lover boy & dollar store girl ♬ matt sturniolo

XXVIII

CHAPTER XXVIII
[ change of plans ]
♬

     "this is weird. i'm always the one driving."

     "yeah, i guess so, huh?"

     matt smiled curtly and slid into the passenger seat of minnie's car.

"did you eat dinner yet?"

"no, i waited for you," matt swallowed thickly, fidgeting in the passenger seat. he was clearly weirded out by it all, and minnie wanted nothing more than to fix this gap she created between them.

"then you must be hungry. what do you want?"

"i'm not picky," he smiled softly.

with a sigh that said much more than one thing, minnie said, "okay. i'll pick then."

the girl drove slowly out of the neighborhood and to the nearest mcdonald's, and she ordered her meal and his. they barely ate as she made her way towards a little park off the main road in town, the one near the elementary school. matt was too anxious to eat, and she could hardly focus on driving. the remnants sat patiently on the glove compartment as minnie pulled into a spot in the desolate lot and struggled to open the door with a trembling hand. matt collected everything into the paper bag it all came in, and hopped out to throw it in a trash can near where they parked. once the boy got rid of the trash, he walked over to the driver side door and swung it open, offering her a helping hand out.

     "what are we doing?" minnie said. "shouldn't we stay in the car? talk?"

     "no. we're gonna go play on the playground."

     minnie had to laugh. "matt, it's pitch black. we're also eighteen."

     "so?"

     the boy kept her hand to himself as he lead her over the wood-chip ground towards the plastic set. the colors were muted in the autumnal dark, but the girl could make out the childlike greens and yellows of the slides and swings. she trotted up the small set of stairs behind him until they reached the swirly slide meant for kids much younger than them, and watched amusedly as he made himself comfortable inside.

     "matt, you're gonna get stuck!"

     "no, i'm not! this thing is spacious as hell!"

     he kicked off and she listened to him hoot and holler all the way down, popping out the other end with a big smile on his face. she leaned over the railing from fifteen feet up and admired that wonder-filled face.

     "come down!" he yelled up to her.

     "matt, this thing is for kids."

     "we're not kids?" he countered, crossing his arms. he knew he'd won with that one.

     minnie wiggled her way into the opening of the slide, hoping to god she wouldn't get stuck inside. he hadn't been on a slide like this in years- in fact, she can't remember the last time she played at a park. the girl stopped holding herself up with her feet and slid down, letting out a happy scream as she flew through the swirly tunnel. she forgot that going down a slide almost felt like flying until then.
     the girl slid out the bottom end and laid at the edge, face up and beaming; she laughed at the sky, feeling the cold plastic beneath her shoulder blades.