Manufacturing Luck

I wake up a little bit early. I get my antique and I check all the holes. The other scenes are still there but a new scene is added. I can see Nia and Katy splashing in the lake. At least I can be proud of one thing I did when I was Nia. I go wake Lisa up.

"What time is it?" She asks, "Why are you waking me up?"

"Lisa, look" I shove the antique in her face, "There's a new scene just like I said there would be." Lisa looks through all the holes.

"Your right, there is a new scene. Two girls playing in a lake somewhere." She said.

"It was so much fun." I say, "The whole village was there and everybody had the best time."

"Sounds like you had a good dream." She says, "Can I go back to sleep now?"

"Yeah, okay" I say. I go into the kitchen and make breakfast again. I scramble some eggs with cheese and make some toast and it's ready when Lisa and my mom get up.

"I can get used to this." my mom says as she is eating her breakfast while Lisa eyes me suspiciously. I leave for school and I find Mark before class starts.

"Hey dude" I say.

"Hey dude" He says back.

"I'm going to take Kayla out on a date Friday." I say confidently.

"Does Kayla know about this date?" Mark teases.

"Not yet, but she'll find out about it during lunch." I inform.

"Since when did you get to be such a big talker?" Mark asks.

"When I decided to make my own luck" I shoot back.

"You know you're going to have to back that up now, right?" He says not convinced.

"Yeah, I know" I respond. When I get to class. I look around until I see Kayla. Just like yesterday, she is avoiding eye contact. I am going to project confidence. At least I am going to try and project confidence. I haven't had much luck before now but I am not going to give up. I am going to make my own luck.

Lunchtime arrives and I take a deep breath and enter the cafeteria. Kayla is sitting with the same group of friends she sits with everyday at lunch. I walk over and sit down beside her without being invited. She looks over at me but doesn't say anything.

"So is there any reason why I can't pick you up around 5:30 on Friday?" I ask her.

"5:30 for what?" She asks.

"I'm going to take you out to dinner in appreciation of you sharing your lunch with me." I explain, "So is there any reason why I can't pick you up around 5:30?" I ask again.

"You are just going to assume I'll go out with you." She says as more of a statement rather than a question.

"Is there any reason why you wouldn't?" I ask. She thought about it for several minutes before replying.

"I guess not." she answers not to sure of herself.

"Great then I'll see you around 5:30 Friday evening" I state matter of fact and get up and walk away.

"Okay, what just happened here?" She asks one of her friends.

"You just agreed to go out on a date" is the reply one of them gives her. As I leave Kayla wondering what just happened, I am on top of the world. Now I just have to figure out where I am going to get the money, where I am going to get the ride, and where I am going to take her. Whoever said the devil is in the details was not kidding at all. After school I catch up with Mark.

"So dude, did you get that date?" He asks.

"I sure did!" I say proudly.

"Wait, you did?" Mark asks not believing his ears.

"Yep, now I have an even bigger problem." I say.

"What's that?" Mark asks.

"I have to find some money and I have to find a ride." I state plainly.

"How are you going to do that?" He asks.

"I don't know but I have to figure it out by Friday at 5:30." I reply.

"Good luck with that" He says.

"Yeah, thanks for all the support" I reply sarcastically.

"No problem" He shoots back ignoring my sarcasm.

When I get home, Lisa is sitting at the kitchen table doing her homework. I walk by her without saying anything and go to my room. I feel really in over my head about Nia. I am pretty sure it is going to start affecting my health. I'm kind of anxious and excited about my own prospects though. I lay down on my bed and just try to relax but I have to admit that I am feeling the pressure. I've always been a 'go with the flow' kind of guy but now I have stepped way out of my comfort zone.

Friday is the day after tomorrow. I have 2 days to come up with something. I try to think if I have anything worth selling. I have some old CD's but nobody buys those anymore. I just have to face it that my mind just isn't going to come up with anything. I need to ask somebody smart. Then it occurs to me that Lisa is pretty smart but did I really want to tell her about my date? Well, desperate times call for desperate measures. When I go back into the kitchen, Lisa is still there doing homework.

"Hey," I say.

"Yeah, what do you want?" Lisa shoots back.

"I need some money." I say matter of fact.

"What do I look like, a bank?" She doesn't appear to be in a good mood.

"I've got a date." I blurt out. "I've got a date and now I need money to pay for it." Her whole demeanor changes. She wasn't interested in talking to me before but she is now.

"You mean like a date with a girl?" She asks acting surprised.

"Yes, with a girl. I need money to take her out somewhere to eat." I explain.

"What's her name?" She probes further.

"Kayla" I answer.

"Why don't you just make her something yourself and take her to the park and that way you can get mom to pay for it." She advises.

"What should I make her?" I ask.

"You could make her a baloney sandwich and take some chips and a 2 liter of pop." She replies.

"That sounds like a good idea. Thanks." I say.

"Your welcome. Now leave me alone." She says annoyingly.

I go back to my room. I feel a little better because at least I have a working plan now even if it does sound pretty lame. I don't really like boloney sandwiches so I thought I would make turkey instead. Other than that I think Lisa's plan is probably the only thing I can do. There is a really nice park close by and it would be a nice walk. Of course my idea has loser written all over it but I don't really have a lot of options. I am thinking I should have put some effort into finding a job. She will probably think I am cheap for not taking her somewhere but I'll just have to risk it. When mom gets home I approach her with the idea.

"Hey mom, could I talk to you for a moment?" I ask as soon as she walks in the door.

"Sure kiddo, what do you need?" She replies.

"I need some shaved turkey, tomato, cheese, mayo, a bag of potato chips and a 2 liter of coke." I respond.

"Woah" she replies," What do you need all that for?"

"I asked this girl out on a date but I don't have any money to take her anywhere so I thought I would make something and take her to the park." I talk really fast and just blurt it all out.

"You asked a girl out on a date?" She repeats. Why does everybody keep asking me that?

"Yeah" I say after I let myself start breathing again. She looks at me kind of funny and makes that face and puts her arms around me. She beams with pride like parents do when

their kid learns some type of new life skill like using the toilet or something.

"That's wonderful, who is this girl? what is she like?" My mom switches into prying mother mode where she asks me endless questions I don't feel like answering because it's super awkward.

"She's just a girl from school. It's no big deal" I say trying to deflect the coming onslaught of questions.

"No big deal, my only son has his first date with a girl and you say it's no dig deal!" She exclaims.

"It's not like I'm getting married, we're just going to hang out." I toil in futility trying to bring my mother down from whatever high my news has seemed to take her. If she had any idea I've already kissed a girl she would just flip out. My mom gets a grip on herself though and calms down.

"Okay, when is this date?" She asks.

"Friday at 5:30" I reply.

"Okay, I'll make sure I get all those things you need tomorrow on my way home from work." She promises.

"Thanks mom" I give her a hug and go back to my room. As I was drifting to sleep I started to think about what I was going to do about Lidia.