***
We drove to Keith's house with me sitting in the backseat, Shannon at the wheel, and AJ in the front passenger's seat. Shannon was still visibly upset—wiping the occasional tear away from her eyes. AJ, now also looking troubled, kept glancing at her and then back at me. I just shrugged my shoulders and shook my head like I didn’t understand. I was annoyed that the plan I had conceived to try to solve this family's dilemma had failed. Direct confrontation was either a win or lose scenario. I had lost and I didn't like it. Why did this girl have to be stubborn and emotional? Why couldn't she have just answered my questions? I was just trying to help them. Couldn’t she see that?
We arrived at Keith's house, or I should say mansion. The Mitterhauser's lived at the end of a cul-de-sac. As we drove up to his residence which was surrounded by a large iron fence, I noticed numerous cars parked on each side of the road. A security gate blocked access to his driveway, but it was open. Shannon pulled up to it while quickly wiping her eyes as a security guard stepped out and greeted us. He was holding a clipboard and while gazing into the car he politely said, "Good evening, Shannon."
"Hi, Steve."
"You brought two guests with you tonight?"
"Yes. This is my sister Amber-Joy and this… this is a boy who's staying with us temporarily."
"And what is your name?"
"Lance Rock."
After writing it down he remarked, "You all have a good time tonight. Keith is expecting you Shannon. There’s a spot saved for you behind his car next to the water fountain."
She nodded her head and pulled forward—driving up to what I estimated to be a 10,000 square feet house. After parking, Shannon immediately sprang out of the car and ran along a walkway that led to the back of the house. AJ chased after her and I decided to lag behind and lock the car doors. Keith lived in an estate that was located on beach front property. I could only imagine the worth of this place. It figures my competition would have to be the son of a millionaire, I despondently thought.
Instead of following the girls however, I paused to weigh my options. I was completely infatuated with Shannon and the house before me was home to my rival for her heart. I needed to check it out, (or him for that matter), to see what I was up against. A little reconnaissance mission was in order. I decided to try a direct approach again while counting on no stubborn, emotional girls to have to deal with. I walked up to the front door, opened it, and then entered his house. Stretching before me was a large, furniture-filled vestibule with a cathedral ceiling. No one appeared to be around. I deliberated on which room would be my primary objective and I found the stairs leading up to the second floor. I rapidly went from room to room, unlocking each door until I finally found it—Keith's bedroom.
It was a huge room that contained what looked to be a king-size bed against the far wall. On one side of the bed was an awards display case. A closer inspection revealed it to be filled with trophies in football, swimming, surfing, and interestingly enough, martial arts—Judo to be exact. Keith held the rank of Orange Belt. I walked over to his dresser and noticed several pictures of him. He was a big guy judging by who he was standing beside in the photos. One of them was Shannon. There were others of Shannon as well. A jealous feeling came over me as I picked up a portrait shot of the two of them. Then I heard a voice from the doorway exclaiming in an agitated tone, "You've got about five seconds to tell me who you are and what you're doing in my bedroom!"
I turned around to face the direction of the voice and there was Keith! He stood about six feet four inches tall and weighed, I estimated, around 190 pounds.
"My name is Rock, Lance Rock, and I'm looking for her," I replied while pointing to Shannon in the picture I was holding.
"What do you want with her?" he asked, still agitated.
"I'm an exchange student from Canada attending Santa Barbara Area Senior High School and I'm temporarily staying at her house. I came with her to the party tonight and I… ah… kind of got… lost."
"And did you think you would find her in my bedroom?" he asked incredulously.
I could feel my face turning red. "Ah… like I said, I must have taken a wrong turn somewhere along the way."
"Okay, lost boy from Canada. I don't know who you are, but if you are here for the party, it's outside in back of the house, not in this room. Put the picture back where you found it and follow me."
I returned the photo to his dresser and walked toward the bedroom door. Keith turned and I followed him out. We went down the stairs and there, standing at the bottom, was a man who I surmised was a security guard. He was watching us with his arms crossed. That answers the question as to how Keith knew I was here, I thought. The house must have concealed cameras and alarms. I should have taken more precaution. At length, we made our way out a back entrance and into a large courtyard that contained among other things, an Olympic size swimming pool.
In the courtyard Keith stopped, turned to me, and said, "Next time you're pretending to be lost, it better not be in my house. Is that understood?"
I said nothing. We continued to walk together and he calmed down.
"Are you into sports?" he asked.
"Sort of."
"What kind?"
"Football and swimming."
"If you're thinking of playing for the football team, you're too late. The squad has already been picked and our first game is in a week."
"We'll see," I replied while glancing around for Shannon.
"What position were you hoping to try out for?" he asked.
"Quarterback," I replied.
He stopped and again, stared at me while trying to decide if I was being serious or not. We then continued walking and eventually we found ourselves in the middle of a large crowd of people. There was music blaring with kids milling in and around the pool—eating, drinking, dancing, swimming, and talking. This group contained both guys and girls including Shannon. Most of the guys had the physiques of athletes. Keith walked over to Shannon and beckoned me to follow him. I suddenly started to feel uncomfortable.
"Is this the guy that upset you earlier?" he asked her.
She nodded her head yes.
"Would you believe my security found him snooping around in my bedroom?"
A look of disbelief came over her face. Everyone within earshot also took notice. The uncomfortable feeling was growing stronger.
"I… can explain," I said.
"I don't care to hear your explanation again which was total bs anyways,” he angrily replied. “You've done or said something to upset my girlfriend. She won't tell me what it is, but you listen very carefully. Stay away from her. Do I make myself clear?"
