Read Online Saturday Night by Caroline B. Cooney - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Caroline B. Cooney
Ads: Link
metallic, something large and indistinguishable blocked the way. Lightning—a huge horrible jagged hot white sheet of it—filled the sky and the car, and its thunder filled her ears and her soul.
Emily screamed.
Matt jammed on the brakes.
They both were flung forward, with no seat belt between them and the dashboard or the windshield.
The sound of tearing metal and crushing rock closed Emily’s mind, and her own scream deafened her.
And then there was silence.
Chapter 7
S HE HAD TAKEN REFUGE between a wheelbarrow and a haystack, and two chaperones stood there also. Perhaps they thought it would be a good place to nip mischief in the act. They exclaimed over Beth’s dress. It was a temporary sort of conversation; they expected her boyfriend to appear immediately.
Beth Rose could not bear another look of pity.
She walked away from them.
Her stomach ceased to churn and knot. It became a solid hard object, like something requiring surgery. That would be a way out of this. Ambulance. Perhaps she would require resuscitation. Any emergency room on any Saturday night would be better than this.
Beth Rose faced the dance.
Oh, but Kip had done a wonderful job! The room was romantic beyond imagining. And everyone there dressed so beautifully, paired up so perfectly, smiling so happily.
Beth Rose walked to the fountain. She had no change with her—something, it now occurred to her, that was going to making phoning her mother very difficult. Mentally she chose a silver coin and tossed her wish into the fountain. The band began playing a hot wild piece that everybody knew; it had been number two or three for weeks now, struggling for first place. Beth ached to dance to it. A fast dance in Aunt Madge’s dress. She couldn’t picture it. But, oh, to try!
In the shadows on the far side of the fountain stood a boy. Dark in his formal suit, he was like a shadow himself. Beth Rose dreamed on him, and when he detached himself from the shadows, and walked toward her, it seemed like part of the dream.
It was Gary Anthony. Beth could only smile at herself. If there was ever a boy on whom she could have a crush, it would be Gary. She didn’t allow herself crushes. They hurt too much, for nothing ever came of them. The boy never noticed her, let alone returned her feelings.
Gary was a senior for whom school was a necessary evil, and for him graduation would be a great relief. Undoubtedly he would enter his father’s thriving restaurant business. Beth loved eating there on the off chance she might see Gary. For he was remarkably handsome. A lot of boys became handsome once you got to know them, because their personalities were intertwined with their features, and you could no longer tell, once you liked them, where one began and the other left off. But Gary was handsome by anybody’s definition. His hair was dark and extremely curly; he had dark eyes, fair skin, and a surprisingly sweet smile. She couldn’t remember hearing Gary laugh. He simply smiled, or for an especially funny occasion, grinned. She knew girls who practiced funny stories to tell Gary, just to get that grin.
He wasn’t tall, but because he was on track and wrestling teams he was much more muscular than most boys his age. She had never seen him dressed up before. She thought of him exclusively in old jeans, a soft old shirt, and one of two pullover sweaters—an ivory fisherman’s knit, and a navy cotton crew. How absurd, thought Beth Rose. I know his entire wardrobe.
Gary walked toward her.
She watched him as if they were on film. When he spoke she was astonished. She had forgotten he was real. “Beth Rose?” he said questioningly.
“Hello, Gary,” she said.
They stared at each other. His soft dark eyes moved very slowly down the dress, looking at the lace, the softly falling folds of pale pale pink, the tips of slippers showing beneath the hem. He looked at her hair, and her earrings, and then into her eyes. He said, “You look wonderful.
Emily screamed.
Matt jammed on the brakes.
They both were flung forward, with no seat belt between them and the dashboard or the windshield.
The sound of tearing metal and crushing rock closed Emily’s mind, and her own scream deafened her.
And then there was silence.
Chapter 7
S HE HAD TAKEN REFUGE between a wheelbarrow and a haystack, and two chaperones stood there also. Perhaps they thought it would be a good place to nip mischief in the act. They exclaimed over Beth’s dress. It was a temporary sort of conversation; they expected her boyfriend to appear immediately.
Beth Rose could not bear another look of pity.
She walked away from them.
Her stomach ceased to churn and knot. It became a solid hard object, like something requiring surgery. That would be a way out of this. Ambulance. Perhaps she would require resuscitation. Any emergency room on any Saturday night would be better than this.
Beth Rose faced the dance.
Oh, but Kip had done a wonderful job! The room was romantic beyond imagining. And everyone there dressed so beautifully, paired up so perfectly, smiling so happily.
Beth Rose walked to the fountain. She had no change with her—something, it now occurred to her, that was going to making phoning her mother very difficult. Mentally she chose a silver coin and tossed her wish into the fountain. The band began playing a hot wild piece that everybody knew; it had been number two or three for weeks now, struggling for first place. Beth ached to dance to it. A fast dance in Aunt Madge’s dress. She couldn’t picture it. But, oh, to try!
In the shadows on the far side of the fountain stood a boy. Dark in his formal suit, he was like a shadow himself. Beth Rose dreamed on him, and when he detached himself from the shadows, and walked toward her, it seemed like part of the dream.
It was Gary Anthony. Beth could only smile at herself. If there was ever a boy on whom she could have a crush, it would be Gary. She didn’t allow herself crushes. They hurt too much, for nothing ever came of them. The boy never noticed her, let alone returned her feelings.
Gary was a senior for whom school was a necessary evil, and for him graduation would be a great relief. Undoubtedly he would enter his father’s thriving restaurant business. Beth loved eating there on the off chance she might see Gary. For he was remarkably handsome. A lot of boys became handsome once you got to know them, because their personalities were intertwined with their features, and you could no longer tell, once you liked them, where one began and the other left off. But Gary was handsome by anybody’s definition. His hair was dark and extremely curly; he had dark eyes, fair skin, and a surprisingly sweet smile. She couldn’t remember hearing Gary laugh. He simply smiled, or for an especially funny occasion, grinned. She knew girls who practiced funny stories to tell Gary, just to get that grin.
He wasn’t tall, but because he was on track and wrestling teams he was much more muscular than most boys his age. She had never seen him dressed up before. She thought of him exclusively in old jeans, a soft old shirt, and one of two pullover sweaters—an ivory fisherman’s knit, and a navy cotton crew. How absurd, thought Beth Rose. I know his entire wardrobe.
Gary walked toward her.
She watched him as if they were on film. When he spoke she was astonished. She had forgotten he was real. “Beth Rose?” he said questioningly.
“Hello, Gary,” she said.
They stared at each other. His soft dark eyes moved very slowly down the dress, looking at the lace, the softly falling folds of pale pale pink, the tips of slippers showing beneath the hem. He looked at her hair, and her earrings, and then into her eyes. He said, “You look wonderful.
Similar Books
