To meet You Again
Page 3
“Speak of the devil,” Angelo rolled his eyes. “Ow,” he said as I elbowed him.
“Behave,” I warned.
“Hey, guys, I have a proposition for you,” Don proclaimed.
“Oh no,” Angelo shook his head. “It’s already bad enough we agreed to be your band for the fair. What next, you’re going to make us hand out flyers or make posters? Let me just be clear: we are not part of your committee. We did not volunteer. We are-”
“Angelo!” I scolded. “Let him speak. Jeez, you like to ramble.”
“Ramble? Or defend our rights as legal citizens?” Angelo smiled wryly.
“Is there a difference?” I playfully rolled my eyes. Angelo very gently pushed my arm. “Anyway, so Don, what’s up?”
“Remember how you mentioned portability and how flash mobbing might be fun?” Don began.
“Hmm,” I stoked my chin and then faced Angelo. “What do you think, my dear friend?”
“Shall we say it together?” he proposed, just as we’d rehearsed it a thousand times in the past.
Angelo and I faced Don and with a synchronized, firm nod each responded with a resounding “No.”
“C’mon, guys-”
“No,” we repeated the exact same movement.
“But-”
“No,” once more.
“Will you let me explain?” Don pleaded. Both Angelo and I shrugged. “It’s not flash mobbing, per say…”
“Duh, because a mob of three people isn’t a mob,” Angelo joked. I high fived him.
“We’ll be giving a public service,” Don explained.
“What kind of service?” I asked.
“The one where we get paid to serenade people,” Don answered, smiling.
“Did you say ‘paid’?” Angelo was suddenly fully attentive.
“Of course,” Don smiled. “For the concert performance, too. You didn’t think you’d be doing that for free, did you?
“Sweet!”I high fived Angelo.“How much?”
“Well, for the concert performance, it’s three hundred dollars, which we’ll divide three ways…”
“I think you mean forty-forty-twenty split,” Angelo interrupted. “After all, you had to force us to do it.”
“But you agreed to do it,” Don argued. Angelo shrugged. “Anyway,” Don continued, “And then it’s five dollars per song. The three of us will be excused from class from tomorrow up until the fair.”
“Did you say ‘excused from class’?” I exclaimed. Don nodded happily. I jumped up and cheered, “YES!” Angelo had jumped and cheered with me, and arm in arm, we started sort of hopping in a circle.
“Wow you guys really like money and cutting class, don’t you?” Don mused.
“Who doesn’t?” I pointed out.
“Remember guys, this isn’t just some random free pass for the week,” Don reminded. “We’ll be spending the time going from classroom to classroom, singing.”
“Yeah, yeah, easy,” Angelo dismissed. “As long as there’s money involved, I’m in.”
“Good, because I already told the committee we’d start tomorrow, and I set up a request box,” Don took out a wooden box and opened it. There were at least twenty slips of paper in there. “So, who’s house are we going over to tonight?”
Chapter 3
Angelo and I stared at the mound of papers, and then at each other, and then glared at Don.
** * * *
The next day, we had to go all the way up to the fourth floor for our first job… at eight in the morning.
I’m sorry, but no person deserves the torture of aching thighs that early in the morning. Especially if you’re not particularly athletic.
“So which song is this one?” I yawned.
“The One Direction song,” Don held the neck of his guitar in one hand and a piece of paper in the other. “Ah… Little Things?”
“Oh, that one,” I rolled my eyes.
“What?” Angelo asked. “I think it’s an okay song.”
“Seriously?” I raised an eyebrow. “You do realize that this song is by one of the artists you absolutely hate, right?”
“Hey, an okay song is an okay song no matter who wrote it,” Angelo shrugged. “I think the girl we’re going to sing it to will really appreciate it. She might even cry.”
I scoffed, “Yeah right.”
“Want to bet?” Angelo challenged. “Ten says I’m right.”
“You’re on,” I shook his hand.
Don knocked on the door and opened it, “Excuse me, Mr. David. We’re here to sing a song for someone.”
