The Henley High Poetry Club by Jude Warne

Author:Jude Warne
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: ABDO
Published: 2017-12-21T05:00:00+00:00

On Saturday night at around six thirty, Dad and I got into the car to go to Wren’s house. Dad had agreed to drive me because Wren’s house was all the way up in the hills and, like many locations in the Bay Area, it was a bit difficult to reach directly via public transport.

Having never been to a book party, I hadn’t been exactly sure how to dress for one. In the end I chose my best jeans and desert boots, my Grateful Dead t-shirt, and a corduroy blazer. I slicked my hair back a bit too with some fancy hair gel that I found in Mom and Dad’s bathroom. It kind of smelled like high-quality paint that had sat out in the sun, but it did make me look a bit older.

Mom had suggested that I bring something to the party, so that morning I had ridden my bike to Weir’s Weird Ice Cream Shop and bought a quart of their Cedar Sage Chocolate. I hoped that Wren and her dad would like it.

“Looking sharp, Hunt,” my dad said as we walked to our car, which was parked across the street from the complex.

“Thanks, Dad.”

As we approached the car, Ramon and Amelia came walking toward our home with stacks of books in their hands.

“Hi, Professor,” Ramon said. “Hey, Hunter. We just raided the library.”

“Good idea, Ramon. Excited to read your next paper. Hi, Amelia.”

“Where are you guys off to?” Amelia smiled at me and I felt myself tense up in anxiousness—and just when I was trying to keep it cool in preparation for my big night, too.

“A book party, for my friend’s dad.”

“Sam, in the Music department,” my dad added. “He’s got a new book out on the history of the San Francisco music scene.”

“Oh wow, that’s great!” Amelia exclaimed, her eyes lighting up. “I’ve heard about Sam; he’s got quite a reputation at Berkeley now. Didn’t he date Carly Simon?”

“So the story goes,” Dad answered. “Wish I could’ve dated her myself; I had quite a crush on her back then—”

“All right Dad, I don’t want to be late,” I interjected. I didn’t need to hear his ramblings about Carly again—not at the moment. He was bordering on embarrassing me here in front of Amelia.

Dad snapped back to planet Earth and unlocked the car doors.

“I hear you, Hunter. Have a great night guys,” he said as he put the key into the ignition.

“You too, Professor. Have a great time at the party, Hunter!” Amelia called out as she and Ramon headed into the building.

The evening was beautiful, with a cool breeze rushing through the open car windows. Streaks of orange, pink, green, and blue colored the sky above, and a star or two were just barely visible against the horizon. I couldn’t wait to see Wren.

Her house was in North Berkeley Hills, a bit of a ways up from our place near the university. I usually didn’t come to this part of town too much; the last time I had been was to visit my dentist.

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