Flawed Logic

This story begins in October 1999. Please keep that in mind as you read, as some references date from that period. Also, this is a long story, so if you're looking for something with lots of action and no plot, you might want to look elsewhere. Thanks! GGG

Deanna was bored and lonely. She wasn’t a very popular student at her local high school, and while she had a closely-knit group of friends, it was Friday night, and they were all out with their respective boyfriends. Don’t get me wrong… Deanna wasn’t a loser, or anything of the sort. She generally had a male hanger-on of her own, but the previous month, her boyfriend of two months (she could never seem to keep them around for much longer than that) had broken up with her. Deanna wasn’t depressed; he hadn’t been that great of a guy, anyway. Things were much better now that they were the stereotypical “just friends.”

She sighed and flipped on the laptop her father had bought her for her 18th birthday. She wanted to talk to someone. She managed to get onto AOL (which on a Friday night, was hard enough), then decided to go visit her and her friends’ favorite chat room. Unfortunately, Deanna either didn’t know, or didn’t care to talk to, any of the current chatters, so she quickly left before any of them had a chance to capitalize on the fact that she was there.

Deanna began to browse web pages, searching to see which of her favorite bands had albums upcoming. One of them, Bush, was about to come out with a new one, so she went to their official site to see what she could find out. While she was there, a new IM appeared on her screen. The name was unfamiliar, but Deanna was a typical, curious teen-ager, so she read it.

"hi. I see your from Kansas city too.” read the anonymous message from someone named ‘blondmexican79.’

“Great,” Deanna growled to herself. “Just when I want human companionship, I get an illiterate someone who knows nothing more than how to state the bleeding obvious.”

Deanna was at the top of her class and was known to be a stickler for proper English in writing. So she sent a message back.

“A/S/L?”

“20/M/you know that already” came the reply. “U?”

“18/F/ditto… how did you find me?”

“through your profile. how are you?”

“You really want to know, or do you just want the polite answer?”

“I think I'd really like to know, if you don’t mind.”

“That’s fine. I’m actually bored. All my friends are out on dates.”

“I'm sorry. that’s where all my friends are tonight, too.”

“Do you mind using a few capital letters? It’s driving me crazy. And how come you’re not on a date yourself?”

Deanna asked that last question with a giant hesitation in her mind. She still figured this guy to be a blithering idiot who probably weighed 400 pounds and had never been on a date in his life.

“Sure. My girlfriend dumped me, and my car’s in the shop.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. How long had you been together?”

“A year and eight months.”

“Wow! I can never keep a boyfriend for more than two months myself.”

“So how come you’re not on a date?”

“Pretty much the same reason, except for the fact that my car is in working condition.”

“Oh. So what do you look like?”

Deanna paused. She always hated this part of online conversations, simply because every time she told a guy what she looked like online, she came out sounding like a supermodel when, in fact, she had moderately bad acne and wasn’t all that pretty in person. At least, she didn’t think she was.

“You go first.” she finally replied.

“All right,” blondmexican79 said. Apparently he wasn’t nervous at all. “I’m 6’ tall, blond hair, blue eyes, 215 pounds. Your turn.”

Deanna grimaced.

“I’m 5’10”, blonde hair, blue eyes, 115 pounds.”

“God! You sound gorgeous!” came the answer that Deanna had been dreading.

“I’m not finished. I’ve got zits all over my face, and my elementary school nickname was ‘Deanna Banana’ because I’m so skinny.”

“LOL,” blondmexican answered. “I bet you’re gorgeous, you’re just trying to be modest. Do you have a pic?”

“Nope, do you?”

“Nope.”

“Well, then, you’ll just have to take my word for what I look like.”

“OK. What do you like to do?”

Deanna groaned. Here was the point where the idiot tried to get her to ‘cyber.’ She was a bit of a nympho, and she enjoyed the interaction occasionally, but never on demand.

“Well, I like to go to the mall (doesn’t every girl?), I like to go to the movies, and I love playing pool.”

“Really? I’m a bit of a pool shark myself. You know where 8-Ball is?”

“Yeah, I’ve been there a few times.”

“I’m in there all the time. I bet you’ve seen me, you just don’t remember.”

“Maybe. So what do you like to do?”

“Other than play pool? I’m taking classes at the community college, but that’s about it.”

“No job?”

“Looking for one. Quit my last one because they wouldn’t give me the hours I wanted.”

“That sucks.”

“Where do you work?”

