by Bruce Ingram
And I told all that to Luke, and he got this embarrassed look on his face, and he said what I had said meant a whole lot to him, and he thanked me over and over. Then I said that I had to ask, how on earth does he have a B average in English when he can write like that. And Luke replied that a Β was the highest he ever made in English, and the reason he didn't have an A (as Ms. Hawk had told him) was that he had not done a single grammar homework worksheet all year. I asked why not, and he said that he had to wash and vacuum cars every day after school, that even with Mia helping him, he still had to do math homework many nights that took forever, then there was history and science homework, and he didn't see any point on doing a grammar worksheet about commas that some poor fool had written and made all kinds of errors that he would never make in sentences. Why, he said, should he correct that fool's comma errors when he already knew how to use commas. It was sort of weird reasoning, but on the other hand it really wasn't. Besides at the end of a long day, Luke said all he wanted to do was read one of the books from his and Mia's book club for 15 minutes before he fell asleep.
Then I read Mia's paper and it was beautiful too. She wrote about helping her mom raise these beautiful flowers from seeds that her grandmother had brought from Mexico. That the garden was part of her heritage, and she and her mom were trying to honor that heritage but at the same time be good American citizens and learn new ways. Jayla's was next, and she wrote about the time her family traveled to South America and worked on helping poor rural families have better lives. I have to tell you I was embarrassed when my group members got to me and I had written about helping my dad a little in his tomato patch, but everybody said my paper was great. But I think they were just being polite.
You know that old saying about some people are like onions, that there are all kinds of layers to their personalities and who and what they are. I am starting to feel that way about Luke, that there is more to him than I ever realized.
Chapter Twenty-Seven: Marcus
Of course Camila said yes to me on Wednesday when I checked back in for our possible date on Friday night. I told her that Joshua and Jordan and us were going out to a really nice restaurant, and we would pick her up around 6:30. I asked Camila what her curfew was, and she said her parents said she had to be home by 10:00. I said my curfew was midnight but that Joshua and me could work with her early hours. I could tell she was impressed with what I call my 3 S's: smooth, sexy, and suave.
So we rolled up to her house at 6:30 sharp, and I know she had to be impressed with the wheels that were going to be her carriage for the evening. Her dad sort of had a constipated smile when he met me at the door, and I told him he had a really pretty daughter, which didn't seem to improve his disposition any. Man, when Camila came to the door, she looked freaking hot, but I know not to say something like that in front of her daddy. The inside of her house sure wasn't much to look at, but neither was the outside.
When we got to the restaurant, I ordered Surf and Turf for my entrée, and I asked her if I could order that for her. Most girls want a guy that takes charge of everything...I'm good at doing that. But Camila hesitated to say anything when I offered to order, then she finally said she didn't think she could eat that much and could she have just a little more time. Right about that time, I looked over at Joshua and Jordan and they were both staring at me and looking angry. Then Joshua gave a tight shake of his head like he was saying no and then like mouthed some words. I think what he mouthed was "grow up," which made me really mad. I know what I'm doing, and I don't need his help except to get me somewhere in his car. And that will change next year when I get my own car.
Camila finally said that she wanted flounder and a baked potato with her salad, and I said I could make that happen. After we finished the main course, Jordan asked Camila if she wanted to go to the restroom, so they took off. As soon as they left, Joshua lit into me, that I'm embarrassing him, and for me to "grow up." He's always saying that and I'm sick of it. I told him that I knew what I was doing and that I was good with the ladies. And he snapped right back and said was that why Kylee dumped me?
I told him that I dumped her, which wasn't true, but I'm sick and tired of his big brother routine and him telling me how to run my life. He said that Camila seemed like a really smart girl, that she could think for herself and didn't need my help with ordering anything, whether it was the entrée or dessert. Then he started harping on my attitude on the football team, and that he hoped to goodness that I wouldn't act like a jerk on the basketball team. That the guys had a chance to be pretty good this year, and that I should find my role and do whatever I could to make the team better, whether it was at the starting shooting guard spot or coming off the bench as the sixth or seventh man.
