Wounded Strings
Title: Wounded Strings (Chapter 1 - Nick, Chapter 2 - Rob, Chapter 3 - Tavi)
Genre: Teen (over-all series contains a little romance, a little angst, some music)
Rating: PG-13 (over-all series for language and some situations)
Summary: Nick. Rob. Tavi.
Author's Notes: I haven't looked at these chapters in ages. These are most likely horrible and will probably be edited soon.
CHAPTER 1 - NICK
Nick packed up. He wouldn’t be playing again - at least not with Jazzed. He’d be moving to Brightdell this weekend. His mum and dad had decided to go their separate ways. And according to Judge Jonathan Luce, he and his brother Cedric would be living with their mum while his sisters Chastity, Prudence and Faith were going to stay with dad.
Brightdell was their mum’s hometown before she met his dad and moved to Dover with him. After the divorce, his mum had decided to go back and re-occupy the home of her youth - which had been empty for 2 years now, since his Grams had died of a stroke.
Nick sighed and turned around. He looked at the empty club. The chairs were piled on the tables and it was very quiet. Across the room, there was a glass mirror where Nick could see himself. Nick was tall and considered very handsome. Though when he looked at himself in the mirror, he seemed years older than he really was. He looked tired; he looked exhausted. But then again, the divorce had taken its toll on all of them.
Chastity had hardly talked to anyone in the past five months, preferring to lock herself up in her room. Prudence had taken to taking out her frustrations in the kitchen, making an inordinate amount of food. She would cook all the meals, including tea, and eat nothing herself. She would even bake the biscuits from scratch. Faith’s schoolwork had suffered; she had taken to staring at blank spaces on the wall for extended periods of time. Nick himself had done the exact opposite and had spent all his energy on schoolwork or, if not, on the band. Cedric, their youngest, however, had suffered the most in Nick’s opinion. Cedric had begun to experience anxiety attacks and would faint in the middle of class. Nick had been called out of class a countless number of times to go tend to Cedric, who always ended up in the infirmary.
Dominic recalled all of this and hoped it was at its end. He knew his family could never be together again. However, he was hopeful that at least his family might return to their original state of health. His three sisters, who were always so cheerful and spry, had lost their playfulness. It was depressing.
Nick tore his eyes away from the mirror and tried to stuff his guitar into its case.
“Dom?”
Nick looked up. He smiled at the girl who had meant - and still meant - so much to him.
“Yep?” Nick zipped his guitar case close. He brushed a stray lock of his blond hair out of his eyes and looked at Kathlyn.
“You’re really leaving?” Kathlyn walked towards him. She had cheered the loudest at his final performance. As he stood on that stage and gave the show of his life, his eyes were trained on her screaming his name. Jazzed fans had cried when Louise, their lead vocalist, had announced that Nick was leaving, tears in her eyes. Nick hadn’t even realized that their fan pool was that extensive. It made everything so much harder. It made leaving all the more painful.
He looked at Kathlyn and tried to take everything in. He wanted this moment to be imprinted in his mind so he would never forget her. Kathlyn was in her usual clubbing attire. Kathlyn was so predictable. She wore a red halter dress over a pair of black lacy leggings and boots. She was looking at him with an odd look on her face that made Nick want to jump down and hug her. But he knew that would only make it harder - not only for him but for her as well. And he didn’t want to hurt her anymore than he already had.
She was the first to break the silence. She approached the perimeter of the stage and put a hand against her heart. Sure enough, as Nick guessed, her nails were painted the same shade as her dress.
“So…you’re really leaving this Saturday?” she had asked, her voice soft.
“Yep,” Nick replied. He looked at her, his face passive.
“So it’s really goodbye?” her eyes had shimmered. Nick hated what he was about to do.
“Yep,” he stuffed his pick into a pocket on his case.
Kathlyn lost it.
“Bloody hell, Dom! If you aren’t just the most insensitive guy this side of Big Ben!” Kathlyn yelled angrily. “Is that the only thing you can say?”
