Melinda’s Journal

Saturday, March 3

Walter and Pat are two of my best friends. But I don’t feel like I know their entire personalities. They both have another side, their Hollywood persona, that I don’t get to see.

How can they be my best friends if I don’t know everything about them?

Melinda’s Story

Saturday morning, I was up early. After making a pot of coffee for my parents, I settled at the kitchen table with a mug of hot chocolate. Since I rarely ate breakfast, I thought it was only right to wait for my friends.

I figured I had some time. They were probably out running. Sure enough, I was taking my last sips when I heard movement in the mud room between the kitchen and the garage. A moment later, Walter and Pat appeared.

They were drenched with their hair dripping into their eyes. Small puddles were forming on the floor beneath them. Pat bent over with his hands on his knees, obviously trying to catch his breath.

I tried to hide my smirk. “Are you guys okay?”

Pat shook his head, speaking between breaths. “So. Many. Hills.”

Walter nodded. “Uphill. In every direction.”

I smiled. “That’s like at school. All my classes are uphill. No matter where I start.”

“Not these hills.” Walter peeled off his shirt, then his shorts.

I quickly covered my eyes. “What are you doing?”

“I was going to leave my clothes in the laundry room so I don’t drip all over the house.”

“But you’re naked.”

Pat laughed. “He’s gone.”

I shook my head, peering through my fingers. Walter had left. I lowered my hands. “Is he seriously walking through my house naked?”

“Well, he still had his boxers on, if it makes you feel any better.”

“You’re not going to do that, are you?”

“Sweetheart, your mother would have a conniption if I did.”

“She so would.” I frowned as Pat started shivering. “You okay?”

“Yeah. Caught a chill.”

“You should go shower.”

“Can’t. Walter’s in there.”

“Use my bathroom.”

Pat raised his eyebrows. “I’m not allowed in your room.”

I rolled my eyes. “I’ll handle my mother. Go. You’re going to catch hypochondria.”

Pat gave me a curious look. “You mean hypothermia?”

“Yeah. That one. What’d I say?”

Pat gave himself one more shake in the mudroom before crossing the kitchen to me. “Hypochondria. It’s when you always think you’re sick. Hypothermia’s the one when you’re really cold.” He gave me a quick kiss before heading upstairs.

I had finished my hot cocoa and was contemplating a second cup when my mother came into the kitchen.

“I was just looking for you.” I could hear the anger. What had I done wrong? “I knocked on your bathroom door and Patrick answered. Why is he in your room?”

“He and Walter went running. And it’s cold and wet and Pat was turning blue so I told him to shower in my room. I’ve been in the kitchen the whole time. I swear.”

“He’s supposed to be using your brother’s bathroom.”

I shrugged. “Walter beat him there.”

My mother frowned. “Well, if it happens again tomorrow, tell Walter to use your bathroom. Patrick is only allowed in Joey’s room.”

I rolled my eyes. Thankfully, my mother was pouring coffee and didn’t see. “So, what would you like to do with your friends today?”

I shrugged. “I hadn’t really given it much thought.”

She turned to me with a nod. “I’m taking your brother and his friend to the mall. Would you like to join us?”

I made a face. If my roommate were staying over, we would probably be at the mall in a heartbeat. But I didn’t really see Pat and Walter having fun window shopping and getting manicures. Especially since the local mall was so much smaller than the one near our school.

My mother was looking at me expectantly. I shrugged. “Well, Pat’s got his test today, but I’ll ask Walter.”

“Ask me what?” Completely at home, Walter went straight to the cabinet to grab a glass, which he filled with water from the dispenser on the fridge.

“What should we do today?”

“I’m torn. I should read through my scripts, but I’m on vacation and just don’t want to. What’s for breakfast?”

My mother filled a second mug with coffee. “Help yourselves and let me know what you decide to do today. Your brother wanted to have lunch at the mall.”

