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Coming of Age Contemporary Romance

“Look it happens, you have fallen off the treadmill of this pretend normal life. There are so many cracks in this delicate, false reality that it’s easy to fall through one if you’re not careful. Suddenly, right now, you can’t find any meaning or value. This for you is the first time you have discovered that the life you’re living sucks, but you are lucky because most of us have always known that. You can just as easily have everything you ever wanted except now you know it has absolutely no meaning. You may feel these enormous waves of sadness, emptiness, futility, and terror. You might look around and wonder what you’re doing here. You suddenly don’t feel a connection to anything. Nothing gives you pleasure. You think nothing ever will again. There is nothing to strive for, nothing you can get or experience to fix it. The pointlessness of it all is crushing. Now you have two choices you can keep following that lie you have told yourself forever. About having to always be ‘the best’, where you follow the standards of everybody else. Or you can make yourself answerable to no one but yourself, always striving forward and only striving to ‘be better’.”

It was probably the greatest speech any fourteen-year-old boy had ever given in the history of teenagerdom. It was so perfect. It could have been straight out of a John Hughes film. Except this was not Sherman High, Illinois. This was not even the US of A. This was the French department’s stationary cupboard in St. Mary’s Catholic Secondary School in Sidcup England, circa 1989. His battle cry had been for Ally Reynolds the most beautiful girl in the year, currently she was sat on the floor at the back of the cupboard. The speech was needed as it was the only thing that stopped her crying. Anthony Johnson was the boy with the oratory zeal, unusual for him because up until this point in life he had been totally unexceptional in every way.

“Listen, nobody puts baby in a corner, let’s show them,” said Anthony.

With that he stretched out his hand and she sniffed and wiped her nose a final time and took hold of it and rose up. She looked straight into Anthony’s eyes and smiled.

“Let’s go back to the dance,” she said.

In Anthony’s head the music started to play. It was Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes hit song ‘(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life'. He could hear the opening electronic keys and the velvet warbling of Bill. The music from the main hall was blasting out Salt ‘N’ Pepa, ‘Push it’. Anthony could not hear that, he only heard Bill and Jennifer. It was also the soundtrack to this moment that would replay in his head for eternity, haunting his dreams as the most perfect moment of his short life. They skipped down the stairs holding each others hands and were just about to push the doors open into the main hall when a booming voice halted them.

“ALLY REYNOLDS. GET TO MY OFFICE THIS MINUTE.”

That was wrong that was not Jennifer Warnes’ next line. That was Sister Kathleen, the headmistress. The spell was broken. The music stopped.


***


Anthony sat on one of the chairs in reception. The dance was finishing. Ally was still in the head’s office. You see before his moment of triumph in the stationary cupboard there had been a scene. Ally had been dumped by Andrew Clark in front of every one at the dance for his new belle, Claire Standish. Andrew Clark was captain of the football team. John Hughes would have portrayed him as one of your typical ‘Sportso's’. In retaliation of the smug look in Claire's eyes and before running off to the stationary cupboard in tears, Ally swung a right hook and broke Claire’s nose. Anthony had ignored the chaos and followed after her. Anthony had been in love with Ally since the first year. He did not just love her for her beauty. He loved the poetry she wrote in English, her artwork, her performances in the drama club. If this was an American High School she would be class president. Practically perfect in every way. He did not think Ally even knew he existed. Not until that moment when he donned his shining armour and walked purposefully into that stationary cupboard.

Anthony knew he was a romantic. The truth was if this was the biopic of his life directed for Hollywood. This would be the prom, not just a disco with everyone wearing tracksuits and trainers. They would be wearing tuxedos and ball gowns. The reality was the nuns thought they were showing their street credentials by hiring a DJ. Their were rules however, afraid of teenage pregnancies - no slow dancing was allowed, no sneaking off with the opposite sex and definitely no kissing. If the nuns were not so obsessed by sex they might have picked up on the number of drug references their DJ was playing tonight. Anthony heard the crowd roar as the last track came on; Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five with 'White Lines (Don't Do It)'. He loved this song but it did not fit his current narrative so he tuned it out and chose to listen to Curiosity Killed The Cat sing 'Down to Earth'.


