The Fleeting Happy

Nine

The mystery of my mystery date disintegrated into dust the moment Greene pulled into the parking lot of Severn Valley's one and only Chuck E. Cheese's.

In the back seat, Andy was cheering and whooping and pumping his fist in the air, chanting, "CHUCK E. CHEESE'S! CHUCK E. CHEESE'S! CHUCK E. CHEESE'S!"

"Chuck E. Cheese's?" I asked, confused.

"Yeah, man!" Green said. "Surprise!" He grinned.

I forced a grin back. "Awesome!"

"Shut the hell up Rory, no one likes you!" Andy squawked.

I looked over at Greene, who winced.

"We're here now, so go find your friends and leave us alone, okay?" Greene said to Andy, getting out of the truck.

"Give me ten bucks, loser."

Greene produced a ten-dollar bill, crumpled it up and chucked it at his brother. Andy greedily caught it and ran off screaming. He converged with about four or so other 11-year-old boys and they began screaming together, running into Chuck E. Cheese's like a bunch of overexcited monkeys.

As soon as Andy was gone, I exhaled with relief.

"Imagine that, times seven. Seven little brothers," Greene said.

I shook my head in disbelief. "I think I'd pass out. How do your parents control them?"

"They don't," Greene said. "My dad's kind of ditched and my mom hates us all because she never wanted a son, let alone ten. And with Liam moving out and Tommy being a deadbeat, I'm the oldest kid so I gotta look after them, you know? There's a lot of bills to pay, plus clothes and food and field trips for the younger ones. We're not struggling with money anymore, though, I'm making good business."

His drug-dealing career, I realized. Suddenly, I felt a surge of sympathy for Greene. "When'd you start selling?"

"I think around halfway through sophomore year," Greene said as we walked into Chuck E. Cheese's. "Are you a stoner?"

I shook my head. "I literally just tried blazing a few days ago. I think it's the first and last time I'm ever getting high. No offense."

"None taken," Greene answered. "It's not for everybody. I just hope you don't think I'm some loser. This thing between us, it won't work out if you think I'm a joke."

I bit my lip, feeling the slightest bit guilty. "Greene, I don't think you're a loser. I don't think you're a joke."

"Okay, cool," he said.

"Cool," I confirmed. "So, now that we're on that hypothetical date..." I raised my eyebrows. "Are we gonna eat or what?"

Greene smiled. "Righteous."

Turns out, Chuck E. Cheese's really isn't all that bad for a first date, if you could ignore the screaming children and the smell of sweat that hung thickly in the air. Greene didn't seem to mind-- he looked right at home.

I realized pretty quickly that Greene was like a little kid at heart. He still enjoyed all the arcade games and freaked out about the cotton candy and wouldn't stop swinging in circles on his swivel seat.

He ordered a pizza for us to share and when Andy and his friends stole it, he bought another one.

Since I'd never really been on a date before, I didn't have anything to compare it to. But I think it could've been much, much worse.

It was simple, and I liked simple. It was just pizza and sodas and screaming children and arcade games, and what was simpler than that?

"I like your shirt," Greene said. "It's trippy. I love trippy."