Free The People in the Mirror by Thea Thomas Page B

every word. I wanted to ask you if you wanted to do something, maybe, on Saturday night. That’s when people our age go out and do things, right?”
      “Yeah, yes, pretty much.”
      “So, would you?”
      “Yes.” I turned my back to my parents. I was palpably aware of them behind me, straining their ears.
      “What would you like to do? I’m not too familiar with, I mean, I know sometimes there are high school sports that everyone goes to and you wouldn’t want to miss it, like basketball.”
      “Not this weekend, no.”
      “So, what would you like to do?”
      “Anything, really.” If you wanted me to go to Safeway and watch you buy canned vegetables, I’d be in heaven, I thought. But I didn’t say it.
      “Maybe this is a bit embarrassing to admit, but I’d kind of like to see the movie, The Fairy Godfather ,” he said.
      “Yeah?” I was surprised. It was an animation, but was getting rave reviews. And it was a step up from spending an evening with him in Safeway. “Well, that’s fine with me,” I said.
      “You don’t think I’m like a kid to want to see it?”
      “I think we’re both sort of kids, and that’s okay.”
      “Well, okay. Great. I’ll come to your place at five on Saturday.”
      “Five?”
      “Is there anything wrong with that? I thought if we started the evening early, that’d make it last longer.”
      Good logic, I thought. “Yeah, that’s fine. Five.”
      “And tell your folks thanks again for me, will you?”
      “Sure.”
      “Good night, then.”
      “Good night.” I disconnected the phone.
      There was silence for a few moments, but finally Mom said, “Well?”
      “That was Mitch.”
      “We figured that much.”
      “He wants to take me to a movie Saturday night.”
      “And so it begins,” Mom said melodramatically. “What movie?”
      “You’re never going to believe this – he wants to see The Fairy Godfather .”
      “Isn’t that a kid’s animation?” Dad asked.
      “Yeah.”
      “Won’t you be bored?” Mom asked.
      “Nope.”
      “If we wanted to take you....”
      “Yep, I’d be bored. Well, I’m tired, I’m going to bed. Plus I gotta think about what I’m going to wear Saturday night.” I went to bed, but I didn’t think about what I’d wear Saturday night. I only thought about the fact that, somewhere on the opposite side of my wall, probably not fifty feet away, lay the boy of my dreams. I hoped I was in his dreams too.
    *   *
      Well, finally , the next night after school I found a moment to stop in and see Mr. Zingas. He wasn’t too busy, there was only one customer in the store in the back corner going over the reduced dented cans with a fine-toothed budget.
      “Hi, Mr. Zingas.”
      “Hello there, Nikki. What’s new? What’s with the big smile? You just get your teeth cleaned?”
      “Nope. Just happy I guess.”
      “Well you wear it well. What makes you so happy?”
      “The same thing, er, person, that I came to talk with you about. Mitch, my neighbor. I’ve been trying to get in here to talk with you since the other day. I saw you give him the worst look that day, and I’ve been wondering why.”
      “Mr. Zingas’ expression went from jovial to stormy. “Don’t ask questions when you may not care for the answer.”
      “What does that mean?”
      “It means I don’t trust him, and I don’t like his family. They’ve lived here for generations, and my people have lived here for generations. And the fact of the matter is, my people and his people were at odds with one another before we ever came to this country.”
      “So you’re Romanian too?”
      “I’m Romanian. I don’t know about ‘too’.”
      “What are you saying?”
      “I’m saying Mitch’s family has very suspect morals. I wouldn’t turn my back on him for one second. Don’t forget your place was just robbed.”
      Shocked, I said, “you’re actually accusing