“Sure, come in,” Mr. David nodded and then sat down at the front desk.
“Good morning everyone,” I stretched. “Now I understand how all of you feel on Tuesdays, walking up four flights of stairs every morning.” The class laughed, and I froze when I noticed Melissa Kier staring. I couldn’t even put a meaning to it because it was out of context. I had no idea what had happened between her and Don, so I couldn’t possibly know what it meant. Did she want him back or did she resent his being there? I looked back at Don, who also looked uneasy. Did he want her back or did he begin to regret us offering this “public service”?
“So,” Angelo noticed my uneasiness and took over, “this one is for a very special Helena, from one Mark Pierce.” My eyes shifted over to a girl in the corner whose face lit up. That must have been her. She was perfectly pretty and perfectly thin. What did she have to be insecure about?
“His message,” Don added, shaking his head and focusing his gaze onto the paper, “says ‘Dear Helena, I love you very much and you know that. I just hope that one day you’ll learn to love yourself as much as I do’.” I wanted to roll my eyes, but there were too many people. Somebody would have noticed. “So without further ado,” Don looked at me. He plucked the first four counts,
“Your hand fits in mine like it’s made just for me…” I turned to Don and made bear claws as I sang “But bear this in mind” and he laughed and shook his head.
As I sang, Angelo did the second voice, as we practiced last night. He said he was too lazy to bring his box drum thing around, so he figured he’d just sing. I could hear the smile in his voice as I saw Helena’s eyes water. Damn. I very subtly inched in front of Angelo and pulled out my wallet from my back pocket. I pulled out a bill and figured Angelo would give me the change later. I turned back to face him and he grinned widely.
By the end of the song, Helena was blowing her nose into a tissue. “Will you tell Mark ‘thank you’ for me?”
“Of course,” my smile was flat and stretched out. Thanks for helping me lose ten, Helena. If it were pounds, that ‘thank you’ would not have been sarcastic.
As we exited the classroom, I passively said, “Have a great Valentine’s week everybody.” And then I felt Don put a hand on my shoulder. He leaned in and whispered,
“That was great. You know, I believe you’re the reason Helena cried, not the song.”
I rolled my eyes but couldn’t help but smile, “Thanks, I think.”
“Yeah, she cried because you’re a terrible singer,” Angelo sneered. I slapped him,
“Oh, so if you’re admitting she didn’t cry because of the song, give me back my money.”
“Never,” Angelo stuck his tongue out. I smacked him on the arm again.
** * * *
As a condition of our arrangement with the Valentine’s committee, we were allowed a lunch break an hour earlier than everyone else so we could serenade people during the lunch break as well.
As such, we decided to spend our lunch break in the music room so we could do last minute rehearsals.
Angelo got up and stretched, “I’m going to go and use my winnings to buy some chocolate.”
“Whatever,” I rolled my eyes.
“Don’t worry, I’ll get you guys some, too,” Angelo reassured. “After all, the only thing good about Valentine’s Day is…”
“All chocolate is on sale,” Angelo and I said in u
nison. “Happy Valentine’s to us!” With that, Angelo walked out the door.
“What do you guys have against Valentine’s Day?” Don asked as he sat on the teacher’s desk.
“What’s there to have for it?” I countered as I jumped on and sat beside him.
“Chocolate is on sale,” Don smiled.
I nudged him, “Aside from what ideas you stole from me and Angelo.”
“Well,” he began, “you have an excuse to be bitter and curse at everything.”
“I like the way you think, Vernal,” I high fived him.
“But there really are some good things about it,” he mused.
“Like?” I challenged.
“You get to be affectionate.”
“Every romantic gesture after pales in comparison, and therefore the rest of your relationship will flop.”
Don stared at me, wide-eyed. He blinked once. “Um… Well… You get flowers.”
“Kills the environment.” I smirked. “Any other bright ideas?”
“You’ve thought of everything, haven’t you?” Don was in slight disbelief.
