Understanding Teenagers

#6: Meeting on the Rooftop

     "Couldn't sleep?" asked Giselle as she ate a small pack of Oreos.

"I guess not. Isn't it a little late to be eating Oreos?"

With a full Oreo in her mouth, she spoke. "It's never too late for Oreos. I think I have an addiction or something. They are literally my favorite."

"Yeah, I really love Oreos too."

She handed me her package of Oreos. "You can have the last one."

With much hesitation, I took the cookie out of the bag and looked at it, not sure if it was a good idea to eat an Oreo.

"Come on Liam, it's just one Oreo. It's not like it's going to kill you or anything."

She was right, and I ate the cookie. I hadn't realized how beautiful these nights were in Pacific City. It was like I was seeing the stars for the first time.

"You excited for your new job?" she asked looking at the moon.

"I think so. Things started out rough the first day, but I think things will start to pick up."

"To be honest, your girlfriend doesn't seem as excited as you. Looking at her tonight, I think she might hate you a little.

"Yeah, I wouldn't blame her if she hated me right now. I didn't give her any time to prepare, but sometimes things happen fast, and we have to be ready."

"Wow that's deep," she joked. You get that out of a fortune cookie?"

"Oh yeah. You should've seen my last fortune cookie. It said I was going to win the lottery and live in Hawaii."

We both laughed as she took off her shoes and threw them off the roof.

"Seriously though, you're not worried about your girl? I can't imagine having a boyfriend telling me he was moving to China or something and expecting me to follow."

"China is across the world. All we did was move a few hours away. It's not like we made that big of a change, but I guess I am a little worried. She has never liked messing up or mistakes in general. Everything must be perfect with her."

"Are you a little worried about messing up or making any mistakes?"

Taking a moment to think about it, I took a deep breath. "Well, I suppose I'm not as worried about making a mistake as I'm more worried about the idea of not going anywhere in life. That's part of the reason I accepted the job offer. Hell, that's the reason I went to college. I didn't want to end up on my death bed not doing anything worthwhile. And I am a little uncertain about this job."

She took another deep breath. "I guess that explains your impulsive decision," she laughed. "But seriously, I totally get that. Sometimes I find myself making impulsive choices. Just last week, I was at this party and jumped into the pool with only my bra forgetting to bring a bikini."

With that weird response, I found myself laughing a little hard. She joined in until we cooled down and caught our breath.

"So, what happens if you don't get accepted to your dream college? You seem pretty worried about that."

"I've never been more worried in my life. All my friends keep talking about is life after graduation and all the colleges they want to go to. One of them was already accepted and it's ASU of all places. She's content with that which I honestly don't understand. Why would anyone want to go to a well-known party school?

"Maybe she feels she can't do any better. And you know, it can't be all that bad. U of A isn't much better than ASU and here I am. A U of A Alumni who has a job."

"Maybe you're right. Anyways, back to your job. What exactly are you doing?"

"Well, I'm in charge of a bunch of great out of date author as we're supposed to write an amazing YA Novel in order to get the company out of their financial rut.

"You're a ghostwriter?"

"I'm not sure. To be honest, the company seems to be playing it as they go along. But seriously, you should see how out of touch these authors are with today's youth and young people. According to them, it's all about sex."

"And what do you know about today's youth?"

"I was a teenager less than five years ago. I know plenty. And plus, I also know you."

Her face blushed. "True, you do know me, and I am a teenager."

"Would you be opposed to this novel being about you? I mean honestly, you'd make an interesting character. Of course, I'd change your name and everything."

She thought about it for a moment. "What exactly would you write about me? Am I really that interesting?"

"It's your senior year and it's clear that there's a lot happening. I don't see why we can't talk casually periodically like we are tonight. Sometimes a simple conversation can say a lot.

Without thought, she shook my hand. "All right, you got yourself a deal. This better be a good story, O'Malley." 

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! This is pretty much the end of the beginning. Remember to vote, comment, and share. 

Next Chapter: Will Liam and the authors make progress at the next meeting? Giselle is also worried about Ricky not texting or calling her. Stay tuned! 

Would you want more time to prepare if you were Heather?

Should Liam find inspiration from Giselle for the story?