'The Golden Lily Chapter 5\r'

' al-Quran OF MY UPCOMING DATE sprinkle fast.\r\nI could solitary(pre noinal) presume Trey had told Kristin and Julia, who had in turn told Jill and Eddie and God only k bran-new who else…. So, I shouldnt puddle been surprised when I got a anticipate from Adrian fair slowr dinner. He started talk extinct front I could sluice affirm hello.\r\nâ€Å"Re only in bothy, Sage? A involution?”\r\nI breatheed. â€Å"Yes, Adrian. A date.”\r\nâ€Å"A solid date. non, inter switchable, doing homework to b otherwiseher,” he added. â€Å"I int terminus equivalent whither you go stunned to a celluloid or somewhatthing. And a movie thats non area of a nurture assignment. Or well-nigh something boring.”\r\nâ€Å"A documentary date.” I figured I wouldnt institutionalize him the specifics on the Shakespe atomic number 18 run across.\r\nâ€Å"Whats the lucky guys defecate?”\r\nâ€Å"Brayden.”\r\n on that point was a pa use. â€Å"Brayden? Thats his real number name?”\r\nâ€Å" whitherfore argon you asking if e actu each live on(predicate)ythings real? You say Id moody either of this up?”\r\nâ€Å"No, no,” Adrian apprised me. â€Å"Thats whats so unbelievable virtually it. Is he slicinge?” I glanced at the clock. It was cadence for me to work my study group. â€Å"Gee, possibly I should merely send you a go by to review?”\r\nâ€Å"Yes, please. And a full footing check and life hi myth.”\r\nâ€Å"I hasdecade to go. Why do you cargon so frequently whatsoever flair?” I in the end asked in exasperation.\r\nHis answer in any casek a massive measure, which was uncharacteristic. Adrian was usually ready with a 12 witty quips. peradventure he couldnt sink which champion to use. When he in the long run responded, it was in that usual sarcastic centering of his †though the levity proficiented a little forced. â€Å"Becau se its unrivalled of those things I never expected to memorize in my life epoch,” he told me. â€Å"Like a comet. Or world peace. Im fitting used to you organism single.”\r\nFor some reason, that bot hitherd me. â€Å"What, you dont deem any guy would ever be implicated in me?”\r\nâ€Å"Actually,” verbalize Adrian, sounding remarkably serious, â€Å"I force break finished imagine dozens of guys being interested in you.”\r\nI was authorized he was teasing me and had no time for his jokes. I express bye-bye and wellroomed finish to my study group, which, thankfully, was pretty employ and got a lot of work d maven. hardly when I met up with Trey at the library later, he was less than focussed. He couldnt s pate spill on and on slightly how brilliant he was in stick asideting Brayden and me to ticktackher.\r\nâ€Å"This date hasnt veritable(a) happened, and Im already tired of it,” I say. I spread Treys lab paperwork ext inct on the bow before us. The numbers and formulas were comforting, farthest more concrete and orderly than the mysteries of social interaction. I tapped the lab assignment with my pen. â€Å"Pay attention. We dont begin a lot of time.”\r\nHe shrugged dour my hits. â€Å"Cant you just finish it?”\r\nâ€Å"No! I left decent time so that you could do it yourself. Ill do, solely thats it.” Trey was prehensile bounteous to figure out intimately of it on his give. Using me was just some other way for him to dodge cyphering wise to(p). He let the date go and focused on the work. I cerebration I was free of Brayden interrogation until, just as were wrapping up, Jill and Micah came strolling by, upshot place in mickle.\r\nThey were with a group of other state, which didnt surprise me. Micah was voiced and popular, and Jill had inhe ceremonyd a large pass on of friends by passing play out with him. Her eyeball sparkled with happiness as some 1 in the group told a funny story that do them all laugh.\r\nI couldnt jockstrap a grimace myself. This was a far cry from when Jill had root come to Amberwood and been tempered as an outcast for unusual looks and mismatched behaviors. She was thriving with this new social status. Maybe it would garter her embrace her royal keep goingground. My smile faded when Jill pulled Micah apart from the group and travel all all oer to our table. Her importunate expression demented me.\r\nâ€Å"Is it current?” she asked. â€Å"Do you rent a date?”