by Linda Nelson
“Oh right, do you think Karla will go for this?”
“I already asked her, and she said yes.”
“Really?” Logan sounded surprised. “I didn’t think… never mind. What time you want me to come over? Do I need to pick Karla up, or is she coming over on her own?”
Neil remembered Karla had some sort of situation with her dad and guys. “I need to call over there, and I’ll take care of her getting here. Say – how about after dinner – like 7 o’clock.”
“All right I’ll be there.”
Next Neil gave Karla’s number a call, and her dad answered the phone.
“Hi, my name is Neil; I was the one who helped Karla with her math a few weeks ago.”
“Oh right, I remember you. By the way, thanks for doing that.”
“Not a problem. I was calling to see if she could come over to my house tonight. I am having a couple of friends over, and my parents are going to be here all night.” Neil had already planned to have to prove this fact to her dad. “If you need to verify this my folks said they would be willing to talk to you about it.”
“Neil, you honestly seem to be a decent kid. You know what? I think I’m going to trust your word. I don’t know why but I’m going to. Does Karla know about your invitation? Kind of – I told her I would call and let her know what time – about 7.”
Mr. Centon cupped his hand over the mouth of the receiver and called Karla. “Karla you have a phone call – pick it up.”
A click sounded on the line. “Hello?”
“Karla, I said I would call and let you know what time to come over – 7ish.”
“But I didn’t…”
“Karla it is all right, you can go.” Her dad had remained on the other end of the line. “I’ll bring her over; I think I remember the way.”
“Dad, I hate it when you do that.”
“Do what Karla?”
“Get on the phone line with me when it’s my call.”
“I answered it first, and then he asked me if it was okay for you to go over to his house.”
Karla clenched her teeth and said no more. Why should she complain anyway? She was going over to Neil’s to play pool on a Friday night. What more could she ask for? And to top it off, her dad had approved on the first request. Surprise – surprise…
Karla and Logan arrived at about the same time. Neil was waiting for them both. The last one to arrive was Ashley. She had been busy fuming about the fact that Neil never bothered to offer to pick her up. Yet in a way she was surprised he had invited her. This was their first official date.
Ashley giggled happily when Neil opened the door to let her in, waving goodbye to her mom as she drove away.
Neil actually took her by the hand and led her into his home. She was still all smiles when Logan came around the corner. Ashley had expected to see him there since Neil told her that he was had invited a couple of friends over. But her happy giddiness came to a screeching halt when Karla entered the room, standing next to Logan.
“What’s she doing here?”
“She’s my date,” Logan informed her.
“Oh,” Ashley mouthed silently. Disappointment, dissatisfaction, and resentment showed all at once on her face.
Neil still held onto Ashley’s hand and pulled her behind him into the living room. He was a little nervous, but he knew he had to announce his girlfriend to his parents. It was the right thing to do.
After he introduced her to his folks, they were quiet, but all smiles. Before they could overwhelm him with questions he called over his shoulder as he led Ashley from the room, “We’re going to play pool.” Neil did not wait for his parents to respond. He knew that they wouldn’t object.
Logan was the first one to notice the pool table. “Cool – man I’ve always wanted one of these, but we don’t have enough room in our house. Dad has his workshop in our basement. He makes and sells furniture like coffee tables and dressers and such. He wants me to learn how to make them, but I keep telling him it is not my cup of tea. Give me a computer to rebuild any day.”
“We don’t have room for one either. I live in an apartment on the third floor. The same one as Darcy,” Karla said to Logan. She wasn’t surprised to learn that he liked computers she always thought him to be kind of geeky. There wasn’t anything wrong with that though, in a way she too was kind of geeky.
Ashley rolled her eyes at both of them. “We would have plenty of room at our house for one of these if only my stupid Aunt didn’t stay with us. I don’t know why she can’t find her own place.”
Neil asked, “So does everyone know how to play except for Karla?”
“What is that supposed to mean?” Ashley put her hands on her hips and looked accusingly at Neil.
Karla took a step back putting Logan between her, Neil and Ashley.
Neil came up with a quick recovery, “Because Karla told me so.”
“Oh…” Ashley looked skeptical but seemed to buy his answer.
“You might want to go over the rules. The last time I played was a few years ago.”
Ashley said, “I know how to play.”
Logan grinned. He saw an opportunity, and he took it. “How about you girls against us guys?”
That was to be a no go. If Ashley’s lip grew any longer, she would have tripped on it. “I thought this was to be couples against couples.”
Karla didn’t want to be paired up with Ashley any more than she wanted it. She just knew how not to make it so obvious to everyone.
“Then it won’t be fair. Karla doesn’t know how to play.” Logan defended.
“So teach me then.” Karla said to Logan. She had never actually noticed Logan before this night. He wasn’t that bad looking. The more a girl saw him – he seemed to grow on you. So what if he was kind of tall and lanky, with dark curly hair that wanted to go every which way. It kind of made him attractive after all.
“Teach you… I’m not sure if I can.”
“Why not?” Karla crossed her arms below her breasts demanding an answer that didn’t come. “Oh, you think I can’t learn because I’m blonde?”
