The New Kid

The Date

Liza sat in the dark theatre, stunned. That movie was the mushiest thing she’d ever seen. But Tony had bought her popcorn and kept glancing over at her to see if she liked the movie, so she pretended she did. At least he was trying to make her happy; that was all that mattered to her. Plus, it meant he liked her, and she enjoyed that much more than the movie. After the movie, Tony took her to a fancy French restaurant. Liza had something that she couldn’t pronounce and wasn’t very good, but it was an expensive restaurant, so she ate as much as she could. Then they went out for ice cream, which was the best thing she’d had all day.

They sat outside on the picnic tables, savoring their ice cream.The night was cool, but Liza didn’t mind it much. She liked ice cream in any weather. When they finished, they walked side by side back to Tony’s car. “Thanks for tonight. It was wonderful,” Liza finally said to break the uncomfortable silence.

“Yeah. I like spending time with you.” Grinning, he opened the door for Liza, and she awkwardly got in. “I like your outfit, too. You look really pretty in it.”

She smiled shyly. “Um, thanks.” Tony started the ignition and they drove away from the ice cream parlor. Her house wasn’t too far away from the parlor, so the drive wasn’t long. Thank goodness, she thought, heart pounding. It was still surreal, and she still didn’t feel comfortable around Tony. She felt like there was something else about him, something he wasn’t telling her. But mostly, it was still amazing that he actually liked her back. That had never happened. Like, ever.

“Well, I had a great time tonight.” Liza said as Tony pulled up to her house.

“Me too. It was fun.”

“You know… I really like you.” Wow, that was hard to say. But it felt right, and she knew it was.

“Yeah. Hey, do you think we could be partners for the Spanish project tomorrow?”

Well, that was random. “Um, sure, of course.”

“Okay, great.” He looked relieved. “See you tomorrow then.”

“Um… yeah, see you tomorrow, I guess.” Liza opened her door, confused at how he’d just sort of kicked her out. Strange. Then as soon as she was out of the car, Tony drove away. Also strange. She decided not to dwell on it, however. He was probably tired or something. She knew she wanted to get to bed as soon as she could.

Although the night wasn’t what she’d expected, she still got to spend time with Tony, which made her happier than she’d ever been. She knew he’d come around and understand what she really liked, but for now, she could stand it. Any attention at all was amazing.