THE GIRL IN THE BRIGHT GREEN JACKET

Sometimes love can't be explained.

When she stepped down the stairs, it was like an electric shock was cascading through him. She was gorgeous. Words could not describe the sight he was looking at right now. David Journey readjusted his maroon glasses to make sure he was seeing correctly. Who knew bright colours could be so dazzling? She didn’t even look at him as she made her way down the stairs. A blue Blackberry was placed to her ear and she was talking animatedly as she passed Dave without a second glance. Dave just stared at her back, stunned. He was so shocked in fact that he didn’t realize he was blocking most of the sidewalk with his brown mountain bike. But soon an elderly man put him in place.

            “Excuse me,” he tried to say politely, but Dave could hear the tension in his voice. “But would you mind moving, you’re blocking the sidewalk.”

            Dave looked at him, snapping back to reality.

            “Oh, sorry,” he apologised and moved his bike up the library stairs.

            But that two-second manoeuvre had cost him to lose sight of the beautiful girl. He waited until the elderly man had passed and then continued biking up Yonge Street, forgetting as to why he had been biking in the first place. Then he remembered, work. He had to be at Time for Tea for 1:30 p.m. and it was already 1:15! He biked as quickly as possible and made it into work just in time. He locked up his bike on the bike stand and opened the glass door. The smell of freshly brewed tea greeted him as soon as he entered the teashop. The manager glared at him as he went behind the counter and signed his name on the shift time sheet on the wall. Once he had written the time his shift started beside his name, he glanced at his purple Calvin Klein watch to see that it had just become 1:30. He hung up his coat in the closet, put a black apron around his waist, and signed into a till. His co-worker Sharon glanced at him as he started pouring coins into the individual slots.

            “I wouldn’t show up late again,” she advised Dave. Dave just nodded as he finished with the roll of pennies and threw the paper rolls into the garbage beside him.

            “I wasn’t late though,” said Dave, as he closed the till drawer.

            “Please, Dave. You know you’re supposed to show up at least five minutes before your shift.”

            “You’re always late,” Dave noted.

            “Yeah, that’s true,” said Sharon, guiltily twisting a strand of her black hair around her finger.

            That’s when Tim appeared.

            “Glad you could join us Dave,” said the manager. “I believe that Orange Pekoe is just about ready to be dumped.”

            Dave nodded as he took the brew pot off the brew stand and dumped the excess tea down the sink behind him. He waited until the last drop of the brownish liquid had made its way down the drain before he rinsed out the pot and opened the top of it. In a cupboard close to his right leg, he got out a large silver tin of Orange Pekoe and scooped out four large tablespoons of leaves into the permanent filter of the pot. He then closed the lid, placed the pot back on the brew stand, and hit the hot water button. Hot water began flowing into the brew pot as he headed back to his till. Dave knew that brewed tea was the best when fresh and Tim had instructed him that after thirty minutes he had to dump the tea. What he liked about the brew stand though, was that each brew pot had a built-in timer that counted down the minutes plus the additional one minute, three minutes, or five minutes, depending on what tea was being brewed. There were two lights at the top of each brew stand. Beside the top light were the words BREWED and then beside the light below were the words FINISHED. The first light meant that the tea had been properly brewed while the second light meant that it was “time to dump” according to Tim. Right now, both lights were still on but soon the top light would turn off, indicating that the tea was brewed. There was four brew pots on the brew stand: two black tea pots, one green tea pot, and one herbal tea pot. Every day, Tim tried to change all the teas except one of the black tea pots which would always remain as Orange Pekoe. In the morning, however, they would bring out a fifth brew pot that would contain English Breakfast as well. The teas that were now on the stand were Orange Pekoe, Vanilla, Jasmine Green Tea, and Cranberry Raspberry. Dave had always loved herbal teas and had found Cranberry Raspberry tea to be his favourite in the store. Tim had always advised each one of his employees to recommend their favourite tea if the customer wanted the same category that it was in. The store was still empty and Tim had disappeared downstairs again.

            “So why were you late?” asked Sharon, as she added some more chocolate chip cookies to the food tray in the display case.

            “Lost track of time,” said Dave. It was a half-truth.

            “Uh huh,” said Sharon, not convinced.

 

The day went by really quickly as customers started arriving at around 2 p.m. and Dave was kept so busy that he completely forgot about the girl in the bright green jacket. That was until 5 in the evening. He was wiping tables when she walked in. Now that Dave could look at her properly, he saw that she had long flowing blonde hair and a small nose. Her bright green eyes were really accented with the bright green jacket, and she wore jeans and small brown boots. Dave left the table he was cleaning half wiped as he rushed back behind the counter. Luckily, Sharon already had another customer as the beautiful girl waited for the woman and her daughter in the stroller to move to a table to sit down. She was third in line and as Sharon took the next customer, she walked up to Dave’s till.

            “Hi,” she said, she had a calming sweet voice.

            Dave tried to stay focused as he said a quick, “Hi,” back and then, “What can I get you this evening?”

