The Girl in My Dreams (3 page)

“Yeah, I could eat,” I said nonchalantly, as I rubbed my damp palms against my jeans and tried to act cool.

“Good,” she said with a smile before screeching out of the parking lot.

That was one thing I had forgotten about Belle. She had a penchant for speed. Even when we were little, she had this motorized child-size car that would top out at a few miles per hour. I swear she must’ve done something to it, because when I was in the passenger seat, I was clutching on for dear life as she zigged and zagged between bushes and trees without a care for safety. I suppose old habits die hard, and right now, as I dug my fingernails into my thighs, I wished this habit had died a long time ago.

“Still eating here, huh?” I asked as we pulled up to the Dairy Queen.

“How could I not? It’s basically our childhood,” she answered.

The Dairy Queen’s interior had been updated slightly since I was last here, but it was somehow still the same. There were ice cream cakes in the refrigerators, and the menu, now sporting some new items, was still familiar enough to take me back to a simpler time.

“Welcome to Dairy Queen. What can I get for you?” the cashier asked.

Annabelle seemed to know what she wanted, like always, as she left me to awkwardly suffer as the cashier stood there and waited for me while I fumbled with deciding between a burger and chicken strips. I ordered the chicken strips and paid before turning and seeing Belle smiling.

“Same old Theo. Can’t not have his chicken strips and sweet-and-sour sauce,” she said.

“Hey, there’s some new things about me that you don’t know about,” I said.

“Yeah? Like what?” she asked as we filled up our drinks.

Truthfully, I had no idea what had changed since we last talked. I knew that sounded crazy, since it had been many years, but I thought I was about the same person now as I’d always been. You might find new interests or hobbies, but who you are is who you are from the day you’re born until the day you die. Your body might change, but what’s inside is as true now as it is until you take your final breath.

Just as we sat down and set our numbers on the edge of the table, the cashier brought us our trays and took the numbers away with him. I opened my dipping sauce, which had the same muted pink color that it did when I was a kid, and began to dig in as Belle took out her phone and let out a small sigh.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, with food still in my mouth.

“Trent is blowing up my phone as usual. He can be so annoying,” she said.

“I know it’s not my place, especially since we aren’t, you know, as close as we used to be, but you should just move on. You said that you’re going to different colleges anyway. Why make your last year of high school torture?” I asked.

“Well, it’s not like any other guys are busting down the door to date me, at least not since I started dating Trent,” she replied.

“You don’t need to be with somebody to be happy, Belle. You can just be with yourself. You can be with your family, or better yet, with friends. Strengthen bonds with current friends, as well as make new bonds with new friends,” I said.

“What about strengthening bonds with old friends?” she asked as I looked up and locked eyes with her.

“That too,” I said with a small smile.

I didn’t know if it was the aroma of the Blizzards they were making, or if they pumped this place with some kind of anti-nervousness gas, but being around Belle was easier than I expected it to be. I used to see her outside her house or around school or whatever and get insane butterflies, but there was something about talking to her and being around her again that made me feel like I was home. It was like we were kids again, and she still had that missing front tooth that she used to squirt water out of. It was nice.

“I’m really glad I saw you last night. I’ve been wanting to talk to you for a while, but I was a little nervous,” she said.

Did I hear her correctly? Did she just say that she was nervous to talk to
me
? I must be dreaming.

“What? Why?” I asked, with equal parts shock and intrigue.

“I just didn’t think you liked me anymore. We’ve changed a lot since we were kids, and I thought you thought I was stuck-up or pretentious or something,” she said.

“No. Never. I’d never think that of you. I’m the one who was too nervous to say hi or wave or just . . . anything,” I said.

“So we could’ve been friends this entire time if one of us would’ve had the guts to just say hello?” she asked.

“I guess so,” I said, laughing a little.

“We’re still two giant dorks, that’s for sure,” she replied.

Her phone buzzed again, three times in a row, actually. She picked it up to look at it, but I nervously took it from her, hoping she wouldn’t yell at me, and turned it off before setting it on the table.

