Time And Again

Chapter 8

As Johnny ate his cereal, he reflected on the week. So far, every day past Tuesday has been an actual day with no repeats. So whatever he's doing to keep that from happening, he needs to keep doing. If only he could figure out what that is. Friday, the best day of the week, is finally here. Plus, he's been waiting and waiting for this day to arrive. 

Mainly because his date with Nicole is tonight and also he can sleep in Saturday morning. In a rare turn of events, Sensei canceled the Saturday class. Krease hardly ever does that, so when it does happen, it's a God-send. But that can wait. The only thing he wants to do right now is get the prize out of the cereal box. 

He's eaten two huge bowlfuls already. Plus, he snagged up his mother's gigantic plastic Tupperware salad bowl. The oversized bowl should hold the rest of the cereal. Tipping the box over, he began to pour it into the dish. It came careening out like a waterfall. And at the very bottom of the box is the Gremlins sticker. Outloud, he exclaimed with excitement, "Awesome!" Gizmo will look good on his binder, which is exactly where he placed it.

He can't wait to get to school and show Tommy. He'll be so jealous, especially since he loves that movie. The ironic thing is the first time he lived this day. He hadn't even given a thought about the sticker. Apparently, it ended up in the trash with the cereal box after it had been eaten. Seriously was his head so far up his ass over the breakup that he missed out on a good sticker? Not only that, but he also missed out on a lot of things. 

Laura entered her kitchen and saw the table a mess. "Johnny, what is all this?" She wondered if he planned on leaving the mess there.

Gathering up his books, he told her, "It's cereal from the box. I got the prize out. Gotta go. Love you." In true Johnny fashion, he left without cleaning up his mess. His mother sighed and began straightening up the kitchen. Boys are boys no matter how old they get. 

He parked his car and waited for Nicole when he got to school. She usually parks in the lot. It takes her forever to walk to the building. He didn't have to wait very long because she pulled in almost directly after he did. They both exited their cars at the same time and greeted each other with a hug and a smile. 

He took her binder, and she took his hand. Together they walked to their friends. "So have you thought about what you want to do for our date?" he asked.

Honestly, she hasn't thought about that as much as she's thought about the actual date itself. This is why she turned the question back to him. "What did you have in mind?"

Answering her, he explained, "We have options. There's the place everyone goes to for dates, Golf 'N Stuff. We could eat dinner and catch a movie. Then there's roller skating or bowling. I really don't care so what we do as long as it's with you. Just let me know."

She thought about it and then came up with an idea. "Since we went to the boardwalk last night, I think it would be nice to do something low-key. I have an idea if you're up for it."

Curious about her idea, he let her know, "I'm up for anything. What's your idea?"

Swinging their hands, she stopped walking. He came to stand in front of her. "OK, just go with me on this. My Dad bought a building last March. From that time until a few weeks ago, the whole top floor of it has been renovated into a huge living space. It's like a loft apartment but better. The rooftop area was turned into an outdoor party slash garden space." She motioned the slash with her hands.

Then followed up by saying, "It's really amazing. I say that to say I think it could be nice for our date. We could eat dinner, then go up there, get to know each other better, and look at the city from a different point of view."