(FYI: This story is fiction…except for the parts that really happened. It's one of a trio of stories I wrote that were, as part of a writing experiment, inspired by songs from Stevie Wonder's album, Conversation Peace)
Phil Genret was a big man on the campus of Alexander Graham Bell High; he was a tall, gregarious, athletic, talented boy whose quick wit and sharp mind made him one of the most popular students on the sprawling urban campus.
Kara Jordan was also a very intelligent student…perhaps the brightest student at
Kara knew of Phil, of course…everybody knew of Phil. She also knew that circle he traveled in would give her not even the slightest of thoughts much less egress into their lofty clique. With her books clutched to her chest like a shield, Kara went through each school day with her head down and then retreated home to her room and her books and her music (Joni Mitchell and Carly Simon and Jackson Browne, all in their most plaintive youthful angst.)
Though Kara would never believe it, Phil knew of her as well. He watched her from afar…intrigued by her shyness (which he had recast as mysteriousness) and her fierce, undeniable intelligence; he found favor in the shy, soft, rounded beauty of her face. Phil had often wanted to approach her but her lack of status and his high profile combined to stay that impulse. A prisoner...a willing prisoner…of his own popularity, Phil had no idea how to react when he realized her might have a crush on shy, chubby Kara.
As part of Bell High’s annual Spring Festival there was a student talent show during the third and fourth periods of one fateful day. It was one of the most anticipated events of the school year and, as classes during those periods were suspended for the day, attendance was mandatory. Phil, an accomplished singer and guitarist, had won the competition the previous year and everyone was looking forward to his performance this year.
Kara, not at all fond of large gatherings, had managed to avoid the show the previous spring by being home sick with the flu. This year, she tried to beg off…she wanted to be allowed to go study in the library…but her student advisor, desperately trying to find ways to bring Kara out of her shell, refused to give her a pass.
Fighting back tears, choking on the lump in her throat, and clutching her books to her chest, Kara allowed herself to be swept along with crush of eager students heading into the school’s cavernous auditorium for the show. Despite her intention to find a seat in the rear of the hall, Kara somehow found herself third row center with happy giggling students all around her. Kara cracked open one of her books and tried to shut out the din and the show played on.
Phil closed the show with his guitar and a stool as his only onstage companions. He nodded confidently as the kids in the audience cheered.
Kara looked up from her book and her eyes met Phil’s; where she would usually look away very quickly, for some reason she kept gazing into his eyes.
Phil was dumbstruck to find Kara looking up at him so intently…he was, in fact, surprised that she was there at all. He was surprised…and he was pleased. He took a deep breath, gathering his courage to do what he most wanted to do. “I’d like to dedicate thing song to a special girl,” he said, uncharacteristically nervous in front of the adoring crowd. An anxious, hopeful murmur went up from a large number of girls in the audience…Phil had never had one special girlfriend despite the number of girls who coveted that position.
Kara blushed and shrugged, wondering enviously which cheerleader would be getting the dedication, and looked back down at her book.
A gasp danced through the hall as Phil, almost shyly, spoke a name, “…Kara Jordan…”
Kara’s eyes went wide with shock and horror as her name echoed through the auditorium and eyes searched the room for her. More than before, he wanted to shrink away, to disappear…but, of course, she could not. She looked up to the stage with hot, liquid eyes, sure that she was about to be mocked in front of the whole student body.
But Phil nodded reassuringly and smiled. The rest of the crowd seemed to fade away as he began to play and sing directly to Kara.
…all the gold in all the world
is nothing to possess
if all the things that it can bring
can’t add up to one ounce
of your happiness…
and for your love
I would do anything
just to see the smile upon your face;
for your love I would go anywhere,
just you tell me and I’ll be right there…
Kara sat…waiting and dreading the point where the joke would be sprung…waiting for that public humiliation to be delivered. But it never came. She looked up into Phil’s eyes again and she found nothing but earnestness and…
…a diamond that shines
like a star in the sky
is nothing to behold
for miniscule is any light
if it can’t, like you, brighten up my soul…
Phil sang on, his eyes never leaving hers, feeling a weight being lifted off his shoulder as he did so.
At the end of the show, Kara will bolt from the auditorium, red-faced and teary-eyed…thrilled and terrified…and scurry into the relative safety of the nearest girl’s restroom. Her mother will be called and she will go home to her books and her music…and her dreams and memories. On the next day, Phil will find her and apologize; Kara will tell him that he didn’t have to apologize. On the day after that they will talk a little more. They will never become a couple but, against all odds, they will become fast friends.
But there and then, with the music playing, there was only the two of them sharing a wondrously romantic and deliriously inappropriate song…just the two of them, fleetingly alone in a crowd.
- for
“For Your Love”
words and music by Stevie Wonder
©1995 Stevland Morris Music
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