“What do you want me to say, Kath? Nothing I say is going to change a thing. If I told you I cared for you, it’s not like anything’s going to be different,” Nick spoke calmly and his voice was steady, even mildly distant. This only infuriated Kathlyn more.
“Care? Is that all four bloody years means to you? I gave you everything I had, Dom!” she screamed at him.
“Don’t force me to cheapen what I feel for you with words, Kath.”
“Dom, you’ve never told me how you really feel! I know you’re indifferent by nature and I accepted that! But how can I fight for something I’m not even sure is worth fighting for? Dom! You’ve got to give me something so I can prove to myself that this - us - we’re worth working on,” Kathlyn held on to a mic stand as her voice began to break.
“Kath,” Nick got up. “What are you talking about? Fighting for? Working on? Are you talking about a long distance relationship? I’m terribly sorry but I’m just not interested.”
“What?” Kathlyn stared at him with teary eyes as the fight suddenly left her. “You’re going to chuck all that we’ve gone through that easily?”
“Kath, face it. Let’s be realistic. I’m never coming back to Dover and there’s no bloody way you’d be going to Dell. A long distance relationship only complicates things and I want this to be a fresh start for me and my family. I don’t want any ties here. So it’s best if you just let it go, Kath. Let me go.”
Nick slung his guitar over his shoulder and grabbed his jacket. He walked past her and stopped a few inches away.
“Besides, Kath, we’re only seventeen. It’s not like we were going to get married or anything.”
Kathlyn choked back a tear as Nick walked casually towards the swinging doors. Kathlyn spun around, watching him. She clasped her hands together and prayed: Oh Lord... If he decides to take one last look at me...if he looks back... This is worth hanging on to...
Nick stopped. Kathlyn held her breath and kept praying. Her nails dug into her palms. She waited and watched Nick’s every movement. But Nick just hitched his guitar higher up on his shoulder before walking through the swinging doors. Kathlyn, defeated, fell on her knees and cried. She could still hear the sounds of his footsteps walking away.
Once behind the doors, Nick turned around and took one last look at the girl he had dated since he was thirteen. Kathlyn was his first and only. He smiled sourly at the memory. He could only see a misty silhouette through the frosted glass. But he could hear her crying. Something pierced his heart. Looking away, he hardened both his heart and his resolve. He spun on his heel and walked out - out of Jazzed, out of the club and out of Kathlyn’s life.
CHAPTER 2 - ROB
Robert stood on his balcony. He clutched the steel railings and winced as the biting September wind slapped his face. He wondered if Tavi was still asleep and whether he should risk calling her house and having her father answer the phone. Rob stared out at the place that had been his home for the last seventeen years. He felt a little nostalgic.
Back inside his bedroom, he heard his alarm clock go off. He decided against calling Tavi. He pried himself away from the balcony and walked inside his room. His room was enormous. For the most part, it was fairly neat. However, he had been in a bad mood the past few days and his room was a mess.
Rob walked past a pile of used clothing and reached for his alarm clock. 6:01. He turned it off and yawned. Rob reached for a towel slung over a hardwood chair and went into the bathroom.
Two sharp raps broke his train of thought. Rob came out of his reverie and left his shirt untucked.
“Come in,” Rob said, grabbing his tie and his blazer. His uniform was so decorous. He began to search for his school bag.
Miles came in. Miles and his family had been working for the Forbeses for decades. Miles was a distinguished looking man. He wore an impeccable silk suit and white gloves. He smiled at the boy he had watched grow from a baby.
“Sir Robert, your mother requests your presence in the parlor for breakfast,” Miles announced with a slight bow.
Rob popped his head from under his bed with a mildly confused look on his face. “She’s home?”
“She is, sir. Shall you be joining her?”
Rob nodded slowly. It was a rare occurrence his mother was home. And though it was never quite enjoyable, it was something he never wanted to miss. He looked to his left and found his backpack beside his bedside table. He stuffed his jacket and his tie into it and ran down the stairs.