            “Just a Cranberry Raspberry tea if you don’t mind,” she said.

            “Sure.” He checked the brew pot and was happy that he had just made a new pot. As he poured the hot soothing liquid into a white paper cup, he realized he hadn’t asked which size she wanted. Instinctively, he was already pouring a medium for her. He noticed she was watching him as he poured but soon took out her Blackberry out of her pocket when their eyes met. Once her eyes were turned away, Dave then noticed that the light red concoction was about to overflow. Without thinking, Dave let the tea seep over the edge as the hot scolding substance leaked onto his hands. He gritted his teeth as he made his way to the sink and dumped some of the tea down the drain. He wiped the bottom of the cup with a J-cloth and slipped a cup sleeve around the middle of the cup. As he made his way back to the counter, he tried to ignore the pain in his hands. The girl was smiling up at him. He felt stupid and knew she was laughing at him. “Sorry. I forgot to ask you what size you wanted,” he said as he placed the cup down in front of her.

            “That’s fine,” she said, trying to look more serious as she placed her Blackberry back into her jacket pocket. “Medium was what I wanted anyway.”

            Dave nodded as he cashed in the order.

            “So that’ll be one fifty, please.”

            The girl reached into her pocket and handed him a five-dollar bill.

            Dave punched the amount she had given her on the keyboard and handed her the change once the till drawer opened.

            “Three fifty is your change,” he said, as he placed the change in her hand. “Have a great day.”

            The girl smiled up at him as she sealed a brown lid onto the white cup.

            “You might want to run some cold water over your hands, it’ll soothe the pain,” she suggested. “Thanks, by the way.” She then took a sip of her tea. “Mmm...delicious as always.”

            “You’re welcome,” said Dave, as he watched the girl leave the store. Once she had left, he turned on the faucet and ran freezing cold water over his hands.

            “What the hell was that about?” Sharon asked, as Dave let the cooling water numb his hands.

            “Nothing,” said Dave, as he turned off the faucet. He could feel his cheeks getting warmer.

            “Dave, you were blushing the moment she walked in.”

            “I was?” he asked.

            “Yes. And then after you spilled hot water all over yourself, I thought she was going to burst out laughing. You have no idea how hard it was for me.”

            “Oh. Well thanks,” he said nastily.

            “Sorry Dave, it was just too funny. I thought you were going to flatten your hair as well.” At that, Dave ruffled his already straight brown hair. “You’re lucky Tim wasn’t there.”

            “Yeah,” said Dave. “That would have been a disaster.”

            “Just be thankful you didn’t drop the pot as well.”

            “Thanks,” he said sarcastically.

            There were only three customers sitting at the table drinking their tea in silence. The mother was rocking her baby daughter in her arms.

            “So do you know that girl?” asked Sharon, as Dave watched the scene before him.

            “No,” said Dave, not turning his eyes towards her.

            Sharon muttered something that he was pretty sure had the words “boys” and “blondes” in it.

           

            “It’s not just because of her hair colour,” Dave blurted out without thinking.

            “Sure,” said Sharon, rolling her eyes.

 

At 6 p.m., the bells on the door chimed and Charlie walked in.

            “Hey guys,” Charlie acknowledged his two co-workers in his small cockney accent. He looked around. There was no one else in the store. “Bloody hell! You scare ‘em all away Share?”

            “Touched,” said Sharon sarcastically.

            “Seriously though, how are you two?”

            “Fine,” Sharon and Dave said together.

            “Good to know,” said Charlie as he signed in on the shift sheet and soon signed into a till. As he began dumping coins into the various slots, Sharon let out,

            “But Dave has become a real charmer.”

            “Shut up,” said Dave, but Charlie was already looking at him with curious eyes.

            “Charmer, eh?” he said as he closed the till drawer. “Blimey, always knew it though.”

            “Sure,” said Dave, trying to shrug off the comment.

            “You should have seen him,” said Sharon. “He spilt tea all over himself when she walked in.”

            “The ladies will do that to ya,” Charlie said. “You get her number?”

            Dave shook his head. He was wishing they would move on to a different topic.

            “Why not? Well, anyway, when you spilt the hot tea on her, you should have said, ‘this is hot, but there’s nothing as hot as you, baby.’” Then he laughed at his own joke as Sharon hit him in the shoulder.

            “I’m actually grateful he didn’t say that,” she said.

            Dave just looked down at the floor; this conversation was making him turn red, he could feel it.

            “Did she enjoy the tea?” asked Charlie.

            “Yeah,” said Dave.

            “Well, then you should have asked her to fill out one of our customer appreciation sheets and include her email and phone number so we could contact her when new teas come out. If she said, ‘yes,’ you’d know she likes you.”

            “That’s a terrible idea,” cried Sharon. “All you have to write on those sheets is a comment, not your email or phone number.”

            “Yeah, but she wouldn’t have known that.” Sharon didn’t say anything, just gave Charlie a repulsed look.

            “What did you see in this girl anyway? Tits or a*s?”

