Chapter 3
After that one day in Tony’s office, I went through every day not giving a
damn about what was going on around me everywhere I went. Tony and I even showed
our affection to each other out in public and around the school. People sneered
at us, but it didn’t matter anymore. Sometimes I could tell that Tony
wanted to give me extra long kisses just so he could laugh at everybody’s
expressions. There was a certain person who didn’t appreciate what we were
doing, and that person was Principal Langlands. He arranged for Tony and I to
meet him in his office one day. Tony and I were sitting in the chairs in front
of the desk. Mr. Langlands was at the door discussing something with his
secretary. The door shut and he sat down in his desk in front of us.
“Mr.
Slattery…Tony. You know that most of us at this school don’t
approve of your relationship with Jennifer here. Some have even come to me
complaining about you two. But others have grown to tolerate
it…”
Yeah like who? I looked over at Tony and he gave me a little smile that seemed
to understand what was going through my mind at that moment.
“But I don’t
find it acceptable for the two of you to display your affection to each other in
front of the students and faculty.”
“But sir, why do
you find it unacceptable? If people don’t want to see what we do together,
then they shouldn’t be watching us,” Tony said and gave me a little
wink and a smile. He was right though. People shouldn’t be watching us at
every moment and worrying about what we do.
“Then what do you
want us to do, ignore each other?” I added.
“That would be a
sensible solution, yes.”
Tony reached over to hold my hand. How could I ignore him? Just being able to
hear a “hello luv” from Tony at least once always made my day.
“I can’t
ignore Tony!”
“Yes, and I
can’t ignore her either! We have a right to do what we want to do in
public and people have a right to look away. It’s as simple as
that,” said Tony.
“I suppose so, but
tell that to the University.”
“Alright then, I
will. Tomorrow morning I will hold an assembly concerning our little situation.
Requesting permission for an assembly, sir.”
“Permission
granted.”
Tony and I left the Principal’s office and began walking slowly down this
hallway.
“Are you sure you
want to do this, Tony?”
“Yes I’m
sure. I want to see everybody’s reaction once I tell them all the good
news.”
“Good
news?”
“About our
engagement. That would really get their knickers in a twist!”
We both laughed and grabbed onto each other’s hand. Then we realized that
we couldn’t do that anymore, or even be seen together.
“Um, you know what?
I have to get home anyways. Call me tonight?” I said as I let go of his
hand. Tony nodded and we went our separate ways.
The next morning before classes begun, everybody was instructed to gather in the
courtyard and stand around the stage, which was still in the middle of the lawn.
I sat at the fountain and watched everybody from a distance. Theresa came up and
sat down next to me.
“Hey, what’s
this about?” she asked.
“Tony’s
giving an assembly to tell the whole school about us.”
“Why? Everybody
knows already.”
“Yeah I know. Hey,
exactly HOW did the whole school find out about me and Tony?”
“Oh, um, Nannette
had the whole story printed in the Dundee newspaper for everybody to
read.”
What the hell was she trying to do? I wonder what else she said about us in that
paper.
“Do you by any
chance have a copy of that paper so I can see it?”
“Actually, I have
three. I saved you and Tony a copy. I figured it would be something important to
you.”
“Of course it
is.”
I looked over at the stage and everything looked set up. Tony was already
standing behind the podium.
“Good morning,
students, and faculty of Dundee University. I’m sure you’ve all
heard about what’s been going on with me in the past few months. Yes, I am
having a romantic relationship with a student here, and no, I don’t
regret. Recently we’ve been hearing and witnessing complaints about our
situation, and I am here to try to put an end to it. I only have one simple
thing to say to all of those who are disturbed by the sight of Jennifer and I
showing affection and expressing our love for each other: Don’t look.
Thank you. Now, for another surprise…”
On that note, I was dreading that Tony would do something out of the ordinary to
prove his point. Hopefully he wouldn’t call me up on the stage to make out
with him! Although it wouldn’t be bad, but you know…
“Jennifer and I
love each other very much and the good news is that sometime this year, we are
going to be married!”
Everything went silent, except for the sound of people coughing and clearing
their throats. Theresa put her arm around my shoulder and gave me a little hug.
“Hey!
Congratulations, Jen! I’M happy for ya!” Theresa said loud enough so
that the crowd standing around the stage could hear her. Finally somebody
started clapping, which then led to the cheering and whooping and the small
groups of people coming up to congratulate me. I guess now they were finally
being understanding about the whole thing. I looked up at Tony on the stage and
he motioned for me to join him. I stood up and began walking towards the stage.
On the way up there, people were congratulating me left and right. As I was
approaching Tony he was holding out his arm to me and I grabbed his hand. The
crowd began cheering and clapping for us.
“Hey look at them
now! How did you manipulate the crowd like that?” I whispered in
Tony’s ear. “I don’t know, but it seemed to have
worked!” he whispered back and then kissed the top of my head. It’s
funny how the mentioning of marriage puts a whole crowd on your side. Maybe they
were just acting like they were happy for us, or maybe they actually meant it.
Who cares anymore anyways? At least they LOOK like they care!