Breathing Under Water
Little Red
I didn't know her. I didn't really know her the way one person knows another. I was aware she had red hair and a slight lisp. I thought her name that might be Jess, but it could have easily have been Jenn.The only thing I knew for certain was that I had been dared to ask her on a date.
"Her?" I asked with my nose scrunched. "Jesus, Clark! I'm not that desperate. "
So what did it matter that I didn't have a date to the prom. A lot of guys were still looking. I was weighing my options right?
Then again, weighing my options too long could mean going to the prom with my cousin, Celeste. I was almost certain that kind of humiliation would follow me to college. Just the thought of it made me start to sweat.
"Oh she's not a total disaster. I'm thinking she's one of those girls that will become a total babe after puberty,"Clark said with an airy wave of his hand.
"She's sixteen genius," I shot back. "It's not getting any better at this point. I'm pretty sure that it actually gets worse. She'll get forehead wrinkles and a huge ass in a few years."
She was sitting across the classroom. Her hair was loose and really long down her back. It was all I could see except skinny arms and legs. Her proper blouse and floral skirt didn't even give the illusion there were curves hidden somewhere underneath.
"Why her anyway?" I said. "What about Allison or Beth?"
"I'm just looking out for you. She'll be grateful you asked. She might even thank you at the end of the night, if you know what I mean," Clark said with a wink.
My slightly younger friend claimed to be experienced with girls. I wouldn't have been surprised if he was telling the truth. He was handsome in a much more traditional way than I was.
He was lean and lanky and I was stocky and muscled. He was smooth and easygoing and I was awkward and rough. We were complete opposites, but our friendship worked.
He put up with my moody awkwardness and I put up with his self involved boundary pushing. We normally kept each other in check and out of trouble. Maybe I was wrong not to take Clark's advice.
I looked over at little red again. I still had no idea what her name was. Maybe Jane?
She was tapping her pen against the desk and jigging her knee. It was a knobby little knee. Could I really run my hand over it and up her thigh?
I started to sweat all over again. If I couldn't try to put the moves on this girl, I wouldn't stand a chance with Allison or Beth. Maybe little red would be good practice.
When would I ask her out though?We only shared one math class and I wasn't sure where she sat in the lunch room. She looked like an "artsy" girl. The kind they called hipsters.
I wasn't anything close to artsy and I didn't own even one pair of skinny jeans. I was on the football team and for all intensive purposes a meat head. I wasn't stupid or failing my classes, but I certainly couldn't sit down and start a conversation with her about jeggings (Recently discovered term meaning jean leggings) or the best place to shop for records.
I was so much more a mover than a talker. I would rather jog to a hard thumping beat in my headphones than have a conversation with someone. Physical actions were so much more purposeful than words to me and their meanings could not be confused.
Clark leaned back in his chair as I thought. He toyed with the scrap paper he was taking notes on. I didn't pay much attention to what he was doing.
My friend was a pretty physical person too. He'd been diagnosed with ADHD when he was six or seven. He wasn't exactly purposeful with his actions though and for the most part Clark just liked to fuck off.
So I wasn't shocked when I saw the crumpled paper ball fly through the air and hit little red on the shoulder. She obviously was surprised though and her body jerked around to our direction. Her wide eyes sought out whoever might have launched the paper missile and immediately latched onto Clark. He was blowing her air kisses though and was hard to miss.
Her cheeks flushed red and her lips formed a straight line. She continued to stare at us as she picked the paper up from where it landed by her foot. Then she pulled at the edges and smoothed it over her desk.
"What did you do?" I whispered as Clark grinned at me like an idiot.
"I didn't do anything. You just asked a girl to the prom with absolutely zero effort involved. You're welcome."
He knew me well enough to know that I would probably never find the will to actually open my mouth and ask a girl on a date. It was a clean and simple solution and didn't apply that much pressure on her. If she didn't like the idea she could just throw the note away and that would be the end of it.
