Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Part 8

I showed up at the fairgrounds with my camp buddies Twilight, Waffles, and Potato. We all rode together smashed into Twilight’s car blasting music and giggling in excitement about the night ahead. It had been a dry summer day, the only moisture coming from sticky skin and condensation on soda cans. Summer nights in Yakima were magical, they held the potential for anything to happen and I could feel the electric buzz in the air. My life was about to change and I kinda had a feeling it would happen.

The fairgrounds sparkled with lights. The smell of funnel cakes and corn dogs permeated the air. We wandered around and finally bumped into Mongoose, Tejas, and Carissa. Mongoose and I jokingly exchanged banter,
“Fancy seeing you here,”
“Long time, no see,”
“What a surprise!”

I was so excited to see him and my heart rhythm changed every time he looked my way. But she was still there and it was like nothing had changed. I wanted so badly for things to change, for me to be the one holding his hand. I wanted another kiss.
I was started to hate wanting him.

We all wandered around together and fortunately I had friends to distract me from the fact that I wasn’t getting all the attention I wanted. The fireworks show was starting soon and we wanted to find a spot where we could all sit together. We ventured over to a grassy area and all sat down. Mongoose sat down next to me and we chatted for a minute when Carissa and Potato got up, deciding to get some lemonade. I was excited for a moment with Mongoose without her near.

As soon as Carissa and Potato were out of sight I felt his hand on top of mine. He wasn’t holding my hand just covering it with his own. My heart fluttered with a mix of emotions. On one hand I was so excited and my hormones were shooting through the roof. On the other hand….WHO WAS THIS GUY?

I mean did he think he could play me this much? His girlfriend wasn’t far away and he was trying to hold my hand. I was crushing and I was mad. I liked him and I hated him.

I decided to just ignore it and pretend like everything was normal and pretty soon Carissa and Potato were back. His hand quickly slipped away. I looked at Potato and she gave me this look that said, “She knows.”

The guilt was overwhelming. I didn’t want to be that girl. I didn’t want to be part of a cheating scandal. It made me sick to my stomach and I decided to just forget all about him. Forget about the chemistry, the kiss, the heart flutters. The fireworks ended and I felt like all the magic and hope was gone. We all parted ways and headed back to Twilight’s car.

We decided being young that our night was not over. We were starved and headed to Shari’s, a diner, to discuss our lives over milkshakes, waffles, and eggs.
The girls wanted the scoop. They wanted to know how I felt about everything and what all had happened. I spilled my heart out in frustration. Potato told me that Carissa had suspected something was up but wasn’t incredibly hurt about it. She explained that their relationship was definitely more of a summer fling and that she hadn’t expected much from it, especially since he was going to be at camp all summer. I felt a little relieved but not much. Then Potato tried to convince me that Mongoose wasn’t as bad as I imagine him being.

“He’s a really good guy, I promise.”

“I don’t know, I mean I really like him but I don’t know if I can trust him…” I replied.

“You know he’s Mormon right?”

All of a sudden my whole world changed. Thoughts flooded my mind as I analyzed what him being Mormon could possibly mean.

“HE’S WHAT?!??!!” I shouted.
Just like in the movies the entire restaurant turned their heads looking my way. My cheeks grew red in embarrassment over my exclamation.

“He’s Mormon.” She confirmed.

Everything I knew about Mormons raced to my mind. Although he was playing me like a fool, I couldn’t really blame that on him being Mormon. It was more a boy thing and besides every time I was around him, he was so kind to me. He looked at me. I felt like I was worth something when I was around him. Now I didn’t need a boy to tell me I was special because I was a pretty confident young girl, but I struggled like any teenager.

Although what I had heard about Mormon’s wasn’t much, there was still a stigma attached to the name. However, I decided that in the end it really didn’t mean all that much, him being Mormon.

The rest of the conversation turned into what should be done about my relationship with him. The girls convinced me that I really needed to take charge and just confront him about everything. If he really wanted to be with me the two-timing had to stop. I agreed with all of this and realized my folly in letting it go on for so long without saying anything to him.

So in a parking lot smashed in with the girls I called Mongoose. It was around midnight and I was more nervous than I had ever been. I didn’t know what to say.

“Uh…Hi Mongoose?”

“Hey Gidget. What’s up? It’s kinda late…”

“Yeah…uhhh…I’m sorry about that but I….uh….I am with Potato and Twilight and Waffles….and I uhhh….they told me I should call you to talk….about….you know…everything.”

Potato, Twilight, and Waffles all moaned and shushed me, whispering how I should not be mentioning they were with me.

“Uh…ok,” He responded, “Let’s talk. What’s on your mind?”

I was bad on the phone. I always have been. Plus, I felt doubly awkward and didn’t know how to handle trying to convince a boy to choose you over his summer fling.

“Well….so I don’t really like how things are going…I kinda feel like I am being played… and I just…I just want you to decide.”

“Yeah…It hasn’t really been normal, has it? To tell you the truth I was expecting this conversation,” I could hear in his voice a sense of guilt, “I am really sorry about how things have been…I have been kinda stupid about the whole thing…Um…I am going to make a call and then can I call you back?”

“Uh…” I looked to the girls for support; they nodded in approval, “Sure. Call me back.”

I hung up the phone and the girls all exploded in laughter. They thought that I was incredibly socially awkward on the phone and it delighted them. We all thought it best to just go home for the night and that way when he called back I would be alone.
I sat in my room waiting for him to call back. It wasn’t long before my phone rang and I answered immediately.

“Well, it’s all done.”

“What do you mean?” I responded.

“Well after talking to you earlier I realized I needed to make a choice. That it wasn’t fair to keep stringing both of you along and trying to play it cool. I realized that if I had to make a choice, I choose you. So I called Carissa and explained that it wasn’t going to work out between us. So…”

“So…does this mean…”

“You're my girlfriend."

I smiled. This night turned out better than I thought it was going to.

Click here for Part 9

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