I waited until my mother left with both mugs before turning to Walter. “I bet he’s meeting his girlfriend.

Walter smirked. “Nope. They broke up. He and his friend are going trolling for girls. He was asking me for advice last night.”

I giggled. “What’d you tell him?”

Walter shook his head. “Nope. Not sharing. What’s for breakfast?”

“I’m in the mood for waffles.” I removed a package from the freezer and held it out to Walter. “Want some?”

“What is that?” Walter took the box and examined it carefully.

“Frozen waffles.”

“They make those? Hey, Pat! Look at these!”

After bringing his wet clothes to the laundry room, Pat ignored his brother, kissing me instead. It filled me with a warmth the hot chocolate couldn’t provide, but I quickly pulled away.

“My mom can come back any minute and she’s not happy with you right now.”

“What’d you do this time?” Walter asked. “And what am I supposed to do with these?”

I rolled my eyes and took the waffles from him. “Haven’t you ever had frozen waffles before? They’re like, a staple.”

“We’ve always had someone cook breakfast,” Pat explained as I placed four waffles in the toaster.

Walter was awestruck. “Waffles from a toaster?”

I just shook my head, bringing the margarine and syrup to the table before placing all four waffles on a plate. I handed it to him. “I suggest you have one with just butter. No syrup. That’s my favorite way to eat them.” After placing four more waffles in the toaster, I turned to Pat. “When do you have to leave?”

“Couple of hours. I want to run through a few things on the plane before my test.”

“Why?” Walter asked, his mouth full of waffle.

“I haven’t flown Uncle Vinny’s plane in a while. And, with this weather—”

Walter waved a dismissive hand. “You’ll be fine. You can fly in your sleep.”

My mother returned to the kitchen. “Did you kids figure out what to do today?”

I shook my head. “Still working on it.”

“Boys, I need to talk to your mother about something. How early is too early to call?”

Pat shrugged as Walter shoved half a waffle in his mouth. “I’m guessing she’ll be up in an hour, but I’d give her maybe an hour after that to work out and stuff.

My mother nodded. “Can I make eggs for anyone?”

I shook my head. “I’m good.”

“Me, too,” agreed Pat. “But thank you.”

“Can I have more of these?” Walter pointed to his empty plate.

I frowned. “That was the only box. You ate half of it.”

My mother pulled a magnetic notepad off the fridge. After searching a drawer for a pen, she handed both to me. “I’ll go grocery shopping later. Write down what you kids like and I’ll see what I can do. Ideas for dinner?”

Pat smiled. “Melinda said you make fantastic pasta sauce.”

“I think I might—” My mother searched the freezer, pulling out some plastic containers. “Yes. I have some. I even have some meatballs. Melinda? Write macaroni. And cold cuts. Oh, and bread. Put down garlic bread, too.”

I rolled my eyes. “You want the list back, Mom?”

“No. I have to go call Carter’s mother to coordinate this mall playdate. Why can’t they go hang out at the movie theater like you and your friends used to do?”

My mother left the room without waiting for an answer. Pat started playing with my hair. “You used to hang out at the movies?”

“Yes. When I was in seventh grade, I had a huge crush on Jarrod Handy. My friends and I went to see Vampire Dreams four times.”

“That the only movie you saw?”

“Oh, speaking of movies, I read the script last night.”

“Really? I didn’t expect you to get through the entire thing.”

I shrugged. “I may have glossed over some of the narration.”

“What’d you think?”

Walter glanced between me and Pat as he rummaged through the basket of fruit on the counter. “What script?”

I turned to him. “It’s the perfect movie for Pat.”

Pat ran his hand along my back. “So, you can see me doing it?”

“Yeah. I really can. While I was reading it, I could close my eyes and picture you in the movie. I just couldn’t picture the other people.”

“What about the scene—Do you have the tablet?”

“I’ll go grab it if you clean this mess.” I gave Pat a quick kiss and headed up the stairs. After grabbing the tablet from my desk, I found Walter and Pat sitting in the family room. I curled up beside Pat on the couch.

