out.”
I could tell by Grandpa’s expression
that the cost of the slipper was more than fifty and there’d be
some money coming out of Robby’s pocket. Then his grandfather
looked at me and his eyes twinkled and he smiled.
“ Smart boy. This is one
painting I can’t wait to see.” He clapped Robby on the back in
spite of what must have been a stupid sale. “Now make an old man
happy and wear the color peach when he paints you. It’ll be perfect
for your complexion,” he said to me.
“ I really shouldn’t take
this if it’s more than fifty.”
“ No,” both Robby and his
grandfather echoed together. A bit odd but I wasn’t about to
complain. So I managed to snag the gift and time with Robby. Talk
about a win-win situation.
Anyway, I was thrilled with my
acquisition and his explanation for looking at me so weird that
first day. I mean really, who wouldn’t want to be selected by an
artist as the perfect model?
Then of course, he mentioned the ‘D’
word. That would be dance. I mean, it’s not like he asked me out or
anything. He didn’t even ask me to go with him. He just asked if I
was planning on going.
I acted like I hadn’t even heard
anything about it, you know, being new and all. Then I felt
brainless because I’d have to be blind not to know about the dance.
Every hallway was littered with flyers, posters adorned the walls,
and banners flew over every entrance announcing the first dance of
the season. I blushed. He’d either think I was dim witted or a big
fat liar.
He let it slip casually into the
conversation that he was going to ‘stop by’ and I should ‘check it
out.’ Now for all I knew he could be stopping by with his
girlfriend and might have told me to check it out for any of a
million reasons, but I hoped it was because he wanted to hang out
and get to know me there.
So I left there grinning for more than
one reason.
****
Okay, so maybe the best time to tell
Berkley that I might be able to see the future wasn’t when she had
just gulped down a large amount of Dr. Pepper. She choked on it and
it sprayed all over the ground like a volcanic eruption. Good thing
I sidestepped or I would have worn the bulk of it and that would
not have been good for my new white sweater.
We were headed home and about two
blocks from school when the rest of the kids we were walking with
took a left on Main, and Berkley and I grabbed a soda from the
machine at the gas station. I should have timed it better, but we
were finally alone and I had to get it out while I still had the
courage.
And let’s face it, she was the logical
choice because not only was she my best friend, but Berkley had
been around for the whole ghost thing and believed, so I figured it
wouldn’t be much of a stretch for her to believe this too. Hadn’t
figured in the shock factor though.
She continued to cough a bit after her
ground watering so I hit her back until she caught her breath. She
glared at me to stop. “So you think you’re psychic?”
How the hell do you answer that? I
mean it sounds sort of stupid when it’s said out loud. “I’m not
sure exactly but something weird is going on.”
She chuckled. “Yeah, well I knew that
when I met your ghost.”
My shoes scuffed along the pavement as
I dragged my feet like I did when I was a child. “Technically my
grandmother. She may be a ghost, but she’s still my
grandmother.”
Berkley did a little time out gesture
with her hands and took a sip of the remaining soda. “Just wanted
to make sure I actually got to swallow some of this. Who knows what
you’ll say next. There won’t be a lot more now, will
there?”
We started walking again, but at a
slower pace so we’d have more time to talk before hitting the
intersection where Berkley and I would head in different
directions. “Other than the fact I share a room with my dead
grandmother and seem to dream of the future, no, there’s nothing
else.” But just so she’d understand, I filled her in
I could tell by Grandpa’s expression
that the cost of the slipper was more than fifty and there’d be
some money coming out of Robby’s pocket. Then his grandfather
looked at me and his eyes twinkled and he smiled.
“ Smart boy. This is one
painting I can’t wait to see.” He clapped Robby on the back in
spite of what must have been a stupid sale. “Now make an old man
happy and wear the color peach when he paints you. It’ll be perfect
for your complexion,” he said to me.
“ I really shouldn’t take
this if it’s more than fifty.”
“ No,” both Robby and his
grandfather echoed together. A bit odd but I wasn’t about to
complain. So I managed to snag the gift and time with Robby. Talk
about a win-win situation.
Anyway, I was thrilled with my
acquisition and his explanation for looking at me so weird that
first day. I mean really, who wouldn’t want to be selected by an
artist as the perfect model?
Then of course, he mentioned the ‘D’
word. That would be dance. I mean, it’s not like he asked me out or
anything. He didn’t even ask me to go with him. He just asked if I
was planning on going.
I acted like I hadn’t even heard
anything about it, you know, being new and all. Then I felt
brainless because I’d have to be blind not to know about the dance.
Every hallway was littered with flyers, posters adorned the walls,
and banners flew over every entrance announcing the first dance of
the season. I blushed. He’d either think I was dim witted or a big
fat liar.
He let it slip casually into the
conversation that he was going to ‘stop by’ and I should ‘check it
out.’ Now for all I knew he could be stopping by with his
girlfriend and might have told me to check it out for any of a
million reasons, but I hoped it was because he wanted to hang out
and get to know me there.
So I left there grinning for more than
one reason.
****
Okay, so maybe the best time to tell
Berkley that I might be able to see the future wasn’t when she had
just gulped down a large amount of Dr. Pepper. She choked on it and
it sprayed all over the ground like a volcanic eruption. Good thing
I sidestepped or I would have worn the bulk of it and that would
not have been good for my new white sweater.
We were headed home and about two
blocks from school when the rest of the kids we were walking with
took a left on Main, and Berkley and I grabbed a soda from the
machine at the gas station. I should have timed it better, but we
were finally alone and I had to get it out while I still had the
courage.
And let’s face it, she was the logical
choice because not only was she my best friend, but Berkley had
been around for the whole ghost thing and believed, so I figured it
wouldn’t be much of a stretch for her to believe this too. Hadn’t
figured in the shock factor though.
She continued to cough a bit after her
ground watering so I hit her back until she caught her breath. She
glared at me to stop. “So you think you’re psychic?”
How the hell do you answer that? I
mean it sounds sort of stupid when it’s said out loud. “I’m not
sure exactly but something weird is going on.”
She chuckled. “Yeah, well I knew that
when I met your ghost.”
My shoes scuffed along the pavement as
I dragged my feet like I did when I was a child. “Technically my
grandmother. She may be a ghost, but she’s still my
grandmother.”
Berkley did a little time out gesture
with her hands and took a sip of the remaining soda. “Just wanted
to make sure I actually got to swallow some of this. Who knows what
you’ll say next. There won’t be a lot more now, will
there?”
We started walking again, but at a
slower pace so we’d have more time to talk before hitting the
intersection where Berkley and I would head in different
directions. “Other than the fact I share a room with my dead
grandmother and seem to dream of the future, no, there’s nothing
else.” But just so she’d understand, I filled her in
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