Fast Forward to us

10- What's for Dinner?

Jeremy

The drive home felt long. Nobody spoke a word with my dad listening to talk radio the entire time. There was plenty of time to think. It was a bit strange that the music player stopped playing music once Melissa pushed me out of the way from the crosswalk. The urge to take it out of my backpack and see if it was fine was strong. But I knew it would be a bad idea. My dad could start asking questions. And I barely knew Melissa. For all I know, she could be a criminal on the loose. One could hope that wasn't true.

"Alright, we're home," announced my old man as he parked the car.

Walking into the house, we found my mom finishing up making dinner. In a large pot was spaghetti boiling in water. My parents wasted no time hugging and kissing each other as if they hadn't seen each other in over a hundred years.

"Honey," began my dad once they were done with their PDA. "I want you to meet Jeremy's friend Melissa." They both shook hands. "Apparently Jeremy's bike got stuck at the crosswalk and this nice young lady saved our son's life."

Instantly, my mom jumped and rushed over to me and began to feel my head as if it had a fever.

"Honey, are you okay? Oh, please tell me that you're okay."

"I'm fine mom. Maybe just a little sore right now, but I'll be fine."

And just like that, my mom gave my forehead a kiss and poured the spaghetti on plates while my old man did the honor of pouring the sauce. Dinner was ready and we all found a seat at the table. As always, my dad said grace and we all held hands.

"Our Father in Heaven, we thank you for this day and this food we're about to eat. We pray that you please bless it and nourish it to our bodies. We also thank you for Melissa. Please bless her company as we thank you that she rescued Jeremy from potential harm. Please bless Jeremy and keep him safe as well. Thank you, Father. In your great and holy name, we pray, Amen."

"Amen," we all chanted in unison.

With the prayer over, we began digging into our food. Melissa looked a little hesitant to eat what was in front of her. Did she not like spaghetti?

"So, Melissa," my mom began. "Do you attend school with Jeremy? Are the two of you friends? You know, he never talks about his love life with us." 

Desperately, I wanted to tell my mom to shut up as my eyes began looking at the table. Part of my palm went over my forehead with part of my cheeks blushing.

"Oh no, Mrs. Phillips," she responded. I've actually been homeschooled this past year. I was actually going to school at the start of my freshman year, but halfway, I ended up getting homeschooled. It sucks being sixteen and homeschooled."

"Why were you homeschooled? Are you sixteen right now?"

Melissa quickly had a pain in her head as she closed her eyes and placed her fingers over her head. It took a little bit to get a response.

"I'm sorry Mrs. Phillips, recently I've been getting really bad headaches at random times. Anyways, I don't remember why I was homeschooled. I think it had something to do with a virus. Not entirely sure. And I'm pretty sure I'm from around here. Your husband actually offered to take me home after dinner."

"Do you know where you live?" my mom seemed more concerned than ever.

"No, but I'm sure I can figure it out."

"Nonsense. You'll stay here tonight. You can sleep in the guest room. We'll try to find your parents in the next few days. And besides, tonight would be the perfect opportunity to make some new friends. There's a Pre-Prom Party tonight. Perhaps Jeremy can introduce yourself to a few of his friends."

Wait a minute. Did my mom just invite her to a party? For a moment, my entire body went numb. My throat almost choked on the spaghetti.

"The Pre-Prom Senior Party?" I asked in disbelief. "Mom, that's for seniors. And I wasn't sure if I was actually going to go to that."

"Well, the decision has been made. You're going," the woman happily stated. "And I'm sure Melissa won't mind if she meets a few seniors. Isn't that right Melissa?"

"I mean, I guess so," she responded unsure of what to say. "I don't want to be a burden on Jeremy or anything."

"Don't be silly. You're not a burden. And you can easily pass as a senior. Just pretend that you're a senior." My mom quickly took her sight off Melissa and placed it on my dad. "Honey, what's that show that we're always watching?"

"Seinfeld," was his response as it appeared that he was tuning out of this conversation.

"That's right." All eyes were back on Melissa. "In that show, George tells Jerry that it's not a lie if he believed it." My mom began chuckling while thinking back on that episode. "Have you ever seen Seinfeld?"

And just like that, the guest of honor began developing another throbbing headache. It was almost as if she were recovering from a hangover. And of course, it took her a little bit of time to respond.

"I've seen a few episodes. My mom recently bought the entire series on DVD."

My dad dropped the spaghetti that was on his fork and gave her an interesting look.

"That's a lot of DVDs. We actually bought our first DVD last week. It was the movie, Patch Adams. Everyone at work was discussing it. Believe it or not, the store didn't have it on VHS, but they had it on DVD. It's a brilliant movie with Robin Williams. I'm not lying when I say this is his best work."

Melissa just sat there unsure of what to say. In some cases, she looked pretty confused about what he was talking about. With that, she stood up from the table and announced that she needed to rest for a bit.

"She's certainly a nice girl," my mom claimed. "I'm sure the two of you will have fun tonight. Please be nice to her.

Jeremy is also going to the party! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Be sure to comment and vote!

Thoughts on Melissa's headaches?

Why do you think Melissa is being homeschooled?

What's going to happen at the party?

Have you seen Seinfeld? Favorite episode?