“Where are you going son,” my father asked.
“Out,”
“I know that; out where?”
“The mall,” I admitted.
“What’s at the mall?”
My mother rescued me, finally, “Oh Howard, for cripes sakes, leave him be,”
Sheepishly, I waved, “I’ll be back after 10pm,”
“That late?” My dad again.
“Dad, I’m 14 and it’s Friday!”
I hated that bemused look on his face (know-it-all).
“Ok!” he said.
“Ok, see ya’s” I said leaving.

As I walked into the streets, the mall was visible even from my house. My heart raced. It hadn’t been all that long; what? a couple of hours, since I’d seen her? And here I was, walking towards her, both thrilled to be able to see her without Tom and Rick teasing me.
“She’d never even look at you, man,” Rick chides.
“You’re a frackin’ geek, Eric. Girls like her don’t give guys like you the time of day,” Tom pokes.

No jocks snickering. No teachers watching.
Just Andrea and me at the soda-shop sipping a float.
“Oh crap!” I suddenly thought, “What the hell am I going to say to her!”