SWING
Chapter Three
Later that very same day, Rose sat in her
room along with her best friend Helga Dahl and listened to the records Helga
had brought over. After closing her door and locking it, Rose and Helga laid on
her bed listening to music.
"Wow. This music is so lively."
Rose excitedly sat up. "It just makes you want to get up to dance."
"Rose…speaking of dancing…how would you
feel about coming with me on a date tonight? Fabri has a friend and you can be
with him."
"Oh, Helga…I don’t know. I’m seeing
Caledon Hockley."
"He’s only courting you, Rose. It’s not
like you’re engaged or anything! Come on…Jack is real fun. You’ll like him a
lot. And besides, you always wanted to dance to swing…"
"Swing! Oh, Helga, no. Absolutely not.
Swing is against the law. Those dance halls are raided all the time, and I
simply can’t afford to be arrested…"
"Rose! Stop being such a worrywart!
There will be no raid tonight, and you will not be arrested!" Helga
dismissed Rose’s fears, her blue eyes sparkling. "You will have a grand
time dancing with a cutie like Jack Dawson. You haven’t met him, but you
will."
"Helga…I haven’t even said yes."
"It’s already set, Rose, because I’m not
going to take no for an answer. So wear something that’s suitable to dance in,
make yourself even prettier than you already are, and be ready at seven."
Helga got to her feet, getting ready to go. "We’ll be picking you up at
seven."
"Helga…"
"See ya, Rose!" Helga waved before
rushing out of Rose’s room, leaving Rose setting on the bed, speechless.
*****
Jack and Fabrizio were in Jack’s room
listening to swing music, practicing some new steps. Both wanted to be ready for
the night.
"So is this Rose pretty?" Jack
asked his friend.
"Helga says she’s gorgeous. That you’ll
really like her."
"So she likes swing music, huh?"
Jack asked.
"Helga says she does. You’ll like
Rose."
"I better, and she better like swing, or
we’re going to be in for big trouble. None of us need another raid
tonight."
"Don’t worry, Jack. There will be no
raid. Everything will go smoothly. You will like Rose, and she will like
you."
"If you say so." Jack shrugged.
"So, when do we pick them up again?"
"Seven. We pick Rose up at seven."
"Too bad Tommy couldn’t join us. His
parents are really riding him."
"I know. I just hope he hangs in there.
I'd hate to see him become a robot."
Jack solemnly nodded. "All we can do is
be here for him, Fabri. If he does end up joining…we have to let him know that
we’re still his friends. That we know he didn’t wanna."
"Whoops! It’s six o’clock! Gotta
go." Fabri gathered up his hat and headed for the door. "I have to
pick Helga up and then be back here to pick you up. Then we go pick up
Rose."
"Okay. See you in a half hour."
Jack waved.