It was a rather dull evening, 6:40 pm to be exact. Derrick stared out the dusty window of his bedroom, his expressionless eyes taking in the cloud less sky and his ears, the sounds of evening chirpings of birds. The sky got darker with every passing moment and a soft thud of thunder could be heard in the distance. It was going to be a cold rainy night. He sat down in a dark corner of his room, alone and reflective. The strong feeling of despair brewed in his melancholic heart, he had nothing more to give and yet a lot more was expected of him. In fact, expectations were nothing compared to this, a lot more was demanded of him. " I could break down right here, right now," Derrick thought to himself, " But no one would care!" And with that he took a deep breath and his past began to replay in his mind rather vividly. It had been an emotional eight years since that moment, the moment that would go on to be burned to memory, the moment he met her. And so his mind drifted to eight years ago...
Barbra Bell was a phenomenal beauty, tall, slender, brown skinned and free spirited. She could light up the mood in a dark room like a torch in a tunnel from the middle ages. She spoke freely and without a care in the world. No one stopped her, they all wanted to hear her speak. Derrick, being from a strict moral background knew nothing about women or how to deal with the feelings that were stirring within him . He knew he liked her , they had a lot in common, she liked the same TV shows, the same genre of novels and she would even seek his personal opinion on personal issues. That was the cake. These were the moments he so dearly cherished every day he came to school but they didn't happen often enough.
It was Tuesday and the school dance was that Saturday. All through the chemistry lesson, all Derrick could think about was how he was going to ask her to the dance. Suffice to say, that chemistry lesson was a bust. He attempted to follow her after class but she had already met up with her friends some of whom were senior girls who stayed with her at one of the nearby hostels. Being a junior, he was filled with dread, " How could I possibly talk to her with all her friends surrounding her like that? Some of them are senior girls, they might make fun of me." He thought to himself . Well, no matter. If he didn't do it then, he may not get another chance. The school was a day school but had agreements with various hostels to accommodate some students as per school policy, which meant once she got to her hostel, he would only see her the following day. He had to hurry.
"Will you go to the dance with me?" Derrick froze as he heard the words leave Allan's mouth. Allan was a senior and his name popped up frequently whenever girls gossiped about the cute boys in school. A lot of those girls were friends with Barbra. Did she think so too? Derrick was anxious to hear her answer but all of a sudden started feeling awkward. He felt like a stalker and started moving away but he slowed his pace just enough so he could hear her answer. "C'mon Barbs, say yes...say yes..." Her friends encouraged her. "I will think about it ..." Barbra confidently answered and then walked away. Derrick sighed, " It's not a 'yes' but its not a 'no' either. I guess I'll have to try my luck tomorrow.
That night was a long one for Derrick, his stomach grumbled. He had a hard time eating, studying and even sleeping proved a bothersome task. He just switched on his computer and started to watch a movie. Five minutes in, Derrick's mother walked into his room without knocking and loudly berrated him for watching movies during the school term. "Your only focus should be your books, leave these useless films and either study or sleep! Do you want to end up like your uncles Robert and Charles?" Uncles Robert and Charles had died of alcohol related causes and Derrick's mother blamed it on their inability to study properly . "I'm sorry, I will turn it off." Derrick turned off the computer and prepared to sleep after his mother left the room.
