It didn’t take long for the news to travel through the Dorms. It spread like wildfire, leaving in its wake a trail of ecstatic teenagers. It also left behind a jumble of drama, crushed dreams, and scandals as the teens immediately began pairing up for the big event. It was enough to keep Dorm society busy until “The Day” arrived.
The night of the first concert began with a crowd that completely packed the Square, grass, and sidewalks of the Hill. It was an early Friday evening after a clear and perfect day. The late afternoon sun shot through the fluttering leaves above the teeming sidewalks and cast dancing shadows on the grass. The air was vibrant with anticipation. The throng of teens laughed and jostled each other, filling the spring evening with their happy babble. Expectation—it flavored the atmosphere like a spice.
Reed sucked in a deep breath and gave his hair a final sweep off his forehead. This was the life: not a care in the world or a cloud in the sky. He reveled in the joy of being young as he shouldered his way through the crowd toward the corner where he was supposed to meet Allie.
They usually met at this corner whenever they were going out, “whenever” meaning perhaps half a dozen other dates. It had been almost two weeks since Reed had decided to follow up on Hunter’s tip. Allie, never one to turn down masculine interest of any kind, had been more than receptive to Reed’s advances. He was now ranked as one of the top figures on the Hill in both social status and looks. In fact, it was whispered that she’d had her sights set in his direction long before he paid any attention to her.
He arrived at the corner by Dorm Eight. It was empty. Unperturbed, he settled under a nearby fir tree for what could be a long wait.
“She’s always late,” he told himself. “The makeup never goes on as quick as they think.” While he waited, the constant stream of traffic down the sidewalk in front of him carried past a number of familiar faces. Several of the guys looked at him sympathetically and made brushing motions on their cheeks. Riley went by with another boy and flipped him a thumbs up. Reed hadn’t seen much of him lately; he hung with several boys from Dorm Fourteen constantly and was never in the room. Reagan passed not far behind, a girl on each arm. Reed chuckled. The free tickets had freed him up more than he’d imagined.
“Umm… Reed?”
He jerked around in surprise. Lucy and Katy had come up next to him quietly and stood on his left, eyeing him.
“Oh,” he said, scrambling to his feet. “Hi!”
“Hi.”
They continued to eye him in awkward silence. Reed coughed, dropping his eyes, and noticed for the first time that both girls were dressed for a formal event. Katy wore a knee-length dress of deep blue and had curled her hair. Lucy’s fell smooth and straight over the shoulders of her lacy white top. He decided he liked her hair that way.
“Gee, you’re all dressed up.”
The girls looked at each other, and Lucy smiled. “Well, yeah,” she admitted. “It might be a little overkill for a concert, but we decided to have some fun with it.”
“So you changed your minds? You’re coming after all?”
“No,” they both said quickly and again looked at each other.
“We’re going to see the tenor from Les Mis Sarah was talking about.” Katy pushed her hair behind her shoulder. “That’s tonight.”
“We’re supposed to pick up Marielle on the way and meet some of the others there,” Lucy added. “Have you changed your mind?”
“Nope.” Reed stuck his hands in his pockets. “But are you sure? Everybody else is going.”
“I don’t care what everybody else does,” Lucy laughed. “I’d rather be free to do my own thing than what everybody else tells me to.”
Reed had never thought of it that way before. He wished he hadn’t.
Lucy grew serious again. “Umm… Reed, not to pry or anything, but are you waiting for somebody?”
“Err… yes, actually.”
As if on cue, Allie emerged from the dorm, mincing over to where Reed waited.
“Hey, babe!” she said, tossing her bleached bangs off her forehead. Judging by the way she batted her eyes at him, she was pleased to find him waiting. Her pleasure was short-lived, however, as she caught sight of the other girls. Her coy smile melted like a snow cone dropped on a radiator.
“Oh. Lucy.” She eyed them. “I certainly didn’t expect to see you tonight.”
“Uh… same here,” replied Lucy, her voice almost matching Allie’s pointed tone. But her eyes were fixed on Reed in an astonished stare. He looked away and studied the crowd.
Allie went on. “Oh! And what a… quaint top. It doesn’t look like anything I saw where I shop.”
“No, it wouldn’t.” Lucy finally took her gaze from Reed and looked at Allie for the first time. “It… hmm… never mind. Oh, those are quite the jeans! Did they come like that or did you sit in something… unfortunate?”
“Oh, yeah! All the fashion people are wearing them. The girls are crazy about them.”
“I’m sure they are.” Lucy smiled sweetly. “Well, we don’t want to keep you. It was nice to talk to you again, Reed. Perhaps we’ll see you around sometime.”
“Oh, yeah. Sure. See ya.”
The two girls disappeared into the crowd. Reed and Allie turned in the opposite direction and fell in with the flow of teens. Reed decided to speak before Allie had a chance to say anything. “I didn’t know you knew Lucy.”
“Yeah, sorta. We never really clicked. Some people liked her an awful lot, but I never cared for the old-fashioned style. I try to keep more with the times.”
Reed could have guessed. Allie, with her halter top, flat-ironed hair, and profuse mascara made quite a contrast to Lucy, despite their similar height and figures. He wondered if Allie would ever consider letting her hair fall over her shoulders the way Lucy’s did.
She slipped her hand into his and pressed up against his shoulder. “Oh, come one! We are going to have the best time. How am I supposed to have fun if you keep your face like that? Smile, handsome!”
Reed looked down at her and grinned. “Better, gorgeous?”
“SO much better. You are freakin’ adorable.” She squeezed his arm and then gasped. “You’ve been hitting the gym again, haven’t you?”
“Yeah, Reagan and I have been going a lot lately.” He grinned at her again. “You like it? I’ve gotta keep it up or I might lose you to the competition.”
“Oh, shut up.” She leaned up and kissed him, right there in the middle of the sidewalk.
The rest of the night went better than Reed could have hoped. The concert was everything the billboards had set it up to be, from the rainbow of searing lights to the second largest smoke machine in the country. The crowd was ecstatic. Crawling into bed much later that night, Reed—hoarse, exhausted, and a little hard of hearing—was prepared to do it all over again.