Mrs. Edge
Bono's Belly Dancing Friend
Gulp! Here goes, ready or not!
Love Song
The wind whistled through the grass, the leaves rustled in the trees and the water rippled gently in the Liffey. Dave Evans sat on the Edge (ha ha) of the riverbank in the sun doing his homework. This was Dave's favourite spot to be, under the weeping willow where he could be all alone with nature as his only companion. It was a Saturday and Paul was at the gas station, Larry was at the Artane Boys? Band practice, and Adam was no doubt at home perfecting the art of being himself. Dave's parents didn't feel Dave needed a job while still in school, and as long as he maintained his A average they gave him all the money he needed.
Dave loved being alone and he often practised the guitar in this very spot that the others didn't even know about. It was Dave's little secret. Often he wouldn't get any work done, he'd just daydream by the hour. Today Dave was desperately trying to complete a Latin assignment. It was a desperate situation not because he didn't know how to translate, but because he had fallen in love with the new exchange student, Rachel, who was the best friend of the other exchange student, Nancy, who was Paul's new girlfriend.
Dave rolled his eyes when he remembered their first introduction to the new students. While he, Larry and Adam had all said polite hellos, Paul moaned dramatically, ?Oh, what torture for my poor eyes! They have never witnessed such beauty! I may never be able to remove them from these heavenly angels and it pains me to remove them from one only to look at the other and realize I might have to move my eyes again! Oh sweet agony! Ladies...the pleasure is all mine!?
This was such typical behaviour, and while they had all rolled their eyes, the girls had totally lapped it up! It was so unfair. Paul and Nancy were now the topic of heated gossip around Mt. Temple, and much snickering, especially because the 6 foot tall Nancy towered over the 5?6? Paul. But Paul didn?t care?he loved to cause a scene wherever he went, and besides, he would never let a little thing like height get in the way of true love.
Dave sighed. Oh how he wished HE could experience true love, just ONCE! Well, he had?but it was always unrequited. Oh, why did he have to be cursed with this shyness? Combined with his slight frame, it was as though he were transparent!!! Why didn?t the girls notice him? Weren?t they supposed to be more mature than guys at this age anyway? He was nice and caring, and even talented! He would make a girl a great boyfriend. Girls were always saying that they wanted a sensitive guy?well HELLO? Nice guys always finished last. One day, when he was in a famous rock band?
But for now, he was having an awful time trying to finish his damned homework because he couldn't think about anything other than his new beloved?Rachel. He loved everything about her. She was kind of shy, like him, and seemed very kind and considerate. She was a bit shorter than he was, which was a total bonus, and had the palest of ivory skin. She even had green eyes, like himself! If the eyes were the mirrors of the soul, it was obvious that theirs was a match made in Heaven.
Neither Rachel, nor Paul nor anyone else knew of Dave's passion. She was the love of Dave's life but he knew he could never win her affection. Life only worked out like that for people like Larry Mullen. Through tear-rimmed eyes, and with his lonely heart breaking, Dave forced himself to turn his attention to the task at hand.
"*Sniff* I must pull myself together." Dave talked to himself and his friends with great confidence and humour in his beautiful, soft and lilting voice. It was only in the presence of pretty girls that he tripped hopelessly over his own tongue. "OK. Hmmmmm. The...ancilla, slave gerl....said....let us have some....choice?Falernian wine...in a.....something, no a grassy nook. *snicker, snicker* Falernian wine! A grassy nook! Ha ha ha ha! Geez, I must be desperate for entertainment! How totally pathetic am I?" Dave put down his pen for the eight zillionth time. He wondered what Rachel was doing at that very moment and if she was in love with anyone.
Dave would be maintaining an A+ average if it weren't for the one class he wasn't any good at, which was History. It wasn't the concepts he was not good at, it was as Paul put it so succinctly, "Dave has a really high IQ but he just doesn't know the simple things like the chords to songs, where he is, etc." Dave was hopeless at remembering dates, names and events. Pretty crucial elements when it came to History! He used to get by from sheer will, but now that he had Rachel in that class, he found it impossible to concentrate. As he sat by the hour staring at her, the teacher?s words would float aimlessly in one ear and out the other. He was in awe of her. On top of everything else, she was actually good at this subject! He loved it when she answered the teacher?s questions, this way he could close his eyes and listen to her soft voice, imagining she was talking just to him.
For the rest of his classes, he got A+ in Latin, English, French, Creative Writing, Math and Science. History was a C+. It amused the B average Paul and the B- average Larry to no end that Dave was finally in their league. Adam was counting on Dave to bring in his first D-, one of Adam's staples.
