Sorry for the late upload. Enjoy!
Don't foget to comment and vote!!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~CHAPTER THREE~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Getting my mother to allow me to go on a date proved to be simpler than I’d thought. I told her that he was visiting for the summer from Detroit with his family, and that he was extremely wealthy and possibly planning on moving here. Mother couldn’t have been more keen for me to leave the house when I lied about his fortune, yet she claimed to me that it would be good of me to show him around town, despite the fact that I was sure he had lived here since he was a child. But never mind that it was all a fib, I managed to escape from the house, hassle-free.
Deciding what to wear was the tough part. After dinner, I rip through my closet finding dresses that I decide for a moment looks suitable then realize that I don’t have suitable shoes to go with it, the color makes me look washed out, or the cut of the dress is not quite as flattering. Red floral? Too vibrant. Silk sky blue? Too simple. Ivory crepe? Makes me appear larger than I am…
Why am I stressing over what to wear? I don’t need to impress anyone; it’s only Elijah for heavens sake! I mean I didn’t even want to go on a date with him, it was only a stupid deal so then I could get my damn shoes back. I sigh in frustration, tossing the dress I am holding onto the growing pile of clothes.
I laugh at myself, deciding I am stupid for worrying so much. I glance over at the clock on the wall, realizing I only have twenty minutes until he picks me up. Hurriedly, I finally decide on a soft yellow, sleeveless summer dress, with tiny white floral designs and a light throw on cardigan. Letting my hair fall down in spirals past my shoulders, I add soft color to my cheeks and apply a light coat of mascara. Simple but natural. Just as I hear the doorbell ring, I quickly yell out the door to James not to worry about it. I swiftly apply a light sheen of my favorite lipstick, grab my purse and run down the stairs, looking at the clock as I went. Five minutes late, not too bad, I must say.
I arrive at the door in a fluster and rip it open. There stood Elijah with a cheeky smile, quickly eyeing me up and down.
“If I hadn’t of known better, I would have thought you were eager to see me,” he chuckles.
“What makes you say that?” I say out of breath, crossing my arms over my chest.
“Well, it appears you have rushed you hair and then sprinted down the door to make sure I wasn’t impatient with waiting more than five minutes. In my experience, that generally means that they’re anxious to make an impression.”
I run my hands over my hair self-consciously, scowling at him, “In your experience? What are you, some kind of expert on women now?”
He smiles wickedly. “Well, maybe I am, but to be honest, I’m just good at reading people.” His face turns considerate.
I roll my eyes. “Whatever, smarty-pants. Let’s get this over with,” I turn around, leaning back into the house, “See you later tonight, mom!” I yell.
Not waiting for her to answer me back, I shut the door quickly behind me, following Elijah down the driveway, beginning to stroll down the street.
He was at least dressed simply. Plain khaki slacks with a deep blue blouse and black suspenders. If you didn’t know where he was going, you would never have guessed that he was taking someone on a date. I grimace as I think of how long it took me to decide on what to wear. He was obviously not too worried about impressing me.
“So you agree?” He asks suddenly.
I look at him in confusion, frowning. “About what?”
“You agree that you were in a hurry to see me?”
“I never said that!” I exasperate.
“Well, you never said any different, either.” He grins.
“Yes, well, that’s because…” I trail off, not sure where I was going.
He gives me a curious glance.
I sigh in defeat. “Alright, maybe I was a little wound up.” I say shyly.
He smiles brightly, not saying anything in return. But his face shows that he’s genuinely pleased at my reaction.
I walk alongside him, hugging my arms. Occasionally I would see him sneak a glance at me, and when I look up to meet his eyes, he quickly glances away again, shyly.
We pass along the street of houses, the only sound coming from our footsteps, the distant sounds of cars driving and the crickets humming in the night. Being just outside of the city was cause for less commotion out on the streets, and I can’t say that I didn’t prefer it this way.
“Why don’t you have a car? Can’t afford one?” I mean to say it out of curiosity, but it comes out as an accusation.
“No, I have a truck at home; I just preferred not to bring it with me.” He says coherently.
“Why is that?” I ask, finally sounding curious.
“I just prefer to walk to most places. Considering that I live close to the majority. Besides, walking is somewhat refreshing, in a way, don’t you think?”
“I guess so. I mean, I like to ride my bike quite a lot as well.” I reply honestly, much to my surprise.
Silence follows, and I find that I no longer feel uncomfortable around him, despite the afternoon mishap.
“So what do you do?” He asks all of a sudden.
“I’m sorry?”
“Don’t be,” he jokes, “I was simply asking what you do in your spare time.”
