CHOICES #Wattys2016 #Hidden Gems

Chapter 2

"Hey, Marcos! You comin' to the dance tonight?"

Vincent Marcos ran a comb through his hair and swaggered down the front steps of the high school to the passenger side of the car idling at the curb. "Who all's goin'?"

"Ginny'll be there for sure."

Ginny was the girl most of the boys fantasized about but few ever got beyond a goodnight peck on the cheek after a date. Tall, shiny black hair to her shoulders and a figure conceived only in adolescent boy's dreams. Vincent tried to look unimpressed but the thought of getting a slow dance with Ginny pumped his heart rate up a few notches. He stood back from the car and shrugged. "I might try and get there later."

"What, you got something better to do?"

"Hey, Benny, I got things cookin' okay? I'll probably get there but I can't say for sure right now."

Benny slipped the car into gear and made a nasty face. "Find your own way there then, Mister big things cookin'." The car screeched away from the curb and Vincent swore under his breath. He didn't want to look like the rest of the guys, all drooling after Ginny and her friends. He saw himself as cooler and more mature than them. He wanted to be a step back; kind of like Travolta in Saturday Night Fever. He ran his comb through his hair again and walked away, wondering how he would get to the dance on his own.

Vincent tossed his jacket on the bed and flopped down, staring at the ceiling of his room. If he asked for his dad's car he'd have to be home at ten and that would be something he could never live down. If he took the bus it would kill his chances of maybe taking Ginny home. Vincent didn't factor in the possibility that he would not get to be her ride home, in his mind it was a given.

The transportation though, that was the big problem. He mulled over what kind of stories he could come up with for being late and how it might affect future use of the car. In the end he decided that he could be convincing enough to get away with being late and planned his strategy for getting the car.

Another of the recurring arguments followed dinner and in a final fit of disgust, Vincent's father tossed him the keys and told him to take the damn car and not be late getting home—or else. His mother stood in the kitchen doorway shouting that they couldn't afford for him to be wasting gas driving to dances, things were tight enough as it was.

Vincent tried to argue back but they suddenly joined forces and he found himself on the losing side so he gladly accepted the keys and slammed out of the house to the reminding shouts of his curfew.

Benny's car was near the entrance to the community center and there was a crowd of kids around it all laughing and smoking. Some girls Vincent recognized as regulars when guys with cars were on the scene, but he didn't see any sign of Ginny's crowd. He pulled into a spot a few spaces down and locked the car before wandering down to join the group.

"Whoa! Mister, got things cookin' is here." Benny laughed, pointing at Vincent. "S'matter, Vince, oven catch fire?" The group all joined in the tease, and Vincent just made a face and joined them, leaning on Benny's car. "Hey, you got daddy's car?"

"I wasn't gonna walk here was I?"

"I offered you a ride but you had—"

"Yeah, yeah. We all heard, Benny." Vincent changed the subject and asked if anyone had been inside yet.

"We were all waiting for you. We wanted to give you a fair chance at Ginny." The other boys guffawed and pushed at one another. The girls swayed on the spot and remained silent, their eyes seeking one another for confirmation of the inference made.