My Number Twenty

Chapter Five

Chapter 5
"So where are we going?" I asked.
"Lou's." He answered.
"Lou Malnati's?"
"Yep! Home of Chica-"
"Chicago's deep dish pizza! I love it! I haven't known you for even 24 hours and you get lunch right."
"Plus, who doesn't like deep dish pizza!"
"True dat!" We walked in silence for awhile, just admiring each other's presence. I then asked, "Are we technically girlfriend and boyfriend because I'm meeting your parents and we can't stop thinking and talking to each other? Or are we still at that dating stage?" Brandon thought for a minute.
"Well, I think we pretty much flew by that friends to best friends stage. We had the best date I've ever had last night and now, and we're off to meet up with my parents; you're first time. So if you want to, I'd love to, we are boyfriend and girlfriend!"
"You don't think we are moving too fast, do you?"
"Nah! You know those young kids; if they like each other, they're automatically boyfriend and girlfriend. At least we got to know each other before declaring it." Brandon and I laughed.
We then got to Lou's; the aroma of pizza filled the air. It was late morning and business hasn't gone into mad rush yet so there was no wait. When Brandon and I got in, Brandon's dad called him over. It was a booth more towards the back of the area. Brandon's face lit up and he grabbed my hand, pulling towards his parents. "Hey mom! Hey dad!" He rushed in giving each parent a big hug. He then introduced me to his parents. "Mom, dad, this is Sarah!"
"Uh, hi! It's nice to meet you Mr. and Mrs. Saad" I said nervously.
"Hi Sarah! I'm George." George, Mr. Saad, put out his hand for a shake. I shoot it firmly. Yet, Mr. Saad squeezed my hand but I tried not to show the pain. After his introduction, I turned to Mrs. Saad.
"Hi Sarah. I'm Sandra." She gave a warm smile and offered a hand shake as well. I took it and it wasn't as tight compared to her husband's.
We all sat down; Brandon on the inside and myself on the outside, Mr. Saad on the inside and Mrs. Saad on the outside. Once we ordered our drinks and pizza, our waiter said a total of 20 minutes till the pizza was ready.
"So Sarah, do you go to school?" The first question that came from Mrs. Saad.
"Yes I do! I go to Northwester. I play on their varsity girls soccer team."
"You play soccer! I came here from Syria to play soccer with the University of Pittsburgh! What position do you play?" Asked Mr. Saad. I chuckled.
"I play as a full time goal keeper."
"That's funny; when Brandon was first starting hockey, he wanted to play goaltender!" Mrs. Saad explained. I laughed and nudged Brandon. His face turned a little pink. "When are you're classes?"
"Most of my classes are in the morning then practice in the afternoon. I'm actually graduating this year because I stuffed my sophomore year with double the work."
"Why do you want to graduate so quickly?" Asked Mrs. Saad.
"I'm hoping to play professional women's soccer. It's just during spring and early summer, though. I plan to work as a trainer for clubs in Chicago. If that all fails, I plan to be a photographer for Chicago sports."
"That's always good to have a back up plan!" Mrs. Saad ensured.
"Yep." Several other questions were asked to me by both of the Saad parents while Brandon just sat next to me. Finally our food arrived and Brandon's parents and I dug in. I looked over to Brandon and saw his body tense. He was just staring off into space."Brandon, Brandon!" I pushed his arm.
"Wha...yeah?" I was relieved when I saw him relax and be himself.
"Food?"
"Uh..yeah!" Brandon grabbed his plate and a slice. He then grabbed his napkin and set it in his lap; no elbows on the table, great posture, very elegant.
"You've raised quite a polite fellow! It's hard to imagine him checking people into the glass." I smiled towards Mr. and Mrs. Saad and they both gave a laugh. I saw Brandon's cheeks turn pink once again, but had a little smile.
While we were eating, it was Brandon's turn to catch up with his parents while I just sat there and ate. Soon lunch was finished and the restaurant was packed.
We said our goodbyes for now and went our separate ways. When we got outside and away from Brandon's parents, he asked me, "Did you like them? They weren't weird or annoying were they?"
"Like them? I loved them! They're great! And they raised a great man--ManChild!"
"You've been waiting to say that haven't you?"
"Sure did!" I put my arms around his neck and pulled him in.