I shrug. “I don’t have much spare time. I’m too busy with my dance practice.”
“Dance practice?” He raises an eyebrow.
“Yeah,” I shrug again, “like Ballet. I’m practically a full-time ballerina.” I state proudly.
“Well, that explains it.” He mumbles.
“Explains what?”
“How up tight you always are. Like your back is practically as straight as a pencil. You need to relax a little.”
“No can do, cowboy. I’m on a strict schedule, and I can’t afford to overeat or let my body get too unwound, otherwise I won’t be able to hold myself up en pointes.”
He gives me a wondering glance, both curious and confused. “Pointes?”
I smile at him. “It’s a dance shoe, extremely uncomfortable, but allows us to stand on our toes with ease.”
He chuckles innocently. “Why do you wear them if they’re uncomfortable?”
I laugh in slight disbelief. “Beauty never comes with console, Macka.”
He smiles slightly at the nickname, and shakes his head at me, giving me a glance, “Not too sure of that.”
We reach the carnival in barely no time, Elijah paying for both our admissions, and we silently walk through the gathering crowd.
I look around in wonder at the bright lights hanging from ropes and delicious smells wafting from provisional food stands. Rows of fun games with stuffed toys and candy line the makeshift dirt streets, waiting attendants smiling enthusiastically at passerby’s, hoping to attain eager paying customers to win a giant stuffed bear. Children energetically run through the milling crowds holding bundles of candy floss and colorful drinks, with their parents following in-tow, excitement burning on their faces but fatigue obvious in their stance. Bright odd towering structures promising different thrilling rides erected randomly around the grounds with hundreds of people standing excitedly around the bases, hoping to get a slice of exhilaration, while talking animatedly with their friends.
Humidity hangs thickly in the air, and already my eyes turn bright and wide with excitement, an eager grin plastered on my face. “Wow, this is great.” I say honestly.
Elijah smiles down at me, “It’s something isn’t it? When was the last time you came here for fun?”
My smile droops slightly, but I continue to look around in amazement. “I’ve never been to the Fair before.” Tonight was a night for truths.
His eyes widens in disbelief. “You’ve never been to something like this before?”
I shrug, “Well, I went to the circus when I was really little, but I hardly remember it. This is entirely a new experience for me.”
His open mouth turns up in an excited grin. “Maybe I will be a good influence after all.”
I smile shyly, “Well, then, where do we start, Macka?”
His face turns thoughtful. “Dodgem cars.”
I had no idea what that meant, but he swiftly took my hand in his and lead me through the crowd. His grip was warm and soothing, and for a moment, I found myself having complete faith in him. But only for a moment.
He leads me toward a low building with thunderous sounds echoing out to the streets. Another crowd surrounds the sides, and after a moment, I realize what they are all looking at. Leaning on the fence lining the arena, small child-size cars with diverse shapes and themes are being driven around by people of all ages, and not only that; very quickly I come to realize that the objective of the game was to run into as many cars as possible.
At first I was scared to imagine having to hit people, the cars themselves didn’t look very sturdy, rather threatening to fall apart at any second; but the laughs reverberating from the players assure me that it is all merely fun and games. Catcallers line the sides and in the cars yelling to their friends and others seem utterly determined to out-run everyone in sight. A few times, the cars become jammed when too many aim for the same area or person, but quickly the man who appears to be controlling the game manages to break it apart, and everyone continues on their pointless journey.
After two more games, Elijah and I get to have our turn. I knew that he had a license to drive, and would figure out well enough how to drive the funny contraption; but me on the other hand had no experience, and as I climb into the tiny space, I stare in horror at the pedals. But all was settled when the controller explained the rules and how to work the little cars, and I felt a sigh of relief.
Just as I put on my provisional seatbelt, I catch Elijah’s gaze and he gives me a wicked grin, telling me he wasn’t going to back down on me. His cart appeared to be some sort of angry lion, with bright flames and red eyes. Mine was a silly elephant, pulling a goofy face with blue and green along the sides. I give him a menacing smile, trying to tell him back that I was not afraid to play rough.
The bell sounds for us to start, and I shove my foot down on the green pedal as I dart to the right, thinking that I will be able to race my way around the track. To my disappointment, I couldn’t able to go as fast as I’d wanted, but I’d certainly managed to avoid the collision of cars in the centre of the arena. Keeping a smug smile on my face, I dash off to find Elijah, thinking I had caught him off guard. However, Elijah had had the same idea as I’d had, and had sung around the other side of the arena, coming to charge at me. His lion-car looks menacing as he races around the side, and my elephant and I are barely able to dodge his hit. I let out a large laugh as I realize the pun in the name.
