Andante

XVII

The next morning on his way to school he rehearsed his lines. 
'Hi Lily, if you're free, would you like to go to the dance with me on Saturday?'
He said it a few times to himself, really drilling it into his brain, because when he'd ask her he should not stand there and look lame, no, he should stand there and be suave and confident.
You can be suave, and you can be confident. Just don't fuck it up, mate.

Focusing yesterday at math tutoring had been very hard. He'd been so aware of Brett, sitting next to him, and he'd had the very distinct feeling that Brett was struggling too. A few times they had smiled at each other shyly, but most of the time they had just sat, trying their hardest to pay attention. 
At this rate his mum might as well not be paying for tutoring at all. 
Then he'd fucked up the Bruch again at his violin lesson, so he was done with this. He was going to ask Lily to the dance, and he was going to be normal, and that was that. 

First period dragged and dragged. He kept looking at his watch, willing its hands to speed up. God, school was even more interminable than normal today! 
He'd started wondering if it would ever happen, but at last the bell rang for the first break and he picked up his bag and squared his shoulders. He was a man on a mission. Well, an almost man on a mission. 

He found her by the lockers, and as soon as she saw him she smiled. 
¨Hey, Eddy! How are you?¨
¨I'm fine¨, he mumbled, feeling his cheeks colouring. Come on mate, this is your opening. 
¨Lily, I.. I was w... wondering...¨ 
Great. Nice going, mate. Now he was stuttering as well, just to make this slightly more awkward. Sure to make him that much more attractive. So much for suave and confident. He rolled his eyes at himself in his head and willed himself to deliver the line he had rehearsed.
¨I was wondering if you'd like to go to the dance with me on Saturday?¨
Nothing could have prepared him for Lily's response. Her eyes lit up as if he'd asked her if she wanted to have the moon or something, and her cheeks turned bright red. 
¨Y.. Yes, yes, sure!¨ she said, her voice even softer than normal. ¨I... I'd love to.¨
¨Okay!¨ Eddy said, forcing himself to smile. ¨Cool!¨
¨Do... do you want to sit outside?¨ Lily asked, a shy smile on her lips. 
¨Sure!¨
They walked out of the building together and sat at one of the wooden tables near the edge of the square, where there was a little bit of shade. It was already getting very hot. 
They both sat down. 
¨So, you play the violin, right?¨ Lily said. ¨I heard you at the school recital last year. You're really good!¨
¨Thank you!¨ he smiled, and this time the smile was genuine. ¨Do you like classical music?¨
¨Yeah!¨ she said, more animated. ¨I do, especially Brahms.¨
What? 'Especially Brahms'?
She must have seen his astounded face, it wasn't every day that normal thirteen year olds had even heard  of Brahms, let alone liked his music, for she added quickly: 
¨My mother used to play the piano. She's always listened to classical music.¨ 
¨That's so cool!¨ he said, and he didn't even care how enthusiastic he sounded. ¨You should come and listen to Brett and me play when we go busking on Saturday some time!¨
¨Yeah, sure!¨ she said, ¨Is Brett a friend of yours?¨
¨Yeah, we met recently. He is really nice, and he playes very well. At least as well as I do.¨
He didn't quite know why he was giving her all this information. Lily really was very easy to talk to.
¨We went busking for the first time together last week, and it was awesome! We made lots of money, and it's like we just 'get' each other. You know, musically.¨ He'd added the last words somewhat shakily. 
¨Cool! Must be nice to find someone that loves music as much as you do yourself.¨ She eyed him speculatively, and he could tell she wanted to say something else.  
But the bell rang then, effectively halting that conversation. He smiled at her as they got up from the bench.
¨Wanna sit together again at second break?¨ he asked, while picking his bag up off the floor. 
¨Sure!¨ she replied with another one of her shy smiles, and they made their way back into the school building together.