Page 29 - the NOISE September 2014

Robert Smith, circa 1978 INTERNET ARCHIVES
sponse wasn’t terribly effusive, but he could tell she was impressed.
They began spending all their time be- tween classes together. The two discovered they had similar tastes in literature and poli- tics and cinema and music. Neither could stand 95% of what their classmates were into. They were amused by Hemingway’s bluster, astounded by Nabokov’s cheek. He liked Herzog, she preferred Godard. She introduced him to Fairport Convention, he played her Be Bop Deluxe. His little sister met her and approved.
Her parents were very strict and would not let her date boys, so she would tell them she was at the library or in a study group after school so they could see each other. She ob- viously could not attend any of his gigs, but accompanied him to practice where she sat in a corner doing homework. His bandmates were relieved he finally had a girlfriend, al- beit one as odd as him.
The forest was their refuge. They would sit under his favorite tree and talk or just read si- lently. Eventually they progressed to holding hands and kissing. He found that the touch of her lips and the taste of her mouth made the sadness go away.
He confessed to her his desire to put on makeup. She was intrigued. He brought the mascara to their spot in the forest and she painted his face. With her palms she smudged black circles around his eyes and mussed up his hair to make it bigger. She sat back and gazed at him. He smiled.
“How do I look?”
“You look ... like a rock star.”
She then kissed him and pressed against him with a passion he had not felt from her before. Both were a bit surprised at this new development in their relationship. They de- cided they needed to make love, since nei- ther had done it yet. The forest was too open, his jam space too grungy, her house was out of the question, so he began looking for an opportunity.
On the Saturday before Christmas, his family took their yearly shopping trip to London. He begged off, saying he had extra band practice. She hid around the corner and ran inside when the coast was clear. He nervously showed her his books and records until she took his hand and led him to the bed. They disrobed under the covers, gig- gling. They held each other.
Before matters could go further, they heard his parents’ car returning. His mother got out and ran up the walk, swearing loudly
BY TONY BALLZ
about forgetting her purse. They threw their clothes on and escaped out his window. They ran hand in hand through the woods before collapsing in a heap.
She had gotten spooked and told him the magic day would have to wait. He under- stood. She whispered it would be soon. Each professed their eternal love for the other. They kissed and said goodbye.
That was mid-December and now it was nearly April.
Due to all the hours spent with him, her straight-A grades had dipped slightly and her parents were furious. She had no more free time. She would get dropped off and picked up directly from school. Her weekends were spent practicing or studying at home. Their schedules were different this semester and they barely saw each other between classes.
He was filled with a great despair. Why couldn’t they just be together? Their tragic romance felt Shakespearian. He ached for her. The brief memory of her nude body in his bed nearly drove him crazy.
The situation dragged on and on until ear- lier this week. He slipped her a note with the information that his family was leaving on Saturday to visit his mother’s ailing second cousin 200 miles away. He convinced Mom and Dad he could take care of the house while they were gone.
She passed him a letter with her response. She would have to wait until after dark when her parents were asleep before she could sneak out. It may be a long while and she might get caught. She would call from a pub- lic phone when she was on her way.
So here he sat in the sink, waiting. And waiting.
He glanced at the clock: 10:15 pm. Some Saturday night partier he was. His band- mates were all at a dance, which they had unsuccessfully tried to get him to attend. They told him to move on and forget about her. He was young, he was in a rock group ... he could have three or four girlfriends, easily. Why be so morose over one fish in the sea?
His desire for her was only made stronger. Every agonizing minute they were apart was like an hour, every day like a week. It felt as if he was slowly perishing of a rare disease and she alone held the antidote in her blood- stream. She was the cure.
Squashed in the sink with a frozen bum and his legs nearly asleep, he grew mad. God damn her parents. Why did they have to be
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