged and sneered " What are you looking at ? I don't have any damn money ".
6:25 pm. Simon was en route to the park. He had eventually paid for the clothes and the diary ( from another campus store ) with his own pocket money. Hopping off the bus, he felt slightly nervous. Really. A date ? He never would've imagined himself doing such a thing. Romance of any sort had never crossed his mind. Innocence ? Naivety ? Perhaps he hadn't hit puberty yet. Whatever the reason, he hoped the other boys' dating advice was sound.
" Focus on her good qualities. Like... uh... her personality. But don't word it like that. She'll know that you're trying to avoid talking about her ugly looks " Jimmy had advised. Gary also contributed some tips of his own.
" Talk about nothing but yourself. And push her into a mud puddle if you can. Girls like being harassed. Let's them know who wears the pants ".
" Don't listen to Don Juan over there who hasn't had a girlfriend in almost four years ".
He spotted Gwen just ahead, waiting in the park entry way. He clutched the diary tight, now more nervous. He squeakily greeted her, coughed, then repeated his greeting in his normal voice.
" E-evening Gwen. Here you are, this is for you " he said, handing her the diary.
" You... you bought this for me ? Aw, that's so sweet ".
" Well Jimmy said to... oh, never mind " . They both stared at each other in awkward silence, neither knowing what to do or say.
" Uh... right, should we be along now on our... date ? " Simon finally uttered, motioning towards the park.
" Oh , of course ".
The pair walked quietly through the park, along a stone path, both holding their breath in fear of saying something stupid. After some time, Gwen began to discuss the sixteen different tree species ( and each of their biological evolutions ) present in Brat-Hog Ville. Simon nodded out of politeness every now and then, most of the information going completely over his head. She noticed this and ceased with the topic.
She then took her telescope from her backpack and lead Simon over to a little hill to stargaze from. As she set up the device, he admitted that he wasn't familiar with most of constellations, but wouldn't mind if she taught him because, after all, she was very well read. She blushed at the complement and giggled. A giggle in her duck like voice sounded about as nice as food poisoning, but it made Simon feel more at ease. Maybe he wasn't so bad at this romance business after all. While Simon looked through the telescope, Gwen did her best to explain the Autumn constellations in layman's terms. He may not have been her type by any means ( she would've preferred a young Albert Einstein or Stephen Hawking ), but at least Simon was a pleasant boy to be around. It had been a long time since she'd been around someone who didn't bring up her acne or buck teeth in conversation.
' I guess it couldn't hurt to know a little more about him '.
" Simon … may I ask what part of England you're from ? ".
" Why I'm from upper London ".
" Really now ? Please don't take offense, but your accent is a bit odd for being London born ".
" No offense taken at all. While I was born and raised in London, my parents were from Chobham ".
" That explains it ".
" How could you tell ? ".
" I've been to London a few times to visit relatives ".
" Have you ever been to ' The Royal Bucket ' along Harvey Road? They serve the best fish and chips there! ".
" Indeed I have! But I thought it closed down ".
" What ? I didn't hear anything about that. But I haven't been home in over a month... ".
" Why did your parents send you here to the United States anyway ? I would think there would be far better private schools there. I'm sure you know of the
Phlegmbliss prep school ".
" Ah yes, I know of it, my father graduated from there. I would've attended as well, but my parents felt that some education abroad would be a good experience
for me ".
"Are you in the country all by yourself ? ".
" Not exactly. My uncle lives here in Brat-Hog Ville, so at least I know one person. He's a bit difficult to get a hold of though " .
" I bet he's happy to have his nephew close by ".
" He is. But - ".
" Ack! Look at the time! " Gwen gasped, looking at her wrist watch. 8:32 pm it read. " I have to study for a history test tomorrow , I should really be on my
way ".
" Not a problem at all! I don't want to take away from your study time ".
" Oh Simon, you're so nice ". She leaned down towards him, but he turned away, oblivious to her romantic intentions.
" My, it's certainly a warm evening for September, but it's nice though. I think I'll explore about town for a bit, I haven't looked around Brat-Hog Ville once since
I've arrived ".
" Hmm ? Oh, that sounds good ". She did her best to hide the slight disappointment in her voice. " I would suggest visiting the town library, they have an
excellent selection of astronomy books should you want to learn more about star gazing ".
She continued suggesting other locations after Simon offered to escort to her to the bus stop . All her attempts at flirting went unnoticed by him. Once there, he waved goodbye as he left .
She sighed, thinking to herself ' Whew! That wasn't so bad. At least we had something in common. I still perfer a young Einstein though. Simon resembles a
male Shirley Temple far too much for my taste and isn't anywhere near my I.Q level. Oh goodness, that was worded wrong, I don't want to sound arrogant '.
Simon skipped along the pavement, humming a merry tune to himself. It had been an interesting experience. He doubted that Gwen would ever ask him on another date since he didn't really meet her fancy. But at least the whole affair hadn't been a disaster. They had both enjoyed themselves and that was what mattered, right ? Having not paid attention to where he was going, he now found himself in a less then safe looking part of town. He tried to retrace his steps, but became even more lost. He eventually sat down on the steps of an old, abandoned looking warehouse. Looking up at the crumbling red brick building, he had the oddest feeling that this place looked familiar. He must've seen a building like this back home. Yes. That had to be it.
Done for now. Time for bed. That was a simple and sweet date, if not mildly awkward. I'm not one for writing romance.
- XX-THIRST