“No…” Logan looked perplexed. “It’s just that…”
“What’s so hard about showing her how by doing this,” Neil picked up the pool stick and considered demonstrating with Karla and decided that wouldn’t be such a brilliant idea. He quickly recovered himself by slipping in behind Ashley and putting the stick in her hands while wrapping his arms about her waist. This put an enormous wide grin on Ashley’s face.
Karla felt a little tug at her heart strings. She remembered how that felt the night he had tutored her. How close they had come to a kiss.
“Well, I guess I could do that.”
“Tell you what; the first game will be a practice game.”
“A practice game – why a practice game – what’s the difference,” Karla asked.
“Well before you got here, Logan and I decided we were going to do a little bit of betting between the two of us.”
“For how much money?” Ashley was ready to up the bet since she was going against Karla.
Logan smirked. “Not money. We both deal in Baseball cards. It will be rookie card against rookie card.”
“Oh my God, how stupid, you’re supposed to play for money.” The two boys smiled at Ashley. Her protest didn’t bother them one bit.
“So the first game will be for points only. Just so you girls can get the hang of it. Then we will play for the cards.” Neil said while he racked up the balls and centered them on the table.
“You can’t play a pool game for baseball cards.” Ashley protested. “That’s not the way you do it.”
Neil looked Ashley in the eye. “Well for starters, I don’t think anyone here really has any money to bet and second this is my house and my pool table, and we will play this the way I want.”
No one ever talked to Ashley that way, even Karla could tell by the looks of her.
The lower lip began to drop down in a pout and q
uiver while she fought the tears back.
“Oh come here.” Neil wrapped his arms around Ashley and hugged her. “It’s just a game. I don’t know why you need to make such a big deal about it. We are just all here to have fun.”
They played a quick game with Logan shyly trying to show Karla how to hold the pool stick. He seemed reluctant to put himself up against her body. It could have been because he was a geek or the fact that he had never actually had a girlfriend or been on a date before.
Everyone could tell too, especially Karla. But on the next shot she decided to lean into him pressing her torso against him making him have trouble focusing on the pool stick.
Karla twirled around to face him without warning. “You know, I don’t bite. It is all right to touch me. I mean you are my date aren’t you?”
Logan’s face turned red.
“Oh my God, you’re blushing.” Ashley squealed with delight.
It wasn’t every day a girl could see a guy blush.
“I know it’s just…” Logan started to say, he then turned toward Ashley. “No, I’m not blushing. It is warm in here. That’s all.”
Neil smiled and held his tongue. He could see his friend was embarrassed.
“Well if you’re hot take off your sweater then.” Ashley continued to tease him.
Logan obliged. He had to, so to avoid more embarrassment from Ashley’s comments.
“So are you going to help me with this shot or what?” Karla said to get Logan’s attention. “We only have two balls left.”
Logan once again placed himself near Karla and delicately placed his body against hers. She felt something long and hard press against her leg and imagined what it possible could have been. Just the thought of it produced a wide grin on her face.
With his help, she had sunk the last two balls, but in the wrong order, sinking the cue ball right behind the black ball.
Ashley and Neil were named the victors of the practice game while Neil’s dad called down to him and told Neil they were doing a soda run and would be back in a few minutes.
As soon as the front door was shut Ashley asked Neil, “What do you have for snacks?”
“Hmm… how about popcorn?”
“Buttered?” Ashley asked with a smile.
“Sure why not.” Neil then turned to Logan who was now sitting on the couch with Karla beside him. He could not help but notice the action taking place between them. “Hey, guys, I’ll be right back. I’m going to make some popcorn. You can put the radio or TV on if you want.”
Neil made his way toward the stairs and looked back when he got no response from Logan. He was surprised to see the two engaged in a kiss.
Ashley was right behind him on the stairs. “I’m coming with you.”
Neil quickly grabbed a pot from underneath the cabinets and slapped it on the stove and went about fill it.
“That’s too much popcorn.” Ashley informed him after he dumped the corn into the pot.
“So I won’t pop it all.”
“I don’t think it works that way.”
“I’ve done this before. I know what I’m doing.”
Ashley looked skeptical. “Okay if you say so, but I’m pretty sure you have too much in the pot.”
Neil cranked the stove knob on high and left the pot sitting idle without the lid.
“Aren’t you going to put the lid on it?” Ashley asked.
“Yeah, I will just give me a sec.” He replied while he went about finding a couple of bowls to fill.
The popcorn began popping out of the pot.
“Shit.” Neil exclaimed after setting the bowl on the counter. It had taken him longer than he had expected to find the bowls he had been looking for.
He went to grab the lid to the pot, and the oil and butter began to spatter out of the pot with the corn kernels, some of which landed on the hot electric cooking element. It began to smoke, and it burst into flames.
“Oh my God, my mom is going to kill me. Help me put the fire out.” Neil began to panic. He threw the lid of the pot on top of the pot despite the corn flying from the pot and flames growing around it.
Ashley grabbed a dish towel and wet it ready to throw it on top of the burner.
Karla and Logan appeared after hearing all the commotion.