Okay, Clark had his moments. I smiled back appreciatively and got a little more comfortable at my desk. The hard part was over.
"Her?" I asked with my nose scrunched. "Jesus, Clark! I'm not that desperate. "
So what did it matter that I didn't have a date to the prom. A lot of guys were still looking. I was weighing my options right?
Then again, weighing my options too long could mean going to the prom with my cousin, Celeste. I was almost certain that kind of humiliation would follow me to college. Just the thought of it made me start to sweat.
"Oh she's not a total disaster. I'm thinking she's one of those girls that will become a total babe after puberty,"Clark said with an airy wave of his hand.
"She's sixteen genius," I shot back. "It's not getting any better at this point. I'm pretty sure that it actually gets worse. She'll get forehead wrinkles and a huge ass in a few years."
She was sitting across the classroom. Her hair was loose and really long down her back. It was all I could see except skinny arms and legs. Her proper blouse and floral skirt didn't even give the illusion there were curves hidden somewhere underneath.
"Why her anyway?" I said. "What about Allison or Beth?"
"I'm just looking out for you. She'll be grateful you asked. She might even thank you at the end of the night, if you know what I mean," Clark said with a wink.
My slightly younger friend claimed to be experienced with girls. I wouldn't have been surprised if he was telling the truth. He was handsome in a much more traditional way than I was.
He was lean and lanky and I was stocky and muscled. He was smooth and easygoing and I was awkward and rough. We were complete opposites, but our friendship worked.
He put up with my moody awkwardness and I put up with his self involved boundary pushing. We normally kept each other in check and out of trouble. Maybe I was wrong not to take Clark's advice.
I looked over at little red again. I still had no idea what her name was. Maybe Jane?
She was tapping her pen against the desk and jigging her knee. It was a knobby little knee. Could I really run my hand over it and up her thigh?
I started to sweat all over again. If I couldn't try to put the moves on this girl, I wouldn't stand a chance with Allison or Beth. Maybe little red would be good practice.
When would I ask her out though?We only shared one math class and I wasn't sure where she sat in the lunch room. She looked like an "artsy" girl. The kind they called hipsters.
I wasn't anything close to artsy and I didn't own even one pair of skinny jeans. I was on the football team and for all intensive purposes a meat head. I wasn't stupid or failing my classes, but I certainly couldn't sit down and start a conversation with her about jeggings (Recently discovered term meaning jean leggings) or the best place to shop for records.
I was so much more a mover than a talker. I would rather jog to a hard thumping beat in my headphones than have a conversation with someone. Physical actions were so much more purposeful than words to me and their meanings could not be confused.
Clark leaned back in his chair as I thought. He toyed with the scrap paper he was taking notes on. I didn't pay much attention to what he was doing.
My friend was a pretty physical person too. He'd been diagnosed with ADHD when he was six or seven. He wasn't exactly purposeful with his actions though and for the most part Clark just liked to fuck off.
So I wasn't shocked when I saw the crumpled paper ball fly through the air and hit little red on the shoulder. She obviously was surprised though and her body jerked around to our direction. Her wide eyes sought out whoever might have launched the paper missile and immediately latched onto Clark. He was blowing her air kisses though and was hard to miss.
Her cheeks flushed red and her lips formed a straight line. She continued to stare at us as she picked the paper up from where it landed by her foot. Then she pulled at the edges and smoothed it over her desk.
"What did you do?" I whispered as Clark grinned at me like an idiot.
"I didn't do anything. You just asked a girl to the prom with absolutely zero effort involved. You're welcome."
He knew me well enough to know that I would probably never find the will to actually open my mouth and ask a girl on a date. It was a clean and simple solution and didn't apply that much pressure on her. If she didn't like the idea she could just throw the note away and that would be the end of it.
Okay, Clark had his moments. I smiled back appreciatively and got a little more comfortable at my desk. The hard part was over.