“Mother?”
“Robert. Sit, sit,” Meredith Forbes smiled at her son. Her smile was painted on her face by bright red lipstick. Robert took a seat across his mother who watched him with amber eyes. Rob reached across the table and began spreading cream cheese on his bagel. He watched his mother watching him.
“Robert, your father and I would like to give you something.”
“Whatever for, mother?” Rob asked, taking a bite out of his bagel.
“Your father and I are very proud of you, acing that Math exam. Petunia told us all about it.”
Rob shivered at the mention of his old tutor’s name. Before Rob started going to normal school at the age of 10, he was home-schooled by a bony old woman named Petunia. She had scarred him for life.
“I see,” Rob nodded. “Thank you, mother.”
Meredith gave Rob another of her empty smiles with eyes that were looking at - but not really seeing - Rob. She pushed a blue box across the table. Rob looked at it and guessed - expensive watch. Rob smiled and took the box.
“Miles, please put this on my bureau. I’ll admire it later. Right now, I have to get to school. Please inform Anderson.”
“Very well, sir,” Miles came forward and made a motion to take the box from Robert but Meredith put up a hand.
“Please, open it now, Robert,” Meredith coaxed.
Rob sighed and opened the box. Not a watch. Not even close. The box contained a key. Rob looked at his mother.
“Lavender, draw the curtains, please,” Meredith requested.
Lavender, Rob’s mother’s personal maid when she was home, approached the curtains that blocked the lawn from view. Sunlight shone brightly in Rob’s eyes as he squinted to see what his mother was trying to show him. Rob’s eyebrows shot up.
“Like it?” Meredith smiled again.
“Wow.”
A brand-new, silver 2007 Cadillac XLR-V Convertible stood in the driveway. Meredith looked at her son.
“It’s all yours, Robert. Why don’t you test drive it? Drive it to school so all your friends can see your new convertible,” Meredith smiled pointedly.
“I’ve only got a student’s permit, Mother. I can’t drive without an adult present - yet.”
“You’re a Forbes, of course you can,” Meredith picked her cup of tea and saucer up.
“Sir Robert, you shall miss your homeroom if you do not depart now,” Miles announced.
“Right,” Robert grabbed the car key and his bag. He smiled at his mother wanly before leaving the room. He hopped into the driver’s seat of his car and listened to the engine as he revved it. He smiled to himself and drove off. He looked back at the parlor to take one last look at his mother. The curtains were closed.
CHAPTER 3 - TAVI
Tavi buttoned her light gray blazer. She looked at herself quickly in the mirror and tucked her blonde hair behind her ears. She pressed her skirt down. Tavi picked her pink backpack up from her study table and went downstairs.
“Buongiorno, cara,” Tavi’s father greeted her from behind the morning paper. He was seated at the small table that occupied a corner of their sunny kitchen/dining room. Being just the two of them living in the house, the Britts did not need much space. The kitchen was cozy, just like all the other rooms in the house.
“Buongiorno, papa,” Tavi replied, giving her father a kiss on the cheek.
“Breakfast?” Jeremy Britt put down his paper and gestured at the plate of bacon and eggs in front of him. “There’s bread by the toaster if you’d like some.”
“No, grazie. Ho fretta,” Tavi grabbed a lemon bar from the cookie jar. “Arrivederci.”
“Tavi.”
Tavi spun around. “Si?”
“Put your hair up. You know how I feel about your hair being all over the place. It is not fitting for a model student,” Tavi’s father looked at her stonily.
Tavi sighed inwardly. She opened a drawer and found an elastic. She quickly put her blonde hair up in a neat ponytail
“Soddisfatto?” Tavi asked.
“Si, si. Arrivederci. Take one more bar for the road. Aver cura,” Jeremy went back to his paper.
Tavi walked down the street quickly. She took a turn on 5th.
“What took you so long?” Tavi smiled at the boy in the idling car. Rob Forbes pulled down his sunglasses and watched Tavi approach the car.
