CHAPTER 4: MALL DISASTER
The more Gordo thought about it, the more he regretted his decision to hang out with Lizzie's new friends. He was seriously considering forgetting the whole thing, but as he walked through the front door of his house, the phone rang, and five seconds later Miranda was exclaiming in his ear, "Gordo! Lizzie just called me. She says you're coming to the movies with us tonight. That is so cool!"
Miranda was so excited by the idea of hanging out with Gordo, he couldn't possibly say no. An hour later, he had showered and changed his clothes and was walking down the block to the Sanchez house, just like in the old days.
In the old days, however, Lizzie would have joined them on the bus ride to the mall. Tonight, Miranda explained, they would be meeting her at the Food Court.
"What you mean," Gordo clarified, "is that we'll be meeting Lizzie and Brett."
"And Mike and Melissa and Nicole," Miranda added, ignoring the edge in Gordo's voice. Lizzie had told her a little over the phone. Miranda was aware Gordo and Brett were not about to join each other's fan clubs, but she certainly wasn't going to feed that fire.
It felt a bit odd at first, Gordo thought, to be hanging out with Miranda again. She had changed since middle school. She had a cute new hairstyle and was wearing makeup.
"You look nice," Gordo said suddenly when their conversation temporarily lagged on the walk to the bus stop.
"Do you like the highlights?" she asked, flipping her hair forward.
"Highlights?"
"In my hair."
Gordo looked. "I don't see anything in your hair."
Miranda sighed in exasperation. "I told my mother we had to leave the stuff on longer. She kept saying it should be 'subtle.' What's the use of being subtle if nobody can see it?"
On the bus they talked about their classes and their failed attempts to find an interesting club. Miranda talked about Jimmy, whom she had dated for exactly nine days, and she now proclaimed to be a "primo jerk." She asked Gordo if there were any girls he was interested in. He lied and said no.
At the Food Court they met Mike, Melissa and Nicole. Mike and Melissa were obviously a couple, holding hands. Gordo recognized Nicole from his History class. Relieved there was one new person here with whom he shared at least a modicum of commonality, he sat down next to Nicole and asked her how she liked the class.
"I love history!" Nicole said passionately. "Not so much what we're studying now, ugh. And not so much the way Mr. Minsky teaches it. Boring! But recent history, the 20th Century, like the last few decades, I wish we could study that."
"The syllabus says we're moving into the 20th century in the next couple of weeks," Gordo said. "And if you like the 20th century, just wait till you get to college! I e-mail with my cousin at UC Berkeley and right now he's taking a course about the counter-culture of the 1960's."
"I love the 60's!" Nicole exclaimed. "My grandfather was at Woodstock. He was a total Dead Head. He told me all about it. Man, I wish I could have been there."
"My grandfather too!" Gordo said. "He was there too!" He took a good look at Nicole and for the first time noticed that her eyes were kind of green, but not really. Her long straight hair was kind of brown, but brown was too plain a word to describe it. Maybe golden brown, he thought. Maybe honey brown…
Miranda took a step back, her grin about to pop off her face. With any luck, she thought, Gordo might soon have to change his answer when asked if there were any girls he was interested in.
Gordo and Nicole were in a deep discussion about the Beatles' influence on the current music scene when Gordo suddenly realized that Lizzie and Brett had joined the group, arm in arm. When Gordo saw Lizzie, he completely forgot what he was saying to Nicole.
"Uh…Lizzie. Hi," was all he could get out as he noticed how pretty she looked in pink and yellow. Again, her hair was shining, despite the total lack of sunshine in the Food Court.
"Hey, Gordo!" Brett said, punching his arm. "You made it, dude!"
Gordo looked up at Brett's smirking face. A half dozen zingers ran through his mind, but then he looked at Lizzie and decided to control his sarcasm.
"Hey, Brett," was all he said.
"So, we should head over to the movies," Melissa said. "It's getting late."
