Neil; what’s your first class with Annie?”
“After English; why?” They walked into homeroom together and sat down. Kara had to be tactful.
“Please don’t Annie about Scott. I owe him for a slice of pizza, that’s all.”
“Sure; I won’t say a thing,” he reassured.
“Thanks.” Neil almost seemed grateful for the explanation. “Do I have to answer to everyone?” She thought.
The closer it got to two o’clock on Sunday, the more a ‘wreck’ she became. “Maybe he won’t show up,” Kara told herself, glad she was keeping this from Annie. Luckily, she had to go somewhere and wouldn’t be around.
Kara went from the kitchen to the living room before deciding the dining room table would be best. There was plenty of room for a laptop and notebooks. All her homework was done except Algebra.
Kara made sure they had plenty of hot chocolate mix, checking more than once. What if he couldn’t find her house? Then it happened…the doorbell rang. Kara opened the front door.
“Hi,” she greeted, standing back to let him in. She spent a lot of time picking out the French Terry warm-ups. He hardly seemed to notice.
“Hi…I like your hair,” he said almost shyly. It was partially braided with the ends loose, touching her shoulders.
“Thanks,” she turned to say as he followed her in the dining room. He was here, which gave her reason to relax. “Yeah, right,” she thought.
Scott put his books on the table. She asked if he wanted some hot chocolate and he nodded. Kara filled two mugs with water and put them in the microwave. “Annie would say he ‘liked my hair’ just to say something,” she reasoned. Kara shook off her doubts and stirred in the hot chocolate mix. She took the mugs in the dining room and put one in front of Scott.
“Can we talk for a minute?” He asked.
She noticed he couldn’t keep his feet still under the table. “Sure,” she said, sitting down. “What about?”
“Would you go out with me? I mean, I have this feeling you wouldn’t, maybe because I’m a junior.” Scott took a sip of hot chocolate, indicating it was her turn. He deserved the same honesty.
“Wow, I wasn’t expecting this. Mom says I have to be fifteen,” she softly answered. “Dating…is really the last thing on my mind. I don’t even know if I have time between homework and cross country.” She stopped to put a loose strand of hair behind an ear. “The truth is, I don’t care if I ever go to The Onion, again.”
“I like the way you’re sort of…natural. Like with the fall, and what you said just now about The Onion.” He paused to choose his words, like he was afraid of saying too much. “It was pretty cool what you said about your mother…how hard she works. Most girls can’t stand their mothers.”
Kara took another sip and continued. “What scares me is…I don’t know where to start, with getting to know someone.”
“This is a start, right?” He put a hand on hers, giving it a squeeze. They both heard Mom pull in the driveway. He took his hand away when she walked in.
“Hi, you must be Scott,” she said. “You’re the spitting image of your father.”
“I thought you’d know him,” he said, noticing her ID badge from the hospital.
“Sure,” Mom replied. “He does a great job of running the emergency department.” Mom excused herself to change and said she’d start supper soon.
“There is one thing,” Kara insisted. “I don’t like being pressured.”
“I won’t; promise,” Scott simply answered. She believed him.
“How about staying for dinner?” Kara comfortably asked. “Nothing fancy on Sunday’s. Tonight it’s cheeseburgers.”
“Yeah; great!” He eagerly answered.
Mom stuck her head in the dining room, saying “I could use some help,” and asked them to make a salad. Kara handed Scott the lettuce and a cucumber. She showed him how to tear up the lettuce. They preheated the oven for fries and Mom put the hamburgers on. As soon as Kara set the kitchen table they were ready to eat. Scott took care of the ‘extra’ cheeseburger. He stayed to help load the dishwasher while Mom went into the living room to relax. Scott said good-bye and left. Kara hurried upstairs, anxious to blog.
pb: ‘No one would believe this, not even Annie. I didn’t think he’d show up, but he did. He wasted no time in telling me why. I said I couldn’t date until I’m fifteen. Now what? I could ask him over next Sunday, or maybe I should wait. Everything about him is different from what I expected. I showed THE Scott Davis how to make a salad. Annie would just die! It’s way too soon for a kiss, right?’
CONFLICT
Scott came over the next few Sundays. Mom made herself scarce unless they asked her to watch a movie with them. One Sunday It was obvious something was on his mind. She could always tell when he crossed his legs at the ankles and moved the top foot back and forth.
He closed his class notes inside the Anatomy book. “When will you be fifteen?”
Kara looked up from her algebra homework. “May tenth; why?”
“There’s a school dance this Saturday. Maybe you’d like to go.”
“Are you kidding? Of course I would! Mom’s always said ‘around’ fifteen. Besides, she knows you pretty well.”
“I’ll pick you up at eight.”
After they cleaned up the kitchen, Scott got his books from the dining room. When Kara followed him to the door he turned and faced her, kissing her cheek. It was over before she knew it. That spot on her face burned for an hour, afterwards.
pb: ‘Scott asked me to the school dance. Like I would say no! And that’s not all. He kissed me for the first time! I’ll tell Annie about the dance, but that’s it. She would say it wasn’t a real kiss. Sometimes I think he’s too good to be true. Like the way he wanted to be sure it was ok with Mom. I really like him.’
They walked into the gym and Kara looked around. The DJ was still setting up. The dance was put on by the sophomore class to raise prom money. Kara saw Annie standing with Neil and waved. A few guys in the bleachers called out to Scott, and they went over to say ‘hi’, or so Kara thought. He sat down with them and she did the same. She did her best to sound interested in football plays. That only worked for so long…she told Scott she’d ‘be right back’. On the way to the restroom she thought about what to do next. She looked in the mirror and adjusted her ponytail. Annie followed her in.
“So what’s it like to be here with Scott Davis?” She asked, sounding envious.
Kara couldn’t hold back a tear, and quickly wiped it away. “I’m having a terrible time. All he wants to do is ‘talk football’ with the team!”
“So what? That’s what guys do.”
