With Friends Like These (4 page)

I
twirled the phone cord around my finger. Today was a good day. We had the day off from school and I was stretched out across my bed, going into my third hour of talking to Walter. I probably should have been studying for my history test on Monday, but my conversations with Walter were so much more fun.

“So, did you see Taylor from
American Idol
last night on Jay Leno?” he asked.

“Nah, I don’t watch Jay Leno. My mom says ever since Arsenio Hall went off, she stopped watching late-night TV, so we never really watch it.”

“Who is Arsenio Hall?”

“I don’t know. Somebody who used to have a popular talk show, I guess. My mom is always raving about how funny he was,” I replied. “But I like Taylor, even though I’m still surprised he won. Personally, I was rooting for Paris. I’m surprised you even know who Taylor is, though. You don’t seem like the
American Idol
type.” Walter was one of the smartest guys I’d ever met. Since I met him in the mall last week, we’d talked almost daily. He had me laughing all the time. I was especially impressed with the fact that he got straight A’s and had already been accepted to Princeton. But I guess that shouldn’t really surprise me, since his father was a state senator and his mother was a former Miss Texas.

“I only watch the show because my sister is a die-hard fan,” he said, snapping me back to our conversation.

“So is my friend Alexis.” I laughed.

“Was she the one at the mall with you?” he asked.

“Yeah, the one Sam was trying to talk to.”

Walter laughed, and we started talking about something else. After a few minutes he asked me to hold on a minute. When he returned to the phone, he said, “So you ever been to a drive-in movie?”

“Nope, never have. I mean, I’ve seen some in movies, and I even saw on the news last week about this new one that opened up between here and San Antonio, but I’ve never been to one before,” I said.

“Hmm, well, looks like I may have to take you, then. We could go with a few of our friends and make a road trip out of it. I think you’ll like it.”

“Really?” I asked. I thought there was no way my mom was letting me go on a road trip with a boy, even if it was with a group of people.

“Man, it is so much fun. We used to go to the one near Gatesville when I lived in Killeen. My dad was stationed there for close to fifteen years. It was off the chart,” he said excitedly.

I just loved how his slang seemed so natural, not like a white boy trying to be black, like this guy named Mark at my school.

“Sounds like fun,” I said. “So y’all would just pile up into a car and go to the drive-in, huh? But what about privacy?” I asked.

“You don’t think about that when you’re at the drive-in. I mean, either you’re in a minivan, which is way cool, or—”

“A minivan?” I balked.

“Well, I’m just telling you what some people used to do. Me, well, I’d hop into my dad’s Chevy Impala and bring along a couple of big thick blankets. Talk about a proper drive-in date experience. Now that’s what I’m talking ’bout.” He chuckled.

I was thinking about the picture he was painting for me. I started getting all excited thinking about me, Angel, and Jasmine, with our dates, of course. Yeah, that would be tight.

“You sold me. So whassup? When can we go?” At this point, I’d go to the moon with Walter. Even if it meant having to lie to my mom.

“You serious?” he asked, sounding all surprised.

“Yeah, let me talk to my girls and we can plan a group trip.”

“Okay, cool, that sounds good.”

Suddenly a voice rang through, interrupting our conversation.

“Walter, are you still on the phone?”

“Um, yes, ma’am,” he said.

“I need to use it, sweetheart,” she said.

“Okay, Ma. Let me just say ’bye to my girl. I’ll call you when we’re off,” he answered.

I started feeling all warm and tingly inside. He had just referred to me as “his girl” to his mother. Yeah, things were really starting to take off between us.

I was glad he couldn’t see me blushing. I don’t know why he had my stomach fluttering and stuff. I had never been remotely attracted to a guy of another race, but the funny thing was I didn’t see any color when it came to Walter. I just saw a really cute guy who I enjoyed talking to.

“Look, Camille, my mom needs the phone, but I really want to take you out. I mean, I know we’re gonna do the drive-in thing, but I mean before then. We could like go to TGI Friday’s or something. How does that sound?”