            “I can’t believe I’m listening to this,” said Sharon, shaking her head.

            Charlie turned to her.

            “No one asked you to stay.”

            “Well, where would I go?”

            “I don’t know, maybe down to the basement to help Tim. Probably needs the help.”

            “Fine,” said Sharon, and she stormed past them.

            “Ah, peace,” Charlie let out, before she was out of earshot, but Sharon didn’t look back.

            Dave just nodded in silence. “So what was it?”

            “It was her jacket, really,” said Dave.

            “Jacket?”

            “Yeah, she had a bright green jacket.”

            “Okay,” said Charlie, not easily hiding his look of incredulousness. “Well, at least you’re honest. Jacket, really. Anything else?”

            “Well, she had pretty eyes.”

            “Pretty eyes? Jesus, there’s no hope for you. You didn’t look, did you?”

            “Look where?”

            “Oh, come on, you know bloody well where.”

            Dave tried to look as if he was thinking, but he really had no idea what Charlie was talking about. Charlie was his best friend. They had first met back in Grade 9 when Charlie had moved from Essex, England to Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He had come from the city of Thurrock and said he liked it there but his “mum and dad felt like a change.” Charlie had always been a year older than Dave and they both had applied to Time for Tea at the same time. It always seemed that Charlie was always giving Dave advice whether it was with soccer, which he always called “football,” or girls. Since the day Dave had known him, Charlie was always a funny character and the cockney accent suited him so perfectly that every time he heard the accent, he thought of Charlie.

            “B***s,” Charlie said, when Dave didn’t say anything. “Come on. Reckon you didn’t look then?”

            Dave didn’t say anything, just stared at the floor. “Ah well, in good time you’ll learn,” he said, slapping Dave on the back, as if he had given Dave a very important life lesson. He glanced at his black Timex watch and found that it was bordering 6:30. “Blimey, you should get going, it’s nearly half past five.” Dave nodded and quickly signed out of his till. After he had marked the time he was leaving, Charlie said, “I’ll call ya later. We’ll have some beers at my place.” Dave nodded. Sometimes Charlie acted much older than he was. “Beers?” he was only 17. How many was he planning on having? Just then, Sharon appeared upstairs.

            “Finally, you two are done,” she said. “See you, Dave.”

            “Bye,” said Dave as he headed for the glass door as he heard Charlie greet the next customer with a hearty, “Evening, ma’am.”

 

That evening, Dave went over to Charlie’s house. He was now sitting on Charlie’s brown couch in front of the television with a can of beer in his hand and watching Manchester United play West Ham United. Dave didn’t really care about either teams but he knew Charlie loved “football” and never missed a game.

            “So what do you like about this girl?” Charlie asked him at the next commercial.

            “I don’t know. I know she likes raspberry cranberry tea.”

            Charlie just nodded and took a sip of beer from his can. Dave had a feeling he wanted go into another “tits and a*s” speech. He wondered if he could ever talk seriously with Charlie, he was always joking around.

            “You like that too, don’t you?” he asked, placing his can on the table.

            “Yeah, I do.”

            “Well, it’s a start.”

            “Yeah,” nodded Dave as he took a sip of beer. He never really liked the wheat taste but decided to drink it anyway. He didn’t even know what kind of beer it was, probably something from England. Charlie wouldn’t drink anything else.

            “Reckon she likes you?”

            “I don’t know,” and that’s when the game came back on. Dave had to admit, he was thankful for it.

 

The next day was school and Dave wasn’t very focused. All of Science class he was watching the clock and really didn’t care about cells. When the bell rang for next class, he was thankful. He proceeded towards French class when someone collided with him. It was the girl from the teashop.

            “I’m so sorry,” said Dave, as he helped her pile up her books. Why was she carrying them anyway, didn’t she know she was wearing a backpack? But he didn’t question this as his eyes met hers. He stopped, as if transfixed and wasn’t knocked out until she said,

            “Thanks for helping me pick up my books.”

            That was when Dave realized he wasn’t just staring at a pair of floating bright green eyes.

            “Not a problem,” he said quickly, as she gave him a quick smile before disappearing around the corner. That’s when Dave made contact with his second obstacle of the day, a locker door.

            “You’ve got to be f*****g kidding me!” he cried a bit too loudly, as he clutched his face. But soon the bronzy blue locker door was being closed and a smiling face appeared in front of him. It was Charlie.

            “Reckon you looked this time?” he asked with no hesitation.

            “Huh?” said Dave, still clutching his face.

            “She’s got some real nice knockers, that one,” Charlie continued as if he was just talking to himself.

            When Dave still didn’t say anything, Charlie ruffled his hair.

            “Think she likes you.”

            “How would you know? All you look at is tits and a*s. Anyway, I’m late for class.”

            But as Dave tried to walk away from his friend, Charlie grabbed him by his right shoulder. Charlie’s arms were quite muscular and Dave could feel the strain as he was jerked backwards.