“Here you go.”

“And I know how to unlock it.” Pat smirked as he entered the numbers. He scrolled through the screenplay for a moment. “What were your thoughts on this scene? And the next one?”

I shrugged. “What about them?”

Pat pulled me a little closer. “You’re okay with it? Me being in bed with my costar?”

“You what?” Walter exclaimed. “What kind of script is this?”

Pat passed Walter the tablet while I answered Pat’s question.

“Well, it would be weird, and I don’t know if I’d be comfortable watching it. But I don’t see why you wouldn’t be able to film it. I mean, it’s not like you actually take your clothes off, right?”

Pat shook his head. “Nah. Just my shirt. The rest I can film in shorts. But it’s not just the bedroom. It feels like I’d be shirtless for like half the movie.”

“When you’re running. Which you do anyway, right?”

Pat shook his head. “I can’t. I’d get a horrible sunburn. I mean, I can do it for the movie, but I don’t like doing it at home.”

“So, what’s the problem?”

When Pat sighed, I instantly understood. I ran my hand along his lower back. “You don’t know how to tell your mom?”

“You know me so well.” Pat played with my hair. “I can’t ask Mom to read this right now.”

“Because she’s busy with her own movie?” When Pat nodded, I shrugged. “Why don’t you let her make that decision? Just tell her you like the movie and you’re worried about that one scene and let her decide if she needs to read it. I mean, she’s not reading all of Walter’s scripts, rights?”

Walter laughed. “Yeah. Because an animated show for preschoolers is so scabrous.”

I rolled my eyes. “Walter, did you just, like, eat a dictionary one day?”

Walter threw a pillow at me. I ducked, and it hit my father as he headed towards the kitchen.

Walter quickly went to retrieve the pillow. “Sorry, Mr. Joe.”

My father gave a half smile. “Just don’t let my wife see you throwing those fancy pillows of hers.”

Pat’s Story

Saturday morning was rainy, but that didn’t stop me and my brother from our daily run. Walter had mapped out a route the last time he had stayed at Melinda’s house, but he neglected to mention that Melinda’s neighborhood was so undulant. By the end of our three-mile journey, I couldn’t breathe. I also was dripping wet.

We went in the house through the garage, pausing for a moment in the mudroom while we dripped. I put my hands on my knees, trying to catch my breath.

“Are you guys okay?”

I glanced up to see Melinda sitting at the breakfast table. I blinked the water from my eyes as I shook my head. “So. Many. Hills.” Each word was its own breath, although it was slowly becoming easier to breathe.

Beside me, Walter was panting a little less. “Uphill. In every direction.”

“That’s like at school.” Melinda sounded amused. “All my classes are uphill. No matter where I start.”

“Not these hills.” I watched my brother remove his shirt, which took some effort since the rain had more or less pasted it on. Then, with my girlfriend sitting right there, he peeled off his shorts.

Melinda buried her face in her hands as she yelled at him. “What are you doing?”

Walter shrugged as he tossed his clothes in front of the washing machine. “I was going to leave my clothes in the laundry room so I don’t drip all over the house.”

Melinda didn’t see him run up the stairs. “But you’re naked.”

I laughed. “He’s gone.”

Melinda slowly lowered her hands. “Is he seriously walking through my house naked?”

I shrugged. “Well, he still had his boxers on, if it makes you feel any better.”

“You’re not going to do that, are you?”

It was very tempting. My clothes were sticking to me. Despite the warm house, I was getting colder by the second. But I could picture the scene it would cause if someone saw me in my underwear. Especially Melinda’s mother.

I shook my head. “Sweetheart, your mother would have a conniption if I did.”

“She so would. You okay?”

“Yeah. Caught a chill.” I couldn’t stop shivering, even though I was trying very hard not to.

“You should go shower.”

“Can’t. Walter’s in there.”

