Junior Year Box Set

“I hear Saul got you a job,” Caryn said.

Mom and Dad walked in.

“What job?” Dad asked.

“It’s a reverse-catfishing show,” Caryn said. “Did you check your dating app account?”

Caryn had to explain catfishing as it pertained to social media to my parents. She explained that it was when someone misrepresented themselves to someone else to get a date. MTV had a popular TV show where they uncovered people who set up fictitious accounts and tricked people into thinking they had found the ideal man or woman.

The show I was doing was the reverse. What if the perfect guy or girl put themselves out there? How would people react? Would they believe them?

“I talked to Brook, and we agreed that David shouldn’t be allowed to pick his own dates for this,” Cassidy said.

Dad picked that time to get out the plates and left me to face all the women in the room.

“Show us who you’ve picked,” Mom ordered.

I logged onto the app and saw I had several more girls hoping for a match. I scrolled to my selection and handed the phone to Mom.

“She’s cute, what’s wrong … ‘Spitters are quitters’?” Mom asked as she turned on me.

“What does that mean?” Caryn asked.

Dad about dropped the plates. Pam leaned over and whispered in Caryn’s ear.

“No, he really shouldn’t be allowed to pick, unless this is airing on Showtime After Dark,” Caryn said.

It took my mom all of thirty seconds to figure out how the app worked. There must have been several new girls to consider, because she, Pam, Cassidy, and Caryn started to scroll through them. I was right that a woman had a lot more criteria than a guy does. For a guy, it was either I’d do her or not. They made all kinds of catty remarks. The four of them rejected several girls. Dad distracted me by opening the chicken.

Then I heard them all giggle, and knew it couldn’t be good for me.

“Type in ‘Sup,’” Caryn said.

“Won’t that make him sound stupid?” Mom asked.

“He’s a guy,” Caryn said.

I had no idea my mom could type on the phone. She had the two-thumb method down.

“Look, she sent a message back,” Mom said.

You a playa? – Her

Na just chillin – Me

Send me your real pics

– Her

Mom sent her my Instagram page link.

Let’s meet – Her

“Get her number, and I’ll call her when I get to LA,” I said.

Coach Hope showed up, and my dad and I ate with him. Thankfully, he wasn’t interested in my new dating app account. After dinner, I went to my apartment to study. Mom kept my phone, and the girls were having way too much fun messaging girls in LA. This was like the show. They were catfishing these poor girls by pretending they were me.

◊◊◊

I was almost done studying when Pam came upstairs with my phone.

“Your mom’s hilarious. She set you up with four dates.”

“That was fast.”

“You had like six hundred messages. You can thank me later for the girl I picked out for you,” Pam said.

“Don’t tell me that you each picked one.”

“Yep, and we made a bet as to whose date you’d like the best. So don’t even ask who picked who.”

I worried I would like my mom’s girl. Something about that just didn’t seem right.

“What about the one I picked?” I asked.

“She was a bitch. She would’ve irritated you in a hurry. That’s something else you can thank us for later.”

“Sounds like I need to thank you,” I said as I waggled my eyebrows. Changing subjects, I asked, “How’d things go with Jan?”

Pam looked thoughtful.

“It was good. Tracy’ll be able to help her a lot more than I can, but she’s really eager to do something for Yuri,” she said and then paused. “You know, I never really cared for her, but I also never really knew her. She looks like she’s finding herself. I think what she’s finding is a pretty good person.”

Then she looked up at me through her eyelashes.

“David?”

“Yes?”

Pam smiled. I opened my arms, and she snuggled up against me.

“Do you still like me?”

“Always.”

“David?”

“Yes.”

“Will you love our child?”

“With all my heart.”

“Okay.”

◊◊◊

Chapter 12 – You’re a Manipulative Little … Tuesday November 24

Winter was upon us. Wolf had been over and cleared the snow from the driveway and sidewalks. He also took care of a couple of my elderly neighbors’ houses. Wolf was a good guy, and I was proud to call him my friend. I was surprised when Caryn came out to run with me. I was sure the California girl wouldn’t want to run in the snow, but then I remembered that she’d lived in Utah for the last few years. This was nothing compared to what she was probably used to.

As we began to run, I was amazed that the trees seemed to have lost all their leaves. The snow was still clean, and everything sparkled in the morning sun. Caryn set a relaxed pace because there were icy spots. All I really needed was to get the blood pumping and feel the cold air in my lungs to remind me that I was alive.

“I received copies of your interviews from Frank. They looked good, and both he and Saul are happy,” she said.

“You talked to them this morning?” I asked.