            “Come with me,” he said, as he headed for the outside doors that were just passed Dave’s class. Dave ran up to catch up with him, hoping Ms. Boucelle hadn’t seen him.

            “What’s up?” Dave asked, as they moved towards the field. At this time of the day, no one was outside during Gym, so Charlie headed for the bleachers.

            “You know that’s not me,” said Charlie, as he sat down on the blue bench.

            “I know,” said Dave, seriously. “Is that what you wanted to tell me, so I can now get back to class?”

            “No,” said Charlie. “What’s so bloody great about French anyway? Do you know what the word, petite means?”

            “Yes,” said Dave.

            “Do you know what the word garcon, means?”

            “Yes.”

            “Do you know what the word…” Charlie thought for a moment. “Une belle fille, means?”

            “Since when do you know French?”

            “Just answer the question.”

            “Yes,” said Dave, a bit exasperated.

            “Well there, you don’t need French then.”

            “French is more than just learning two words and a small sentence.”

            “Well, that’s French for me. It’s what you should learn in each class.”

            “Each class? You’d never get anything done.”

            “The French never get anything done.”

            “This isn’t why you brought me out here, either, is it?”

            Charlie shook his head. “Well then get to the point and stop involving your English views.”

            “Hey!” cried Charlie.

            “Admit it, Charlie.”

            Charlie nodded.

            “Alright. So you really like that girl?”

            “Which girl?”

            “You know bloody well which girl, don’t play dumb.”

            “Oh, her.”

            Thinking of her made Dave smile. He pictured her sweet lips against his and maybe she’d say something like, “You’re so warm Dave.”

            “Dave, stop it,” said Charlie, destroying the moment. “You’re smile’s creepin’ me out.”

            Dave didn’t say anything and had a feeling he was blushing again.

            “So, you know how to get her?”

            “Sorry?”

            “You know bloody well what I said. You on drugs, today? Or is the alcohol affecting you? ‘Cause blimey, Dave, I thought you could hold your liquor better.”

            “I’m not drunk,” said Dave, a bit annoyed.

            “Well, don’t lash out at me. Anyway, guess you don’t know then, do you?”

            “Well, no,” said Dave. “I don’t really know her that well.”

            “Well how will you know her if you don’t try to?”

            “Well…I don’t know.” He glanced at his purple watch. It was nearing 10:30 a.m. “Charlie, are you planning me to miss my entire class?”

            “Forget about your bloody class,” said Charlie. “Can we talk like friends or are you gonna glance at your watch every second?”

            “Fine,” said Dave, and he sat down.

            “Finally. Good to know the friend rather than the businessman. F*****g hate those people. So, no plans?”

            “Nope.”

            “Well, let me help ya.”

            “Sure.”

            “She in any of your classes?”

            “I don’t know. I don’t always look at all my classmates.”

            Charlie let out a frustrated sigh.

            “You walk into the class and you don’t even look at bloody faces?”

            “Well…”

            “Blimey man, is the blackboard your only friend?”

            From experience with Charlie, Dave knew that was a rhetorical question.

            “Anyway,” said Charlie. “You should go up to her.”

            “I did,” said Dave, referring to the collision.

            “That’s not it.”

            “What do you mean?”

“You go up, not crash into her.”

            “So I’m supped to just find her and talk to her?”

            “Brighter than ya look.”

            “Shut up,” said Dave, as he lightly punched his friend in his right shoulder.

            Charlie ruffled Dave’s hair again and Dave ruffled Charlie’s curly blonde hair to get back at him. When the ruffling was complete, Charlie said,

            “So, wanna come to my place for a beer?”

            “It’s still school,” said Dave.

            “You’re never gonna get a girl this way. My house is just down the road from here.”

            “Fine,” said Dave.

            With Charlie around, it seemed he could never say the word, “No.”

 

When Dave got back to class, he was just in time to arrive for English. Mr. Rhodes was writing down on the board the different uses of figurative language, when Dave walked in. Dave could still feel a slight buzz from the beer as he sat down at his desk. Soon, he was taking out his notebook and copying the notes from the blackboard.

            “Now,” said Mr. Rhodes, turning to the class. His thick brown moustache bristled as he spoke as if it was living on his face. “Can anyone tell me what a metaphor is?”

            Kristi Shielding raised her hand.

            “Yes, Kristi?”

            “A metaphor is a comparison without using like or as. It’s a type of figurative language.”

            Dave hated braniacs. He couldn’t wait for the day when Kristi was actually unsure of an answer.

            “You’re on the right track,” said Mr. Rhodes.

            Dave smiled. Maybe that day was today. “A metaphor is...May I help you Ms. Thorton?”

            Dave looked up. The vice principal was standing in the doorway.

            “I was wondering if it would be alright if I could pull David Journey out of class for a bit?”

