My Chronic Shyness...

GIRL Trouble...

I got up with a silly grin on my face and we continued to rake up the rest of the leaves. After finishing the yard work, my brother Earl Jr. and I raced to the door, went inside, and washed up.   I remember that the transition from the U.S., to this exciting and new environment overseas, was difficult for me at first.  I guess the main problem was the dealing with the fact that so much was unknown. What, when, why, and where?  For some reason, I had it in my head that things would be so different.  After all, these people don't even speak English!  The simple things such as the food was even a crap shoot.  I thought that all of the things that I had liked back home, in the U.S., would not be available in this brand new world.   I admit, I felt like someone had told me that they grabbed the last slice of pizza.  I was about to find out what was ahead.

"Come here Ricky!" my MoM shouted, as she stood in the kitchen doorway with her hand on her hip.

I was knee deep into cartoons so I could barely hear her voice over the television. I was in the living room watching Seaseme Street so it took me a few minutes to break my eyes away from the television and make my way across the room. When I entered the room, my MoM had a huge smile.  The look on her face was like a rugged cheetah waiting from afar to pounce on a family of unsuspecting antelope. 

"Yes ma'am...?" I responded while nervously plunging my hands deep in my pockets.

"What would you like to eat for dinner tonight?" she asked with the eager anticipation.

I took a few minutes to think as my MoM waited patiently while folding then unfolding her arms.

"Well, I want spaghetti but German's don't eat spaghetti do they?" I replied.

My MoM burst out laughing.  She was laughing so hard that she took a moment to sit down at the dining room table.   As I stood there dumbfounded, I was wondering why?   Did I say something funny?

After she had a chance to wipe the tears from her eyes and catch her breath, she spoke.

"Oh Ricky, yes you can have spaghetti! We still have all of your favorite foods here too so don't you worry," she explained.

Simply hearing those words was all that it took to give me a new attitude about the move and my face lit up like a Christmas tree!

"Alright, now go watch tv while I cook. You are very funny boy," she told me. 

Okay, so Germany might not be that bad after all!  I went back to my cartoons and sat down on the couch with a big grin on my face.   Next thing I knew, the door bell rang. I jumped up because the noise startled me.  When I walked over and opened the door, Earl Jr. was standing there with a small bag in his hand.

"Hey Ricky, I just bought some candy for my girlfriend and you know what?" he paused.

He had that look upon his face like he usually did when he was up to something. I looked at him waiting for him to continue.

"She has a little sister that likes you and so I have another candy bracelet that you can give her sister," he said as he pulled the candy out of the bag.

Normally, for a guy, this would be a very good thing; however, it was not particularly exciting for me.  Don't get me wrong; I loved girls.  I mean, at that age, I thought they were pretty and funny and well...pretty. I was just very, very shy when it came to the face to face alone time.  My brother had already devised a master plan.  We were supposed to meet the girls downstairs, in the basement, and give them their bracelets.  He told me that he was gonna go downstairs first.   Before he left, he gave me one bracelet, patted me on the back, and then headed down.  I was terrified! All kinds of thoughts raced through my mind!  She was another pretty girl who liked me and, the only other people who were downstairs, were my brother and his girlfriend.  As I started to walk downstairs, I began to get that sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. My heartbeat accelerated, my palms were sweaty, and I began breathing heavy.   I stopped at the first floor and looked over the railing.  I caught a glimpse of them waiting and smiling.  My min was in overdrive by this point!  What do I say to her? How am I supposed to act? All of a sudden, I couldn't take it.  I clinched my fists and threw the candy bracelet down to the floor then quickly turned and ran upstairs.   There was no looking back; I'm outta here!  As I was making my way up the stairs, I could hear the candy shattering as it slammed on the basement floor.  Now, how can I ever face either one of them again?  Well, I have bigger issues... How can I ever face that girl?