I Have Been Chosen

Cody 18

Wednesday 11th February

After fastening the last button on the shirt and sliding on the blazer, Cody stared at himself in the mirror.

"Well?" Darren called outside from the bedroom. "How long does it take for you to change!"

"There's too many bloody buttons!" Cody shouted back, though the real reason was how much his hands fumbled putting on the shirt, the reality sinking on as the date of the date drew closer. He had never gone to such an establishment where he would have to dress this smartly, and he certainly did not need to wear any suits for work; it was all t-shirts and jeans; even when he went for his job interview, he would just wear his smartest plaids. How he got any job in such interview attire was a mystery. Fortunately, Darren, who was a similar size, worked one of those boring office jobs that required suits. However, Darren, whilst broad and tall, did not have quite the stomach as Cody did. The shirt felt tight around certain areas, the buttons almost wheezing. Cody wondered if it would be best to buy a shirt, even if he would only likely wear it once. He didn't want any buttons to explode if he so much as stretched.

Taking one last look in the mirror, feeling so uncomfortable in the clothes, like he was a child stealing his dad's clothes, Cody finally exited Darren and Sasha's bedroom.

Darren and Sasha were both sitting on the sofa in their lounge, Sasha giving a wolf whistle as Cody presented himself before them.

"Ta-da!" Cody posed before the esteemed judges.

"Cody's going on a date!" Sasha sang teasingly.

"Alright, turn," ordered Darren.

Cody obeyed, feeling like they were his parents forcing him to try on a new school uniform. He definitely felt like a child mimicking an adult in this, despite being in his thirties.

"What is going on with your tie?" Darren frowned, seeing Cody's failure of an attempt.

"I've never had to tie a tie," said Cody, as Darren took the tie and wrapped it around his own neck.

"It's fine; I'll teach you," Darren sighed, showing Cody himself.

"Or I'll just never untie it, and then I won't have to learn." Cody grinned as Darren put the finished tie over Cody's neck, adjusting it, almost strangling him from that comment.

"Or maybe Oliver could do it for you?" said Sasha with a mischievous grin.

Cody rolled his eyes; the whole afternoon, both Sasha and Darren had been teasing him about it, though he still couldn't help but smile. "Well, I feel like it might be a bit too much anyway, with the whole tie." He scrunched up his nose, gripping the tie and adjusting it away from suffocating him. "I feel so uncomfortable with it around my neck."

"Maybe go more smart-casual," Darren suggested.

"The whole appeal of a tie is for it to be eventually taken off anyway," said Sasha.

"How so?" asked Cody.

Sasha helped Cody take the tie off, and then she put it on Darren to demonstrate. "Oliver wears ties to work, doesn't he?"

"Yeah." Cody nodded. "You think he'll be wearing one on Saturday? Then I should definitely wear one, right?"

"No, I think you'll still look smart without one," said Darren.

"But anyway, if Oliver will be wearing one," Sasha began. "There are some moves you can do." She yanked at the tie, causing Darren to stumble into her, the bodies against each other. "It's something to help you pull them closer. You want to be a bit rough but not too rough that you both fall over." She smirked, glancing up at Darren. "And now you're in perfect kissing distance."