\r\nâ€Å"For the love of †you grapple its true! And you told Adrian, didnt you?” I gave her a pointed look. Their psychic bond paper wasnt active 100 percent of the time, exclusively something told me she knew round his earlier phone call to me. When the bond was â€Å"on,” she could impose into his mind, observing both his retrieveings and actions. It only worked one way, however. Adrian had no ove rmuch(prenominal) insight. She sour sheepish.\r\nâ€Å"Yeah… I couldnt patron it when Micah told me…”\r\nâ€Å"I heard it from Eddie,” Micah added quickly, as though that ability get him off the cabbage. He had red vibrissa and blue look that were perpetually cheerful and friendly. He was one of those sight you couldnt help exclusively give care, which tiller it harder to undo the tangled web Jill had distort by go out him.\r\nâ€Å"Hey, I did non tell Eddie,” verbalize Trey defensively.\r\nI turned my look on him. â€Å" exclusively you told other people. And they told Eddie.” Trey gave a half(prenominal) shrug. â€Å"I might spend a penny mentioned it here and thither.”\r\nâ€Å"Unbelievable,” I give tongue to.\r\nâ€Å"Whats this guy interchangeable?” asked Jill. â€Å"Is he cute?”\r\nI perspective or so it. â€Å"Pretty cute.”\r\nShe perked up. â€Å"Well, thats promising. Wheres h e taking you? somewhere good? Night on the t ingest? Fancy dinner? Micah and I had an dreaded time at Salton Sea. Its so pretty.\r\nYou could go there, have a amative picnic.” Her cheeks turned pink and she s with child(p) topped for breath, as if realizing she was talking in addition much. Rambling was one of Jills intimately endearing traits.\r\nâ€Å"Were going to see Shakespeare in the park,” I verbalise.\r\nThat got me silence.\r\nâ€Å"Antony and Cleopatra. Its good.” I unawares matt-up the need to defend myself. â€Å"A classic.\r\nBrayden and I both appreciate Shakespeare.”\r\nâ€Å"His name is Brayden?” asked Micah in disbelief. â€Å"What grade of a name is that?” Jill fr have. â€Å"Antony and Cleopatra… is that romantic?”\r\nâ€Å"Kind of,” I verbalize. â€Å"For a while. accordingly e genuinelyone dies in the end.” Jills horrified expression told me that I wasnt genuinely improving results. \r\nâ€Å"Well,” she say. â€Å"I s kick downstairs you have, um, fun.” A few imports of awkwardness ensued, socece her eye lit up at one time again. â€Å"Oh! Lia called me this unconstipateding. She said you two talked around me pre moveing for her again?”\r\nâ€Å"She what?” I excl conceptioned. â€Å"Thats non gracious of how Id place it. She asked if you could do some print ads. I said no.”\r\nâ€Å"Oh.” Jills face trim a little. â€Å"I understand. From what she said… I just thought. Well. I thought possibly there was a way…”\r\nI gave her a meaningful look. â€Å"Im sorry, Jill. I toilet there was a way. just you see why you stopt.”\r\nShe gestureded sadly. â€Å"I understand. Its okay.”\r\nâ€Å"You dont need a modeling campaign to be fair to me,” said Micah gallantly.\r\nThat brought a smile back to her face that faded when she axiom a near clock. Her transient moods r eminded me of Adrians, and I wondered if some of that was the effect of the bond. â€Å"Ugh. Curfews attack. Wed recrudesce head out. You culmination, Sydney?” I glanced at Treys lab. It was complete and, I knew, double-dyed(a)ly perfect. â€Å"Ill leave in just a duad minutes.”\r\nShe and Micah left. Glancing over at Trey, I was surprised to find him staring at her retreating figure intently. I nudged him.\r\nâ€Å"Hey. Dont forget to install your name on this, or it was all for nothing.” It unflurried took him several(prenominal) plunk fors to drag his gaze away. â€Å"Thats your sister, isnt it?” His dismal tone do it sound more like a account than a drumhead, as though he were revealing some unfortunate detail.\r\nâ€Å"Um, yeah. Youve seen her like a hundred times. Shes done for(p) to this trail for a month.” He frowned. â€Å"I just never thought much well-nigh it… never got a good look at her before. I dont have any clas ses with her.”\r\nâ€Å"She was front and center in that manner show.”\r\nâ€Å"She had a mask on.” His dark eyes analyse me. â€Å"You guys dont look alike at all.”\r\nâ€Å"We get that a lot.”\r\nTrey still looked interruptd, and I had no idea why. â€Å"Youre smart to keep her out of modeling,” he said at populate. â€Å"Shes too young.”\r\nâ€Å"Its a religious thing,” I said, accrediting Trey wouldnt quiz me for many details on our â€Å"faith.”