Tavi opened the car door and looked admiringly at the interior. “It’s leather, very nice.”
“Thanks. It’s for that A I got in Math,” Rob smiled and drove away from the curb. “Which you helped me with - so I got you a little something to show my appreciation. It’s right there in the glove compartment.”
Tavi smiled at Rob and opened the glove compartment. In the glove compartment, there were a couple of official looking papers, car registration most likely, and a blue box. Most girls know what that little blue box meant but Tavi, who is quite naïve, had absolutely no clue. She took it out and looked at it curiously.
“Should I open it now?” Tavi asked.
“Go ahead,” Rob replied, making a turn.
Tavi opened it and inside were the prettiest pair of sapphire earrings this side of the continent.
“They’re so pretty,” Tavi was thrilled.
“Why don’t you try them on?” Rob asked. “I picked them out with the notion that they’d bring out your eyes.”
Tavi put them on carefully as W.S. Forbes Hall appeared in the distance. This was one of the largest buildings at Riverview High. Robert’s grandfather William Stanley Forbes had erected it for the study of the sciences in 1942.
Rob stopped the car a good 100 meters away from Riverview’s Gate 3, student entrance. Tavi got out of the car.
“Grazie,” Tavi waved.
“I still don’t see why you can’t just ride into the school campus with me,” Rob said, revving his Caddie invitingly. “Everyone knows about it. It’s just that no one talks about it.”
“Precisamente. If we parade it, it’ll be like giving them reason to start talking,” Tavi replied sweetly.
“Fine. If you say so, cara. Take care,” Rob sped away.
“Aver cura, caro…” Tavi whispered to the winds.
She smiled and took a deep breath as she began walking towards Riverview. She looked at the students who were also walking towards Riverview. It was a sea of silvery gray and midnight blue. She watched as some couples walked hand-in-hand and she thought to herself: This is what life was all about, wasn’t it? Lies, facades and keeping up appearances.
All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. This work is completely my own and should not be reproduced or redistributed without my permission.
Genre: Teen (over-all series contains a little romance, a little angst, some music)
Rating: PG-13 (over-all series for language and some situations)
Summary: Nick. Rob. Tavi.
Author's Notes: I haven't looked at these chapters in ages. These are most likely horrible and will probably be edited soon.
CHAPTER 1 - NICK
Nick packed up. He wouldn’t be playing again - at least not with Jazzed. He’d be moving to Brightdell this weekend. His mum and dad had decided to go their separate ways. And according to Judge Jonathan Luce, he and his brother Cedric would be living with their mum while his sisters Chastity, Prudence and Faith were going to stay with dad.
Brightdell was their mum’s hometown before she met his dad and moved to Dover with him. After the divorce, his mum had decided to go back and re-occupy the home of her youth - which had been empty for 2 years now, since his Grams had died of a stroke.
Nick sighed and turned around. He looked at the empty club. The chairs were piled on the tables and it was very quiet. Across the room, there was a glass mirror where Nick could see himself. Nick was tall and considered very handsome. Though when he looked at himself in the mirror, he seemed years older than he really was. He looked tired; he looked exhausted. But then again, the divorce had taken its toll on all of them.
Chastity had hardly talked to anyone in the past five months, preferring to lock herself up in her room. Prudence had taken to taking out her frustrations in the kitchen, making an inordinate amount of food. She would cook all the meals, including tea, and eat nothing herself. She would even bake the biscuits from scratch. Faith’s schoolwork had suffered; she had taken to staring at blank spaces on the wall for extended periods of time. Nick himself had done the exact opposite and had spent all his energy on schoolwork or, if not, on the band. Cedric, their youngest, however, had suffered the most in Nick’s opinion. Cedric had begun to experience anxiety attacks and would faint in the middle of class. Nick had been called out of class a countless number of times to go tend to Cedric, who always ended up in the infirmary.
