The Right Stuff » Weird Science (1985)

nine

I COULDN'T GET what Lisa had said out of my head. Why would Gary Wallace think I am the right thing for him? Had Lisa coaxed him into thinking this, or was she trying to persuade me?

A million thoughts about our conversation ran through my head, as I sat alone in the middle of the mall. I must have been a sad sight, all dolled up with no one around.

I had no idea where the boys were, and Lisa had told me she needed to buy some lingerie. I shuddered at the thought.

Earlier in the day, she had forced me to go into multiple stores and try on ugly clothes. I moped around and barely saw anything I wanted to spend money on, except for a new skateboard with a lizard on it, to which she refused to buy. She quickly got the idea that:

1. I hated the mall

2. I hated clothes shopping

3. I hated anything she liked

Lisa said she would be sure to grab anything that she 'knew I would love', and then she finally left me to my own devices. Which meant I was sitting, chewing my fingernails, worrying that Gary was going to randomly declare is undying love for me and propose.

The scary part was, I didn't know what my answer would be.

"Hey Maxine,"

I looked up to see Lana standing above me, looking half asleep as usual.

"Hey Lana," I said, wondering who she was shopping with, and to my displeasure, the whole gang was eagerly following behind her. Max and Ian quickly ditched their girlfriends to sit beside me, something that they didn't barely blink an eye at. I can't believe she was actually hanging out with these people now.

"Hello Maxine, don't you look pretty today!" Ian said, fluttering his eyelashes. I'd been in his company for less than thirty seconds and I was ready to puke.

"Real kind of you Ian, shouldn't you be saying that to your girlfriend?"

"Oh they here that all the time, but you not so much,"

"You're a complete asshole!" I shouted at him, gaining a few stares off random people in the mall. I think Hilly and Deb had dissappeared into a shop, too oblivious to actually care about their boyfriends talking to me.

They laughed at my outbursts, and simply continued to pester me.

"Maxine, did you go on one of those makeover shows on tv? You look less like a little boy today," Max said, snickering at his on comment. I grumbled. Ian began playing with my hair as Max laughed at his antics.

"You two better buzz off before I punch your lights out, I swear to god," I said as calmly as possible. Neither of them seemed threatened by what I said, but got up and left my sight anyways. I sighed with relief, and I heard Lana giggle from behind me.

"Gee, Lana, thanks for sticking up for me,"

Lana shrugged, as usual. She was never the one to speak up about anything. "They're just messing around, boys bein' boys,"

"Boys being boys? You gotta be kidding me! They're complete dickheads and you just let them walk all over me,"

Lana throws her hands up in defense. "Hey man, I'm not the one with a problem,"

"You're too concerned about popularity you can't see that all your friends are total losers who peak in high school," I said, about three hundred percent done with Lana's antics. She looked offended by what I said, I didn't care at this point. The last shred of the old Lana I was childhood friends with seemed to had disappeared. Or at least I'd finally noticed it had.

"Whatever," she said meekly, and walked away. I waved her off and crossed my legs, now frustrated and angry.

It wasn't long until Gary and Wyatt spotted me, after emerging from a store with a few little packages. They sit down either side of me, and weirdly I shuffle slightly away from Gary. I sighed heavily and rested my head on Wyatt's shoulder.

"What's got you down?" Wyatt asked, as Gary looked at me with a worried look on his face.

I huffed and held my head in my hands. "I don't even know anymore,"
"C'mon Max! This is the best weekend of our lives, how could you be gloomy?" Gary said happily. I couldn't help but be a little inspired by is optimism.

"I guess you have a point, Wallace," I sat up a little straighter.

"Yeah, For the first time in my life, I don't feel like a total dick," Wyatt said wistfully. For a moment, we shared a sense of pride between us. Perhaps everything wasn't so bad for us now.

And if seemingly on cue, our parade was, most humiliatingly, rained on.

A delicious pile of ICEE landed on the three of us, all of us getting an equal amount of goop smothered on our heads. It seemed as if the entire mall had erupted in howls of laughter. My face was probably as red as the slush dripping down my face.

"Sorry, boys! Momentary loss of motor control!" Max yelled out to us. I looked up to see the terrible two giggling proudly at their work, while the three girls - to my surprise - seemed rather unimpressed.

"There's a big white sale going on..." Ian began. 

"...at Towel World!" Max finished. I groaned as the girls walked away from the boys.

Gary flipped his hair back, slush flying from his head. Wyatt sprayed breath freshener in his mouth, as if preserving his final shred of sanity.

"Can I have some of that, please?" Gary asked meekly. He blinked as Wyatt spurted freshener in his mouth. I grumbled loudly, and flung myself to the ground dramatically.

"Everything's coming up Maxine, hey?"

"Its not exactly coming up Gary or Wyatt either," Gary scoffed.

Heeeyyyyy kids
Long time no update
Only a short one but I like it
I wanted to end it here cos I like this scene.
Hope u like xoxox