Chapter 4 -- Part One -- First Meeting

SoundTrack For Chapter 4:

Where Ever Would I Be -- Dusty Springfield & Daryl Hall

Dana Glover -- It Is You I Have Loved

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Harry thought he would be nervous at the thought of having to read his Romance Literature Presentation in front of the class. Despite not being a Rico Suave with the ladies, he had the gift of an orator. He had the gift to speak the truth, and people heard him.....his gift was influence.

Christina had made it to class before him, and she and Catriona were sitting in the back. They had always made it a point to sit in the back so they would be the last ones out at the bell. They were in no hurry to get to the class that followed.......calculus & trigonometry. The two of them were in the back, chatting away, waiting for class to start when, in he walked. Cat just continued to talk but Crissy had tuned her out. At the site of Harry, her mouth opened slightly. He walked in the front door, took a few steps.....and paused.

Half the class stopped to stare at Harry to see if he would, once again, bomb out with the Queen. To a lot of people, it was downright excruciating to watch Harold be in love with Crissy. How do you tell someone like him that he was setting himself up for a big fall, for ridicule, for embarrassment; that a Socialite Debutante just wasn't within his reach?

There wasn't one day that went by where she didn't look absolutely exquisite, debonair & elegant. She looked like she stepped right out of a music video. He had seen The Miss America pageant and Christina Rose outshined any beauty queen that currently walked the face of the earth.

Cat noticed that Crissy had stopped paying attention to her and that her head was slightly turned away. That was when she noticed Harry & she staring at each other....once again. Cat just kind of smirked and watched to see who would make the first move before class. When Harry noticed Cat staring at him as well, he quickly found his seat at the front of the
class & never turned around for the entire duration of class.

Christina's smile faded and she got a defeated look on her face. Cat noticed and said: "Criss, really? You expected him to walk right up to you in front of everybody and just say....hi? Isn't that expecting a bit much? I've told you before. He won't make a move in front of anyone. He still has no idea what you'll say at any given time. He won't risk you blowing him off in front of anyone. You truy have your hands full with this one. He's extremely shy but if anyone can break him out of that shell, you can babygirl. You know you can".

His forehead had beads of sweat, his heart was racing and his hands were slightly shaking. It took every bone and every muscle in his body to tear his eyes away from the woman who was his life, his everything. NOW he was nervous to give his presentation. He didn't understand what was going on inside his head. He was usually 99% calm, cool and collected in any given situation. But he felt like his heart could just positively explode. He wiped the sweat from his forehead as the bell rang. He started to suffer from cotton mouth as he tried to get himself under control. He said a quick prayer to God to calm his nerves and he took deep breaths to steady himself mentally.

"Harold Stone, you're next", said Mrs Bernson. He swollowed hard and slowly stood up. He had to force himself not to look at Christina, even though he planned to catch her eye as much as possible during his speech. He just couldn't bring himself to do it. He stood behind the podium at the front of the class & faced everyone.

"My assignment doesn't really have a title. These thoughts just seemed to hit me all at once and I wrote them down as they came. My assignment does have a theme however. These are thoughts that I think every man needs to keep in mind when he thinks he understands a woman, when you think you know what makes a woman tick, what makes her want you, what makes her
want to KEEP you, or what makes you want to work to keep HER. A woman's heart is a deep ocean of secrets, and you'll only discover the answer to those secrets if she allows you near enough to her", he began.

Cat's mouth dropped open, then she glanced at Crissy and said: "Dang, that's DEEP. Your boy toy is turnin' out to be a little scholastic philosopher". She noticed Christina's face turn ashen white with shock at what she was hearing come out of Harry's mouth. He started to read his assignment, as Crissy listened intensely:

"1.When she walks away from you mad
[ Follow her ]

2.When she stares at your mouth
[ Kiss her ]

3.When she misses you
[ she's hurting inside ]

4.When she starts cussing at you
[ Kiss her and tell her you love her ]

He looks at christina as he says:

5.When she's quiet
[ Ask her whats wrong ]"

With each statement read, he relaxes more and more and comes into his element. No more nervous knots, no more cotton mouth, he feels at peace. You could hear a pin drop in the classroom as just about EVERYONE wonders where on EARTH this has come from. No one has had any idea that this was brewing underneath the surface of Harry's being:

6.When she ignores you
[ Give her your attention ]

7.When she pulls away
[ Pull her back ]

He lays his eyes on Christina's tear soaked face as he says:

"8.When you see her at her worst
[ Tell her she's beautiful ]

9.When you see her start crying
[Just hold her and dont say a word ]"

Christina musters up the strength with every fiber of her being to keep from bursting into tears. In her heart, she finally reconciles that he's the one. The wisdom that has come from that man's mind, his heart, and his soul was almost more than she could comprehend. She didn't think she had the strength to soak him all in.

With a playful smile, Harry continues:

"10.When you see her walking
[ Sneak up and hug her waist from behind ]"

Looking at Christina once again, seeing she is on the verge of breaking down, and wanting to run to her and throw his
arms around her neck, he says:

"11.When she's scared
[ Protect her ]"

12.When she lays her head on your shoulder
[ Tilt her head up and kiss her ]"

Wishing she would look at him, he says:

"13.When she looks at you in your eyes
[ dont look away until she does ]"

You could feel the tension in the room grow to a fever pitch. Almost everyone in the class knows he's looking at Christina. Unbeknownst to him, most everyone now is silently rooting for him to capture his Princess. Everyone is now coming to the realization that the reason it was so easy for him to write his poetry is.....he wrote it about his queen.
Still looking at her as he finishes, he says:

"14.When she doesn't answer for a long time
[ reassure her that everything is okay ]

15.When she says that she likes you
[she really does MORE than you could understand ]

And that's the end of my....speech....assignment....or whatever" Harry tells Mrs Bernson.

"Thank you Harold. That was TRULY profound; and you wrote that all YOURSELF?"

"Yes Ma'am I did, responded Harry. "I just found a quiet place at home and sat in complete silence and just waited to see what came to me. Once the poetry started, it.....wouldn't stop. I honestly didn't know if it ever WOULD stop".

"I'm truly proud of ---- the teacher started, but was interrupted by commotion in the back of the room. Christina ran to the front of the room, and out the door.