I get hit on the side by a small boy in a bright blue duck-shaped car, getting an evil grin from his part, and I skid off to the left. Soon I am able to forget about where Elijah is and begin to really enjoy myself, making random catcalls at the other players and laughing loudly each time I get hit. At one point, I think that Elijah managed to get a few people to gang up on me with him as all of a sudden, I find myself cornered by four animal-cars, along with Elijah, and I giggle loudly as I smash against the side, mocking Elijah with a large grin.
When we finally get out of the arena, I am stumbling along at Elijah’s side, giggling hysterically, with him laughing at my joyfulness.
“That was fun!” I say enthusiastically. “What’s next?”
He smiles widely, “I think it’s the stalls next.”
Elijah leads me one by one to each stall along the dirt road, and I find that I really am enjoying myself as I throw balls through hoops, knock down bottle towers and shoot targets with a pretend gun. Elijah demonstrates the games for me first, scoring a giant stuffed panda at the guns, whilst I score a leopard of a reasonable size.
“Where did you learn how to shoot like that?” I ask when we finally leave the booths. I clutch my cat into a hug and wonder how he managed to pay for all of this.
“Well, my dad showed me a few tricks with a rifle when I was younger, and me and my friend, Tom, used to shoot tin cans in our backyards from time to time. Guess I just learned how to aim properly.”
He was leading me towards the food stands since I told him I was hungry.
“Tom? As in Thomas Beverly?” I demand.
“Yeah, why?”
“Oh, it’s just that I sort of know him. He went to our school, right?”
“Yeah, he was my best friend.”
I suddenly remember seeing them two hanging together from time to time on the back field at school. “That’s right. I remember now.”
He smiles at me again, and then looks up. “Speak of the devil.”
I look up at what caught his attention to see Thomas walking towards us with an arm slung around the shoulders of a girl I remember from school.
“Hey, Macka! fancy seeing you here.” He shakes Elijah’s hand.
“Yeah, fancy that.” Elijah says.
“And with Ducky as well? Never seen you two hang together before.”
Elijah looks down at me, looking amused. “Ducky?”
I blush slightly. “Yeah, that’s what some of my friends call me.”
“Okay, then,” He turns his attention back to his friend. “I managed to convince her to come out on a date with me.”
My good mood fades, only slightly.
“Good job, buddy.” Tom smiles, then seems to remember the blonde at his side, “Oh, sorry, where are my manners? You guys remember Nancy from school don’t you?”
“I remember seeing you around,” I say happily. “Nice to actually meet you,” I put my hand out, “I’m Charlotte.”
She shakes my hand with a smile. “Yeah, I know who you are. Nice to meet you too.”
“Well, I’m Elijah,” he shakes her hand in turn as well, and I don’t miss the awed look she gives him. I feel a sudden strike of jealousy as I see the way she looks at him, but quickly I scold myself for having such thoughts, regretfully knowing all too well that this date doesn’t mean anything. I feel a sigh of disappointment as I grasp this.
“So do you guys have anything planned for this summer?” Tom asks.
I shake my head, “No, not this year.”
“Yeah, I have to work these holidays. Have to save up for college.” Elijah admits.
“That’s too bad,” Tom says, “Nancy and I are leaving tomorrow on a trip to the beach. Pity you guys can’t come.”
Elijah shrugs, “It’s alright. I’ll have plenty of time for that later.”
“Fair enough,” Tom says, and plants a kiss on Nancy’s head. “Anyway, I’ll see you guys around, then, shall I?”
“Sure thing,” I say with a grin.
“See you later, Ducky. Macka.” Tom and Nancy walk from us and Elijah continues to move me through the crowd.
“Ducky?” Elijah says with a laugh.
“Oh, shut up.” I shake my head, hitting his arm.
He buys me some candy floss, and for him a hamburger, and we sit at a few plastic tables set out for the public.
“Wanna tell me how you got that name of yours?” He asks me after a long moment of silence.
I finish chewing on the bite I had, the sweet sugary texture making me feel giddy. “Not particularly.”
“Oh, come on,” he chides, “why not?”
I shrug, looking down, “I don’t know.”
“Did you have a pet duck or something?”
I bite my lip, “Okay, but don’t laugh.”
He tries to hide a grin, “I won’t.”
I sigh. “Well, when I first started ballet classes, I was complaining to a few of my friends about the positions of the feet. I kept saying we looked like ducks, and my friends thought it was hilarious, as I made a good impression of a duck. Soon after that they started calling me Ducky.”
