Once again, Stella woke up before the alarm clock rang. It was surprising since she had barely slept at all during the night. At first she didn't want to leave Ben's warm embrace in the movie room and then she was too excited about her date with Tristan to fall asleep.
Stella considered asking her mom if she could borrow a dress for the date. She wanted to look nice for Tristan. But she knew her mom would figure out why she wanted a dress and she wasn't ready to tell people about him. She wanted to keepTristan for herself, at least for a bit longer.
She didn't know how to put on makeup or curl her hair. But after the shower she carefully blow dried and combed her hair, moisturized her skin and put on some lip balm. When she was ready it was still more than an hour left to the date.
Stella and Winston went down to the kitchen. They were the only ones awake in the house. She put on the coffee machine and gave Winston breakfast. Out of habit she started cleaning to make the time pass faster.
Stella was nervous and was left alone with her thoughts. What if Tristan is a serial killer? Or worse, what if he is as perfect as he seemed yesterday. She tried to come up with topics to talk about while she was dusting. Weather, hobbies, movies. No not movies, I haven't seen any movies. Books? No, no one reads anymore.
"Are you cleaning?" Stella turned around and saw Ed standing in the staircase. "You don't have to do that dear. We have a cleaner."
"Oh," Stella said and tried to hide the cloth behind her back. "No, I'm not cleaning. I'm just... well... I'm just looking around."
"I saw you dust the desk," Ed laughed. "You're an angel. I'm very grateful but I think it's time for you to learn how to relax and have fun. Do things a seventeen year old normally does."
"I'm not sure why I lied. Sorry."
Stella rinsed off the cloth and sat down by the kitchen island. Ed poured up two cups of coffee and joined her.
"Speaking of normal things for a teenager, I would love for you to start school again. How do you feel about that?"
Stella took a sip from the cup. She had been away from school for so long, the thought of going back scared her. It would be easier to continue as before. On the same time, she wanted nothing more than to graduate from high school.
"I don't know. I've been away for such a long time. What grade would I start in?"
"I'm not sure. We'd have to meet with the school to discuss it."
"I don't mind working. I want to help out with bills and so on."
"Honey," Ed kissed her forehead, "you've had to carry too much for too long. You don't have to worry anymore. Let me and Diana be the parents and you be the kid."
"I could maybe work as your maid. Clean, cook and wash?"
"I know it's scary, but could you at least come with me to a visit at the school. Please?"
Stella nodded. She would do anything for Ed.
She looked at the clock. It was almost time for her date. She hugged Ed goodbye and started walking to the meeting spot with Winston. She wanted him with as support. Besides, nobody would suspect that she was on a date if she had Winston with her.
Tristan was already at the meeting spot when Stella and Winston arrived. He sat on the hood of his pickup and checked his phone. When he saw Stella and Winston he jumped off and waved to them. His smile was contagious. Stella waved back and Winston started running towards him.
"Hi! How are you?" Tristan said.
"Hi," Stella answered with a weird, high pitch. She cleared her throat. "I'm good. Excited. How are you?"
She wanted to hug him. It seemed like he wanted it to. But instead she crossed her arms.
"Good! I'm also excited. You should have told me that you were walking. If you don't have a car I'm happy to pick you up."
"The car is not the problem. I don't have a driver's license. But I don't mind. I need to walk Winston anyways."
That was only half of the truth. Above all, she didn't want him to see were she lived. Her current life style was not who she was and she didn't want it to affect his view of her.
"Okay. But for the future, if you need a ride let me know."
"Thank you... Well, what plans do you have for us?"
"Oh, nothing special. Just a custom made tour of the best places in town. I hope you're hungry because the first stop on the tour is the best diner in town."
Tristan radiated. It was impossible to be sad or mad around him. It was as if the sun was shining just for him.
"Starving."
"Great, let's go!" Stella started walking to the passenger seat. "Nah ah - you're driving."
Tristan threw the car keys to Stella. Out of reflex she caught them. She couldn't tell if he was joking or not.
"What? No? I mean, I just told you, I don't have a driver's license."
"I heard you," Tristan smiled, "that's why I'm gonna teach you. Don't worry, it's easy. Especially when you have an excellent teacher like me."
Tristan jumped in the passenger seat and Winston followed him. Stella knew it was wild, but she was going to take Ed's advice. It was time for her to do some typical teenagy and irresponsible things. She got in the driver's seat and buckled up.
"Okay. What do I do and how do I do it?"
"You already have your seatbelt on, good. However, the next step is the most important. What do you think it is?"
"Check the mirrors?"
"Important, but not as important as choosing the right song to listen to." Stella laughed. Tristan put on the radio and started checking different radio channels. Then he found an upbeat country song that even Stella reckognized. "Okay. Now we're ready for the next step. Put your left foot on the pedal to the left. It's the clutch. And your right foot on the pedal in the middle. It's the brake. Push them both down as far as possible.
Stella followed Tristan's instructions.
"Got it."
"Great. Now turn around the key. Old Betty is a bit tired in the morning so don't let go immediately. And keep your feet on the pedals." Stella was already a bit overwhelmed by all the instructions. She turned the key around and the engine chugged. She didn't let go until the chug became a roar and the car started. "Awesome! Now you need to take away the hand brake and put the gear level to one."
"This was even more complicated than I thought. The gear is a mystery to me" Stella said with a shaky voice.
"Don't worry, you're doing great." Tristan removed the hand break. Then he put his hand on Stella's and helped her move the gear to the correct position. His calm voice was soothing.
"What's next?"
"Do you have a steady grip on the steering wheel?" Stella nodded. "Good. Then let go of the brake and slowly remove your foot from the clutch."
Stella did as Tristan said. The car started chugging again. She looked nervously at Tristan. He smiled and nodded reassuringly back. Then the car started rolling. Stella felt exhilarated. Even though a baby could crawl faster it was an adrenaline rush.
"I'm doing it! I'm driving!"
"Woohoo! Now, are you ready to go a bit faster?" Stella nodded. "Put your foot on the gas and push down a little bit. Now put down the clutch all the way down. It's the pedal to the left. Change gear to two and slowly let go of the clutch."
Tristan let Stella drive the entire gravel road. She never wanted the ride to end. They sang along to the radio and laughed. He made her feel invincible.
The rest of the day was amazing. Tristan showed Stella and Winston his favourite places in the town. The town itself was quaint and charming. They started with breakfast at his favourite café, walked along the beach and had ice cream in the park. She didn't even have to use her discussion notes; everything with him was easy.
When the date was over Tristan offered to give Stella a ride home. But once again she wanted to be dropped off at their meeting spot. Since they were in the car they couldn't hug goodbye and she was definitely not ready for her first kiss. Instead they said an awkward goodbye and decided to keep in touch.
When Stella had walked past the car she could hear the engine start. But just a few seconds later it went quiet again. She turned around and saw Tristan jump out of the car. He ran up to her and gave her a hug. She felt fireworks exploding inside her.