Maria’s Favor to a Geek – Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

Maria nervously picks up her phone. It takes her several minutes just to dial the number. It starts to ring, and she takes a deep breath.

“Y’ello!” a man’s voice answers.

“Hi Daddy.”

“Maria, good to hear from you! How is everything?”

“Pretty good… ummm… well… the reason that I called is because, I wanted to tell you that I’ve decided to stay here after all.”

“Oh… okay. And why’s that?” he asks, concerned.

“Because… I met someone really special… and umm… I really want to be with him.” she explains nervously.

“I see…” her dad responds monotone.

“Now… I know what you’re thinking… but it’s different this time… I promise.” she says.

“How long have you been seeing this guy…?” he asks.

“Well… umm… you see… it hasn’t been for very long, but…”

“Uh-huh…” he sighs.

“Dad… look… I know what I’m doing… I know what I want. I’ve never felt this much happiness before… I know from the bottom of my heart that–“

“Maria… honey…” he interrupts. “I’m not going to give you a hard time over this… You’re eighteen now… you don’t need me telling you it’s a bad idea, or it’s too fast, or that you might regret it. You can make your own decisions. I know you’re smart, so… all I care about is that you’re safe, healthy, and happy.”

Maria sniffs, holding back tears as best she can. “Thanks Dad…”

“Do you love him?” he asks.

“Yes. I do. I love him so much.”

“Okay then…” he pauses, and Maria can hear him shift around in his chair. “So I guess that also means you won’t be going to college here?” he asks.

“Yeah… There’s a few places close to here that have programs I’m interested in, so that’s what I’m going to do instead.”

“M’kay… I miss you sweetie…” he sighs.

“I miss you too, Daddy…” Maria says in a raspy sad voice.

“I wanna meet this man of yours.. so uhh… why don’t I come down for a visit sometime soon. How does that sound?”

“Okay. Uhm… the prom is next Saturday… would you want to come then?”

“Perfect. That works for me.”

“Okay. Bye Daddy…”

“Bye sweetie! See you soon.”

* * *

Another week goes by, and it’s now time for the prom. Michael is getting dressed in his room, and he stands in front of his mirror, wiggling and adjusting his bow-tie nervously. It’s not the prom itself that he’s nervous about, but rather he’s nervous about meeting Maria’s father.

Ever since that night, when they talked at the beach in Lakeridge, he’s felt a heavy responsibility on his shoulders. It was a big decision for Maria to make, which changed her life path, and it was all for him. He knows that he has to impress her dad, since he’s essentially taking his precious daughter away from him. While he is extremely happy that she’s going to stay, and they can continue with their romantic relationship, he also feels an enormous amount of pressure. He loves Maria very deeply, and wants to make her happy. It’s been his dream, ever since he reached puberty, to have an incredibly attractive girlfriend. It almost feel unreal that it has come true. He isn’t sure if he deserves this. All he can really do is continue to give it his best, and pray that it all works out.

Earlier that evening, Maria had called Michael to tell him not to come to her house to pick her up, but rather to just go to the school and she’ll be in the parking lot with her dad. His mom wants to get pictures of them all dressed up, and so she’s going to drive him and Sarah there and then take everyone photos as a group. Once Michael is ready to go, they head out.

They arrive at the school at around 6:30 p.m. and see lots of people all dressed up, standing outside the gymnasium, with people going in and out. They slowly drive through the parking lot, looking for where Maria and her dad are. Sarah sees Steve, and next to him is his mom and dad, and so they decide to pull up next to them, and get out here.

Sarah runs over to Steve in her beautiful pink prom dress, and he is absolutely blown away. Her adorable smile and long gorgeous hair, beautifully styled with a braid on one side, make his heart sing. Steve’s mom is even more blown away than he is, and she can’t stop herself from giving her a big hug and kiss on the cheek, while gasping loudly with delight and joy. Sarah meets Steve’s dad for the first time as he rolls up to her in his wheelchair to shake her hand. He compliments her and Sarah blushes, which in turn makes him gush over how cute she is.

Steve and Michael say ‘hey’ to each other, and then Steve is quickly dragged away to get his photo taken with Sarah. While this is going on, a car quietly pulls up next to them. Michael hears a voice that makes his heart skip a beat. “Hey you…” Maria says, in a soft and soothing voice. He turns around and immediately blushes when he sees her.

Maria is standing there, wearing a full-length black dress, that contours nicely around her chest and waist, and hangs loosely over her hips down to her calves. Her shoes are black stiletto heels, each with shiny white gemstones attached in a line around the front strap. Tied around her waist is a matching black belt with a beautiful pure white, ribbon flower, that hangs just slightly off one hip, towards the front. And to top it all off, she has a big black ribbon with long tails, that is tied in the back of her beautiful crown braided hair.

Michael can tell that she put a lot of work into looking beautiful for tonight, and it makes his heart feel warm and tender. He purses his lips as he admires her body from head to toe, and feels so much joy to be with such an incredibly attractive girl. He still can’t believe that she’s actually his girlfriend.

“My god… you look so amazing Maria…” he says.

She blushes and nervously plays with her hair. “Thank you. That suit looks perfect for you.”

“Oh thanks.” he says, exhaling nervously.

“I think we should dress up like this more often. I love this kind of thing.” Maria says, with a big genuine smile.

“You did any amazing job with your hair…” he begins to say. Just then, a tall man appears next to Maria, with a big ‘ol fatherly smile. He puts his arm around her and looks directly at Michael who instantly feels his soul being pierced by his eyes.