Mia the Meek (9 page)

“Mom, I think Jake can flunk English class on his own—he doesn’t need your help.”

“True, his potential in the literary arts is not great. But he
is
awfully cute,” she said, nudging me.

My dad snapped another picture and I spread my hands over my face.

“All right, that’s enough. The photo shoot’s over. Anyway, I think I hear Tim’s parents’ car.” I waved goodbye and ran out the door.

I climbed into the backseat of the car and couldn’t help but notice how cute Tim looked in his polo shirt and jeans. Then I did a mental headslap. I wasn’t supposed to be checking out another guy on my first date with someone else, especially when that someone else had been the love of my life for the past five years! I moved as far away from Tim as I could and leaned my head against the window.

Tim scooted over to my side and his breath tickled my neck as he whispered in my ear, “How about a little wager on tonight’s date?”

“What kind of wager?” I asked, pushing him back over to his side of the car.

Tim’s eyes darted to the front seat to see if his parents were listening, then he lowered his voice.

“If I can get Cassie to kiss me goodnight, you have to make me a batch of cookies.”

“What’s in it for me?”

“If you get up the courage to kiss Jake goodnight, I’ll let you beat me in basketball tomorrow.”

“I can already beat you in basketball.”

“Yeah, right,” Tim smirked. “Well, if you’re too scared—”

“I am
not
scared,” I said.

“Then, it’s a deal,” he said.

“Fine,” I muttered, returning my gaze to the car window and wondering what I’d gotten myself into now.

The ending credits rolled and Jessie declared, “That was absolutely the worst movie I’ve ever seen in my entire life!”

“Girl, you’re off your rector.
Robo Destroyer
is poppins,” Jake replied as we dumped our empty popcorn containers into the trash bin and headed for the exit.

“Whatever.” Jessie looked out the glass door of the lobby. “There’s my parents—we gotta get going. Thanks for the movie, Anthony.”

Anthony shrugged. “It’s all good.”

“Yeah, thanks Collin. Call me,” Stephanie said as she followed Jessie out the door.

“I can’t believe that’s all the thanks you guys are going to get,” Cassie said as her icy blue eyes flashed at Collin and Anthony. “It’s a good thing I know how to properly thank a guy for taking me to a movie.”

And with that, Cassie grabbed Tim with her claws and began slobbering all over him in a giant make-out session. It was like watching a bad accident, and I couldn’t turn away. After what seemed like an eternity of watching gallons of saliva exchange, Cassie finally broke the suction, walked out the lobby without saying another word, and climbed into Jessie’s parents’ SUV. After it pulled away, Tim turned toward me and flashed an arrogant grin.

I bet that low-down dirty rotten sneak told Cassie about the bet so he could cheat me out of a batch of cookies! Well, there was no way I was going to let him win this time.
Giving Tim a defiant stare, I whipped my retainer out of my mouth, gathered every scrap of courage in my nervous body, grabbed Jake, and gave him a kiss he’d remember for the rest of his life. I put into action everything I’d ever read about kissing from my
Young Teen
magazine, and I must have done something right, because Jake enthusiastically responded.

It was everything I’d imagined. . . until Jake’s tongue started doing this weird lizard thing and darted in and out of my mouth. I pulled him closer and tried to contain his tongue so Tim wouldn’t have anything to make fun of. We were just getting back into the groove when a car horn blared and I pulled away. I looked out the lobby door and saw my parents’ faces pressed against their car windows, gawking at me with horrified expressions.
Great, I must be the only person on earth who initiates her adolescent love life with her parents watching from the sidelines.
I slipped my retainer back into my mouth, said goodnight, and ran out to the car.

As Tim and I climbed into the back seat, my mom asked in a quivering voice, “So, did you have good time?”

Tim smirked. “It looks like Mia did.”

I nudged him hard and looked out the window, but I couldn’t help but smile. They couldn’t call me Mia the Meek any more.

My parents marched me inside and sat me down on the living room couch.

“What do you have to say for yourself?” my mom demanded.

“That the cop in
Robo Destroyer
is a very good defender of truth and the American way?”

“I am talking about your very public display of affection.”

“I think it would be a good idea if you don’t make any big plans for tomorrow,” my dad added.

“I’m grounded Saturday just because I kissed a guy? You’re so lame. For God’s sake, I’m almost fifteen.”

“We just think it would be a good idea if you stay home tomorrow and reflect on your behavior,” my mom said wearily. “And please, do not take the Lord’s name in vain in this household.”

“Whatever. Can I go now?” I asked, rolling my eyes as far up as they could go without hurting myself.

