Confessions of a Serial Kisser by Wendelin Van Draanen Page B
Authors: Wendelin Van Draanen
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mounted near the ceiling, mesmerized. It was the clearest, strongest female voice I'd ever heard. And as the song went on, I just stood there gaping up at that...
voice.
It was a short song, over way before I wanted it to be. So I hurried up to the counter and asked Izzy, "Who
was
that?"
He looked up from his guitar surgery. "Grace Slick. Jefferson Airplane."
The next song had started, but it wasn't anything like the other one. "Can you play that first song again?"
"Sure," he said, pushing back his glasses. "Your old man never played Jefferson Airplane for you?"
I shook my head.
"I can't believe that." He picked up the needle and carefully placed it back on the LP. "They wimped out when they became Jefferson Starship, but this is untouchable sixties gold."
There was a moment of silence and then that
voice.
No introduction, no warning, just that
voice.
"Wow," I said when it was over. "Is it called 'Somebody to Love'?"
Izzy nodded as he pulled the needle up again. "You'll like this one, too," he said, then grinned at me. "'White Rabbit.'"
"'White
Rabbit
'? No! Don't play anything about rabbits!"
He gave me a funny look. "You've got something against rabbits?"
"Uh...can you just play 'Somebody to Love' again?"
So he did, and when it was over, I asked, "Do you have that on CD?"
"I think I might," he said, and led me over to the used CD section.
It took a while, but eventually he handed over a jewel box.
"Surrealistic Pillow?"
I asked, blinking at the five guys and one girl on the cover.
He nodded and grinned. "Gotta love the sixties."
I followed him back to the register. I didn't care when it was made. I just wanted, no, I
needed
that song.
28
Reflections
T HE NEXT DAY AT SCHOOL I started lying low, meeting up with Adrienne wherever her commitments required her to be. It felt safe, but after a day and a half I began hating it. Adrienne was so busy, so
involved.
Obsessing over 'Somebody to Love' and
A Crimson Kiss
did not qualify as having a life!
And even though the three kisses I'd gotten hadn't been anywhere near crimson, at least I'd
felt
something in their pursuit. I'd looked forward to school. I'd looked forward to sparks flying. I'd looked forward to the
possibility.
Following Adrienne around everywhere made me feel like I was backsliding. This was her life I was living, not mine. It was a different jacket on the same sad story!
So at lunch while she was typing like mad at the computer to finish a newspaper article, I collected my things and snuck out without her even noticing.
I meandered away from the classrooms toward the quiet outskirts of campus, and when I found a little patch of grass in a remote corner near the 300 wing, I sat down, took a deep breath, then opened my book bag and pulled out
A Crimson Kiss.
I read through some of my favorite passages, but it didn't take long for me to see that Grace Slick was right--I did need somebody to love!
But...how was I going to "find somebody to love"?
Reading a romance novel on the outskirts of campus was sure not doing the trick! And after giving it some thought, I realized that the cure was actually obvious:
I needed to pull myself up by the bootstraps.
I needed to get back on that horse!
I needed to try again.
After all, this was a big school. How could I have given up so easily?
It was time to lube my lips and get back out there!
Crimson kissing might be right around the corner.
29
Chemistry Lesson
I WAS TARDY TO CHEMISTRY . I guess the bells don't ring very loudly in remote corners of the 300 wing.
Who knew?
But I didn't care. I was preoccupied with my renewed quest and my lunchtime reading. Like a backdrop to my thoughts, one particular passage from
A Crimson Kiss
looped through my mind:
"Delilah." Now that he had found her, the words he'd so painstakingly planned eluded him. And then, like a knife through his heart, Grayson saw that she had been crying. "Delilah...," he whispered again, this time reaching out to trace the path of
voice.
It was a short song, over way before I wanted it to be. So I hurried up to the counter and asked Izzy, "Who
was
that?"
He looked up from his guitar surgery. "Grace Slick. Jefferson Airplane."
The next song had started, but it wasn't anything like the other one. "Can you play that first song again?"
"Sure," he said, pushing back his glasses. "Your old man never played Jefferson Airplane for you?"
I shook my head.
"I can't believe that." He picked up the needle and carefully placed it back on the LP. "They wimped out when they became Jefferson Starship, but this is untouchable sixties gold."
There was a moment of silence and then that
voice.
No introduction, no warning, just that
voice.
"Wow," I said when it was over. "Is it called 'Somebody to Love'?"
Izzy nodded as he pulled the needle up again. "You'll like this one, too," he said, then grinned at me. "'White Rabbit.'"
"'White
Rabbit
'? No! Don't play anything about rabbits!"
He gave me a funny look. "You've got something against rabbits?"
"Uh...can you just play 'Somebody to Love' again?"
So he did, and when it was over, I asked, "Do you have that on CD?"
"I think I might," he said, and led me over to the used CD section.
It took a while, but eventually he handed over a jewel box.
"Surrealistic Pillow?"
I asked, blinking at the five guys and one girl on the cover.
He nodded and grinned. "Gotta love the sixties."
I followed him back to the register. I didn't care when it was made. I just wanted, no, I
needed
that song.
28
Reflections
T HE NEXT DAY AT SCHOOL I started lying low, meeting up with Adrienne wherever her commitments required her to be. It felt safe, but after a day and a half I began hating it. Adrienne was so busy, so
involved.
Obsessing over 'Somebody to Love' and
A Crimson Kiss
did not qualify as having a life!
And even though the three kisses I'd gotten hadn't been anywhere near crimson, at least I'd
felt
something in their pursuit. I'd looked forward to school. I'd looked forward to sparks flying. I'd looked forward to the
possibility.
Following Adrienne around everywhere made me feel like I was backsliding. This was her life I was living, not mine. It was a different jacket on the same sad story!
So at lunch while she was typing like mad at the computer to finish a newspaper article, I collected my things and snuck out without her even noticing.
I meandered away from the classrooms toward the quiet outskirts of campus, and when I found a little patch of grass in a remote corner near the 300 wing, I sat down, took a deep breath, then opened my book bag and pulled out
A Crimson Kiss.
I read through some of my favorite passages, but it didn't take long for me to see that Grace Slick was right--I did need somebody to love!
But...how was I going to "find somebody to love"?
Reading a romance novel on the outskirts of campus was sure not doing the trick! And after giving it some thought, I realized that the cure was actually obvious:
I needed to pull myself up by the bootstraps.
I needed to get back on that horse!
I needed to try again.
After all, this was a big school. How could I have given up so easily?
It was time to lube my lips and get back out there!
Crimson kissing might be right around the corner.
29
Chemistry Lesson
I WAS TARDY TO CHEMISTRY . I guess the bells don't ring very loudly in remote corners of the 300 wing.
Who knew?
But I didn't care. I was preoccupied with my renewed quest and my lunchtime reading. Like a backdrop to my thoughts, one particular passage from
A Crimson Kiss
looped through my mind:
"Delilah." Now that he had found her, the words he'd so painstakingly planned eluded him. And then, like a knife through his heart, Grayson saw that she had been crying. "Delilah...," he whispered again, this time reaching out to trace the path of
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