I had another idea which prompted me to check in on Clarissa. For those of you who like to keep events in the proper sequence, this episode takes place shortly following the events of "Clarissa's Visit: A Prequel."
5-7 parts are planned.
Hope you enjoy.
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PART 1
Mike Bradley was happily tossing a frisbee with his friends in the local park when, from the corner of his eye, he saw his mother’s car pull into the nearby parking lot. Perturbed, he saw that she was early. She had dropped him off just a couple of hours ago, and she wasn’t supposed to pick him up for another 45 minutes. Most of his peers rode their bikes to the park on their own now, but his mother always insisted on dropping him off and picking him up instead. At twelve years old, he thought he was old enough by now to make it to the park and back by himself.
As adolescent boys often do, his friend Charlie teased him when he saw her car and said, “Oh Mikey… Mommy’s here!”
Mike rolled his eyes at his friend and scowled. But then, he heard his mother toot her car horn and realized reluctantly he would have to go meet her. Distracted, he muffed an easy throw and turned a little red as he had to leave his friends early. Frustrated, he watched the frisbee bounce to the ground after what should have been a simple catch.
Grimacing, he muttered, “I guess I’ve got to go guys.”
He tried his best to ignore the teasing kissing sounds his buddies made as he trudged to his mother’s car in the nearby parking lot.
Still miffed, Mike opened the car door and crawled into the passenger seat full of adolescent attitude. As it was the middle of August, his mother had the air conditioning going full blast. Before he spoke, however, Mike saw his mother’s jaw was clenched tightly. She was not happy. Instantly, he was on guard.
“Mike,” she began curtly, “can you explain this please?” As she spoke, Mike saw that she held the ripped up pieces of a birthday party invitation. It had been partially taped back together. He paled abruptly. Now nearly frantic, he wondered, “How did she find that!?” He realized at once that he was in trouble. He should have been more careful with that stupid card.
About an hour earlier, Carol Bradley had been tossing some trash in the garbage can when she spotted a tiny bit of shiny pink ribbon peeking from underneath a crumpled plastic bag. Curious, she reached down to see what it was. Pushing aside a plastic bag and a used coffee filter, she saw the ribbon was a decoration attached to part of a little card that had apparently been torn apart. She quickly fished out the other pieces of the ripped up paper to find it was an invitation to a girl’s birthday party for someone named Elizabeth Smalls.
“Oh yes,” Carol had thought to herself as she remembered that Elizabeth had been the youngest girl in Mrs. Cranston’s ballet class earlier that summer. She briefly recalled that wonderful recital the girls had done at the end of the class. All the girls had been so cute in their pink leotards and darling little tutus. Carol’s mood had quickly soured as she realized Mike must have gotten this in the mail and then thrown it away so she wouldn’t see it. She had been annoyed when she saw an RSVP had been requested, and she felt certain Mike had not bothered to reply. She had next found all the pieces of the pale pink envelope which evidently had contained the party invitation. When she saw who the invitation was addressed to, Carol had understood what must have happened.
Back in the parking lot, Mike flushed despite the air conditioning. The twelve year old boy began uncertainly, “I uhhh… I just thought that since… since…” he stammered and then trailed off. His face grew beet red now and he felt a cold trickle of sweat on his back. “Well… that invitation was for…” he paused again. He couldn’t find the right words to explain, and he didn’t want to say that name out loud again.
His mother interjected, “You thought that you would just tear up the invitation rather than RSVP properly? It’s past the RSVP date and the party is tomorrow! That’s very rude and inconsiderate! Little Elizabeth thought kindly enough to include you in her party, and you don’t even have the manners to politely let her know whether or not you’ll attend? They have to plan for the right number of guests. And why would you be so thoughtless to a little girl? I’ve tried to teach you better manners than this.” Carol gave her son a piercing gaze and waited for him to respond.
He opened his mouth to speak, but he was caught completely off guard. He had no idea what to say. He remained silent.
“Mike,” his mother chided, “I thought we were making some progress with your behavior.” He noted that she spoke with an unmistakable tone of disappointment. He might have misheard, but he thought she also clucked her tongue deliberately.
After a lingering and uncomfortable pause, Mike blurted, “I don’t want to go to that stupid party! It’s only for girls!” The red-faced boy’s lip was quivering slightly now. Belatedly, he sensed he had just crossed a line.
Calmly, his mother gave him a withering look. “Well, ever since I found this in the garbage earlier, I’ve actually had some time to think about it,” she began coldly. “As I think you know, this invitation was addressed to a girl…” she noted as her voice trailed off. Mike could see her wheels begin to spin. He sat on pins and needles now, and his spirits sank when he saw the corners of her mouth turn up slightly in a tight smile. She had obviously reached a decision. Next, she spoke calmly but firmly to her preteen son, “Don’t say anything else, dear, while I call Elizabeth’s mother. It's obvious that we need to improve your manners.”
Sitting beside his mother in the parked car, Mike powerlessly watched her reach for her cellphone. Chagrined, he felt his stomach jump as she dialed the number on the invitation for the RSVP. He could faintly hear the other end ringing and then a woman’s voice answered.
Topic: Clarissa’s Visit: The Birthday Party (Read 11803 times)
