Lovely Rita, Project Partner

I didn't know what to make of the fact that I was listening to "Lovely Rita" by The Beatles while working on a history assignment ... with my classmate, Rita.

We were in my house in the living room, sitting on the sofa with our notebooks, history textbooks, and relevant encyclopedia volumes strewn before us on the coffee table. I sat on her right.

On the sofa to her left was her CD player with Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band in it. Despite her wearing headphones, I heard the song clearly. I tried jotting down notes on ... whatever it was we had to right about, but I couldn't concentrate.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw her head bobbing up and down, shaking from side to side, and jutting back and forth. All the while she mouthed lyrics, doing so since the first track.

There wasn't anything erotic about what she was doing, but I couldn't help being entranced. I'd be lying if I said that I didn't want to kiss her lips ...

I snapped out of it when I remembered to breathe.

"Lovely Rita meter maid, / May I inquire discreetly, / When are you free, / to take some tea with me."

How could that not have been a sign?

"Doesn't that hurt your ears?" I asked.

She continued jamming silently.

I nudged her right arm with my elbow. "Rita ..."

She quickly turned to face me and took off her headphones, resting them around her neck. "Yeah?"

"Doesn't that hurt your ears?" I repeated, raising my voice a bit so I could be heard over the blaring song.

The corners of her mouth turned up. "I was born wearing headphones."

Crap—how do I follow that up? I nodded and said, "I heard that if you can tolerate loud noises, then your hearing is probably damaged." Smooth ...

She thought about that, shrugged, and said, "Well ... that's what hearing aids are for." She put her headphones back on.

Real smooth. "Suit yourself," I muttered.

I skimmed through my textbook, but found that I needed more information. I got up, went to the encyclopedias on the bookshelf in the study, and chose another volume after skimming through practically the entire set.

As I reentered the living room, I took in Rita's long, brown, thinly braided hair, which ran down her back and ended above her waist. She had a lot of thick, multicolored plastic bracelets on her arms. She wore a tight orange shirt and stockings, which had alternating green and red stripes.

I stared at her for a few seconds while she wrote in her notebook. Soon she stopped and turned to her right. She cocked her head. Rita looked around the room until her eyes rested on me, standing in the doorway. She looked at me blankly.

It felt as if her wide, unblinking brown eyes were boring holes through me. While holding up the book I just chose, I forced myself to say, "Um, just thought this would help."

She turned away and went back to writing notes.

I retook my seat. I sneaked a few more looks at her as she let herself get lost in the music again. "Lovely Rita" was over; I didn't like that. I got impatient with myself and decided to just ask her out.

But she cut me off as she took off her headphones: "So, you find anything interesting yet?"

"A Day in the Life" blared from the headphones, which made me feel nervous again. "Uh, no. You?"

"No. It's so wrong that he won't let us use the Internet for this. How can't you?"

"I guess he wants us to get used to the old-fashioned way." I leaned in and grinned as I said, "You know, just in case the zombie apocalypse actually does happen."

She didn't back away, which surprised me, but she laughed, which I didn't expect.

Okay, we're getting somewhere ... After an awkward pause, I asked, "So, were you named after that song?"

"Yep. My parents were actually thinking about naming me Lucy, but my grandparents didn't want their only grandchild associated with drugs."

I nodded. "Sounds like a good call."

"Yeah." She cocked her head again. "You like The Beatles?"

"Uh ... can't say that I do. My dad has some of their albums. I never grew up on them, but they're all right. I'm indifferent, I guess, but ... Yeah, I mean, I guess I'd prefer their later work." Better to be truthful than lie ...

"Yeah, once you start listening to them you start liking them."

"Right, right ... You know, Rita, I gotta admit," I said, feeling myself blush and out of breath, "I, well, I like you."

She smiled and brushed some loose strands of hair away from her face. "I like you, too."

Okay, this is it. I sat up straight, smiled, and asked as confidently as possible, "So, uh, you wanna go out sometime?"

I immediately felt stupid. She's gonna say no—I just know it.

Rita continued smiling. She moved in close to me ... She moved in so close that I thought—God, hoped—that she'd kiss me ...

But instead, she sang: "Took her home I nearly made it, / Sitting on the sofa with a sister or two. / Oh, lovely Rita meter maid, / where would I be without you, / Give us a wink and make me think of you."

She winked at me and went back to work. I just stared at her for a few seconds.

I swallowed. "No problem. I understand. It's okay if you're not interested ..."

"I'm not, sorry ... Well, unless ..."

I never took her for a tease, but ... "'Unless' ... ?"

We faced each other.

She asked, cautiously, "Do you have 'a sister or two'?"

"No, I'm an only chi—oh ..."

"Yeah ..." Rita's smile vanished as her back straightened and she winced. "I hope you understand ..."

I looked her over. She was beautiful in a quirky sort of way, and that aroused me for some reason. But the fact that I'd never have a chance to be with her ... Honestly, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't annoyed.

But then I suddenly remembered a lyric from "Within You Without You." I smiled and put my hand on her shoulder. "Sure. It's nice to know that you're not one of those 'people—who hide themselves behind a wall of illusion.'"

She looked impressed. I winked at her and she laughed.

We continued working as the final note of "A Day in the Life" sounded.