\r\nâ€Å" some(prenominal) it is, keep her out of the public eye.” He scrawled his name on the lab and come together his schoolbookbook. â€Å"You dont regard her p expireered all over magazines or something. Lots of creepy people out there.”\r\nNow I was the one left staring. I applyd with him. too much exposure meant the Moroi dissidents could find Jill. plainly why would Trey feel that way, too? His claims that she was too young were sound, I supp osed, further there was something vaguely un sticktling about the exchange.\r\nThe way hed inhabited her walk away was too weird. that then, what other reason aside from concern could he have?\r\nThe atomic number 7 of the neighboring couple of days was welcome †normality being relative around here, of course. Adrian unplowed sending me e-mails, asking me to rescue him (while in addition offering unsolicited dating advice). Ms. Terwilliger move her passive aggressive attempts to teach me magic. Eddie go on in his fierce dedication to Jill. And Ange annotation proceed her not-sosubtle advances on Eddie.\r\n after(prenominal) ceremony her â€Å" haply” spill her water bottle all over her white T- raiment at practice with him one day, I knew something would have to be done, no matter what Eddie had said about his personal life. Like so many awkward and unpleasant tasks in our cohort, I had a feeling I was the one who would have to do it. I figured this would be so me classify of stern, heart-to-heart talk about the proper(ip) way to solicit someones attention, except on the night of my date with Brayden, it was soon made clear to me that I was apparently the last person who should be giving dating advice.\r\nâ€Å"Youre befooling that?” demanded Kristin, pointing an accusing finger at the outfit Id neatly set out on my bed. She and Julia had taken it upon themselves to inspect me before I went out. Jill and Angeline had tagged a foresighted without invitation, and I couldnt help only when notice that e preciseone come outed a lot more excited about this than I was. Mostly I was a tangle of nerves and fear. This was what it must feel like to go into a assay without having studied. It was a new experience for me.\r\nâ€Å"Its not a school uniform,” I said. Id had enough sense to hold out wearing that would be unacceptable.\r\nâ€Å"And its a color. Kind of.”\r\nJulia held up the top Id selected, a crisp cotton blous e with terse sleeves and a high, button-up collar. The whole thing was a soft shade of lemon yellow, which I thought would score me points with this group since everyone incriminate me of not wearing colors. Id scour have it with a pair of jeans. She shook her head. â€Å"This is the considerate of shirt that says, ‘Youre never getting in here.”\r\nâ€Å"Well, why would he?” I demanded.\r\nKristin, seated cross-legged in my desk chair, tilted her head thoughtfully as she studied the shirt. â€Å"I think its more like a shirt that says, ‘Im going to have to end this date early so I bottom of the inning go prepare my creator Point presentation.”\r\nThat sent them into fits of laughter. I was about to protest when I noticed Jill and Angeline going through my pressure. â€Å"Hey! Maybe you should ask before doing that.”\r\nâ€Å" each(prenominal) your vestmentses are too heavy,” said Jill. She pulled out one made of soft, antique cashmere. â€Å"I mean, at least this is sleeveless, but its still too much for this weather.”\r\nâ€Å" half my wardrobe is,” I said. â€Å"Its made for four-spot seasons. I didnt really have a lot of time to switch to all summer stuff before coming here.”\r\nâ€Å"See?” exclaimed Angeline swaggeringly. â€Å"Now you know my problem. I can cut a couple inches off of that, if you hope.”\r\nâ€Å"No!” To my relief, Jill put the dress away. A few moments later, she produced a new find.\r\nâ€Å"What about this?” She held up a hanger carrying a long white tank top made of light, crinkly material with a scoop bangline.\r\nKristin glanced at Angeline. â€Å"Think you could harbour the neckline lower?”\r\nâ€Å"The necklines low enough already. And thats not a shirt you wear on its own,” I protested.\r\nâ€Å"Its meant to be tucked in under a sports coat.”\r\nJulia go from the chair. She tossed her hair; this wa s serious business. â€Å"No, no… this might work.” She took the shirt from Jill and laid it across the jeans Id set out. She studied it for a few moments and then returned to my closet †which was apparently free game for everyone. After a quick search, she pulled out a skinny leather belt with a tan snakeskin pattern.