BAD FIRST IMPRESSION

“I’m telling you, Chris, Emma is the girl of my dreams,” Issac said.

“Here we go again.”

“I mean it this time, she makes me feel different than any other girl before. That's why I have to make a good first impression at her family dinner.”

“Hopefully her dad doesn’t hate you.”

“Why would he hate me?”

“Maybe because y’all are nothing alike. What did you say his job was?”

“He works on an oil rig.”

Chris laughed aloud over the phone.

“Yeah, you’re cooked, buddy,” said Chris.

“No I’m not. I make his daughter the happiest girl in the world. What else could he want?”

“No father cares about any of that stuff. They want you to be a man. A strong man who is brave, has muscles, a beard, and perhaps, a prior conviction. Meanwhile, you have pale skin, earrings, a bird chest, and a baby face to match.”

“Coming from the dude who hasn’t ever had a girlfriend before.”

“Hey, you don’t have to take my advice. I was just trying to warn you.”

“I’m going to her house now. I’ll talk to you later.”

Issac hangs up the phone. He hesitantly takes one last look in the mirror before slamming his door shut and exiting the room.

Come on, Issac, you can’t mess this up, he thought.

His steering wheel had become sweaty and was harder to grasp. He reached inside his pocket for his phone.

“Let me just text Emma, so she knows I’m close.”

Just as Iassac was about to pull out his phone, he fumbled and watched it fall straight to the floor. He leaned down to grab it, swaying the wheel slightly to the side. Suddenly, he heard a repeated thumping caused by his tire scraping against the curb. Issac quickly straightened out the car, but he could still feel the wheel struggling to catch traction on the road. He didn’t want to make the situation worse, so he pulled over to assess the damage. Issac stepped out to find that his front tire was shredded. He fell to one knee and covered his face with his hands.

“What am I going to do?” he said.

Before he had a moment to think, his phone started to vibrate. Women have an innate ability to sense when something is wrong. Issac knew exactly who was calling him before he ever saw his phone.

“Issac, where are you at? You were supposed to be here 5 minutes ago.” Emma said.

Issac’s heart sank. He stood still, hesitating on what to tell her.

“Hello, are you there?” she asked.

Issac took a deep breath to collect himself.

“Yes, I’m here. I’m sorry for running late, I just got a flat tire,” he said.

“Oh no, are you ok?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Do you know how to fix it? I can call my dad and have him come help if you want.”

Issac got choked up. In an instant, he replied, “No, thank you, but I got it all under control. Please don’t tell your dad.”

“Ok, once you're done, hurry here quickly. My mom doesn’t want the food getting cold.

Issac paced around the car with his hands on his head. The sweat ran down his face profusely. He opened his trunk and got out his t-bar. The spare tire looked him dead in the eyes. He matched its evil glare with a puzzled gaze. No matter how hard he tried to think, or how many YouTube videos he watched. It was to no avail. He was supposed to be at Emma’s house 10 minutes ago.

“Think, think, what would a man do?” he said.

That's when he started frantically jumping up and down while simultaneously waving his hands in the air. Dignity was no longer an option. He had to make it to that dinner no matter what.

Time passed, and the sun continued to beam on Issac’s neck. He had stopped jumping now, but he still held his arms up with the little strength he had left. Just as he was fixing to give up hope, a truck pulled up behind Issac’s car. A bearded man hopped out of the truck and said,

“You need help there, son?”

“Yes, sir, right over here.”

Glowing with happiness, Issac took the man to the damaged side of the car. He watched the bearded man and waited til he directed his focus toward the tire. He picked up the t-bar from the ground, then swiftly struck the top of the man's head.

“I’m so sorry, I don’t have time. I need to get to the love of my life,” Issac said before stealing the keys out of the man’s pocket.

Issac began bolting down the road, refusing to look back. Unknowingly, he sped past a cop car, but the flashing blue and red lights didn’t faze him. With Emma’s house in sight, Issac pressed on the gas. Once at the house, he parked the truck and sprinted to the front door, beating on it repeatedly. Emma opened the door with a disdainful look on her face.

“Emma, I’m so sorry, I can explain,” Issac said.

“Issac, what the hell is going on?”

Before Issac could mutter up an answer, he felt the cold, hard grasp of the policeman’s hand on his shoulder.

“What’s going on is your friend here is under arrest for stealing a truck and fleeing from the police,” the officer said.

“I just had to find a way to get here. I promise I’m sorry. I was already late, and the food was getting cold. Emma, please forgive me.”

Abruptly, another cop car arrived at the scene.

“You are also being charged with the assault of this gentleman right here.”

On que the bearded man stepped out from the back of the cop car.

“Dad,” said Emma before running into his arms.

Issac dropped his head and said, “This can’t be real.”

“Come on kid its time to go”

Kyler Gardner originates from Wylie Texas. When he’s not writing, he can be found playing basketball and watching sports with friends.