After The Dust Had Settled

I had about an hour to eat lunch before I spent the rest of the afternoon doing the same thing I had done that morning. I was walking across the campus when I heard someone shout my name. I turned to see Doctor Breeden trying to catch up to me. When he was within range, he smiled and said, "Mark! Can you spare a few minutes?" This was the man who awarded me my scholarship so; I always had time for him.

"Yes, sir, what can I do for you?" I asked smiling.

"Let's go to my office, shall we?" he said cheerfully.

"That's fine, sir," I replied, following him as he led me away.

When we reached his office, Doctor Breeden pointed to a large chair that faced his desk and said, "Please, make yourself comfortable, Mark." Once I was seated, he took a seat behind his desk and pointedly said, "I understand that, a few days ago, the One O'clock gave you the business!"

"It's nothing I can't handle, sir," I smugly replied at the thought of it.

"I'm going to ask you as a personal favor to me to give them a second chance, Mark. It's my fault that they treated you the way they did," he said disdainfully.

"I'm listening, sir," I respectfully replied.

As if he were staring into space, Doctor Breeden began, "When I first began teaching here at North Texas, I wanted to create not only a certain a sound, but a band like no other college band in the world. So, I searched the country to find the best musicians I could, and I succeeded, too. I had the best band in the world. We won awards and medals left and right. The problem was, is that I brought people in here because their gifts, not taking into consideration as to what kind of person they were. The last one I had in here nearly ripped this band apart until I transferred him to Berkeley."

"Yeah, I heard about him, "I laughed.

Doctor Breeden leaned across his desk and sternly looked me in the eye, making me uncomfortable. However, I remained steadfast and didn't break his stare nor did I move a single muscle. Then he suddenly smiled, and then leaning back in his chair, he laughed and said, "Now I know that I was right to bring you here!"

"I don't understand, sir."

"You're one of the most driven young men I've ever met," he said, "You didn't break my stare and you didn't flinch one bit just now, and that's the same way you are when it comes to your music, correct?"

"Yes sir, that's correct."

"Good," he replied, and then he leaned back in his chair and added, "There's the matter with Miss Matthews?"

"Andie, what about her?"

He smiled and simply replied, "Beautiful opportunities come but once in a very great while!"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Doctor Breeden just laughed and said, "That's something you're going to have to figure out for yourself, young Mark. Now, get out of here and I'll see you for band tomorrow after noon!"

Remembering that band was the only class I had on Tuesdays and Thursdays I asked Doctor Breeden, "Can I take my gear over there this afternoon after my classes so it'll be easier to set up tomorrow?"

"That's fine with me," he replied as I was leaving.

*********************

That afternoon as I was setting up my gear in the gigantic room where the One O'clock Jazz Band played, I heard two distinctly female voices call my name. I turned around to find Marsha and Becky walking toward me waving. "Hi, you two," I cheerfully said, as they approached me.

"I heard we missed a really fucked up party the other night," said Becky regretfully.

"Be glad of it, too," I replied flatly.

Suddenly Marsha walked up to me, and gently patting my arm, said, "Mark, we're really sorry about that."

I smiled and said, "Why should either one of you be sorry? You weren't even there."

"Maybe not, but we're both still members of this band and if one of us fucks up, then we're all responsible for making it right," said Becky.

"I just laughed and replied, "Don't sweat it. Everything's going to be alright, okay?"

"Good," they both replied.

"What about Andie?" asked Marsha.

"What about her?" I replied coldly.

"She's really torn up about this, Mark!" said Becky.

I just laughed and said, "Yeah, right. Next semester she'll be right back in business, teasing and leading some other unsuspecting guy around by the nose before she rubs shit in his face!"

"Sometimes you men can be so dumb. She's not like that, Mark," scolded Marsha.

I took an immediate dislike to what she said, and crossing my arms in a defensive posture, I said, "Now wait a minute. I never once lied to her about anything. I've been nothing but nice to her. Hell, she climbed into my bed barely dressed and I was a complete gentleman. I laid there holding her while she slept while any other asshole would've surely done a whole lot worse....and then she takes me over to Bryan's place and humiliates me. Well, fuck that, I don't need it!"