***


The door to the staff corridor opened and Ally and her father walked out. Followed by the king penguin that was Sister Kathleen. The nun was still berating Ally and wagging her finger at her father. Nuns in the eighties had that authority. Ally was ushered towards the door, just before she exited, she turned around and saw Anthony and mouthed the words ‘Thank you’. Then she was lost to the outside. Anthony did not care she had acknowledged him. The music inside his head had started again. This time it was Simple Minds, ‘Don’t You (Forget About Me)’. He ran outside and paused on the steps, spotting Ally in the car with her father, driving away. She turned to wave at him. Anthony knew that he was not living inside the movies. He knew John Hughes would have written his perfect ending. So in spite of all of this real world reality crashing in to spoil the party he also knew he had won. He had proved that fate was something you controlled. You mastered your destiny. This had been his greatest victory, in what so far had been a rather unremarkable life. With the phantom stereo still playing in his head he cut across the playing fields heading home. Then when the moment felt right, and just like Judd Nelson’s character did in ‘The Breakfast Club’, he punched the air in elation.


***


But the dance was also the last day of school, and in 1989, there were no mobile phones, no social media. Anthony could not find Ally and friend her on Facebook. Emails did not even exist. Most homes did not even have a computer. Most schools did not have a computer, or if they did it was one for the entire class, with a black screen and white text. In fact the eighties involved a lot of waiting around for people to just show up. A girl’s phone number was a trophy, especially one that actually worked and reached the correct girl. Then navigating around the parents would be another pitfall. Dad’s in the eighties were terrifying, they were the impossible gatekeeper. Ally also lived the next town over, so engineering an accidental encounter was impossible.

Anthony did not mind. He now knew that fate was something you could control. Six weeks for summer would fly pass, then in September he could reignite what Sister Kathleen extinguished. He had broken the ice and knew that Ally would be thinking of him all summer long as he would be about her. He never told a soul about the stationary cupboard. He had seen nearly every film set in an American high school, who would believe him? He would hold his fire, because all good things come to those who wait.

When September arrived he was eager to get back to school.

Anthony was unusually quiet during the bus journey in. The problem was his heart was soaring, he had an anticipation inside him just wanting to erupt out like an explosion. He barely listened to anyone during registration, as everyone caught up after so long away. He was waiting for only one thing. He just wanted to be at the customary, first day, whole school assembly. He searched along the lines for Ally, but could not see her. He searched for her at break. Then he searched the class lists in the PE corridor. She was not on any. Eventually he asked someone who rode her bus route and found out that Ally had left. Her family had relocated. Her dad had picked up a job in Chicago and moved them all out there over the summer. Then Anthony learnt that fate danced around this world with an opposite. Fate was inextricably linked with Chance. Both controlled your destiny. You could tame and ride Fate but Chance was something out of your control. Chance would tame and ride you. The music started again in Anthony's head, it was ‘A Thousand Hours’ by The Cure.


***


The thing with chance it is fickle and will inevitable give back to those it has taken from. Thirty years have passed and Anthony is standing in the ballroom at the Plaza Hotel, New York and cannot believe who he can see standing at the bar. Ally Reynolds is there in a stunning ball gown and looking sensational, this was how she would of looked that day at the dance if Anthony did not live in the real world and had a Hollywood studio directing his life. Anthony still did not have a Hollywood studio, he did however have a twenty five per cent stake in one. The years have been good to Anthony he was in New York to do a casting for the latest film he is producing. He was meeting a couple of A-listers to dot the i's and cross the t's. Knowing that chance has returned his stallion Fate to him, he rides over to Ally, he is nervous, really nervous but times his interruption to perfection.

“Ally Reynolds?”

“Yes” she replies.