Dominic recalled all of this and hoped it was at its end. He knew his family could never be together again. However, he was hopeful that at least his family might return to their original state of health. His three sisters, who were always so cheerful and spry, had lost their playfulness. It was depressing.
Nick tore his eyes away from the mirror and tried to stuff his guitar into its case.
“Dom?”
Nick looked up. He smiled at the girl who had meant - and still meant - so much to him.
“Yep?” Nick zipped his guitar case close. He brushed a stray lock of his blond hair out of his eyes and looked at Kathlyn.
“You’re really leaving?” Kathlyn walked towards him. She had cheered the loudest at his final performance. As he stood on that stage and gave the show of his life, his eyes were trained on her screaming his name. Jazzed fans had cried when Louise, their lead vocalist, had announced that Nick was leaving, tears in her eyes. Nick hadn’t even realized that their fan pool was that extensive. It made everything so much harder. It made leaving all the more painful.
He looked at Kathlyn and tried to take everything in. He wanted this moment to be imprinted in his mind so he would never forget her. Kathlyn was in her usual clubbing attire. Kathlyn was so predictable. She wore a red halter dress over a pair of black lacy leggings and boots. She was looking at him with an odd look on her face that made Nick want to jump down and hug her. But he knew that would only make it harder - not only for him but for her as well. And he didn’t want to hurt her anymore than he already had.
She was the first to break the silence. She approached the perimeter of the stage and put a hand against her heart. Sure enough, as Nick guessed, her nails were painted the same shade as her dress.
“So…you’re really leaving this Saturday?” she had asked, her voice soft.
“Yep,” Nick replied. He looked at her, his face passive.
“So it’s really goodbye?” her eyes had shimmered. Nick hated what he was about to do.
“Yep,” he stuffed his pick into a pocket on his case.
Kathlyn lost it.
“Bloody hell, Dom! If you aren’t just the most insensitive guy this side of Big Ben!” Kathlyn yelled angrily. “Is that the only thing you can say?”
“What do you want me to say, Kath? Nothing I say is going to change a thing. If I told you I cared for you, it’s not like anything’s going to be different,” Nick spoke calmly and his voice was steady, even mildly distant. This only infuriated Kathlyn more.
“Care? Is that all four bloody years means to you? I gave you everything I had, Dom!” she screamed at him.
“Don’t force me to cheapen what I feel for you with words, Kath.”
“Dom, you’ve never told me how you really feel! I know you’re indifferent by nature and I accepted that! But how can I fight for something I’m not even sure is worth fighting for? Dom! You’ve got to give me something so I can prove to myself that this - us - we’re worth working on,” Kathlyn held on to a mic stand as her voice began to break.
“Kath,” Nick got up. “What are you talking about? Fighting for? Working on? Are you talking about a long distance relationship? I’m terribly sorry but I’m just not interested.”
“What?” Kathlyn stared at him with teary eyes as the fight suddenly left her. “You’re going to chuck all that we’ve gone through that easily?”
“Kath, face it. Let’s be realistic. I’m never coming back to Dover and there’s no bloody way you’d be going to Dell. A long distance relationship only complicates things and I want this to be a fresh start for me and my family. I don’t want any ties here. So it’s best if you just let it go, Kath. Let me go.”
Nick slung his guitar over his shoulder and grabbed his jacket. He walked past her and stopped a few inches away.
“Besides, Kath, we’re only seventeen. It’s not like we were going to get married or anything.”
Kathlyn choked back a tear as Nick walked casually towards the swinging doors. Kathlyn spun around, watching him. She clasped her hands together and prayed: Oh Lord... If he decides to take one last look at me...if he looks back... This is worth hanging on to...
Nick stopped. Kathlyn held her breath and kept praying. Her nails dug into her palms. She waited and watched Nick’s every movement. But Nick just hitched his guitar higher up on his shoulder before walking through the swinging doors. Kathlyn, defeated, fell on her knees and cried. She could still hear the sounds of his footsteps walking away.
