The Perfect Kid

Part 8

"Declan! Wait up!" came someone's voice. I paused and slowly turned. "Where have you BEEN lately?" Sandra asked.

"Um, at school?" I deadpanned.

"Naw, really?" she said humorlessly. "But where have you been? You've been ignoring me and it’s starting to piss me off," she huffed, blowing a loose strand of hair out of her face.

"Oh..." I said. I geared myself up to come up with an excuse. I reminded myself of Caleb’s words, and decided against it. I leaned against a set of lockers, letting the student body flow around us.

“‘Oh’ what?” she huffed.

“‘Oh’ as in I’m really sorry, I’ve just had a lot of stuff going on lately. ‘Oh’ as in I’ve been a junk boyfriend,” I mumbled, looking down. Only now did I realize how true this all was. “‘Oh’ as in will you go on a date with me?”

Sandra did a double take. “Oh…” she said, and we chuckled. “Yes, Declan James, I most certainly will. When?”

I shrugged. “Now?”

She cocked an eyebrow. “No offence, but going to school lunch isn’t exactly my idea of a dream date.”

“Well, are you really that hungry?”

“No…” she said, confused.

“Then come with me,” I said with a glimmer, pulling her by the hand. “I’m taking you to me special place.”

“Are you sure this is safe?”

“Yeah,” I said, “I’ve been here millions of time. The structure is stable and no one bothers to check here.”

Sandra shrugged her consent. I beamed and swung open the door to the old, abandoned football tower. We climbed the staircase to the top and I took her to the small room behind the overhanging outdoor ledge. The room wasn’t anything fancy, just a 16 by 10 foot room that I had adjusted to my liking upon discovering it at the beginning of the school year. It had a bean bag in the corner and a large quilt as a carpet, a small red cooler holding some water and root beer, my old battery powered radio, and a poster of Thunder Hawk, my favorite band. I looked at her nervously, suddenly worried that she wouldn’t like my little paradise.

Sandra was staring, open mouthed.

“What what is it?”

She shook her head slowly. “This is...amazing, Declan. Did you do all this?”

I shrugged. “Yeah. You really like it?”

She nodded and engulfed me in a sudden hug. I flinched back immediately, and she drew back, clearly hurt.

“Sorry,” I muttered. “Do you want a drink?”

“Sure I guess.”

I got us both root beers, turned on the radio, and somehow we both ended up sinking down on the blanket. Gradually, the drinks were gone, and it was just us, lying there. Looking at each other. I spent my time taking her in, the beauty of her. Her soft jaw line, her faint freckles, her shining eyes. All of her. All too soon, the radio clock signalled the end of lunch.

     She rose up and offered her hand to help me. I shook my head and said that I’d be out in a minute. She slowly left to head back to class, but I didn’t. I just laid there and drifted to sleep enjoying the rare peace of it all.