“Thank you,” she said as she delicately played with her French fries.

Looking at the wall up by the cash register, I saw a poster for the fair we had every fall at the fairgrounds. Everybody went; it was the biggest event of the year around here. As I stared at the poster, I thought of doing something that would go either really well or really terribly. I was going to ask Belle if she wanted to go with me, but I knew I had to play it off as no big deal. If she liked being friends, and that’s all I was, I needed to invite her in a way that was like two old buddies going to the fair together. If she did like me, even a little bit, and Martin was right, then I needed to ask in a way that wouldn’t make her think that I only wanted to go as friends. Why did asking a girl out have to be so difficult? Why did they make your teenage years the worst?

“I have a question for you,” I said, taking a sip of my Dr. Pepper.

“Yeah?” she asked, looking up from her food.

“Are you going to the fair this year? It’s in two weeks, I think,” I said, clearing my throat.

“Yeah, I have to perform for cheer this year,” she said.

“Oh, okay. Cool. That sounds like a fun time,” I said. My heart was beating out of my chest, and my armpits were starting to sweat so badly that I thought I’d leave a puddle on the seat.

“Why, are you going?” she asked.

“Well, maybe. I was just going to ask if you wanted to go together, but you’re busy,” I said.

“No, I’m only doing that for like half an hour of the time. I was just going to hang out with the girls, but I’d rather hang out with you,” she said.

With my drink in my mouth, I coughed a little, as the words that just entered my brain were far different than anything I ever expected.

“Are you okay?” she asked, handing me a napkin.

“Yeah,” I spurted out before coughing into the napkin and wiping my mouth.

Looking back at Belle, I knew that I’d finally gotten the chance I’d wanted for so many years. It wasn’t a date or anything, at least I didn’t think so, but it was a chance to spend more time with Belle, and I’d take that above anything else.

“I’d love to go with you,” I said.

“Great,” she said with a smile. “We’ll be able to hang out for about an hour before I’ll have the routine, and then we can get back together afterward and go on rides and stuff. It’ll be fun. I’m looking forward to it.”

Two weeks had passed since our after-school meal at Dairy Queen and things couldn’t have been going better. As time went by, Belle and I spent more of our free time together, building back a bridge that had been worn down all those years ago. She’d been taking my advice and not talking to Trent, even though he’d been trying hard to get back with her.

Dodging him at school wasn’t as easy, but even her friends, who were all for her and him being together at first, had started to keep her away so that he’d get the hint and move on to the next girl. Things between us hadn’t been romantic—far from it—but I’d say that they were moving in the right direction.

“So, you two are still on, right?” Martin asked as he sat on my bed the day of the fair.

“Yeah, at least I think so. She hasn’t said anything about not going,” I said.

“Man, can you believe it? A few weeks ago you were just Theodore Quinn, below-average guy, and now you’re
Theodore Quinn
, the guy about to go out with the prettiest girl in school. I wish I were you right now,” Martin said.

“I’m not sure if that’s a compliment or not, but I’ll take it,” I said, looking through my closet.

I was never the type of guy to worry too much about my clothes or appearance, at least not as much as most guys my age, but I couldn’t help but put some serious effort into tonight. I knew I didn’t need to impress her or anything, but it never hurt to look nice and presentable. My mom even took me out shopping after my last therapy session and got me a new button-up shirt to wear for tonight. She couldn’t stop going on about how much she loved that the two of us were back together like we used to be. It got a little annoying, but it kept her from talking about my dad, so that was good.

“I wish I was going with a girl tonight,” Martin said.

“You are,” I replied.

“My sister doesn’t count, Theo. Not even close. I’d rather go alone than take that brat,” he said.

Martin’s disdain for his little sister mostly came from her inability to ever cut him any slack. He may have been six years older, but that girl had a bunch of vinegar in her that could never be diluted. She struck fear in him that I’d never seen in another human before.

“Hey, at least you have a sister. I’d kill for one—even yours,” I said.

“Hey, man, you can have her. I don’t mind. I’ll even drop her off at your door tonight with the white-glove treatment. Doesn’t bother me one bit!” he exclaimed.

