The Witness

Chapter Six

May 22, 1996

I didn't even need the alarm clock that day. I was awake by six in the morning, admittedly pumped up about today's "date". Was it a date? I made two huge breakfast sandwiches for both me and Jenna and the energy running through me made me restless. When I finished making the behemoths, I gorged half of it into my mouth and checked my phone for any messages on my phone. Hey, there's one! I went to IM and looked for the message. When I found it in my heap of useless messages, I saw a number I didn't know. It was Mahala. Urgh. I need to save her number! It read, "Hope to see you at Haandi! I'm going to be coming early." I was kind of surprised because I wasn't sure if I'd pick her up or something. I texted back, "Ok. Hope to see you, too!" I put my phone back in my pocket and paced, breathing deep.

I was way too excited, so I took off outside to run. When I ran down the stairs to get out the door, I turned on my favorite song, 'California Love' by Tupac. I got out the door and ran around the block, sometimes even sprinting. I ran until I had no more energy to spare and then I went back home, looking at the time. 7:30 Wow, only thirty minutes had passed. I walked into the apartment and I heard a groan of sadness. Jenna was awake. "Hey, Jenna. How was the nap?" I asked before flopping on the couch and turned on the TV.

"Good until the alarm rang," she groaned. I chuckled and started zoning in a little bit on Friends. "Breakfast on the kitchen table," I said.

"Thanks! Love ya! Oh wait! Your date's today! I have to tell you what to do!" she exclaimed as she grabbed her sandwich. She started towards the sofa and started talking and I sighed, questioning why this person was my sister. "Ok. Number one. You're going out for food, right?" I nodded. "Well then, you're paying. If you don't, she's not going to get a good vibe 'cause she'll think that money is more important than love to you --" 

"It isn't a date! Well, I think."

" Yeah, no. It's a date. Anyways, number two. Don't wear formal attire. Wear a casual outfit, but not too casual, like a polo. Polos always look good. Especially on us white people. Number three. Don't show that you're nervous. You'll accidentally say something stupid. Number four. Respect her, okay? If you don't respect her, she's gonna leave you like all your hopes and dreams. Non-existent." Ouch. "Okay, that's all you really need for the first date." I was absorbing all of these and all of these seemed pretty easy except for number three: Don't show that you are nervous. How am I going to do that? I thought it through and in the end, all I could do was hope for the best.

At 8:30, when Jenna left, I went back to bed and fell asleep again. At 10:30, I startled awake shouting, "I'm gonna be late!" I looked at the clock, heart beating faster than I could handle,  and slowly started calming down. I got up, took a deep breath, and looked into my closet and got a light blue polo shirt. I got black jeans on and went to the kitchen to get a drink of water. I walked over to the TV and watched an episode of Full House along with the frequent, irritating ads. At 11, I walked out the door, heart pounding.

When I walked out of the apartment complex door, I was shocked to see a taxi waiting by my door. The driver was leaning on his car drinking from a water bottle, waiting for the next customer that needed driving. I told him the address to Haabil and we were off.

When I got there, I was greeted by an empty road. Well, that's practically impossible in Manhattan, you'd say! EXACTLY! When I walked in, a fresh, spicy smell greeted me and I was instantly lured in, even though I was super nervous. A woman in what looked like a salwar kameez (Thankfully I knew what those were since there were many South Asian tailors nearby.) walked up to me and asked, "Are you Tristan?"