            “I have no objection,” said Mr. Rhodes, as Ms. Thorton nodded towards Dave, beckoning him to come forth. Dave quickly packed his notebook into his backpack and followed Ms. Thorton out the door. Before he leaved, he heard Mr. Rhodes explain that metaphors used comparisons to resemble a thought and that the comparisons were never usually literal. Dave knew it would probably be on the next test but wasn’t really worrying about it and was more concerned as to why he had been summoned by the vice principal. Ms. Thorton didn’t speak a word, but just silently lead him towards the principal’s office. Just before entering however, she stopped. Dave noticed that her hazel eagle eyes were staring at something on the glass pane, and he soon saw what it was. Scrawled in red marker were the words:

 

I like cranberry raspberry tea

-David Journey

 

Ms. Thorton glared at Dave.

“Now David,” she said sharply, “I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but vandalism will not be tolerated in this school. Obviously something slipped your mind, which caused you to write this obscure message and I hope it doesn’t provoke you to do it again. On another note, I also like that kind of tea, but I’d rather you not write it on the door into my office.”

            Dave wasn’t sure if he was supposed to laugh, so didn’t.

            Ms. Thorton continued, “So, I know you will clean it up and that’s why you may notice a pail of soapy water below your feet.

Dave looked down and saw the black basin with a yellow sponge floating at the top.

“Once you’re done, you can head back to class.” Then Ms. Thorton opened the door and stepped into her office while David got on his hands and knees, and began scrubbing. He couldn’t understand why anyone would write that on the vice principal’s door and he only knew of two people who knew he liked raspberry cranberry tea. Then he realized what was the cause: Charlie.

“Good English class?” asked Charlie, as he watched Dave finish scrubbing off the last part of the statement.

Dave glared at his best friend. “Thought you were better than this, though.” Charlie pointed to the glass.

Dave wiped down the window with some paper towel that Ms. Thorton had given him and confronted Charlie.

“Why?” he asked, as he threw the sponge back into the pail.

“You needed the message sent,” said Charlie matter-of-factly, as he followed Dave back to English.

“Charlie…” but Dave couldn’t think of any words that would have been appropriately insulting.

“You know, she saw it.”

“What?!”

“Yep. Chuckled a bit, and moved on.”

“Wait, so you did this, and then stood and watched?”

Charlie shook his head.

“No, when I was done and heading to class, I saw her pass.”

“Great.”

“This is a good thing.”

“How?”

“Well, she laughed. Think she likes you.”

“Or thinks I’m an idiot.”

“Or a badass.”

“But I’m neither.”

“She doesn’t know.”

“No, but she should. I didn’t even write it.”

“She doesn’t know.”

“No! But�"”

“Don’t worry, alright? Now you’re in.”

“In?!”

“Yeah.”

 “What? No, this can’t…this can’t be happening.” Dave stopped in the middle hall and was now five classes away from English.

“Ms. Thorton gave me a warning.”

Charlie laughed.

“That’s not funny,” said Dave, sternly.

“Dave, lighten up,” said Charlie. “Have some fun. You ever watch those old movies? You know, the ones where they drop like banners over the bridge on the highway declaring their love for someone or how they want to marry them.”

“Yes, but�"”

“Think of those.”

“But I�"You, didn’t write anything meaningful.”

“Doesn’t matter, it worked.”

Dave felt as if he was arguing with a wall.

“Right, well I got Art, so I’ll see you after school.”

“You’re joking,” said Dave, as he watched Charlie leave.

“Nope.”

Dave walked back into his English class as soon as Charlie was heading towards the green doors that lead to the second floor.

Mr. Rhodes was sitting at his desk marking another one of his class’s tests. Dave approached him.

“Hi, Mr. Rhodes, I was just wondering what I missed.”

“Not much, David,” he replied. “We’re just sorting out metaphors, similes, and others types of figurative devices.” He handed him a sheet which Dave took to his desk and began soon working on.

 

After school, Dave met Charlie right outside his classroom. He was flashing two white tickets in his face and grinning as if he had just been told he had won the lottery.

            “Guess what?” said Charlie, once the two were heading towards Charlie’s locker.

            “What?” asked Dave.

            “I got two tickets to the cinema.”

            “Charlie, it’s Monday.”

            “So?”

            “Well, I have some work to do. Plus, my parents wouldn’t allow it.”

            “F**k your parents and come.”

            Dave looked at him shocked but before he could say something Charlie said, “Well, I don’t really mean that, but you need to have some fun.”

            “What’s the movie?” Dave asked, knowing this was another situation he couldn’t get himself out of.

            “Footloose.”

            “What?!”

            Dave couldn’t understand why Charlie would want to see such a film. “You hate musicals.”

            “I’m not going.”

            They had reached Charlie’s locker and Dave still didn’t want to process what Charlie had said.

            “Why the two tickets, then?”

            “Oh, I’m seeing Moneyball.”

            “Well, we’re not seeing two different films. What makes you think I want to see the musical?”

            “’Cause Anna’s going.”

            “Who?”

            “Your girl.”

            Dave was angry with Charlie.

            “Charlie! I don’t need help with her, alright?! I don’t need you to try to f**k up everything.”

            “No f**k ups,” replied Charlie, as he opened up his locker. “Just helpful guidance. You’re too slow.”

