Evergreen

Chapter 19

Some people look for a beautiful place. Others make a place beautiful – Hazrat Inayat Khan

*

It was 11th March: the day of the barn dance. To an unobservant viewer, Everett Earnshaw appeared to be getting ready as if it were an ordinary day: putting on his tartan shirt and jeans, doing his hair and checking his phone. But the more observant person would notice the way his feet tapped against the floor, how he added a little more hair product than usual and his blue eyes held in them an inextinguishable sparkle.

He was going to a barn dance! A place full of vibrant music and people; a place he could (hopefully) forget his anxiety. Although he had some headache pain today, it was nothing that a few painkillers couldn't fix.

As he came downstairs, he found his parents waiting for him. Mum was dressed in a red and black tartan shirt with dark blue jeans that had the vivacity that only new clothes can possess. Dad, on the other hand, wore a well-loved orange and blue tartan shirt with faded ripped jeans. Yet, somehow, the pair of them went together seamlessly. Like salt and pepper.

"Let's go!" said Dad.

*

When they arrived, Everett wasn't quite sure what to do. Should he get the asking out of the way or should he wait a little longer? Dad would advise him to do the former, but he was feeling a bit bashful, so he made up his mind to wait. Besides, his friends were beckoning him over.

"Hi," said Everett, and the group greeted him. He noticed a new face among the group - a vaguely familiar blond-haired boy holding hands with Jade. What with thinking about his own plans and his GCSEs, Everett hadn't got around to asking Jade if her invite was successful.

"How are you?" asked Marty, who'd dressed in dark colours in an attempt to look cooler.

"I'm fine, thanks. This should be great. I like dopey does and all that."

Jade and Marty glanced at him like he was out of his mind. "It's a do-si-do, and I can't wait for this to be over," said Jade.

"I can't think of any worse way to spend my Saturday night," said Marty.

"Oh, come on guys, make the most of it," said Glen congenially, and he began a conversation about films that pleased everyone - especially Jade and Marty, who lived and breathed films.

Everett tried to think of how he could ask Amelia, though it seemed near impossible in this group setting where the conversation was in full flow. There was no other choice – he'd have to pluck up his courage and do it. But first, he went to get a drink of fruit punch for his parched throat. The queue was long, and he prayed that it'd hurry up - his throat was like the Sahara Desert. After what seemed like an eternity, he got himself a fruit punch, only to find Amelia standing behind him.

For a moment, the shock rendered him speechless. Recovering himself, he blurted out: "Would you like to dance with me tonight?"

"Oh, um," she hesitated, looking awkward, "I've already said I'll dance with Jesse tonight. If he sits out on some, though, I'll go with you."

"Okay, cool," said Everett, running a hand through his ash-brown hair, "have you ever heard the song, the Olly Murs song 'Dance with me tonight'?"

What on earth made him say that? It made him sound more desperate to dance.

"Have you ever heard that you're a weirdo?" said Amelia with a grin.

"Yes, I have actually: several times. Like that time I had honey on my pasta."

Somehow, Everett knew that Amelia wouldn't judge him for this: she didn't disappoint. "That sounds kind of nice. Better than marmite with cornflakes anyway."