**one more perspective, because it's curious to see all sides**
Daisy Dale chases to catch up to Vincent DiAntoni, the boy of her dreams. He's like cupid but better with his harp and his beautiful hands. Momma said boys like him weren't even possible when she described him, but here he was, smiling and polite. She wasn't the only girl in the group around him but looking at the others she assessed she might be the prettiest, and he was a boy after all. Suddenly someone was touching her head from the side. It was that Fiona Reinhardt, the annoyingly sarcastic girl who went on about gross things. She thought she was so cool and she talked too Vincent way more than Daisy enjoyed watching. Black hair and all that metal in her face. What could he see in that? Fiona was sliding a measuring tape over her hair! Daisy turned on her in alarm.
"Uh...what are you doing."
Fiona is undaunted "Shhh shh just hold still. Try and relax would you?" She pulls out a little notebook and jots down a few numbers "Very good...dress size?"
Daisy unsurely says "Four?" What the hell was she playing at? Surely this amazon woman was bigger than a four. Was it a competition?
Fiona looks her up and down and frowns "Indeed. Shoe size?"
A little more warily "Six...." This was just stupid now.
Fiona looks like she might pat Daisy on the head "Very good. now tell me, when you die, do you want to be buried or cremated?"
The whole group around Vincent pack looked at Fiona wide eyed and scatter nervously. God she was creepy.
Daisy looked around "Whaaaaat?"
Fiona grins "You heard me."
Daisy backs up, both weirded out and irritated "I need to get to class now...." and she was off like a shot. She came down the hallway so fast she almost collided with Joey Piccolo.
Joey is watching Fi carefully and sees that whole exchange. So she and Vincent were friends, eh? He'd been warned that was a dead end street. Suddenly he is almost run down by a retreating Daisy. He reaches out to stop it and gets her in both arms. Looking down at her, he cant help but quip. "Biology class that much fun, you have to run people down in the halls?"
Daisy gasps and then giggles "Joey you spooked me. Sorry..."She shakes her ponytail around as she shakes her head no. "Some people are just so mean..." she laments vaguely.
Joey looks over her head as Vincent and Fi start moving off. Without Addy, no less. "I didn't mean to." he watches that pony tail waggle. "Well ... you know what they say, right? Blondes have more fun." he looks at her, carefully. "Natural blonds ... like us." he turns on the smile that usually charms.
Daisy giggles again "You're so right Joey." She steps out of his grasp but rocks a little on her heels, stretching her hands in front of her and looking coy "So I saw you got a van?"
Joey grins and nods. "I did. Got my license and the whole nine yards." he pauses. "Think you might like a ride, someday? Maybe we could catch a movie someplace. White Rock or Vancouver. Anyplace. This town has nothing to do." he rolls his eyes.
Daisy rolls one shoulder forward and beams at him "I like movies." The second bell rings for lunch and she pouts "I have to go to dance practice and leave you all alone now....just a lone blonde...having only half the fun." She bats her eyelashes at him and does an exaggerated sigh.
Joey looks pained. "I'll barely survive it." he taps her on the shoulder. "Meet me a school? We can take a little walk. Get to know each other. I hear they're all meeting at that Perkatory coffee shop in the bottoms? Which is good, cause I need to to go that way anyway."
Daisy does a little pirouette as she spins away after his tap "I like coffee. See you later Joey." She makes her farewell very cutesy and sugary.
Joey watches her circle and all but dance away. He heads for his own class, thinking that, for all his failures and half successes with girls in Alexandra ... he may just have hit paydirt.
The thought entertains him throughout the rest of the day and, after school, he stands outside, watching Vincent talking to Addison and then running off like he was late for a hot date ... which he doubted. Then he watches Fi join her and both girls head off, waving to some guy on a porch who looked familiar.
Daisy walks just past the door with a gaggle of giggling girls, some of the same who usually trailed after Vincent. They whisper at Daisy and then giggle as they disperse. It was as if she gossiped her meeting with Joey and the harpies came to get a visual confirmation. Daisy walks up, blushing a little "Hi Joey." She says with a little half giggle at the end.
Joey turns from watching Addy and Fi walk off and turns to find not only Daisy, but a small gang of girls. But the girls seem to be retreating, but he suspects they may be expecting Daisy didn't really meet with him, the handsome older blond boy, so he reaches out to give her a hug. "Daisy. My favorite blond." a couple of Vincent's followers eyes go wide, so he knows they saw. "Ready to go?" and he begins walking, keeping good distance between them and the girls ahead of them.
Daisy hugs him back gleefully. She smells of cheap drugstore perfume and makeup, flowery but with a hint of bottom of the line. She walks with him and just looks at him like he's a big blonde cupcake "I'm your favourite?" She asks as if she doesn't believe him.
Joey looks down at her as they walk. "Well ... to be honest. No ..." he tells her. "My mom is first .. but you .... a VERY close second." he plays with her ego. "Plus those light blue eyes. So pretty."
