Just a Little Bit Above Average.
By Lewis Delano AKA Octavious Rayne
Sam Carver was an average, quiet, withdrawn, kind of nerdy kid with no noticeable attributes of any kind. He was born at an average weight and length, and even his mom's labor time with him was average. Sam was about as average as one could be.
Sam Carver’s everyday life was as average and as mundane as his entire existence. Sam did have higher aspirations, of course, as every kid does.
Sam did not want to be suddenly bitten by a radioactive spider, come to school the next day, and beat the snot out of the school bully or anything like that. In fact, the school bully was not his nemesis at all; Sam's archenemy was his own lack of confidence, stemming from his lonely, average existence. No, Sam just wanted to be a little bit above average, and he had been working on a plan to become above average for about three years, and the time to execute his plan was fast approaching.
Three years ago, a blue-eyed, white-skinned blond girl named Sally Caruthers caught Sam Carver's eye. She had been in his grade since he began school and lived just down the street, a few blocks away. He fell in love at first sight, and from then on, it became his life’s ambition to win her heart by becoming a better version of himself. Unfortunately, he never even gave her a hint or the slightest clue of his intentions. In fact, she didn’t really know him at all, except in passing in the school halls or on the streets of their neighborhood in Sunnydale. She became his whole world, his reason to exist, and the driving force behind his future transformation, or so he thought.
He decided that one major way to stand out from his average self was to get a car. Not a Lamborghini or anything over-the-top like that, but something practical and smart, yet decent and good-looking, like a Toyota Corolla.
Sam had been mowing lawns, walking dogs, and even babysitting for about three years to save as much money as possible to get the car. He would save his allowance and the money from his birthday cards, and even shortchange himself at lunch at school, anything and everything to save, save, save. Because as far as Sam was concerned, his future happiness and existence depended on it.
The time of action had finally come for Sam to make his grand move and set his long-thought-out plan into action that would, if successful, make his dream come true and deliver his love interest all in one fatal swoop.
Right after school on that fateful day, Sam ran out of the school straight to his bike at the bike rack, and with lightning speed, he unlocked it, jumped on it, and pedaled furiously like a man possessed toward the used car lot with the cash in his pocket and his purpose clear: Buy that car!
Sam arrived at the car lot winded, with his leg muscles burning and a thousand thoughts spinning through his head like a category 5 hurricane. But after a few deep breaths, things began to slow down and come back into focus.
Sam had just finished up all the paperwork on the car and with some borrowed twine from the car salesman, Sam tied his bike to the top of the car and climbed into the driver’s seat and closed the door, and with a breath of accomplishment and a quick pinch of himself to make sure he wasn’t dreaming, he turned the key and smiled to himself as the engine roared to life, and he thought to himself at that moment that he can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel and that his dreams of so many years might actually become a reality.
As Sam left the car lot in his newly acquired used Toyota Corolla, dark metallic gold in color with nice chrome hubcaps, all in all a very nice-looking car, he realized he had some money left over after buying the car, money he hadn't expected to have because the dealer had given him an unexpected discount for paying cash in full. With this realization, Sam decided to head to the mall for a completely new outfit so he wouldn’t look like a complete shmuck when he asked Sally to the end-of-the-year dance that was coming up in just over a week. After all, he couldn’t wear his average clothes in his above-average car to ask the above-average girl to the dance.
Sam had originally planned on asking Sally the day of the dance so as not to come off as desperate, not realizing that asking at the last minute does just that, but social graces be damned, he had the clothes, the car, and a plan.
Later that same day, Sam was driving down the street by the park when he saw something that almost made his blood freeze in his veins and his heart almost stopped in his chest. There in the park, standing by a tree, was none other than Sally Caruthers. Ordinarily, this wouldn’t be a problem except that standing there with her was a preppy douchebag named Bob Cummings. Sunnydale wasn’t a big town, so Sam showing up here wouldn’t cause too much attention to fall on him.
Bob was known to be quite the ladies' man at their school, and because of this, Sam was worried that maybe Bob was asking Sally to the dance, so in a panicked state, Sam whipped into the parking area as close to them as possible yet not drawing immediate attention to himself.
Sam took a few deep breaths so as not to appear panicked and, hopefully, not run up there and say something extremely stupid that could cause the whole thing to collapse.