“It is Anthony from St. Mary’s in England”

“I’m sorry. I don’t think I know you.”

“St. Mary’s with the king penguin, Sister Kathleen.”

“It sounds delightful but I have no idea what you are talking about.”

The music starts to play again in Anthony’s head. He tips his head to the side looking at Ally. He visually grimaces and says.

“Really?”

“No idea.”

“My blunder, just a case of mistaken identity.” He pauses wanting to say so much more. “Hey have a good night, enjoy your evening.”

He turns around and walks out of the ballroom along the corridors and out into the foyer. He pauses and looks around at everything. Questioning the reality of the myth he had formed in his mind for so long he reaches out and knocks on the wood of the reception.

“Can I help you, sir,” asks the receptionist.

“Just seeing if it is real.”

With that he walks out the grand entrance and crosses the road over into central park. He is not angry, sad or broken. Just confused. He walks further into the night. The soundtrack in his head is Soul II Soul and they are playing Back to Life '(However Do You Want Me)'. The chorus is taunting him. Back to Life, Back to Reality, Back to Life, Back to Reality....


***


Soon after Anthony leaves, Ally feels dizzy. She makes her excuses and departs following where he went. By the time she gets to the foyer he has gone. She is so angry with herself. She walks over to the elevators and gets in. Alone, looking at her reflection inside she lets out the longest tortured scream. Pulling herself back together she leans her head against the cold metal interior and inside that one word bounces round her head, ‘Why’. She panicked. She knew who Anthony Johnson was. Who didn't? He was Hollywood royalty. His films are huge. She spotted him the minute she entered the ballroom. Did she think she was funny and cool and aloof. Why on earth did she play hard to get? Did she then feel that it was going desperately wrong and revert to a defensive position? Why did he not try harder? Why did he turn around like that and just walk off? She was a captain of industry, how did she get so flustered? She has never forgot what he said in that stationary cupboard thirty years ago. She was just so surprised to see him. Who mentions penguins in a pick up line? She has lived her life not trying to be the best, just trying to be better. She has killed it; she has broken glass ceiling after ceiling living off them exact words. She just panicked, even as the words were spilling out of her mouth there was a voice inside her head screaming at her to stop. Screaming at her, asking her what she was playing at. She turns around and leans against the wall. A song starts playing in her head, Whitney Houston's ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’.






For all you millennials some hits from the 80s


(I've Had) The time Of My Life

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BQLE_RrTSU

Push It

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCadcBR95oU

White Lines (Don't Do It)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsTJaP2tC0A

Down to Earth

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5tpuCcPfGk

Don't You (Forget About Me)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gLVqjIvokc&t=159s

A Thousand Hours

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3EgPKAKAqU

Back to Life (However Do You Want Me)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TB54dZkzZOY

I Wanna Dance With Somebody

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eH3giaIzONA

February 17, 2021 14:17

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26 comments

Zilla Babbitt
16:14 Feb 17, 2021

Ahh, you're getting better and better. I really like this one, especially that part where you talk about the greatest speech and then say it's just a secondary school on the back end of nowhere. In one of my favorite books there's a scene where a kid on the baseball field winds up to pitch a perfect shot, and then says something like "A rotund man [meaning Babe Ruth] spontaneously shivered on the field in Boston, knowing he'd just been bested by a fourth-grader who still had trouble tying his shoes." Unnecessary sentences: "Nuns in the eigh...

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Tom .
16:25 Feb 17, 2021

Eventually this will be on vocal and after each section involving the music i will place the music video. Although I am not entirely sure, i am keeping the cure song or the police song. I am deleting 'Would you 'Adam and eve' it?' tomorrow, as it is in judging now so for something else. Thank you again and I hope you are well. This still needs some work on its flow, i am just spinning plates at the moments with different things in different places.

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Tom .
16:34 Feb 17, 2021

Just to check 'convoluted' means too complicated. I should break it up and use more words to explain what I mean.

