The 20 Dates Challenge

Ten - Date Number Four

Date Number Four

All the way home, Alex takes photos of me walking.

‘What are you doing?’ I ask as we walk through the door.

‘Date number four,’ he says, snapping another photo.

‘So what is date number four?’

He pulls a piece of paper from his pocket.

‘Four,’ he reads, ‘create photo evidence suggesting that you went on an adventure that didn’t really happen.’

‘So where are we going?’ I ask.

‘I was thinking the jungles of Africa,’ he laughs.

We go into his room. On his bed is a pile of stuffed animals; lions, tigers, monkeys, elephants, giraffes, birds and pigs. I give him a questioning look.

‘You know how my sister has this fascination with stuffed animals?’ he asks.

‘Yeah,’ I giggle.

‘This is her African safari collection.’

I pick up a monkey.

‘This is very cute,’ I laugh.

‘Well, get changed and I’ll meet you in the backyard.’

I go into the bathroom and change into jeans and a plain black shirt. Then I go out into the back yard. Alex is setting up the stuffed animals all around the backyard. The monkeys are hanging by their tails from tree branches, the lions are sitting in the sandbox, the tigers are scattered over the tree house, the giraffes are set up so it looks like they are eating the leaves off the bushes, the birds are settled on the swing set and the pigs and elephants are spread around the entire yard.

‘So what first?’ I ask him.

‘You wanna hang up-side-down with the monkeys?’ he laughs.

‘Sure,’ I say.

I grab hold of a branch and swing my legs up and over the branch. I let go and hang up-side-down. Alex laughs and takes a photo. I hang from the branch beside the monkeys and he takes more photos. Then we move along to the lions. I kneel beside the stuffed animals and lie in the sand while Alex takes pictures. Then I climb the trees with the tigers, eat leaves with the giraffes, swing with the birds and roam the plains with the pigs and elephants.

Then Connie, Alex’s little sister, gets home and demands to know why her stuffed animals are out in the dirt. She picks them all up and carries them inside. Alex just laughs at her and climbs the ladder to the tree house. I climb up after him.

‘You having fun?’ he asks me.

‘Yes, these dates are so silly.’

‘I’m glad I asked you to be my partner.’

‘I’m glad you asked too.’

‘And are you having fun working with my dad?’

‘Yeah, I get paid ten-fifty an hour to answer the phone. You having fun at the restaurant?’

‘Yeah, people are hearing my songs and I’m getting paid for it.’

I lean on his shoulder.

‘You want another song?’ he asks.

‘Yes please,’ I say, ‘Never Thought.’

I never thought,

We could be any more than friends.

You never knew,

How fast you’d bring it to an end.

And now I’m gone,

I’m never falling for you again.

And all the others,

They know how you only just pretend.

So by the time you understand,

That this song is about you.

Everyone will know the truth,

And there is nothing you can do.

Because I never thought,

That I’d hate you.

So by next week,

You will be all by yourself.

And now I’m gone,

I guess you’ve forgotten all you stealth.

You gotta buy all your own things,

You’re losing all your wealth.

And don’t get sick,

‘Cause no one cares about your health.

So by the time you understand,

That this song is about you.

Everyone will know the truth,

And there is nothing you can do.

Because I never thought,

That I’d hate you.

And I guess you never thought,

I’d be over you.

‘Who’s that song about?’ I ask.

‘A girl I dated over the summer,’ he says, ‘she was a bitch.’

‘You dated someone over the summer?’

‘Yeah, when I was in Sydney for three weeks.’

‘You never told me,’ I say.

‘I wasn’t proud of it.’

‘Yeah, but still?’

‘Still what? I dated a major bitch and I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to know I’d sunk so low.’

‘I never would’ve thought any less of you.’

‘I just didn’t want you to know I’d dated a girl like that.’

‘Why not?’

‘Because I,’ he hesitates.

‘You what?’

‘Never mind,’ he leans away from me and stands up, ‘I’ll drop you home. Your mum’s probably wondering where you are.’

‘Oh, yeah.’ I get up and follow him out to his car.

‘So glad I got my p-plates,’ he says absentmindedly.

The ride to my house is spent in silence. I stare out the window, trying not to look at Alex.

What was he going to say? I ask myself.

When we get to my house, he says goodbye but doesn’t give me his usual hug. I go inside and straight to my room. I fall asleep without any dinner.