Branded - Eric Walters [7]
“We haven’t done one of those in months,” I said.
“Then this is the perfect time to do one.”
“I thought you didn’t like flash mobs, that you thought they were stupid,” Oswald said.
“I did think they were stupid until the one that got back the school dances.”
Flash mobs were sudden gatherings of people, designed most often to do something silly like a pillow fight, or a mass coughing, or singing a song.
I’d organized a lunchtime flash mob in which every student in the school gathered, listened to their iPods and silently danced. That had convinced Mr. Roberts to allow us to have school dances again because everybody was so well-behaved.
“And just how do you think this flash mob would work?” I asked. “What would people do?”
“I think they should all take off their school uniforms and stand around naked,” Oswald suggested.
I laughed. “I don’t know if I would be willing to participate, but I’d certainly be willing to film that and post it on YouTube. That would get a couple of million views really fast.”
“Please be serious,” she said.
“He is being serious , that would get mi l l ions of views,” Oswald said. “Depending on who he has the camera focused on, I might watch that one a million times myself.”
Julia pulled into my driveway. I was so grateful to be getting out first.
“Thanks for the ride,” I said.
“Could you at least think about it?” Julia asked.
“Sure, I’ll think,” I said. I just couldn’t promise to come up with an answer.
chapter five
My phone vibrated in my pocket, and my mother gave me a disapproving look. She didn’t like us to take phone calls during meals. She had nothing to worry about. I wasn’t going to answer it.
I pulled out the phone and turned it off.
“Thank you,” she said.
“You’re welcome.”
“Who was it?” my father asked.
“I didn’t look,” I said. I didn’t look because I was pretty sure who it was.
“You figure it’s Julia?” he asked.
“Probably.” She’d already called me three times—once on the home phone— since she’d dropped me off. She was relentless.
“Is something bothering her?” my mother asked.
“Something’s always bothering her.”
“You will call her back, right?” my mother asked. “It’s only polite.”
“I will. Just not right now. It wouldn’t be polite to interrupt our meal.”
“You should invite her for dinner more often,” my mother said.
“At least then she wouldn’t call during the meal,” I said.
“I really do like that girl,” she said.
“I don’t.”
“You don’t? But…you’re putting me on,” she said.
“Of course I like her, she’s one of my best friends,” I said.
“You know, I can still see the two of you together as a couple,” she said.
“Leave the boy alone,” my father said.
I know he had the same thoughts, but he was smart enough to keep them to himself.
“You two would make such a cute couple,” she went on.
“Julia isn’t the sort of person you date,” I said.
“No?” my mother asked.
“But marriage I could see,” I said.
“What?” both my parents said in unison.
“Julia would be a nightmare to date,” I explained. “She’s too opinionated, too temperamental and too difficult—at least right now. But later, like after university, I think she might mellow out.”
“I guess that could happen,” my father said.
“What did you think of Mom when you first met her?” I asked.
He laughed. I thought I already knew the answer. They had met when they were both beginning lawyers. They were on opposite sides of a trial, battling against each other.
“Well, what did you think of her?” I asked again.
“To be honest, I thought she was opinionated, temperamental, difficult and—”
“Look who’s talking!” she exclaimed.
“Let me finish,” he said. “And she was so hot that I could hardly keep my mind on the trial.”
My mother leaned over and gave my father a big kiss.
“Come on now, no public displays of affection…I’m trying to eat here!”
They stopped their little lip-lock. My father actually looked embarrassed.
“It’s nice to know that you and Julia have a future together,” my mother said.
“Don’t start planning the wedding right now,” I said.
“No plans. So what does Julia want to talk to you