Evergreen

Chapter 23

This is the start of something beautiful – Ed Sheeran from 'This'

*

Before the front door even had a chance to shut in the Earnshaw house, Everett had thundered up the stairs to his room. Silent sobs shook his body, tears streaming down his face like a water fountain. He flopped onto his bed, face in his pillow, and continued to cry.

After a few minutes, Mum softly knocked on Ev's door. She took the lack of response as an invitation to step in.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" she asked.

"I thought it was over," he whispered.

Now Mum felt dangerously close to crying. "The bullying?"

A strangled noise came from Everett's throat that confirmed her fears.

"He saw me in the hallway alone and just started hurling insults at me. And I couldn't walk away from him 'cause his cronies were holding me back."

A fresh wave of sobs took over Everett as he remembered Freddy's words. He was a 'worthless loser' and a 'football failure' and a 'flipping freak'. Mum came to sit on the bed with her arms wide open, but Everett pushed her away.

"I don't need your mollycoddling," he snapped, "I'm being stupid, so stupid! I need to man up."

"Everett-"

But he'd already stormed out of the room and slammed the door behind him. Fiercely wiping at his eyes, he stomped downstairs and made a start on his homework. Then he remembered what Mrs Jackson had told him about reporting Freddy's behaviour. No, he wouldn't do it - he'd look weak, like he couldn't handle a couple of cruel comments. So he carried on with his homework.

*

All thoughts of Freddy were forgotten when Everett arrived at RAF cadets and saw Amelia. She had glossy brown hair reaching down to her hips and a sweet smile gracing her freckled face. He felt himself glowing with joy.

"All doe eyes again, Lord Byron?" teased Marty. He and Jade cracked up laughing. Ever since they'd seen him reading a Lord Byron poem voluntarily at break time (to get to know Amelia better, of course), he'd been given a suitable sobriquet. It didn't bother him too much; in fact, he quite liked the romantic poets.

Boldly, he sashayed up to her, assuming the subtle demeanour of James Bond. The girls looked at him, no doubt jealous of Amelia, as he stopped by her.

"You have ketchup on your face," said Amelia bluntly.

Instantly Everett re-evaluated everything. That was why the girls had that curious expression. Blushing furiously, he wiped it off and reassumed his coolness.

Except his heart was beating at a million miles per hour.

"So, had a good week?" she asked.

Everett hesitated. He wanted to be as upbeat as Amelia seemed to be, but the truth was that he was hurting inside. "Not the best week, to be honest. Freddy's being a pain."

Amelia squeezed his hand, speaking in higher volumes than her voice ever could. She cared for him, even when his circumstances weren't sunny.

"I'm guessing you'd like to hear about my week? Well, I learned the subjunctive in Italian..."

Everett listened to the highlights and lowlights of Amelia's week with interest. But mostly, he was occupied with admiring her beautiful face. Soft pink lips he hoped to kiss one day; cheeks overflowing with freckles; big brown eyes that he could lose himself in. It was tough to tear his gaze away when Felipe assembled the cadets.

Flying in planes proved to be the best way to bring happiness to all. Up here in the clouds, they could swerve and swoop around each other and fall in love with the brilliant blue liberty that is the sky.

When they descended, Everett immediately hopped over to Amelia like an over-eager grasshopper. She smiled.

"Got ants in your pants, Ev?"

Everett shook his head, his heart going wild. "No, I haven't, I just came over here to ask you - er -"

His eyes darted around, too nervous to focus on Amelia. His palms were sweaty and his mouth was dry, yet it felt as if a beacon of hope had been ignited inside him.

"Will you go out with me?" he blurted out, and Amelia clasped her hands in delight.

"Yes, I will!" Everett broke out into a beaming grin that mirrored Amelia's, and their friends shouted their approval.

"I'm so happy for you!" said Jade.

"I knew you could do it!" said Marty. Amelia raised an eyebrow.

"They put you up to this?"

"Well, yeah, but I was gonna do it anyway at some point," said Everett, determined that Amelia would not misunderstand him. The last thing he needed was her thinking that his love wasn't real - that was far from the truth. Smiling at the idiosyncrasies she had; remembering the stories she told; telling her all about his week: these were the most natural things in the world to him.

Without warning, Amelia wrapped her now-boyfriend in an effusive hug. He returned it, enjoying the feel of her arms around him. It was like they were always meant to be there.

*

Everett came home positively radiant. He whistled a cheery tune and put away the dishes without a word of complaint.

"What's made you so happy?" asked Mum.

"Try and guess," said Everett, prising a packet of crisps out from the snack cupboard.

"Hmm... you did lots of flying today?"

He shook his head, his smile growing wider.

"Has a new Imagine Dragons song been released?"

"No!" said Everett - then, tapping his toes in delight, he said: "I asked Amelia to be my girlfriend and she said yes!"

Mum examined her son closely. How could she have missed the way his eyes smiled like he'd gazed upon a sea of shining stars, the faint pink flush on his cheeks, the giddy delight that only romance can bring? She'd been much the same when she'd met Jonny twenty years ago.

"Is she Jewish?"

Everett blinked. "Well, no, but -"

"- then you can't date her."

A familiar flush of fury crossed Everett's face. The fury that arose whenever Mum placed restrictions on his life based on some rules from the dusty old Tanakh. She'd outlawed eating shellfish and meat from pigs, made him spend at least part of his Saturday in the synagogue, and now this. It was intolerable. Terrible.

"Do you have any idea how hard it is to find Jewish girls these days?" he started, breathing deeply.

"There are plenty of girls in your synagogue class," said Mum.

"But I don't like any of them! I like Amelia, Mum. I want to be with her."

Mum considered her words for a moment. "Everett, you know that I only want you to be happy-"

"And Amelia is making me happy," said Everett firmly.

"But it's better to date someone who shares the same religious values as you. In Proverbs, it says that a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised."

Everett smiled. "Well, I'm sure that the Lord would praise Amelia. She's good and kind, Mum."

Mum sighed. "It's your life, Ev. Date Amelia if you wish. I just think it would be better if you dated a Jewish girl, that's all."