Second Chance

Two: The God of Pick-up Lines

Fear not for I have more! If you were a booger, I’d pick you first!

Even though that might sound disturbing, she struggled to contain her laughter. It came out as a snort through her nose. Glancing up at the glow-in-the-dark clock by her bed, she knew she’d stay up late tonight.

“Honey!”

Ciara pulled the cover higher, covering her ears and eyes. She could hear birds twittering in the background, but she was too tired. Plus, after roaming her mind for a few minutes, she remembered today was Saturday.

“Honey! It’s ten! Get your lovely bum up!”

Why was it so noisy? If she could have super powers – admit it, every single human being had dreamt about having super powers – she would choose to have the power to tune out any noises at any time she wished.

Ciara rolled over and moaned. Just a few more minutes, she wished. It’s still early.

“Honey!”

Ciara heard loud footsteps approaching, and if possible, she pulled her blanket even tighter. She snuggled closer and willed her mind to resume her much needed -

“CIARA HARLY JOHNSON!”

Ciara bolted upright. She let out a small whimper at the deafening yell, and she came face to face with a stunning woman in her mid-forties. Her curly and wild blond hair enhanced her anger, but as soon as the woman saw her awake, all traces of anger vanished from her face. Her eyes twinkled warmly, and she enveloping her in a tight hug.

“Oh, Darling, I didn’t want to wake you up, but I just had to say hi to you.”

“Mom, you didn’t want to wake me up,” Ciara repeated tightly, struggling to breathe as her mother refused to loosen her hold. The woman was either oblivious to Ciara’s sarcasm or chose to ignore it completely. Knowing her better than anyone else in the entire town, Ciara surmised it was the latter. “Mom, I can’t breathe.”

The woman immediately let go and patted her on the back. Hard. Several times. Ciara glowered at the other blonde from beneath her eyelashes. Sometimes, her mom acted more like a teenager than Ciara herself. Her mom laughed and winked at her.

“Get up, Darling. It’s a beautiful Saturday -”

“Saturday!”

Memories of last night came rushing back to her. A goofy grin appeared on her face, and she swung her legs to the side, almost losing her balance. The older woman’s eyes narrowed suspiciously as she watched her rush to the bathroom.

“Whoa, you’re so eager now. Do you have a date or something?”

“Yup.”

Unlike some parents, her mom had no problem with her dating anyone. For the first time since entering her bedroom, the woman looked at her daughter with concern. Ciara rolled her eyes at her mother’s uncharacteristic look.

“Don’t worry. He’s nice,” she mumbled out as she brushed her teeth.

She raised an eyebrow skeptically and uncrossed her arms. She walked to the door, the concern fading away. “Is he picking you up?”

“Yeah.”

“What’s his name?”

“Jared.”

“Oh well, I guess I’ll judge him myself when he comes here.”

“Mom!” Ciara yelled, poking her head out from the bathroom door frame. Her eyes were wide, and her mouth gaped open. Horror was etched into every feature of her face.

“Don’t worry, Darling.”

“Mom!”

The only reply was a loud guffaw as Ciara’s mom exited the room. Ciara could imagine her mom’s smug look perfectly in her mind. As if aggravating the situation, images of a few possibilities of the two meeting flashed through her mind. Her stomach churned nervously. She desperately wished she could forward time and avoid this – extremely possible – mortifying meeting.

Ciara hummed softly to herself, curling a strand of her golden locks around her index. Ever since half an hour ago, her stomach’s been doing moves that would make a profession gymnast hung her head in shame. She paced around the room, her feet tapping the wooden tiles metrically.

Her heart skipped a beat as the familiar ring of the doorbell reverberated through the walls of the mansion. Profanities streamed through her head, and for a second, she wondered if she should fake sick. No, this was her only chance. Plus, she’d already chickened out once, and she regretted it dearly. She wouldn’t do it again.

Checking her hair one last time, she hurried down the stairs. Ciara almost lost her footing seeing her mom walking towards the door.

“Mom! I’ll get -”

“Welcome! You must be Jared, right?” She beamed happily, and Jared smiled warmly back.

“Yes, Mrs. Johnson.”

“Ciara will be down soon. Where do you plan to take her?”

Although she kept her tone light and casual, her eyes held a certain menacing look. Because Ciara’s father had died when she just a mere child, her mom was the only one bringing her up. It was a difficult task, especially when her mom worked for a large company. Ciara smiled slightly to herself and descended down the stairs.

“A movie and dinner, Mrs. Johnson. Don’t worry,” he said, winking at her. “I’ll make sure she’s safe, and I’ll bring her back before ten.”

“Good, good,” the blonde said, clapping him on his arm because she wasn’t tall enough. She glanced back and nodded subtly to Ciara. Ciara let out a relieved breath, feeling some of her nervousness vanish.

“Hey, Jared,” she said, feeling her stomach doing a flip flop. Her knees felt weak and jelly-like as she approached the two standing by the door.

“Have fun, Ciara,” her mom said, smirking knowingly.

Ciara resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “Bye, Mom.”

“Bye!”

Ciara tugged Jared, and together, they made their way to his car. Like a gentleman, Jared opened the door for her. Ciara swiftly climbed in, and Jared went around the car.

“Nice dress,” he said. His tone was playful and light. “That dress would look even better accelerating towards my bedroom floor at 9.8 m/s2”

“Why, thank you, God of Pick-up Lines,” she said, biting her lips to stop herself from laughing out loud at the choice of pick-up line.

“I know right! I’m a pro at pick-up lines.”

Ciara laughed. It was a strange experience, laughing so whole-heartedly and having your stomach filled with giant birds flittering around. The two joked around some more before a large blue building came in sight. The car skidded to a stop, and Jared motioned for her to stay in the car. Ciara watched him open her door with amusement written clearly in her eyes. Being at the age of twenty-one, she’d gone out with plenty of guys. She can proudly say that none of them had ever had any effects close to what Jared had on her. She shook her head. It was probably because they’d been in the same high school, not to mention she’d had a huge crush on him.