“What the hell are you guys doing?” Karla asked. She saw the flames and immediately knew what to do. Her mom in the past had caught the stove on fire while she had been cooking in a drunken state. “First get the thing off the burner and shut the burner off if you can. Now get a box of baking soda, fast.
Karla gingerly reached around the fire after pulling the pot off the burner.
Neil produced a box of baking soda and handed it over allowing Karla to douse the burner safely putting out the fire, just as Neil’s parents came walking in the door with their arms laden with bags of groceries.
“Neil, what have you done?” His mom scolded.
The air in the kitchen was smoky from the oil and butter burning off the element. The stove top around the burner was no longer white. It was blackened from the fire.
“I was trying to make popcorn.” Neil replied.
His dad spoke up after seeing the mess. “Looks like you were trying to start a bonfire.” He turned to his wife while picking up the empty box of baking soda. “I think you need to add this to your shopping list. I’m glad Neil had enough sense to extinguish it with the soda.”
Ashley still held the wet dish rag in her hand.
“Did you burn yourself dear?” Neil’s mom asked.
“No, I’m all right.” Her cheeks turned a bright red when she realized that she had been about to throw the dish towel on the fire if Karla hadn’t come up stairs and told them how to put the fire out. She hoped that Karla wouldn’t tell anyone at school that she didn’t know how to put out a cooking fire.
Karla had separated herself from Neil and Ashley and stood beside Logan as onlookers to the ordeal. If she had caught the kitchen on fire, her parents would have been rip shit. But Neil’s parents were being different.
His parents dismissed them and relieved Neil of his kitchen duties for the rest of the night after he promised to clean the mess up in the morning. Karla knew that it would require lots of scouring and scrubbing to get the soot off the stove top. She had a trick or two for him she planned to share with him before she left at the end of the night. It was obvious to her that this was his first cooking fire, and she had lots of experience in this area thanks to her mom’s cooking.
The rest of the night was uneventful. Ashley began to be nice to Karla. And for the first time Neil could look at Karla and not get kicked in the shin for it. It may have had something to do with the fact that Karla was paying Logan a little bit more attention. They sitting closer together and Logan lost his fear of teaching Karla how to play pool.
They still lost the game to Neil and Ashley, but Karla and Logan had had fun none the less. By the end of the night, the two of them were exchanging phone numbers along with kisses.
When it was time for the girls to go home the guys followed them up stairs to see them off. Logan promised to call Karla the next day when her dad came to pick her up. He saw her to the car so he could meet her dad briefly. It was a smart play on his side and had been suggested by Neil and Neil’s dad, who had remained up and about after Neil’s mom had gone off to bed.
Ashley left after Karla. She didn’t wait for Neil to follow her outside. She was still embarrassed by the cooking fire and was afraid he might bring it up when they got to the car if her mother asked how their night went.
Logan remained behind for a sleep over, and the two boys camped out in the game room where they ate the remaining burnt popcorn and laughed about the night. Other than the kitchen fire the night had gone well, better than either boy had expected.
“Thanks for setting me up with Karla.” Logan said just before falling asleep.
“Not a problem. I’m glad it worked out.” Neil lay in his sleeping bag on the floor
beside Logan with his arms crossed under his head. “Are you going to ask her out?”
“I think so. I have a feeling she might say yes.”
“You should ask her to the dance too.”
“I don’t dance.”
“I don’t think she would care.”
“I’ll think about it.”
Chapter 20
For the first time in months, Karla couldn’t wait for Monday morning to come. She carefully picked out her outfit for the day, making sure she stayed within her dad’s and school’s dress code.
After Friday night it never once bothered her that her dad’s girlfriend spent the entire weekend with them. She actually had a fantastic time with them. Karla was getting along with Carrie better than she had ever gotten along with her mom. She even had taken Karla shopping Saturday afternoon and helped her pick out outfits that were refined and looked terrific on her. This was something that her mom had never done. They used to argue over what Karla was going to wear, her mom usually would pick out drab or ugly outfits that no one would be caught wearing. That was why Karla would stick with T-shirts and jeans when her mom went with her. There was less fighting that way.
The outfit she chose to wear today was a favorite of Carrie’s. Even her dad liked it. She was sure Logan would like it too. Before heading off to school, she admired it in the mirror one more time. Her former boyfriend was now long forgotten. All she could think about was Logan.
He was tall, thin and extremely smart. Everything she had ever wanted in a guy. How had she overlooked him all these months, was beyond her. Maybe it was because he wasn’t the most popular guy in school but in the end that never quite mattered to Karla anymore. Popularity seemed to come with some sort of price at this school. These kids seemed to have it all, but it came with backstabbing, gossip, and a lot of competition socially. To dramatic for Karla, she missed her simple life she had while she attended Medham High. But she was beginning to like Brantwood High.
Maybe it had something to do with the counseling she was getting thanks to Carrie. She was doing much better, and she was sure she’d only need to see the counselor a couple more times. It was neat to have someone to talk about the rape incident to. A giant weight was lifted off her shoulders along with the guilt and feeling sorry for herself. She was moving forward.