“I don’t believe that’s possible,” I tilted my head side to side playfully, “but more or less. And if I haven’t thought about it, I will eventually, and then I’ll have something for it.”
“What made you such a cynic?” Don asked.
“What do you mean?” I stopped with my head tilted on my left.
“What happened to you that was so bad it made you hate Valentine’s?” he clarified.
I shrugged. “Nothing really. I guess I’m just like that as a person. I don’t like commercialized things, I guess. Like Valentine’s. It’s supposed to be a day where you honour romantic relationships. Now, people hold more material value to it. Roses.Chocolates.Cards.Balloons.The colour red.The colour pink. It’s all too much about the outside, and not enough about the inside. All of those things are for show.”
“Ah, I get it,” Don nodded. “That makes sense. But I still like Valentine’s Day.”
“I wasn’t trying to convert you…” I looked at him. “But why do you like it?”
“I believe in romance,” he looked up thoughtfully. “And I think it’s cool that there’s a day where people remember that love is what’s important.”
“What if it was sunny and there were no clouds?” I smiled wryly.
“Huh?” Don asked.
“On Valentine’s Day. If it were really sunny and there were no clouds,” I repeated.
“It would be hot, I guess?” Don paused. He shook his head when he realized what I’d said. “Ha. Very funny. Cool. Hot. Very funny.” I grinned widely as he nudged me.
“Hey, Ruby.”
“Yeah, Don?”
“Could you be my girlfriend for a week?”
I turned to face him, confused. Unsure if I’d heard him correctly. “What?”
“Let’s be together for one week.”
“Why such a specific time frame, and why all of a sudden?” I raised an eyebrow. My heart beat fast.
Uh, Ruby, what’s the matter with you? This guy led you on and then hung you out to dry for the next two years. You shouldn’t even be entertaining things like this. He’s a jerk. Why else would he do such a thing? There’s no way that he was just being friendly… Or is it possible that overanalysing that moment has altered the version I remembered? Well, give him a chance.
“I want Melissa back,” he began. No. “And she seemed to be really jealous when we were at the classroom earlier.”
“So you want us to pretend we’re together so that she’ll get jealous and get back with you?” I clarified. Jerk.
“Yeah… If you’re up for it,” he looked down sheepishly. Huge jerk.
“Umm…” I looked down. Biggest jerk in the world… But… “Okay.” Oh, Ruby, what are you doing?”
“Really?” he looked at me, surprised.
“Why not?” I shrugged, despite the upset feeling in my stomach. “I’m bored. No big deal.” I lied. It was a huge deal. Finally, I was going to be able to play out moments that I had only imagined, and with the very person I’d imagined would be in it with me.
“Thank you, Ruby,” he hugged me, and my eyes widened. I paused for a moment before putting my arms around him,
“No big deal.” But it was. Maybe, just maybe, I could use this time to convince him that he should give me a shot. That’s all I wanted. A chance. The chance I should’ve gotten that first moment on the field trip.
“I’m back,” I barely made out as Angelo stepped in. He had a Snickers bar in his mouth, and held two others in his hand. His eyes widened when he saw us. “Well, well,” he seemed annoyed, “looks like some people are getting some action this Valentine’s. You guys an item now or something?”
“Yes,” Don replied, and I wanted to smack him in the face for it. “Just a few moments ago.”
“Huh,” Angelo looked down. He tossed the bars to Don, “I got you guys chocolate. Just like I promised.”
“Thanks, man,” Don smiled and opened his bar.
Angelo and I exchanged a look. He seemed disappointed… Hurt, even. I didn’t understand why.
“Congratulations, I guess,” was the last thing Angelo said before looking down and chomping on his Snickers bar angrily. As if he were imagining biting someone’s head off or something.
I looked down, ashamed as well. And I couldn’t really understand why. Of course Angelo always berated me for my preoccupation with Don, saying it was impractical, pathetic, useless. But this was different. He should have been happy for me. But he wasn’t. And it frustrated me because I couldn’t be completely happy if Angelo wasn’t happy.
