The Infatuated Teenager

The
Infatuated Teenager

by

Austin
Mitchell

            I
remembered an incident with my friend, Elroy Reid and some girls. I think he
was in love with a girl, Leila Lobban. Leila was probably around eighteen and
had left high school a year ago and was going to a commercial school. At the
time I thought Elroy might have been about fifteen since he was about two years
older than me. We were both students of Keswick Mountain high school. Elroy was
living about half a kilometer from Leila’s house. He would spend most of his
spare time at her house talking to her.

            One of Leila’s friends, Greta  Dixon had come to visit her that evening. Her
mother begged Elroy to accompany both Leila and Greta back to the latter’s
home, a distance of a kilometer and a half. He saw me passing and asked me to
go with them. The other girl, Greta, was in Grade Eleven. Both girls had on
shorts and body hugging blouses. Leila’s mother warned her not to stay out too
late. She told Greta that as soon as she reached home she was to make sure Leila
started back for her own house.

            I reluctantly decided to go with
them. We had gone about a quarter of our distance when I saw two guys sitting
on a retaining wall by the roadside. I knew immediately what was up. One of the
guys, Castell, was Greta’s half-brother and was probably about two or three
years older than her. The other guy, Mickey Lewis, was  Leila’s neighbor and like her had just left
school. I knew about their reputations with women.

            “Elroy, it’s all right, Castell and
Mickey will walk me back home,” Leila told him.

            “Your mother said that I should walk
you and Greta to her house and then walk you back home.”

            The two guys hadn’t said anything,
nor had they moved off the wall.

            “Elroy, let’s go. As Leila said Castell
and Mickey can come back with her after Greta reaches her house,” I told him.

            “I don’t need anybody to walk me
home,” Greta said and walked away before stopping.

            I knew she was mocking me and Elroy.

            I turned and started walking back,
expecting Elroy to follow me, but he was still down there arguing with the two
guys and the two girls. The two guys were now apparently trying to get him to
go back. As I went up the road I kept looking back, but there was no sign of
him.

            When I reached Leila’s mother’s
house I dodged past so that she wouldn’t see me.

            I thought that Elroy was being
stupid. He was older than me and should know that both girls were sexually
active.

            I saw Mickey the next day and he
said some things about Elroy that weren’t worth repeating. The same words came
from Castell a few days later.

            I told Elroy some of what the two
guys said about him, but he seemed unconcerned.

            He said that he was only protecting
Leila and I laughed. I told him that she was older than him and women wanted
experienced men. I asked him if he thought he stood a chance with her. I asked
him if he hadn’t heard the rumors about Greta and Leila. I told him that he
should have left the girls to do as they pleased. Of course he disagreed with
me because he was still infatuated with Leila. The End.

   Austin's blog: stredwick.blogspot.com