He was walking casually and slowly, as if it were a total coincidence that he was there. He saw her and said, “Hey, Sally, I wasn’t expecting to see you here.” She said, " Oh, hi.” And then she looked at Bob and said, “Well, nice seeing you, Bob.” And with a perturbed look, Bob looked at Sally, then shifted his look to Sam, and without another word, left.
Sally then explained that Bob had been relentlessly asking her to the dance and that she absolutely did not want to go with him, that, in fact, she was waiting for the right person to ask her. At that moment, Sam would have sworn he saw a subtle wink from her, but in case he was imagining it, he acted as if he did not see it.
Everything in Sam’s being was telling him not to blow this momentous opportunity, and before he even realized it, Sam asked Sally to the dance. After realizing that he had just done that, and amidst the overwhelming urge to throw up, he said, “I’m so sorry.” And as he turned to walk away in utter embarrassment and failure, Sam heard from behind him the gentlest and most beautiful voice ask, “Why are you sorry? You are the one I was waiting for to ask me.” Sam turned around in slow motion, and after another pinch of realism, Sam said, “What?” Sally repeated that he was the one she was waiting for to ask her to the dance.
After some arrangements were made between the two of them regarding time and color coordination for the clothes, they parted ways, both smiling to themselves with the anticipation of what wonders the upcoming dance night might hold for them.
The night of the dance was finally upon Sam, and, as expected, he was more nervous than an expectant parent. In nervous anticipation, he reapplied his deodorant and cologne about a thousand times and probably recombed his hair about as many times. Coupled with the straightening of his tie several hundred times, he was as ready as he was ever going to be.
This night, Sam determined, was going to be his grand night of triumph, or the eve of his mortal demise; either way, the thing Sam knew without a doubt was that this night would define him.
Sam retrieved the corsage from the fridge, kissed his mother good night, and headed to his car to embark on the biggest quest of his life.
As Sam pulls up to Sally’s house, he suddenly feels a bolt of panic: “OMG, what if she changes her mind, or doesn’t like my clothes, or the car, or the corsage?”
Arriving at Sally’s house at the agreed-upon time, Sam got out of his car, looked in the direction of Sally’s front door, and saw the most beautiful sight he had ever experienced. There, in the flickering light of her front porch light, stood Sally looking like an angel straight down from heaven, wearing a white satin ball gown trimmed with neon pink. Her dishwater-blond hair in ringlets reminded him of a picture of a princess he had once seen; her blue eyes glistened like sapphires in the dim light of her front porch and reflected off her pale white skin, making her look taller than normal.
Sally skipped a heartbeat; her breathing and her heartbeat were faltering when she saw Sam, even before he saw her. She was quite pleased with her color choice for the occasion, as his clothes matched her attire well, and she was equally pleased with his new outfit.
At first, Sam didn’t notice Sally was already standing on her front porch in anticipation of his arrival. When he looked up and saw her, he froze for a moment, in absolute fear and amazement at how beautiful she was and how lucky he was, because he realized that she chose him after all.
Sam's breath slowly returned to his lungs, allowing them to function properly once again. He managed to utter the words “you look beautiful.” She thanked him with her soft voice and amazing smile. Sam then held up the corsage and motioned with his other hand toward the right-hand strap of her dress. She smiled and nodded, then Sam nervously pinned it on her, relieved he had not injured her in doing so.
All the way to the dance, Sam kept looking over at Sally, amazed that she was there with him now on the way to the dance. Still confused by it all, but happy about it.
The couple arrived at the dance. Walking together, they posed for pictures, received their tickets, and entered the dance like explorers of old, stepping onto a newly discovered land for the first time.
The night had gone off without a hitch of any kind, and both Sam and Sally were most appreciative of that.
The DJ had announced that they were down to the last three songs of the night. A slow song then began to play, and Sam took Sally into his arms to begin the ritual of the slow dance. Sally looked up into Sam's eyes after several minutes of no talking, just holding one another and swaying back and forth to the music. She asked him if everything was alright, and he replied that it was. He then asked her if he could ask her opinion on something. She replied, “Yes.” He then asked her, “How do I rank now on the average scale?’ She replied, “In my eyes, you were always a bit above average!’ Suddenly, Sam realized that he was above average all the time; he just needed a reason to believe it. After all, Sally said so earlier. And Sam smiled to himself as the realization of it all began to take hold.
Sam had the car and the girl, and the status of finally being above average, but his growth on the journey discovered that he was a bit above average all along, now that was the real prize.
The End.