"Yo, James. You still coming over to my house after school today? We have got to get ready for the big graduation party next week!" My best friend, Carlos, texted me as I was driving home from school.
"Yeah, I should be there by four. I have got to study for my calculus final tomorrow, so help me if you see me texting during the party," I replied.
Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold up. Calculus? You are in the eleventh grade; you are going to be a senior in the Spring. Senior year doesn't get much better than this. I will help you out with anything you need help on. But, you should not be worried about calculus. Wow. You will do fine. Be at my house before four. And, please, text away at the party. Cheer up, man. You will be done with all that studying in a few weeks. Then, we can spend all day hanging out. In the meantime, let's have some fun tonight. That girl of yours is working at the mall again. She won't be there this time, so you can't make her your excuse not to have fun," Carlos texted.
"You got it! See you! Oh, and I forgot to tell you. I swore to have her out at the mall before I walk you home," I texted back.
"Hold on a second," I said to my mom, "I have got to get going on this. I think I can get it done tonight. It looks like it won't take long."
"Great. See you soon," she replied, as she went back to her book.
I looked over at Carlos and he looked as quiet as a mouse. "Yes? What is it?" I asked.
"That boy at school actually told my dad that I was with you this afternoon," he said in complete shock.
"Oh, no. I am so sorry. Did you get in trouble?" I asked, not really sure how I felt about it.
"Yeah, I did. I didn't think that was going to happen. I never even told him where we were going to meet. He must be watching us all the time." This was the first time I had gotten him really upset. He never seemed to be bothered by anything, but now his face showed his concern. I could tell that he felt that this was something he could not control. He loved his dad and he did not want to disappoint him.
"Let's not worry about it. You are a minor and you are doing nothing wrong. Don't worry about your dad. Just enjoy what you're doing. Don't let him ruin your day. I can see they have. Life is not that serious," I said, trying to calm him down.
"Alright, you got it. Let's go. I need to get to Carlos' and put my stuff away. School is about to start," he said, as he got out of the car.
Carlos' dad was very strict with his children. He did a great job of making sure that his children learned the right things. He would not tolerate any kind of bad behavior. The only parts of his children's lives that he tolerated was their education, and their music. Everything else was his world and he was in control. This made Carlos a little nervous. He was very protective of his dad, almost as if it were a love-hate relationship.
"I can't believe he's been watching you all this time. I didn't think that was possible." I patted him on the shoulder as we headed back to class.
"I don't mean to do anything that is wrong. I just would like him to be my best friend. I just want to hang out with him like a normal father and son. I wish he could understand that," Carlos said, as he shook his head in disbelief.
"You are special. You are one of the greatest human beings that I have ever met. He just needs to let you be who you are. Just don't do anything that would make him upset. Let me worry about making sure you are okay. Okay?" I said, as I helped him through the doors of the school.
"I guess you are right. I am sorry that I have gotten you in trouble," he said.
"Hey, don't worry about it. It will all be over soon. All things happen for a reason. Just keep being who you are and he will come around. I have a feeling he is just missing something. I am sure he will come to you soon enough. I am pretty sure I saw something in his eyes that told me that he really liked you," I said with a grin.
"Yeah, I guess you are really smart, aren't you," he said.
"I guess I am pretty smart. I suck at math, though," I replied as we headed up to first period.
"Yeah, that is pretty bad news," he said, with a wry grin.
At least I can still scare him with math. We have crossed paths in the area of all that is smart, but the area of math might be an exception.
I opened my math text and began to read through it, while Carlos and I continued to hang out. I worked for about three solid hours, and then I was ready to go. "Okay, I'm ready. I think I will do your math homework later tonight. I need to go," I said, as I grabbed my stuff.
"Alright, you can still come over after supper, right? Oh, here is the homework we were talking about earlier. I know you will do a great job on it," he said.
"Yeah, that is cool. Your mom will have the place running smoothly. You can just chill out and have a good time," I said.
"That is exactly what I was thinking about doing," he said, as we figured out the bus schedule.
"I have not met your mom in person. I don't know what to expect. She seems really cool," I said, as we got on the bus.
"Yeah, she is really cool. I really do like her. She's my best friend, but it is weird that we live together, but we don't really see each other. What is really weird is the cool way she acts around you and my dad," he said.
"She is just trying to be friendly. It is good for you because she will keep you out of trouble, but it is hard on you because she doesn't do anything bad and will babysit you. There is no right or wrong. She is just trying to be a friend, and I think that is cool. Your dad was calm about it. I think he is okay about it," I explained.
"Yeah, I guess that is cool. Nothing else matters, anyway," he said.
We were just about ready to leave for the mall. I was trying to think of the perfect thing for us to do that would end up getting us in the mall with her. I know that I had set it up this morning, but now I was nervous. I had no idea what she would be like. I knew that she was crazy about me, but I hoped she wouldn't have remembered me, or remembered to come by the house.