Once behind the doors, Nick turned around and took one last look at the girl he had dated since he was thirteen. Kathlyn was his first and only. He smiled sourly at the memory. He could only see a misty silhouette through the frosted glass. But he could hear her crying. Something pierced his heart. Looking away, he hardened both his heart and his resolve. He spun on his heel and walked out - out of Jazzed, out of the club and out of Kathlyn’s life.
CHAPTER 2 - ROB
Robert stood on his balcony. He clutched the steel railings and winced as the biting September wind slapped his face. He wondered if Tavi was still asleep and whether he should risk calling her house and having her father answer the phone. Rob stared out at the place that had been his home for the last seventeen years. He felt a little nostalgic.
Back inside his bedroom, he heard his alarm clock go off. He decided against calling Tavi. He pried himself away from the balcony and walked inside his room. His room was enormous. For the most part, it was fairly neat. However, he had been in a bad mood the past few days and his room was a mess.
Rob walked past a pile of used clothing and reached for his alarm clock. 6:01. He turned it off and yawned. Rob reached for a towel slung over a hardwood chair and went into the bathroom.
Two sharp raps broke his train of thought. Rob came out of his reverie and left his shirt untucked.
“Come in,” Rob said, grabbing his tie and his blazer. His uniform was so decorous. He began to search for his school bag.
Miles came in. Miles and his family had been working for the Forbeses for decades. Miles was a distinguished looking man. He wore an impeccable silk suit and white gloves. He smiled at the boy he had watched grow from a baby.
“Sir Robert, your mother requests your presence in the parlor for breakfast,” Miles announced with a slight bow.
Rob popped his head from under his bed with a mildly confused look on his face. “She’s home?”
“She is, sir. Shall you be joining her?”
Rob nodded slowly. It was a rare occurrence his mother was home. And though it was never quite enjoyable, it was something he never wanted to miss. He looked to his left and found his backpack beside his bedside table. He stuffed his jacket and his tie into it and ran down the stairs.
“Mother?”
“Robert. Sit, sit,” Meredith Forbes smiled at her son. Her smile was painted on her face by bright red lipstick. Robert took a seat across his mother who watched him with amber eyes. Rob reached across the table and began spreading cream cheese on his bagel. He watched his mother watching him.
“Robert, your father and I would like to give you something.”
“Whatever for, mother?” Rob asked, taking a bite out of his bagel.
“Your father and I are very proud of you, acing that Math exam. Petunia told us all about it.”
Rob shivered at the mention of his old tutor’s name. Before Rob started going to normal school at the age of 10, he was home-schooled by a bony old woman named Petunia. She had scarred him for life.
“I see,” Rob nodded. “Thank you, mother.”
Meredith gave Rob another of her empty smiles with eyes that were looking at - but not really seeing - Rob. She pushed a blue box across the table. Rob looked at it and guessed - expensive watch. Rob smiled and took the box.
“Miles, please put this on my bureau. I’ll admire it later. Right now, I have to get to school. Please inform Anderson.”
“Very well, sir,” Miles came forward and made a motion to take the box from Robert but Meredith put up a hand.
“Please, open it now, Robert,” Meredith coaxed.
Rob sighed and opened the box. Not a watch. Not even close. The box contained a key. Rob looked at his mother.
“Lavender, draw the curtains, please,” Meredith requested.
Lavender, Rob’s mother’s personal maid when she was home, approached the curtains that blocked the lawn from view. Sunlight shone brightly in Rob’s eyes as he squinted to see what his mother was trying to show him. Rob’s eyebrows shot up.
“Like it?” Meredith smiled again.
“Wow.”
A brand-new, silver 2007 Cadillac XLR-V Convertible stood in the driveway. Meredith looked at her son.
“It’s all yours, Robert. Why don’t you test drive it? Drive it to school so all your friends can see your new convertible,” Meredith smiled pointedly.
“I’ve only got a student’s permit, Mother. I can’t drive without an adult present - yet.”
