The Beginning - part 2

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I loved watching the beautiful trees go by in the fall when I ride in the car. I felt dreamy and a bit overwhelmed but happy on multiple levels. I was just caught looking at a pair of pantyhose in Macy’s by this girl who is in my math class. She never talked to me before and when she saw me looking at the pantyhose package, I thought my life was over. However, she treated me with kindness. She is very pretty and I think I like her a lot. Now that I have her phone number, I will call her and hopefully we can become friends.

“Honey, what would you like for dinner tonight?”, my mom asked while driving.

“How about Macaroni & Cheese?” I suggested. This made my mom smile.

“Ah, your favorite! Well, I guess we can do that. By the way, your new friend is cute. Will you call her soon?” my mom asked me with a grin on her face.

“I guess so” I replied. I did not want my mom to know how much I like her already.

“Well, I think you should. Maybe you want to invite her over for a play date some time?” my mom asked me.

“That sounds like a good idea” I said maybe a little bit too enthusiastically. On the inside I smiled. I hope Samantha will say yes. I had a feeling that my life was about to change.

When we arrived home, I was quick to go into my room. I wanted to get my phone out right away and call Sammy. However, I felt a bit hesitant too. Will Sammy like me? Will she really keep my secret? Now I was not sure anymore. I gave myself a push and tried to call her. My right hand was shaking a bit while it was ringing.
“Hello?” a soft voice said.

“Oh hi, Sammy. It’s Randy. I thought I give you a call.” I stuttered a little bit.

“Well, hello. That was quick. Don’t worry. I am just teasing you.” Sammy replied. “How have you been?” she asked.

“I am okay. I wanted to ask you something. My mom said I could invite you over to my house, if you wanted to. We could watch a movie or something.” I suggested.

Sammy laughed a bit and seemed amused. “Did she really say that? Well, I guess I don’t have a choice then. I have to ask my mom but I could come over on Saturday after my ballet lesson. Where do you live?” she inquired.

“I live on 2789 Chestnut Street.” I said rather quickly.

“Oh, I think I know where that is. I will ask my mom and then give you a call back or text you.” Sammy said.

“Okay, that sounds great. I have to ask my mom too if Saturday works but I am sure it will.” I replied excitedly.

“Okay, Randy. Oh and by the way, I think you could be a very cute girl. I will bring some girlie magazines and we can think about some outfits.” Sammy said and hung up. My jaw dropped.

Sammy seemed like an amazing person. She comes across so self-confident but also gentle and kind. I can’t wait to get to know her more. “Randy! It’s almost supper time. Please help me set the table. Your dad will be home soon too.” my mom called.

“Okay mom!” I answered and went downstairs. I helped set the table while my mom smiled at me. Our kitchen was rather big and had a lot of room to cook and sit in. Tonight was just a normal dinner so we will not eat in the dining room. Never the less, I organized the plates and silverware neatly. My dad would arrive soon.

“So, did you call Sammy yet?’ my mum asked impatiently.

“Yes. I wanted to talk to you about that. Can she come over on Saturday after her ballet lesson?”

“Absolutely! I am glad you are making a new friend. Sammy seems so nice.” my mom said and gave me a hug.

“Thanks, mom!” I said and smiled at her. At school I don’t have a lot of friends. I know that a lot of people think I am awkward. My mom always gave me a lot of support.

I heard the oak door open while my dad entered. “Hey, it smells yummy in here. What’s for supper?” he asked while giving my mom a hug and a kiss.

“Your son requested Macaroni & Cheese, so I made that with some chicken.” my mom announced.

“Wonderful! I am hungry. Let’s eat!” my dad insisted. We sat down at the kitchen table and started eating. “So, what have you two been up to this afternoon?’ he inquired.

“We went to Macy’s and that was about it. Oh, and Randy made a new friend at Macy’s. It’s this girl named Samantha. They know each other from math class and exchanged phone numbers. She is coming over this Saturday for a date.” my mom said enthusiastically. I blushed.

“Mom! It’s not a date! It’s just hanging out with a new friend.” I insisted. My dad seemed stunned.

“Well, that is good news.” he said proudly. “I like that you are making new friends. Oh, while we are at the subject. Have you thought about signing up for the soccer try outs?” he asked me.

