Lucas threw his bag against the stairs and jogged upstairs quickly, trying desperately not to trip in his excitement.
“How was school today, honey?” His mother called from her desk. Lucas paused in the doorway and looked down the hall into the office where his mother sat.
“It was great, we had an English test and I think I aced it.”
“Oh wonderful sweetheart, I’m so proud of you.”
Lucas sighed and stared down at his feet; school had ended three weeks ago, but she didn’t know that. He did not have to heart to reminder of it either. It felt better to lie and make her happy than to tell the truth, and remind her of her condition. He walked over to his mother’s desk and looked onto the screen of the computer. She was reading an article about frogs.
“What have you learned about frogs, mom?” He asked, turning his attention onto his mother. His mother smiled sweetly.
“These ones are so teeny!” She said and pointed to a picture, “the smallest ones according to Guinness.”
Lucas studied the picture, located somewhere towards the end of the article. A small frog sat happily on a quarter.
“What else do you remember?” He asked.
“I’ve only just begun reading it, silly. It’s a lovely article though; you should read it when you get the chance.” Mrs. Flynn reached up and ruffled her son’s chestnut hair playfully.
“You’ll have to tell me how it is.” Lucas kissed her on the cheek and walked back to his room.
Of course she doesn’t remember the beginning of the article, He thought. His mother had Dementia, and had been rereading the same article for about an hour.
“Luke, why don’t you get your homework done before dinner?” Mrs. Flynn called out. Lucas glanced back at her.
“Sure thing Mom.”
“And Luke?”
“Yes?” Lucas felt guilty about the annoyance in his voice.
“Why are you covered in paint?” Lucas’s cheeks reddened with embarrassment.
“Art class…” He yelled before closing the bedroom door behind him and therefore preventing anymore dialogue. He slipped further into his room and hovered over his bedside table.
He checked his arm; most of the number had smeared into an incoherent blob. Lucas ripped a piece of paper out of his old notebook and picked up one of the many pens lying on the floor. He jotted down what he could remember of the number. He spoke out loud to help jog his memory.
“Three-three… four? No… three-three-five?”
Slowly but surely a number formed on the paper. Lucas smiled at the finished product and put the number on his nightstand. He sat on the edge of his bed and rested the side of his face on one palm. Now for all of the questions.
Was it too early to call? Probably, but what if she was waiting by the phone for him? Isn’t that what girls did after giving their numbers away; or at least what Hollywood said they did? Lucas tapped the pen against his jaw indecisively. What if she wasn’t waiting? Or what if she gave him the wrong number? He could be calling a pedophile down the street or some guy in Beijing!
He needed to watch more chick flicks, maybe then he would know what to do…
He continued to tap the pen, by now the pen had sputtered ink onto his face, but Lucas didn’t notice. He was too lost in thought
He just needed a moment of insane courage to pick up the phone and dial the number. However, he had never felt so nervous in his life. His stomach, the show-off that it was, was doing a continuous stream of back flips. He felt incredibly nauseous. Would he even be able to speak to her in this state of mind? He rubbed his hand down his face and then stared down at it. His palm was blackened by pen ink.
With a groan, Lucas decided a shower would help muster up the courage he needed.
“What do you think, Meredith? I think I could pull off rebellious.” Charlotte studied herself in the mirror with the new outfit. She hooked the end of the shirt with her thumbs and pulled it down past her leather belt. Meredith said on the edge of the bed with her arms folded.
“They’ll hate it.” She replied curtly. Charlotte frowned and faced the young maid.
“Exactly why it’s rebellious.” She raised one eyebrow as she waited to be challenged again. Meredith rolled her eyes and shrugged.
“Then why did you bother asking for my opinion?” the maid folded her arms and stared out the open doorway.
“For just that, your opinion, not a rephrasing of my uptight parents’ opinion.” Charlotte turned to face the vanity table again, studying Meredith’s face from the corner of the mirror.
“You mean my employers? I’ll pass.”
It was Charlotte’s turn to roll her eyes. She threw a pair of rebelliously shredded jeans to the farthest wall, and ripped off the black top..
