This is the sixth chapter of my second serial novel, The Year of the Winding Road < click here to see the main page for the novel, read the other chapters if you missed them or have no idea what this story is about.
Note to readers:
While this story does have events in it that were inspired by true life and the people who made them happen, all of it is fictional and made up. The people, aside from the popular culture figures that pepper this novel, are made up using qualities and quirks I have observed in the people I have met in real life. The places are also made up. The popular culture figures are used fictionally, though I tried to remain true to them in my writing.
The emotions though are very real. High school is a time for angst. High school is a time for finding one’s self and learning who and what one will become. I tried to keep that ribbon alive in this piece of fiction.
First Date
“I’ve been meaning to ask you something. Do you want to go to a movie?” Patrick asked as they walked towards their fourth hour classes a week later.
Brianna was sure she didn’t hear him correctly. Or maybe she did. She wasn’t sure. What she did know was she was kind of nervous, since she’d never been asked out before. She could feel her cheeks flushing as she looked down at her feet to make sure she didn’t trip on anything.
“Are you asking me out on a date?” she asked.
When he didn’t answer right away, she looked up at him. His cheeks turned red as well and he ducked his head. Brianna was surprised to see he was as embarrassed as she was.
“Yes, I think. I’m kind of new to this, can you tell?” he replied.
She chuckled shyly as she blushed stronger. She smiled.
“Sure. What did you have in mind?”
He sighed.
“Well, that alien movie with Will Smith is still playing. We could go on Saturday night, but if you wanted to go during the afternoon, it would be cheaper.”
She nodded as she realized she was grinning like a dopey idiot. She took in a deep breath and tried to calm her excitement.
“I don’t mind going during the day. I would have to check with my parents though, since well, I would need permission. I have to babysit Saturday night anyway.”
“I need to check with my parents too. Especially if I wanted to see if I could borrow their car. But chances are one of them will have to drive us since I know they probably have their errands to run. Will that be okay?”
She nodded as she focused on weaving through the crowd of students.
“I don’t mind.”
“So let me check with my parents and see what time the movie is playing and where. I’ll call you tonight?”
She thought about it. It was Wednesday. She had her youth group at church. By the time she got home, it would be after nine at night and she already knew her parents would frown upon anyone calling that late.
“How about letting me know tomorrow? I won’t be able to talk much tonight.”
“Sure,” he said. I can do that.”
“I’ll buy us lunch, if you like,” she offered.
They had arrived at his classroom and she realized he was grinning just as much as she was. Her heart did little flips again as she watched that smile of his grow even wider.
“Sounds fine with me.”
Of course Mom was elated she was FINALLY going out on a date with someone. She insisted on giving Brianna some money for the date, since Brianna mentioned she offered to pay for lunch since Patrick was paying for the movie himself.
Dad just grumped as Mom rummaged through her purse.
“In my day, the guy paid for everything!”
Mom just sighed as she handed over a few bills. Brianna watched her roll her eyes.
“Russ, remember? I paid for the tickets when we went to see that war movie. You hadn’t gotten paid yet.”
Dad’s face showed his exasperation.
“She didn’t need to know that, Carol.”
Brianna just shook her head at her parents’ antics as she walked down the hallway to her room. She pulled her wallet out of her backpack and put the four five dollar bills that Mom had just given her into it.
She was a nervous wreck on Saturday morning. She had no idea what to wear or how to do her hair. She wanted to wear her usual outfit of shirt, flannel and jeans, but also wanted to dress up too. She wished she had some sense of style.
She settled on a cute shirt her mom had bought for her that wasn’t really her style. It was a summery thing, but even in the slightly cooler weather it would do, especially if she wore a jacket over it. She pulled on her nicest pair of jeans and her canvas shoes. Even though they were starting to show some stains, they were the best choice for the day. She decided to let her hair hang down since she knew Patrick had never seen it that way.
