Boy Meets Girl (Shawn Hunter from BMW Love Story)

chapter twelve

     During lunch on Friday, Shawn ran over to our table in exhilaration. Cory, Topanga, and I all looked at him with a strange expression. "Shawn, do you mind toning your excitement down? I just want to eat my meatloaf in peace," Cory complained while he poked at his meatloaf with a fork. Shawn shook his head and slammed four red tickets on the table.

    "Tonight, we are going to a drive in movie!" Shawn said as he folded his arms and nodded his head with confidence.

    "With what car?" Cory added.

     Shawn brought out a polaroid picture and waved it in front of our faces.  "My new car!"    

      The polaroid displayed an old brown pickup truck that looked like it had survived both world wars. I shifted my eyes from the picture to Shawn's excited face. My heart smiled at the fact that he was so thrilled about the car, despite its rusty appearance. "She's a 1978 Ford F-150! Now I know she looks a bit rough, but me and my uncle have spent the last three months working on her and trying to fix her up. We got a really sweet deal too because my uncle knows a guy," he told us.

      "What guy?" Cory asked.

      "My uncle said if I knew then he'd have to kill me."

      "Well, the car is-

      "Great!" I interrupted Topanga. "The car looks great!"

       "Yeah it's cool," Cory said. Shawn smiled, looking pleased at our response and placed the photo in his wallet. 

       "I also got the tickets for free because my uncle knows another guy."

       Topanga chuckled. "Wow, your uncle knows everybody, huh?"

        "Yeah, he made a lot of friends in prison," he replied. Topanga cringed at Shawn's reply while I awkwardly laughed to cover the silence. "Anyway, so are we all going tonight?"

        "I'm in!" Cory responded. 

        "Me too," I said with a grin.    

        "I'll have to miss my eight o'clock yoga class though, but I guess I'll join," Topanga answered.

        "What movie is playing tonight?" I asked.

         "Grease," Shawn answered. My eyes lit up and I clapped my hands. 

          "Yay! I love Grease!" I cheered.

          Shawn rubbed his palmed together and beamed at our upcoming plans. "Sounds great. I'll bring the popcorn again?" 

         "No!" Cory, Topanga, and I all shouted in unison. 

              *          *            *

     That evening, Shawn picked all of us up in his pickup truck. He and I sat in the front while Cory and Topanga had to sit in the trunk. Shawn and I hoped their alone time would help resolve their issues. Occasionally, I would glance at them through the rearview mirror and watch them sit in silence. "How are they doing back there?" Shawn questioned as his gaze shifted from the road to the rearview mirror. 

     "I haven't seen them talking."

     "That sucks, don't worry though. I'm sure they'll come around. Drive in movies are normally very romantic, so that should spice things up between them."

    "Yeah I guess," I sighed as I leaned my head on the window. I observed the starry night sky through the window and traced shapes with my index finger on the glass. Shawn's reflection appeared faintly in the glass.