“What’s Tina making for Dinner?” She asked. She adjusted the white tank top she had worn underneath her shirt. It was an effort to change the topic.
“Hmm… I’m not quite sure, probably—“
The phone rang. Both girls froze and looked at it. Meredith reached out to grab it.
“Don’t answer it!” Charlotte abruptly shouted. Her hand jutted out towards the phone. Meredith stopped and stared at Charlotte with wide eyes. Charlotte shuffled over and picked up the phone, feeling slightly embarrassed for her outburst.
“It’s not for you…” She trailed. She shooed her flustered maid away quickly before answering the call.
“Hello?”
“Charlotte? It’s Lucas, you know, from earlier today when you--”
“Yes I remember you Lucas, that was only three hours ago.” Charlotte sat down on the edge of her bed. Her feet played with a rejected black leather boot.
“Oh, okay…” There was a long pause of silence. How stupid, Lucas thought to himself. He had not taken the time to actually think of what to say, to her.
“So what’s up?” He asked, before kicking himself. What a stupid question. Really Lucas? What’s up was your best conversation starter?
“Not much really. You?”
“The same…”
Charlotte was ready for the next awkward silence; she had pre-prepared a conversation starter of her own.
“So tell me the story behind this act of vandalism? Why did you do it?”
“Oh… well, to be honest it was a dare, well more of a bet really. I should have gotten twenty bucks off of it.”
“Should have?”
“Well, I kind of forgot to collect payment…”
Charlotte laughed and kicked the boot next to the ripped jeans.
“Is that so?” she asked.
“Yeah…” Lucas chuckled from the other side of the line, “But truth be told I think the twenty would have just covered the cost of paint.”
“What would you have lost if you didn’t do the dare? Twenty bucks?”
“Pride.”
“Such a male thing to say…” Charlotte shook her head and smiled.
“Excuse me?”
“What can I say? You men like your dignity.”
“If it makes you feel better, I’m pretty sure I’ve lost all of mine already. Running into a gate whilst covered in paint does that.” Lucas rolled his eyes and leaned against the wall. His hand rested on his stomach.
“Even if you get a girl’s number out of it?” Charlotte questioned.
“Even if I get a number out of it—no mom…I get to that in a minute. Yes, I am talking to a girl… mom!”
Charlotte fell back against her mattress and shook with uncontrollable laughter. Lucas, hearing the giggles from the other end, realized what had just happened. His face felt hot, but he couldn’t help but join in.
“See? Right there? Another shot to my dwindling dignity.”
Charlotte wiped the corner of her mouth with a fist and sat back up. She felt a stupid smile tugging at her lips.
“Awww…” She cooed. Suddenly there was a knock on the door.
“Charlotte, it’s time for dinner, come on.” Charlotte cursed under her breath at the sound of her mother’s voice. She cover the bottom half of the phone with her hand, “Just a second, I’m not dressed yet.”
Charlotte walked into her bathroom and closed the door.
“Hey, um… Lucas?”
“Yeah?”
“I’ve got to go now.”
“Oh… already? No, I mean… that’s fine!”
“Sorry, it was nice talking to you.”
“Yeah, I enjoyed it too, but um… before you go?”
During the pause, Lucas took a deep breath.
“Do you want to hang out sometime?” He asked. Charlotte blinked.
“When?”
“Friday?”
“Sure, pick me up here at six.” Charlotte heard another muffled knock on her bedroom door.
“Really? Okay! It’s a date! Well... not a date, but a… friendly excursion.” Lucas stuttered. Charlotte rolled her eyes.
“Lucas?”
“Yeah?”
“Don’t be late for our first date.” Charlotte hung up the phone and walked out of the bathroom. She put the phone down on the bed and opened the door for her mother. Her mother smiled politely, but still managed to look annoyed. Charlotte returned the look with a smirk of her own.
Meanwhile, Lucas stared down at his cell phone in disbelief. He sat in silence for a while, before the reality of the situation settled in. He jumped up and flung his arms into the air.
“Yes!” He yelled and did a little dance in the middle of the floor. There was no music playing, but if there was, he imagined it would have been “We are the champions” by Queen.