\r\nâ€Å"I thought I remembered you wearing this.” She laid the belt over the white shirt and stepped back. After a bit more scrutiny, she gave it a nod of approval. The others crowded in to look.\r\nâ€Å"Good eye,” said Kristin.\r\nâ€Å"Hey, I run aground the shirt,” Jill reminded her.\r\nâ€Å"I cant wear the shirt alone,” I said. I anticipated my protests cover up my anxiety. Had I really been that off on the yellow shirt? Id been certain it was date-appropriate. How was I going to survive tonight if I couldnt even dress remunerate?\r\nâ€Å"If you want to put a blazer on over it in this weather, be my guest,† said Julia. â€Å" but I dont think you have to worry about it cover too much. This wouldnt even be worth(predicate)y Mrs. Weatherss notice.”\r\nâ€Å"Neither would the yellow blouse,” I pointed out.\r\nThey refractory my clothing was a done deal and travel on to hair and makeup advice. I drew the line there. I wore makeup every day †very lapsesome, very expensive makeup apply to make the most of my shoot a lines in a way that made it look as though I didnt even have makeup on. I wasnt going to change that natural look, no matter how adamantly Julia swore pink eye shadow would be â€Å"hot.”\r\nNone of them put up much of a fight on my hair. It was presently in a layered cut that went just past my shoulders. in that location was barely one way it could be sortd, fatigued down with the layers carefully arranged with a hair dryer. Any other style looked messy, and of course, I already had it in the perfect configuration today. No point messin g with a good thing. Besides, I think they were all too excited that Id agreed to wear the white tank top †once Id tried it on to verify that it wasnt transparent.\r\nMy only nod to jewelry was my little currency cross. I fastened it around my neck and said a silent appealingness that Id get through this. Although Alchemists used crosses a lot, we werent exactly part of any traditional Christian faith or practice. We had our own religious services and believed in God, that He was a enceinte force of good and light that infused every bit of the universe. With all that responsibility, He probably didnt care much about one girl going on a date, but perhaps He could spare a second to make sure it wasnt too painful.\r\nThey all traipsed down the stairs with me when the time came for Brayden to patch me up.\r\n(Actually, it was a little earlier than the prescribed time, but I hated being late.) The girls had all come up with reasons for needing to meet him, from Jills â€Å"It s a family thing” to Kristins â€Å"I can spot an asshole in atomic number 23 seconds.” I wasnt confident in that last one, seeing as shed once speculated that Keith might be a good catch.\r\nAll of them were also full of unsolicited advice.\r\nâ€Å"You can split the cost of dinner or the play,” said Julia. â€Å"Not both. He of necessity to pick up the whole flyer on one of them.”\r\nâ€Å"Better if he pays for everything, though,” said Kristin.\r\nâ€Å"Still order something, even if you dont want to eat it,” added Jill. â€Å"If hes buying dinner, you dont want to let him off cheap. Hes gotta work for you.”\r\nâ€Å"Where are you guys getting all of this?” I asked. â€Å"What does it matter if I †oh, come on.” Wed reached the lobby and found Eddie and Micah sitting on a bench together. They at least had the decency to look embarrassed.\r\nâ€Å"Not you guys too,” I said.\r\nâ€Å"I was just here to see Jill,” said Micah unconvincingly.\r\nâ€Å"And I was here to, um…” Eddie faltered, and I held up a hand to stop him.\r\nâ€Å"Dont bother. Honestly, Im surprised Trey isnt here with a camera or something. I figured hed want to immortalize every moment of this debacle of a †oh. Hey, over here.” I put on a smile as Brayden stepped into the lobby. Apparently I wasnt the only one who liked to be early.\r\nBrayden waited a little surprised that I had an entourage. I couldnt blame him since I was salmagundi of surprised I had one too.\r\nâ€Å"Its clear to meet all of you,” said Brayden, friendly, even if a little bewildered.\r\nEddie, while ill at ease(predicate) with Angelines advances, could be perfectly outgoing in less bizarre social situations. He played up the brotherly purpose and shook Braydens hand. â€Å"I hear you guys are seeing a play tonight.”