The Perfect Couple

19

Kim on locked the door of her split level home. As we stepped into the hall, Mrs Harris came from the living room to greet us. "Hello, girls. My, don't you look nice today, Kelly."

I smiled, although I know she hadn't noticed any changing me. She always said I looked nice. Besides, her mind was obviously on the script in her hand. "Well, have fun," she said and drifted back into the living room. Kim and i headed for the kitchen.

"She is doing a new modern play," Kim whispered, "so we won't have her even if she sees her lines aloud. It's one of those things were everybody mumbles." We got some sodas and chips and went up the half flight of stairs to Kim's room. We sat on her bed; something my mother frowns on. Luckily, Mrs Harris isn't into home making in a serious way.

"Now," Kim said, pulling her feet into the lotus position, "we have to figure out some way to turn around what happened today so it will be a plus instead of a minus. Do you have any ideas?"

"Do I look as if I have any ideas?"

I guess I didn't because Kim went into a trance-like silence, finally coming out of it to say that the only approach could think of was a little tricky, but it would work if I could pull it off.

"You go up to Alan tomorrow and say something like, does it break you up to think about what happened in history yesterday? One thing about Mrs Cole, she only picks on the popular kids. She knows we can take it." Kim's eyes sparkled as she sold herself on the idea. "That turns it's almost into a compliment! Alan will stop thinking about how embarrassed he was and he'll end up laughing the whole thing off."

What she said about Mrs cole was usually true, but in my case it wasn't. "I'm not popular," I said.

"You are if you say you are."

Sometimes I think Kim spends too much time reading her dad's books. So, okay, maybe I could psych myself up to thinking I was one of besides more popular girls, what could I sell Alan on the idea it was funny and proof of HR importance, that Mrs Cole had picked on us?

I frowned over the matter for some time. It was tricky, as Kim had said, but if I put everything I had into it, I might make it work. Alan would begin to see the incident as proof of his importance and by extension, he'd begin to see me in the same Rosy light. "I'll give it a shot!" I finally told Kim.

After dinner Mom and Dad and I settle down to watch the only TV programme we all liked. When the phone rang, Mom went to answer it. "It's for you, Kelly," she said when she came back to the room. By her tone, I could tell that the call wasn't from Kim, are any other girl for that matter.

My heart took a wild leap that brought it half way up to my throat. Could it possibly be Alan? Maybe he's start over what has happened in history that day and had decided to warm me never to speak to him again . . . or maybe it was the opposite. He might have concluded we were fellow sufferers and should stick together. I just thought we might took it over, Kelly, I could practically hear his low, rumbling voice in my ear.

As I ran to the hall Dad said to Mom, a Mark grumble in his tone, "well, I guess it started, Maryanne. From now on if we want to make a call in the evening we'll have to have an appointment to use the phone." "Patience, David, she'll be in college in a few years."

Dad would probably still be teasing me when walking me down the aisle to give me away if I ever got married, which was a pretty big if.

"Hello." I spoke softly into the whole phone. "Is that you, Kelly? You don't sound like yourself."

"Oh, hello, Marcus." Naturally I couldn't tell him I didn't sound like myself because I've been foolishly hoping the call was from Alan. "What's doing?" I said, raising my voice from a whisper to it's normal, everyday pass-the-potatoes tone.

"I thought we did pretty well today," Marcus said. "Alan was really gawking at us in the cafeteria."

Alan does not gawk. He gives long lance's have incredible depth and meaning. I kept the thought to myself and said, "Yeah, I guess we made an impression on him. Unfortunately, I made an even stronger impression on him later and I may have blown the whole thing." I told him what had happened.