“Use my bathroom.”

“I’m not allowed in your room.”

Melinda rolled her eyes, but I had no idea what she was trying to tell me. She knew I couldn’t understand eye rolls. She must have remembered, because she translated for me. “I’ll handle my mother. Go. You’re going to catch hypochondria.”

I raised my eyebrows with a smirk. “You mean hypothermia?”

“Yeah. That one. What’d I say?”

Melinda was absolutely adorable. I shook off as much water as I could before making my way to her. “Hypochondria. It’s when you always think you’re sick. Hypothermia’s the one where you’re really cold.” I gave her a quick kiss before going upstairs.

As I gathered what I needed for my shower, I realized she must not be mad at me for the whole birthday incident the night before. Nevertheless, I decided not to bring it up unless she did.

The warm water quickly thawed me and I let my mind wander towards my flight exam. I was reminding myself of the different classes of airspace when there was a knock on the door.

“Melinda?”

I recognized Melinda’s mother’s voice. Melinda must not have talked to her yet. I couldn’t not respond.

“Uh, no. It’s Pat. Melinda’s downstairs.”

“Oh. Okay.” I could hear the confusion in her voice. Hopefully, I hadn’t just gotten Melinda into a lot of trouble. I quickly finished my shower and got dressed. After hurriedly stowing my stuff back in my room, I headed down the stairs.

I walked into the kitchen to find Melinda handing my brother a box. Walter looked at it as if it were the strangest thing he had ever seen. “What is that?”

Melinda shrugged. “Frozen waffles.”

“They make those? Hey, Pat! Look at these!”

I didn’t need to see them. I had seen the commercials. I brought my running clothes to the laundry room, then went to my girlfriend. After carefully checking that there were no parents around, I pulled her in close for a good morning kiss.

Any lingering chill vanished as my heart started racing. Melinda kissed me back, but only for a moment.

“My mom can come back any minute and she’s not happy with you right now.”

My brother shook his head. “What’d you do this time? And what am I supposed to do with these?”

Melinda took the box. “Haven’t you ever had frozen waffles before? They’re like, a staple.”

I shook my head. “We’ve always had someone cook breakfast.”

Whenever I heard waffles, I immediately pictured a Belgium waffle the size of a dinner plate. They were made to order at school. And I had them a lot of time at studio commissaries if I arrived in time for breakfast.

But Melinda pulled out something a lot smaller. It was about the size of my hand and, although it was definitely a waffle, the little wells were not that deep.

I watched Melinda put four of these little things into the toaster. That just baffled my brother.

“Waffles from a toaster?”

Melinda grabbed some things from the refrigerator, then returned to the toaster. She removed the cooked waffles and placed them on a plate. Then she handed the entire thing to my brother and told him to try them without syrup. After placing the next four in the toaster, she asked about my flight exam.

“When do you have to leave?”

I shrugged. “A couple of hours. I want to review a few things on the plane before my test.”

“Why?” My pig of a brother had no problem speaking with food in his mouth. Unfortunately, he did this so frequently that Melinda and I had no trouble understanding him. I just shook my head.

“I haven’t flown Uncle Vinny’s plane in a while. And, with this weather —”

Walter waved his hand dismissively. “You’ll be fine. You can fly in your sleep.”

I almost laughed. There had been a few nights where I had dreamed I was flying the plane. But Melinda’s mother had returned to the kitchen. Was it my imagination, or was she glaring at me?

She asked when she could call my mother. Was she going to mention that I was in Melinda’s shower? I figured I should probably call my mother to explain before she did.

Melinda’s mother asked for ideas for supper and I immediately knew how to get her to like me again.

“Melinda said you make fantastic sauce.”

She frowned as she headed to the freezer. “I think I might—Yes. I have some. I even have some meatballs.” She began dictating a grocery list to Melinda, then said she needed to go call someone. As she left, she made a passing comment about how Melinda used to hang out at the movie theater. I couldn’t resist teasing her.

