The Summer Of Our Lives, chapter 4
*Two days later*
Taking a shower always helped me think things through. Somehow the hot water streaming down my back always seemed to give me an idea. And today was no exception.
*Half an hour later*
Rrrrrrrrrriiiiiinnng. Rrrrrrrriiiinnnnnng. I sighed. 'Pick up', I thought.
"Hello?" a cheery voice greeted me.
"Liv?"
"Oh my God, hey, Cassie. So what are we going to do?" Liv had a way of always getting straight to the point.
"I have an idea. What we do is this....." I quickly whispered my plan into the phone, looking around to make sure no one was listening.
"Christ!" Liv exclaimed. "Why didn't I think of that?" She paused. "I know. My mom is here... I'll put her on speaker with you and your mom."
"Okay."
*Five minutes later*
"So... you're saying I should let my daughter go to a concert by herself with no one but three of her peers and roughly 65,000 strangers, in New York City?" I could hear the outrage in my mom's voice.
"Mrs. Jenkins," Liv said patiently, "it really isn't as bad as you're making it out to be. There will be four of us there. We will stick together. And Kevin and I both have cell phones, in case you need to reach us. We can do it."
I agreed wholeheartedly. "Yeah, mom," I said, "We know not to talk to strangers. We know how to cross a street. We know how to call home. We've known all that since we were five." I tried to keep my voice patient, like Liv's. Any hint of "disrespect", as my mom called it, could send her off the edge and cause her to say no.
"You know, Helen, I think I agree with Olivia," Mrs. Thompson said. "She is quite bright for her age." Understatement of the year. "It might be good for their, er, growth, to be let out on their own every once in a while. And maybe seeing this, er, Green Day will be a positive experience."
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Victory was in sight.
"Well... I suppose... if you call..." my mom trailed off. "But listen to me, young lady," she continued, "You are to go to the concert. You are to come home from the concert. You will not talk to anyone you do not know, and you will stay together. And if I hear you broke either of those rules, then you will never be allowed out without parental supervision until you are eighteen. Do you understand me?" she turned to the phone and addressed Liv. "And that goes for you, too!" I nodded vigorously and I was certain Liv was doing the same.
"Cassie," she shrieked, "We're going, we're really going!"
I couldn't believe it, either.
Taking a shower always helped me think things through. Somehow the hot water streaming down my back always seemed to give me an idea. And today was no exception.
*Half an hour later*
Rrrrrrrrrriiiiiinnng. Rrrrrrrriiiinnnnnng. I sighed. 'Pick up', I thought.
"Hello?" a cheery voice greeted me.
"Liv?"
"Oh my God, hey, Cassie. So what are we going to do?" Liv had a way of always getting straight to the point.
"I have an idea. What we do is this....." I quickly whispered my plan into the phone, looking around to make sure no one was listening.
"Christ!" Liv exclaimed. "Why didn't I think of that?" She paused. "I know. My mom is here... I'll put her on speaker with you and your mom."
"Okay."
*Five minutes later*
"So... you're saying I should let my daughter go to a concert by herself with no one but three of her peers and roughly 65,000 strangers, in New York City?" I could hear the outrage in my mom's voice.
"Mrs. Jenkins," Liv said patiently, "it really isn't as bad as you're making it out to be. There will be four of us there. We will stick together. And Kevin and I both have cell phones, in case you need to reach us. We can do it."
I agreed wholeheartedly. "Yeah, mom," I said, "We know not to talk to strangers. We know how to cross a street. We know how to call home. We've known all that since we were five." I tried to keep my voice patient, like Liv's. Any hint of "disrespect", as my mom called it, could send her off the edge and cause her to say no.
"You know, Helen, I think I agree with Olivia," Mrs. Thompson said. "She is quite bright for her age." Understatement of the year. "It might be good for their, er, growth, to be let out on their own every once in a while. And maybe seeing this, er, Green Day will be a positive experience."
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Victory was in sight.
"Well... I suppose... if you call..." my mom trailed off. "But listen to me, young lady," she continued, "You are to go to the concert. You are to come home from the concert. You will not talk to anyone you do not know, and you will stay together. And if I hear you broke either of those rules, then you will never be allowed out without parental supervision until you are eighteen. Do you understand me?" she turned to the phone and addressed Liv. "And that goes for you, too!" I nodded vigorously and I was certain Liv was doing the same.
"Cassie," she shrieked, "We're going, we're really going!"
I couldn't believe it, either.