He chuckles, but definitely not as much as I’d thought he would. “That’s it? I thought it would be some incredibly embarrassing story or something. That was hardly anything, Ducky.”
I give him a hard look, “Don’t get any smart ideas, Macka.”
He chuckles again, “Don’t worry, your ‘secret’s’ safe with me,” he motions with his fingers in bunny ears as he says ‘secret’s’.
I shake my head as I giggle at his expression, looking away from him towards where a jazz fusion band was playing on stage. Some people down the front were dancing to the tune and suddenly I got an idea.
“Come on,” I say, pulling on his arm.
“What?” he says, completely clueless.
“Let’s dance.”
He looks worried for a second, but then his expression changes as he realizes that he’s finally gotten me motivated. “Okay,” he gives in.
There was a small dance floor, considerately temporary, but it would do for now. My specialty was ballet dancing, but sometimes in my spare time I had been taught a bit of swing. I had found I’d liked it very much when I tried it, feeling a sense of freedom in a way that I couldn’t with ballet.
Surprisingly, Elijah wasn’t too bad himself. I could have thought that I’d have to teach him some of the basic moves, but unexpectedly, he already picked it up. He leads me to the centre of the dance floor, swinging me around while add a few kicks into the combination. We jive amongst the bodies of dancers and I once again find myself really having fun. I laugh loudly at some of the expressions Elijah makes at me, and chant along with the band’s outrageous beats. Jazz was something I don’t think I’d ever be able to get bored of.
Two more dances and a couple of minor injuries later, Elijah leads me off the floor to find us a drink. After, he takes me towards the Ferris wheel at the centre of the carnival park. He assures me that it is quite sturdy as I look down from the top, then points out different sites off in the distant, and I smile as I recognize my house from afar.
When we find the ground again, he tells me he’ll take me home now, chaperoning me towards the exit. A couple of times that night I’d spotted someone I knew, but other than that, it was all a bunch of strangers. As I’d predicted, all my friends had taken vacations away from our hometown.
The night seems to have gotten more beautiful since we’d first left, and now as I look up at the sky, I can’t help but sigh in wonder.
“You know, you never told me what you do in your spare time.” Elijah observes.
“I did tell you, and I said that I don’t have spare time. Dance practice, remember?”
He chuckles at me in frustration. “Yeah, I remember. But come on, surely you must have some free time? Like this afternoon?”
I suppress a hideous glare at him, but quickly regain myself. “See, my schedule consists of four days of ballet practice, two days of German and French and then Sundays are always interchanging between ballroom dancing and painting. Very busy.”
He gives me a disbelieving look. “You don’t have anytime to do what you want?”
“Who says I don’t do what I want? I love to dance.” It was mostly true. When I didn’t have Miss Dawn yapping in my ear about anything negative about myself, whether it be my posture, my gracefulness or even exemplifying my small weight being huge, I actually did love being on stage and dancing.
“Yeah, but it sounds like you’re being forced into doing it. I sure as hell know that I hate being forced into anything. I like to make my own decisions.”
“Well, yeah, sure I don’t like my teacher, but you’re never gonna like someone who constantly finds things about you to give you negative comments about. Like my weight.”
“What about you’re weight?”
“She says I need to lose some.”
“That’s insane! I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone as slim as you are. Well, maybe I have, but I swear, you don’t need to lose anything.”
I smile shyly. “Thanks, that’s at least comforting.”
He smiles back. “Well, it’s true. Now back to my question, what do you like to do? Not what your parents want or your teacher wants, what do you want?”
I sigh, looking at my moving feet. A long moment of silence passes until I finally answer. “Three things. One, is that I like to visit my secret river…”
“Is swimming naked one of the other things?”
I ignore that comment with a grimace, “Two, I like to dance some sort of swing.”
“Okay,” he nods, seeing that as reasonable.
“And last, I like to play the piano.”
“Really?”
I nod.
“That’s different. Most people are forced to play it, and absolutely hate it.”
I shrug indifferently, “Yeah, well, I learnt a little when I was a kid, then my mother thought I should spend more time doing ballet.”
He didn’t have a reply for that, instead nodding in understanding.
I finally reach my driveway, turning to him with a happy expression. “I had a really great time tonight.”
He grins widely, “I’m glad you did. Again, sometime?”
Without hesitation, I blurt out, “Yeah, sure. That’d be great. I mean, that is if I can get out of my schedule.”
His smile never wavers, “I’ll find a way. See you later, Ducky.” He leans in and kisses my cheek.
“Bye, Macka.”
Then we go our separate ways, a smile still on my face, and my hand instinctively strokes where his lips had touched, like as though a small burning had escalated upon his kiss.