GETTING LUCKY
After final bell, I ran into the girls' room with my bag of clothes. I'd settled on a pair of flat-front black slacks and a pale pink silk blouse. I ditched my Wigwams and slipped into a pair of black ballet slippers before taming my hair down a bit with a brush. I had to be careful not to overdo it, because too much brushing would cause that armor of Aqua Net to start flaking, making me look like I was The Dandruff Queen. I took a final look in the mirror and decided that I looked professional. At the very least, I looked respectable. And definitely a little older.
By the time I stepped outside, most of the kids had already cleared out, which was a good thing. It wasn't a long walk over to the strip mall, but it really sucked to be a senior without a license and risk getting caught hoofing it around town. The first four weeks of school were turning into the longest of my life. I suppose Lisa could have driven me, but she already had a job working at the bakery right around the corner from where we lived and I didn't want to make her late. She wouldn't have had enough time to schlep me in the opposite direction, fight through the mosh of cars at the mall and still make it to her job by 3:00. No big deal. It was a nice day out and I didn't mind the walk.
I got about ten steps away from the parking lot when a black Bronco pulled up beside me. The windows were tinted and only cracked an inch, enough to allow me to hear some creepy old dude ask, "Hey, little girl. You need a ride?"
I'd been in these situations before. The best thing to do when confronted with a pervert is to simply ignore them. Just pretend not to hear them. Which is exactly what I did as I kept walking, hoping the freak would just go on his merry way and find some other, more stupid girl to lock in his basement.
But this pervert wasn't going to be shaken so easily. "Hey! Little girl! Do ya want some candy?" I started to slide my hand into my purse, fishing around for my mace keychain just in case. But then, something about the way he started laughing made me do a double-take and turn on my heel. When I did, the Bronco's window slid down, revealing Trip in the midst of cracking himself up.
"You idiot!" I yelled, laughing and smacking the door of his truck. "I thought you were a creepy old man, you jerk!"
Trip could barely contain himself. "I know! I thought you were gonna start running. Holy shit that was funny."
I gave him an "oh really" look.
"Running, huh? You should have been so lucky." I pulled the keychain canister of mace out of my bag and held it up for him to see.
That sobered him up pretty quick. "What the? Is that mace?"
I gave him a smug smile and said, "Yes. And I would have used it, too." When he looked impressed, I decided to lose the false bravado. "I'm really glad I didn't have to, though. Jeez, you scared the hell out of me."
He winked at me, calling a truce. "Sorry. Hey, where you going? I'll drive you."
Truth was, I really wanted to get in Trip's truck. But I also really didn't want him to think that I really wanted to.
"Um. Actually, I'm just headed over to the mall."
"Doing some shopping?"
"Nope. Looking for a job."
Trip nodded his head in approval. "Good for you. Hey, c'mon. After scaring the hell out of you, the least I can do is give you a ride. C'mon. Hop in."
Well, when you put it that way...
I rolled my eyes then stepped up into the passenger seat.
"Where to, Miss Daisy?"
Cute.
"I figured I'd start at Totally Videos and work my way down. I guess you can just drop me there."
He put the car in gear. "As you wish."
I don't even know what I wish, I thought.
I mean, I probably should have just been content to ride out my good fortune.
Sometimes, when you're part of the popular crowd, there's a ton of pressure on you. Everyone is always aware of what you wear, or do, or say. Sometimes, it feels like you're being scrutinized with a fine-tooth comb, any flaws magnified tenfold. You're always expected to be "on". You're always expected to act a certain way. It can be draining in a way I never felt when I was just plain old Layla Warren, blending in with the wallpaper.
But sometimes, there were perks.
Here was this great-looking guy, fresh from the farm and plunked right into my very own high school. Out of some instinctual, unspoken law of the universe, it was just assumed that he would be part of our group. I was sure most of the girls in school were drooling at Trip from afar. And yet, lucky me, I was afforded actual access.
Yet somehow, it felt a little vapid. I wondered if he would have bothered offering me a ride if I was just some random classmate as opposed to a girl who was part his new circle. I supposed I'd never figure it out, but what I really wanted was for Trip to want to be around me, not just hang with me out of default.
Not that I was complaining. At that moment, I was just happy to be where I was.
Bolstered by that, I asked him, "How did you do that with your voice?"
He asked, "Do what? Trick you into thinking I was someone else?"
"Yeah. You were pretty convincing back there. If I wasn't so freaked out, I might have actually been impressed."
This earned a laugh from him. "You're pretty funny, you know that?" Then, in answer to my question, "I was just goofing around with you. There was this guy who used to work at the hardware store back in Indy. He was actually a decent old guy, but he had the creepiest voice, like Lurch from The Addams family. I guess inspiration struck when I saw you. I didn't even realize I knew how to impersonate him until I did it!"
He laughed again and then, out of the blue, added, "You look nice, by the way."
I started to get fidgety and OCD, like I sometimes do when I'm feeling a little nervous. And sitting next to Trip in his truck- idly making small talk and then hearing him toss a compliment my way- was making me very nervous. I made myself stop playing with the zipper on my purse and stowed it away at my feet before diverting his comment with, "Thanks. Do you have a job?"
He took his hand off the wheel to scratch the back of his neck. "Yeah. I do some work for my father down at his office every now and then. This one's over in the industrial park, off Main? Just phone calls and filing and stuff."
"Oh, so you're a secretary," I teased.
That made him smile. "Yeah, good one, I guess I am."
"Do you like it?"
He gave me a stock answer. "Uh... I guess so. I mean, it's a decent job and all and I like making my own money, even if my father is the one who's signing my paychecks."
He took a sharp right, causing me to grab the holy shit bar over the window as he continued, "Actually, you know what? It kinda sucks, actually. I absolutely hate it. I really, absolutely, freakin' hate working there."
That made me laugh. "Wow. Why don't you tell me how you really feel! But hey, I guess acknowledging your problem is the first step toward recovery, right?"
"The problem," he snickered out, "isn't mine." His laugh had an edge to it, but I didn't know him well enough to discern what that meant.
Had I known him better, I probably would have asked him what was wrong. But I thought it would be rude to go playing pop-psychologist with a person I'd only known for one day, so I let it go.
By then, we were already at the mall anyway. Trip pulled up to the side entrance and threw the car in park. His bitter tone was gone, replaced with a playful voice as he said, "That'll be eight-fifty."
I made a big, phony show of digging through my purse. "Damn. I left my wallet in my other bag. I'll have to owe it to you."
He smiled as I got out of the truck, and because I knew he was watching me, I made extra sure not to slip and wind up face-down on the sidewalk.
I was feeling a little elated from the time I'd just spent alone with him, while simultaneously feeling let down at the thought of it coming to an end. I knew I was stalling, hoping to drag a few more seconds out of our time together, but I couldn't stop myself. "Hey, thanks for the ride."
He leaned over toward the passenger side to talk to me out the open window. "No problem."
I tapped my toe against the tire as I asked, "See you tomorrow?"
He winked and repeated, "See you tomorrow."
Short of throwing myself across the hood of his truck, there was really nothing else to do at that point but say goodbye. I had just turned and was starting to walk inside when I heard him yell, "Hey Layla!" which made my stomach do a little flip.
I looked back at Trip, still leaning out the passenger window with a wide grin playing at his lips and answered, "Yes?"
His grin turned into the full-force smile, the one that stopped me dead in my tracks at lunch.
"Good luck."
At that, he threw the truck in gear and took off.
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