Hand Picked

Chapter Two: Number Fourty Seven

Chapter Two: Number Fourty Seven

As soon as I get home I throw my backpack down on my bed and open my scrapbook. Thumbing my way quickly to page fourty seven, I pull the picture out of my backpack and tape it to the center of the page. After scribbling in a few notes, I step back and smile at my work. Not bad. Not bad at all.

Jacob Welkson, senior

Activities: football player, swim captain, French Club
Before- East District friends, dropping grades, bad activities, possible drugs
After- Added exracurricular activities, 4.0 gpa, foreign exchange friends, new girlfriend

Total transformation time: 3 Dates, 2 Weeks

Satisfied, I close the book and replace it on my bookshelf. Fouty seven guys, fourty seven pages. Fourty seven losers turned into the perfect boyfriends... that I had to let go.

Sighing, I walk out of my room to the brightly lit kitchen. My mom, a chef, is busy at work chopping vegetables for our dinner. She works weekends for a highly lucrative catering business, but money is still tight.

"Hey, Mom. How was your day?"

"Great! Mrs. Welkson called to schedule a party for her son this weekend. She says he's turning his life around, isn't that great? She's paying me twice the usual fare, so we can go on that trip to California this summer after all!"

"That is so great, Mom!" I reply, hugging her.

"I couldn't believe it! She said to thank you, by the way. Something about you being a big help. Was he the boy you've been seeing?"

I avert my eyes and munch on an apple. "Yeah, but we broke up a while ago. Glad to hear that he's happy, he seemed really nice."

"Maybe you should get back together, then!"

"No thanks, he's dating my friend now. It's no big deal, we weren't a good match anyway. How's Travis?" Travis was my mom's current boyfriend... he was a baseball player.

"Not bad. He's still in Michigan, but he'll be back home soon. Their season ends in a few weeks, I can't wait to see him! I think he may pop the question soon!" She blushes down at her cutting board and tried to hide a smile.

"That would be amazing, Mom! I would be the Maid of Honor, right?"

"Of course! Here, put this on the table and light the candles, I'll be right over," she said, handing me a plate of raw vegetables. I carefully take them over to the table and lit a match. I blow it out just as my mom sat down across from me. 

For some reason, my mom treats dinner like a spiritual ritual. Candles were always lit, some sort of raw, healthy food was always available, and silence could not be broken for sixty seconds. Some poeple thought it was weird, so I never brought anyone over for dinner. Even though her cooking was amazing.

"This looks good, Mom," I say, digging into my pasta. 

"Thanks, it's one of Nana's. Today seemed like a pasta-y sort of day. You know, warm, sunny, and happy. Pasta!"

I smile. I love my mom.

"So how's the boyfriend situation, Eve? Met any nice guys lately?"

"Oh, Mom, you know I would tell you if I did. Unfortunately, I doubt I'll find anyone before college."

"Just a few more months! I don't know what I"m going to do without you!" She sips her water to hide the tears springing up in her eyes. I reach across the table and squeeze her hand comfortingly.