Authors: Karina Gioertz
Without engaging with them anymore, I put down my mug, picked up my bag and walked towards the front door.
Gabe started to follow me. “Wait, where are you going?”
“You really aren't going to tell us?” Noah called while still standing in the kitchen.
I ignored them completely. Instead I reached for my car keys that were hanging on the key hooks by the door and grabbed ahold of the door knob. Then I turned back one last time and smiled.
“Bye, Boys. And remember-don't wait up.” Immediately after, I marched right out, leaving them all behind to wonder and contemplate just who my mysterious date could possibly be.
Seconds later, Jason tossed the spatula he had been holding this whole time onto the counter, before scurrying off into the living room. “Shit.” He muttered, while frantically pulling together papers and files that had been spread across the coffee table and shoving them into a messenger bag. Noah and Gabe followed him.
Noah was shaking his head sympathetically.
“I know. I can't believe she won't tell us. He must be ugly or nerdy...or married...or really old.”
Jason stopped what he was doing for a moment to look up at him. Exasperated he said, “No, not that. She's my ride!” Moments later he was running out the door after me.
Car Pooling
“Thank you
for waiting for me,” Jason said gratefully as we were driving to work.
Without taking my eyes off the road I replied, “I can't believe you thought I would leave without you. Are you sure your car will be done today?”
“It better be. I know it's an old car, but at this point they could have built me a new one and been done by now!...So, about this date...”
I had turned my head to look at him for just the slightest second while he had been talking about his car, but the moment he mentioned that dreaded D-word again, my head shot right back in alignment with the road.
We sat there in silence as he waited for me as I mulled it over, battled it out within me, lost and finally spilled the beans.
“Ok, if I tell you, you have to promise to keep it a secret! Gabe and Noah cannot find out!” My pitch may have been a tad high towards the end, and I was quite certain that my eyes had done the big bug eye thing they did whenever I became even the slightest bit anxious or agitated. However, if I looked like a mad woman, Jason gave no indication of it.
“Ok.”
“Say it!” I had blown it, the crazy was out at full blast.
“I promise I will keep it a secret. What is the big deal?” Jason had clearly begun to be amused by me.
I took a deep breath and then let it back out loudly.
“It's not so much a date...Tara is making me go to speed dating with her.”
“Oh.” He was careful not to make any eye contact.
“What?”
“I didn't say anything.” Jason innocently threw his hands up at me, as though he had no idea what I was talking about. This only fueled my paranoia.
“But I know you're thinking it!”
As our conversation had progressed I had spent less and less time looking at the road, until in the end, my eyes had become solely fixated on one thing. Jason. While I had been completely unaware of this, Jason suddenly realized it when he noticed he could reach out and shake hands with the pedestrians beside us. Seemed I had veered a little off course and had wound up on the side walk. Thankfully, I had also slowed down to about seven miles an hour, so no harm had been done. I waved apologetically at the power walkers we had nearly side-swiped and made my way back to the main road. After that, I was no longer concerned with getting distracted as I was certain I was too mortified to ever make eye contact with Jason again.
He on the other hand, had now taken up staring at me. Not that I could blame him, who wouldn’t be hard-pressed to take their eyes off of a maniac who was driving the car and essentially had everyone’s life in their hands. As I felt his eyes burning into the side of my face, I tried hard to maintain my focus on the road ahead.
“You have no idea what I'm thinking,” Jason said flatly.
“Oh please, you are thinking that it’s totally pathetic! Well, I will have you know that a lot of professional and successful people go to these things! It's not easy to meet someone you know? You don't know! When have you ever had a hard time getting a date?!” I was quickly returning to my previous state of embarrassed exasperation.
Jason grinned.
“Actually I was thinking about going too.”
I hadn’t seen that one coming.
“What?”
He finally broke the stare he had had locked on me for nearly five minutes now and settled back into his seat. But attempting to relax in a car that had nearly been the death trap he couldn’t escape, was easier said than done. Still he continued shifting around while welcoming the return of conversation.
“Yeah, I think it would be fun. I've been wanting to check one of those events out.”
“Why?” I asked suspiciously.
“For all the reasons you just said,” he said as casually as he could, but he couldn’t hide the smirk that crept up around the corners of his mouth, as he spoke. Finally, I understood.
“You are such a liar. You just want to go because Tara is going.”
He laughed and shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe.”
I shook my head at him and made little effort to hide my disgust.
“Fine you can come, but you know the Tara thing - it's never going to happen.”
“Why do you say that? You don't know.” Jason had an air of confidence about him that was enviable, and therefore annoying.
“Of course, I know. She told me.”
“She actually used those words, it's never going to happen?” He was back to staring at me.
I dared to take my eyes off the road for a mere second, only to look him in the eyes as I said, “Yes, those exact words.” As usual he took the rejection in stride.
“
Hm, she just hasn't given me a fair chance. She'll come around.” He settled back into his seat and looked out the window.
“Whatever you say.”
Moments later, we were pulling into the parking lot of West More High. The school busses were lined up out front dropping off students and the senior parking lot to the left was overflowing with teenagers and beat up old cars. I carefully maneuvered my way past the oncoming flow of pedestrians and found a spot all the way in the back with the other teachers’ vehicles. Jason and I got out at the same time and started our long walk back to the main building. We had a few minutes before the start of class and I was hoping to make it to my classroom before it filled to the rim with students. The closer we got, the more I realized the chances of that happening were slim to none.
