Chapter 5: Serenity
Jack, Mush, and Kid Blink entered Tibby's to see Davey sitting at a table. A pencil was in his hand, which he held poised a few inches in the air above a sheet of paper that was before him. A dazed look adorned his face. Les sat beside him, utterly bored. When Les spied his hero, a bright smile burst forth on his features and he ran over to Jack's side. "Cowboy!"
"Hey, Les." Jack pointed to Dave. "What's wrong with him?"
"I dunno. He's been like that evah since he started reading whatevah's on that paper." Mush, Blink, Jack and Les went over to the table and sat down. They watched Davey for a few moments before he finally noticed them.
"Oh, hi guys."
"Uh, Dave?" Mush asked slowly.
"Yeah?" Dave muttered, obviously paying more attention to what he was reading than anything else.
"What are ya doin'?"
"Reading."
"T'en what's with t'e pencil? Oh, wait, is t'at one of t'e t'ings t'at Becky wrote t'at ya read ovah foah hoir and fix up a bit?"
"Yes." Davey looked up at his friends, eyes sparkling in admiration and awe. "But I can't find a single thing wrong. Or, actually, it's more like I don't want to change a single word, or even punctuation mark. The slightest alteration may ruin it, I don't know, it's just…" David stopped when he saw the others staring at him as if his hair was turning purple. "What?"
Blink ventured an explanation. "Ya just seem a lit'tle…excited ovah a poem."
"But you don't understand," protested Davey. Seeing Mush, Jack, Les, and Blink's blank faces, he made a grumbly sigh-noise in exasperation. "Never mind, it's hard to explain. Here, listen, and I'll read it.
Serenity
How long ago, so far before
With crippled eyes I walked thru these streets
On broken wings, of broken glass
I flew beyond my hearts control
I took the one way street, I drank the cup alone
This empty space we find, it's where we started from
And now we meet again, under these jealous skies
I'm scared of coming home, I only wonder why
Oh, It's crashing down around me,
(there's) nothing to hold me back
And I'll be found, sleeping at your feet
In this Serenity, nothing seems my own.
You can take the high road, and I'll be here waiting
The other way only goes strait down
And while I'm waiting, in my selfishness
I know you'll be here when I'm gone
You pushed me thru the flame, you saw me thru the storm
And though I cant explain, I'm always needing more
The roses at your feet, the same that pierced His hand
Alone I gripped this spear, to lay it down again.
*Chorus*
this is a real poem/song by my friend, and I absolutely love it! He was soooooo very kind and sweet enough to let me use it in my story, I didn't even have to beg him or anything! I love this poem so much and I had to share it with the world. So if you don't review anything else about this story, please at least write a review of the poem so I can send the reviews to him and show him that I'm not the only person in the world that absolutely adores what he has written.
"There." Dave said when he was finished. "You understand now?" The others nodded, stunned by the beauty of the poem, but there was one thing bothering them. However, at the risk of sounding stupid, each was afraid to say it. Les, being younger, curious, and therefore indifferent to how he may sound, vocalized what was on his mind and the minds of Jack, Blink, and Mush.
"That's pretty, I think, but what does it mean?" Dave's expression changed to one of mystified agreement. "That's what I've been wondering. I can't figure it out, so when Becca gets here, I'll ask." Right at that moment, Spot and Becca walked in. They found seats next to their friends and Jack noticed that there was some kind of odd tension between his sister and Davey. Usually they greeted each other cheerful, but this time they both seemed to mumble a bit and they avoided any eye contact.
***
Dave felt as if someone had grasped his throat tightly. Asking Becca about her poem had seemed so easy in his mind. Normally, he wouldn't hesitate to speak to her. David had not been this tongue-tied around Becca since he first met her. Finally, he forced himself to speak, and when he did, Dave found that his old self took over. At least for now, it was as if last night had never happened.
***
Becca sat, squirming uncomfortably. She knew it was evident that something was strained between her and Davey. Becca wanted to talk to him, say something, anything, but she didn't know how. 'Why did last night have to happen? If only I wasn't no naïve…no, I just wish things were normal between us again.' As if he was able to read her mind, Dave spoke, like nothing had happened last night.
"Hey Becca, you know that poem you gave to me to read over last night? I've read it, and I honestly cannot find anything I want to change. Since it's a free verse poem, the rules of grammar do not apply to it. Even if they did, I still wouldn't want to modify a thing. It's so amazing, stunning, beautiful, the way you formed the words together. There's such feeling and emotion…it's fantastic." Becca was extremely sheepish, and it showed.
"Dave, I don't know what to say…that's so kind and sweet of you…thank you…wow…thank you," she stammered. Davey wasn't finished, though.
"How'd you do it?"
"Do what?"
"Write like that."
"Oh. I dunno. It just fell out. Kinda like a really big sneeze." (note--when I asked my friend how he wrote like that, in reference to his poem that's featured above, that's the exact answer he gave me except he says that "it just falls out", not "just fell out", but I had to change it to make it fit in this context grammatically)
"Seriously?"
"Yeah. I have no idea. I just wrote." Dave was somewhat taken aback. Becca, the one who was always emotionally-in-touch with what she wrote, has no idea how she wrote something.
"Okay," he replied deliberately. "Just one more thing, though. You've got Jack, Les, Blink, Mush and I baffled. What does the poem mean?"
"What do you mean?"
"What's the meaning behind the poem?"
"I don't know. I just wrote it."
"You don't know?" to the unaware bystander, it would seem as if Davey was outraged with a clueless Becca. The newsies, however, had seen the two squabble like this often. Becca honestly did not know what her poem meant or how she had written it, but she was purposefully milking her ignorance to annoy David. David was not actually half as flabbergasted as he acted, but the two continued their facade for reasons no one, not even they themselves, fully understood. While Becca and Davey were arguing, Jack was in the middle of a hushed discussion with Hazel, and the two of them looked at Becca and Davey frequently, as if planning something.
"How can you not know?"
"I just don't." Becca and Davey probably would have continued on in this fashion for awhile had Jack and Hazel not interrupted them.
"Becca, Dave, have th' both of ya eaten yet?"
"Yeah."
"Yes, why?"
"T'en," Jack grabbed Dave and Hazel grabbed Becca, "t'e two of ya have ta go have a talk. I ain't shoah exactly what's goin' on, but youse have ta woik it out, whatevah it is." Hazel and Jack hauled Becca and Davey up, leading them in the direction of the door.
"But--" the two protested unanimously.
"Go!" the other newsies shouted as a whole, pointing towards the door. Clearly uneasy, David and Becca walked out of Tibby's.
Please review and tell me what you think! Again, if nothing else, write a little review on Serenity so I can send it to my friend. Also, I molded Dave after myself and Becca after my friend, the author of Serenity, for much of this chapter. The way Dave reacts to reading the poem and the way Becca reacts to all his compliments is much like the way I reacted to reading my friend's poem and how he reacted to all my complimenting. I purposely buttered it up and took it to a farther extreme with Becca and Dave, although I'm not sure why, but I did anyway. So I hope that at the very least, if you thought the chapter was dull, you enjoyed Serenity, because I really can't say much more good about it than I already have through what Davey says to Becca, because it's all true. So please review!