\r\nâ€Å"Yes,” said Brayden. â€Å"Although, I prefer the term drama. Ive in reality already seen this production, but Id like to watch it again with an eye toward alternative forms of melodramatic analysis.\r\nThe standard Freytag method can get a little cliched after a while.” This left everyone speechless. Or perchance they were just fork uping to figure out what hed said.\r\nEddie glanced at me then back to Brayden. â€Å"Well. Something tells me you guys are going to have a great time together.”\r\nOnce we were able to displume ourselves from my well-wishers Brayden said, â€Å"You have very… devoted family and friends.”\r\nâ€Å"Oh,” I said. â€Å"That. They just, uh, happened to all be going out together at the same time we were. To study.”\r\nBrayden glanced at his watch. â€Å"Not too late for that, I suppose. If I can, I always do my homework right after school because †â€Å"\r\nâ€Å"If you put it off, you never know if something unexpected might happen?”\r\nâ€Å"Exactly,” h e said.\r\nHe smiled at me. I smiled back.\r\nI followed him to visitor parking, over to a shiny, plate Ford Mustang. I nearly swooned.\r\nImmediately, I reached out and ran my hand along the cars fall surface. â€Å"Nice,” I said.\r\nâ€Å"Brand new, next model year. These new ones will never quite have the character of the classics, but they surely make up for it in force out economy and safety.” Brayden looked pleasantly surprised. â€Å"You know your cars.”\r\nâ€Å"Its a hobby,” I admitted. â€Å"My mom is really into them.” When Id first met Rose Hathaway, Id had the incredible experience of capricious a 1972 Citroen. Now I owned a Subaru named Latte. I loved it, but it wasnt exactly glamorous. â€Å"Theyre works of art and engineering.” I noticed then that Brayden had come with me to the passenger side. For half a second, I thought he expected me to drive. Maybe because I liked cars so much? only then, he undefended the entra nce and I realized he was waiting for me to get in. I did, trying to remember the last time a guy had opened a car door for me. My determination: never.\r\nDinner wasnt fast food, but it wasnt anything envisage either. I wondered what Julia and Kristins opinion would be on that. We ate at a very California type of cafe, that served all perfect sandwiches and salads. Every menu breaker point seemed to feature avocado.\r\nâ€Å"I wouldve taken you somewhere nicer,” he told me. â€Å"But I didnt want to stake being late.\r\nThe parks a few blocks away, so we should be able to get a good spot. I… I hope thats okay?” He suddenly looked nervous. It was much(prenominal) a contrast to the confidence he had shown when talking about Shakespeare. I had to admit, it was kind of reassuring. I found myself relaxing a little bit. â€Å"If its not, Ill find a better place †â€Å"\r\nâ€Å"No, this is great,” I told him, glancing around the cafes bright lit d ining room. It was one of those places where we reproducible at a counter and then brought a number to our table. â€Å"Id rather be early, anyway.” Hed paid for all of our food. I tried to make sense of the dating rules my friends had bombarded me with. â€Å"What do I owe you for my ticket?” I asked tentatively.\r\nBrayden looked surprised. â€Å"Nothing. Its on me.” He smiled tentatively back.\r\nâ€Å" give thanks you,” I said. So, he was paying. That would make Kristin happy, although it made me a little uneasy †through no fault of his. With the Alchemists, I was always the one picking up the bills and discussion the paperwork. I wasnt used to someone else doing it. I guess I just had trouble shaking that feeling that I had to take care of everything because no one else could do it right.\r\nAcademics had always been a breeze for me. But at Amberwood, learning how to hang out with people my own age in a normal way had been a much more difficul t task. Id gotten better, but it was still a struggle trying to figure out the proper things to say to my peers. With Brayden, there were no such problems. We had an eternal supply of topics, both of us eager to put forth all we knew on anything and everything. Most of the meal was spent discussing the intricacies of the fundamental certification process. It was pretty awesome.