My First Girlfriend - Part 1

"Dude!"

No answer.

"Dude!"

Still no answer.

"Dude! It's 7:30. Wake up already, will ya?"

Donnie punctuated that plea with a well-worn pillow thrown across the room. It hit me directly in the head.

I rubbed my sand-filled eyes, opened them in a paper-thin squint and looked over at him. "Seven-thirty already?" I asked. "Why didn't you wake me up before?"

Donnie was my best friend and had been since the 7th grade. My family had moved from New Jersey to Virginia one month into that school year, 1971. Riding down the interstate with my family I knew it would be all about making new friends, and quickly. I met Donnie at church the first week we were there, so with him, making friends wasn't hard.

"I've been trying to wake your sorry butt up now for a half hour." He was already showered and dressed, blue jean bell-bottoms the order of the day.

"When's breakfast over?" I asked.

"Thirty minutes. You'd better get shaking."

Pushing the sheets down I crawled out of the cot. My feet hitting the cold tile dormitory floor sent a menacing shiver through my bones, a feeling I wouldn't shake for several minutes.

"Stayed up too late last night," I mumbled. "I couldn't find her."

"She may be at breakfast, if you hurry."

"She" was a girl I'd noticed at the dance the night before. She was absolutely radiant. Long, dark hair that curled around her seraphic dimples. Big, dark eyes that pierced me to the core. I'd asked her to dance with me, but it was a fast song and the music was loud, so I didn't get a chance to ask her name. When the song was over I smiled at her lamely and backed away, almost like I thought she'd explode.

I pulled on my faded pair of bell-bottoms and a white t-shirt that read "BYU Class of 1897" across the chest. I'd printed the t-shirt myself in Industrial Arts class with a screen printer I'd discovered in a closet stuffed with wood shavings and IA tools. I was anxious to show it off to the rest of the kids at the conference.

"Come on," I said, busting through the door. "Let's go!"

Randolph Macon College isn't very big. About 90 miles south of Washington, DC and 20 miles north of Richmond, it sits on 116 acres of fine Virginia land. The Methodists started it back in the early 1800's, but this week the Mormons had taken over.

Getting into the line behind some 14-year olds who had sneaked in for seconds, I grabbed a tray and started gathering my breakfast. A glass of orange juice, a piece of toast with honey and one of those small boxes of Wheaties and some milk. Breakfast of Champions.

I sat near a couple of my friends at a table near the door so I'd be close in case she walked in. Tony, Reed and Bobby were already cleaning up after inhaling their donuts.

I sat there by myself for a few minutes after they got up, when Donnie came over with his tray and a large smile scrunching up his face.

"What?" I asked.

He laughed slightly. "You are going to love me for the rest of your life," he said, grinning like the proverbial Cheshire cat.

"What?" I repeated.

"You remember that girl I danced with last night? The one I thought was really cute? Her name was Juna. Remember?"

I stared into space and thought a few seconds. This was not important to me at the moment. "Yea, I guess. So what?"

He put his hand on my shoulder and squeezed. "She's friends with her."

I didn't get it. "Friends with who?"

"I just talked to Juna and Kathy wants to meet you."

"Kathy who?"

Donnie put his tray down on the table and shook his head. "Have you not been paying attention? The girl you fell in love with last night. Her name is Kathy. And she wants to meet you." He emphasized the last sentence so it would finally seep in through my ten-penny skull.

"She wants to meet me?"

"Um, isn't that what I just said? Duh!" Donnie looked down at his fruit cup and shook his head. "Are you still asleep?"

"She wants to meet me. Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. Juna said she liked you. You should have done what I said and asked her to dance with you again."

"She wants to meet me?"

"One o'clock this afternoon at the pool. Juna said she'd be there waiting for you."

"Wow, dude, how can I, what, wow."

"Easy there, dude. It's going to be fine. Just take a breath."