Bec and Perri sat on the floor of their room at the Solar Blue Surf Academy, revising for their mid-year exams. The only sound in the room was the fan that hung above them, rattling as it hurtled warm bursts of air in every direction. It wasn't entirely helpful against the heavy heat of the day, and it's constant rattling against the silence began to drive Perri crazy. She stood up, opened both windows in the room, and hit the switch. The fan slowed until it came to a complete halt.
"That's better," said Perri.
Bec smiled. "Put on some music, would you?" she asked. "I can hardly handle the silence!"
Perri laughed. "Sure. Silence is such an unusual thing in this house." She fiddled through her collection of CDs, and once decided on one, popped it into the player and sat back down.
The music began as just a gentle hum. Bec and Perri hardly noticed it as they crammed the material before them into their head, hoping to retain the information.
Your eyes are holding up the sky,
Your eyes make me weak, I don't know why.
Your eyes make me scared to tell the truth.
I thought my heart was bullet-proof,
Now I'm dancing on the roof
and everybody knows I'm into you.
The chorus of an unfamiliar song drifted out from the speakers. Bec sat up and stared at the CD player. She wasn't sure why, but her stomach fluttered. She ran those lines through her mind, trying to make sense of the feeling in her gut.
"Bec?" Perri interrupted her thoughts. "You finished already?"
"No I just," she paused and returned her glance to the stereo. "I just think I know this song."
They went back to their work; Bec leaning against her bed, and Perri laying outstretched on the floor, her legs in the air behind her.
The chorus returned, along with the fluttering in Bec's stomach;
Your eyes are holding up the sky,
Your eyes make me weak, I don't know why.
Your eyes make me scared to tell the truth.
I thought my heart was bullet-proof,
Now I'm dancing on the roof
and everybody knows I'm into you.
As much as she hated to admit it, the lyrics were true for her. There was a certain someone in Solar Blue who they revolved around in her mind...Dean Edgely. His eyes reminded her of the ocean, a thousand shades of blue. Since the beginning of the year, they had had some great times together, but she refused to let their relationship develop further than just friends. In fact, she refused to let herself even recognize the fact that she had a thing for him. Well, just a small one.
To distract herself, Bec stared at the words on the milky white paper. They became meaningless blurs. "I can't revise any more World History. If I have to read about the American Revolution one more time, I think my brain will shut down."
Perri groaned. "I hear you. Do you want to review some Geometry?"
Bec shrugged indifferently.
Perri began rummaging through her folder for loose papers.
"Hey Perri," Bec asked, trying to sound sane, "Who sang that song that was just playing?"
Perri's brow furrowed. "I don't know, actually. It's a mix my cousin made me. It's sweet though, isn't it?"
She half smiled "Sure is."
"Okay!" Perri said, shoving two pages of notes in Bec's face. "Test me!"
Bec took the notes. "Alright," she scanned the page. "Name the figure described below: a six sided polygon."
"Heptagon."
"A figure with two sets of parallel lines,"
"A trapezoid?"
"Rhombus," Bec corrected.
"A figure with six faces and twelve edges?" Damn it, thought Bec. Even geometry could remind her of Edge. "Perri, I'm gonna grab some water. Be right back." She stood up and paced her way out of the room.
Bec felt her stomach fluttering once again as the shaggy blonde appeared in her mind. She pushed the picture away, but the lyrics remained.
The stairs squeaked under her weight as she slowly descended them into the kitchen, which was filled with warm morning sunlight. As she got a glass from the cupboard, she traced the zigzagging patterns the sun left across the counter top with her eyes. I thought my heart was bullet-proof, now I'm dancing on the roof, and everyone knows I'm into you.
The cold water danced on her tongue and brought her back to reality as she held the crystal glass to her lips.
"Hey Bec," came a voice behind her.
Bec spun around to see Edge sitting at the table, history book in hand. His golden mop of hair fell perfectly over his face, and his ocean eyes gazed at her over the pages. "Hey," she smiled, trying not to sound too excited.
"How you going with revisions?"
"Ugh," she groaned. "I think I'm revised out."
"No kidding." he smiled, and his eyes twinkled. The room seemed to brighten.
Your eyes are holding up the sky.
"I'm scared of stuffing up my calculus exam," she confessed. "It's not exactly my strongest class..."
"At least you actually did your homework in that class. I didn't do a single assignment." he said, laughing. "You'll go fine."
She shrugged. "I'm sure you'll go fine too, despite the work you didn't do."
He continued smiling.
Bec felt her knees lock and wobble.
Your eyes make me weak, I don't know why.
"I think I'll take a break and go for a surf. Want to come?"
"That sounds great!"
"Great, see you out there then." Edge said, pushing in his chair and heading upstairs.
Bec smiled as he left. She wasn't nervous about calculus at all...she just wanted to keep their conversation going.
Your eyes make me scared to tell the truth.
She changed into her swimmers as fast as she could, slid her feet into her thongs, grabbed her board, and ran out to the sandy beach. Edge was already making his way into the waves.
"Come on, Bec!" he called.
She smiled to herself. The fluttering vanished, but in it's place was happiness.
"Oh, Bec!" came Perri's voice from behind her.
"Hey," she smiled.
"You've got it bad." Perri smiled back.
"Got what bad?"
"Your thing for Edge."
"Perri," Bec started to protest.
"Come on, you don't have to deny it. Those big blue eyes and that blond hair..."
Bec laughed. "Well, maybe your right. But I promised myself no boys this year."
Perri frowned. "Where's the fun in that?"
Bec waved a quick goodbye and ran for the surf.
Now I'm dancing on the roof, and everybody knows I'm into you.