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Zilla Babbitt
16:36 Feb 17, 2021

Right. Like the subjects are mixed up or the reader has to read it a few times to understand the meaning. "Saying nothing on the bus journey in, he could feel his heart soar" could be "He said nothing on the bus journey in, but he could feel his heart soar."

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Tom .
16:46 Feb 17, 2021

Got it.

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Radhika Diksha
11:41 Feb 21, 2021

2 new stories would love your feedback on it.

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Cathryn V
05:27 Feb 22, 2021

Hi Tom! Cute story about two kids and their crush. I like music too and often use a reference to at least one in my stories. Not on purpose, but it just happens. I really liked this part: A girl’s phone number was a trophy, especially one that actually worked and reached the correct girl. Then navigating around the parents would be another pitfall. Dad’s in the eighties were terrifying, they were the impossible gatekeeper. I agree with Heather’s comments. Good job Tom! Thanks for writing!

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Tom .
11:49 Feb 22, 2021

thank you for reading.

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15:45 Feb 19, 2021

Hey Tom.! This is a great story! I loved how everything flowed and the concept of the story in general. Writing in the present tense is very hard, especially for me, but you wrote it flawlessly. I loved all those '80s songs at the end too. Great job!

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Tom .
19:46 Feb 19, 2021

Thank you for your kind words and giving it a read, which was your favourite song?

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20:47 Feb 19, 2021

I don't particularly have a favorite; I liked them all! (Also, if you wouldn't mind, I would love it if you'd give my story a read and tell me your thoughts. It would be an honor coming from you since you write so well ❤️)

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Tom .
00:57 Feb 20, 2021

Tell me which story you would like me to read and i will check it out over the weekend

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01:59 Feb 20, 2021

Thank you so much! I would love it if you'd read my latest story, Aurora's Leap :)

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H L McQuaid
17:50 Feb 17, 2021

Hello Tom! Wow, this brought back memories, being a Gen Xer myself, so many cultural touchpoints! I liked the set-up at the dance, and the call-backs to many of the 80s movie tropes about teens. :) I'm wondering whether we might have more insights into why Anthony is so infatuated with Ally? Other than her being beautiful. Because I'm sure there are plenty of girls he thinks are attractive, but what is special about Ally--so special that he'd remember this minor incident 30 years later? And we don't get Ally's point of view until the very ...

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Tom .
20:33 Feb 17, 2021

I want to hold back Ally's point of view until the end. Otherwise the last paragraph does not work.

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H L McQuaid
20:46 Feb 17, 2021

Yeah, I understand that. I think it would help if we understood more about Anthony's infatuation with her, so at least we understand a bit more about her, even if it's through his eyes. At the moment, we know he thinks she's beautiful, she's upset because her boyfriend broke up with, and then she got in trouble for punching the girl that she was dumped for. So other than anger/jealousy, we don't really know that much about her, till the end when she somewhat inexplicably pretends she doesn't know Anthony, and then instantly regrets it (and ...

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Tom .
21:19 Feb 17, 2021

I agree with that I will make her more rounded and I am halfway through making the changes as we speak, changing titles songs and lots of stuff.

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H L McQuaid
21:25 Feb 17, 2021

Cool. I look forward to the next revision.good luck with the edits!

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Tom .
21:40 Feb 17, 2021

She is a captain of industry now, she just happens to be wearing a sexy ballgown, but that now also has context.

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Tom .
14:21 Feb 17, 2021

The title 'Take a Chance on Me' is an eighties song by Erasure. I am open to better titles. The sentence structure here is pretty pedestrian I will work on the flow. This is just for Reedsy and not for any other outside broadcast. I am looking forward to adding it to my Vocal account as I can insert video links to the music. For now though it is just for here. Let me know what you think and help me kick it into shape. EDIT-New title-Down to Earth a track by UK band Curiousity Killed the Cat

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H L McQuaid
18:01 Feb 17, 2021

What about, "Don't you forget about me" ? Or a line from that song "Slow change may pull us apart."

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