"She's in love with you, Mark," said Becky softly.

"Bullshit! She hasn't known me long enough," I spat.

Then taking me by the hand and leading me to a group of chairs, Marsha smiled and said, "Would you please sit down and hear us out?"

I took a seat, and then crossing my arms across my chest, said, "Alright, I'm listening."

With Becky and Marsha sitting on both sides of me, Marsha began, "Do you remember when you conducted the all-state orchestra last semester, and then after the concert, Doctor Breeden approached you with a scholarship offer?"

"Sure I do," I replied.

Becky gently touched my hand and softly said, "Andie was at that concert with Doctor Breeden. She was the one that Doctor Breeden asked to do the research on you. She fell in love with the idea of you at first, and then when she saw you play; she fell madly in love with you."

"But...how can that be?" I asked, stunned.

Marsha smiled and said, "You forget that we're girls, too, Mark. You think we don't see what she sees in you?" I began to blush at what she said. It was obvious as hell and both she and Becky giggled when they noticed it, but Marsha continued, "Please give her another chance, Mark. I promise you that you won't regret it!"

As memories of Andie's beautiful smiling face entered my mind, it was then that I realized that I really did miss her. Maybe I took everything the wrong way after all. I had some thinking to do before I made another move. So, I looked at both girls and said, "I'll tell you what. I promise to give it some very serious thought, okay?" That satisfied them because they both stood up and bid me a quick good-bye, but not before I received a kiss on each cheek from the both of them. Then they walked away.

*********************

That night as I slept, I dreamed that I was on the beach that I used to surf when I was in high school, when all of a sudden, the sky got dark and it began to thunder. As the storm moved closer in my dream, it began to get louder and I thought I heard a muffled scream coming from somewhere off in the distance. Suddenly the storm was on me, and in my dream; I saw a giant lightning bolt about to strike me. It seemed like it was moving in slow motion toward me and right before it hit; I abruptly awoke, bolting straight up in bed. After my head cleared, I looked out the window to find that it actually was storming outside. I had always liked watching the lightning as it danced across the sky. Suddenly a brilliant bolt of lightning struck across the sky with a loud thunderous clap. I heard something just then; it was the same muffled scream I thought I had dreamt. Then, when the lightning crashed again, I distinctly heard it. It was the sound of someone who was terrified and it was coming from Andie's room.

I threw on a pair of shorts and a tee shirt, and then made a mad dash across the hall. As the lightning pounded again, I heard her screaming and I didn't even knock as I pushed her door open. I tried to turn on her lights but the storm had knocked out the power. My eyes were adjusted to the dark and I looked around her room to find her crumpled the far right hand corner with her face buried into a pillow. "Andie, are you okay?" I asked, slightly startling her.

When she discovered that I was in her room, she practically flew into my arms, sobbing and saying, "Mark, baby, I'm so sorry, please don't leave," and before I could answer, the lightning crashed again making her scream, her arms wrapped tightly around me, her face buried in my chest.

"Shhh....it's gonna be alright, my love," I softly replied, trying to soothe this beautiful girl that I now knew I was bound to, heart, mind and soul.

"What did you just say?" she asked sniffling.

"I said, it's going to be aright," I replied.

Slightly pushing away from, Andie grinned and said, "No, you just said that I was your love!"

"And?" I replied, grinning knowingly.

To this day, I've never seen a woman as beautiful as my Andie, but at that moment she looked more beautiful then ever, especially when she smiled and said, "I love you very much, Mark, and I'm sorry that I made you mad," and then she began to cry again.

"You didn't do anything wrong," I replied smiling, "I'm the one who should be apologizing to you!"

"I need to tell you something and I'm not really sure how you're going to take it, Mark," said Andie, wiping the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand.

"I'm all ears, darlin and there's nothing you could tell me that's going to make me mad," I replied, already knowing what she was going to say.

I could tell that she was nervous, but she took me by the hand, and leading me to her bed, sat down with me while still holding my hand. Then she took a deep breath and began, "Last year, Doctor Breeden asked me to research you for the purposes of making sure you qualified for the scholarship you were given. I found out everything I could about you. I even read what your teachers wrote about you in your transcripts. It really piqued my interest and when I saw you play for the first time......" she began to cry again, ".....I fell in love with you, Mark! Why else do you think that your room is directly across the hall from mine?"