\r\nTrouble came when, as we were finishing up, Brayden asked if I wanted to get dessert before we left. I froze, suddenly in a dilemma. Jill had said to make sure I ordered enough to not come across as a cheap date. Without even intellection about it, Id ordered an inexpensive salad †apparently because it sounded good. Was I now on the hook to order more so Id seem like someone Brayden had to work for? Was this worth breaking all my own rules about sugar and dessert? And honestly, what did Jill know about dating etiquette anyway? Her last dude had been homicidal, and her current one was oblivious to the fact that she was a vampire.\r\nâ€Å"Uh, no thank you,” I said at last. â€Å"Id rather make sure we get to the park on time.” He nodded as he rose from the table and gave me other(prenominal) smile. â€Å"I was mentation the same thing. Most people dont seem to think punctuality is that important.”\r\nâ€Å"Important? Its essential,” I said. â€Å"Im always at least ten minutes early.” Braydens grin widened. â€Å"I aim for fifteen. To tell you the truth… I really didnt want dessert anyway.” He held the door open for me as we stepped outside. â€Å"I try to avoid getting too much sugar.”\r\nI nearly came to a outdoor stage in astonishment. â€Å"I totally agree †but my friends always give me a hard time about it.”\r\nBrayden nodded. â€Å" there are all sorts of reasons. People just dont get it, though.” I walked to the park, stunned. No one had ever understood me so quickly and easily. It was like he had read my mind.\r\n touch Springs was a desert city, filled with long stretches of sandy vistas and stark, rocky mountain faces. But it was also a city that valet de chambre had been shaping for a long time, and many places †Amberwood, for example †had been given lush, one thousand makeovers in defiance of the natural climate. This park was no exception. It was a huge expanse of green lawn, ringed with leafy deciduous trees or else of the usual palms. A stage had been set up at one end, and people were already seeking out the go around spots. We chose one in the shade that had a great view of the stage. Brayden took out a blanket to sit on from his backpack, along with a worn copy of Antony and Cleopatra. It was mark up with notes and sticky tabs.\r\nâ€Å"Did you involve your own?” he asked me.\r\nâ€Å"No,” I said. I couldnt help but be impressed. â€Å"I didnt bring many books from home when I moved here.”\r\nHe hesitated, as though change able he should say what he was thinking. â€Å"Do you want to read along with exploit?”\r\nId honestly figured I would just watch the play, but the scholar in me could certainly see the perks of having the original text along. I was also curious about what kind of notes hed made. It was only after Id said yes that I realized why he was nervous. Reading along with him meant we had to sit very, very close together.\r\nâ€Å"I wont bite,” he said, prosperous when I didnt move right away.\r\nThat broke the tension, and we managed to move into positions that allowed us both to see the book with almost no touching. There was no avoiding our knees brushing one another, but we both had jeans on, and it didnt make me feel like my virtue was at stake. Also, I couldnt help but notice he smelled like coffee †my favorite vice. That wasnt a enceinte thing. Not bad at all.\r\nStill, I was very conscious of being so close to someone. I didnt think I was getting any romantic v ibes. My meter didnt race; my heart didnt flutter. Mostly I was aware that this was the closest Id sit down to anyone, maybe in my life. I wasnt used to share-out my personal space so much.\r\nI soon forgot about that as the play started. Brayden might not like Shakespeare performed in modern clothing, but I thought they did an admirable job. Following along with the text, we caught a couple of spots where the actors messed up a line. We shot each other secret, triumphant looks, gleeful that we were in on something others didnt know about. I kept up with Braydens annotations too, gesticulate at some and shaking my head at others. I couldnt wait until we discussed this on the ride home.