She did her makeup, applying the silvery gray eyeshadow she loved the most to her eyelids and some blush to her cheeks. She had never been shown how to do a full face before, since her mother rarely wore makeup to work. Sometimes she experimented a little but knew today was not a day to “try” a new look.
She examined herself in the mirror critically. She wished suddenly that she was prettier. She wished she knew how to be more flirty. She wished she could be someone else. But then she sighed knowing she couldn’t change much about herself anyway.
She paced the hallway as her mom and dad sat in the den, watching a football game on TV. Her parents yelling at calls the referees made and plays done by their teams did not help quell the nervousness that seemed to seize Brianna. But she kept taking deep breaths as she waited for Patrick to arrive.
The doorbell rang. She stood in the entryway with apprehension, staring at the front door. She heard her mother get up from her seat in the den and walk into the living room.
“Well, what are you waiting for?” she asked. “Open the door.”
“Brianna’s boyfriend’s here!” Charlie screeched as he ran down the hall from his bedroom.
Matthew followed, a grin on his face as he hoped to catch her embarrassment at being seen with a boy. Even Dad had come out of the den while the dogs happily wagged their tails, waiting for some pets. Chaos seemed to reign.
Brianna was surprised that Annabelle stayed entrenched in their shared room. Usually she was in the thick of things, seeking attention when the spotlight was on others.
The door swung open. Patrick smiled at her nervously from the top step of the front stoop, dressed in nice clothes. A double-cabbed truck was parked in the driveway behind Dad’s old car and Mom’s minivan and Brianna could see a man sitting in it.
“Hi, Patrick,” Brianna said. She stepped out onto the stoop. “Bye, everyone,” she called, closing the door on her family’s beaming faces.
She glanced up at Patrick with a deprecatory smile.
“Sorry. They like to embarrass me.”
He laughed as he opened the side door to backseat of the truck.
“My brother and dad like to tease me too. I get it. You look good, by the way.”
She grinned like an idiot again.
“So do you.”
The van ride over was uneventful and quiet. Mr. Hampton exchanged a few pleasantries but left Brianna and Patrick alone for the most part. Even though they had gone to the dance and had their first kiss already, this first date started out awkward as they both watched the scenery out the windows. Brianna felt like she was out of her element and nervously played with the silver bracelet she chose to wear.
Mr. Hampton dropped them off in front of the movie theater and said goodbye.
“Don’t forget your mom will pick you both up at four,” he said before he drove away.
“Sorry we had to catch a ride,” Patrick said as they walked towards the building. “I needed to buy my computer before I started saving up my money for a car.”
“Hey, at least you have your license,” she replied. “I don’t even have that.”
“Why don’t you have it?” he asked.
“My parents are mean,” she said.
He chuckled.
“Aren’t all parents though?”
Brianna frowned as she shook her head.
“No, really. They won’t let me even get my license unless I can pay for the increase in insurance. But they won’t let me work more than two days a week during the school year since I have church activities and volunteer stuff too, so I can’t make enough to actually pay for the increase. On top of that, I have to pay for stuff I want unless they deem it a need too. “
“Oh, wow. I’m sorry.”
She shrugged and made a face.
“Yeah, they are kind of strict. Sometimes I think they are way too strict.”
She sighed as she blinked. She had never criticized her parents so harshly to anyone else before. Usually she kept those thoughts welled up inside of her. She blinked again and looked up at him.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make this a pity party. Let’s go enjoy the movie.”
Patrick nodded as he bought the tickets. As they walked by the concessions stand, he stopped and looked up.
“Want some popcorn or something?” he asked.
Brianna looked at the prices and grimaced. Even though she had the money she made from babysitting and the twenty dollars Mom had given her the other day, the prices were steep. She shook her head.
“We could get popcorn to share and a couple of small sodas,” he said. “I have enough money. Don’t worry.”
She nodded and he paid for two drinks and one large bucket of popcorn. As they walked down the hallway towards their theater, Brianna spoke up.
“I have a little too. My mom gave me some money.”
