we stepped foot outside the house, despite his frowning, disapproving scowl. We walked aimlessly round the mall for a while, so he could get a feel for the place and the people around. His eyes showed a mix of excitement, caution and flickering attention. The first thing he noticed was some girls sauntering past us, wearing jeans and loose sweaters, same look as mine.
“Now I understand why you’re always dressed like a boy, Joey,” he said. “Look, there’s some girls here dressed just like you! Is it a modern uniform for girls these days?” he asked curiously.
I looked at him in surprise. “Uh, no. It’s not a uniform. But not all girls dress this way,” I mumbled, embarrassed.
He thought I dressed like a boy?
But in his defense, I guess I did. A very sloppy, untidy, unattractive one. It served me right for being such a tomboy! Me and my I have to wear comfortable clothes all the time rule. My mood went a little sour after that, but I don’t think he even noticed.
He soon realized some girls of today also wear really short skirts, really high heels and really tight tank-tops. I had to punch him in the arm every time a short skirt passed by and I could see his eyes wide open and his mouth twitching slightly in a playful smirk. That was a modern thing he was learning to enjoy quite a lot.
My mood also dipped a few more degrees when I saw the reaction Tristan was getting from his female audience. Girls were twisting their necks and turning around to have a second look at him. There were giggles, whisperings, admiring looks and flashing smiles.
What did I expect? I’d always thought he was … well, very handsome, but the girls at the mall were acting like he was a younger, hotter Brad freaking Pitt! I don’t think he realized, though. There was just too much to absorb; he was overdosing on information and missing a lot of the subtleties. Although some of those girls were hardly subtle!
I tried to pretend it didn’t bother me. It shouldn’t bother me! He was just my friend. I needed to stop feeling jealous and focus on helping him adjust to his new life. This whole situation with him being back in the land of the living was so insane, and everything was happening so fast, it was kind of scary for me. It was best we remain just friends anyway. That way we could both adjust better to this new reality filled with magic, spells and resurrections.
At one point, Tristan asked me about the other boys. He had noticed a lot of tattoos, piercings and guys with strange-colored hair – and messed up hairstyles like the one I’d given him. I guess it was all quite shocking for a guy from the 1950s. I tried to explain that it was just the latest fashion trend. It was considered a “good look” now. He seemed mystified about the modern concept of good looks .
After that he just walked by my side with his hands behind his back, fiercely observing everything around him. When we got home he was in a silent, thoughtful mood.
Then came entertainment instruction day!
I browsed through some channels, talking briefly about current TV shows. Then I had to turn the TV off fast to explain special effects to him because he had seen some alien show while I was channel-hopping, and he looked shocked and scared. So that took a while for me to explain. I only turned the TV back on again when I was certain he wasn’t going to freak out at the special effects any more.
After the initial scare, he seemed to enjoy modern TV. He exclaimed a lot, glued to the couch as he watched things blow up, aliens get shot and people flying. As my special treat of the day, I made him watch my favorite movie of all time: Jurassic Park ! That was a blast! He kept asking me if I was absolutely sure that “those things” weren’t real. We got popcorn and sodas, and laid out a bunch of junk food. We watched old movies all day long and part of the night too. Well, old movies for me; they were all brand new for Tristan!
I had a great time that day
“Now I understand why you’re always dressed like a boy, Joey,” he said. “Look, there’s some girls here dressed just like you! Is it a modern uniform for girls these days?” he asked curiously.
I looked at him in surprise. “Uh, no. It’s not a uniform. But not all girls dress this way,” I mumbled, embarrassed.
He thought I dressed like a boy?
But in his defense, I guess I did. A very sloppy, untidy, unattractive one. It served me right for being such a tomboy! Me and my I have to wear comfortable clothes all the time rule. My mood went a little sour after that, but I don’t think he even noticed.
He soon realized some girls of today also wear really short skirts, really high heels and really tight tank-tops. I had to punch him in the arm every time a short skirt passed by and I could see his eyes wide open and his mouth twitching slightly in a playful smirk. That was a modern thing he was learning to enjoy quite a lot.
My mood also dipped a few more degrees when I saw the reaction Tristan was getting from his female audience. Girls were twisting their necks and turning around to have a second look at him. There were giggles, whisperings, admiring looks and flashing smiles.
What did I expect? I’d always thought he was … well, very handsome, but the girls at the mall were acting like he was a younger, hotter Brad freaking Pitt! I don’t think he realized, though. There was just too much to absorb; he was overdosing on information and missing a lot of the subtleties. Although some of those girls were hardly subtle!
I tried to pretend it didn’t bother me. It shouldn’t bother me! He was just my friend. I needed to stop feeling jealous and focus on helping him adjust to his new life. This whole situation with him being back in the land of the living was so insane, and everything was happening so fast, it was kind of scary for me. It was best we remain just friends anyway. That way we could both adjust better to this new reality filled with magic, spells and resurrections.
At one point, Tristan asked me about the other boys. He had noticed a lot of tattoos, piercings and guys with strange-colored hair – and messed up hairstyles like the one I’d given him. I guess it was all quite shocking for a guy from the 1950s. I tried to explain that it was just the latest fashion trend. It was considered a “good look” now. He seemed mystified about the modern concept of good looks .
After that he just walked by my side with his hands behind his back, fiercely observing everything around him. When we got home he was in a silent, thoughtful mood.
Then came entertainment instruction day!
I browsed through some channels, talking briefly about current TV shows. Then I had to turn the TV off fast to explain special effects to him because he had seen some alien show while I was channel-hopping, and he looked shocked and scared. So that took a while for me to explain. I only turned the TV back on again when I was certain he wasn’t going to freak out at the special effects any more.
After the initial scare, he seemed to enjoy modern TV. He exclaimed a lot, glued to the couch as he watched things blow up, aliens get shot and people flying. As my special treat of the day, I made him watch my favorite movie of all time: Jurassic Park ! That was a blast! He kept asking me if I was absolutely sure that “those things” weren’t real. We got popcorn and sodas, and laid out a bunch of junk food. We watched old movies all day long and part of the night too. Well, old movies for me; they were all brand new for Tristan!
I had a great time that day
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