Dave began to write song lyrics in his binder. "Gloria, in Te Domine...Gloria Exultate..." Dave was helping Paul work on a new song and they thought it would be a neat touch to put some Latin in it. His Latin teacher, Mr. Collins, would be thrilled, and they were going to show it to him the minute it was done. Dave proceeded to work some more on his Latin.
"The townspeople fled the flames of Mount Vesuvius in terror...the what? Oh, the lava the hill...no,.....the lava poured down the rocks covering the town and the villa, no?house where Caecillius aboded.....no?where Caecillius lived. Hmmm....*scrible, scrible*...."
Dave finished what was left of the translation and began reading the cultural notes. Of course the minute he started reading the notes he looked off dreamily into the river with the warm afternoon sun sparkling in it. "If I were an animal I'd be a big cat and stretch out in the sun and I'd sure not be worrying about all this stupid homework!" Dave thought.
***
It was later that night and he and Larry were having dinner at Dave's house. It was Thursday and there was only one more day until school would finally be over for the week! Halleluuuuuu, halleluuuuuuuliah! As they ate, they discussed their favourite subject, Rachel. Larry was also highly attracted to Rachel, but he already had a girlfriend. Besides, he wanted to help out his good buddy Dave who sure needed help more than he or that Paul Hewson did.
"Erm, Dave as far as I can see you simply aren't aggressive enough with her." Larry began as they were sitting down with the entire Evans family who very strongly believed in all having dinner together.
"What do you mean...*sigh* Larry?" murmured Jill, who had just walked in and seated herself next to the object of her affections. Jill had an enormous crush on her older brother?s friend. Larry knew that spilling the beans in front of Jill would not be a good idea.
"Oh, I was talking about Dave's car."
"You call the car 'her'?"
"Yeah, like you do with boats."
"How do you get aggressive with a car?" Jill asked bluntly.
"Erm, by not giving up when the engine doesn't turn over." Larry offered. It was a pretty lame excuse but Jill would swallow anything that came out of the mouth of the absurdly handsome blonde boy. Cecilia Mullen thought that Jill?s adoration of her ?skanky? brother was totally gross.
Larry very much enjoyed having dinner with the Evans? because it seemed the essence of the ideal family. Larry wished his mother were still alive to cook him homemade meals. Jill he could do without. She was always staring at him and it drove him nuts. He was flattered, but there was a limit to how much of that he could take. Jill began to stare at Larry as he tucked into his roast beef and potatoes and green beans and salad. The Evans' believed in well-balanced meals. They weren't rich but they always tried to have the best of everything. Larry began crunching on his salad as Jill stared adoringly, without even stopping to blink or chew. Larry began to turn red.
"Jill!!!!" Dave yelled.
"Whaaaat!" Jill retorted.
"Stop it!"
"Now children! This is dinner. This is the one time I want you to be nice to each other!" Dave's dad began. He had not seen what had gone on.
"But Da-"
"Hush now Dave, your dinner will get cold." interrupted Dave's mother. Larry smirked and Dave sighed. What else was there to do?
"Mom, can Lawrence sleep over?" Dave asked.
"Only if you boys have done your homework and go to bed early. It's a school night!" Mrs. Evans approved of Lawrence Mullen. He was a polite, well-behaved young man. That Paul Hewson was nothing but trouble, but he was such a charming young man she overlooked it. She'd never let Paul sleep over on a weeknight though; he'd keep Dave awake all night! That young Paul Hewson was such a rapscallion, Mrs. Evans thought fondly.
"Oh, yeah Mom! We've done our homework already, we did it before dinner, didn't we Larry!"
"We sure did Dave!" Larry smiled a 1000-megawatt smile. Jill felt like fainting. Larry and Dave gulped down their dinner very fast and were excused. They went up to Dave's room, bolted the door and turned on some music. They were listening to The Beatles, Dave?s favourite.
"It was 20 years ago today! Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play!" Thundered Paul McCartney through the crackle of the well-worn vinyl disk. They had turned it up so it would drown out what they were saying. Jill had a habit of eavesdropping.
"Erm, Dave, as I was saying, yer never going to get anywhere if ye just sit daydreaming about her! Ye have to be aggressive and go AFTER her!"
"Oh, Larry! What am I going to do???" Dave moaned in total despair. Larry patted Dave sympathetically on the back.
***
The next day was Friday, and Dave sat in Latin class. Mr. Collins was late. This was very unusual. Paul was nuzzling Nancy and Rachel sat alone looking very depressed. If Dave had known that Rachel was depressed because she was jealous of her friend, he would never have gone over to speak to her. As it was though, Dave thought that now was as good a time as any to approach Rachel. He looked over at Larry who winked at him. Dave screwed up all his courage and walked over to her desk. Standing beside her quietly, wondering where to begin, the words suddenly and ungracefully tumbled from his mouth.
