Chapter 11
Michael was standing at the bottom of the stairs as I came down them. His eyes widened when the fell on me. I don't know why, but it made my heart flutter slightly and I smiled. He smiled back and held his arm out for me to take. The landlady waved and smiled as we got into the car that Michael had brought and drove away. I still was confused with all of the technology that they had and listened politely as Michael talked about his car. He parked about a block away and helped me out of the car before we walked the rest of the way to the theatre.
"I hope that you like what we're going to see, especially if you've never been to the theatre before." He said, taking my arm in his and escorting me into the theatre. It was large and beautiful when I walked in with lovely architecture and paintings. There were so many people in the theatre that I just followed Michael, pretty much helplessly, to our seats and waited for the show to start.
The curtain came up on an old house in London with three children in it. They were the Darling Children and the play was about them. I thought it was very cute, until, one night a boy flew into their bedroom and took the children away to a magical place. It was, of course, Peter Pan. He was the hero of the story, and ended up killing Captain Hook. At the curtain call, everyone stood to applaud the performers. I stopped clapping as the actor playing Peter Pan came out, but applauded loudly for Captain Hook and Tootles. Michael looked over at me with his eyebrows raised, but didn't say anything.
After the play was done, Michael led the way out of the theatre and down the street. We stopped at a cart on the street and Michael bought us some ice cream. We started to weave our way through the crowd and ended up in a park. "How did you like the play?" He asked, taking a bite of his ice cream. I rolled my eyes and I saw Michael's eyebrows crinkle in confusion. "What's wrong?"
"I don't really like Peter Pan," I said curtly, hoping to leave it at that, but he continued to bother me. Finally I had enough of it and turned around quickly to face him. "Do you know anything about Peter Pan? He's a selfish, arrogant, ignorant little boy who thinks much too highly of himself and not of anyone else." I motioned to the statue of Peter Pan that we were standing near. "He also is often forgetting about the Lost Boys and the others, being mean and rude to them." I spoke with a passion and anger as it welled up inside me. Michael looked at me like I was crazy and then laughed.
"I think that you're the first person I've met who doesn't like Peter Pan." He laughed, taking another bit of ice cream. "Then are you on Hook's side?" he asked as we continued to walk through the gardens.
"Yes," I nodded, "he really isn't evil, and it's just that Pan brings out the worst in him. What if he would have been able to go have a wife and children and a real life? After all, he went to college and is a very classy and intelligent man."
"Alright, I have to admit that I don't know much about Hook." He shrugged, "How about we talk about something else? Like how beautiful you look in that dress and the way the moonlight plays on your hair." He reached up and touched my hair, gently moving it away from my face, his hand lingering on the base of my neck. I felt him stiffen and he took a step back as if embarrassed for his behavior as I blushed. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that."
I smiled and shrugged it off as if nothing had happened. But I knew something had; something I couldn't explain. My heart had fluttered as his fingers had brushed my skin and it had felt like fire on my skin. After that, Michael ushered me home and left. There was barely a word spoken between us as he left in his car.