Ok, I think I'll finally have them meet...ooohh this could get sooo dramatic...evil cackle. We'll see where this goes.
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Chapter 3
The Captain squinted upward. The sky seemed the color of molten steel; it was definitely going to rain today. Dark clouds rolled by overhead at an alarming rate as Captain Von Trapp gazed at the schoolhouse. Yes, this was the place. He glanced at his watch, when did they get out for lunch? Should be any minute now...or perhaps they were already on break. Then, just as he was about to go inside, a loud buzzing signaled lunch break. Suddenly, swarms of children came streaming out of all exits and almost knocked Georg over. But the determined Captain stood his ground and waited for the last straggler to disappear from view. Would the teachers be staying inside? He wondered which room she taught in.
He walked inside and asked the first person he met, "Excuse me, I'm sorry but do you know if a Maria – uh – I'm sorry I don't know her last name...she's fairly new I believe."
"Maria? You must mean Maria Rainer. Yes her room is down the corridor, last door on the left."
"Thank you very much."
The door was slightly ajar when he reached it. He paused. This was it, he thought, the culmination of weeks of sleepless nights, hours of analysis, and many brain cells put to work on the elusive subject of Maria. Now perhaps he was finally getting somewhere. Of course, he still had absolutely no idea what will come spilling out of his mouth when he sees her. He didn't trust his faculties of speech in her presence.
But all that didn't matter right now; the important thing was to see her, and speak to her. He pushed the door open.
What rational sense he possessed in the instant before entering the room now left him. Upon seeing her, he was as helpless as a fish on land. All he could do was stand there. She looked up from a pile of papers, expecting perhaps a colleague or parent. The man standing in the doorway was the last person she expected to see here.
Neither said a word for what seemed an eternity. Their eyes locked, they seemed to be communicating with a language known only to them. Her breath quickened involuntarily as she stood.
"Hello, Captain. May I help you?"
Her words jolted him back to reality. "Fraulein Maria. Ah yes, well, you see I was...erm...I was wondering if you were free for lunch. You left so...quickly the other day that I hardly had time to inquire after you...after your health, that is."
Maria looked at him sadly. Georg thought he saw the shimmer of tears reflecting the dim light of rainy weather. However, when she spoke, her voice was quite steady, "I'm so sorry Captain, I simply can't do that. I – I can't – no, it's...it's best that we don't do that." She broke eye contact and stared down at the ground.
Georg blinked, taken aback. "No? Why not?"
"I...I have some obligations...errands I must run. Please excuse me."
She hastily gathered her bag and proceeded to push past him. But Georg would not let her pass and put out an arm to block her way. Maria stopped and looked up at him.
Georg shook his head and whispered in a voice quite changed, "Maria, you haven't got any errands. There are no obligations. It's your lunch break and you simply don't want to talk to me. Won't you give me a reason?"
The pain was evident in his eyes. Maria gazed into those eyes and gulped, looking down quickly, aware how much he had been hurting, a pain just as searing in her own heart.
"Captain, I really can't..." her voice trembled with emotion.
Georg stepped back, afraid that he'd frightened her. "Please, Maria, I didn't mean to frighten you, or anything. I just...I just want to talk to you. I want to ask you something. I must know. Forgive me for intruding on you so suddenly like this but this is the only way I could've found you."
She looked up at him again. He was acting rather strangely. She didn't want to speak to him because she didn't trust herself not to show her true emotions, emotions that she was not doing a very good job of hiding now. She feared that she would make a complete fool of herself in his presence, which was highly probable considering her nerves were on end at the mere sight of him.
There was nothing she could do about the situation. There was nothing she should do. He was happily engaged to the Baroness, who would make a lovely wife, and furthermore, she would never entertain the prospect of engaging his affections. After all, she was only a nun-turned-schoolteacher and he was a highly decorated and distinguished naval captain. She hated the agony of wanting him but knowing that she'll never have him. Just seeing him now was enough to break her heart. She thought she had moved on with her life, that the chapter at the Von Trapp villa was over. The Mother Abbess had recommended a job, something to occupy her. Well, these children certainly did occupy her, and she almost stopped thinking about him every other minute. Seeing him now brought back the flood of memories.
Almost on the verge of tears now, Maria cried out, "I'm sorry Captain, I simply must go! Excuse me." And she tore past him, the tears finally spilling over, and ran as quickly as she could down the corridor and to the nearest exit.
Oh dear God, thought Georg, I've gone and made her cry. "Maria!" he called, "Wait!" And he too sprinted down the corridor after her, emerging from the school and into a pouring rain. Oh perfect, he thought as he cursed the heavy downpour, just bloody perfect. Casting blindly about in the rain, he saw a dim figure running away from him. "Maria! You'll get soaked! Wait!"
To his horror, the small figure had fallen, crumpled in a heap in the pouring rain. "Maria!"
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Oohhh...I wonder what happens next. I don't even know. Golly, my chapters have absolutely no structure whatsoever. Reviews would be wonderful. ;D