"Um,.....ah.....Rachel?" It scared him just to say her name. Rachel looked very surprised and spoke in a very cool and disinterested tone.
"Yes?"
"*Gulp*....um..................by any chance do you happen to be any good at History? I mean you seem pretty apt at it!"
"Well, yes, I guess History is one of my better subjects, why?"
"Well, it's my worst subject and we have this major term paper on Bismark as you know, and I don't understand a word of it and I was wondering if you could ever possibly consider helping me with it? Only if it isn?t too inconvenient, I know you must be very busy.? Dave waited for a response trying to control his shaking. This had been the plan that he and Larry had cooked up. If he could get past this hurdle, he would ask her out while they were studying. Dave looked at Larry for a split second and saw him smiling encouragingly at him.
"You mean to tell me that Dave Evans the brilliant doesn't understand History???" Rachel asked incredulously.
"Yes." Dave replied in a small voice.
"Well.......OK, I'll help you on one condition."
"*GASP*! What's that?!" Dave asked, fearing the worst and fully expecting her to say that the condition was he never speak to her again.
"The condition is that you help me with my math homework!" Dave felt relief coursing through his body. He had no idea she was bad at math. If he had known that, he would have offered to tutor her ages ago!
"I'd be absolutely DELIGHTED!!!!" Dave shouted forgetting himself. Larry rolled his eyes. This was very uncool behaviour. Rachel on the other hand thought it was kind of cute. She had never noticed this boy before.
"Great! Well, I have a spare next, but I was thinking of skipping this afternoon. Wanna come?" Dave's eyes widened. He never skipped school. He glanced over at Larry for guidance. Larry nodded vigorously. This was an excellent sign.
"Um,...ah...OK! Are we signing out or just skipping?"
"I'm signing out. You can too, you know! But maybe I?m being a bad influence?"
"No, you?re absolutely right. Do you want to meet after Latin?."
"Sure, after Latin." Suddenly Mr. Collins rushed in looking very flustered. Dave collapsed into his chair, which was several rows behind Rachel, so she couldn't see him almost having a nervous breakdown. This brief interaction had taken every ounce of his courage and miraculously, he had succeeded in cutting out most of the ?oh, ah, um, ahs?, as per Larry?s instructions.
"Very well done Dave all things considered! See what I mean about being aggressive? Works, doesn't it?!" Larry patted Dave heartily on the back.
"Yes, Lawrence you were right. Will you get the notes from the rest of the day for me?"
"Of course me dear Dave. And at the rate you?re going, I ?m gonna have to take notes from you on how to conquer women!" Larry?s dimples played on his cheeks as Dave blushed. What a good friend Larry was.
Mr. Collins called for silence. Paul looked over at Dave and Larry. He was wondering what he had missed. It sounded good. What was this about Dave missing school and being more aggressive? Paul had to find out. Paul shoved Larry a note.
-What's going on with Dave, Lawrence?-
-Let's just say he'll be missing band practise today.-
-What! Why?-
-Dave has sort of indirectly asked out a girl but I'm not going to tell you who it is because you might ruin it!-
-I'd never do that to me dear buddy Dave. Besides I'm in love with someone else. But Dave actually asked out a GIRL???- Paul's writing was getting messier as he wrote faster.
-That's how it appears, Paul.- Larry answered mysteriously. Mr. Collins was now starting to stare at Paul and he turned around.
"Now then my dear discipulis...who would like to volunteer to be the first to translate the lesson?" The lesson went by at an agonizingly slow pace for poor Dave. He was too busy worrying what to do with Rachel when they skipped. Should he ask her on a date? Kiss her? What should he do? It was agonizing. He was wondering if she would expect money for this tutorial session or for him to fix her up with someone else. The worrying was unbearable. Dave turned a deathly shade of white, so much so that Mr. Collins noticed it. He scratched his beard thoughtfully.
"Why, Dave! You aren't looking very well at all! Are you OK?"
?Oh,..*gulp* I'm just not feeling too well, kind of alternating hot and cold flashes!" Dave croaked.
"Well, Dave that doesn't sound good at all! I think right after this class ends which will be in a few minutes, you should go home and get some rest! Will you get home safely?"
"Oh....I think so." Dave mumbled softly.
"Maybe we should get someone from this class to accompany you. Who here lives near David Evans?" Paul was just about to put up his hand but Larry grabbed it and held it down. Paul glared at Larry. He was opening his mouth to protest that he wanted to get out of school and help his good buddy Dave, when Rachel put up her hand. She knew Dave was shy and she knew she'd have to sign out with him anyway, so she might as well accompany him.
"Rachel?" Mr. Collins intoned kindly.