            “How do you even know she’s going tonight?”

            “’Cause I eavesdropped on her conversation. She’s in my Math class and if you don’t get her, I’m moving in. But you’ll win her.”

            “How do you know she’s not going with someone else?”

            Dave was really hoping he could avoid the evening that Charlie had seemed to have set up.

            “’’Cause no one else will go with her. I’m not just a pretty face, ya know, I listen.”

            Charlie closed his locker.

            “K, so I’m just supposed to go to this movie and sit beside her?”

            “That’s usually the idea of a date.”

            “But it’s not a date, it’s forced.”

            “Yeah, but she doesn’t know that.”

            “If I do this, will you stop bugging me?”

            “Sure, but this’ll work.”

            “Won’t be odd that I’m going to see a move alone. What kind of guy does that?”

            “She’ll find it endearing.”

            “Endearing? That’s the biggest word you’ve ever used.”

            “Hey, f**k you. I’m from England, we created the language you speak.”

            “No, what about the Americans?”

            “F**k ‘em. They left us anyway. Every word they have, came from us.”

            Dave wasn’t really interested in going into a nationalistic argument so said,

            “So when’s the movie?”

            “Seven.”

            “And when’s yours?”

            “Six-thirty.”

            “You planned yours before?!”

            “There was no better time.”

            “Liar.”

 

Outside the Silver City of Yonge and Eglinton, Dave glanced at his watch.

            “It’s six o’clock. Do you think she’s bought tickets yet?”

            “Nah. She’s coming at six-thirty,” replied Charlie, matter-of-factly. “The movie’s been out for a while.”

            “Eavesdropping?” But Dave knew he knew the answer.

            “Not really, I texted her.”

            “Wow. Why would she ever give you her number?”

            “’Cause we’re in the same Science class and we’re partners for a project. I’m supposed to be going to see this movie with her because then we’re supposed to be working on the project.”

            “So you flat out lied to her? Man, I knew this was a bad idea.”

            “Relax. She’ll still go with you.”

            “How? She’ll already be pissed at you.”

            “She won’t be. I told her I’d try to make it, but not sure if I could.”

            “So then she might just invite someone else.”

            “Have you listened to anything I’ve said? No one else can come!”

            “Well then why is she going today?”

            “’Cause she wants to see the movie today, I don’t know, I’m not stalking her.”

            “Look stop interrogating me. I haven’t fucked up, alright? You’ll be great, might even be able to throw a little make-out session in the theatre.”

            “Your movie’s starting in five minutes.”

            “S**t! Well, good luck, see you later.”

            Dave nodded as he watched his friend race up the stairs into the theatre; they had already purchased their tickets.

            With Charlie gone, Dave wasn’t exactly sure what to do. How was he supposed to approach Anna without looking suspicious? He noticed there was a pillar beside him; maybe he could behind that? But what happens if he saw her? He would be categorized as a creep. He needed to find a place where Anna couldn’t see him but where he could see her, so when the time was right, he could make his move before she noticed him. He wasn’t sure such a place existed here. Maybe he could go upstairs and peer at that ticket box down below in order to spot her. But maybe someone would get suspicious from above and if they didn’t, how could she not see him as he hurtled down the stairs? This task seemed impossible. Then he thought of an idea that required no movement. All he had to do was stay leaning against the stairs of Indigo and wait for Anna to show up. He could occasionally look at his watch so it looked like he was waiting for someone else. But whom was he waiting for? He couldn’t say Charlie, so he decided to make up a name. John. Yes, John. It was quite common and would suit the purpose.

            When 6:30 pm arrived, Anna still hadn’t shown up. Dave decided that he would wait just ten minutes before the movie started. But then he thought, If she doesn’t show, I don’t really want to see this movie. He wondered if he could switch his tickets. If that didn’t work, he would go see the film. He could have picked worse.

            At 6:45, there was no sight of Anna so Dave decided to try his luck with switching his ticket. There was no line, so he was easily able to walk up to the man at the booth.

            “Excuse me, I was wondering if I could switch tickets. It turns out my friend can’t make it, and I don’t really want to see this movie by myself.”

            Without even looking at the ticket the ticket agent said,

            “Sorry, but switches are not allowed.”

            “Okay,” said Dave, a bit disappointed and proceeded upstairs.

            As he passed the concession stand, he couldn’t understand why Anna wouldn’t have shown. He had always had, had a bad feeling about Charlie’s idea. He was right, but not because of the reason he had thought of.

 

“So?” asked Charlie the next day, once they had left Dave’s house.

            “She didn’t show.”

            “What?”

            “Yeah, so I saw the movie by myself.”

            “Oh, well I’m sorry about that.”

            “It’s not your fault.”

            “Why didn’t she show?”

            “How would I know? You’re the one who’s got her damn cell phone number.”

            “Yeah, but I don’t exactly text her.”

            “Can we just drop it?”

            “Fine, so how was the movie?”

            “Fine. I’ve seen Footloose before, so it was just a newer version of the same film.”