So I decided to talk to Angelo about it as dismissal came around.
“Hey, Angelo,” I walked up to him as he was at his locker. “Listen, about earlier-”
“You don’t need to explain yourself to me,” he didn’t look at me. The whole thing was odd. He was clearly annoyed, but he wasn’t insulting me or giving me his opinion, or even teasing me. He was just tense or something.
“I think I do,” I continued. “Don and I aren’t really together.” That seemed to strike a chord with Angelo for he had stopped, frozen. “Well, you see, I’m just doing this to help his girlfriend get jealous so that they can get back together.”
Angelo pressed his lips together, and his eyebrows scrunched together. He shook his head, “Well, good luck with that, then.” He slammed his locker door shut and then began to walk off.
“Hey,” I called, my irritation showing. “Can you talk to me please? Why are you so upset?”
“Why wouldn’t I be upset?” he turned to face me. “You’re letting this guy walk all over you! And for what?A chance to be with him? It’s stupid. It’s insane. And, frankly, it’s pathetic. And what do you think you’re even doing? Making intrigues by faking a relationship. Ridiculous.Petty. There’s everything for you to lose, and for what? Some guy who has ignored you for years. You really should learn to mind your own business.”
“Oh,” for some reason what he’d said hit a nerve, and I was angry, “so all of a sudden you know what’s best for me, huh? What happened to expanding my horizons and experiencing new things?”
“Not things like this,” he looked serious. “This is really just a waste of time. That guy doesn’t deserve how nice you’ve been to him, especially after he’s made you feel for the past year or so. It really is pathetic that you’d go through all this trouble.”
“Look,” I took a deep breath in an attempt to calm myself. “I know you’re looking out for me. And I really do appreciate it. You care about me. I care about you, and if you were in the same position, I’d probably be doing the exact same thing you’re doing. I’m not asking for you to understand, or approve. I just need you not to be mad. I just… I need to experience this. I want to know what it’s like to be with him. I’ve wondered for such a long time, and now the opportunity has presented itself.”
“You’re going to get hurt, Rub
y,” he warned.
“No pain no gain,” I smiled.
“Please don’t try to make light of the situation by turning it into some lame, clichéd attempt at a joke,” he turned around again to walk away.
I stepped forward and put a hand on his shoulder, “Angelo, please. So maybe I’ll get hurt.”
“You will get hurt,” he corrected, turning around. “I’m sure of it.”
“You don’t know that,” I disagreed. “Nobody does.”
“Yeah. Just like you don’t know how this will turn out,” he countered.
“Yeah. It could be good or bad,” I raised my shoulders. “Fifty-fifty.”
“Life isn’t like that,” his smile was bitter and aimed towards the ground.
“You’re right, it’s not,” I agreed. “But I’ll never know unless I try, right?”
Angelo looked at me, and then down at the floor. He looked at me again, and then to his left. “Sorry, Ruby. I really just don’t believe it’s a good idea, and I really think you shouldn’t do it. There’s no way you’re going to change my mind about this.”
“Okay,” I sighed.
“See you later,” Angelo turned and walked away. And I let him. I wanted to make one final argument, but of course I couldn’t think of any good ones. Besides, that’s the way Angelo was. He was open to things, but was a decisive person. When he says he’s not going to change his mind… When he says he’s absolutely sure… He means it. Always has. Always will. He was rarely wrong. But I hoped that, on this particular matter, I would be the one who was in the right.
* * * * *
“Okay, stop!”
Don and I turned around to face Angelo.
“What’s the matter now?” I complained. Angelo had been like this ever since we all met up at my place for rehearsal. Agitated.Nit-picking.Perfectionist.Perpetuallyannoyed.Annoying.
“I need to pee,” he stood up and left. Oh, ok.
When Angelo had gone, Don turned to me. “Is Angelo okay?”
“What do you mean?” I didn’t look at him.
“Ruby. C’mon.”
“Maybe he just had a bad day.”
“How? You and him kept making bets, and it seemed he was enjoying even when he was losing.”