A Lifetime Made for Two

Ch. 5 : The "Date"

Piper heard someone coming down the path so she quickly dried her eyes. 'Good thing I recover well from crying,' she thought. 'My eyes don't even get red.'

Whoever it was stepped onto the dock.

"What a shame, him showing up," Anthony said as he sat down next to Piper and put his feet in the water.

"That's an understatement. Murphy's law."

"Huh?"

"Anything bad that can happen, will."

"Oh. Want me to beat him up? It would be like Karma, only with Murphy's law."

"That's ok. I'll be fine."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Hey, what time is it?"

"Umm... Lunch time."

"Oh no! I have to get back to the dining hall!"

Piper, carefully this time, stood up and hurried back to the dining hall, Anthony following close behind.

Piper and Anthony burst into the dining hall. It was 12:15 by the clock that hung above the food bar. Anthony got in the ever-growing line, but Piper went past the line and up to the divider connected to the food bar. Nick was on the other side talking to campers as they went through the line. When he spotted Piper he walked up to the divider.

"Where's Michael?" Piper asked anxiously.

"Last I heard he was in the cabin. Maybe you should ask Calvin," Nick suggested.

Piper took his advice and began looking around the crowded dining hall for Calvin. She found him sitting at a table near the back with some of the other staff members.

"Calvin, do you know where your brother is?" she asked amidst the noise of kids talking and laughing and the slamming of the dining hall doors.

Calvin shrugged his shoulders and continued eating. With a thoughtful look on her face, Piper turned around and almost bumped into Michael.

"Oh! There you are. I'm sorry I'm late, but I was at the beach and I lost track of time."

"That's ok," Michael said, a sweet smile turning up the corners of his mouth.

That smile made Piper's heart just about melt. She gazed at Michael, and he returned her gaze. But the moment was interrupted by Bryce.

"Ooo! What do we have here? What a couple of lovebirds."

Calvin chimed in with a joke of his own. Michael, ever so slightly, nodded his head to the right as if to say 'Let's get out of here', and Piper nodded in agreement. The two quickly exited the dining hall and entered into the warm sunlight of the back parking lot. Michael led the way to his car and opened the passenger door for Piper. The ride didn't seem long at all; it was spent talking and listening to Twenty One Pilots. When they arrived at the mall they were just in time for the movie.

...

The couple deposited their empty popcorn bucket in a garbage can and talked about the movie.

"That was pretty intense. I was so not expecting it," Piper commented.

"Right? It was better than I was expecting from the previews," Michael agreed. "So where to next?"

"Shopping? It's still only three thirty."

"Well, duh. But where?"

"I was hoping to get some new scented candles for fall. Other than that, I'm not sure."

"So there's no girly store you want to go to?"

"I find that slightly offensive, but at the same time kind of sweet. But of course, there is. I'm a girl. I just didn't think you would want to go to Rue 21."

"Why not. I'll be the awkward guy who wanders around the store looking absolutely horrified at the different clothing items. Plus then we can go to Dick's Sporting Goods for me."

"Oh, I see. Your motives aren't selfless."

"Would you expect anything more?"

"Not really." Piper smiled a wide smile up at Michael and he grinned back. They walked through the congested mall until they came to Yankee Candle where they were greeted with a mixture of tempting fall smells. Piper stopped a few steps into the store and inhaled deeply to soak up the scents. Michael laughed at her and she backhanded him in the arm. They sauntered over to the fall section of the store. Piper immediately began selecting candles to smell.

"Mmm... Smell this one." She handed a cinnamon candle to Michael.

"Very nice." He placed it back on the shelf.

After smelling practically every candle in the store, Piper decided on a few scents. She bought five tea-light candles of one scent, and a few medium candles of the other three scents. Michael seemed relieved to finally be exiting the store.

They stopped at Dick's next, but Michael didn't spend very long there. As they were leaving the store, he put his arm around Piper's shoulders. She flinched a little and looked up at him questioningly.

"Oh sorry."

"No. You're fine." She smiled.

They went into AE and looked around for a few minutes. Michael bought a shirt, and by then it was after five. They decided to get Chinese from the food court. Michael ordered first and whispered to the clerk to include the price of Piper's meal with his. Piper tried to convince Michael to let her pay but to no avail.

...

"Mind if we stop at the bank?" Michael asked as they were driving home at nine-thirty. They would have left much earlier, but decided to see another movie.

"Is there one still open?"

"Yeah. One bank around here stays open until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays."

"K. Just so long as we make it back to camp in time for curfew." Piper slouched in the passenger seat and looked out the window.

In fifteen minutes they were at the bank. Piper went in with Michael. With only one teller working, the small line of four other teenagers moved slowly. Finally, Michael reached the window. Piper had moved over to the wall adjacent the counter. She rejoined Michael as he finished at the counter and stuffed several bills in his wallet. They were a few yards from the door when the locks suddenly slammed shut and the outside light shut off leaving nothing to be seen but darkness through the glass doors. Startled by a loud, scratchy voice from the other side of the small bank, Piper and Michael spun around. Piper clutched Michael's coat sleeve.

A thirty-something year-old man was speaking.

"No one is leaving until I've cleaned out all the money from this bank!" He pointed his 357 magnum semi-automatic at the teller.