“We’ll continue this discussion tomorrow,” my dad called as I ran up the stairs to my bedroom.

I raced into my room, dove onto my bed, and pushed speed dial for Lisa’s number. I gave Lisa the whole story, deciding to leave out Jake’s impersonation of a frog catching a fly.

“So, what did it feel like? Did you see stars?” she asked.

I didn’t know how to respond. I’d been so focused on proving to Tim that I could kiss someone that I hadn’t even thought about stars.

Lisa interrupted the silence.

“Was he a good kisser? When Mike first kissed me, I felt a tingle from my head to my toes. Did your body tingle?”

“It felt good, but I think I was so busy showing off for Tim that I didn’t have time to tingle.”

“Mia, you’re too much. When you’re kissing, you’re supposed to be thinking about the guy in your arms, not someone else!”

“Who cares who I was thinking about? All that matters is that I got my first kiss tonight and it was with Jake Harris!” I heard a distinct
click
as my mom picked up the extension, so I said, “Lisa, I’ve got to go. I’m grounded tomorrow, but I’ll call you on Sunday.” After Lisa hung up, I said into the phone, “You can hang up now too, Warden.”

I hung up the phone, turned off the lights, and settled into bed. Then, closing my eyes, I tried to relive the experience of Jake’s lips on mine. Did I feel tingly? I racked my brain, but in the end, all I could remember was the satisfaction I felt not losing the bet with Tim. Maybe Lisa was right. If I was thinking about Tim when I kissed Jake, did my first real kiss even count?

I
woke up early Saturday morning so I could sneak out of the house for a quick run. I didn’t think being grounded meant I couldn’t get some exercise, but I didn’t want to wait around to ask. Sometimes, it was easier to assume the boundaries of my parents’ rules rather than actually ask for them. That way, I could plead ignorance if and when I got busted.

The temperature was a cool sixty-five degrees, and the air possessed a distinct smell, declaring fall was coming. The leaves were transforming into various shades of orange, red, and yellow and they fluttered under the clear, aqua-colored sky. My heart was full from the beauty of the day and thoughts of Jake.

I’d just reached my turn-around point at the duck pond when I saw Maggie running toward me, so I stopped to wait for her. Sprinting to the pond, she asked, without even a hint of being winded, “How’s the election going?”

“Don’t ask,” I panted. “Lisa seems to think I can win, but she’s the only one.”

“At least I’ll be able to vote for someone I like this year. When we were at Assumption, only the popular kids got to be class president. There wasn’t anyone like you even running for office.” Maggie quickly added, “I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Me not being popular is hardly a news flash.”

“But you’re nice. And I know all the freaks and geeks in the ninth grade class are voting for you. If you think about it, there’s way more of us than there are popular kids, so maybe you do have a chance of winning.”

“Maybe I should change my slogan to ‘Mia the Meek, Queen of the Freaks.’”

“I like it—it’s catchy.”

“Well, I better get home.” I pretended to modestly shuffle the ground with my foot. “My parents grounded me for absolutely no reason. . . other than I kissed Jake Harris last night!”

Maggie screamed. “No way!”

“Yes way, but I’ll have to tell you all about it at school on Monday. I really am grounded and I need to get home before anyone wakes up,” I said, turning to make my way home.

I ran as fast as I could, which isn’t saying much, but unfortunately, I wasn’t quick enough, because when I tiptoed in the back door, my parents were already at the kitchen table drinking coffee and reading the paper. My mom looked up.

“Well, since you have so much energy this morning, I made a list of jobs for you to do. Go take your shower and get busy.”

By four o’ clock, I’d finished my last task—re-arranging the Tupperware drawer—and gone in search of my mom. I found her sprawled on the family room floor, corrected papers surrounding her. I put my hands on my hips.

“I’m finished with everything on your list. Is there anything else you need me to do, like clean the bathroom floor with my toothbrush?”

She put down the paper she was correcting and rubbed her eyes.

“I’m tired of fighting with you. Let’s call a truce. Why don’t you get cleaned up and we can all go out to dinner together as a special treat?”

“Oh joy, I can’t imagine anything more fun than going out to dinner with
my family
.” I plopped down on the couch. “Can you pretty please take me to a restaurant that has a kiddie menu and crayons so I can connect the dots as I wait for my meal?”

“That comment just got you grounded for Sunday as well,” my mom said, climbing up off the floor. “While your father and I take Chris out to dinner, I suggest you start researching your final project in English, or you’ll be repeating my class in summer school.”

“What am I supposed to eat for dinner?”