Chapter 2

     A couple of days later, while walking through the halls to his locker, Matt saw
Danielle at her locker.  He wanted  to apologize for being so cold to her on the phone.
Matt started to head over to her when Chris Askew beat him there.  So Matt kept on
walking, until he got to his first class of the day.
     Later on that day Renee Moreno spotted Danielle in the hall.  She was
Danielle's closest female friend.  "Dani, was that Chris Askew with you during lunch?"
asked Renee.
   "Mmhm," answered Dani.
   "Well..."
   "Well what?" Dani asked innocently.
   "What did you talk about?"
   "Well... he asked me if  I wanted to make it official," Dani answered.
   "Yeah and what did you say?"
   "I said...yes!" Dani said excitedly.
   "Congratulations!" Renee exclaimed as she hugged Danielle.
   "Hello ladies,"  Matt greeted as he came up. "What's all the excitement about?"
   "Chris and Dani are official," Renee answered excitedly.
   Danielle was embarrassed.  When it came to dating, she was a little
uncomfortable talking about it with Matt.  Dating was one of those taboo subjects in
platonic relationships for her.  Besides, Matt probably did not care who she dated or liked
anyway.
   "Really. Oh wow--uh-- that's great," Matt said in a kind of flustered tone. "I have
to go now. I'm late for my make-up test.  I was suppose to be there at 3:00 and now... it's
3:05. Bye."
   "Bye," said Renee curiously.  She wondered what made him seem so
uncomfortable all a sudden.
   "Bye," replied Danielle.
     As Matt walked away, he felt embarrassed.  He wondered why he got so
flustered.  He wondered why should he care who Danielle dated.  She was his friend and
he wanted the best for her, but only she could choose who she wanted to date.  As long as
she was happy, he had always thought.  But for some reason it bothered him that she was
happy with someone else.  All this Matt thought about while walking down the hall.  He
was so preoccupied with his thoughts, he did not realize that Danielle was calling him.
"Wait up!"
  "I thought you were talking to Renee," said Matt.
  "I was," replied Dani, "but  I need to talk to you."   She sensed that something
was wrong and she aimed to get to the bottom of the problem.
  "I'm listening."
  "What's wrong?  You've been acting weird since Saturday,"  Dani asked staring at
him with her soft brown eyes.
     Matt looked into her eyes mesmerized.  He started to lean forward to kiss her for
a moment when he shook it off.  "Nothing I...I just need to get out more," replied Matt
trying to cover himself.
  "Okay, Matt," she said seeing through his cover.  "You know you can tell me
anything.  I'm your friend."
  "I know."
  "I thought I´d remind you,"  Dani joked, "you know that old age is settling in."
  "Thanks," he remarked sarcastically.
  "You're welcome,"  Danielle replied as she gave Matt a hug.
  "Now that everything´s okay, I better take that test," suggested Matt as he opened
the door to the classroom.
  "Okay.  Bye."
  "Bye," called Matt as he went inside the class room.
   A couple of hours later, Matt came home from school and collasped on his bed.
He took a deep breath and covered his face with his hands.  "This has been a great day,"
he thought as he rolled over toward his night stand and looked at a picture of him and
Dani. "What could she see in him? He´s not the kind of guy I thought she´d go for.  She
needs someone like..." Matt picked up the picture and looked at it. His mind went back to
a couple of hours ago.
   "...I need to talk to you."
  "I'm listening."
  "What's wrong?  You've been acting weird since Saturday,"  Dani asked staring
at him with her soft brown eyes.
     Matt looked into her eyes mesmerized.  He started to lean forward to kiss her for
a moment when he shook it off.  "Nothing I...I just need to get out more," replied Matt
trying to cover himself.
  "Okay, Matt," she said seeing through his cover.  "You know you can tell me
anything.  I'm your friend."
  "I know."
  "I thought I remind you,"  Dani joked, "you know that old age is settling in."
  "Thanks," he remarked sarcastically.
  "You're welcome," Danielle replied as she gave Matt a hug.
 "Those eyes," Matt sighed as he looked at her smiling face. As he remembered
how he felt when he held her, he realized that it was different this time. He felt like he
could not let her go.  It practically hurt inside knowing that she was with Chris.
 "...someone like me." Matt quickly put the picture back on his night stand and
stood up. "I must be out of my mind," Matt replied out loud as he walked over to his desk
and picked his nerf basketball. He shot it at the hoop on the opposite side of the room and
it went in.
 As he went over to get the ball, his door opened and his sister walked ran. She
jumped on the bed. "Hi, Matt!"
 "Next time knock," Matt replied annoyed.
 "Okay," she agreed as she jumped up and down on the bed. "Guess what
happened to me today?"
 "Get off my bed!"
 Crystal jumped off he bed and ran over to Matt. "Guess! Guess! Guess!"
 Matt sighed, "You fell into a big blue mailbox, were mailed to Albaquerque. and
just got back."
 Crystal looked at him strangely. "No, silly," she answered.
 "Wishful thinking," he replied as he sat down on top of his desk. "So what is it?"
 "I´m taking Tae Kwon Do!" she answered excitedly.
 "Great, the ankle biter will try and beat me up now," he sighed.
 Crystal started jumping up and down. "Heeeyaa!" she yelled as she did a karate
chop Matt´s bed.
 Matt looked at his little sister and smirked, "Next thing you know you´ll be
chopping wood with you hands."
 "Really?"
 "Not really," Matt admitted. "But you´ll at least break boards."
 "Neat," she said.
 "So is that all you have to tell me?"
 "Yes," she answered.
 Matt waited for her to leave as abruptly as she had come, but she just stood there.
"Well..."
 Crystal looked down shyly. "Can I play in here?"
 "No way," Matt answered quickly. "Go play in your room."
 Crystal ran over to him and grabbed him by the waist. "Please, Matt," she pleaded
with huge, dewy puppy dog eyes. "I´ll be quiet."
 Matt looked at his sister and almost folded. "Crystal...no."
 Crystal looked at him and her eyes welled up with tears. She looked up at Matt.
"Did you clean the garage like Daddy told you to?"
 Matt looked at his sister. "You wouldn´t."
 Crystal looked at Matt. "Mom!" she yelled.
 Matt quickly rushed over to her and covered her mouth.
 Matt´s mom came to the doorway almost instantly. "Everything okay in here?"
 "Fine," Matt answered quickly. "I was just asking Crystal if she would like to play
in here."
 Mrs. Richardson looked at her daughter. "Are you behaving yourself, Crystal?"
 Crystal looked down.
 "Mom, everything´s cool."
 "All right then," she replied as she left.
 Matt looked at Crystal. "You are sooo lucky, that I..."
 "Thank you, Matty," Crystal said as she hugged her brother.
 Matt anger immediately left him. He stroked her hair and sighed, "You´re such a
pain you know that?"

