The Dork

Amanda woke to the brightness of that Saturday morning. She glanced at her calendar and realized: "Oh no! My boyfriend is a dork. She had seen Hank every single day for the last 30 days. He had ordered several wallet-sized copies of his most recent school picture and had given her one every day to put on her calendar for each day they saw each other. He had a bowl-cut hair do, pimples and never got braces. That morning she knew It was time for her to make a decision. "I just need this last day of the month to not have a picture on it!" However, she remembered that he would be coming by that morning at 9:00am to pick her up and take her to the Marigold festival that day at the park. Her doorbell rang ten minutes early. She wasn't even dressed yet.

She got out of bed, brushed her silky blonde hair and threw on the first dress she could find. There was no time for makeup but that was ok. She had hoped that he would be turned off as she had a few pimples herself. She took a few deep breaths before she answered the door.

"Hi." She muttered with a simple grin.

"You didn't forget about today did you?" He asked as he handed her a pot with orange and yellow marigolds.

"No, no Hank. How could I forget?"

She took the potted flowers and set them down on her front step.

"No." Said Hank.

"Put them on the other side where they'll get more light.

"Ok, Hank."

"Whatever!" She thought to herself. She felt helpless and powerless. She had to come up with a plan.

"You look so pretty today! Especially without the makeup!"

She had hoped that a bee would fly out of those marigolds and sting him!

They walked together for about a mile or so to the festival. Then, she had an idea!

"I thought we could grab a hot dog on the way. How does that sound?"

"That sounds good, Hank. I just need to stop into the little girls room really quick."

"Okay, I'll wait right here. The annoyance of his enthusiasm continued to swell and she couldn't take it anymore. It was time execute her escape plan!

She grew up in this town and knew from when she was a kid that there was a small window in the back of that lady's room at the park. It was just big enough for her to crawl out and make a run for it.

Then, she was free!

Hank waited patiently for several minutes and was getting concerned.

He saw two tough and butch-like hillbilly women enter. He had the idea of asking about Amanda when they came back out.

After a few minutes, he saw them again.

"Excuse me. I was wondering if you saw my girlfriend in there. It's been a while."

"There ain't no one in there." Said one of the women.

"Oh no. She's in there. She just hasn't come out yet."

The two women were still standing there when Hank was going to go the the entrance and call for her. As he got close, one of the women took advantage of his dorkiness and shoved him inside the empty lady's room. They bursted out in laughter as they walked away.

"Amanda?" He hollered with his voice echoing inside.

Amanda's hair shimmered in the sunlight on that beautiful Saturday afternoon. Her dress was flowing along with the gentle breeze in the air. The only trouble was she knew she would have to avoid Hank and there were only so many places she could hide. But for now, it didn't matter. All she wanted to do was celebrate the moment. The Marigold Festival was a once a year event in her small town. She went every year from when she was very young. She had looked forward to it all summer long but had no plans of sharing the experience with Hank. She liked him, don't get me wrong, but in some way felt sorry for him because he was a band geek with an awkward personality and no one ever wanted to date him. He invited her at the beginning of the summer to go see a movie with him. It was a movie she really wanted to see so she accepted and it was all down hill from there. He became obsessed but she just didn't want to hurt his feelings. Her friends knew she was a bit diabolical this way as she had pulled these kinds of stunts before. The festival was a little crowded but she marveled at the paintings and wood carvings from the numerous booths there. She could smell the aroma of the hot and fresh food in the air. Since she successfully carried out her plan, she had missed out on her hot dog. She made sure the coast was clear before she got in line. She then took her chances. She nervously waited as she was deciding what to order. Whatever it was, it had to be quick! She continued to suspiciously look around. The wait in line began to seem endless. Suddenly they simultaneously spotted

each other.

Amanda pretended she didn't see him and quietly but quickly snuck off. That's when the wild goose chase began. Hank was relieved that he found her but could not understand why she was gone again so quickly. She thought she would be safe if she visited the petting zoo. She thought that would be the last place he'd look since it was mostly young children with their parents. She enjoyed the baby goats and chicks and got to feed the rabbits. But it wasn't too long before he'd find her again. She once again freed herself and decided to hide out in the house of mirrors. She didn't think he saw her go in, but history seemed to have a way of repeating itself. She found a corner between two mirrors and waited in the hopes that he would just give up. She looked into one of the mirrors and sure enough she spotted his bowl-cut in the reflection. Luckily he had to walk through the maze of mirrors to get to where she was so she was able to escape without him seeing her. It was getting late and she was starting to get tired. She was also beginning to feel a little guilty. She walked over to the ferris wheel and just decided to go for a ride. As the wheel went around a few times she began to collect her thoughts. It was time to be honest.

"Amanda!" Hank shouted and resonating throughout most of the park."There you are! I've been looking all over for you!"

The ferris wheel began to slow down as her ride was coming to an end. He was just standing there in desperation for her. His hopefullness and anticipation was like that of a little puppy.

"Hi!" He said with gladness.

"Hello Hank. Why don't we sit down."

"I got you a hot dog. I bought two because I really hoped I'd be able to find you. It's a little cold now and I almost ate it myself but you can have it."

"Thank you, Hank." She said with a hint of graciousness.

"You've been acting kind of strange today, Amanda. Is everything alright?"

"Hank, I didn't want to offend you but I really just wanted to be, you know, by myself today." She said with hesitation.

"Why would I be offended by that? If you would have told me, I would have understood. It probably wasn't a very fun day at the festival today running away from me all day. I think I'll be going now. And remember. Things are great when you communicate. Oh wow! I made a rhyme!" Hank faded off into the distance. Amanda didn't get a wallet-sized school picture that day.