style="font-size:15px;"> Lance growled, “That was then. This is now. He’ll shoot her down.”
Karl asked, “Do you have a plan? Margie doesn’t go for just anyone.”
Lance smirked. “Whatever Scott says, I’ll say the opposite. That babe will be walking out of The Parlor with me.”
Raising his eyebrows, as if a light bulb turned on, Brett wrinkled his forehead. “Dude, you got the plan. When Scott turns down Destiny, I’m making a move for her.” Flexing his biceps, he added, “Destiny will want these.”
Karl added with a pretended seriousness, “Maybe she wants brains and not brawn.”
Brett, who had the vocabulary level of a third grader, asked, “What bronze?”
As the guys laughed, Derek looked from Brett to Lance. His right-hand man always ran circles around these two. Leaning forward, he joked. “Don’t be surprised if Scott walks out of here with both babes.”
The guys laughed. Scott wasn’t the type. Leaning back on his chair, Karl studied Derek who was like an island unto himself. No one ever knew his true feelings. For that reason, he purposely aggravated him. “No, Derek, that’s what you would do.”
The guys shifted in their chairs. One of these days, Karl’s blunt comments would catch up with him. They waited for Derek to strike back with a threat, but today, he didn’t fall for the bait.
Derek rubbed his right clenched fist, narrowed his eyes as he stared at Karl, and shook his head slowly. “No, I’ll walk out of here with three babes.”
Sweat built up under Karl’s armpits. “Do you want to put your money on that?”
Brett interrupted their challenge. “Here comes Scott.”
Scott climbed the three steps, strolling over to the empty chair on the right side of Brett. From here, he could keep his eye on Randy and Felicia, and if they left together, he’d know.
Derek rested comfortably on his chair, relieved his comrade was present. “Hey, Scott, Karl doesn’t think I could walk out of here with three babes. What do you think?”
Without hesitating, Scott replied, “Sure you could. I’ll put money on that bet too.”
Karl doubted his chances of winning after hearing Scott’s confident answer. He decided to change his bet from Derek to Scott. “Dude, what about you? How many girls could you get to walk out of here with you?”
Scott scanned The Parlor and thought about the girl in the park, her innocent disposition, her long blond hair, and her sad expression. “None.”
The guys laughed. Karl shoved his dark-blond bangs off his forehead. “No confidence?”
Scott shook his head. “No interest.”
Brett raised his eyebrows as he looked at Lance who nodded his head with certainty. Their evening looked promising.
Jess, Adam, and Troy arrived next. Five minutes after their arrival, the door swung open as Pamela, Destiny, Becky, and Sondra glided into The Parlor as if no party could start without them. Their hair were perfectly stiff, their face had too much makeup, and their clothes and accessories were flamboyant as they tried to create a Euro Chic style.
The girls rushed over to their table, using their singsong voice. “Hi, you guys.”
They grabbed chairs from the nearest table, squeezing themselves between the boys. Pamela wedged herself between Matt and Karl. Becky and Sondra sat at the end of the table beside Derek while Destiny parked herself between Scott and Brett.
Scott moved his chair over, hoping Destiny was interested in Brett. To his disappointment, she scooted closer, smiling sweetly. “Hi, Scott. What have you been up to lately?”
He looked into Destiny’s gray-blue eyes. “Nothing.”
Scott nonchalantly studied her heavy blue eye shadow, her dark pink rouge, and her dark foundation that stopped at her neck. He was now aware of women’s makeup and whether or not it matched their skin tone. It had all started in seventh and eighth grade when he chose art as an elective. His art teacher taught them to notice every specific detail of art by the shadows and colors casting off nature to the fine details of a portrait. His art teacher also mentioned a human face was either oval or round and an artist needed to remember the skin tone. If you wanted the person in the portrait to look realistic, the exact colors must be applied to the face.
After that class, Scott no longer saw just people. Everyone became a portrait as he studied their faces, the shape of their jaws, and their skin tone. Then he began noticing the way in which girls applied their makeup, realizing the application of makeup was an art which either enhanced or destroyed the attractiveness of a girl. This knowledge came in handy when Felicia began experimenting with makeup. One day, when he was at her house repairing the oven temperature control, Felicia walked into the kitchen, looking like a clown. He laughed and mentioned makeup shouldn’t look like it was painted on the face. After that, whenever he was at her house fixing something, she’d ask for his opinion and he’d simply think about art: the shading, the highlighting, and the colors. He still wasn’t sure if this new knowledge of art was a blessing or a curse. Anyway Destiny’s makeup was too harsh for her complexion.
Destiny placed her hand on his arm while she gently shook her stiff jet-black hair. “You’re so funny, Scott. Every time I see you, you’re busy doing something.”
Scott scanned his friends who were trying not to stare. He didn’t miss Adam’s dark expression. Scott casually moved his arm from under Destiny’s hand, pretending he had an itch on his face.
As Destiny chatted, Shelley and Margie strolled into The Parlor. Last year, when Shelley moved to South Hillside, the two girls became best friends due to their similarities. They dressed in the American classic fashion with a more natural appearance. They crimped their shoulder-length brunette hair and were fanatical about saving the rainforest, protecting animals’ natural environment, and cleaning up pollution. The girls made a stand for an issue. That was one of the reasons why Scott had liked them both.
As they climbed the steps, Derek motioned to them. “Bring your chairs over here, there’s room.”
Shelley blushed, accepting his invitation while Margie grabbed a chair at the end of the table beside Scott.
Matt, Karl, and Jess hid their disgust as Derek rested his arm on Shelley’s chair. With three girls beside him, Derek was in his element as he kept them giggling.
While the sophomores conversed, Ruby, a middle-aged waitress, took their order and returned minutes later with their desserts. Scott ate the hot fudge sundae Charlie had given him. As Scott watched the clock on the wall in front of him, his mind wandered to the girl in the park. He began to formulate a free-verse poem. Rearranging, adjusting, and fixing the words until he was satisfied. He recited the final poem inside his mind. Your beauty was as soft as the breeze that whispered simplicity, splendor, and innocence. The exquisiteness of the park captivated my eyes, but your presence captivated my heart.
An hour passed before Matt made his move the guys had been expecting. “Pamela, do you want me to walk you home?”
After they left, Destiny encircled Scott’s left arm. “You’re always so quiet. Sometimes I wonder what’s in that
