Mandy's Dream Beau, Page 2

concern.

  “Better now?” he asked.

  “Yes,” she responded. He waited until she had regained her composure, and examined her intensely.

  “Do you want something to drink, some water?” Daniel asked.

  “No, I’m okay, thank you,” Mandy said.

  Daniel waited a few seconds for Mandy to collect herself, and watched her with a friendly expression.

  “What’s your name?” he asked.

  “Me? Well, I’m Mandy,” she said, with a faint smile, her blue eyes downhearted.

  “You’re new to school, aren’t you?” Daniel asked.

  “Yes,” she nodded, her throat dry from the close encounter with the bullies.

  “Oh, I’m sorry, I’m Daniel,” he said. “But you can call me Danny.”

  “Ok, Danny,” she said, brightening a little. “Thanks for helping me.”

  “No probs,” he said. “Don’t let them get to you; they think they’re smart, but they’re the types who’ll leave school, and not know why people won’t give them a job, if they ever find a job, or can keep one,” Danny said. Mandy laughed at his comment, this releasing some of the anxiety she felt, and he laughed in return. “Anyway, forget about them. There’s one thing which’ll make you feel much better, because it does it for me,” Danny said, his eyes glowing.

  “What?” Mandy asked, watching him with confusion.

  “Do you want to skate with me?” Danny said, getting up, and offering her his hand. “There’s nothing like a good session to make you feel sweet.”

  “Are you sure?” she said, eyes fluttering wildly. Mandy was not quite certain she was hearing properly, and that someone like Danny would ever want to skate with her.

  Danny frowned, and offered his hand again.

  “Do I look like I’m kidding?” he said, and, before she could refuse, Danny took her hand, and they slowly walked towards the skating floor, beginning to skate together. After a few false starts, Mandy fell down several times, and was embarrassed at her lack of balance, but with Danny’s guidance, she eventually mastered standing up. “See, you can do it,” he said, with a caring smile.

  “Thanks,” Mandy said, smiling back at Danny.

  The disc jockey began his announcement, which he did every so often to keep the skaters on their toes, and everyone listened intently to him.

  “And now…in the other direction,” he said, his smooth voice adding pizzazz to the proceedings.

  At this point, they had to change direction, and skate the opposite way. Mandy soldiered on with Danny’s encouragement, still disbelieving that she was skating with him. He held out his hand, which she took, and they whizzed happily around the skating rink.

  The kids who had teased Mandy were now at the snack bar, and watched this sight with a mixture of amusement, and jealousy.

  “Looks like Danny boy’s fallen for the damsel in distress. They’re all dying for him, but he goes and picks Miss Namby Pamby.”

  “Yeah, so much for his taste,” another young man said, with a laugh.

  After a good session, Mandy and Danny glided off the skating rink with zeal, happy with their time on the floor, and slowly walked up into the snack bar. Mandy held onto the handrail, but Danny walked up the stairs without any assistance, and waited for her until she ascended. He again offered her his hand, and she accepted it without any hesitation. Once she was safely up there, Mandy looked around at the snack bar.

  The snack bar was decorated with bright colors, but not garish in any way, and had the most comfortable booths Mandy had ever seen. She could easily live in these booths forever; she thought that they were made for her. They ordered a coke and a box of popcorn from the bar, but there were a number of other delights on display in the cabinet which begged her attention. She took a moment to take these in, and could not take her eyes off them.

  There were chocolate éclairs, small cheesecakes and other gateaux pleasantly arranged for maximum effect, and people would buy these as if there was no tomorrow whenever she was there. The aroma of the popcorn, though, was one of the most hypnotizing aspects of visiting the skating rink, and a definite attraction for Mandy. She had always been a popcorn addict, and could never resist it, especially when watching a movie in the cinema, or at home. It definitely made those sad movie scenes much easier to take with a box of popcorn with which to console oneself. Once Mandy and Danny picked up their order, they found a booth, and made themselves comfortable.

  “Boy, I love this popcorn!” Mandy said.

  “Me too!” Danny exclaimed. They each took a large swipe of popcorn from their boxes, and gobbled them with sheer delight. Mandy and Danny smiled at each other, reveling in their cheekiness. After he had devoured some more popcorn, Danny watched Mandy, and waited for her to down some more fluffy popcorn.

