Fourth Floor Please

I.

It all began the summer before his senior year of high school. David Lawson had been pursuing Autumn Primavera since halfway through the prior semester. He tried relentlessly to convince her to give him a chance, just to go on one date with him; however, his efforts seemed to lead him nowhere close to making Autumn his girlfriend. She was a unique girl, vastly different than any other in his hometown of Williamsburg, Kentucky. She was half-Latina with long, dark hair and tan skin. Her background alone made her diverse from the majority of the young women living in Williamsburg; this small town consisted of nearly an entire population of white people with the same Protestant faith and conservative political views. Autumn definitely stood out in an area where she was the only girl of Latino background, and this was perhaps what first caught the attention of David Lawson.

Dave, as he preferred to be called, was your typical Williamsburg resident with all the aforementioned qualities of the typical inhabitants of the town. He lived in the rural community of Gatliff, a few miles outside of the already rural town of Williamsburg. He was an avid hunter, church goer, and Republican voter. His background and views were nearly the opposite of his love interest's; however, I suppose the cliché "opposites attract" can certainly hold true. A simple country boy like Dave had a hard time trying to woo the liberal minded, animal loving girl that Autumn was. I guess fishing in a pond in the backwoods was not what Autumn signified as a proper date. So, with is lack of success in dating Autumn, Dave decided to talk to somone else when that summer began.

"Hi Dave!"

It was Kim Laramy. If anyone was after Dave Lawson as much as he was after Autumn Primavera, it was her.

"Oh, hey Kim. What's up?" he replied to her.

"Well, since this was our last day of school and the summer has started, I was wondering if you wanted to go to the spillway today with me and some friends. We are going to swim and jump off the rocks. It'll be a good time, even better if you come along!"

The spillway was a small beach on the lake. Everyone in the area spent much of their summers jumping off the rocks, playing volleyball, and often getting drunk late at night. But most of Dave and his friends just went to swim and enjoy the summer heat.

He laughed and smiled at her. "I suppose I could come along. I'll just run home and change and see if James wants to ride up with me."

"Could you pick me up at my house? I still don't have a car. My mom is the worst."

"Yeah, sure. It's on the way anyway. I'll text you when I am on my way."

Dave got in his truck and started home. He was leaving his high school campus for the last time until August. He was definitely looking forward to spending this summer with his friends and maybe make a little cash working for his friend Austin. Dave was now eighteen; he was a man in his own mind and he was going to spend this summer on his own terms.

"Hey, James," he said into the phone, "Do you want to go to the spillway? Kim invited me and I reckon she is meeting a few girls there."

"Yeah, but I have open gym with basketball today. I should be done about 4:30. I'll just meet you in town and we can ride up together from here."

"Well, Kim asked me to come pick her up, and that's on the other way to the spillway. I was hoping you would already be home. You care to just meet at the spillway instead?"

"Ooooohhh! Picking her up? Dave, when are you going to just go after her? She is obviously in love with you! I think she's a pretty girl and Autumn sure ain't budging. You should just move on. But yeah, I don't care to drive on up there after open gym. I'll see if my brother wants to come."