Patrick took a sip from his straw as Brianna opened the door for them both, since his hands were full with his drink and the popcorn.
“I thought she wanted you to fend for yourself.”
“It’s weird,” she said. “Yes, they want me to pay my own way, but she was so elated that I am actually going on a date that she practically threw a twenty at me to help pay for food. So I’ll buy our lunch afterwards like I said I would.”
“Sounds good.”
They found seats in the middle of the theater, not too close to the screen, but not all the way in the back either. Patrick let her go first and pick out the actual seats in the row he chose.
“These good?” she asked.
He nodded as they sat down. He placed the popcorn between them and stretched his feet out in front of him.
The movie was good, but what Brianna liked even better was the fact that halfway through the movie, when she was scared because of something that happened, Patrick actually put his arm around her.
“It’s not as scary as it seems,” he whispered reassuringly.
She smiled as she leaned into his shoulder. They sat like that for almost the rest of the movie, slowly eating the popcorn until nothing but kernels remained. Her soda was long gone and she was thirsty, but Brianna was in love with this young man. She sighed happily.
They got lunch at the fast-food place across from the movie theater. The twenty bucks Mom had given her and the little she saved from babysitting did not go as far as Brianna expected, but she didn’t mind. They ate and chatted about their classes and what they wanted to do when they grew up. Occasionally, Brianna looked into Patrick’s dark brown eyes and felt herself sigh happily. It was nice having some guy pay attention to her.
Patrick’s mother picked them up at four, as expected. They held hands on the car ride home, not speaking much. They sat in happy silence in the backseat as Brianna watched the scenery go by and gave Mrs. Hampton directions to her house. Occasionally, Patrick smiled at her as he squeezed her hand.
He walked her to the door and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. She smiled as she kissed him back.
“See you Monday,” she said happily.
“Bye, Bree!” he called as he walked back to his mom’s car.
He climbed in the front seat and gave her a little wave as his mom backed her car out of the driveway. Brianna waved and then watched as they drove away, smiling the whole time.
“How was your date?” Mom called from the living room as she entered the house.
Mom and Annabelle were sitting on the couch. The television was on and some old crime show was playing. Brianna could hear the lawn mower going in the backyard and Charlie singing to himself in his bedroom. One of the dogs was in the kitchen drinking water. Puck was reclining on the back of the couch and Brianna reached over to give him some scratches on his back.
“It was nice,” she finally responded.
“Did he kiss you?” Annabelle asked, never looking up from the handheld game she was playing.
“Yes,” Brianna said quietly as Mom gave her a proud look. She knew she was blushing again. She started walking down the hall to her bedroom. “I’m going to finish my homework,” she said.
On Monday, Patrick made it “official” that they were going out by calling her his girlfriend.
She was late getting to the planter for break, since she was talking to Sra. Allen about a confusion she had between two verb forms. Patrick looked up and saw her approach. He stood and smiled as he leaned over to kiss her cheek.
“How’s my girlfriend today?” he asked her.
She blushed as she looked around, wondering if anyone else had even heard him. There was a triumphant smile on Adelaide’s face.
“Are you a couple then?” she asked, a lilting tease in her voice.
Brianna nodded as she gave Patrick a quick kiss and sat down on the ground. He sat next to her, putting his arm around her. She leaned into him happily as she ate the granola bar in her hand and blushed.
They held hands as they walked to their next class. Matt stuck out his tongue at them both when he walked past, but Brianna could see a happy smile on his face afterwards. She was so happy that she didn’t care if anyone else saw them.
Elated was the word she used to describe her feelings of joy. She finally had a boyfriend.
Click here to read the next chapter – Birthday (live on 13 September 2025)
Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction written by K. S. Wood, and thus is copyrighted 2025. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. No part of this work may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the author. All rights reserved.If you enjoyed this chapter, please share it with others. Every other Saturday, there will be a new chapter posted for your reading pleasure. The entire story can be found on this page – The Year of the Winding Road
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