Date Or No Date?
From Welcome to Keystone Novel 12: What’s Wrong With Me?: Chapter 4, Scene 4
A couple of hours later when the combined lunch and activity period for seventh graders finally arrived at Keystone Junior High School, Scott sat behind the drum set that had been set up at the foot of the risers in the chorus room banging out the last notes of George Benson’s “On Broadway”, which was one of the numbers that the school band would be performing along with the chorus during their shared spring concert. Kristyn looks so pretty up there, he thought as his eyes drifted up to the third riser where Kristyn Farseray and her twin sister, Kimberly, were standing and singing the lyrics of the musical piece along with the rest of the chorus. And I know that now is probably my only chance to ask her out since we don’t have any classes together besides combined band and chorus rehearsals twice a week. But how do I do that when there are probably about a hundred other people in this room with us?
As Scott sat deliberating over what part of the class period would be the best time to finally walk up to Kristyn and pop the question, Mr. McCarlton, the band director, brought his hands up into the position that signaled that the song was now at a close. “All right, everyone!” he called out as both the band and chorus abruptly stopped playing and singing. “That’s it for rehearsal today.”
“Yes, good job, everyone,” said Mrs. O’Donnell, the chorus director, who was standing off to the side of the risers with her hands clasped behind her back. “Now remember that we’re rehearsing separately tomorrow and Monday, so band students will report to the band room instead. But on Tuesday, we’ll all be back in here together again.”
“That’s right,” said Mr. McCarlton, nodding in agreement with Mrs. O’Donnell’s directions. “Now go enjoy lunch, everybody.”
As the rest of the students in the room immediately began to talk and gather their books and other belongings together, Scott, who had turned his attention to the teachers when they had started speaking, once again turned his eyes back to Kristyn and sighed. Tuesday, he thought as he watched her start to descend the risers along with Kimberly and some of their friends. I might not see her again until Tuesday. And by then, it will be way too late to ask her out to the musical talent contest. So it looks like it’s now or never.
Turning slightly on his stool, Scott bent down and began to quickly gather the textbooks and notebooks that were scattered at his feet together. But just as he was pulling them into his lap and trying to straighten them as best he could, a shadow suddenly fell over him.
“Hey, man,” said a familiar voice. “Did you do it yet?”
Abruptly looking up, Scott found himself staring at Neil who was now standing directly in front of him dressed in brick red jeans, black boots, and a black V-neck T-shirt that had the words “South Side” printed on it in silver letters. “Neil,” he said in surprise. “What are you doing here? This isn’t your class.”
Neil nodded. “I know,” he said as he adjusted the pile of textbooks and tattered notebooks that he was holding tucked against his side. “But I’m here because I know that this is pretty much your one and only chance to ask Kristyn out for tomorrow night, and I want to make sure that you don’t chicken out and miss it. Because if you do, you’re going to end up being the only guy in the seventh grade who hasn’t asked someone out yet.”
“I will?” asked Scott, his eyebrows rising in a mixture of surprise and panic.
Neil seriously nodded. “Yup,” he confirmed as he reached up and ran a hand over his slicked-back blond hair. “So come on. Let’s go.”
As Neil took him by the arm and pulled him to his feet, Scott groaned. “How do you know I haven’t already done it?” he asked as Neil began to drag him toward one of the classroom doors.
“Because you’re sweating like a pig,” replied Neil as they reached the doorway. “Now come on. Go do it.”
And before Scott had a chance to protest or figure out what was happening, Neil shoved him out into the hallway where a large group of band and chorus members were now migrating toward the cafeteria.
“What the…” Scott began to demand as he struggled to keep from tripping over his feet.
But then Scott saw her. Walking down the hall with her long wavy strawberry-blond hair loosely swishing behind her was Kristyn who had exited the classroom through the other door sometime during the time when he had been talking to Neil. And she and Kimberly were now fast approaching the corner where they would turn and disappear into the sea of students who were surging into and out of the cafeteria.
Realizing that he was about to completely lose his chance, Scott took a deep breath and called out, “Hey, Kristyn! Hold on a second!”
Abruptly stopping in the middle of the hallway, Kristyn slowly turned around to face Scott. “Yeah?” she asked as she took the cherry lollipop that she was sucking on from her mouth.
Swallowing hard as Kristyn fixed her bright green eyes on him, Scott asked, “Um, can you come over here? I want to ask you something.”
Kristyn just shrugged. “Sure,” she said as she turned and shoved her books into Kimberly’s arms. “I guess.”
As Kristyn stuck her lollipop back in her mouth and began to saunter toward him with Kimberly, who was now struggling to hug both her own books and Kristyn’s against the front of the cerulean-blue deep V-neck short-sleeve top that she was wearing pulled over jeans and a white camisole top that were accessorized with white sneakers and a white scrunchie that held her hair in a high ponytail, uncertainly following behind, Scott felt his heartbeat immediately go into double time. God, he thought as he admired the way that Kristyn’s light pink scoopneck tank top, form-fitting jeans, and tan flats complimented her slim figure. I thought she was pretty when she was up in the risers, but seeing her up close…
“So,” said Kristyn, abruptly knocking Scott out of his reverie as she stopped in front of him and pulled her lollipop from her mouth again. “What’s up?”
“Um…” Scott stammered as the girl of his dreams stood staring at him with an expectant expression on her face. “Um, are you doing anything tomorrow night?”
A small knowing smirk crossing her face as she quickly discerned what nervous and bumbling Scott was about to ask her, Kristyn shook her head. “Not yet,” she replied.
Scott grinned. “Great,” he said, happily nodding as he tightly hugged his books against his chest. “Because since you’re not…well…do you want to go to that musical talent contest that’s being held at the Keystone Entertainment Center? You know, with me?”
As Scott’s question hung in the air for what felt like an entire agonizing minute to him, Kristyn just shrugged. “Okay,” she said.
“Really?” asked Scott, his eyes widening in a mixture of surprise and excitement.
Kristyn nodded. “Yes,” she replied. “You can come to my house and pick me up at six. I live at 58 Tiger Lily Drive.”
Scott grinned again. “Okay, great,” he said. “I’ll see you then.”
Smiling, Kristyn turned to start heading back down the hall along with Kimberly. “Bye,” she said, waving at Scott over her shoulder as she went.
Happily smiling, Scott raised his own hand into the air and waved back. “Bye bye,” he said.
As the Farseray twins disappeared around the corner, Neil, who had been standing in the doorway of the chorus classroom watching the entire exchange, shook his head and stepped out into the hallway. “Real smooth, man,” he said. “You sounded just like a girl who’s trying to ask her crush out.” Shaking his head in disappointment again, he asked, “Seriously, what happened to all the rehearsing we did last night?”
Shrugging, Scott turned to face his best friend. “It all went out the window the minute it was time to actually ask her out,” he admitted. Shaking his head as an ecstatic smile spread across his face, he added, “But it doesn’t even matter because, even though I probably sounded like an idiot, I still scored. Because she said yes!”
As Scott happily pumped his fist in the air, Neil reluctantly nodded in agreement. “Yeah,” he said. “I guess that’s true. So now that that’s out of the way, it’s time for step two.”
“Step two?” Scott repeated in confusion as he slowly lowered his fist to his side. “What’s that?”
“Figuring out all the plans for tomorrow night,” replied Neil as he and Scott turned and finally started heading down the hall to the cafeteria. “So come on. Let’s go make them.”
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