3 days of soup, sex and sun salutations [H.S]

3. Dance to the music

They spend the whole way down to the park talking about Woodstock. Harry has paired with Mary, who despite her quietness in the beginning, has started to open up more.

"My dad's a jazz musician, so yeah he wanted me to go and enjoy the festival, but my ma wasn't a big fan to be real", she chuckles, turning to look at Harry. "And you? You're 16, right?"

Harry stands up tall as she says so, because yes, she might be a year older, but yes, she is also gorgeous and TALL, and Harry isn't short, but he still stretches his neck to match her height.

"Yeah, I mean, um, my mum wasn't really keen on me going, but she knows how much I like the music, so we had a deal, that I would finish school and then go. And here I am!" Harry finishes, scrunching his nose a little to not giggle. Then he remembers.

"Shit! I forgot to call my mum last night", he exclaims, not to Mary in particular, but to everyone. "I gotta find a phone booth", he then adds, looking around him in the streets. God, it's hard finding a booth when it's not red, Harry thinks to himself.

"Over there's one, sweetie", Mary says calmly, grabbing Harry's shoulder and directing him to their left, where a booth with the word 'Telephone' written on it stands.

Harry blushes a bit at the nickname, feeling even younger with the words, but Mary doesn't sound pitying, just plainly helpful. She quickly follows Harry while whistling at the others to join them.

While Harry makes his call in the booth, the rest stand outside, Brian smoking, Lizzie and Linda giggling and humming on some song. After Harry, Lizzie also goes in to call, humming all the way into the booth.

"Tom, you're not gonna call?" Linda asks, directing her eyes from Lizzie in the booth to Tom. Tom, who's now sharing a cigarette with Brian, just shakes his head.

"They'll see if they get me back when we get out of Woodstock", he just says, shrugging, and Harry barks out a laugh because it's probably true. Tom has been away from home more than he's been home the latest two years, so if he didn't come back, no one would probably expect him to, ever. No one else laughs though, they don't get the joke, and before any of them could answer, Tom opens his mouth again.

"How does one get sloshed out here anyway?" Tom says, giving the cigarette back to Brian after taking a long drag. "It's not like any of us are 21, if no one's got any secrets?"

"There's a liquor store just outside of the park, maybe we can ask someone to buy us some beer?" Harry tries, but the three Americans just laugh.

"You clearly haven't been to Central Park before", Mary says with a mischievous smile. "You'll get a pleasant surprise", she then adds.

When Lizzie finishes her phone call, the six youngsters continue walking and finally, they step into the gates of Central Park. Green everywhere, tree tops feathering in the wind. Harry takes a big inhale, expecting the smell of freshly cut grass, but is met with a completely other smell. He opens his eyes wider, trying to identify the source, and almost audibly gasps. Hundreds of people, spread out in smaller or bigger circles on the grass, are sitting in the park, smoking Mary Jane, flower crowns and open shirts everywhere, music in every group, guitars strumming everywhere. Harry feels like he might have died and gone to heaven. You know that feeling when you're just running on a field of flowers, wanting to throw yourself into it? Yeah, that's pretty much Harry's mind right now.

"Awesome, isn't it?" Mary then whispers in his ear, almost touching his cheek with her lips as she does so, her curly hair brushing the top of his ear. She skips in front of him, joined by Linda as they go hand in hand, spinning each other and laughing. Linda's mid-shin flower dress dances around her and Mary's dark skinned legs flex as she skips down the path. Harry is like a stone figure, only able to turn his head around to look to Lizzie and Tom.

"This is insane", Lizzie whispers, also in shock of what she's seeing. Tom just nods, his mouth open.

As they join the two American girls down on the grass with Brian behind them, smoking another cigarette, the shock has subsided a bit. Harry could still walk around all day staring, but as soon as his look wanders too long on someone, Lizzie sticks his fingers into his ribs, so he doesn't. The grass spot they choose is one right by some older guys playing guitar while supposedly their girlfriends watch in awe. Right as they sit down, a very freckled girl scoots closer to them.

"Hey, you look lost. I'm Anna, and that's my boyfriend Paul. Want a beer?" She says to Tom, pointing to one of the men playing his guitar with passion.

"Sure", is the only thing Tom gets out before the freckled girl puts a can of beer in his hand.

"There. That'll help you find your place, I'm sure", she says, apparently in another world as she inhales on a joint, smiling dopily to them all before turning back to her friends.

They all laugh as they share the beer, passing it around the ring. Mary just says a quick "told you so". Before the can of beer is even finished though, they are invited into a group of other people on the side of them.

"We need a few more people for this game!" A guy with long, brown hair and only a fringe jacket says as he puts out his hand for Lizzie to grab.

"What are you playing?" She says as she sits down with them, letting go of the long haired stranger.

"A good old waterfall game", he says, smiling against them all, clearly himself quite young too.

The two groups say hello with waves of hands, and Harry really struggles with the names. They all look around 17 or 18, but their circle is filled with cans, so at least someone must be older. All of them are offered beer, and the rules of the game are simple: only stop drinking if the person to the right of you stops drinking.

They do a few rounds, and it doesn't take long before Harry feels tipsy. He feels so good though, the sun shining through the crowns of the trees, warming his bare arms. To the right of him, Lizzie's hair is shining like gold in the sun, the bleached ends like cotton to the sun. She swears like a sailor as she finishes her drinks, but she also knows how to drink like one. Tom and Brian are crossing arms as they drink on the left of Harry, and Linda and Mary are laughing so much, they are spilling half their drinks out of their mouths as the round finishes.

The rest of the night is spent in good company, and as they walk home from the park with the Americans, the last sun rays are shining above the skyscrapers, making the whole city look golden. As they get to their hotel, they are ready to order room service and pass out. They stop outside of the hotel to see the Americans off.

"Well, guess we'll see you at the festival, then?" Harry says as they hug goodbye.

They all nod, a little sad to say goodbye so quickly, and Harry, Tom and Lizzie walk into their hotel lobby. Just as they do so, though, they hear Linda's chirpy voice behind them and they all turn.

"Wait! Join us on the van tomorrow! We'll go out to Woodstock together?" She shouts, a big smile on her face and excitement in her eyes.

They all look around to each other as if someone's questioning it, but then they just nod in unison, laughing, because this is crazy, isn't it?

"Great! We'll come pick you up here at one tomorrow! Be there or be square!" 

// Things are happening, and we're getting closer to Woodstock! What do you think will happen? I'm so excited for you to read the next part! x