Chapter 39: Chapter 36

"This is an interesting concept," commented Johan as he looked at the menu.

"I know, and it tastes better too. I tried the cheddar cheese and bacon; it was really good."

"Should I try it, then?"

"Yeah, go for it."

"Okay, if you insist."

Right in front of their eyes, the freshly hot popcorn was scooped, topped with their preferred flavors, and served to each of them. Taking their buckets, they found a bench to sit at where Johan took his first taste.

"Hey, this is good," Johan commented.

"I told you," said Lucy.

"What about yours?"

"I ordered the Fruit and Nut mix. This one is really good too."

"Let me try some."

Lucy offered her bucket full of the brightly colored popcorn where he took one and popped one into his mouth. An expression of delight was on his face. "This is good too. It's nice, but the syrup is too sweet for me."

“Maybe, but I really like it. I want to come back here every chance I can get and try all of the flavors.”

“Yeah, maybe I can check it out every once in a while as well.”

They remained on the bench and continued to chat about the different varieties of flavors before they finished their buckets. As they walked out of the store, Lucy's excitement was still fresh as she pranced.

"That was so good," she commented.

"It sure was."

"I wonder how many stores are there? I should look it up in case we go somewhere else."

Chuckling to himself, Johan said, "Let's head back to the park."

Time continued to pass them as the two eventually made it back to the train station where they sat down and let their conversations flourish naturally.

"I might want to go to your school when I attend college," Lucy said.

"That's an interesting choice, but it's just a community college."

"What's the difference between a community college and a... uhh... what is a bigger college called?"

"University."

"Oh yeah. I kind of forgot. But what's the difference between the two?"

"You went on that field trip, right? What did you think of it?"

"It looks no different than my current school, except that it was bigger."

"The design is the same, but the actual classes differ from a middle school. For one thing, you are responsible for attending class on time. There are no bells."

"Really? But I assume you'll get in trouble if you don't arrive in time."

"Kind of. It's not like you're going to get detention, but you will get reprimanded if you do it too much. Some students choose not to attend class rather than be late."

"You can do that?"

"Yeah, but again, do it too often and you will get in trouble. Pretty much, they're giving the responsibility of attendance to you."

"But in a way, that's no different than middle school."

"Or high school for that matter. I figured it was going to be different than public school but turns out that in many ways it's kind of the same. It's just that I don't live with my parents anymore. I'm living on my own now."

"Then it's settled. I'll go to your school when it's my turn to go to college. Then we can hang out together."

"Lucy, by the time you enter college, I'll be a graduate and have a full-time job."

"Oh yeah. College is like, four years, right?"

"More or less. My suggestion is to aim for university instead. I mean, if I had the choice, I would."

"In that case, I'll work hard to get into university." Johan laughed softly as Lucy got on her feet, "How about we go somewhere else now?"

"Somewhere else?"

"Yeah. I'm eager to check out some other place. What do you want to do now?"

This suggestion prompted Johan to notice the sky, particularly the sun beginning to set. "Actually, maybe we should call it a day now. Any more activities and it's going to be nighttime before you know it."

"What's the big deal?"

"You can't be out late at night, you know?"

"What's so bad about us hanging out late?"

"It's not so much that it's a problem with you, it's more like a problem with me."

"Do you need to be somewhere tomorrow? It'll be Sunday so I figured you had the day off."

"Yeah, I do, but I'm talking more about your parents. They're going to wonder where you are."

"That's okay. My mom doesn't care."

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"What do you mean?"

"My mom doesn't even know where I am right now. I could be on the moon and be seen on the news, but she wouldn't care."

"But what about your dad?"

"I don't live with him but he's the same, maybe worse. He'll only care about me if I work for his company."

“The whole employment thing, I figure. But that means he wants you to be close to him. It's not like he just sees you as an employee."

"Whatever he sees me as, it definitely isn't as his daughter."

A foreboding feeling had risen within Johan upon hearing her response. "So I guess, in a way, I was right. You did meet me without your parents knowing where you went."

"Pretty much."

"Still, you have to go home somehow, right? I don't like the idea of you taking the bus home in the evening, let alone late at night"

"You can take me home."

"Me? But you can't be seen inside my car."

"Why not?"

"What if someone we recognize sees us?"

"What about it?"

"They'll think you're getting in a stranger's car, and they'll think I'm picking up some random kid. It'll look bad."

"That's not going to happen."

"How can it not? It looks so suspicious, especially with people that know us. What if one of our classmates spots us? Then we'll be in trouble."

"When you put it that way, someone probably already did, right? I mean, we've been hanging out all day." A look of realization was all over Johan as he started looking around. "Johan, calm down, nobody has seen us."

"But they could've. I mean, we don't know when or where they might have."

"What are you so afraid of? I mean, if they saw us, let's just tell them that we're hanging out."

"I can't tell them that."

"But that's the truth, right? Just tell them the truth."

Johan was taken aback by the comment that prompted him to get up. "Lucy, that's not going to work. People will think terrible things about me. In fact, they're probably spreading rumors about me now. Oh gosh, maybe this wasn't a good idea after all."

"Johan, stop. I don't get you. You're acting so weird when we were having a good time. What's the problem? We're just hanging out."

"You don't understand, Lucy."

"Then explain it to me. Why are you so worried?"

"Think about it. I'm an adult and you're still a kid, and we don't know each other. People are going to assume I'm doing something bad by default and telling them the truth will just make things worse. The thing is adults can't hang out with kids."

"But why?"

"Because they think it's inappropriate."

"Is that all? That's stupid. We're just hanging out. I mean, you're not a creep."

"Everyone else will think otherwise."

"Well, so far, all the people we talked to didn't think anything like that. That phone lady thought I was your sibling. I think that's what people will think when they see us."

"I'm certain that's an exception. I mean, what would happen if we run into someone on the street and they see us? What will we tell them if they confront us?"

"Well..." Lucy grabbed Johan's arm and placed it around her shoulders, causing Johan to jolt in place, "Then let's tell them we're on a date."

"WHAT!?" Johan shouted removing his arm. He felt so mortified as Lucy laughed. "I'm not telling people-"

"I'm joking,” Lucy intercepted through her fit of laughter, “It was just a joke. But still, relax. People are just going to think we're having a good time because we are. They're not going to question if you are a stranger or not. They're not going to think I'm being kidnapped or anything like that. As long as we're having a good time, they'll think the best of us."

"Well, maybe with strangers, but what if we ran into someone we know."

"Then let's just tell them I got lost and you were helping me find my uncle or something. Or you can be my uncle."

"You want me to lie?"

"Yeah."

"But that's wrong. You are deceiving people when you tell them something that isn't true. If you lie once, you have to keep up the lie and then you have so many lies that it all collapses on you and you'll have to face the-"

Lucy pulls his arm along with his body down and placed her index finger on his lips. With a cheeky smile, "Johan, you worry too much."

This unexpected action from her took him by surprise as he looked into her eyes. A sort of bliss started enveloping him, allowing him to relax. But after a few moments, a heat was starting to emanate from his face. This sensation transferred to her finger just as she realized how close she was to him.

She stepped back quickly, and both turned around, not daring to eye each other any further, keeping their exhaling as quietly as possible. A few moments of silence passed before they had the courage to turn around and face each other again.

"Okay, fine,” he said. “What do you want to do now?"

"Let's go to the beach."

"The beach? Right now?"

"Yes, right now."

"But it's getting late, and I don't want you to ride the bus at night, and I can't take you home because of what I said..." Lucy's impatient look kept him from continuing and after taking a deep breath, "then let's buy a ticket then."

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