"Um, I'll go with Dave Mr. Collins!" Paul's mouth fell open. Mr. Collins looked very pleased indeed.
"Why what noble discipulis we have in this classroom! Imagine, sacrificing an afternoon of classes to help another discipulus in need! Excellent, Rachel!" Rachel beamed and looked back at Dave's pale fine features. He had a small, shy smile on his face and his green eyes shone a gentle feline glow. He slumped down a bit in his seat and absent-mindedly ran his fingers thorough his fluffy black hair. Rachel was beginning to be very pleased that she had decided to do this. She had always overlooked Dave and now she was fast changing her mind. Paul and Larry didn't even enter into her thoughts. Paul meanwhile could not get over this turn of events. He shoved another note at Larry.
-You mean to tell me Dave is being escorted home by a girl who VOLUNTEERED?-
-Yes-
-Is Rachel the girl he asked out?-
-If you are so curious about all this why don't you ask Dave!- Larry answered, very annoyed at Paul's nosiness. Soon the bell rang and Paul walked over to Dave.
"Hey Dave, did you ask Rachel out?"
"None of your business Paul, now if you'll excuse me, I am ill and I'm going home and a girl actually offered to accompany me!" Dave smirked, looking like the cat that swallowed the canary, and off he went with Rachel. Paul was completely flabbergasted and impressed too. Rachel walked over to Dave and began to fuss over him right in front of Paul whom she completely ignored.
"Oh, Dave are you OK?" Rachel questioned with concern in her eyes.
"Um.....I think so...."
"Are you too sick for our tutorial?"
"NO!!! I mean no, I think I'll be able to make it. I'll just have some hot tea and soup and maybe lie down while we talk if you don't mind..." Dave looked adoringly into Rachel's eyes. She could feel her entire body starting to radiate with a heat originating from her fast beating heart. This was a feeling she had never experienced before.
"Oh Dave...*sigh*, of course I wouldn't mind...I'll make you some soup myself...you obviously work too hard...sigh..."
"I think I'm going to be SICK!" muttered Paul. Nancy and Larry agreed. They all left together. They decided to skip off and go to the movies. They'd be damned if they were going to stay in school and have Rachel and Dave go home in that cornball state. Paul knew that Dave was genuinely scared sick of Rachel but he had never seen him take such full advantage of the situation. It was obvious that Dave was learning all Paul's tricks.
Rachel and Dave left the class, and walked through the swirling fall leaves to Dave's house. They had begun to discuss History.
"Well you see Dave, the thing about Bismark is...." Dave wasn't really listening. Rachel wasn't even really concentrating that hard in telling him either. Finally they got to Dave's house and they were standing on the steps as the wind swirled around them, leaves dancing at their feet. They suddenly noticed a frost in the air.
"OOOOh Dave it does get cold here in the fall doesn't it!" Rachel stared searchingly into his eyes, noticing his nose was beginning to turn slightly red from the cold as the wind whipped his dark hair. Dave wordlessly began to rub her arms and back with his warm hands. Then he wrapped her tightly in his arms, blocking the wind from seeping through her coat. She wanted to stare into those gorgeous green eyes forever. She had never seen eyes so innocent and sad, so intelligent and loyal. And now they were shining with hope and new found love. But soon, they fluttered closed, as with surprising skill for someone so inexperienced, he began to kiss her, breathing warmth back into her body. Rachel?s eyelids were heavy with emotion, and they soon closed too, as she luxuriated in the pleasurable sensation of feeling his warm, gentle lips gently caressing hers. The warmth again radiated through her body, this time making her feel an entirely new sensation, an inner stirring that made her restless and breathless. She wanted more, she couldn?t get enough of him. As she felt his hands move across her body and his warm breath on her neck, Rachel began to swoon as her world spun out of control like the leaves at their feet.
***
?My brother spoke to a GIRL today!?, crowed Jill to Cecilia Mullen at dinner that night. As the girls cackled with glee, Dave cupped his chin in his hands, staring off into the distance and beaming the warm, dazed and benevolent grin of someone who no longer cared what his sister thought.
That night, cloistered in his room, Dave wrote his first song for Rachel. He had finally found the love he had sought for so long in vain, and the clouds of darkness, despair and loneliness had finally drifted away.
Spirit of the rising sun lift me up
Hold me there and never let me fall
Love me 'til I die, my heart won't wait
Soon I will be loved...
In this love song, love
Love song, love song
Hey, hey, love won't find
Find its own way home
In this love song, love song
Love song, love song
Bring it through to my heart
I would give you everything
I will give you my desire
Sun shine, sunshine on me
Sun shine, sunshine on me
And the sun would indeed shine forevermore on Dave and Rachel, for whom every day was a beautiful day, because they had each other.
