• The following links are prior chapters to this story:
    Death is no joke: http://gaiaonline.com/arena/writing/fiction/vote/?entry_id=100410509
    Death is no joke-part 2: http://gaiaonline.com/arena/writing/fiction/vote/?entry_id=100411039
    Death is no joke-part 3: http://gaiaonline.com/arena/writing/fiction/vote/?entry_id=100447527
    Death is no joke-part 4: http://www.gaiaonline.com/arena/writing/fiction/vote/?entry_id=100507329
    Death is no joke-part 5: http://www.gaiaonline.com/arena/writing/fiction/vote/?entry_id=100652857










    In the end, my mother didn't stop me from going to Jerred's. My grand-parents agreed, and they dropped me off 30 minutes early. I was welcomed inside by Jerred's mother. She had blond hair, much like Jerred, and she always had a smile on her face. Except, it wasn't like Jerred's smile. The smile she had was sincere and happy, not humorous. She told me that Jerred was taking a shower, but I was free to walk around for a little bit.

    It's kinda hard to explain how I was feeling as I walked into Jerred's house on Friday. Excited, I guess. Nervous, mostly though. I knew today was the day. I'd win her heart...there was no excuse for failure. I looked into a bathroom mirror, pretending to face her.

    "Yo," I said. No, bad move. "Yo" was no good. Had to be sorta casual at first...maybe a simple "what's up?" would do.

    "Thought of what you're gonna say to her?" a voice behind me boomed. I jumped and pivoted around. It was Jerred. Bathrooms were supposed to be private, right?

    "Bathrooms are supposed to be private," I said, just as I thought it. Jerred shook his head and smiled.

    "But you're not GOING to the bathroom," he said smartly. "You're standing in front of the mirror, saying hi to it. Or 'yo' I mean." My face reddens, real red, real fast.

    "Oh, you saw that?" I croak.

    "No." Good.

    "I heard it," he finished. Oh...

    "ANYWAY," I said, quickly changing the subject. "You SURE Linda is going to come?" He grins.

    "Sure. Sure as sure can be." I walked out of the bathroom, smiling and day dreaming about Linda. For the next 30 minutes, we hung out downstairs, playing videogames and what not. Then came the doorbell. Suddenly, I felt nervous. What was I gonna say to Linda? Was I just gonna say, "Hey, wanna go out for a date?" And to make matters worse, the person who rang the doorbell was none other than Linda herself.

    I suppose it was a good thing. I would have Linda to myself, no one else was there to talk to her, besides Jerred. I could hear her slowly creeping downstairs, and I could also feel Jerreds elbow. I turned to him, and saw his usual crooked smile.

    "Go get her," he whispered in a joking sort of way. I was about to say something back, but there Linda was, right in front of me. She was wearing a pink, glistening skirt, and was biting her lip nervously. She was looking awesome. Awesome. There was a minute of silence, then I said,

    "Hello, Linda..." It wasn't really a great way to win someone's heart. But she didn't seem to mind it at all. She smiled, and said back,

    "Hi, Jimmy." She nodded to Jerred. "Hi."

    "Hey," Jerred replied, still smiling. I wasn't sure what to say. That was the problem. There was no guide book on how to win someone's heart. Just had to do what you THOUGHT was right. And most of the time, what I THINK is right is wrong. I opened my mouth to say something. Suddenly, Jerred started talking,

    "Hey, Jim. You remember the pizza incident. Back in the day, ya know, back in 7th grade?"

    "Huh?" I said, trying to grasp what he just randomly said. Linda looked just as puzzled.

    "Yeah, ya know. When you were eating pizza, and then you drank your Coke. Meanwhile, I was telling a joke, and suddenly broke out in bursts of laughter. It wasn't a pretty sight, what happened. The worse part was the mess you made..."

    "Jerred!" I exclaimed, much like what a parent would do as they reprimanded their children. I felt a rising anger build up in me, but then I saw, to my right, Linda was giggling. Then I smiled. Go with the flow, I kept telling myself. Just go with the flow.