must be some mistake, he thought to himself. Girls like Sharron think that I’m some kind of nerd or geek.
Charles took a moment before speaking. He didn’t want his nervousness to be conveyed over the telephone. “What’s up, Sharron?”
“Charles, I got your telephone number from the student directory at school. I hope you don’t mind.”
“No, no, that’s okay,” he said, still puzzled.
“The reason that I called you, Charles, is that I wanted to know if you were going to the ‘Dollar Night on the Boardwalk,’ today after school”
“Yeah, I was planning to go,” he said.
“Good.” she responded. “Are you in a hurry right now?”
“Well, I was heading out the door for school,” said Charles.
“Are you driving?” she asked.
“Yeah.”
“Charles, do you think that you could come by my house and pick me up on your way to school?”
“Come by your house and pick you up?” exclaimed Charles, the shock evident in his voice.
“Yes,” she said, “if that wouldn’t be a problem.”
“Are you kidding?” Charles responded excitedly, but then caught himself.
“I mean,” he continued, trying to sound more composed, “sure. It won’t be a problem at all. Where do you live?”
“On Fordham Street,” she said.
“Fordham Street?” he asked. “Where is that exactly?”
“In East Palo Alto,” she responded. Sharron was a little puzzled. Everyone knows where Fordham Street is. Why would Charles ask her such a ridiculous question, unless he did not live in East Palo Alto.
“Where do you live, Charlie?” she asked with much curiosity.
“In Atherton,” he responded.
“Atherton!” she gasped, the shock evident in her voice. “Charles, you live in Atherton?”
“Yeah,” he responded. “Wasn’t it listed in the student directory?
“The telephone numbers are, but not the addresses,” said Sharron. “Let me give you the directions to my house.”
Charles wrote down the directions on a piece of paper, then hung up the telephone. He grabbed his backpack and ran out of his room and down the stairs. “Maria! Maria!” he shouted upon entering the kitchen. He wondered why Maria did not answer him, but then he remembered that this is the time that Maria normally goes to the market to do her shopping.
Charles walked toward the cabinet where the car keys were stored. Opening it, he noticed that the keys to the Ford were hanging next to the extra set of keys to the Ferrari. Without hesitation, Charles reached up and grabbed the keys to the Ford and proceeded into the garage.
Entering the garage, he could see that the Ford was parked in the farthermost stall away from the door. As he continued walking toward the Ford, he couldn’t help but notice the Ferrari, which was also parked in the garage. He paused for a moment to look at it. The stylish black leather interior, the sleek red painted frame with the custom tires. This car, he thought to himself, is a true statement of masculinity.
Charles continued on to the Ford. Opening the car door, he climbed in. Sticking the key into the ignition, he started the engine and let it idle for a moment. When he felt that the car had warmed up enough, he reached for the automatic shift. He was about to shift the car into reverse when he hesitated for a moment; and without much thought, his hand moved from the automatic shift back to the ignition. He then turned the key, shutting off the engine.
“I can’t do it,” Charles said. “Here I am on my way to pick up the most beautiful girl in school, and I’m doing it in this stupid old Ford.”
Charles got out of the Ford and walked back into the kitchen. Opening the cabinet, he replaced the keys to the Ford on the hook where he had taken them from. Five minutes elapsed while he stood in front of the cabinet, trying to muster up enough courage to take the keys to the Ferrari. Finally, he reached out and took the keys from the hook.
Dad, I know you’re going to kill me, he said to himself as he ran out the door, clenching the keys to the Ferrari tightly in his fist.
Part 3
The directions that Sharron had given him had been easy to follow. Pulling up in front of the house, he honked the horn and waited nervously in the car.
The front door of the house opened, and Sharron stepped out onto the porch. She wore a mini-skirt, which allowed her to show off beautiful tanned legs, a tightly fitting cashmere sweater and a bandanna, which she used to hold her long wavy hair in place.
Her eyes lit up as she walked toward the Ferrari. “Charles, is this your car?” she asked excitedly as she got into the Ferrari.
“On my weekly allowance?” Charles said while chuckling. “I don’t think so.” He popped in a Michael Jackson CD into the player as they pulled away from the curb.
As they rode along, Charles nervously pretended to be focused on the music. Through the corner of his eye, he could see Sharron sizing him up.
“So, Charles,” she said, “do you already have a date for the beach tonight?”
“If you mean to ask if I’m going with another girl,” he said, “then the answer is no.”
“What about us going together?” she asked.
The surprise in his voice couldn’t be avoided. “You mean, like, you and me?” he said.
“Yeah, you and me,” she replied.
Charles felt his heart begin to pump hard and fast. This is too good to be true, he thought. I, Charles Gill, have a date with the head cheerleader. The finest girl in school.
Suddenly he felt his elation being replaced with suspicion. Something isn’t right. “Wait a minute, Sharron,” he said. “I thought that you were going steady with the captain of the football team. What’s his name? Donald…Donald?”
“Donald Johnson,” she replied. “He and I are no longer together. We just broke up.”
“So, basically you just broke up with Donald, and all you need me for is a ride to the beach,” Charles responded coldly. “What was I, the last person listed in the school directory who had a car?”
Sharron sat in the passenger seat looking into Charles face. She smiled and gently tapped him on the leg as she spoke. “You don’t think that much of yourself, do you?”
“Well, the finest girl in school calls me up out of the blue and wants to go out with me?” he asked. “You tell me.”
Just at that moment, they pulled into the school parking lot and parked.
“I