In light of what AJ had told me about their relationship, I wanted to vocally object to his belief that Shannon was his girlfriend. I also wanted to sarcastically ask him how he expected me to stay away from her when we were living in the same house! However, not wanting to create a scene at this time I replied, "Alright."
I turned and exited the pool area. I started to walk down toward the beach and hadn't gone far when AJ came running up to me and grabbed me by the arm.
"What did you say to my sister back at our house?" she asked in a concerned tone of voice. "She's upset and she won't even tell me why! She's furious with you!"
"I was simply trying to ask her questions about things she had written in her diary." I replied matter of factually.
"Her diary? You were reading her diary? How could you, Lance? That's the most personal thing she has! Don't you know that a diary is private?"
"Yeah, I know it's private. But I was just trying to—"
"And then you had the nerve to ask her about things she's written in it? What's wrong with you? Why would you do such a thing?"
She was beside herself and I was now feeling slightly alarmed and ashamed.
"AJ—"
"Did you go through the underwear in her dresser, too?" she asked sarcastically. "Why did you have to be such a jerk?" And off she stomped.
/> I stood there speechless. At length, I decided to try and forget the whole incident by exploring the beach. While wandering around, I encountered mixed groups of students. Many would greet me and many of the girls would glance my way and smile. The predominant activities going on were either drinking, (mostly alcoholic beverages), smoking, (marijuana at times), making out, playing games such as Frisbee, or just sitting around chatting. I stopped to watch a mixed group of kids playing beach volleyball. After observing them for awhile, one of the guys asked if I was interested in joining in.
"Sure," I said.
Even though I had never participated in any kind of team sports, I was familiar with the rules of this game. The fact that I was in tremendous physical shape didn't hurt either. Our team's opponents were good and I carefully analyzed the technique their best server used. He put spin on the ball as he struck it. When my turn came to serve, I sent the ball curving inches over the net at blazing speed. It landed in the sand before anyone on their team could even move a muscle. Everyone stood gawking at me. I served a second time the same way and again, the serve was nonreturnable. After three more similar serves the leader of the opposing team grabbed the ball and annoyingly remarked, "Game over. We came here for a fun pick-up game—not to be toasted by a pro. How long have you been playing volleyball?"
"This is the first time I've ever played volleyball," I replied matter of factually.
He let out a string of profanity mixed with accusations of lying and cheating. Everyone else sided with him. I said nothing and simply walked away. Upon reaching the ocean's edge, I plopped myself down in the sand to watch the sun set. It was a beautiful, semi ball of golden-reddish light slowly disappearing into the horizon. I sat there for a good while musing about the trip.
"It is pretty, is it not?" suddenly asked a female voice on my left.
I turned my head in surprise to see a strikingly beautiful girl whom I had neither seen nor heard approach, now sitting next to me! Collar-length, dark brown hair, sumptuous lips, and exquisite brown eyes were the highlight of a gorgeous face that I surmised was of Japanese ancestry.
"Yes it is," I replied while smiling at her. She smiled back and I got goose bumps! Man, Peter certainly wasn't exaggerating when he said California girls are amazing! I thought. Wow!
"Watching the sun set is one of my favorite things to do," she remarked. "It brings a colorful closure to the day."
"I never thought of it that way before."
"My name is Reina Kobayashi."
"I'm Lance Rock; nice to meet you."
She nodded and then returned her gaze to the horizon. I did the same. We sat there quietly listening to the tide coming in, the seagulls crying, and while watching the occasional swimmer and surfer.
"I've always wanted to see the Pacific Ocean," I remarked—finally breaking the silence. "I think it's a lot nicer than the Atlantic."
"You are not from around here?" she asked.
"No. I'm from Canada. I'm here on the Student Exchange Program. I'm attending Santa Barbara Area Senior High School."
"I am going to the same school. Who are you staying with?"
"With a family named the Muller's."
"You are living with a mother and her two teenage daughters? That must be an interesting arrangement!" she remarked while grinning.
I shrugged and nodded yes.
"You say you are from Canada but to me, you sound like an American."
"That's because I'm consciously suppressing my accent in order to fit in, in order not to draw attention to myself."
"Oh, that is interesting" she replied while now staring at me quizzically.
After a moment or two, she gently asked, "Is there something troubling you?"
This question took me back and I wasn't sure if I wanted to truthfully answer it. Finally, I replied, "I guess. How did you know?"
"I am a good reader of faces, and your expression is telling me that something is wrong."
"I'm impressed," I conceded and she responded with a broad smile.
What a beautiful smile she has! I thought.
"I'm having… personal problems," I answered. "What grade are you in?" I asked in order to quickly change the subject.
"I am a senior," she replied. "Sometimes girls can be hard to understand."
My mouth dropped open and I stared at her. Then I nodded my head and said, "Yeah. Unfortunately, I'm finding that out the hard way. I mean…"
She playfully laughed and shook her head.
"I'm also a senior." I said while chuckling along with her.
Suddenly, I felt the pinky finger of her right hand slip over the pinky finger of my left hand. Then she smiled at me while flashing her eyes—instantly sending my hormonal level straight through the roof!
"Maybe… we'll… have some… of the same classes," I stammered with my heart pounding inside of my chest.
"Maybe we will."
"You have… a Japanese name and… appearance."
"Do I? I have to go. I am sorry. I will see you around school." She quickly got up and ran back toward the house.
"That would be nice!" I shouted after her. I regained my composure and looked at my watch. It was getting close to nine thirty and curfew was ten o'clock. I had to find the girls because it was now time to head home.