The End
Love Song
The wind whistled through the grass, the leaves rustled in the trees and the water rippled gently in the Liffey. Dave Evans sat on the Edge (ha ha) of the riverbank in the sun doing his homework. This was Dave's favourite spot to be, under the weeping willow where he could be all alone with nature as his only companion. It was a Saturday and Paul was at the gas station, Larry was at the Artane Boys? Band practice, and Adam was no doubt at home perfecting the art of being himself. Dave's parents didn't feel Dave needed a job while still in school, and as long as he maintained his A average they gave him all the money he needed.
Dave loved being alone and he often practised the guitar in this very spot that the others didn't even know about. It was Dave's little secret. Often he wouldn't get any work done, he'd just daydream by the hour. Today Dave was desperately trying to complete a Latin assignment. It was a desperate situation not because he didn't know how to translate, but because he had fallen in love with the new exchange student, Rachel, who was the best friend of the other exchange student, Nancy, who was Paul's new girlfriend.
Dave rolled his eyes when he remembered their first introduction to the new students. While he, Larry and Adam had all said polite hellos, Paul moaned dramatically, ?Oh, what torture for my poor eyes! They have never witnessed such beauty! I may never be able to remove them from these heavenly angels and it pains me to remove them from one only to look at the other and realize I might have to move my eyes again! Oh sweet agony! Ladies...the pleasure is all mine!?
This was such typical behaviour, and while they had all rolled their eyes, the girls had totally lapped it up! It was so unfair. Paul and Nancy were now the topic of heated gossip around Mt. Temple, and much snickering, especially because the 6 foot tall Nancy towered over the 5?6? Paul. But Paul didn?t care?he loved to cause a scene wherever he went, and besides, he would never let a little thing like height get in the way of true love.
Dave sighed. Oh how he wished HE could experience true love, just ONCE! Well, he had?but it was always unrequited. Oh, why did he have to be cursed with this shyness? Combined with his slight frame, it was as though he were transparent!!! Why didn?t the girls notice him? Weren?t they supposed to be more mature than guys at this age anyway? He was nice and caring, and even talented! He would make a girl a great boyfriend. Girls were always saying that they wanted a sensitive guy?well HELLO? Nice guys always finished last. One day, when he was in a famous rock band?
But for now, he was having an awful time trying to finish his damned homework because he couldn't think about anything other than his new beloved?Rachel. He loved everything about her. She was kind of shy, like him, and seemed very kind and considerate. She was a bit shorter than he was, which was a total bonus, and had the palest of ivory skin. She even had green eyes, like himself! If the eyes were the mirrors of the soul, it was obvious that theirs was a match made in Heaven.
Neither Rachel, nor Paul nor anyone else knew of Dave's passion. She was the love of Dave's life but he knew he could never win her affection. Life only worked out like that for people like Larry Mullen. Through tear-rimmed eyes, and with his lonely heart breaking, Dave forced himself to turn his attention to the task at hand.
"*Sniff* I must pull myself together." Dave talked to himself and his friends with great confidence and humour in his beautiful, soft and lilting voice. It was only in the presence of pretty girls that he tripped hopelessly over his own tongue. "OK. Hmmmmm. The...ancilla, slave gerl....said....let us have some....choice?Falernian wine...in a.....something, no a grassy nook. *snicker, snicker* Falernian wine! A grassy nook! Ha ha ha ha! Geez, I must be desperate for entertainment! How totally pathetic am I?" Dave put down his pen for the eight zillionth time. He wondered what Rachel was doing at that very moment and if she was in love with anyone.
Dave would be maintaining an A+ average if it weren't for the one class he wasn't any good at, which was History. It wasn't the concepts he was not good at, it was as Paul put it so succinctly, "Dave has a really high IQ but he just doesn't know the simple things like the chords to songs, where he is, etc." Dave was hopeless at remembering dates, names and events. Pretty crucial elements when it came to History! He used to get by from sheer will, but now that he had Rachel in that class, he found it impossible to concentrate. As he sat by the hour staring at her, the teacher?s words would float aimlessly in one ear and out the other. He was in awe of her. On top of everything else, she was actually good at this subject! He loved it when she answered the teacher?s questions, this way he could close his eyes and listen to her soft voice, imagining she was talking just to him.
For the rest of his classes, he got A+ in Latin, English, French, Creative Writing, Math and Science. History was a C+. It amused the B average Paul and the B- average Larry to no end that Dave was finally in their league. Adam was counting on Dave to bring in his first D-, one of Adam's staples.
