(Greentext) Denise's Date (Part 1/2)

>The high school's exterior bell rang out across the busy parking lot, signaling the end of classes for the day
>From the window of Mrs. Clark's former sedan, Denise sat and watched as dozens of teens quickly poured out the front doors and searched for their respective rides home
>Nobody wanted to be outside for the severe thunderstorm that was a mere hour away, and that estimate seemed generous based on how dark the sky was that afternoon
>She scanned the moving crowd for a specific boy with very short brown hair, wearing a navy blue hoodie and carrying a black backpack, but couldn't pinpoint him
>"Denise," a young female voice from the backseat cooed, "I'm thirsty."
>The nandroid looked over her shoulder at the adorable seven year old Emma and smiled, her childcare programming that was once routine now being put to its occasional use
>"We'll stop somewhere and get snacks and drinks, okay? Don't you worry!" she warmly assured
>"Sweet," the decade old Jack simply said, his face buried in his Scouts magazine
>When Denise turned back to the school, she saw her last "cargo" of the day approaching the car
>The short hair and clothes were a match to the adolescent his mother dropped off that morning: Cody
>He threw open the passenger door and climbed inside with a melancholy expression on his maturing face
>"Hey there, broski!" she greeted, "Learn anything of value today?"
>He set his backpack down between his legs and sighed without his typical sarcasm, "Nothing, same as always."
>Denise stared at him for a moment, knowing there was something wrong, yet she worried asking would annoy him
>As the cars around her began to slowly lurch out of the lot, she grabbed the gear shift and just replied with a quiet, "Well, okay then."

>Cody's gloom lasted through the gas station visit and up until their return home, his cold soda and sour candies only mildly pleasing him
>When she pulled him aside in front of the store to ask if he was okay, he plainly lied and told her nothing was wrong
>Believing he simply didn't want to talk about whatever was bothering him, she chose to let him be as he exited the car with his younger siblings and entered the house
>She couldn't start prepping dinner yet, as the incoming storm instead put tasks on her plate that were more urgent
>Marching around the stone and brick exterior towards the backyard, she soon reached the enclosed patio, unlatched the iron gate, and went to work disassembling everything
>If the weatherman was right, and the winds were going to reach up to 30 mph, the umbrellas and lighter furniture would be found in the front garden by the following morning, so everything she could carry HAD to be secured
>She took hold of multiple wooden chairs and dragged them into the large shed nearby, the wind growing into a noisy howl that almost drowned out a voice behind her
>"Hey, Denise! Need help?"
>Not waiting for an answer, Cody promptly scooped up multiple cushions from one of the metal benches in his thin arms
>She was glad to see him still willing to help others even when miserable, it was one of Mr. Clark's few quality traits that shined through his son
>"Yeah, throw those in the shed and give me a hand with the last few umbrellas!" she loudly ordered
>He did so and rushed to the largest one swaying over a circular iron table, turning the crank until it fully collapsed inward
>As she made a trip past him with more cushions, he said, "Hey, I'm sorry I was kinda moody earlier. At school, this girl that I asked to the-"
>A burst of loud thunder suddenly echoed across the neighborhood, muffling the end of his sentence
>"What?" she yelled over the rumble
>"I asked my crush to the freshmen gala next week and she said no!" he admitted with his gaze to the ground
>She stared at him blankly as he walked to take down the last umbrella; by his mood, she thought he was harassed by some classmates or something of that caliber
>"Oh?" she said, unaware that any school dance was upcoming or even that Cody had a crush, "Did she say she already has a date?"
>He finished his job and turned to face her, sighing with rare vulnerability in his voice
>"No, she..." he paused, "she said she was only being nice to me this whole time because I helped her a few assignments. I didn't know her too long, but... God, I feel like such an idiot! I really thought she liked me back!"
>"You're NOT an idiot, man," she immediately responded in a serious tone, "You start saying stuff like that and one day you'll believe it. The only mistake you made was asking out a girl you hardly knew."
>As she spoke, the rain finally arrived in the form of a fast-intensifying sprinkle that dotted their clothes with wet spots
>Her mind occupied, Denise lifted her striped woolen arm and pushed the hair off her green eye without a word
>"Come on, let's get out of the rain," she broke the silence and said, escorting him towards the sliding patio door, "Now, it's a little unorthodox, but I think I have a solution to your problem. You'll forget that stupid girl in a week!"
>"Unorthodox? Should I be worried?" he asked, smiling for the first time since she saw him leave that morning