I pulled my handkerchief out of my pocket, and wiping her face for her, happily replied, "If that's the case, then why are you crying? You're supposed to happy about that. I know that I sure am!"

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" Andie asked, grinning from ear-to-ear.

"And, what would that be?" I asked knowingly.

Andie put her arms around my neck, and after softly kissing my lips, replied, "You're in love with me. Aren't you?"

"Yes, since the first time I saw you," I admitted, looking down at the floor ashamedly.

Suddenly I felt her hand under my chin, lifting my head till we were face-to-face. Then she leaned in and very tenderly and very softly kissed my lips then said, "I love you, Mark!"

"I love you too!" I replied.

"So, what do you propose we do about this, then?" asked Andie, grinning seductively.

Suddenly I got very nervous, but I decided right then and there that, because I was in love with her; then Andie deserved to know the truth about me. I cleared my throat and looked her in the eyes and said, "Andie, I've never been with a girl before and I'm a little scared!"

I actually heard her breathe what sounded like a sigh of relief. Then she very slowly and very gently put her arms around my neck and softly replied, "I'm still a virgin too, Mark. But I've finally found the man I want to lose my virginity to and that man is you, baby!" She must've been as scared as I was, because the moment after she told me this; she smiled and said, "Is it alright if it doesn't happen tonight?"

Now it was her turn to hear me breathing a sigh of relief, and in doing so, she giggled and kissed me on the cheek as I replied, "That's just fine with me. Besides, I hope you don't think I'm strange, but I would like to get to know you a lot better before we make love, okay?"

"Now I know you're the right guy for me," Andie said, as she pulled me closer to her and held our bodies tightly against one another. We lay down together on her bed still holding one another as the storm outside continued to rage. This time however, we were like one person, making no sound, only breathing and loving. We slept the whole night through and woke the next morning in one another's arms.

*********************

The next day brought a free morning of no classes until one o'clock that afternoon. Once we were both cleaned up and dressed, Andie and I enjoyed a leisurely breakfast together in my room, as I had gone to a Denny's restaurant near campus and brought us back something while Andie was taking her shower.

While we were eating, Andie simply watched me with a smile on her face, making me ask, "What are looking at?"

"I'm looking at my beautiful and brilliant boyfriend whom I can't wait to show off to my sorority sisters as well as the rest of my friends," she sweetly replied, making me blush like nothing I'd ever experienced before.

All of a sudden, someone unexpectedly knocked on my door. "Come on in," I replied loudly. The door opened and lo and behold, Marsha and Becky stood there, both of them wearing silly grins on their faces. "Good morning, ladies! What can I do for you, this morning?" I asked smiling.

Walking in and closing the door behind them, they came into my room and sat one on either side of Andie and I. Then, with knowing smiles on both of their faces; Marsha spoke up first and said, "Well, it looks like you two are getting along just fine this morning!"

"Yes, we are. Is there something that you wanted?" asked Andie, looking back and forth between her two friends with a knowing grin.

"We just wanted to make sure that Mark was still planning on coming to class today," said Becky smiling.

"I guess it's safe to say that we'll both be there," laughed Andie. Then she smiled at Becky and Marsha and added, "You're more than welcome to stick around, but if you two will excuse us, we haven't finished eating our breakfast yet!" Of course, no one said anything and we ate until we could eat no more and then Andie took our mess to the trash. I can't remember ever feeling more like I was on top of the world than I did that morning, and the best part of it all, was that I had my beautiful Andie back, although she later told me that I never lost her in the first place. She was, and still is, the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. As young boys, most men only dream about having a girlfriend that looks like her. Me, I did, and I considered myself to be the luckiest man alive. I was going to do whatever it took to honor this girl because there was no way I was ever going to risk losing her again.

*********************

The moment I walked into the band hall, several smiling faces were there to greet me. Leading the crowd were the guys from "Prodigy". Bryan extended his hand in friendship and said, "I hope there are no hard feelings!"

I smiled, and while shaking his hand, said, "Nah, I just hope that you guys will let me jam with you again sometime soon!"

