The Perks of Being a Wallflower - Stephen Chbosky

Dear friend,
Girls are weird, and I don’t mean that offensively. I just can’t put it any other way.
I have now gone on another date with Mary Elizabeth. In a lot of ways, it was similar to the dance, except that we got to wear more comfortable clothes. She was the one who asked me out again, and I suppose that’s okay, but I think I’m going to start doing the asking from time to time because I can’t always hope to get asked. Also, if I do the asking, then I’ll be sure to go out with the girl of my choice if she says yes. It’s just so complicated.
The good news is that I got to be the one who drove this time. I asked my father if I could borrow his car. It happened at the dinner table.
“What for?” My dad gets protective of his car.
“Charlie’s got a girlfriend,” my sister said.
“She’s not my girlfriend,” I said.
“Who is this girl?” my father asked.
“What’s going on?” my mother asked from the kitchen.
“Charlie wants to borrow the car,” my dad replied.
“What for?” my mother asked.
“That’s what I’m trying to find out!” my father said with a raised voice.
“No need to get snippy,” my mother said.
“Sorry,” my father said without meaning it. Then, he turned back to me.
“So, tell me about this girl.”
So, I told him a little about Mary Elizabeth, leaving out the part about the tattoo and belly button ring. He kind of smiled for a little while, trying to see if I was already guilty of something. Then, he said yes. I could borrow his car. When my mother came in with coffee, my father told her the whole story while I ate dessert.
That night, as I was finishing my book, my father came in and sat on the edge of my bed. He lit a cigarette and starting telling me about sex. He gave me this talk a few years before, but it more biological then. Now, he was saying things like…
“I know I’m your old man, but…”
“you can’t be too careful these days,” and
“wear protection,” and
“if she says no, then you have to assume she means it…”
“because if you force her to do something she doesn’t want to do, then you’re in big trouble mister…”
“and even if she says no, and really means yes, then quite frankly she’s playing games and isn’t worth the price of dinner.”
And finally
“I’m glad we had this talk.”
Then, my father ruffled my hair, smiled, and left the room. I guess I should tell you that my father isn’t like on television. Things like sex don’t embarrass him. And he is actually very smart about them.
I think he was especially happy because I used to kiss this boy in the neighborhood a lot when I was very little, and even though the psychiatrist said it was very natural for little boys and girls to explore things like that, I think my father was afraid anyway. I guess that’s natural, but I’m not sure why.