“I’m a hostess at one of those elite restaurants your folks always say they want to go to, but can’t afford.”

“Wow! How’d you get that job?”

“Right place at the right time, I guess. It helped that I’ve been setting appointments for my dad’s law practice for years.”

“Who’s your dad?”

“Ever heard of Dewey, Cheatham, and Howe?”

“Yeah… right up there with Larry, Moe, and Curly. Tell me that’s not actually the name of the firm.”

“LOL It isn’t, but you’d be surprised how many people it fools. He works for himself, out of a small office downtown. That’s why he had to hire me to help him. No one wants to work for a two-man firm.”

“Well, that hostessing thing’s still a cool job.”

“I like it, and the hours are great, since they close the front doors at 9.”

“That’s early.”

“Makes it harder to get a table, which is what ‘elite’ is all about.”

“I guess. So what’s your name?”

Deanna hesitated again. She wasn’t sure that she wanted to give ‘blondmexican’ her name, even if she was finding him surprisingly easy to talk to. He was just what she had needed on this cold October night. He must have sensed her hesitation, because he gave her his name first.

“I’m Miguel. Miguel Rodriquez.”

“Is that like Bond, James Bond?”

“Sure, except I look nothing like him.”

“Well, yeah… I guess I can give you my name. Deanna Parker.”

“Deanna. I like that. Deanna Parker the gorgeous blond.”

“Whatever. Speaking of blondes, your name says you’re Mexican, so how can you have blond hair?”

“My mom’s American, about as blonde as you can get. It’s just my dad that’s Mexican.”

“Oh, OK.”

“Hey, one of my friends just showed up. We’re gonna go play pool. Wanna come?”

“Not a chance!” Deanna was appalled that this unknown boy had just asked her to come out, alone, on a Friday night, to meet him and a friend. “If we ever meet, and that’s a BIG ‘IF,’ I’m bringing my friends along.”

“Sounds fair. So if I give you my number, will you call me?”

“Probably not,” answered Deanna honestly. “But I’ll try to get online about this time tomorrow night if you want to talk again.”

“Ok. Later!”

“Bye.”

Miguel signed off, and Deanna closed the window, which left her staring at a blank screen. She wondered who, exactly, this Miguel guy was and decided to look up his profile. She started a profile search and typed in his screen name. All the basics that she had already learned were there, as well as the fact that he had graduated from the same high school she currently attended. She went over to her bookshelf and pulled down her sophomore yearbook. She figured he would have graduated that year, so she began looking through the seniors. When she got to the ‘R’s, she slowed down, running her finger under all the pictures. No Rodriquez at all. She frowned, then had a thought. She wondered if he had been held back and actually graduated a year ago. She pulled down her junior yearbook (senior pictures were always better than those crappy photos school photographers took) and began searching the seniors again. This time, she hit the jackpot.

“Whoa,” she said softly to herself as she found Miguel Rodriquez’ picture. She wondered how she hadn’t known him, or at least known OF him. He was hot! He wasn’t skinny, but had his muscular arms crossed in front of a strong chest. He was wearing a polo shirt and blue jeans in the picture, and his face was staring slightly to the left of the camera, but there was enough detail for Deanna to tell it was a very handsome face. He did, in fact, have blond hair – the blue eyes she’d have to trust him on – and his face was round and open. Dimples lurked on either side of his mischievous mouth, which framed straight, white teeth in a grin. He looked just like what Deanna wanted in a man: strong enough to protect her, fun enough to let her have her way, and handsome enough to make other girls jealous. She smiled and closed the yearbook, then went and put the laptop away. It was nearly midnight, and she wanted some sleep. _________________________________________

The next day went by in a blur. Deanna’s family had a cabin at the lake, and it was time to close it up for the winter, so all four of them (Deanna, her parents, and her younger sister) cleaned and hauled things out nearly all day. By the time they got back home and ordered pizza delivery, everyone was exhausted, but Deanna still remembered her promise to Miguel. Promptly at 11:30 p.m., she got online and waited. It didn’t take long. Five minutes later, a message popped up on her screen.

“You there?”

“Obviously.” Deanna smiled as she asked Miguel to let her put him on her Buddy List. He consented, and she did the same for him a moment later.

“There,” she said. “Now that’s done, we can talk. I looked your picture up in my yearbook. You graduated last year?”

“You go to Memorial?” Miguel asked, obviously surprised.

“Yup. I’ll graduate this spring.”

“Wow. Let me go see if I can find you. Hang on.”

