Tell My Dad by Ram Muthiah Read Free Book Online

boring.
    Last Wednesday, he stopped her in the hallway when she was rushing toward the lab. “Hey, Tracy! We’re having a party on Saturday night. Can you come?” Before Tracy could say a word, Dave put his palms together and said, “Don’t say no! Please!”
    It was the first time in her life someone had invited her to a party. On top of it, the school’s heartthrob had almost begged. Tracy felt the butterflies in her stomach as she smiled and said, “Yes!”

    * * *
    T racy adjusted her hair to hide the big forehead she had inherited from her father. Then, she adjusted the rim of her glasses and looked at the GPS screen mounted on the car dashboard. “Mom, we’re almost there.”
    “Are you sure this boy gave you the correct address? I do not see any party house!”
    “They don’t put a sign in front of the house, Mom! Turn right; I know that boy.” She was totally excited. As soon as they turned right, they saw the house with the school crowd on the front porch. She spotted a girl from the senior class. “Mom, this is the house!”
    Jennifer Zhang stopped the car at the curb. “I think I should wait here. I am not going to do anything at home. I have the Kindle with me. I will be reading until you come back.” She did not want to leave her alone.
    Tracy leaned forward, hugged her, and smiled. “You are so sweet, Mom! I don’t know how long the party is going to last. I don’t want Dave to think I’m a little child or something, you know. I want to act like a grownup. If you stay here, the guys are going to notice. It’ll be embarrassing!” She pointed at the cars leaving the house. “See, every other parent is just dropping off. No one stays here, Mom.”
    Jennifer Zhang sighed. “I never thought I would let you go to a party at this age. Be safe…”
    “I’ll be fine, Mom. Don’t worry!” Tracy jumped out of the car and waved as she made her way into the crowd. She was a little scared and a lot excited. This was her first party ever. Her eyes eagerly looked for Dave, but there was no sign of him.
    She spotted some girls she knew from the school and nervously greeted them. They basically ignored her. She looked around the house. There was still no sign of Dave. She started wondering if she had entered the wrong house. Oh God, that would be embarrassing.
    Someone touched Tracy’s shoulder from behind. “Hey, Tracy! Thanks for coming.” Dave seemed surprised.
    “Thanks for inviting me.” She thought it was lame immediately after saying it. “Cool party. You have a beautiful house.”
    “Thanks. My folks are out of town. That’s another reason to throw a party!” He appeared a little drunk as he laughed out loud.
    Tracy wanted to ask when the party would end. It was different from what she had imagined.
    “Do you want a drink?” he asked.
    “No! I’m not supposed to drink. My mom will kill me!”
    “Oh, Crazy Tracy, I was asking about soda and such. There’s also a lot of food there in the kitchen. Come on.” He held on to her hand as he walked toward the kitchen. She wanted to hold on to his hand forever.
    The kitchen was huge. It was bigger than her living room. Her mom would have cried in joy if she had seen the size of that kitchen. Pizza boxes were scattered all over the place, along with soda cans and cookies. A big box of chocolates was sitting on the middle of the island. Chocolates!
    “Take whatever you need. I need to run now, but I’ll be back. Lots of people here know you. Socialize! Don’t be shy.” Dave quickly turned around and ran toward the living room.
    Lots of people know me? That’s strange. Tracy took a plate, gathered a lot of chocolates, and grabbed a Diet Pepsi. She looked around the kitchen until she got bored and then walked into the living room. She saw a boy running around without a shirt. Two boys screamed in the backyard. Weird.
    A long, dark-blue couch was moved from the center to the far-right corner of the living room. Some boys were busy