Chapter 3

Thursday evening rolled around. April and I had plans to catch a early movie on campus, then maybe do some dinner and go walk around Midway. Around 5:30, I was sitting in one of the campus computer labs, still waiting for April to show up, when Mark came into lab.

"Hey Mark."

"Hey George." He seemed a bit surprised to see me. "What are you doing in here?"

"Just killing some time. April and I are going to catch the Thursday Nite Flick later."

"That's weird. I just saw April; she and Heather were heading into town tonight."

"No shit? Well I guess that means we aren't seeing the movie tonight... ! Did they say when they'd be back?"

"Not 'till late, I think. Heather said something about 'Female Bonding' and wouldn't tell me anything more."

"Hmm. 'Girls Night Out', eh? Well, that kinda sucks."

Something was up. That was really unlike April, to just pack up and ditch me without even calling, or dropping me an e-mail, or anything. Actually, it really bothered me. Before I had a chance to get upset, though, Mark interrupted me.

"Hey, George, did you ever get the schedule from Rob?"

"Oh, uh, yeah. You're working six to ten tonight, with Barb and Frank."

"Shit, that's no good. John invited me to a party at his frat tonight, and I really wanted to go."

"Well, I guess I don't have anything else to do tonight anymore. I'll cover for you."

"Would you? Thanks a bunch, George. I owe you one."

"No biggie. You can work my shift tomorrow night or something."

"Sure."

I logged out of the workstation I was on and started walking over towards Midway. The more I walked, the more I thought about April ditching me, and the more upset I got about it. By the time I got to Midway, I was practically seething. Barb and Joe were manning the booth; I guess I was a little early for Mark's shift.

"Hey George, how's it going?"

"Pretty crappy, Joe, thanks for asking."

"Hey, sorry I said anything. Have you seen Mark tonight? He's supposed to start in five minutes."

"Yeah, but he's not coming. I'm covering his shift for him."

"Oh, okay. Mind if I take off a bit early then?"

"Go for it."

"Thanks."

Thursday night on the Midway was always pretty busy. Seemed like everybody in town showed up right around dinner time, though carnival food never sounded like a good family dinner to me. Barb and I quickly had our hands full with other students, parents, and younger kids who all wanted to play our silly booth game. It was just a variation on your standard ring toss, but I think one of the guys had cut the pegs too short or something because nobody was having any luck that night. Not that our prizes were anything special, but it's less fun if nobody wins. At least it was taking my mind off April.

As my mind snapped back to attention, there were two teenagers in the front of the line. There were probably 15 or 16, in high school, and wore clothing that was a little too revealing for two girls their age. One of them had nice, slightly curly blonde hair that framed her face really well. She had on a really tight white blouse which allowed an ample view of the dark green bra she wore underneath. The other was dressed more obscenely; she wore a really short halter top that barely covered the tops of her breasts and only came down to around her navel. Her long black hair fell straight down her back, except for a few strands which dangled appealingly across her tits and down her stomach. Her jean shorts were tight enough that for a moment, I imagined I could actually see the outline of her pubic lips. I laughed to myself, remembering how somebody had recently pointed out some chick with tight jeans walking across campus, and called them "cameltoes." I think I remembered seeing these two before, earlier that evening; one of them had actually managed to come close to winning.