Deanna waited impatiently for Miguel’s return. It seemed like it took forever, but forever was only 5 minutes.

“Found you!”

“So?”

“You’re as hot as I thought you were yesterday. Why didn’t you tell me you went to Memorial?”

“I didn’t know you had. I didn’t look at your profile until after you left.”

“OK. So what did you think of me?”

“You’re definitely cuter than I’d thought you’d be.”

“What were you expecting, some 500-pound nerd?”

“Sort of, yes.” Deanna had to laugh at her worst fears being put into words by this handsome chatter.

“So now that you’ve seen me, would you be willing to meet me sometime?”

“Sometime,” Deanna assured him. “I’ll talk to my friends about it on Monday and see if we can’t work out some time to meet in the next week or two. How does that sound?”

“Sounds good to me.”

The two of them continued to chat for nearly another hour. Deanna learned that Miguel’s favorite band also was Bush, and that he was addicted to Michael Jordan’s cologne “Airness.” He learned that she was one of the smartest students at the school, and that she dreamed of becoming a lawyer like her father. As they chatted, Deanna could feel her body warming inside. It wasn’t a sexual feeling, just a feeling she always got when she met a guy she could truly relate to. It was a cozy sensation, and she closed her eyes to savor the moment. When she opened them again to read his latest message, she felt attached and began to hope that the two of them could meet soon.

At the end of their conversation, Miguel asked if she would call him. Again, she said ‘no,’ partly because she enjoyed the online conversation, and also partly because she wanted to play hard to get. He seemed to understand, and they said good night with promises to chat again the next day. ___________________________________________

As she had pledged, Deanna talked to her friends during lunch the following Monday. The conversation went something like this:

Deanna: I met a guy online this weekend. He graduated from here, his name’s Miguel, and he’s really cute. I want you guys to come with me when I meet him sometime this week.

Friends: WHAT!?

Deanna: You heard me. I’d like to meet him at the mall, maybe Friday night. Who’s free?

Friends: You’re kidding, right? I mean, who meets people they’ve only talked to online?

Eventually, Deanna’s pals got over their shock, and she was able to tell them the whole story. Three of them agreed to come with her to the mall Friday evening to meet Miguel, and Deanna sent an e-mail to him letting him know of the plans after she got home from work that evening.

The two of them weren’t able to chat much during the rest of the week, due to Deanna’s work schedule and the fact that both of them had a social life, but they did send e-mails back and forth. Miguel promised to wear the same outfit that he had worn for his senior photograph, and Deanna carefully crafted an ensemble that would coordinate and still look sexy. She wanted to make a good impression on her handsome e-pal.

Friday night finally arrived, and Deanna’s friends showed up at her door, looking casual but nervous.

“You look great!” Toni announced as she glanced over Deanna’s clothes. Deanna had chosen to wear a bright red crop top sweater – she always looked good in red – and some light blue denim, hiphugger jeans with a pair of Vans on her feet. Her long blonde hair was mostly pulled back in a clip, and she’d put on some light make-up for the evening.

“Thanks,” Deanna said, slightly embarrassed. She had outdressed the other girls, but she knew that they probably had dressed down on purpose. Deanna let her mother know where the girls were going, and that they would probably be back around midnight, then Deanna, Toni, and the other two girls, Bridget and Marcie, piled into Deanna’s Saturn and they headed for the mall.

They arrived at 6:58 p.m. Deanna parked near Dillard’s, at the middle of the mall, and the group of them headed for the food court. Talk was limited, since all the girls were nervous about meeting some guy who could turn out to be an axe murderer. Once they got to their destination, they took turns going to the little coffee shop and all ordered some form of coffee. They didn’t need the caffeine, and Toni and Bridget even professed that they weren’t thirsty, but it gave them something to do while they scanned the perimeter of the area, searching for a familiar face. (Of course, they had all checked their yearbooks prior to the trip. What teen-age girl isn’t nosy?)

Finally, Deanna spotted him first, where he was standing in line at the Chick-Fil-A.

“Oh m’God, there he is,” she turned and half-whispered to Toni and Bridget as Marcie walked back to the table with her beverage. The two girls began craning their necks, hoping to catch sight of their quarry. Marcie looked in the same direction and nearly tripped as she arrived at her chair.

“Do we see him?” she asked, carefully sitting down.

“No… oh, THERE he is,” said Bridget, breathing out softly and pointing him out to the other two. “God, he is gorgeous. Looks like a keeper there, Dee.”