  “So, where are you from?” Danny asked.

  “Far away, about 200 miles from here,” Mandy said.

  “How are you finding it here so far?” he asked.

  “Oh, it’s okay, we had to move as my folks split, and I came here with my mom,” Mandy said.

  “Oh, I’m sorry,” Danny said, looking down at the table. After a spell, he raised his head, and nodded. “I know exactly what it’s like.”

  “Really?” Mandy asked, sitting forward on the table.

  “Yeah, my parents broke up a few years ago, and it took me down for a while. At the time, I acted in ways I don’t understand why now, did weird things, stuff like that…you know,” Danny said, his hazel eyes downcast for the first time since she met him.

  “I know exactly what you mean,” Mandy said, her voice low. “It can be so hard, only people who’ve gone through it know what you mean.”

  At this point, Danny sat back in the booth, surprising Mandy, and was back to his normal self.

  “But you know what?” Danny said.

  “What?” Mandy asked.

  “One day I woke up and thought, hey, it’s just one of these things that happens in life; there are some things you can’t control. I also felt as if I was to blame for it happening, but, I realized maybe it was for the best. I didn’t want my folks to be unhappy, and stay together just for my sake,” Danny said, nodding his head.

  Mandy began to cry, as she remembered how soon it was since her parents’ divorce. Their breakup had been particularly devastating for Mandy as she loved both her parents, and it was horrible to see them fighting all the time. While she knew that Danny was right about everything, it was all too fresh, and upsetting, for Mandy at the present moment. Danny saw that she was visibly upset, and put his hand on hers.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to sound like I was dissing your pain,” Danny said.

  “No, it’s okay, I know you mean the best. It’s just that…” she said.

  “Ssh, you don’t have to say any more,” he said, seeking to calm Mandy. “I know what you’re feeling, because I felt the same way. It’s not easy, but you’ll learn to accept it; trust me, it’ll happen,” he said, his hazel eyes overflowing with reassurance. Mandy nodded, and smiled at Danny.

  “Thank you,” she said. “You’re the first person who’s been nice to me here,” Mandy said.

  “And I’m sure I won’t be the last,” Danny said, breaking a smile, which Mandy reciprocated with happiness.

  One of the girls sitting and observing the other skaters on the rink turned around, and viewed Mandy and Danny’s chat with disbelief. She signaled to her friends to see them chatting together, and they rolled their eyes in contempt.

  “That Danny chooses to turn his back on us, and become friends with Miss New Girl faster than a speeding train,” one of the girls said.

  “Yeah, I know. Where did she come from? She sweeps by and catches his eye; what does he see in her?” another girl said.

  A third girl sighed, and flicked back her long blond hair with much urgency.

  “Well, there must be something in her to get Danny to ignore all of us. Just whatever it is, I can’t see it for the life of me.�
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  By this time, Danny and Mandy had left the snack bar, and were walking around the skating rink. She was looking around the place with interest, and he did the same. They caught an interesting sight on the walls of the skating rink, and moved closer to inspect these. There were photos of champion roller skaters adorned in large frames located at key vantage points, and Mandy and Danny stared at these with curiosity.

  “Maybe we might be up there one day,” Danny said, eliciting a wide smile from Mandy. “We’re in with a chance.”

  After doing this for some time, Mandy arrived again at the notice board she was looking at previously, and stopped there. She looked a little cautious, and peeked to see if anyone was around. Danny noticed her reticence, and grinned at Mandy.

  “Don’t worry, this time you can look at it without being pestered by them,” Danny said, with Mandy chuckling at his comment. She turned from his friendly face, and viewed the notice about the 1980s skating night that the rink was planning.

  “You going to this?” Danny asked. “Looks like it’s going to be a brilliant night.”

  Mandy sighed, and rolled her eyes. She knew she would not be able to attend, but Danny’s interest in seeing her there made things just a little better for her.

  “Oh, I’d love to go, but I can’t make it,” she said, with great disappointment. “I have no way of getting here that late.”

  Danny watched her, a questioning look on his face.

  “What’s wrong?” Mandy said.

  “Haven’t you heard about what’s been arranged?” Danny asked.

  “What do you mean?” Mandy