The group set out, Mike and Melissa in front, Lizzie and Brett directly behind, their arms still around each other. Gordo brought up the rear, flanked by Miranda on one side and Nicole on the other. Nicole continued with her thoughts on the Beatles, and Gordo tried to listen, but he could not pull his eyes off Lizzie in front of him, leaning her head against Brett's tall shoulder. It was hard to concentrate.
Noting Gordo's distracted state, Miranda linked her arm through his and leaned across to whisper, "Hey Nikki, I know you've got the cutest date here, but you don't mind sharing him with me, do you?"
Nicole smiled, and taking her cue from Miranda, also linked her arm through Gordo's.
Gordo laughed a little. They were both very sweet, but his laugh had a tinge of melancholy to it. He wondered if it was his destiny to always be surrounded by two girls, yet never really with any one girl.
The movie, The Four Feathers, provided a war story adventure for the guys, and romance and Heath Ledger for the girls. Lizzie and Brett sat at the end of the aisle, sharing a soda and feeding each other popcorn. (Brett was the kind of guy who needed an end seat so he could stretch out his long legs.) Gordo was relieved to be sufficiently distanced from Brett, in the middle of the aisle, still sandwiched between his old friend Miranda and his new friend Nicole.
From this pleasant position Gordo enjoyed the cinematic experience. Though not familiar with this particular director, he appreciated the dramatic filmmaking style enough to hope that someday he might make equally epic films. He also noted that Heath Ledger, in fact a pretty good-looking guy, also seemed rather tall. Lately, there was something about tall good-looking guys that always seemed to depress him. How was he ever going to keep up? The thought ran through his mind…maybe I should affect an Australian accent?
After the movie they all went to the Food Court for a snack. The two couples sat at one table, and Gordo with his two "girlfriends" at a table pulled up close. Nicole was fun and interesting, and he felt sure it would be a blast to hang out with her, if only he could stop looking at Lizzie!
Every now and then, Brett noticed Gordo looking at Lizzie and shot him a death stare. Lizzie's plan for them to get to like each other was definitely backfiring. Gordo wasn't sure, but at one point he noticed Brett and Mike whispering together, and suspected they were talking and laughing about him.
As they all stood up to leave, Brett suddenly wrapped his arms tightly around Lizzie and said, "Grab your woman, Mike! Shorto here isn't happy with two girls. I think he wants them all."
Miranda gasped loudly and punched Brett in the arm. "That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard!"
"But it's true," Brett said, looking directly at Gordo.
Gordo gave Brett a look of disgust. "It's not true," he said flatly.
"But you want my girl," Brett replied. "That much is obvious."
Gordo felt on edge, his heart beating fast. Playing chess with his dad, he had learned how to think out several moves in advance, but no matter how he imagined himself responding now, the end result was not good. So, for the moment, he did nothing.
"Brett! Let go of me!" Lizzie screeched. "Ow! Ow! You're squeezing me too tight!"
Now the game had changed. Gordo knew that tone in Lizzie's voice. In third grade she had somehow gotten her leg stuck in a folding chair and screamed "Ow! Ow!" This wasn't quite like that, but it was close. Too close for Gordo to continue standing idly by.
But what was he going to say? What was he going to do? Any action on his part would be met with total defiance on Brett's part. This kid wanted to fight him, and if the battle became physical, Gordo knew without a doubt he would be pummeled.
His mind raced, looking for a way to turn this into a battle of wits, a battle he felt sure he could win. But before anything could occur to him, Brett released Lizzie and quickly turned her around to face Gordo.
"Is this what you want?" he demanded of Gordo. "Tell the truth, Shorto. You want Lizzie, don't you?"
All at once several things happened.
Mike caught on to the second use of the mutated nickname and burst out, "Ha! Ha! Shorto!" He laughed hysterically.
Lizzie pulled away from Brett, saying, "Don't be ridiculous!"
And Miranda once again punched Brett in the arm, exclaiming, "Brett, you can be the biggest jackass!"
Nicole came to Gordo's side, gently putting her arm on his shoulder, but in his agitation, he pulled away. He stepped back from the group, hands up, and announced, "I'm done here."
Then he turned, shoulders hunched, and walked away.