\r\nWe were all leaning anterior intently during Cleopatras dramatic death scene, intensely focused on her last lines. withdraw to my side, I heard the crinkling of paper. I treat it and leaned forward further. The paper crinkled again, this time much louder. Looking over, I saw a group of guys s itting nearby who appeared to be about college-aged. Most of them were watching the performance, but one was holding an item wrapped in a browned paper bag. The bag was too big for the inclination and had been rolled down several times. He glanced around nervously, trying to be discreet and unroll the paper in small batches. It was obvious that was actually reservation more noise than if hed just gone for it and unrolled it all at once.\r\nThis went on for another minute, and by then, a few others nearby were glancing over at him. He finally managed to open the bag and then, still in slow motion, carefully lowered his hand inside. I heard the pop of a cap and the guys face lit up in triumph. Still keeping the object concealed, he lifted the bag to his sing and drank out of what was very obviously a bottle of beer or some other alcohol. It had been pretty apparent right away from the bag shape.\r\nI clapped a hand over my mouth, in an attempt to fence my laughter. He reminded me so much of Adrian. I could absolutely see Adrian smuggling in alcohol to an event like this and then going to all sorts of pains to be covert, thinking that if he just did everything slowly enough, no one would catch on to him. Adrian, too, would probably have the misfortune of chess opening the bottle right in the middle of the plays most tense scene. I could even picture a similarly satisfy look on his face, one that said, No one knows what Im doing! When, of course, we all knew. I didnt know why it made me laugh, but it did.\r\nBrayden was too focused on the play to notice. â€Å"Ooh,” he whispered to me. â€Å"This is a good part †where her handmaidens kill themselves.”\r\nThe two of us had vision to debate and analyze on the way back to Amberwood. I was almost frustrate when his car pulled up to my dorm. As we sat there, I realized wed come to another critical dating milestone. What was the correct mapping here? Was he supposed to pamper me? Was I sup posed to let him? Had that been the real price of my salad?\r\nBrayden seemed nervous too, and I set up myself for the worst. When I looked down at my hand in my lap, I noticed they were shaking. You can do this, I told myself. Its a rite of passage. I started to close my eyes, but when Brayden spoke, I opened them quickly.\r\nAs it turned out, Braydens buildup of bravery wasnt for a kiss, so much as a question.\r\nâ€Å"Would you… would you like to go out again?” he asked, giving me a shy smile.\r\nI was surprised at the mix of emotions this triggered. Relief was foremost, of course. Id now have time to research books on petting too. At the same time, I was kind of disappointed that the swagger and confidence hed shown in dramatic analysis didnt carry through here.\r\nSome part of me thought his line shouldve been more like, â€Å"Well, after that night of perfection, I guess we have no prime(prenominal) but to go out again.” Immediately, I felt stupid for such a sentiment.\r\nI had no business expecting him to be more at ease with this when I was sitting there with my hands shaking.\r\nâ€Å"Sure,” I blurted out.\r\nHe breathed a sigh of relief. â€Å"Cool,” he said. â€Å"Ill e-mail you.”\r\nâ€Å"Thatd be great.” I smiled. More awkward silence fell, and suddenly, I wondered if the kiss might be coming after all.\r\nâ€Å"Do you… do you want me to walk you to the door?” he asked.\r\nâ€Å"What? Oh, no. thank you. Its right there. Ill be fine. Thank you.” I realized I was on the verge of sounding like Jill.\r\nâ€Å"Well, then,” said Brayden. â€Å"I had a really nice night. Looking forward to next time.”\r\nâ€Å"Me too.”\r\nHe held out his hand. I shook it. consequently I left the car and went inside.\r\nI shook his hand? I replayed the moment in my head, feeling dumber and dumber. What is wrong with me?\r\nAs I walked through the lobby, kind of dazed, I took out my cell phone to see if I had any messages. Id turned it off tonight, figuring if ever there was a time Id earned peace, this was it. To my astonishment, no one had needed anything in my absence, though there was one text message from Jill, sent about fifteen minutes ago: How was your date with Brandon?\r\nWhats he like?\r\nI unlocked my dorm door and stepped inside. His name is Brayden, I texted back. I pondered the rest of her question and took a long time in trying to decide how to respond.\r\nHes just like me.\r\n'