the cadence of part time poets

Chapter 52: Mondegreen

I was in a trance,
When I kissed the teacher;
Suddenly I took the chance,
When I kissed the teacher;

Leaning over me,
He was trying to explain the laws of geometry;
And I couldn't help it,
I just had to kiss the teacher!

- "When I Kissed the Teacher" ABBA, 1976

Friday 25th February 1977

Remus was astounded. Not once had Marlene ever hated a book he'd recommended. Maybe she wasn't in love with all of them, but never had she flat-out refused to finish a book she'd already started.

"But the ending is the best part!" He pleaded, gesturing wildly to Carrie's cover, tattered from the amount of times he'd read it and re-read it. Tonya had opened a door for him over Christmas, introducing him to the gruesome genre he had no hope of satisfying among Hawkings' bland library pickings.

Marlene just turned her nose up. "The opening was traumatic. I felt so bad for the poor girl!"

Remus winced. "I know—but she gets revenge!"

"Doesn't her own mother try to kill her?"

"Yeah, but she kills her first."

"How is that any better? It's just miserable."

"It's horror."

"Oh yeah, hor—ri—ble!"

Half-smiling, Remus shook his head with a tired sigh. "You're killing me here, Cherry."

"Better me than Carrie."

Marlene tossed the book back across the outdoor picnic table and Remus caught it in the gut, letting out a long sigh. At least they were outside. The weather hadn't been so nice in weeks, and he was more than done with winter.

"Ah, finally! Someone else you can torture with chat of homicidal teenagers," Marlene said out of the blue. Perking up, Remus looked around and spotted Sirius just as he slid in next to him on the bench.

"Hey-up," Sirius smiled. "What are you two up to? Are you skiving off together? I'm not interrupting a snog-sesh, am I?" Sirius leaned into Remus, lips puckered, and Remus quickly pushed him away by the face.

"We're just having lunch, you lunatic."

"And we're talking about Remus' terrible new favourite book," Marlene finished.

"It's not terrible," Remus insisted.

"Sorry, terribly gruesome."

"It's actually written really well. You might find it interesting if you actually gave it a chance."

"Oh, I will. Just as soon as you read a book about the horrors of male puberty."

"I have," he snarked. " 'Lord of the Flies' was a great read."

Marlene scoffed at him while Sirius reached over, taking the book and turning over the cover. " 'Carrie'? Is it anything like 'Emma'? How about 'Heidi'?"

"It's a horror novel," Remus told him.

"Oh? So that's what she's contending with, then—the terrors of puberty...?"

"And also telepathy and mass-murder."

"Sounds romantic," Sirius said. "Maybe I should give it a go?"

Remus smiled, trying not to appear too pleased. "If you'd like. They actually just released it as a film last year."

"And that's my cue," Marlene said, grabbing her bag and standing up from the table. "I'll see you at dinner." She reached across to give Remus' hand a little squeeze before turning and leaving them alone under the oak trees. Remus watched her go, keenly aware of how little they'd touched one another since that day in her room. He thought he should've been more disgruntled, but the bit of distance was somehow comforting. He'd grown weary of always being on hyper-alert around Marlene and questioning if he should be sitting closer or holding her hand or kissing her on the cheek or the lips.