Dave began to write song lyrics in his binder. "Gloria, in Te Domine...Gloria Exultate..." Dave was helping Paul work on a new song and they thought it would be a neat touch to put some Latin in it. His Latin teacher, Mr. Collins, would be thrilled, and they were going to show it to him the minute it was done. Dave proceeded to work some more on his Latin.
"The townspeople fled the flames of Mount Vesuvius in terror...the what? Oh, the lava the hill...no,.....the lava poured down the rocks covering the town and the villa, no?house where Caecillius aboded.....no?where Caecillius lived. Hmmm....*scrible, scrible*...."
Dave finished what was left of the translation and began reading the cultural notes. Of course the minute he started reading the notes he looked off dreamily into the river with the warm afternoon sun sparkling in it. "If I were an animal I'd be a big cat and stretch out in the sun and I'd sure not be worrying about all this stupid homework!" Dave thought.
***
It was later that night and he and Larry were having dinner at Dave's house. It was Thursday and there was only one more day until school would finally be over for the week! Halleluuuuuu, halleluuuuuuuliah! As they ate, they discussed their favourite subject, Rachel. Larry was also highly attracted to Rachel, but he already had a girlfriend. Besides, he wanted to help out his good buddy Dave who sure needed help more than he or that Paul Hewson did.
"Erm, Dave as far as I can see you simply aren't aggressive enough with her." Larry began as they were sitting down with the entire Evans family who very strongly believed in all having dinner together.
"What do you mean...*sigh* Larry?" murmured Jill, who had just walked in and seated herself next to the object of her affections. Jill had an enormous crush on her older brother?s friend. Larry knew that spilling the beans in front of Jill would not be a good idea.
"Oh, I was talking about Dave's car."
"You call the car 'her'?"
"Yeah, like you do with boats."
"How do you get aggressive with a car?" Jill asked bluntly.
"Erm, by not giving up when the engine doesn't turn over." Larry offered. It was a pretty lame excuse but Jill would swallow anything that came out of the mouth of the absurdly handsome blonde boy. Cecilia Mullen thought that Jill?s adoration of her ?skanky? brother was totally gross.
Larry very much enjoyed having dinner with the Evans? because it seemed the essence of the ideal family. Larry wished his mother were still alive to cook him homemade meals. Jill he could do without. She was always staring at him and it drove him nuts. He was flattered, but there was a limit to how much of that he could take. Jill began to stare at Larry as he tucked into his roast beef and potatoes and green beans and salad. The Evans' believed in well-balanced meals. They weren't rich but they always tried to have the best of everything. Larry began crunching on his salad as Jill stared adoringly, without even stopping to blink or chew. Larry began to turn red.
"Jill!!!!" Dave yelled.
"Whaaaat!" Jill retorted.
"Stop it!"
"Now children! This is dinner. This is the one time I want you to be nice to each other!" Dave's dad began. He had not seen what had gone on.
"But Da-"
"Hush now Dave, your dinner will get cold." interrupted Dave's mother. Larry smirked and Dave sighed. What else was there to do?
"Mom, can Lawrence sleep over?" Dave asked.
"Only if you boys have done your homework and go to bed early. It's a school night!" Mrs. Evans approved of Lawrence Mullen. He was a polite, well-behaved young man. That Paul Hewson was nothing but trouble, but he was such a charming young man she overlooked it. She'd never let Paul sleep over on a weeknight though; he'd keep Dave awake all night! That young Paul Hewson was such a rapscallion, Mrs. Evans thought fondly.
"Oh, yeah Mom! We've done our homework already, we did it before dinner, didn't we Larry!"
"We sure did Dave!" Larry smiled a 1000-megawatt smile. Jill felt like fainting. Larry and Dave gulped down their dinner very fast and were excused. They went up to Dave's room, bolted the door and turned on some music. They were listening to The Beatles, Dave?s favourite.
"It was 20 years ago today! Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play!" Thundered Paul McCartney through the crackle of the well-worn vinyl disk. They had turned it up so it would drown out what they were saying. Jill had a habit of eavesdropping.
"Erm, Dave, as I was saying, yer never going to get anywhere if ye just sit daydreaming about her! Ye have to be aggressive and go AFTER her!"
"Oh, Larry! What am I going to do???" Dave moaned in total despair. Larry patted Dave sympathetically on the back.
***
The next day was Friday, and Dave sat in Latin class. Mr. Collins was late. This was very unusual. Paul was nuzzling Nancy and Rachel sat alone looking very depressed. If Dave had known that Rachel was depressed because she was jealous of her friend, he would never have gone over to speak to her. As it was though, Dave thought that now was as good a time as any to approach Rachel. He looked over at Larry who winked at him. Dave screwed up all his courage and walked over to her desk. Standing beside her quietly, wondering where to begin, the words suddenly and ungracefully tumbled from his mouth.
