A Small Triumph (thing)

Frank calls me up today and says that we’re going to meet some girls. I’ve heard all this before and tell him just that. You see- Frank always likes to get things going, but never pulls through. Especially with girls. He tells me that he’s got a plan today. These are no ordinary girls. They’re fifteen years old and one of them works at the pool hall! We’ve been trying to get in there ever since I turned thirteen, but the doorman prevented that from happening. Anyway, Frank tells me to meet him at the corner around 7 or so- the perfect time for a date. He says he can’t explain the rest on the phone because it’s too dangerous. Frank’s a real joker sometimes. I’m not sure why, but I have no trouble believing him this time. Right after I hang up a familiar sound catches my attention. That would be Greg and Matt tossing pebbles at my window. They want to go to the park and play baseball or chase ducks or somethin’, but I tell them that I have a date tonight. No more time for baby games.

I look in the mirror and study my outfit. Oh no! Grass stains won’t do. I throw on another pair of jeans and notice that these are worn clean through. Oh well, anything beats grass stains. Running into the bathroom, I pull a comb through my hair while brushing my teeth. I am a master of looking good in a hurry. Looking at my face in the mirror, I notice a little bit of hair poking through. This won’t do. I open the cabinet and take out my dad’s razor. Now, I’ve never shaved before so I don’t know exactly how much soap to use. Damn! That’s going to need a band-aid. There’s no regular ones available so I use a Looney-Tunes bandage. My favorite show. I glance at my watch, and start to hurry. It’s almost seven! I’m forgetting something…that’s it! Since this is a special occasion I splash on a dab of cologne. Just enough to set the right mood. When I arrive in the kitchen my mom waves her hand in front of her nose, and asks me what died upstairs. My cheeks turn red, and I confess that I’m going with Frank to meet some girls. She just smiles, and goes back to washing the dishes. On my way out I make sure to grab a pack of Twizzlers. I never leave home without them. I slam the door closed and strut down the steps. Tonight will be awesome!

Five minutes later I meet up with Frank at the alley. He looks good. Frank is two months older than me so he gets to wear the cigarette behind his ear. Not that he smokes or anything- he just likes the look. He’s dressed in his older brother’s leather jacket and a pair of new slacks. I guess they’re new because I’ve never seen him wear slacks before. I would dress the same if I had an older brother, but I think I do just fine on my own. As I walk up to him we start grinning at each other. I punch him on the arm and he tugs on my shirt a little. He makes some comment about me not dressing up, but I tell him I am dressed up and we laugh. Frank tells me that we have to go in the back door so that Julie, Frank’s girl, can let us in without anyone seeing. I nod and start to run off down the alley. Frank grabs my shirt and tells me not to run. Mustn’t look too eager. He’s right, of course, and we start our walk toward destiny.

As we walk down the alley I ask Frank how he met the girls. He launches into a whole explanation about how he met them through some new friends of his and doesn’t shut up so I stop listening after a while. Frank has been hanging out with all of these tough kids from our school recently, and hasn’t been spending as much time with me and the other boys. Now, I don’t mind trying to go out with girls sometimes, but it seems like that’s all he thinks about. I glance over at him, and notice that he has the cigarette dangling between his lips as he talks. It’s not lit, of course, but it’s still cool. A few months ago he wouldn’t even have thought of this whole cigarette trick. Frank asks me what I think of the whole thing, but I don’t know what he’s talking about. I just kinda grunt back at him, and he nods at me. I guess that was good enough for him. Suddenly, a large crash sounds from somewhere behind us. We both stop and stare at each other. Frank shoves me and tells me to cut it out. I tell him it wasn’t me and then we hear it again. Not wanting to take any chances we start to run down the alley. As we run I start to hum the theme song to our favorite cartoon show, and Frank joins in. A few minutes later we stop because up ahead is a glowing neon sign. The pool hall.

Frank stops again and adjusts his jacket. I run my hands through my hair and make sure my shirt isn’t torn anywhere. After sniffing under my arms I slap Frank a high five and we walk into the shallow pool of light created by the sign. My hands begin to shake a little so I shove them in my pockets and take a deep breath. I notice that Frank is doing the same. My heart trips up at the sight of the two girls waiting for us. One of them is my height with brown hair and gorgeous white skin. She’s wearing a "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer" t-shirt. I love that show. Not many other guys my age admit to watching that show, but I know they all do. Anyway, the girls. The other is dressed in a low cut shirt and a tight, short skirt. I guess that’s Julie. We walk up to the girls confidently. They say nothing. We say…nothing. My girl is kind of rocking back and forth on her toes. Real cute. I tell her my name and extend my hand. She does the same. Her name’s Mary. I love that name.

From this close up I can tell that she’s a little shorter than I am. I look down and see her looking up at me with those big brown eyes, and I feel like fainting right then and there. Little birds flap around in my stomach. I must be in love! I glance over at Frank and notice how well he’s chatting up the other girl. She’s leaning against the wall and he has one hand pressed against it near her head. He’s too slick. With a giggle, the other girl asks Frank why he has half a cigarette behind his ear. It must’ve broken when we were fooling around in the alleyway. Frank laughs too, and they start to talk more. I turn back to Mary and say something that must’ve been funny because she lowers her eyes a bit and laughs. Mary comes a little closer to me and puts her hand on my chest. Oh my God! I close my eyes in anticipation, and then….she takes my Twizzler! I open my eyes in shock and watch her start to nibble on one. She offers me the package and I take one for myself. I glance over at Frank. Thank god he didn’t notice. Julie slips over to the door and goes inside, holding it open for us to pass through. Frank goes inside and motions for us to follow. Mary offers me her arm, and we smile at each other again. We cross the threshold quickly and regroup with Frank and Julie. The night’s off to a great start!