I told him that I would be starting as soon as I rounded into basketball shape and caught up with the other guys. And he interrupted me and said no, that I would be starting when I proved to Coach Henson that I was the best player for the spot. And that was not going to happen unless I started sharing the ball more and passing to the open shooter. I snapped right back and told him that I was the shooting guard and not the point guard, didn't he know that much and the difference between the two. He said you're a guard, stupid, shoot when you're open and pass when you're not or when someone else is open.
By now, we were really going at each other, and then all of a sudden he said shut-up, the girls were coming back, and he put on this fake smile when the girls got back, like everything was okay between us. When I get my car next year, there won't be any more double dating with you, big brother.
The waitress came back with the dessert list, and Joshua asked Jordan what she wanted for dessert, and she said key lime pie, and he said that sounded good and he would have some, too. I said the chocolate cake dish looked good to me, but Camila said to the waitress that all she wanted was a small dish of vanilla ice cream. That was good, I don't like fat chicks.
Then we drove around for a while, and Jacob drove over to Camila's house to drop her off, and I escorted her to the door and gave her a big kiss. I don't think she was expecting that; I think she was worried that her dad might have seen it. Camila has got all the makings of making a fine girlfriend.
Chapter Twenty-Eight: Mia
I was already in bed and almost asleep when the phone rang last Friday night, and I had to run to answer it before it woke up Mama and Poppa. It was Camila, and she wanted to talk about her date with Marcus, and I said I was exhausted and could we talk tomorrow morning. she asked if she could come over after breakfast and I said no, that Poppa had to work a half-day on saturday to get extra money, and saturday morning, Mama and I were going to mow the yard (she's going to do the front yard while I mow the back) to surprise him so he wouldn't have to do it himself when he was all tired from his job.
So Camila said how about her and Hannah coming over after lunch, and the three of us could go over the date with Marcus and analyze what happened. The tone in Camila's voice sort of hinted to me that it hadn't been the best date in the world, but what did she expect when she went out with Marcus...who is just so immature and at the same time so incredibly cocky and spoiled.
Mama and I really worked hard outside saturday morning while my sisters cleaned the kitchen and washed the clothes. I really admire Mama for how she likes to take some of the workload off Poppa—that's how a woman should treat a man...help him and be partners with him and discuss things and make decisions together. That's how I want my relationship with the guy I marry to be, just like Mama and Poppa and the way they work together. After Mama and I finished mowing, we clipped around the house and weeded the flower garden, and we were both smiling and nodding our heads at each other. Mama and I make a good team, too.
When Poppa came home at lunchtime, he was so surprised to see the yard looking so good and the same for all of the outside and he bragged on Mama and me and made us both feel so good. Then he bragged on the work that Isabella and Emma had done inside and they were just beaming, and then h
e gave us all a kiss and a hug. I love my poppa! He said he was going to take all his girls out for ice cream after supper tonight.
After lunch, Camila and Hannah came over and we went for our walk. The first thing I said was how did it go, and Camila said okay she guessed, that it was her first ever date, it was hard to know if a date was supposed to be fun or not, and right then and there, I knew the date hadn't gone so well. Then Hannah said what was the problem, and Camila replied, what were the problems, you mean. Then I knew there had been some serious issues.
Camila said that Marcus had been bossy when they were ordering their food and all he had wanted to do was talk about himself and his football and basketball skills. she said that she got the impression that Marcus' brother Joshua was perturbed with him, too, for the way he acted, because he kept giving off this aggravated body language-type movements.
The worst thing, continued Camila, was that when they got to her house, Marcus walked to her door and then gave her this big sloppy kiss that was too hard and wet and long. And she thought her dad had come to the window when the car drove up and that maybe he had seen the kiss and would be angry with her.