"Um,.....ah.....Rachel?" It scared him just to say her name. Rachel looked very surprised and spoke in a very cool and disinterested tone.
"Yes?"
"*Gulp*....um..................by any chance do you happen to be any good at History? I mean you seem pretty apt at it!"
"Well, yes, I guess History is one of my better subjects, why?"
"Well, it's my worst subject and we have this major term paper on Bismark as you know, and I don't understand a word of it and I was wondering if you could ever possibly consider helping me with it? Only if it isn?t too inconvenient, I know you must be very busy.? Dave waited for a response trying to control his shaking. This had been the plan that he and Larry had cooked up. If he could get past this hurdle, he would ask her out while they were studying. Dave looked at Larry for a split second and saw him smiling encouragingly at him.
"You mean to tell me that Dave Evans the brilliant doesn't understand History???" Rachel asked incredulously.
"Yes." Dave replied in a small voice.
"Well.......OK, I'll help you on one condition."
"*GASP*! What's that?!" Dave asked, fearing the worst and fully expecting her to say that the condition was he never speak to her again.
"The condition is that you help me with my math homework!" Dave felt relief coursing through his body. He had no idea she was bad at math. If he had known that, he would have offered to tutor her ages ago!
"I'd be absolutely DELIGHTED!!!!" Dave shouted forgetting himself. Larry rolled his eyes. This was very uncool behaviour. Rachel on the other hand thought it was kind of cute. She had never noticed this boy before.
"Great! Well, I have a spare next, but I was thinking of skipping this afternoon. Wanna come?" Dave's eyes widened. He never skipped school. He glanced over at Larry for guidance. Larry nodded vigorously. This was an excellent sign.
"Um,...ah...OK! Are we signing out or just skipping?"
"I'm signing out. You can too, you know! But maybe I?m being a bad influence?"
"No, you?re absolutely right. Do you want to meet after Latin?."
"Sure, after Latin." Suddenly Mr. Collins rushed in looking very flustered. Dave collapsed into his chair, which was several rows behind Rachel, so she couldn't see him almost having a nervous breakdown. This brief interaction had taken every ounce of his courage and miraculously, he had succeeded in cutting out most of the ?oh, ah, um, ahs?, as per Larry?s instructions.
"Very well done Dave all things considered! See what I mean about being aggressive? Works, doesn't it?!" Larry patted Dave heartily on the back.
"Yes, Lawrence you were right. Will you get the notes from the rest of the day for me?"
"Of course me dear Dave. And at the rate you?re going, I ?m gonna have to take notes from you on how to conquer women!" Larry?s dimples played on his cheeks as Dave blushed. What a good friend Larry was.
Mr. Collins called for silence. Paul looked over at Dave and Larry. He was wondering what he had missed. It sounded good. What was this about Dave missing school and being more aggressive? Paul had to find out. Paul shoved Larry a note.
-What's going on with Dave, Lawrence?-
-Let's just say he'll be missing band practise today.-
-What! Why?-
-Dave has sort of indirectly asked out a girl but I'm not going to tell you who it is because you might ruin it!-
-I'd never do that to me dear buddy Dave. Besides I'm in love with someone else. But Dave actually asked out a GIRL???- Paul's writing was getting messier as he wrote faster.
-That's how it appears, Paul.- Larry answered mysteriously. Mr. Collins was now starting to stare at Paul and he turned around.
"Now then my dear discipulis...who would like to volunteer to be the first to translate the lesson?" The lesson went by at an agonizingly slow pace for poor Dave. He was too busy worrying what to do with Rachel when they skipped. Should he ask her on a date? Kiss her? What should he do? It was agonizing. He was wondering if she would expect money for this tutorial session or for him to fix her up with someone else. The worrying was unbearable. Dave turned a deathly shade of white, so much so that Mr. Collins noticed it. He scratched his beard thoughtfully.
"Why, Dave! You aren't looking very well at all! Are you OK?"
?Oh,..*gulp* I'm just not feeling too well, kind of alternating hot and cold flashes!" Dave croaked.
"Well, Dave that doesn't sound good at all! I think right after this class ends which will be in a few minutes, you should go home and get some rest! Will you get home safely?"
"Oh....I think so." Dave mumbled softly.
"Maybe we should get someone from this class to accompany you. Who here lives near David Evans?" Paul was just about to put up his hand but Larry grabbed it and held it down. Paul glared at Larry. He was opening his mouth to protest that he wanted to get out of school and help his good buddy Dave, when Rachel put up her hand. She knew Dave was shy and she knew she'd have to sign out with him anyway, so she might as well accompany him.
"Rachel?" Mr. Collins intoned kindly.