“Sounds like a plan,” I replied.

“You wanna go tomorrow?” he asked.

I bit my lip. “Dang, I can’t. We’re having a sleepover at Alexis’s.”

“So, we’ll go tonight. I’ll pick you up around six. Where do you live?”

I sat up in the bed. “Today?”

He laughed. “What better time than the present? Is that cool with you?”

I glanced over at the digital clock on my nightstand. It was already three o’clock. Then there was my mother to deal with. She wasn’t going to be happy about me going out with someone she didn’t know. But shoot, if I didn’t go tonight, I’d have to wait till next week. “Why don’t I just meet you at six at the restaurant?”

“What, you’re ashamed of me?” he joked.

“Boy, please,” I laughed. “It’s just my mom isn’t even going to be feeling me going out with a stranger.”

“I’m not a stranger.”

“You know what I mean.”

He laughed. “I know. That’s cool. I’ll meet you at six at the Friday’s by First Colony Mall.”

We said our good-byes, and I sat in bed wondering what I would say to my mother. I had really tried to get away from lying to her, but I didn’t see any other way out of it.

I jumped up from my bed and made my way down the hall to my mother’s bedroom. I softly knocked on her door.

“Hey, Ma,” I said as I eased into the room. She was sitting in her chaise lounge with her reading glasses on, her head buried deep in her Bible.

“Hello, sweetheart,” she said, looking up at me. “I thought you were taking a nap.”

I walked over to her bed. “Nah, just in my room hanging out.”

She smiled at me, and I felt a twinge of guilt about the lie that was about to come out of my mouth. Me and my mom had been through some serious drama over the past year, and we were finally getting back on track. I hated to mess all that up by lying to her, but I knew my mother. No way would she let me go out with a boy she’d never even heard me talk about.

I took a deep breath. “Hey, we’re going to have a sleepover at Alexis’s tonight.”

“I thought the sleepover was tomorrow night,” my mother said as she removed her glasses.

“Yeah, but we have another community service project we need to work out all the details for, and tomorrow is all for the kids we’re mentoring,” I lied. I had already figured it out. I would hang out with Walter until he had to go, then I’d come home and tell my mother that I wasn’t feeling good and had to come home.

“Oh, well, then you have fun,” she said.

I flashed a smile and headed toward the door. I stopped just before I left and turned to my mother. “I’m going to leave around five-thirty, if that’s okay.”

My mother nodded. “Yes, sweetheart. You have fun and remember, I love you.”

I swear, my mother gave me this sweet look that made me want to go running back into her room, begging her to forgive me for lying. But images of Walter kept me from coming clean.

I swallowed, waved to my mom and said, “I love you, too. I’ll be careful.” Then I headed to my room to start getting ready for my date.

I
was trying my best not to get impatient while Walter stood yapping on his cell phone.

“Hey, man, if my mom or dad calls, just tell them I’m in the bathroom or something. Yeah, man, that’s all I need you to do. I’ll be there,” he said.

We had met in the parking lot of TGI Friday’s. I wasn’t gon’ interrupt, but I could tell that just like me, he had to lie to his folks to see me. I wish parents understood that telling us no only makes us want to see each other even more.

“Nah, I don’t think they’re gonna call, I’m just saying if they do, that’s all.” Walter shook his head as if his friend could see him. “Yeah, cool, I’ll meet you at your house, but I’ll call you when I’m ready, okay?”

The minute he got off the phone, I said, “So, what was that all about?”

He shrugged off my question at first. But I guess the look on my face told him he couldn’t just blow me off.

“Oh, that’s nothing,” he finally said. “My mother trips sometimes. After I told her you were my girl, she started talking ’bout I’m too young to be serious with anyone. She claims we have a plan—college, grad school, then a serious girlfriend. So rather than deal with her, I just let her think I’m with her plan.”

I didn’t say anything as I followed him inside the restaurant. We put our name on the waiting list and were standing off to the side when Walter’s cell phone rang again. I bit my lips, but didn’t say anything. I hoped his phone wouldn’t ring all evening.

