Friday and all day Saturday, Munch went through all his sketches and finished paintings and drawings of clothes designs. He also had a stack of photos and negatives to sort through. He wanted to submit good quality photos of his clothes actually on people. The photos he had sucked. What he needed was a good photographer to shoot everything from his January fashion show and his theater costumes models. Unfortunately he had given the clothes he made for the fashion show to his models and the theater clothes were in bad shape after so many performances. Still, he knew Lolly, Mama, Lisa, and Grandma Toady had taken care of their ensembles, but the boys… Most likely the suits and vests he had made were wadded up under their beds. It hurt to find out his work had not been well cared for, but heck, that was just part of the biz. Once a body gave something away it was gone. Besides, maybe it would be best to focus just on female fashion. He honestly didn’t know. Another kicker was that every painting and drawing he submitted had to be matted. He sucked at matting. The process eluded him. Though he could cut a straight line, and sew a straight line, the mat cutter refused to yield a clean line for him.

Munch leaned his elbows on his drafting table and put his face in his hands. He still had so much to do. How was he ever going to get it all done? Down stairs he heard a knock on the door. With Etta James singing he couldn’t hear who it was. Familiar steps sounded on the staircase. Lolly appeared. He read her face. She was troubled about something, he could tell.

For a moment she looked around the room and then went and flopped down on her bed. With a sigh she said, “I need to talk to you.”

Great. Munch had so much to do. Even though he was not in the mood discuss the latest family drama, he asked, “About what?”

“Max.”

Munch narrowed his eyes. What had Max done now? He asked, “Is he in trouble?”

“No, but he is about to get his heart broken.”

“How do you know?”

“Tina got a call from a boy. Grace listened in and it was not Max. Its some eighth grade basketball player.” Lolly paused, “Grace wished it was Max because despite being a dumbass, at least he’s not a jerk. This guy is a jerk. Grace has seen him talking to Tina after her basketball practice a few times. He is cocky and arrogant and gorgeous.” Lolly sighed. “Max has never liked any one as much as he likes Tina. He’s gonna be crushed.”

No one should have their heart crushed, but it happened. He asked, “Is Grace worried about Tina?”

“Yup, big time. I am so thankful I wasn’t born boy crazy. It seems like a dangerous burden to me.” She closed her eyes and crossed her arms over her face.

Munch asked, “Did you get much sleep last night?”

“What do you think?”

“Nope.”

Lolly flung her arms away from her face and sat up. “We also had visitors last night. Thank God Lisa’s dad is deep sleeper.”

“Who showed up?”

“Quack and Trevor.”

Munch asked, “Are they even friends?”

“No, but Quack has a truck and Trevor knows where Lisa lives. Around 2:00 a.m. little pebbles start hitting the window. I swear Lisa tipped them off, because she was so excited when she saw them standing in her yard she squealed. I on the other hand was annoyed. Trevor and I are going through a rough patch.” She slid her knees close to her body and wrapped her arms around them. “I just wanted a night of peace away from our issues and there he was all smiles.” For several moments Lolly was very quiet.

“Are you okay?”

“No, not really. I feel like I’m a bit lost right now.”

Munch got up and went and sat down on the bed beside her. “Why do you feel lost?”

She scrunched up her nose, let out sigh and said, “I just want to be me, just me. I…Trevor is such a good guy and he’s trustworthy. I just want my own space. I don’t want to have my hand constantly held or have to kiss someone every time we part. Does that sound weird?” Her eyes were wide and shining with unshed tears. Munch had never been in a relationship until recently, so he didn’t really know if it was weird or not. Lolly’s voice broke a little when she said, “You do think its weird. I liked Trevor the moment I saw him. My crush was instant but I never expected it to come true. Now that it has, and we’ve been together for awhile, I just miss myself. I miss life the way it used to be before, well you know.”

Munch did know. “We can’t go back Lollipop. Do you want to break up with Trevor?”

She shook her head. “I just want liking him to not hurt so much.”

Caring about someone did hurt. No words of comfort came to Munch so he hugged Lolly. When he let go of her, she said, “Thanks Bud. I can always count on you.”

“Back at you.”

Lolly got up and went to his drafting table. Her eyes scanned the clutter. She asked, “What are you doing?”

