- 𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓑𝓮𝓪𝓽𝓵𝓮 𝓕𝓪𝓶𝓲𝓵𝔂 -

Chapter 14: You're Going to Lose That Girl

The next day was just a horrible day for George. He had gone off to school as usual, he attended his classes, he ate an egg sandwich with some biscuits for recess, then he had an English and a Calculus quiz after that (both of which he probably failed), then came lunch time, which was the climax of his day. 

He was busy strolling around the school campus, munching away on an overstuffed burrito from Taco Bell, when he caught the infamous Eric Clapton serenading his girlfriend Pattie right underneath an old oak tree. He and Eric had been rivals ever since the third grade, when they decided that they were going to prove to one another who was better at playing the guitar. Up till now, they still hadn't figured out who was better, but they were gonna get to that soon.

Anyway, Eric was standing a few meters away from Pattie, strumming his guitar, softly crooning one of his famous ballads.

"I feel wonderful
Because I see the love light in your eyes
And the wonder of it all
Is that you just don't realize how much I love you..."

All the while, Pattie blushed at him with a playful glint in her gaze, and the crowd of people surrounding them went, "Awww."

George's furrowed his eyebrows, he clenched his fists, and he stomped towards them, pushing angrily through the crowd of adoring watchers. "ERIC!" he yelled. "ERIC!"

Suddenly, all eyes shifted to him. Eric stopped playing, while Pattie gasped and took a step back.

"G-George!" she said. "George, I-"

George ignored her and went straight for Clapton. "So you're here to steal my girl, eh? Is that it?" he snarled.

"Ah, George!" Eric greeted him with open arms. "Just the man I wanted to see! Come, come."

"Fuck you." George stuck his middle finger out at him.

"Oh, come on, Geo," Eric smiled. "You want Pattie, I want Pattie...let's have a duel. The winner gets the girl."

This proclamation sent the crowd cheering and whooping. "Fight, fight, fight!" they chanted eagerly. 

"Clapton, you're God!" one man shouted.

"A duel," George echoed. "...Y-You mean a guitar duel?"

"What else would it be?" Eric shrugged. "Have you got your guitar?"

"N-No," George faltered. "I-I left it at home."

Eric chuckled. "Hear that, fellas? He's left it at home...tsk tsk, what a disappointment."

George clenched his fists tighter as the crowd laughed and jeered at him. 

"Does anybody here have a guitar he can borrow?" Eric asked. "Anybody? Anybody at all?"

"I do!" one of the bystanders spoke up, raising his guitar in the air. 

"Good." Eric nodded with a sly smirk. "Now little Georgie can play."

"George," Pattie whispered, tugging on his sleeve. "G-George, you know you don't have to do this."

"Oh, but I have to," George said, taking the guitar from the bystander. "I have to."

"You ready, Geo?" Eric clapped his hands. 

"Yeah." George nodded. "Let's get this over with."

He looked down at his guitar, took a deep breath, and began strumming the chords of "Day Tripper" with careful expertise. His rival, mildly amused, returned with the well-known chorus of "Walk, Don't Run", erupting a series of cheers among the crowd. Everybody was on Clapton's side.