Karyn watched the scene. Jon, fully dressed as a cybergoth girl, standing before 'Chet' Jefferson, their high school gym teacher, about to go on a date. They hadn't spoken yet, but the expression on the teacher's face said it all. He was obviously disgusted with the idea of the date, but, for some strange idea of honour, was forcing himself to go through with it.
Men, Karyn thought, rolling her eyes.
She held up the pencil, thinking to make things a little easier on her friend. Pressing it to the pad of paper, she wrote:
Coach Jefferson is very gullible. He is so gullible that he has been fooled into thinking that Jon, dressed as he is tonight, is Zelda, the girl he has been lusting after
When she looked up from the pad the scene had changed slightly. The coach, formerly fighting back a disgusted look, now was grinning from ear to ear, holding out a bouquet of red roses. Jon was still holding the door in one hand and playing with his wig (twirling his hair) with the other. To Karyn, he looked nothing like Zelda.
Jon couldn't believe that it was working. Here he was, dressed as his sister's cybergoth friend, about to go on a date with his gym teacher, and he was getting away with it! He was sure that when he opened the door the coach would turn and run, but there he was, holding out those flowers, leering at him. Normally he would have felt dirty at the idea, but today, for some reason, he was feeling something different. It was hard for him to put his finger on it...
Power.
That was it. He felt power. He knew how the coach felt about Zelda, and he now could use that any way he wanted. He'd never been in a position like he was right then. A grin grew on his face.
"Oh, hello coach. Right on time! Won't you come in?"
Jon accepted the bouquet and led his date to the living room.
"Have a seat. I'll just go put these in some water," he said, ducking into the kitchen. There, Karyn was waiting for him, trying to suppress a giggle.
"I can't believe this is working, Karyn!" Jon was elated, "When you said he would go for it, I never believed that he'd be this gullible!"
"Hey, Zelda," Jon heard the call from the living room, "I never could figure, why did I have to pick you up here instead of your house?"
Jon poked his head through the door and looked at his date, sitting patiently on the couch. He wondered how far he could push it. "Oh, you wouldn't want to go to my house. My parents are hosting a state dinner tonight."
"State dinner?" the coach responded.
Jon winked at Karyn, the rejoined his date. The sound of his boots were unfamiliar to him as he walked, but he did not find them unpleasant.
"Yes, state dinner. They are ambassadors to this country from, uh, Kenya. It's their last night before they hand off the title to someone else, so they're having a real shindig. It's a big secret, but I figured I could trust you with it."
Coach Jefferson puffed up momentarily. Something crossed his face, was it pride? Yes, Jon was pretty sure that he had just paid the coach a compliment that he took to heart. Trying not to smile, Jon continued.
"Well, Coach, should we go?"
The coach jumped to his feet and grabbed Jon's hand. "Of course, Zelda, but tonight, you'll have to call me 'Chet'."