Though he was a bit afraid to say it out loud he told her, “Mademoiselle Petite wants me to apply to the Houston School of Visual and Performing arts.”

She squealed. “Oh Munch that is fantastic!”

“I probably won’t get in.”

“But you might. If there is anything I can do to help, just tell me.”

“Well, could you see if you could collect the ensembles I made for the art fashion show, I would appreciate it. Also, do you know any one who is a good photographer?”

Lolly smiled, “Grace’s mom does free lance photography for a news letter. Her mom’s photos are on the walls of their house and they are awesome. Call Grace, she will hook you up.”

After Lolly left, Munch called Grace. Her dad answered the phone. Instantly sweat burst out of every pore Munch had. His voice quavered when he asked, “May I talk to Grace, Sir.”

The voice on the other end of the line asked, “Who is this?”

“Michael Dutchendorph.”

“Oh, hey! Sure, I’ll get Grace.” The change Grace’s dad’s tone struck Munch as a bit strange. Like maybe he was thankful Munch was black or maybe he was thankful the boy calling didn’t have a chance in hell with Grace.

Grace answered the phone, “Hey Munch, what’s up?”

“Do you think your mom could take some photos of models wearing the clothes I’ve made? I need them for a portfolio. Also, how much are her rates?”

Grace didn’t answer, instead she pulled the phone away from her mouth and called out, “Mom, Munch wants to talk to you about some art stuff.”

There was a muffled exchange of the phone and then Grace’s mom asked, “Hello Munch, how can I help you?”

Mrs. Thibodaux’s voice was honey smooth. He imagined she was gorgeous too. How one family could win the gene pool lottery was a mystery to him. “Uh, I need photos to submit for an art portfolio. How much are your rates?”

She asked, “This is for school right?”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

“Okay, I’ll give you a discount. Can you manage $50.00?”

The price was way lower than he thought. “Yes, thank you so much.”

“No problem. When do you want to meet?”

It had to be done soon, but first the clothes would need to be washed and pressed. He said, “Thursday or Friday at the latest.”

”I will see what I can do and get back to you okay?”

”Thanks Mrs. Thibodaux.”

”You’re welcome Munch. It was nice talking to you.”

“You too Mrs. Thibodaux.”

She called out, “Grace!”

Grace got back on the phone. “So Mama cut you a deal. How’s the outfit going that you are making for me?”

“I ordered the fabric and I have started drawing the pattern.”

“Cool. I’m looking forward to wearing the House of Munch.”

Her comment actually made Munch blush. It always felt good when someone took his art seriously. “Thanks Grace.”

Abruptly Grace changed the subject, “Did Lolly tell you who showed up last night?”

“Yeah.”

“That dumb butt Quack. What an idiot. I can’t believe Lisa is encouraging him. And Trevor looked like a little whipped puppy. Lolly was not happy with him at all. Are they gonna break up?”

Oh great, getting into the middle of girl gossip was NOT something Munch wanted to do, at least not right now. “She said they aren’t.”

“She said that last night too, but I don’t believe her.”

Munch didn’t asked Grace why she thought that, he just let her statement hang in the air. Until recently Munch was sure Trevor and Lolly had staying power, but tonight he wasn’t so sure. Maybe it was more than a rough patch.

*

On Monday morning when Trevor got on the bus, he gave Lolly a timid smile. Lolly smiled but it wasn’t even close to the smiles she normally gave him. Later when Munch went to his math class, Trevor was already there and he did not look good at all. Munch slipped into his desk. Trevor turned around and whispered, “Did Lolly tell you what happened Friday night?”

Munch nodded.

”Is Lolly gonna break up with me?”

“No.”

Trevor’s eyes got wide. He asked, “She actually said that?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, thanks.” The light in Trevor’s eyes was dim, but at least it was there. “I just wanted to see her so bad, but she didn’t want to see me. That’s never happened before.”

When Trevor said it had never happened before, Munch suspected it wasn’t just about Lolly but it was also about the other girls Trevor had liked in the past. What was it like to have a history with girls? Munch didn’t know, and deep down he didn’t want a history with his. He wanted Thahn Ho to be his forever girl.