navwin » Main Forums » Passions in Prose » Just out of reach
Passions in Prose
Post A Reply Post New Topic Just out of reach Go to Previous / Newer Topic Back to Topic List Go to Next / Older Topic
LoveBug
Deputy Moderator 5 Tours
Moderator
Member Elite
since 2000-01-08
Posts 4697


0 posted 2000-08-21 06:35 PM


(Names have been changed to protect the guilty!)


Ah, closing night. It’s probably the saddest event of the year. It’s when we have to say goodbye to all of our friends for another year. But it’s also a time of mischievous fun. No longer fearing the wrath of the director, we go all out with the pranks.  “Li’l Abner” is a fun show, and that makes the pranks even better. Some of my friends and I were planning on a big prank to pull on the “husbands” we catch in the Sadie Hawkin’s Day ballet. We decided to kiss our new husbands during the wedding ceremony. I was more than happy to comply, considering how I felt about the guy I was going to kiss.

James is a guy you can’t miss. He just turned 15, and he’s 6’4. At 5’6, I was the tallest girl in the play (yes, that’s sad), so I was paired up with him. We both couldn’t dance to save our lives, but we tried as hard as we could to mimic the flowing movements of our choreographer. Throughout the two and a half months that we spent together, I grew to love him. It wasn’t the old “love at first sight” crap that I always seemed to fall into for so long… it was love that grew from friendship…the best kind. But I was sure that he didn’t feel the same for me. He was obviously smitten with an older girl, who was much, MUCH prettier than I was. But I’m not the type that gives up easily. This “prank” was the perfect opportunity to get the ball rolling. So when the girls asked “Are you game?” I think you can guess what my answer was.

He was the first one I saw that night. He smiled at me and asked, “Do you have any pranks planned?” I gave him a mischievous smile and said, “You’ll see…” I acted more confident than I was. I was REALLY nervous about my first onstage kiss, especially with James. But I tried to keep my mind off of it. I just planned out my other pranks and kept my mind on the show. I didn’t know what I as in for…

The ballet was wild that night. It’s always wild, but it was a million times worse with all of the pranks that we pulled. But when we were about to enter for the wedding, I started having my doubts. My stomach began to spin, along with my whole world. It took everything I had to concentrate on the complicated dance moves.

And then the moment came.

I heard Marrin’ Sam cry out “I pronounces you man and wife”. In that split second, I remembered all of the times that I spent on the outside of the world, looking in. I remembered all the times I watched movies, and envied the girls that had the courage to just kiss the man they loved. I was tired of it. I gathered all of my courage, puckered up, and made a leap for his lips.

I got nothing but air.

When we got backstage, he looked down at me with an amused smile and a chuckle. “I knew what you were going to do, and I wasn’t game,” he said. I sighed and retreated to the girl’s dressing room. My friends tried to comfort me, but there was nothing anyone could have said to make me feel better. At that moment, it all seemed to clear to me. Although I may jump as high as I can, and reach out as far as possible, it seems like everything good in life is just out of reach.



"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars." -Oscar Wilde
"The robbed that smiles steals something from the thief" -Shakespea

© Copyright 2000 Erica N. - All Rights Reserved
Erin
Member Elite
since 2000-06-15
Posts 2527
~Chicago~
1 posted 2000-08-22 01:09 AM


Lovebug~~~this was so good. i liked it alot. wow. and i also have to agree with you on the last sentence except for one part, everything to me is almost out of reach. so did this really happen (cause you did put names changed to protect the guilty)??2 thumbs up for you girl!!!
Poet deVine
Administrator
Member Seraphic
since 1999-05-26
Posts 22612
Hurricane Alley
2 posted 2000-08-22 09:01 AM


Very good story but I disagree with your last sentence! You just need to keep your eyes open and JUMP!!!  
Dusk Treader
Moderator
Senior Member
since 1999-06-18
Posts 1187
St. Paul, MN
3 posted 2000-08-22 03:57 PM


Great story here, but I just can't agree with that last line. There are far too many good things in life for them to all be out of reach, and if they're out of reach, that's why we invented ladders   Somethings just aren't meant to be, but goodness in your life is meant to be.

Abrahm Simons

"Keep on dreamin' boy 'cause when you stop dreaming it's time to die" - Blind Melon

Sudhir Iyer
Member Ascendant
since 2000-04-26
Posts 6943
Mumbai, India : now in Belgium
4 posted 2000-08-23 04:17 AM


Lovebug, this is excellently written... quite captivating to say the least...

about the end... let me join the others saying that I disagree...

Have you ever wondered why the pole vaulters use that big pole and run and hit the ground with it and take a jump over a marked height... Only to soar into new heights makes them feel closer to the skies and the stars that they see in the night.

Have you wondered why all beings (plants, humans, animals) grow upwards (gaining height) and also look up upwards for faith? ... because there is where the realisation of hope is ... Way up there

... and unless and until we hold our spitits and keep the firefly inside our souls flickering... we will never even recognise the unmarked heights in the skies to reach for ...

Regards,
sudhir

Christopher
Moderator
Member Rara Avis
since 1999-08-02
Posts 8296
Purgatorial Incarceration
5 posted 2000-08-24 03:31 PM


Hey buggy - I'm with Sharon there... most people don't know what's good for them! You just have to show them.. even if you "trick" them into it!   Should have kept (your) eyes open!  

But - This was really well written. Brought a smile to my face, then finally a slight frown.

Reach for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll be among the stars.
-Author Unknown-


[This message has been edited by Christopher (edited 08-24-2000).]

LoveBug
Deputy Moderator 5 Tours
Moderator
Member Elite
since 2000-01-08
Posts 4697

6 posted 2000-08-24 04:49 PM


Thanks for all of your great replies, you guys!  

"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars." -Oscar Wilde
"The robbed that smiles steals something from the thief" -Shakespea

Post A Reply Post New Topic ⇧ top of page ⇧ Go to Previous / Newer Topic Back to Topic List Go to Next / Older Topic
All times are ET (US). All dates are in Year-Month-Day format.
navwin » Main Forums » Passions in Prose » Just out of reach

Passions in Poetry | pipTalk Home Page | Main Poetry Forums | 100 Best Poems

How to Join | Member's Area / Help | Private Library | Search | Contact Us | Login
Discussion | Tech Talk | Archives | Sanctuary