Of Love and Discord

Chapter 8

Henry had planned to come early to campus to meet Francine so that he would have more time to talk to her before Roxanne came to pick them up. However, this proved to be difficult as his excitement to finally be alone with her was thwarted by the addition of Francine's friends.

Henry froze with uneasiness as he saw Francine waiting there with three other female acquaintances, laughing and chatting with her as they stood all dressed up in their party dresses. Henry was across from them near the corner, debating whether that young woman on the end who had also dressed flouncy was truly Francine Daye, the girl who had usually dressed quite modestly. Henry took a deep breath and exhaled as he stood behind the wall. He adjusted his bow tie as he glanced again at the ladies who were now putting some last touches to their faces before walking over.

Francine followed along with her friends' conversation with a patient look as she stood there listening to their latest gossips about people coming to the party tonight.

"Well, it's the absolute truth. Men just go nuts after they had a taste of her. Don't ask me why, I just know Julia doesn't settle for just one fella for long. Isn't that right, Margret?" said one girl who was multitasking, putting eyeliner on another girl who had tilted for her as she held her chin, and at the same time, turned her head to seek support from her other friend.

"That's right! And now boys like Peter and Scott are planning to avoid her this evening," replied the other friend as she looked playfully at her feet that were moving swiftly up and down, itching for the dance floor.

"It shouldn't be too hard, they'll have us to focus on," commented the girl having her makeup done. Francine giggled along with them as they felt the excitement for tonight.

"And there, all finished! After tonight, he'll be asking you to the end of the semester ball," one girl beamed.

Approaching them, Henry was smitten to see a few eyes turning up to him as he slowly stopped by Francine's side.

"Hello Francine," he called, diverting his gazed down at her as soon as she quickly turned around.

"Henry," she responded with a smile, surprised to see him so soon. "You're here."

Henry felt the spotlight shine on him as her friends continued eyeing him with curiosity. What should he say? How should he act now, now that her friends had made a surprising entry to his plans of impressing her tonight? Francine turned to her friends and introduced Henry to them one by one:

"Henry, this is Bernice," she pointed to the one who had her eyeliner done.

"Hey," Bernice replied, uninterested.

She continued, "Ruby."

"A pleasure," replied a tall young woman with dark lipstick on.

"And Margret," concluded Francine as she presented him to a girl who grinned silently.

"Friends of mine," remarked Francine.

"Best friends," corrected Ruby. Francine nodded joyfully as she agreed to her blurt of bluntness.

"A pleasure to meet you all," Henry said softly as he gestured a small bow to them. The girls contained their giggles as they were amused by his stiff rather formal gesture.

"Are you ladies ready for some fun tonight at the fair?" he instinctively asked.

The girls continued their playful nature as they responded with enthusiasm.

"We sure are," answered Bernice, who took out a mirror to double check her face.

"I just can't wait to get my hands on the good stuff they said just came from port. The last place I've been to, they were almost dry by the time the party started," uttered Ruby as she bent down a little to glance at the mirror with Bernice.