            “Boring then?”

            “No, the music was good.”

            “Well, I’ll figure something out.”

            “No, you won’t,” said Dave, quickly. “Leave Anna be.”

            “Why? You clearly like her?”

            “No,” Dave, “I don’t.”

            “Liar. Dave, just leave it up to me.”

            “No, Charlie. Just leave her alone.”

            “No, can do.”

            “Charlie�"”

            “See you after school,” said Charlie as he rushed up the stairs and into the school building. Dave stared at the already forming autumn leaves and wished they would all just fall on top of him.

 

Dave couldn’t focus in class; he was more concerned as to what new plan Charlie had come up with. He knew that soon he was going to be the one laughed at wherever he went. As Mr. Bradford was writing some Algebra questions on the board, Dave was thinking of different plans that Charlie would come up with. Maybe dinner had been arranged for him and Anna or maybe Charlie would be sitting beside Anna, or even maybe Charlie was going to introduce him to Anna. There were so many possibilities and as Dave was thinking about lunch or the end of the day, Mr. Bradford pointed him out.

            “Dave, why don’t you try this equation for us?”

            Luckily Dave was good at Math and completed the equation with ease. Mr. Bradford was impressed, as he knew Dave had been daydreaming.

 

Lunch time arrived and Dave couldn’t find Charlie in the cafeteria. S**t, it’s already started, he thought. He was afraid that balloons that had “I love you Anna” written in huge letters would drop from the ceiling, but thankfully they didn’t. He knew there was no point in avoiding the plan, so he just got out his lunch bag and ate his ham sandwich at a table in the corner. Has he sipped on his chocolate milk, a girl approached him.

            “Hey, how come you’re sitting all alone?”

            Dave looked up into bright green eyes. It was Anna.

            “No reason,” he bluntly replied.

            “Well, can I sit down?”

            “Sure,” said Dave. He wondered if this was Charlie’s doing, but couldn’t explain as to why Anna would have been so willing to sit beside him.”

            “How come you’re not with your friends?” Dave assumed she had some. All the pretty girls had tons of friends.

            “They’re out smoking with their boyfriends,” said Anna, as she opened up her Thermos and began eating her chicken noodle soup. 

            Dave finished chewing on the bit of sandwich in his mouth before responding.

            “You don’t smoke?”

            “No, I think it’s disgusting.”

            “Me too.”

            They had something in common. This was the first step.

            “Sorry, I never got your name?”

            “It’s Dave.”

            “Hi Dave, I’m Anna.”

            “Nice to meet you. Anna smiled at him. “You make some great cranberry raspberry tea by the way.”

            “Thanks.”

            Anna nodded as she began eating more of her soup. Dave hated awkward silences, but didn’t know what else to say.

            “Is the cafeteria food any good?”

            “Yeah,” said Dave. “I don’t have it that much though, just bring my own.”

            “Yeah, so do I. You probably won’t believe this, but I’m really watching my weight. I have a huge sweet tooth and I have a feeling I’d buy every cookie they sell.”

            “I don’t like sweets,” Dave said, suddenly.

            “Really?”

            “Yeah. Just not my cup of tea.”

            It was a lame attempt at a joke but Dave was hoping Anna would understand.

            “Oh. That’s so weird. I wish I had that.”

            She hadn’t.

            “Yeah, too much sugar. I love meat though.”

            “Yeah, steak’s the best.”

            “Yeah.”

            Dave hadn’t realized how it was easy to talk to Anna and he didn’t feel at all nervous as she sat across from him. Soon they were eating in silence until the bell rang. “Well, I’ll see you around,” said Dave, as he packed up his containers into his lunch bag.

            “See you. I have a spare so I don’t have to go anywhere.”

            “Nice.” Then Dave proceeded to History class.

 

After school, Charlie approached Dave’s locker as he was putting on his coat.

            “Sorry about lunch,” he said, as Dave closed his locker door. “I was working out for the football team.”

            “You’ll need lots of upper body strength for that,” said Dave, pointing to Charlie’s weak muscles.

            “What? No, football. You know, the sport where you run around and kick the ball?”

            “You mean, soccer.”

            “I can’t believe you North Americans call it that. It’s wrong. There’s more foot involved in my sport that your cop out of rugby.”

            “I’m joking.”

            “F**k you, Dave. You had me going.”

            “I know. Wanted to lead you on for a bit.”

            “I see.”

            “But it’s okay, Anna sat beside me.”

            “You’re joking.”

            “Nope. Yeah, just by herself, no help.”

            “Wow. Guess I underestimated her.”

            “Guess so.”  They were now walking towards the outside doors.

            “So, you going to ask her out?”

            “It’s too soon.”’

            “No, it’s actually the perfect time. Hurry up or someone else will.”

            “But we just had one conversation.”

            “The worst she’ll say is, “no.”

            “I need to give it at least a few more days.”

            “Fine, but don’t cry to me if you’re too late.”

            “Thanks.”

            “So you want to grab a beer at my place to celebrate?”

