Violation for Being So Perfect.

"Get that car out of the driveway, will you?"
"Toni," I laughed. "You really need to stop parking your car in such a way that it blocks Arthur's car, you know?"
Antonio just shrugged, nonchalant. "He's going to get mad at me, anyway, so why bother, hmm?"
"Incorrigible," shaking my head, I continued. "You just live to make him mad, don't you?"
"Maybe..."
"Wipe that grin off your face, mister! Or else you can forget about our next date!" I joked.
"If only you loved me as much as you loved him," he sighed dramatically, and I rolled my eyes.
"See you tomorrow, Antonio," I smiled, as I got out of the car.
"Hasta mañana, querido," I didn't catch much of his Spanish, but I knew well what the last word meant, by now, and it clearly made me blush.

~*~   ~*~   ~*~   ~*~   ~*~  

"Arthur, you know he's not gonna hit your car, or something!" I laughed, as I entered the door, only to find my brother scowling in front of the bookshelf.
"I'd give him a parking ticket, if I could."
"Come on, you wouldn't now, wo-" I paused, mid-sentence. What was it Arthur just said? Parking ticket? A rough idea, of sorts, started to form in my mind, as a slow grin spread across my face.
"What're you thinking, Allison?"
"Oh, nothing, nothing," I was pulled out of my reverie. "Nothing at all, but Arthur, you're a bloody genius!" With a quick hug, and a kiss on the cheek, I ran upstairs, to my room.

"...too strange for me to comprehend," I heard Arthur mutter, as I made my way up.

~*~   ~*~   ~*~   ~*~   ~*~  

Once in my room, I looked all around for an old parking ticket that I'd gotten, about a week or so ago. I wasn't as good a driver as my brother, I'll admit, but I wasn't bad, either. Okay, so sometimes I'd just park wherever was convenient. But it wasn't a huge problem, was it?
Ah, there it was! I fished out the violation envelope from a pile of paper on my desk, and threw out the actual ticket inside. I just needed the envelope, that's all.

On second thought...I picked up the ticket, again, studying it closely. No, it was too much of effort to replicate. Tossing it aside once more, but clutching onto the envelope firmly, I found myself not being able to stop smiling. This was going to be the best idea I'd ever had. I just had to wait until Antonio was back here, again, which would only be tomorrow, as he was going to drop off Rosie here.

~*~   ~*~   ~*~   ~*~   ~*~  

"Please tell me he hasn't- gorblimey!"
"Save your Cockney for later, Arthur," I yelled as I ran across the room, wanting to meet Antonio and Rosie outside the door. As soon as I opened the door, I grabbed Rosie by the arm, and led her to the back of the house, making some nonsensical comment about showing her some of our latest roses. "You go right inside, Antonio," I called back, as an afterthought.

As soon as I made sure that Antonio was out of hearing range, I turned towards Rosie.
"Do me a favour, Rosie, please?"
"I'm listening," she replied.
"Just keep Toni inside for, like, a minute, okay? Just make sure he doesn't look outside, and least of all towards his car! And, no – I'm not puncturing his tyre or anything!"
Rosie laughed heartily. "No, no, I'm sure you wouldn't do that to his car, anyway. Maybe to Francis' car..."
"You're giving me ideas, Rosie," I chuckled. She just waved her hand dismissively, as she walked towards the door.

Waiting until she was out of sight, I quickly ran over to Antonio's car, and slipped the violation envelope behind one of his windscreen wipers.

The deed was done.

---

Something didn't seem right.

Antonio looked over his car once, then twice. It was only in the second time round that he noticed something tucked in behind the left windscreen wiper. Curious, he picked it up, only to find that it was a violation envelope – the ones which contained the parking fine tickets!

Eh? When'd I get a parking ticket?

Hastily opening the envelope, he turned it upside down and a slip of paper, no bigger than a parking ticket fell. But it wasn't a ticket – no, it was just an ordinary piece of paper, folded.

Placing the envelope on the roof of his car, he opened the paper, with a slight grimace on his face. The handwriting was familiar to him – the "backwards" F, the rounded D – it could have only been one person...

Violation for being too perfect
Fine – go to Prom with me.

A smile broke out on his face, and he looked towards the window to the room which he knew to be hers, and yes – there she was. Grinning, she waved towards him.
Still grinning, he beckoned for her to come downstairs. Shaking her head exaggeratedly, she smiled back nonetheless, and indicated that she'd be there in two minutes.
He put the note in his pocket, with a smile.

So much for my preparations to ask her out to Prom.