“You coming over here?” I heard him ask. He paused. “Yeah, we’re ’bout to be seated, then we were talking about catching a nine o’clock movie. We can meet you there. Cool.”

He snapped his phone shut, then turned to me. “I hope you don’t mind, but I told Sam him and his girl could meet us at the movies.”

I faked like I was pouting. Although I was just playing, I really did want our first date to just be us.

“Aww, c’mon, there’s nothing wrong with having a little company tag along with us.” He playfully pinched my chin. “Besides, we’ll talk about all the private stuff over dinner, long before the movie starts, anyway.”

I smiled. “I was just kidding, I don’t mind. But you still didn’t tell me what’s up with your folks. I mean, what do they have against me?”

“It’s nothing like that at all. I mean, they don’t know you. I’m telling you, my mother is just afraid I’ll get all wrapped up in some girl and my grades will fall, and all that stupid stuff. Nothing for you to worry about, though. I got them under control.” Walter took his arm and threw it over my shoulder, pulling me closer.

By the time they called us to our table, I was afraid Walter could hear my stomach growling. That’s just how hungry I was.

At the table, we ordered, laughed, and talked until our food arrived. I loved the way things with us just seemed so natural. We were just finishing up dinner when we heard a voice say, “So, now you’re in the business of lying to your mother.”

Walter’s eyes got huge as he jumped up. “Mom!”

“Don’t mom me.” His mother folded her arms. She was a very elegant-looking woman, with beautiful blond hair that hung loosely around her face. She looked like she couldn’t have been a day over thirty and was dressed like she was someone important in some navy linen capris and a cream tank. “I was leaving Pier One, and I thought that was your car over here,” she said. “Since you were supposed to be at Sam’s studying, I came in here to see for myself if my son had turned into a liar.”

“Mom, are you following me?” Walter asked.

“Follow you? Son, I don’t have to follow you. Or at least, I didn’t think I needed to follow you.” She must’ve finally decided to acknowledge me, because she turned to me, her nose in the air. “So, are you the reason my son has taken to lying?”

I stood up myself, not wanting her first impression of me to be a negative one. “I’m Camille.” I stuck my hand out. She didn’t shake it.

“Mother, this has nothing to do with Camille. I chose to lie to you on my own because I knew you were gon’ be trippin’,” Walter said.

“Gon’ be trippin’?”
his mother mocked. “Do you think they talk like that at Princeton? Do you think you can have a career in politics talking like that? Not only that, you have a very important exam tomorrow, and you’re up here hanging out! You
gon’ be
at the community college if you keep this up!”

Walter rolled his eyes. His mother turned her attention back to me. I was still standing there, not sure what to say. “Is this what he turns into, hanging around you? A lying, Ebonics-talking—”

“Stop it, Mother!” Walter said. He was trying to keep his voice down, even though the people at the table next to us had already begun to stare.

I gave her a funny look, not quite sure what she meant by her little comment. She ignored me.

“Walter, I am so disappointed in you. Let’s go,” she said.

Walter blew a frustrated breath, then stared at his mother before sitting back down. “I’ll be home when I’m finished.”

His mother’s mouth dropped open. “Wha—”

Walter snapped his head toward his mother. “I said, I’ll be home when I’m finished!”

His mother looked like she was about to go off, but then she looked around at the people who had started to stare, and she must’ve decided against it. “We will finish this conversation at home. I expect you there by ten o’clock!” she said.

With that, she turned and stormed out of the restaurant.

I eased back into my seat. “Why didn’t you tell me you had an exam?”

“It’s just the S.A.T. I’ve already taken it and aced it, but my mother wants me to take it again to score even higher so that I can qualify for this prestigious award she wants me to have.” He lowered his head and began toying with his napkin. “I just want to be an ordinary guy. Not some superstar senator’s son.”

I took his hand and squeezed it. I felt bad for him. Shoot, I felt bad for us, because I couldn’t help but feel like there was no way I’d ever get his mother to like me.