"Um, I'll go with Dave Mr. Collins!" Paul's mouth fell open. Mr. Collins looked very pleased indeed.
"Why what noble discipulis we have in this classroom! Imagine, sacrificing an afternoon of classes to help another discipulus in need! Excellent, Rachel!" Rachel beamed and looked back at Dave's pale fine features. He had a small, shy smile on his face and his green eyes shone a gentle feline glow. He slumped down a bit in his seat and absent-mindedly ran his fingers thorough his fluffy black hair. Rachel was beginning to be very pleased that she had decided to do this. She had always overlooked Dave and now she was fast changing her mind. Paul and Larry didn't even enter into her thoughts. Paul meanwhile could not get over this turn of events. He shoved another note at Larry.
-You mean to tell me Dave is being escorted home by a girl who VOLUNTEERED?-
-Yes-
-Is Rachel the girl he asked out?-
-If you are so curious about all this why don't you ask Dave!- Larry answered, very annoyed at Paul's nosiness. Soon the bell rang and Paul walked over to Dave.
"Hey Dave, did you ask Rachel out?"
"None of your business Paul, now if you'll excuse me, I am ill and I'm going home and a girl actually offered to accompany me!" Dave smirked, looking like the cat that swallowed the canary, and off he went with Rachel. Paul was completely flabbergasted and impressed too. Rachel walked over to Dave and began to fuss over him right in front of Paul whom she completely ignored.
"Oh, Dave are you OK?" Rachel questioned with concern in her eyes.
"Um.....I think so...."
"Are you too sick for our tutorial?"
"NO!!! I mean no, I think I'll be able to make it. I'll just have some hot tea and soup and maybe lie down while we talk if you don't mind..." Dave looked adoringly into Rachel's eyes. She could feel her entire body starting to radiate with a heat originating from her fast beating heart. This was a feeling she had never experienced before.
"Oh Dave...*sigh*, of course I wouldn't mind...I'll make you some soup myself...you obviously work too hard...sigh..."
"I think I'm going to be SICK!" muttered Paul. Nancy and Larry agreed. They all left together. They decided to skip off and go to the movies. They'd be damned if they were going to stay in school and have Rachel and Dave go home in that cornball state. Paul knew that Dave was genuinely scared sick of Rachel but he had never seen him take such full advantage of the situation. It was obvious that Dave was learning all Paul's tricks.
Rachel and Dave left the class, and walked through the swirling fall leaves to Dave's house. They had begun to discuss History.
"Well you see Dave, the thing about Bismark is...." Dave wasn't really listening. Rachel wasn't even really concentrating that hard in telling him either. Finally they got to Dave's house and they were standing on the steps as the wind swirled around them, leaves dancing at their feet. They suddenly noticed a frost in the air.
"OOOOh Dave it does get cold here in the fall doesn't it!" Rachel stared searchingly into his eyes, noticing his nose was beginning to turn slightly red from the cold as the wind whipped his dark hair. Dave wordlessly began to rub her arms and back with his warm hands. Then he wrapped her tightly in his arms, blocking the wind from seeping through her coat. She wanted to stare into those gorgeous green eyes forever. She had never seen eyes so innocent and sad, so intelligent and loyal. And now they were shining with hope and new found love. But soon, they fluttered closed, as with surprising skill for someone so inexperienced, he began to kiss her, breathing warmth back into her body. Rachel?s eyelids were heavy with emotion, and they soon closed too, as she luxuriated in the pleasurable sensation of feeling his warm, gentle lips gently caressing hers. The warmth again radiated through her body, this time making her feel an entirely new sensation, an inner stirring that made her restless and breathless. She wanted more, she couldn?t get enough of him. As she felt his hands move across her body and his warm breath on her neck, Rachel began to swoon as her world spun out of control like the leaves at their feet.
***
?My brother spoke to a GIRL today!?, crowed Jill to Cecilia Mullen at dinner that night. As the girls cackled with glee, Dave cupped his chin in his hands, staring off into the distance and beaming the warm, dazed and benevolent grin of someone who no longer cared what his sister thought.
That night, cloistered in his room, Dave wrote his first song for Rachel. He had finally found the love he had sought for so long in vain, and the clouds of darkness, despair and loneliness had finally drifted away.
Spirit of the rising sun lift me up
Hold me there and never let me fall
Love me 'til I die, my heart won't wait
Soon I will be loved...
In this love song, love
Love song, love song
Hey, hey, love won't find
Find its own way home
In this love song, love song
Love song, love song
Bring it through to my heart
I would give you everything
I will give you my desire
Sun shine, sunshine on me
Sun shine, sunshine on me
And the sun would indeed shine forevermore on Dave and Rachel, for whom every day was a beautiful day, because they had each other.
The End