The main question that Hannah had for Camila was if she was going to go out for a second date, and Camila said she thought she had to. That she had to argue and plead with her parents to go out on a date this year anyway with any guy, not just Marcus, and by not going out again, she would be like saying that her parents were right all along about not going out. I understood what she was saying and I told her so, but I thought that I had better keep my mouth shut about telling her that Marcus was my idea of a perfect loser. I got the distinct impression that Camila liked the idea of going out and having a boyfriend more than she liked staying at home and doing schoolwork...and not having a boyfriend.
While all this was going on, I remembered that Camila and Hannah had teased me about spending so much time with Luke and calling him my fixer upper project. If Luke and I had been out on a date, he would never have been bossy to me and he would have wanted to hear about how I felt about things. We talk about life and current events all the time, and Luke always wants to know about how I think about things. But Marcus is like one of those guys that has to be in control all the time. I am beginning to think that Marcus is also a fixer upper that can't ever be fixed. But that's not my problem, and before too long, I bet it won't be Camila's either.
Chapter Twenty-Nine: Luke
I hadn't had any more problems with Mrs. Burkhead in science class since the field trip, but the crap hit the fan Wednesday two days before Christmas break. she said that when we came back from the break we would start studying fish, and along with that, invasive aquatic species that don't belong in our ecosystems. I admit that I haven't been paying much attention to her since she kicked me out of class the second time. I haven't raised my hand and she hasn't called on me since. But when she started talking about fish, I really tuned in.
Mrs. Burkhead said that, for example, around here the native fishes were such ones as smallmouth bass, redbreast sunfish, and channel catfish and that the carp was an invasive species. I raised my hand at that because smallmouths were stocked around here in the 1800s. I know all about that. She kept rambling on and on, and my hand was still up and she kept ignoring me, and then she said something else that wasn't true—that smallmouths fed mostly on aquatic insects. Finally she said what is it, Luke, this had better be good.
And I told her that smallmouths were not native—that they had been stocked but had since become the most popular gamefish around here. And that smallmouths only mostly eat aquatic insects when they are small, then they turn to crawfish, minnows, and hellgrammites because it is more energy efficient for them to go after bigger prey. she got all mad and said not to contradict her, but then I said what she was saying was incorrect.
Well, she was just steaming with anger then, and the next thing I knew she called me up to her desk, was filling out one of those blame discipline referral forms and circling the usual defiance of authority-type comments, and I was on my way to Mr. Caldwell's office.
He was not happy to see me and got really mad when he started reading the discipline form. I was expecting in-school suspension...that would have been okay if I could have least explained to Mr. Caldwell what Mrs. Burkhead's mistakes were. Instead, he said there was a general science class first period, and he was going to put me in that and then switch me to general English fourth period to get me out of Mrs. Burkhead's class second semester.
I begged him to please not do that. That Mrs. Hawk was the first English teacher I had ever liked and I was making a B in there, and all I wanted him to do was Google up "small-mouth bass introduction" and "adult smallmouth foods" and he would see that I was right. I have to confess that I started to cry; it was humiliating to be 14 going on 15, sitting in the assistant principal's office and bawling like a baby, but I've hated school so much and finally there is one class that I like and I'm doing well in it except for not doing that stupid grammar worksheet homework stuff, and I'm going to be kicked out—that's not fair. I told Mr. Caldwell while I was crying that it wasn't fair.
So he looked at me crying, then turned to his computer and started to google and about two minutes later, he told me that I was right about smallmouths not being native and what they ate. He then sort of shook his head and said he was going to let me sit outside his office the rest of the period, and next period was Mrs. Burkhead's planning period, and the three of us would talk then. Then I think he sent Mrs. Burkhead an email telling her to report to the office.
