On the way home that night, Charlie said to Krista, "God, that was fun!"
"I loved it!" she enthused.
"I wonder if it would have even happened if Donna had been there with us?"
"Hmm...now that's an interesting thought!" Krista hesitated and then said, "Would you have liked that?"
Charlie smiled, "Probably, but the bigger question is could you two handle it?" They pulled up to the curb in front of her house; Charlie turned to her and said, "What do you think?"
Krista grinned, "Donna and I talk about everything. She's gonna want to know what we did tonight without her; so we'll discuss it."
"THAT will be a fun conversation; wish I could be there!" He got out of the car, helped her out, and walked her to the door. "This was a great 'date' Kris!" They kissed (and it wasn't a smooch either!)
Back in the car he tapped out a text to Mark, "Are you still at Julie's? Call me when you leave there."
In less than a minute his phone rang. "Okay, you left already!"
"I'm already home!"
"Cool, I wanted to bounce something off you, but not in front of Julie."
"Okay, what's that?"
"I thought tonight was scorching hot!"
"Oh my God! So did we; Julie said she'd never been so turned on in her life!"
"Yeah, it was special!"
Mark chuckled, "We've been friends for so long, sometimes it's hard to see each other in this new light!"
"I agree, but that brings up something that crossed my mind tonight. In the middle of it all, I had the thought of you and me switching partners." Mark went silent. Charlie gave him fifteen seconds to process and then he said, "Did I upset you?"
"No, I'm just letting that sink in for a minute. It's probably a natural thought to have seeing as we were watching a porn movie where everyone is fucking everyone!"
"Yeah, I agree with that; but just so you and I keep things straight between us, what do you think about that idea? What I mean is, if swapping was entirely up to you, would you do it?"
"I honestly don't know; I do NOT want to ruin my relationship with Jules."
"That's fair; it's just a fantasy anyway. Oh wait, Krista and I were talking on the way home."
"What about?"
"We wondered if tonight would have even happened if Donna had been there."
"Man, this is getting weirder by the second! It was so much easier when we were thirteen!"
Charlie chuckled, "I think you're right!"
Just as he arrived at school on Monday morning, three cars over Lena Piper was getting out of her vehicle. "Morning Lena!"
"Charlie, Hi! This is great; could you help me carry some things?"
"Be glad to; whatcha' got there?"
"Some science project supplies; the box is kinda heavy."
Charlie picked the box out of the back seat, "So how did your weekend go?"
"It was super fabulous! How was yours?"
"Mine was amazing; if I told you what happened, you might not believe me!"
"Wow...that good, huh?"
He grinned at her, "Yep, that good! Almost as good as your Saturday night, I bet!"
Lena squinched her mouth up at him, "Why am I not surprised that you already know this?"
Charlie laughed, "You joined our little circle of playmates, Lena; isn't it fun sharing these adventures we're having now?"
"I guess it could be; but I'm kinda new at this."
She held the door for Charlie and as they headed toward the stairs he said, "We can't do it right now, but how about I call you tonight and we can share a few details?"
"Uh, maybe we can do that."
The science room was at the top. Charlie put the box on one of the tables and said, "I'll text you around 8:00; how 'bout that?"
"Okay, thanks for the help, Charlie!"
The rest of the morning was routine and when their group met in the cafeteria for lunch, Donna sat down last and put on a pout, "So, the minute my back is turned, right?" Everyone grinned at her; they all knew what she meant!
Julie leaned across the table and said, "Yeah, we were hoping you couldn't make it... so WE could make it without you!" Everyone burst out laughing at the face Donna made!
Charlie asked Krista, "Did you give her a bunch of details?"
"I gave her enough!" The titter was audible, and Krista added, "Enough to make her green with envy!"
That made them all laugh out loud!
Charlie looked at Donna and tried to keep a straight face, "Just so you know, it was ALL Mark's fault!" They all cracked up again!
When things finally settled down, Donna was about to ask something else; but right then two other kids sat down at their table, and the topic was stifled. Krista took the opportunity to fill Donna in on the plan for the Christmas "White Elephant" party.
"That sounds like a fun idea!" Donna said. "Do we have a date for it?"
"Yes, Saturday the 18th." said Jules, "I'm going to modify the invitation template and get them out early."
Mark cracked them all up again by saying, "I'll bring the porn video!" What made it even funnier was the expression on the faces of the other two kids!
Two minutes after the final bell sounded ending class for the day, Charlie's phone pinged with a text. It was Renee Bridges. "Can you meet me in the parking lot?"
"Yes, 5 minutes?"
When he got out there, Renee had found a spot right next to his car. He got in on the passenger side. "Hi, where's Donna?"
"The library, she told me I needed to pick her up at 4:30. I came to see you."
"Is this about your friend?"
"Yes, are you busy right now; can you spare an hour to meet her?"
"Yeah, I could. If you have to pick Donna up at 4:30, it should work."
Renee smiled, "Great, let me text Amani that we're on our way." She put the car in gear and guided it out of the parking lot. ""So did you have any thoughts about this situation, Charlie?"
He chuckled, "Actually, the only thought I have is to go with the flow. My life seems to be just one spontaneous thing after another. Predictability is not a part of the equation."
She gave him a quick glance. "That's certainly true, three weeks ago I would not have wagered even one dollar that we'd be sitting together here today!"
"No kidding! This is like 'Spontaneous-PLUS!'"