Innocence Lost On the Gamble of Love

Innocence Lost On the Gamble of Love: Chapter 1

Two hands clasped together in a firm handshake, the kind that businessmen use to seal a deal. 

"Good luck," said a teenage boy with a buzz cut and rugged build.

"C'mon, Ritchie," the other teenager boy scoffed in arrogance, playing it cool. "It'll be easy," he emphasized, raising his eyebrows to show that he meant what he said.

"I don't know," Ritchie said in doubt, eyeing a timid looking girl who sat not too far away from them on a bench surrounded by her friends. "She looks like a piece of work. A hard to please type, you know?"

"I heard she's a bitch," another boy suddenly commented, joining in on the conversation that he had been eavesdropping on. "She acts stuck up in class. No one really talks to her."

"No way, dude," said the taller of the boys named Derrick. "She's nice."

Nice in every way, he thought crudely to himself with an evil smirk appearing on his always friendly face.

"Why are you smiling all creepy like that?" Ritchie asked, looking at his friend with concern.

"I think that's just his face in general," their other friend teased with a large grin, clutching his abdomen to contain his laughter.

Derrick glared at his friends before retorting, "I was thinking about the idea of seeing you in a dress after I win this bet."

Ritchie's face fell. "Don't hold your breath, man."

...................................

A very loud screech could be heard over the receiving end of her BlackBerry Bold 9650. 

"WHAT?!" her best friend, Liz shouted over the phone. "When?"

"After you got picked up," Penelope explained hastily before her friend could interrupt again. "He walked over to me and said, 'Hey, are you busy on Friday?' and of course I said, 'no.' and so he said, 'want to go to the mall, maybe catch a movie?' so I said, 'uh, yeah, that sounds like fun.'"

"It doesn't sound like fun, it sounds like a date!" her friend gasped in awe. 

"I know. I'm so nervous now..." Penelope sighed, running a hand across her dark tresses that were falling over her eyes.

"Why'd he ask you out so suddenly?"

"I have no idea. Maybe he missed me too much over the break. Plus, it's the new year, maybe he made a resolution to not be such a little cat," she snickered evilly at her little pun. "But I'll ask him on Friday before the movie. Hey, is there any good movies out? Something with action and violence because you know I can't sit through chick flicks, and no scary movies because Derrick says they're a waste of money."

"I'm online, I'll check for you right now."

"Liz?"

"What's up?"

"I-have-a-date-with-Derrick!" Penelope squealed in delight.

"I know," Liz retaliated with a smile that her friend couldn't see over the phone. "I'm happy for you, really. I just think it's a little strange that he asked you out after all this time. Didn't he just break up with what's-her-face slut bag?"

Penelope rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Her name is Ivy, and she was just a rebound."

"Still," Liz continued rationally. "Hey, didn't you say you wanted to put some poison on her ivy and hit her with some Mace?"

"Spray her with some Mace." Penelope corrected with a smirk on her always serious face. "But who cares now? Derrick is all mine."

"Let's keep it that way."

.........................................

Derrick knocked cautiously on his sister's door.

"Come in!" was the reply from the other side.

He opened the door warily, and the wood creaked steadily at the action. He gripped onto the doorknob, feeling agitated for what he was about to ask.

"Oh, hey, bro. What do you want? A makeover? I can't really do much, you were born like that." Teresa teased, looking over one of the many composition books that were scattered over her queen-sized bed. The pages were all covered with symbols and notes: her music.

"Very funny," Derrick huffed before frowning.

He was getting sick of all these jibes against his looks today. He didn't look that bad, did he? A girl in his Government class had classified him as "decent" so that wasn't so bad, right?

"Look," he continued half-heartedly. "Can I borrow ten bucks? I'll pay you back."

Teresa put a hand on her chin, making a dramatic act about thinking it over, knowing that Derrick would get annoyed if she said told him "no."

The twenty-year-old female made a grab for her wallet that had been resting idly on her nightstand right beside her pink Nokia cell phone. Her wallet was one of those big clutch bag things that Derrick would never understand how to function.

"What for?" his sister asked, flimsily counting the bills she had inside with some rustling movements.

A slight tinge of pink appeared on Derrick's tan-colored cheeks before he sheepishly answered, "I, uh, have a date."

"Way to go, champ!" Teresa praised gleefully, with a broad smile spreading across her cherubic peppy face. "But if that's the case, I'll fork over twenty. Girls aren't cheap." She pulled out a crisp bill from her wallet.

"It is a girl, right?" she asked with narrowed eyes.

"Yes, it's a girl, and not all of them eat as much as you do!" he retorted, approaching her to take the money.

"Hey, take that back! You want the money or not?" she snapped angrily.

Derrick sighed deeply. "Alright, fine, I'm sorry," he apologized, holding up his hands in defeat.

Teresa handed over the crisp green bill which her brother snatched up greedily. 

"Thanks, Tess."

"Yeah, I know I'm awesome," she said in a bratty way, just to make her brother scoff. "Hey, if you do my laundry, I won't make you pay me back."

Derrick laughed. "Yeah, sure, but no undergarments."

Teresa threw her pillow at Derrick which he neatly dodged before racing out the door.

His first girlfriend ate way more than I do, she thought to herself before shaking her head at the image of her brother even dating at all.

.............................