"You really mean that?" asked Bryan, and when I nodded my head, he added, "Well...in that case, would you like to join our band?"

"As in, I'm a member of the group?" I asked hopefully.

"That's exactly what I mean, little brother. What do you say to that?" replied Bryan, grinning from ear-to-ear.

"Like I said the other night at your house, if you're waiting on me, then you're backing up, bro," I replied laughing.

Just then, Dr. Breeden walked in and said, "Alright ladies and gentlemen, would everyone take their places, please?" After everyone was in place, Dr. Breeden began passing out the sheet music he produced from a box he'd carried in with him and said, "This semester I want to take the One O'clock to a whole new level!" Then, pointing at me, he added, "Now that we have Mr. Thompson in our midst, new doors are about to open themselves before us. The music we're going to learn this year, no other college band in the nation does, nor do they have the ability to do! So, hang on to your hats, gang, because we're going to seriously rock and roll!"

Loud cheers echoed throughout the band hall as the members of The One O'clock Jazz Band applauded our director for his sudden change in taste of music. I looked over at the brass section to find my beautiful Andie sitting in her chair, saxophone in hand and smiling brightly at me. Shit, I just realized that I didn't even know what instrument she played until now. Little did I know that she was a virtuoso on the saxophone? We began to play, and we weren't that far into the music, when I realized we were doing a cut from Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" album, called, "The Machine". There was no way that Dr. Breeden could've known that this was one of my favorite songs. As we were all playing together, I smiled thinking how much we sounded just like the record. Then it came time for Andie to play a solo. I could see the music literally flowing from her perfect body with every note she played. I felt her soul touching my heart as I watched her perform. She truly was touched by God and I thanked him that this, one of his most beautiful creations ever, was more and more becoming a part of me. We rocked and rolled for at least two more hours and then class was done. After class we all stood around joking and cutting up for a few minutes until Bryan and the rest of "Prodigy" approached me about setting up a rehearsal schedule. "After what we heard today, I think we need to get together and practice for at least the next three nights straight, L.B.," laughed Brian.

"What did you just call me?" I asked grinning.

"L.B., its short for little brother, little brother," replied Bryan laughing.

"In that case, I've got the next three nights free," I said, smiling and holding Andie's hand.

*********************

That night at Bryan's house, we rehearsed all of the top forty hits as well as the progressive rock material that we were all so fond of. It was no wonder these guys named themselves Prodigy. It was apparent after the first time I ever played with them that they were all prodigies themselves. I guess that's why we sounded so good. Andie, Marsha and Becky, as well as half of the sorority they belonged to were all there smiling and listening to us, and applauded after every song we played. It was more fun than I remembered ever having before. Andie looked so beautiful and you know what they say; there's nothing more attractive to a man than a beautiful woman who is in love with him. I still couldn't believe that Andie was in love with me. The best way to describe what she looked like would be that she looked like a very young version of the actress, Jacqueline Smith, only prettier. Every time I would look at her, a feeling of contentment would begin to warm me from within. When Andie would look at me, her smile struck beautiful notes in my heart that I had yet to play.

As we drove home from practice that night, Andie was sitting right next me as closely as she could get with her hand on the inside of my right thigh. "So what did you think about practice tonight, baby?" I asked smiling.

"I thought it was fantastic, darlin. You know that Bryan and the rest of the guys have been absolutely beside themselves since you jammed with them, don't you?" she asked, as she laid her head on my shoulder.

"No, I guess not. But why would they be beside themselves when they're just as good, if not better, than I am?" I asked bewildered.

Lifting her head from my shoulder and looking me in the eyes, Andie smiled and said, "You really don't know, do ya?"

"Andie sweetie, I don't have the foggiest idea what you're talking about," I replied truthfully.

By this time we were pulling into the parking lot of our dorm rooms. The moment I stopped the truck and turned it off, Andie looked at me and said, "Mark, honey, you don't realize how good you are, do you?" and before I had the chance to respond, she added, "Since you got here, no one has been, nor do I doubt will ever be, able to hold a candle to your abilities. You're the best that any of us, Dr. Breeden included, have ever seen!"