The Dating Game

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Juliet

With the usual tradition of dying early perhaps as a teenager who won't even experience the thrills and enchantment of college, I had succumbed to the typical ritual of producing a bucket list before death would be upon me.

That was such a morbid way of thinking.

My life was being drastically cut short and it was so unjustified and groundless. How could I be bound so profoundly to death when that's what has formerly savagely fractured our family apart twice before? Was there no remorse remaining that could have resulted in Dad actually being happy for once? He was barely retaining all the pieces of himself right now. It saddened me to think about how solitary he'd be when I'd be gone.

But for now, I was making this list. Conscious of the fact that Dad would only want me happy in the remaining months of my life, this was something I'd have to do. But some of the ideas on it made me think twice about wanting to show it to him. Truth be told, I was actually being jauntily audacious with the list which was unlike me. But then again, this list wasn't entirely about me either.

1) Meet Justin's parents (perhaps not his dad if he's not around)
2) Pass my exams
3) Go skinny dipping with Justin
4) Go in a hot air balloon
5) Make Dad happy
6) Make a difference at school rather than being known for my surname
7) Make this relationship with Justin worth it
8) Stay with Justin for the night
9) Lose my virginity
10) Get Justin to make it up to his friends

I stowed the list away in one of my drawers which Dad would never scope through. I'd save it to show Justin and that's what I did the next day for school. Aware that at any moment it could fall out of my bag, descend to the floor and be validated of the culprit of the note, the thought mortified me so instead of having it in my bag, it was scrunched up in my jean's pocket.

Then I met Justin at his locker and he remarked on the peculiarity which was my behaviour. "Are you knickers twisted in a good way or something?" he joked. Although the joke failed, it was still amusing to see him with a smile on his face, too.

"I've made a bucket list. I have ten things I want to do before I... die," I said.

Justin's smile wavered at the word die, but it didn't hinder his speech. "Can I see the list?"

Wordlessly, I pulled it out of my pocket and handed it to him. He unfolded it and began to scrutinise it with his eyebrows gradually furrowing with the skin between jutting out and his eyes squinting. His cheeks were a little rosy just before finishing the list and looking back up to me. One guess to which of the activity caused the magenta-staining cheeks.

"I have a few questions and one flaw," he pointed out, turning back to the list as the red was diminishing. "Number ten is a no go. As long as I'm with you and they don't respect it, I can't be friends with them again. But I'm up for number nine whenever you want." He winked at me. "Perhaps not right now though. I don't want to do something that people will end up watching. But for number three, where are we meant to go?

I snatched my list back, checking the list to see which number three was. "Well," I began, "I don't really know. But we can go to the lake just outside of town. Most seniors go there."

Justin nodded. "Oh, I know that place. I went with-" He stopped short when he saw me gawping quizzically at him. "You know, a few years ago...."

Considering we were at Justin's locker, he rummaged through his pencil in his bag and pulled out a pen. "Do you mind if I make a replica of the list for my purposes?"

"Okay."

Justin haphazardly duplicated my own list by ripping out a spare page in one of his school books and scrawling on there. Then he folded the paper up into his own pocket and smiled jubilantly. By this point now, we should have been venturing through the labyrinth of the corridors to our separate form rooms so I could catch up with Michelle and Beth.