Tim’s Date

Tim wakes up in a cold sweat. However, it isn't night terror's that are the culprit this time. This time Tim is anxious. A queasy feeling rises in the pit of his stomach. Saturday is finally here. Tim considers Saturday a free day. A day where he doesn't have to deal with the drama that surrounds him at school. He makes it a point each Saturday to enjoy every moment of it. This Saturday is different. He has to spend part of it with her. He is way past regret. In fact he regretted it almost immediately. He never in a million years thought she would accept. Maybe George was right. Maybe Cindy really does want to get him alone. Maybe he played right into her hands without even realizing it. To think she might be 3 steps ahead of him sends a shiver down his spine. He doesn't want to go through with it but at this point he has no choice.

Since there is no way he is spending a dime of his own money on Cindy, he decides to have a picnic in the park. He finds a musty old blanket in the attic that would be perfect. He gets his mother to buy the necessary ingredients that will comprise their meal. Once he convinces her his date is with a real girl, she becomes willing to do whatever it takes to make that date a success.

His father tells him not to do anything that he himself would not do and Tim responds by saying that Cindy is probably expecting him to at the very least talk to her. Tim's father amends his advice by saying that Tim should probably tone done the sarcasm to which Tim responds that it probably isn't going to happen.

He decides to make bacon and tomato sandwiches. A normal person would have also included lettuce in the equation but Tim isn't fond of lettuce so he leaves that part out. A normal person would also use bread but Tim isn't fond of bread either so he substitutes that with English Muffins. He lightly toasts the English muffins in the toaster and cooks the bacon in the air fryer until the bacon is nice and crisp, just the way he likes it. He realizes that he has no idea if Cindy will also like the Bacon sandwiches but her preferences are not what is important here. If he is going to spend time with someone he doesn't like, he is at least going to enjoy some aspect of the encounter. He grabs a few bottles of water. His mother gives him a tin of brownies to share with what she thinks is the object of his affection. Tim insists that isn't necessary but his mother won’t take no for an answer. Rather than argue with his mother Tim just packs the tin with his other stuff and heads out to the park.

He agreed to meet Cindy at 10:30 and while he has met his part of the bargain, Cindy is nowhere to be found. Did she get cold feet? Did she just want to make a fool out of him? He spreads out the blanket in the shade of a nearby tree and sits down. Even if Cindy doesn't show up, he will still enjoy his lunch and it's always good to get some exercise. Fifteen minutes pass and Cindy is still a no show. However, the person who does show up is Brad and his posse.

"What have we here?" Brad asks not really expecting an answer, "Having a picnic all by yourself?" He shakes his head, "That is just so sad and pathetic. I really feel for you. You know, because you're so pathetic I think we'll do you a favor and cut you some slack." Brad continues, "Just one thing, we've built up quite an appetite, I'm sure you brought

enough food that you can share, seeing as we're being all nice to you and everything."

Before Tim could react, one of Brad's friends grabs Tim's basket and open's it up.

"Hey, he's got some BLT's in here." the unnamed goon announces as he throws a bag with a sandwich in it to Brad. Brad looks at it for a moment.

"Hey, where’s the lettuce? No wonder you're here all by yourself, you can't even make a BLT right." Brad opens the bag and takes a huge bite. "Hey, this is pretty good, guys, you need to taste these sandwiches." The three boys eat all of Tim's sandwiches and take his bottles of water for good measure. They leave Tim sitting there all by himself.

Tim isn't angry. Life just sucks, that's all. Tim didn't know why but the boys left his brownies behind. He takes one a bites into it. He just sits there. After an hour Cindy still does not make an appearance. She saw her opening and took it. She made a fool out of him. He can appreciate that. Maybe now she will leave him alone.

Monday Tim is walking down a hall at school when he hears a familiar voice. He doesn't want to stop but he does anyway. "Tim, I'm sorry I didn't make it on Saturday." Yeah, sure you are, Tim thinks but doesn't say out loud. "I forgot that the family was going to visit my grandparents. They live 90 minutes away and I couldn't get out of it. I wanted to though. Let me make it up to you." Cindy says by way of apology.

"You don't have to. You made a fool out of me. You really got me good. I can appreciate that." Tim says with no malice or ill will in his voice as he walks away from her.

"But I want to." Cindy says as her voice trails off watching him walk away.