Steph's Worst Date

"First of all, he had braces." Steph Duhaime was in her junior year of high school. The boy, Cameron Nichols, sported a red bowl cut hair style and a sweater vest. His sneakers squeaked as he walked up and down the halls. His complexion was less than perfect and his lisp was more than noticeable. He popped the question on a Wednesday, by the lockers. Edina High School was having their annual locker clean-out in preparation for summer vacation.

Steph had her head in her locker when she heard someone clear their throat. She peeked out and saw a nervous Cameron, rocking back and forth on his heels. She knew this look and began to panic. "Hey, Steph," Cameron leaked out with nerves in his voice and shakey hands, "Do you maybe wanna walk home together this afternoon and then hang out tonight? It's our last night of school so I thought it would be fun," Cameron said. She looked up and down the halls for reinforcements; no luck. Steph and Cameron went to school together since freshman year but never hung out much. They had a couple classes together but that was the extent of their conversations. "Sure, Cameron, um that would be fun," Steph responded.

When the final school bell rang, Cameron leaped to Steph's side in the hallway and opened the door for her. They began their walk home. They both lived in the same neighborhood and it was only about five minutes away from school. Steph could see how her evening was going to play out the minute they were out of sight from school. Cameron's clammy fingers grazed Steph's hand as she giggled nervously and put her hands in her pockets. This was going to be rough.

A few minutes later, they reached Cameron's house. His dog, named Tree, ran out the doggy door and made a beeline for Steph, knocking her down to the ground and attacking her with kisses. Cameron pulled his giant Boxer off of Steph and she stood up, brushed herself off, and looked down. Her bright, white Abercrombie mini skirt was covered in mud and grass stains. Fantastic.

They walked up Cameron's crackled white steps and into his house. The odor she always feared hit her like a ton of bricks: onions. Steph, allergic to onions, knew this was a bad sign. Cameron had texted his mother from school and told her they were having company tonight. He wanted things to be special and asked her to make a big dinner. "Hey kids! I made homemade onion rings to go with your burgers for dinner! Hope that's okay," Cameron's mom said after being introduced to "The" Steph. They sat down on the red plastic dining chairs, all of the furniture in Cameron's house resembled something out of a malt shop. Steph got through dinner; feeding the onion rings to Tree and kicking away Cameron's many attempts at footsy.

She was about to grab her coat to leave when Cameron invited Steph to the basement for a movie. She felt too bad to decline, especially after all the trouble his mother went through for dinner. She let out a quiet sigh and followed Cameron downstairs to his "finished basement." She took a seat on the musty couch and rolled her eyes as the credits began to scroll up on the small television screen. Star Wars. Steph was never a fan of Star Wars but it was evident that Cameron was. Once the movie began, he began saying all of the dialogue and peeking over at Steph now and then to see if she was impressed. She just sat back and waited for it to be over. "Can I kiss you," Cameron asked in a whispered voice. Steph told him that she had a boyfriend but was having a great time. He accepted this answer but slid closer and put his arm around her. He smelled like cheese and laundry and continued to talk like Yoda.

Once the movie was over, Steph got up to leave and Cameron told her he would walk her home. At her front step, smooth Cameron attempted his final move. He leaned in quickly to sneak in a quick peck and sneezed in Steph's face, smashing his head into hers. Steph, embarrassed and grossed out, gave a half smile and said goodnight to Cameron, leaving him on the front lawn.

(I posted this yesterday but I went back to look and it wasn't there so I had to re-type it again! Sorry!)