Side Effects may Include

Ken opened the door to his house and immediately ran straight to his room. As expected the suit he had rented was hanging on his door handle with a note from his mom saying, as usual, that she and his Dad would be working late tonight.

“Typical.” Ken thought to himself. But then again, the very reason that Ken was able to rent a fancy suit for his date was because his parents had well-paying jobs. This in turn meant that they were also busy jobs causing them to work late. As previously mentioned though, Ken didn't really mind their absence. Whenever they were around they just talked about a bunch of scientific stuff that Ken couldn't even understand. But none of that mattered now, all Ken wanted to think about now was his big date with Rachel. He had planned this occasion for an entire month, making sure everything was spot on and perfect. Sure, they had been on dates before, but this one was special. For today was their 2 year anniversary, and Ken was determined to make it count. He had even gotten a part time job to pay for most of the expenses.

As Ken slipped into his fancy new cloths, he couldn’t help but remember the first time he had met Rachel. It was only a few weeks into his freshmen year, a time where most kids would've gotten the hang of making the change from Jr. High to High school. Unfortunately for Ken, this was not the case.

**********

“Excuse me?” “Pardon me?” “Could you please tell me how to get to the-UGH!” At this point, Ken had just about enough of people ignoring his polite pleas for directions. All he wanted to know was where the nearest bathroom was! Not to mention it was also annoying on how cramped the hall was. People were pushing, shoving, and practically fighting to the death to get to their next class. And amongst this chaotic storm two giant football players arguing about whose touchdown dance was better, accidently knocked into Ken, causing him to be flung backwards landing with a hard thud on the school tile.

Thankfully his mom took the liberty in buying him a “bullet proof” binder so when it landed on the ground, all of its contents were safe. The two football players, as well as all of the other students in the halls, just walked right on by, not giving Ken a second thought.

“Gee, the hospitality here is top notc-OW!” Ken winched in pain as he tried to get up. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, trying not make a scene in front of everybody. “Oh my gosh are you okay?!” said a voice he would soon come to love. Ken opened his eyes to see the voice he had just heard was referring to him, and surprisingly it was!

In front of him was girl who had a face that looked concerned for Ken’s current state. Ever sense he was little, Ken always made fun of those parts in movies were the hero meets the girl of his dreams and everything is in slow-motion. But in that moment, Ken took it all back. She was beautiful. She looked to be about his height and age, had long, gorgeous brown hair, with streaks of blond scattered throughout it. Ken didn't know if they were natural or she dyed it that way, but he didn't even care. All he was focusing on was here pretty emerald green eyes that were looking right back into his.

“Hello? Anybody in there?” Ken then came back to his senses. “Oh, uh, yeah… yeah I’m okay, thanks for asking.” She offered him her hand to help him up, to which he greatly accepted. But as she was lifting him up, he inhaled deeply for the pain in his back from earlier had returned. The girl took notice of this once Ken was on his own two feet again. “Hey you don’t look too good, you sure you don’t want me to take you to the nurse?” She asked.

“Nah, I think I’m okay.” Ken said as he started to lean back. Suddenly Ken heard (and felt) an audible popping sound coming from his back which caused Ken to tense up. “On second thought, scratch that, I think I DO need to go to the nurse.”

“Do you think you broke anything?” The girl asked as she sat next to Ken in the waiting room, next to nurse’s office. “Nah, it just really-AH!-hurts.” Ken replied, and proceeded to tenderly stroke his own back, hoping it would ease the pain away.

“Oh hey, I never got to say thanks for helping me out back there.” “No problem!” The girl replied with optimism in her voice. Ken smiled at this. “What’s your name anyway?” he asked. “Rachel.” Rachel, the name repeated in his mind over and over and over.

“What’s yours?” she asked. “Pardon?” said Ken. “What’s your name?” “Oh, it’s Ken, Ken Kutter.” He out stretched his hand for her to shake it. She laughed but did it anyway. “Why so formal? It’s not like we’re at a business meeting or anything” She giggled. “Heh, sorry, my parents have professional careers, so they like to teach me to be more formal when greeting someone, especially when I’m meeting a- “Girl?” she finished. Ken gave her a sheepish grin. “Heh, yep!” Rachel put her hand on his shoulder, Ken’s heart skipped a beat. “Well don’t worry, I don’t bite.” She said with seductive eyes.

Ken nervously chuckled, but nevertheless, he’d be lying if he said he didn’t enjoy her company. What followed started as a series of exchanged nods when seeing each other in the halls, to phone numbers being swapped, and then to the answer “yes!” when the question will you go out with me?” was asked.

**********

Ken felt something vibrate in his pocket, he realized it was phone. He pulled it out and as he expected, it was Rachel calling. “Hey Rachel! Ready for tonight?” There was a couple seconds of silence before Rachel replied. “Yeah, about that….” What was said after that hurt more than any kind of back pain could ever hope to achieve.