“You used to hang out at the movies?”

“Yes. When I was in seventh grade, I had a huge crush on Jarrod Handy. My friends and I went to see Vampire Dreams four times.”

“That the only movie you saw?”

Even though I knew she never saw me as a celebrity, I really was hoping she would say she used to have a crush on me. Instead, she changed the subject.

“Oh, speaking of movies, I read the script last night.”

“Really? I didn’t expect you to get through the entire thing.”

“I may have glossed over some of the narration.”

“What’d you think?”

“What script?” Walter asked.

I was content to ignore him, because this wasn’t his conversation, but Melinda was too nice. She answered him.

“It’s the perfect movie for Pat.”

I grinned. “So, you can see me doing it?”

“Yeah. I really can. While I was reading it, I could close my eyes and picture you in the movie. I just couldn’t picture the other people.”

“What about the scene—” I didn’t want to describe it to her, especially in front of my brother. “Do you have the tablet?”

“I’ll go grab it if you clean this mess.” Melinda gave me a quick kiss before disappearing upstairs. I grabbed our plates, rinsed off the syrup, and put them in the dishwasher. Walter followed, putting away the butter and syrup.

“What’s the movie?”

“I’ll tell you about it later, but it’s a docudrama about an Olympic runner.”

“Sounds like something I’d like to read.”

I nodded. “I think you should.”

Instead of staying at the table, I went over to the family room at the bottom of the stairs. Walter and I sat on opposite couches, and a moment later, Melinda snuggled beside me. She passed me the tablet.

“Here you go.”

“And I know how to unlock it.” I entered the numbers slowly so she could see I hadn’t forgotten her birthday. Then I flipped through the screenplay until I found the bedroom scene. “What were your thoughts on this scene? And the next one?”

“What about them?”

I held her close. “You’re okay with it? Me being in bed with my costar?”

“You what?” Walter exclaimed. “What kind of script is this?”

I sighed and handed my brother the tablet. This really wasn’t his conversation.

Melinda didn’t even seem to notice the interruption. “Well, it would be weird, and I don’t know if I’d be comfortable watching it. But I don’t see why you wouldn’t be able to film it. I mean, it’s not like you actually take your clothes off, right?”

“Nah. Just my shirt. The rest I can film in shorts. But it’s not just the bedroom. It feels like I’d be shirtless for like half the movie.”

“When you’re running. Which you do anyway, right?”

I shook my head. “I can’t. I’d get a horrible sunburn. I mean, I can do it for the movie, but I don’t like doing it at home.”

“So, what’s the problem?”

I sighed. I wasn’t sure how to tell her my biggest hesitation about auditioning for the movie. It turned out I didn’t have to. My amazing girlfriend guessed it.

“You don’t know how to tell your mom?” Melinda ran her hand along my spine while I played with her hair.

“You know me so well. I can’t ask Mom to read this right now.”

“Because she’s busy with her own movie?”

I nodded and Melinda shrugged. “Why don’t you let her make that decision? Just tell her you like the movie and you’re worried about that one scene and let her decide if she needs to read it. I mean, she’s not reading all of Walter’s scripts, right?”

Walter laughed. “Yeah. Because an animated show for preschoolers is so scabrous.”

I just shook my head. My brother loved using esoteric words. I had a pretty good idea what this one meant and Melinda must have guessed, too. Instead of asking for a definition, she smirked.

“Walter, did you just, like, eat a dictionary one day?”

Walter threw a pillow at her, but missed. It sailed over the couch to hit Melinda’s father as he was heading to the kitchen. I quickly looked in the opposite direction, and Walter started turning red.

“Sorry, Mr. Joe.”

Thankfully, he seemed unfazed. “Just don’t let my wife see you throwing those fancy pillows of hers.”

Attention Hammerheads

Melinda is always trying to build her vocabulary. What were some words in this episode that were new to you? She will add them to her vocabulary journal.