“No, not really.” I said a little defensively.

“Randy, please give it some thought. You could make more new friends. You should give people a chance to get to know you.” he insisted. I started to feel upset and a little angry. We had this discussion several times.

‘Dad, they don’t want to get to know me. They think I am an awkward duck. I tried really hard but they only make fun of me.” I said feeling angry.

‘Randy, you are not awkward. I think you are just not trying hard enough.” my dad said rather forcefully. I could feel tears coming down my eyes.

“That is enough!” my mom interrupted. “Steve, you should leave Randy alone. He was so happy he is making a new friend. Give him some credit.” she told him.

“May I be excused?” I asked my parents.

“Sure” my dad said quietly. I left rather quickly to go to my room while I started crying more. I threw myself on the bed and thought about what to do next. Mary! I will call my big sister Mary. She is 19 and a freshman at Oregon State University. She always knows what to do. I took out my phone and dialed her number.

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Comments

I like. I am not too good in

I like. I am not too good in English but for me you write well. It's simple and effective. I feel that the father wants his son to be more virile. I cannot wait to see what happens next. I hope that Sammy is a nice girl and that she will keep her secret.

Thank you very much. The

Thank you very much. The beginning is, well only the beginning of my journey here. Randy and Sammy will have many adventures and I have so many ideas for this. I want to develop these characters a lot.

This started out good + it's getting better

laika's picture

I loved chapter one but it seemed a little short. Then I realized it was just because you have big chunks of the dialogue all bunched together into paragraphs. An editor would probably tell you to do this:

I heard the oak door open while my dad entered.

“Hey, it smells yummy in here. What’s for supper?” he asked while giving my mom a hug and a kiss.

“Your son requested Macaroni & Cheese, so I made that with some chicken.” my mom announced.

“Wonderful! I am hungry. Let’s eat!” my dad insisted. We sat down at the kitchen table and started eating.

“So, what have you two been up to this afternoon?’ he inquired.

“We went to Macy’s and that was about it. Oh, and Randy made a new friend at Macy’s..."

But it seems to flow pretty nicely even without following the start-a-new-paragraph-with-each-new speaker rule.

The writing is nice and stylistically clean, the pacing is good; and I love the characters! Even the dad doesn't seem too bad so far, he just doesn't really understand who his child is; all his advice coming from his own experience and what he assumes would be good for Randy. In one sense it would be nice if he turned out to be willing to try and accept his kid for being different than his expectations, on the other hand his blowing up over it would add drama to the story. Or maybe it will never come up because he'll never even know, while Sammy and Randy (Randa? Randalynn?) have their girly fun in secret. I guess I'll find out as your story progresses; not knowing is part of the fun...

And Samantha sounds like she's going to be a great and understanding friend. I do hope that part stays as sweet as it's been so far, and that she doesn't turn all weird and mean and bossy. Some people love those forced-fem kinds of stories, and that's fine for them; but in my experience there is nothing as wonderful as having a loving best girlfriend who treats you like a peer and an equal. A supportive sister who has your back. And while for me these friendships---that have been about the best thing in my life---never turn romantic or sexual for me (as much as I would like to be I'm not a lesbian), I do enjoy stories where they do...
~hugs, Veronica

Laika, thanks so much for the

Laika, thanks so much for the advice. I will edit it and there will be much more about Randy and Sammy to come. Hugs!

It's great story.

I hope Sammy will turn out to be true, not someone who will turn on Randy.

Making friends

Jamie Lee's picture

Either the family is new in town, or city, and Randy is attending a new school, or Randy is attending a new school for his next grade level. Either way, Randy is a new kid in school.

Randy's dad may have forgotten what it's like being the new kid in school, or he never had the frightening pleasure. None, or very few, of the students know anything about Randy. Apparently he doesn't act like they expect everyone to act. And as such, they want nothing to do with him. They reject him. They shun him. They ignore him. And unless he does something which gets him into their good graces, going out for a sport won't necessarily change how they treat him.

Kids Randy's age want friends the majority of the time. When that doesn't happen anything said by either parent to that fact will cause the reaction Randy exhibited during and after supper.

Been there, have the scars to prove it.

Others have feelings too.