Home. With my parents,” Raven informed him, “’cause, oops, I forgot to tell you . . . I’m fourteen.” Matthew looked genuinely surprised.

“I know, it’s hard to believe,” said Raven, striking a pose—’cause she knew she definitely looked good tonight. But the night was definitely over!

“Buh-bye,” she told him. Then she crossed the dining room to her parents’ table.

“I’m glad you’re getting the check,” she told her parents, “’cause I am so ready to go.”

Mr Baxter gave Raven a funny look.

“Uh, actually,” he said, “your mother and I talked and decided...”

Raven waited. What? She wanted to scream. What have you decided about my life now?

“He’s your ride home,” finished Mr Baxter, pointing across the room to Matthew.

Raven’s jaw dropped. She glanced back at her date. He was holding his soda glass and his water glass to his lips, trying to see if he could drink from both at once. He looked like a total moron.

“You wanted this date, you got this date,” her mother told her.

Raven could not believe this was happening. She wanted to cry. “Man,” she squeaked, “are you all serious? He is disgusting.”

“Yeah, well, maybe you’ll think twice before you lie to us again,” said Mr Baxter.

“Oh,” said Raven. She understood perfectly—this was her punishment. But, dang! This was cruel and unusual! Her head hanging in defeat, Raven slunk back across the dining room.

“Hey, you know what?” Matthew told her when she returned to their table. “I’ve been thinking. So what if you’re fourteen. Your parents just ordered us the Super Duper Opa!”

Raven was almost scared to ask. But she did. “Super Duper Opa?”

Just then, the gigantic ice cream sundae arrived at their table, along with a group of waiters who shouted a great big “Opa!” and then plonked the tonne of ice cream, syrup, and whipped cream down right in front of Matthew.

“Opa!” called Raven’s parents, raising their glasses at their table.

“I don’t want to be a pig,” said Matthew, handing her a utensil the size of a garden shovel. “So you can get the spoon.”

Then he dug into the giant mound of vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup with his fingers!

“Don’t just look at it. Eat it!” he cried, shoving gobs of ice cream into his mouth.

And now for another episode of Doubtful Dining Decorum, thought Raven with a shudder. She glanced over at her parents—her father was laughing and her mother looked horrified. Look away, Mama, thought Raven. Just look away.

Thirty minutes later, the Super Duper Opa was finished. Matthew’s cheeks, chin, and shirt were covered in melted ice cream. And Mr Baxter seemed completely satisfied that Raven was completely miserable.

Mrs Baxter might have been just as satisfied, but about halfway through the ice cream carnage, she had finally looked away. Mr Baxter leaned toward his wife. “Okay, you can look now,” he told her. “He’s finished.”

“Did you see the way he attacked that thing? It was like feeding time at the zoo!” cried Mrs Baxter.

At last, Raven dragged herself over to her parents’ table, her pride completely crushed.

Continues next week: Based on the popular TV series created by Michael Poryes and Susan Sherman.
Illustrations: Uday Deb