>She was met with surprise when she suggested that he take her, the family nandroid, as his date to the school dance instead
>Cody's first concern wasn't the thought of slow dancing with a robot, but how Mrs. Clark would feel about Denise being gone for the evening
>In a matter of seconds, she worked up a way around that too
>It would take some careful planning, but if done right, she and Cody would receive minimal-to-no punishment for leaving without permission
>After a week of remaining tight-lipped to the other Clarks about the dance, the anticipated Friday afternoon finally arrived
>Cody stood in his room opposite a tall mirror on his wall, clad in his marginally undersized black suit bought before his growth spurt
>The clock intentionally placed beside his television displayed the waning time, 4:28, a mere half hour before his mother would arrive home
>Downstairs, Denise spent the last several hours in the kitchen, hard at work preparing the best possible dinner with what she bought at the supermarket the day prior
>Emma and Jack knew about her plan to sneak out with Cody before their mom came home, but only Jack comprehended that the house would be adult-free for a brief period
>Denise trusted the responsible boy wouldn't injure himself or set anything on fire while she was away, though he could easily do so with his scout training if he wanted to
>Rinsing out the last sauce-covered pot and placing it into the full dishwasher, she mimicked a sigh of relief and dashed upstairs to change
>Back in his room, Cody stared at his formal reflection, mindlessly fumbling with his father's old black tie and muttering curses
>He had become spoiled to Denise and occasionally Mr. Clark tying it for him, and now was paying the price for not being taught to do it himself
>Suddenly, there was a hasty knock at his door
>"Come in," he said, automatically knowing who was on the other side
>Not taking his eyes off the mirror, he heard the door creak open and a figure soon stood behind his reflection
>"You all set, bro?" Denise asked, purposefully seeking his gaze
>He let go of the tie once he saw her beside the young man staring back at him
>Clinging to her slender frame was a mid-length strapless black dress that he had never seen her wear before
>In typical Denise fashion, her arms that the dress would want bare were instead covered with her striped sleeves, both wrists adorned with mismatched spiky bracelets
>For once, her skillfully applied dark eyeshadow matched her attire perfectly, making her green eyes dazzle off her monochromatic face
>Slowly turning around, he was speechless, an unknown emotion surging through his mind
>"Wow... you look..." he stammered
>"Yeah, I know, I look good," she casually admitted, "Need help with your tie?"
>It took a second of him admiring her appearance before her words made sense to him
>"...Oh. Yeah, I do."
>She promptly grabbed the young man's collar and corrected his misshapen knot, her programming well versed in both important and trivial fashion techniques
>Tugging the ends to a near-even length, she playfully slapped his shoulder and quietly said with an genuine smile, "You look great, man."
>"Thanks..." he sheepishly replied before gaining more confidence, "Uh, I hope that isn't one of mom's dresses. Even just borrowing it without her knowing would get you canned."
>She spun him around back towards the mirror and stood next to him to both soak in their attires
>"Don't worry, it's not," she said calmly, "I bought this yesterday at a thrift store after getting the groceries. What, did you expect me to wear your hand-me-down suit too?"
>He chuckled, then saw the clock above her head in their reflection
>Despite being inverted, he recognized the time as 4:36, many minutes after he expected them to be out the door
>"Crap," he grumbled, "We gotta leave right now!"