scruffy, western kind of way. And his poem definitely wasn’t haiku. I have to admit I didn’t understand it, but it was full of loud dramatic parts and it seemed brilliant. It was long, and I remember hekept shaking his fist in the air and saying,
“Am I in your dream or are you in mine, Mrs. Fauntleroy
?” He said that a bunch of different times. The crowd seemed to love it because after the first few times they laughed and clapped whenever he repeated it. I didn’t know who Mrs. Fauntleroy was, so it didn’t mean anything to me.
Except in a Zen kind of way.
“Am I in your dream or are you in mine, Mrs. Fauntleroy
?”
Even though I didn’t know what it was supposed to be about, his poem really was good, much better than the one about the dead bird. I clapped and cheered along with everybody else.
Azra smiled too, but she was looking around like everyone was crazy.
Then I noticed that there was one other person who seemed particularly interested in what Calvin was saying. In fact, Calvin seemed to be reading directly to her. She was blond and pretty, and she was wearing a halter top and grinning proudly up at him.
Just like me.
Except for the blond and pretty part. And the halter top.
From the way she and Calvin looked at each other, it struck me that this was probably his girlfriend. That idea hit me like a sharp smack to my head. I hadn’t thought of that possibility. Until now, it hadn’t even occurred to me that he might have been interested in anyone but me.
“Am I in your dream or are you in mine, Mrs. Fauntleroy
?”
I took a good look at her. Miss Halter Top really was pretty. Fifteen, maybe even sixteen. Perfect nose.
I hated her.
Calvin’s poem got really dramatic now; his voice got louder and he waved his hand around even more than before. I watched him, my heart breaking.
That’s when he paused in the middle of a sentence and I realized he was looking directly at me.
I wasn’t the only one who noticed, either. It felt like everybody in the whole room turned to see what had stopped Calvin in his tracks. For a second or two, everyone stared at me.
And for one crazy, innocent, stupid moment, I was actually glad. I’m embarrassed to admit that for a split second the idea went through my mind that he might be happy to see me, that we’d talk after our readings and become good friends starting tonight. Eventually, I’d even be able to steal him away from Miss Halter Top. He’d fall madly in love with me—the kind of love you find in fairy tales.
But that fantasy ended when I recognized the horrified expression on his face. He suddenly turned white, with the same look, probably of shame, that he’d had after Lillian, Rebecca and Aunt Sarah had caught him on the sofa with me, hand on butt.
He tried to continue reading, but it wasn’t the same as before. Somehow I’d thrown him completely off. He was quieter now, and he stammered through his own words. A couple of times he even lost his place. As he read the last few lines, he hardly moved his hands, and the final few times he said
“Am I in your dream or are you in mine, Mrs. Fauntleroy
?” it didn’t have the same effect at all.
“My God,” whispered Azra. “You must have made quite an impression on him.”
When he was finally finished everybody clapped, but it was just out of politeness. A few people turned back to me again, probably to see if I was happy about ruining Calvin’s poem. Calvin, on the other hand, didn’t even look in my direction as he plopped himself down next to Miss Halter Top, who kept staring at me. What was going through her mind?
Number nine, an angry-looking woman with a crew cut, stepped up to the microphone.
“What do you want to do, Floey?” Azra asked me. “After this one, there’s only one more and then you.”
But I just stared at Calvin and Miss Halter Top. I was paralyzed.
The blond girl said something to Calvin and then looked back at me. They whispered a few things back and forth,
“Am I in your dream or are you in mine, Mrs. Fauntleroy
?” He said that a bunch of different times. The crowd seemed to love it because after the first few times they laughed and clapped whenever he repeated it. I didn’t know who Mrs. Fauntleroy was, so it didn’t mean anything to me.
Except in a Zen kind of way.
“Am I in your dream or are you in mine, Mrs. Fauntleroy
?”
Even though I didn’t know what it was supposed to be about, his poem really was good, much better than the one about the dead bird. I clapped and cheered along with everybody else.
Azra smiled too, but she was looking around like everyone was crazy.
Then I noticed that there was one other person who seemed particularly interested in what Calvin was saying. In fact, Calvin seemed to be reading directly to her. She was blond and pretty, and she was wearing a halter top and grinning proudly up at him.
Just like me.
Except for the blond and pretty part. And the halter top.
From the way she and Calvin looked at each other, it struck me that this was probably his girlfriend. That idea hit me like a sharp smack to my head. I hadn’t thought of that possibility. Until now, it hadn’t even occurred to me that he might have been interested in anyone but me.
“Am I in your dream or are you in mine, Mrs. Fauntleroy
?”
I took a good look at her. Miss Halter Top really was pretty. Fifteen, maybe even sixteen. Perfect nose.
I hated her.
Calvin’s poem got really dramatic now; his voice got louder and he waved his hand around even more than before. I watched him, my heart breaking.
That’s when he paused in the middle of a sentence and I realized he was looking directly at me.
I wasn’t the only one who noticed, either. It felt like everybody in the whole room turned to see what had stopped Calvin in his tracks. For a second or two, everyone stared at me.
And for one crazy, innocent, stupid moment, I was actually glad. I’m embarrassed to admit that for a split second the idea went through my mind that he might be happy to see me, that we’d talk after our readings and become good friends starting tonight. Eventually, I’d even be able to steal him away from Miss Halter Top. He’d fall madly in love with me—the kind of love you find in fairy tales.
But that fantasy ended when I recognized the horrified expression on his face. He suddenly turned white, with the same look, probably of shame, that he’d had after Lillian, Rebecca and Aunt Sarah had caught him on the sofa with me, hand on butt.
He tried to continue reading, but it wasn’t the same as before. Somehow I’d thrown him completely off. He was quieter now, and he stammered through his own words. A couple of times he even lost his place. As he read the last few lines, he hardly moved his hands, and the final few times he said
“Am I in your dream or are you in mine, Mrs. Fauntleroy
?” it didn’t have the same effect at all.
“My God,” whispered Azra. “You must have made quite an impression on him.”
When he was finally finished everybody clapped, but it was just out of politeness. A few people turned back to me again, probably to see if I was happy about ruining Calvin’s poem. Calvin, on the other hand, didn’t even look in my direction as he plopped himself down next to Miss Halter Top, who kept staring at me. What was going through her mind?
Number nine, an angry-looking woman with a crew cut, stepped up to the microphone.
“What do you want to do, Floey?” Azra asked me. “After this one, there’s only one more and then you.”
But I just stared at Calvin and Miss Halter Top. I was paralyzed.
The blond girl said something to Calvin and then looked back at me. They whispered a few things back and forth,
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