Tyrone was ready to die of embarassment. Oh man...he was so lame. Tandy was nice about it though, but if anyone else had heard that one at school? He'd never live it down. Even if she was like a cuddly soft teddy bear. He grasped onto the conversation thread like a lifeline.
"O-O-Oh yeah? S-Same here. Th-though I m-mostly got scolded by m-m-mama for eatin' t-t-too many sweets c-cause there w-weren't much t-t-to go 'round. H-Had lotsa c-c-cousins runnin' r-round." Tandy's folks were probably the usual straight-laced kind. He could picture her the cheerleader homecoming queen type, the kind whose parents would dote on her and worry about her. It was nuts how their shared affliction brought them together at the same school. What would like have been like if he'd never screwed up back home? Never ran to New York? He had no idea.
But he was thankful to be here now, able to hang out and eat cake and chat with a girl. Normal stuff he'd missed.