            “Celebrate what?” asked Dave, as they crossed the street. They were nearing Charlie’s house.

            “Talking to a girl. It’s the first step.”

            “Yeah, I’ll pass. I still have some work to do.”

            “Fine,” said Charlie, a bit disappointed. “Then I’ll see you tomorrow.”

            “Cheers.”

            “Very funny,” said Charlie before Dave headed up Keewaitin Avenue. He lived on St. Clements Avenue and knew he could easily take the route down Keewaitin. Him and Charlie were quite close to one another, and it made visits back and forth quite easy.

            When Dave got home, he was the only one there so he dropped his bag on the floor and hang his coat on the coat rack in front of him. He carried his bag into the living room and planned to make himself a small snack before settling down and studying for his Math test on Friday. Soon he had a plate of cheese peanut butter crackers and began munching as he flipped through the textbook. But it was hard to focus. All he could think about was Anna. She had so casually approached him, why? Was she just being nice and felt that no one should sit alone. Or was it something else? Did Anna like him as well? Dave needed a break from his thoughts and decided to watch an episode of Seinfeld. It was “The Statue,” and Dave laughed so hard when Kramer came bursting through the door. Unfortunately, he didn’t do much homework and just continued to watch humours shows such as The Simpsons, Family Guy, Futerama, and How I Met Your Mother. At 6 pm, his mother wasn’t pleased when she opened the door and found Dave cackling at a line Jason Segel had just said.

            “Dave,” she said sternly. “I really hope this isn’t all you’ve been doing since school ended.”

            Dave shook his head as he turned off the television.

            “No, mom, I was just taking a break.”

            His mother glanced down at the open binder filled with blank lined sheets of paper on the coffee table.

            “Where are the notes?”

            Dave could never successfully lie to his parents, but he always tried.

            “I just started on a new page.”

            “Mhmm.”

            It was clearly obvious that she didn’t believe him.

            “Dave, I’m asking you don’t watch any more television today.”

            “But mom, The Big Bang Theory is on at seven-thirty.”

            “Well, you’ll just have to catch it online sometime on the weekend. I mean it, Dave, no more TV. Don’t think I don’t know you have a Math test on Friday and that you haven’t studied. I’m your mother: We’re trained to know these things. Also, don’t think you’re going to running out of the house to visit Charlie, as I know you’re thinking. You’re sitting right here and studying for at least an hour and a half. Now if you have any questions, just ask me. I’ll be in the basement working.”

            With that, Dave sat down to work. He wasn’t pleased, but knew he needed to study. He never enjoyed the craft of Math and was thankful that Grade 11 was the last mandatory year of it. He began reading the first chapter on Algebra and answering the questions at the end of the chapter. Thankfully, the answers were in the back of the book so when he was finished completing one chapter he checked to see if his answers were correct. Most of them were, but there were a few he had missed. Studying for Math removed any thoughts of Anna and it helped him concentrate.

           

But school the next day was a different story. Dave couldn’t get Anna off his mind. He didn’t really pay attention in any of his classes and was thankful when the bell rang signalling the end of the school day. He was going to his locker to gather up the binders he needed when she passed him in the hall. He immediately dropped his lock on the floor as she turned towards them. She was wearing a pink cashmere sweater overtop a pair of jeans.

            “Hey,” she said.

            “Hi,” he said, shocked.   

            But Dave didn’t want her to leave just yet; he knew this was his chance. “Say, I was wondering if you know…maybe…wanted to go out to…a movie sometime? There are some good films playing.” He scratched his head as he said this, which had suddenly become very itchy. Why was he so nervous? He had been fine yesterday. He hoped his face wasn’t blushing as well, but it probably was.

            Anna looked down at the floor. She seemed to be as uncomfortable as he was which made Dave feel a bit more relaxed. Then she looked up at him.

            “Dave, I’m really sorry, I have a boyfriend.”

            Reality hit him like a cold slap in the face. Of course she has a boyfriend, he thought. Why had he been so stupid?

            “Ok,” was all he let out.

            “Yeah, I’m really sorry.”

            Dave knew there was nothing else to say and he knew Anna felt awkward still standing there. “Well, maybe I’ll see you around?” she said, breaking the silence between them.

            “Yeah,” Dave said, trying to smile, but he instead just looked at his black Adidas shoes. He really wanted to kick the locker door in front of him.

            “Yeah.” And then she continued down the hall. Dave was still looking at his black Adidas.

            That was when Charlie appeared beside him.

            “Hey man, how’d it go? The moment I saw her, I headed the extra long way down the hall.”

            Dave just kept staring at his shoes.

            “What’s wrong? What’s buggin’ ya?”

            Dave looked up into the bright brown eyes of his friend.

            “The girl in the bright green jacket.”

           

Reviews

[StillShorterThanYou]

that was really interesting! you know, every time i thought of charlie's voice in my head, I thought of Dr. Who! just finished watch 2 eps you see

[Andy Ruffett]

Yeah, Dr. Who's a great show.