“You’re a Forbes, of course you can,” Meredith picked her cup of tea and saucer up.
“Sir Robert, you shall miss your homeroom if you do not depart now,” Miles announced.
“Right,” Robert grabbed the car key and his bag. He smiled at his mother wanly before leaving the room. He hopped into the driver’s seat of his car and listened to the engine as he revved it. He smiled to himself and drove off. He looked back at the parlor to take one last look at his mother. The curtains were closed.
CHAPTER 3 - TAVI
Tavi buttoned her light gray blazer. She looked at herself quickly in the mirror and tucked her blonde hair behind her ears. She pressed her skirt down. Tavi picked her pink backpack up from her study table and went downstairs.
“Buongiorno, cara,” Tavi’s father greeted her from behind the morning paper. He was seated at the small table that occupied a corner of their sunny kitchen/dining room. Being just the two of them living in the house, the Britts did not need much space. The kitchen was cozy, just like all the other rooms in the house.
“Buongiorno, papa,” Tavi replied, giving her father a kiss on the cheek.
“Breakfast?” Jeremy Britt put down his paper and gestured at the plate of bacon and eggs in front of him. “There’s bread by the toaster if you’d like some.”
“No, grazie. Ho fretta,” Tavi grabbed a lemon bar from the cookie jar. “Arrivederci.”
“Tavi.”
Tavi spun around. “Si?”
“Put your hair up. You know how I feel about your hair being all over the place. It is not fitting for a model student,” Tavi’s father looked at her stonily.
Tavi sighed inwardly. She opened a drawer and found an elastic. She quickly put her blonde hair up in a neat ponytail
“Soddisfatto?” Tavi asked.
“Si, si. Arrivederci. Take one more bar for the road. Aver cura,” Jeremy went back to his paper.
Tavi walked down the street quickly. She took a turn on 5th.
“What took you so long?” Tavi smiled at the boy in the idling car. Rob Forbes pulled down his sunglasses and watched Tavi approach the car.
Tavi opened the car door and looked admiringly at the interior. “It’s leather, very nice.”
“Thanks. It’s for that A I got in Math,” Rob smiled and drove away from the curb. “Which you helped me with - so I got you a little something to show my appreciation. It’s right there in the glove compartment.”
Tavi smiled at Rob and opened the glove compartment. In the glove compartment, there were a couple of official looking papers, car registration most likely, and a blue box. Most girls know what that little blue box meant but Tavi, who is quite naïve, had absolutely no clue. She took it out and looked at it curiously.
“Should I open it now?” Tavi asked.
“Go ahead,” Rob replied, making a turn.
Tavi opened it and inside were the prettiest pair of sapphire earrings this side of the continent.
“They’re so pretty,” Tavi was thrilled.
“Why don’t you try them on?” Rob asked. “I picked them out with the notion that they’d bring out your eyes.”
Tavi put them on carefully as W.S. Forbes Hall appeared in the distance. This was one of the largest buildings at Riverview High. Robert’s grandfather William Stanley Forbes had erected it for the study of the sciences in 1942.
Rob stopped the car a good 100 meters away from Riverview’s Gate 3, student entrance. Tavi got out of the car.
“Grazie,” Tavi waved.
“I still don’t see why you can’t just ride into the school campus with me,” Rob said, revving his Caddie invitingly. “Everyone knows about it. It’s just that no one talks about it.”
“Precisamente. If we parade it, it’ll be like giving them reason to start talking,” Tavi replied sweetly.
“Fine. If you say so, cara. Take care,” Rob sped away.
“Aver cura, caro…” Tavi whispered to the winds.
She smiled and took a deep breath as she began walking towards Riverview. She looked at the students who were also walking towards Riverview. It was a sea of silvery gray and midnight blue. She watched as some couples walked hand-in-hand and she thought to herself: This is what life was all about, wasn’t it? Lies, facades and keeping up appearances.
All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. This work is completely my own and should not be reproduced or redistributed without my permission.