Lunch With A Side Of Tara
By the
time lunch break came around, I finally had a few quiet moments to myself. I pulled out a half-eaten bag of Doritos I had left in my bag from the day before and began to munch on them. Two seconds later, I had become thirsty and found myself digging around my bag again desperately searching for an old soda or bottle of water. I found neither, but as luck would have it, I had visited my cousin and her kids a few months back and one lonesome juice box had survived our outing at the park. Gratefully, I unwrapped the straw and stabbed it into the pouch before taking a nice, long sip. Since I was avoiding the cafeteria at all cost and had forgotten to pack a proper lunch, this was going to have to do. Resigned to this knowledge, I proceeded to pull out a blank sheet of paper from the top drawer of my desk. I chose a purple pen I usually reserve for smiley faces and notes of encouragements while grading papers, and began by writing today’s date in the top left hand corner. Before I could write any more, there was a knock on my door and Tara entered. She remained in the doorway as if she hadn’t decided yet whether she was coming or going.
“You busy?”
I looked down at my nearly blank piece of paper and quickly shoved it under a pile of essays.
“Not really, just grading some papers. What's up?”
Finally Tara came all the way in and made her way over to one of the student’s desks. For a moment she contemplated whether to sit or stand, before opting for a relaxed lean. Tara was stunning to look at. Her long, wavy hair which hung effortlessly against the silhouette of her long lean body, was a natural shade of chocolate brown with a shine that I hadn’t been able to achieve even after spending more than I care to admit on salon brand hair products. Add to that, her flawless skin and dainty features and it was enough to send a girl like me into a self-esteem downward spiral. If she hadn’t been so loveable, I would have hated her, but as it was, Tara had become my closest girlfriend since I had started teaching. She gave me a probing glare.
“Just wanted to make sure you weren't going to chicken out on me tonight.”
I set my pen down on my desk and stretched out in my chair.
“Nope, I will be there.” I hesitated for a moment and then decided it was better to get it over with fast rather than save it for later. “Oh, I
kinda told Jason he could come.”
I
nstantly she shot straight up and marched up to me, stopping only when her thighs hit the edge of my desk.
“Lucky, you are not supposed to bring a date to these things!” Her face became twisted with aggravation and I wondered how often her class had the privilege of seeing this particular expression on her. More importantly, I wondered if they had as hard a time as I did trying to keep a straight face, while she was so clearly annoyed with my inappropriate actions.
“Trust me, it's not a date.” I tried to ease her mind for a minute, but then I realized it would just be too damn easy to make her scowl again. So I added, “Not mine anyway.”
Now she was leaning forward, both hands placed somewhat aggressively on my desk to give her more of a dramatic stance, all the while keeping her from falling face first into my nearly empty juice box. A juice box I was now wishing I had hidden as I could only imagine what Tara would have to say about that next, if she discovered it and became aware of the fact that I was having a lunch that wasn’t even fit for a college student. Thankfully, her glare was in a deadlock on my eyes, so there was no chance she’d notice.
“What does that mean?” she demanded.
“Oh, come on,” I grinned. I knew how much Jason got under her skin and I was starting to wonder just why that was.
Finally, she let go of the desk and turned away. Suddenly maintaining eye contact had seemed less appealing to her.
“What is wrong with him? I've told him I'm not interested, why can't he just drop it?”
After determining that Tara had become completely distracted and it was now safe to proceed with my lunch, I reached back into my Dorito bag and shoved several chips into my mouth before answering.
“Um, because he's a guy and from what I've seen, most guys like a challenge. Just go out with him once, he'll probably lose interest in you after that.”
She turned back around to face me.
“Thanks a lot.”
I leaned forward in my seat.
“You know what I mean. Why are you so against going out with him anyway? Are you just not attracted to him? Is that it?”
“God, no! He's hot!”
As if on cue, Jason showed up in my doorway looking at the both of us. Tara instantly turned seven shades of red and tried her best to feign interest for the art project hanging on the wall closest to her.
Jason was clearly amused by this.
“Who's hot? Should I be jealous?” He had already taken several steps into the class room when I scurried around my desk and pressed both hands against his chest in an effort to shove him back out of the room the way he had entered.
“No. What you should be is ashamed for eaves dropping and not knocking before you enter. God, man! Announce yourself!”
He was already half way out when he threw his hands up at me in his defense and said, “I wasn't eaves dropping! And the door was open!”
“Bye, Jason.”
Before he had another chance to say anything, I pushed the door shut and locked it. I looked over at Tara who still appeared to be mortified by the preceding thirty seconds.
“You were saying?”
She slowly turned around and said, “I was saying...I was saying that he is attractive and that is not the problem. The problem is that he is also cocky and charming and we work together and...”
“And?”
“And I would feel weird about how close he is to you.”
Suddenly it all made sense. I walked over to her and stood where she had to face me.
“Why? Tara we are just friends, we have always been just friends. I promise you there is nothing to feel weird about.”
Tara looked at me with healthy skepticism.
“Really? There's never been a night where maybe you guys had a little too much to drink and...you know.”
The thought alone made me shudder.
“There isn't enough alcohol in the world that would make us...you know.” If I had expected Tara to be relieved by this new found information, I would have been sorely disappointed. Instead things took a rather surprising turn.