Laughing, I put on my dress shirt and combed my hair, even though one spot in the back stuck up like always. Martin had brought me some of his cologne, a spiced scent that tingled my nose and caused me to sneeze, and I put on some lip balm, though for what reason I didn’t know.

“You guys better get going,” my mother said as she came up to the door.

“Yeah, we still have to stop by my place to get Tanya,” Martin said.

Martin was going to drive me to the fair, and as far as I knew, I was coming home with Belle, though I supposed that was up in the air. Who knew what kind of party she’d get invited to after the festivities. There was always a party, a massive house party, and of course I was never invited.

I grabbed my phone, wallet, and keys before we left and got into his beater car. The windows barely rolled down, the air didn’t work, and best of all, it didn’t have a horn. I guess that’s what you get when you buy an almost twenty-year-old car on Craigslist.

Martin turned on the radio and a new song from Maroon 5 started playing softly in the background. With cars whizzing all around us, Martin pulled into his neighborhood, which was about seven or eight minutes from mine, and pulled into his driveway before pulling out his phone and texting for Tanya to come out. She did a minute later, with his mom standing in the doorway yelling at him to keep an eye on her and make sure to stay with her at all times. He rolled his eyes, Tanya got in the backseat, and we pulled back out before the one thing that always happened when I was around Tanya happened.

“Helloooo, Theo,” she said in an excited voice.

“Hi, Tanya. How are you?” I asked politely.

“Better now that you’re here,” she said, giggling.

“Out of anyone in the world you can be in love with, you choose my best friend. Awesome,” Martin said.

“Shut up, Martin!” she said, smacking him on the shoulder.

It was a sad testament to my life that an eleven-year-old girl was the only female on this planet who had a crush on me.

“This line is horrible,” Martin said when we got to the fairgrounds and joined the long line of cars waiting to park.

My phone buzzed. It was Belle asking me where I was so that she could come meet up with me. Weighing my options and looking at the unmoving line of cars in front of us, I decided to just skip waiting with Martin and Tanya in favor of a few extra minutes with Belle. I felt a little bad, but it wasn’t like I was totally ditching Martin.

“Belle is looking for me. I think I’m going to get out here and go inside,” I said.

“Oh yeah, leave me with the little monster in back, huh?” he asked.

Tanya, not liking his comment, slapped him on the shoulder. He winced and moved out of her way.

“Do you see what you’re doing to me? Seriously, do you see it?” he asked.

“Sorry, buddy,” I said, getting out of the car and then texting Belle that I was just about to pay and come inside.

I could almost hear Martin’s screams for mercy as I handed five dollars to the ticket girl and went inside. The ground was covered with hay that had been trampled on all day so it mushed into the grass and mud underneath. Lines for funnel cakes were two-dozen people strong, and the rides in the distance were spinning so fast I thought I was going to get sick just from watching.

“Theo!”

I looked right to see Belle, her pink flannel shirt tied in the front with a white shirt underneath. She was wearing lighter jeans with the legs tucked into some cowboy boots.

“Hey,” I said, smiling, as I walked up to her.

“I was starting to worry that you ditched me,” she joked.

“Nah, I’d never do that. Not to you, anyway,” I said.

“Good,” she replied, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink.

“So, what do you want to do?” I asked, looking around.

“I thought that maybe we could get a snack and something to drink and sit down? I want to make sure I make it in time for the routine, and I’m not sure if I could after standing in line for one of these rides. They’re packed,” she said.

“Yeah, that’s no problem at all. It sounds nice,” I said.

“Cool. We’ll do rides after,” she said.

We walked up to a vendor who had your standard fair food. There were hot dogs, burgers, and any type of candy you could think of that was deep fried and served with chocolate syrup on top. I got a Chicago dog, and Belle got a chocolate funnel cake with two waters and lots of napkins.

We found an empty picnic table, the only people around being senior citizens and families, and as we sat down, I could see Martin and Tanya walking in the distance. He looked defeated and annoyed, and she kept taking his ride tickets.