Well, when she got there the next period, she started in on me right away about my being rude and disrespectful and brought up the smallmouth bass incident. I hadn't said a word yet to defend myself and then Mr. Caldwell said that I needed to apologize to Mrs. Burkhead for interrupting her class, that although I had raised my hand, she hadn't called on me, and I should have waited. I apologized, even though she had— finally—called on me when I had my hand up. she had been ignoring me. But then he asked Mrs. Burkhead if she knew I was right about smallmouths not being native to our area, and also that I was right about the foods they ate at different stages of their lives. she got all red in the face and started to get mad and then she stuttered and mumbled something.
At first, I felt good about Mr. Caldwell correcting her, but then I realized that Mrs. Burkhead was going to have it in for me worse than ever now. I think he sort of wanted to make a compromise between Mrs. Burkhead and me, so he said I was going to get one period of in-school suspension during science class the next day. He said I should be mindful of being polite and respectful at all times in class and he encouraged Mrs. Burkhead to call on me more—and other students for that matter as well—when we might have an area of expertise to share with the class. He said doing so would make for good class discussions.
Mrs. Burkhead said he had an excellent point and she would "endeavor" to do just that, but there was just this little hint of sarcasm in her voice, and I don't think that old woman—she must be close to 40—is ever going to change her attitude and the way she teaches. I'll be lucky if I get a D- in her class the second semester and get a credit for the year. But at least I still get to be in Ms. Hawk's class next semester. I hate know-it-all teachers, the kind that think they never make mistakes. Then when they do, they have to cover them up.
Chapter Thirty: Elly
The last week or two during lunch, Paul, the junior center on the football team—he lives down the street from me in my neighborhood—has been dropping by my lunch table where Mary, Paige, and I eat. He has been talking mostly to me. A couple of weeks ago, Mary started dating another junior, Ian, an offensive lineman on the football team, and most of the time Ian has been with Paul when he's come by. I mean these are really big, muscular guys. Of course, Paige is still dating Allen, and where and when they go out is dependent on which one of their parents can drop them off somewhere and pick them up...so Paige is sort of the "disinterested bystander" in the
little game that is being played out, and she has been quick to analyze Paul's intentions.
She says that Paul is flirting with me and testing the waters, so to speak, about whether to ask me out. Of course, my parents aren't allowing me to date this year, so I know I can't go out with him on a date-date. Paul seems to be nice enough, and I hear that his grades are pretty good, and he is very big and muscular—didn't I just say that? But he's not super good looking, if you know what I mean. He's also a little fat around his middle, but I think football linemen are sort of required to have big bellies, at least it seems that way to me—Ian's got the same build and belly, and Mary doesn't have any problems with that. And I've got a little problem with rolls around my middle, too, so I guess I shouldn't talk too much about the stomach sizes of Paul and Ian.
Well, anyway, on Wednesday Paul and Ian came by and said they were going Christmas shopping that night and would Mary and I like to come, maybe we could stop somewhere and have some coffee or ice cream or something before we went home. That since it was a school night and we were freshmen and all that, we wouldn't stay out late; we would be home before 8:30 in case we had homework or something to do.
My mind just went haywire when those two guys started talking. I mean they're both practically men and one of them is interested in me, and Paul's not particularly cute but he's not bad looking either, and the boys haven't exactly been lining up to flirt with me this year. And then I started thinking about what my parents would think and whether or not I should tell them the truth or just say something at dinner like, "Mom, Dad, some of my friends are going out Christmas shopping tonight, and they're picking me up at 6:00 to go, too, and I'll be home by 8:30 and I don't have much homework anyway tonight, so I'll be leaving in a few minutes," like it was the most casual thing in the world and just play the whole thing off like it was nothing and act like I wasn't asking them for permission, just telling them I was "going to the mall" for a little while. Which was true and all, but I was going to be driven there by a guy who is 17 and he is going to be sitting in the front seat with his girlfriend, and another guy who is 17 is going to be sitting in the backseat with me.