“Would you shut up?” Deanna hissed. “He hasn’t even seen me yet. He might think I’m hideous.”

“Well, you’ll get to find out in a moment,” Toni said. “He’s heading this way.”

Deanna sat up straight and silently did a teeth-check with her pals before turning around. Sure enough, Miguel was headed right for their table. However, about five feet away, he stopped and looked around like he was lost. Deanna nearly lost all confidence, but Bridget giggled.

“How cute!” she said. “He hasn’t seen you.”

Deanna flushed, and then waved as Miguel looked in their direction. She had to wave a second time, but he finally saw the four of them sitting at the table with a fifth chair pulled up next to Deanna at the end. He smiled.

“Hey,” Miguel said, sitting in his designated seat. “So you’re Deanna.”

“I am,” that individual replied, “and these are Toni, Bridget, and Marcie, my friends.”

Miguel shook each girl’s hand in turn.

“I hope you don’t mind,” he said, “but I asked one of my friends to show up, too. I thought four against one wasn’t exactly fair. Plus, how did I know you weren’t all robbers or murderers?”

The girls laughed, and Miguel grinned before he took a big bite of his chicken sandwich. Deanna sipped her cappuccino and watched him for a moment while he bantered with the other girls and watched the mall entrance for his buddy. He was suave, but personable. He related quickly with her friends, and they seemed to genuinely like him. She caught Toni’s eye, and she gave Deanna a quick wink and a thumbs-up behind her cappuccino cup. Deanna grinned, and Miguel looked back and forth between the two girls.

“What? Did I miss something?”

“No,” Deanna laughed. “Nothing at all. Hey, when’s your friend supposed to show up?”

Miguel checked his watch.

“He was supposed to be here 20 minutes ago. I guess maybe he’s not showing.”

“Do you want to call him?” Deanna asked, reaching to pull her cell phone out of her purse. “I’ll let you use my phone.”

“No,” he said, gazing intently at Deanna. “That’s all right. I’m having a good time without him, anyway.”

Deanna blushed, and the other girls looked down at their cups, smiling to themselves and feeling happy for their friend. The group chatted for a little while longer, and Deanna found that she couldn’t help but watch Miguel. He was strong and masculine, but not overly so; he exuded confidence and self-assurance, and he had a good sense of humor. Deanna was smitten. Every time their eyes met during the conversation, Deanna felt a small flutter just south of her heart. She was almost beginning to wonder if she didn’t have some sort of ventricular arrhythmia, when Bridget asked Toni and Marcie to come check out something she’d seen in Foley’s the week before. The two girls quickly agreed and the trio took off across the mall grounds before Deanna could have a chance to gather her wits. She sat there, dumbly staring at the empty chairs, her mouth dry and her stomach doing flip-flops in her abdomen.

Finally, she managed to look over in Miguel’s direction, slightly red in the face.

“I’d say I passed whatever tests you girls put us through,” Miguel said, breaking the tension between them. Deanna couldn’t help but laugh.

“You did that about 15 minutes ago, if you want to know the truth. They were just being polite and waiting for me to tell them to bug off rather than taking off like they did.”

It was Miguel’s turn to laugh.

“Well, I can’t say I’m sorry they’re gone. You are the reason I came here, after all. Want to go for a walk?”

“Sure,” Deanna answered, her mind still dizzy. Her body, on the other hand, seemed to have a perfectly stable mind of its own, because she felt herself stand and gather her things, and the pair began to walk through the mall in the opposite direction the other girls had taken. Again, Deanna didn’t know what to say, which was unusual for her. She was one of the louder girls in her group of friends. She looked up at Miguel for guidance. He looked back down at her and smiled.

“Nervous?”

“A bit, I guess,” she admitted. “I’ve never met anyone off the Internet before. Plus, I usually have tons of things to say and right now… I’m a little tongue-tied, I guess.”

“That’s all right. We’ve got tons of time for you to find your voice. What time do you have to be home?”

“Midnight-ish. My parents don’t really care, as long as I call, but Marcie’s folks get a little anal if she’s not home on the dot of 12.”

“That’s cool. So that means we’ve got plenty of time to walk.”

“Yup, I guess so, except that the mall closes at 10. Any place special that you want to go?”

“Not really,” Miguel said, knitting his brow in concentration. “There is a music store up here that I like to stop in every time I’m here, but other than that, I don’t care.”

“OK… so what do you think, now that you’ve met me in person?”