*     *      *
   "Chris, thanks for bringing me here."
   "You're welcome. I thought that you´d might want to see a movie," Chris
replied.
   Chris Askew had dark brown eyes, brown skin, and a muscular build.  He was
Captain of the basketball team, chess team, and Student Council President.  He was one
the most popular and cutest guys in school.
  "Could you pass the popcorn?" asked Danielle.
  "Sure," said Chris.  He passed the popcorn tub to her and kissed her, but Dani
seemed distracted.  "What's wrong?" Chris asked.
  "Nothing, I was just into the movie," replied Dani.
  "Oh," said Chris,"glad you are enjoying it."
  "What, Matt?" asked Danielle not realizing what she said right away.
  "What!"
  "I...I said 'What hat?'" said Dani trying to cover herself, but the damage had
already been done.
  "Okay, what's really going on?" asked Chris indignantly.  "You've been
preoccupied all night.  I pick you up, you hardly say anything.  I kiss you and you are
thinking of something else or someone else."
  Danielle was embarrassed, people were starting to stare. "Chris let's take this
somewhere else."
  "No, I want to talk about it here and now," said Chris angrily. "It's Matt isn't it?
You like him now, that's why you are acting so antisocial.  You want to go out with him
now."
  "Chris that is not fair!" she exclaimd as she walked out of the theater hot with
embarrassment and anger.
   Chris shook his head. He realized that he was being out of line. "Danielle, look
I'm sorry.  That was uncalled for."
  "It's a little late for that.  I can't believe you said that," Danielle hissed.
  "I'm sorry," said Chris.
  "Just...just leave me alone, Chris"
  "Fine," Chris replied calmly.  Then he stalked off in the opposite direction of
Danielle.
    When Chris left, Dani realized that she did not have a ride home so she headed
over to the telephones to call for a ride.  She knew that her parents were not home, so she
called Matt and hid in the bathroom, in case Chris should come back.  She did not feel
like dealing with him right then.
   Dani peeked outside the rest room ten minutes later, Chris was not there so she
went out to the parking lot to wait for Matt.  Matt pulled up once she was outside in his
black Mazda 626.  She started for it when a hand reached out and grabbed her arm from
the dark shadows.
 

© 1998 Devon Masterson. All Rights Reserved.