Daisy eats it up and giggles "Thanks. I like yours too. This is turning into a much better day."
Joey grins and nods. "You weren't having a good day?" he notices Fi and Addy pause in front of a house and pauses he and Daisy. He takes her hand. "Why not?"
Daisy had been so caught up with Joey that she hadn't been paying attention to who was in front of them. As soon as she noticed it as Fiona she scowled. Joey taking her hand took her off guard and the scowl faltered into a surprised look and then she gestured in front of them with her head and said quietly "Her....Fiona." She sighed "She was trying to make me look stupid. It didn't even make any sense.....SHE'S stupid." she looks at Joey like she's expecting him to either be shocked or just side with her.
Joey nods. "Yea?" he looks hesitant. "I know." he admits. "I mean .... that whole act she puts on to embarrass people." he bites his lip. "I saw her ... earlier ... measuring her head? What the fuck? Who does that?" he tugs a little at her hand to lead her through the trees and into the backyards of the houses, then down to the inlet so they would not be spotted by the other girls.
Daisy just follows Joey as he supporting her cause right now "I know! It was so rude. I should report her to the principal."
The idea of Fiona Reinhardt being reported makes Joey laugh. "That would be rich. But be careful. Addy O'Brian is like her shadow." he pauses as they move past the back of the firehouse. "And they've been hanging out with Vinny DiAntoni." he watches her carefully to see just how big this crush of hers is on him.
Daisy sighs "Well he's nice...but he has bad taste in friends...or girls then." She sniffs a bit "And he doesn't seem to appreciate the good ones no matter how many nice things...." She breaks off and then goes quiet "Sorry, i'm being silly." She realizes a perfectly cute boy is already holding her hand right now and smiles at him.
Joey nods. "Yea. I warned him." he stops behind Sigh, ironically enough and turns to her looking like the concerned friend he intends on being for her ... in the beginning. "Nice things?" he wonders if Vincent has hit this one already.
Daisy deflates "Oh he barely knows I exist. I'm sorry, I don't want to be like this with you...you're so nice Joey....such a good listener." She laughs "Did you learn it from Mr. Singh?" She goes on "I make him posters, Vincent that is...for his music. He's really good and he can't just play on street corners without some...promotion. So I made some on my computer and then just for fun, I even added glitter. We have lots of glitter.....my mom buys vats of it so I just use it like crazy." She even has a little pink glitter on her cheeks and she points "See? Bit of sparkle makes people smile right?"
Joey does listen. He's found it helps him with the girls. "Not really." he admits. "I just .. listen." and she tells him about the posters and looks surprised. "YOU Made those?" he marvels. "I thought hes had them done in a shop someplace. The glitter makes it more .. eye catching." he is finding this girl pretty and a little ditzy ... not the worst combination in a girl, in his opinion. He heads towards the beach and first street. "My mom owns Be True ... that clothing store in The Shops .. in the Bottoms? A couple of the girls accessories have glitter on them." he smiles. "But if you like him .. he can't be THAT blind and stupid. Pretty woman like you. What man WOULDN'T want to go out with you?" he pauses. "Have you asked him. Maybe he DOES know you exist but is shy?"
Daisy just looks at Joey in awe "Where did YOU come from?" She puts a hand on her heart and sighs at him "Thank you. Maybe I just needed some encouragement after that stupid Fiona. I think he IS shy.....but I dunno...what if he says no?"
Joey smiles at her. "Home? The Greybar building?" he jokes and then becomes serious. "Then find someone smarter than him." he rolls his eyes. "Who knows how to take care of a woman."
Daisy beams "Oh that's right by where I live. OK Joey, I'm going to do it. I'm going to ask him." She looks determined and then gives Joey's hand a little squeeze "I have a good feeling about it now. You're so amazing."
Joey smiles, but gives it a hint of resignation. "Good. And if it doesn't work out ... here let me give you my number. Maybe he'll let us still be friends. Italians are kind of possessive. Believe me, I know." he rolls his eyes. "My dad ..well .. never mind."
Daisy takes the number and pockets it with a little "Hmmm." Joey was cute too. "Well he's not going to "possess" me." She says with a giggle. She leans over and gives Joey a big hug "Thanks and wish me luck."
Joey hugs her back, almost as if he is sending his best friend off to a deadly battle. He nods up the street towards Perkatory and walks in that direction. "I'm going to get my mom a coffee. And be there for the prettiest girl in school .. you know .. silent moral support." he puts his arm around her for a one armed hug before releasing her. "I don't want him to think I'm cutting in ... you know. So I'll go in first. And I won't stay but ... I'll be around. Text me. I'll be at my my mom's store." and he begins to increase his pace.
Daisy drops behind and beams "You're the perfect gentleman." She calls out and then makes it look like she casually walking but with a bit of a bounce in her step, and some glitter dispersing around her on the impact step.
No comments:
Post a Comment