Sweet Lantern

Chapter 5

Darry

I lay my head down on my desk and listen to the quiet but excited chatter going on around me. I'm usually right there in the conversation, but today my mind is a million miles away. I'm a little nervous about tonight. I may be telling Alice how I feel. I can't stand it. I can't go into our Senior year without her knowing. I want to be with her. I desperately want us to spend our Senior year as a couple, not just best friends, but something deeper, something more.

I know Alice better than I know myself, better than anyone else knows either of us, but I am uncertain about this. I don't know how she will react when I tell her. Will she be happy? Will she say she loves me and wants this too? Will she be upset? Will she run away from me? Ugh!! I don't know what to expect and it's got me all in knots.

"Hey man, where are you right now?" I hear a voice say from behind me. I turn to see Joel sitting in his desk, half leaning it forward toward me. "Hey Joel. Oh, I'm here. Just thinking about Alice, man. You gonna be at the bonfire tonight?" I ask him, trying to change the subject. All my friends know how I feel about Alice. I don't hide it. I would never hide her.

They have all encouraged me to tell her how I feel. They think we would be great together. I overheard one of the girls saying something about 'shipping' us once, but I have no clue what they were talking about. Girls can be very weird and scary sometimes. I just try my best to ignore them until they're making sense.

"Yeah, we're all going. You and Alice gonna be there?" Joel asks me. "Yeah, we'll be there. I'm thinking about telling her tonight, man." I say and see his expression change into something that looks like excitement and a sigh of "finally."

I look behind him and see the whole crew; Matt, Brittany and Kevin. Jessica isn't in this class with us. Joel turns and tells them what he's just heard and they all crowd around me.

"What????!" Brittany squeals and then claps, dramatically.

"It's about time, Darry!" they all say.

Matt pats me on the back and tells me I might as well make it official; we already act like a married couple anyway. I just smile at him and nod in agreement. We really do. I've never had a girlfriend and she's never had a boyfriend. We spend all our time together, we always have. I've never even liked another girl. No one stands up to her. Not even close.

Matt and Brittany are leaning in close to each other. They're making kissy faces at each other and laughing privately together. "Man, get a room!" Joel says. He likes Brittany, but she only has eyes for Matt. They've been together since we were all in the 7th grade. They're close like me and Alice, but not quite as close. I laugh as Brittany turns and sticks her tongue out at Joel and turns right back to Matt. Joel scowls and moves his seat to the back of the room. I feel bad for him, but he needs to move on and see that Jessica likes him and is readily available to him whenever he stops this mess he's got going on over Britt.

I look back at Kevin, who is drawing like mad in his sketch pad. He's very talented. His art has been showcased in the school more times than I can count. He even painted the big tiger face of our school mascot in the gym. I know he's going places. No way he will stay around here, letting his talents go to waste, I hope. One day I will get to say I knew him when. And maybe he will remember me and send me some of that dough he'll be raking in. I laugh to myself at the thought of taking his money.

I look at the clock and see that it's time for me to slip out. I tell the guys "bye" and pick up my things. I go to the front of the room and tell Mr. Johnson that I have to leave. I'm expected back at home early to help my parents with something on the farm, I lie. He doesn't even look up from his cellphone as he nods and motions for the door as if telling me to just go. So, I do.

I run to my locker to grab the box I've been hiding inside. It's a simple black box with a lacy purple ribbon around it. But inside is a beautiful silver chain with a bright green stone pendant at the bottom. The green matches Alice's eyes. I knew she'd love it, so I had to have it. I bought it with the little bit of savings I had left after putting the rest into my car. I know she's going to love it.

I go into the parking lot and get in my car, tossing the box into the back seat and covering it with my Varsity jacket. The last bell will ring any minute now and they'll start flooding out. I have to wait for just the right moment. I hear the bell and the butterflies in my stomach start dancing. I turn on the engine and watch intently, waiting until she comes out of the door.

When I see her, I put the car in reverse and pull out of the parking spot. She sits on the brick wall after she's unable to spot me, waiting for me to show up. I wait til she turns her back to the parking lot and pull up and park. I get out of the car and run around to the passenger side, lean against it and whistle. Alice turns to face me, and I can see the confusion. She walks toward me, questioning me with her eyes. I just smile.

"Whoa!! Where did you get that? When did you get it is a better question!?" she asks, excitedly.

"I bought it a while back, I've been working on it here and there for a while. I didn't want to say anything until I was finished with it and had it running. So, what do you think? Do you like it?" I ask her, hopeful.

"Like it? Darry, I love it!" She says as her eyes light up. I let out a sigh of relief and smile at her response.

She walks up to the car and runs her hand down the cool steel body. I think she really likes it. And she may even be a little impressed that I did it all by myself? Maybe. "Good, I hoped you would." I tell her. I open the passenger door for her and motion for her to get in. She sits down and I close the door behind her. I enjoy doing sweet things for her.

Opening and closing a door may seem old fashioned and simple to some, but it means a lot to me that I treat her right and she deserves respect. Me opening the door is just my way of showing her that I am thoughtful to her and I respect her. I walk around to the driver's seat and get in. She's looking around the car, checking things out. I put the car in drive and take off, headed for her house.

On the ride home, we talk about the bonfire, well I talk about the bonfire and I tell her about my car and how I fixed it up, what all I did to it. I doubt if she's really interested in shop talk, but I tell her anyway because I'm proud of my work and excited that we have this car to get us places now. We talk about this summer and what we hope to do and how we want to spend it.

Before I know it, we are at her house, driving down her long dirt driveway between the two white fences that line it on either side. Her big white farmhouse in front of us. I pull up and park and ask her what color she will be wearing tonight. I want to match her, like I always do when we go out together. I know it sounds silly and juvenile, but I like for us to match. It makes me feel more connected to her on some weird level. She is always happy to oblige me and tells me she will be wearing green. I know immediately which shirt I'll wear because she only has one shade of green that she likes to wear. And I think about the necklace laying on the seat behind me.

We say bye and she gets out of the car. I head out of her driveway and look in my rear-view mirror, she's sitting on the steps of her front porch, watching me leave. Why is she watching me leave though? I feel a tingling feeling rise up on the back of my neck. Could she feel the same way? I get a newfound sense of hope about tonight. My confidence growing in what I have now decided for sure I'm going to do.

"Lord,please be with me", I pray. "I need your help with this."