Free Pride's Prejudice by Misty Dawn Pulsipher Page A

dogs and potato chips, the chocolate, marshmallows, and
graham crackers came out for s'mores.  Beth was quite amused to see that
in Kara's attempts to captivate William's attention, she kept char-broiling her
marshmallows until they resembled chunks of coal.  She would peel the
blackened skin off, only to stick the gooey innards of her marshmallow back
into the coals and pull out another briquette.  Kara had finally gone to
her tent fuming when Lucy, trying to extinguish her own marshmallow by waving
it around in the air, accidentally launched the charred goo into Kara's
hair.  That was the marshmallow that snapped the roaster, so to speak.
    Beth's
first impression of Kara at the quad movie had been that she was calculating,
artful, even smart.  She decided that the assumption may have been a
little too generous.
    The
recollection drew her eyes to William, and she found him staring up into the
night sky.  She looked up as well, awed to see billions of pin-pricks of
light peaking through the expanse of blackness.  The moon was nearly full,
casting a luminous silvery glow over everything.  She could even make out
one of the arms of the Milky-Way, and thought she spotted Jupiter, set high in
the sky with a steady peach glimmer, almost directly above them.  Her
stargazing was interrupted when she heard Jenna laughing; the sound was like
discovering an endangered species.  Searching for the cause of Jenna's
glee, Beth saw Les strumming a guitar, attempting You Are My Sunshine for Jenna.  Beth smiled broadly - likely first authentic smile she had
allowed herself in days.
    When
Les finished, Jenna and Beth applauded enthusiastically.  Kara and Lucy
rejoined the group after taming the marshmallow-streaked tresses into a
baseball cap.  It actually suited Kara quite well.  Beth watched her
for a moment, deciding that she could be pretty if she didn't try so
hard.  Then her eyes shifted a fraction to the left, and found William
scrutinizing her with a look that was part amused, part…..something she
couldn't name.  Their eye contact was broken when Les, in response to
something Jenna said, bounced over to Beth with guitar in hand.
    "Why
didn't you tell us you played?!" he accused, holding the instrument out to
her.
    "Oh,
no - that's okay," Beth tried to refuse, but Les wasn't having it.
    "Please,
Beth," he begged.  "Jenna told me how good you are."
    "Maybe
she's just got stage fright," Kara suggested innocently.  "You
really have to have a lot of self-confidence to perform in public."
    Any
reservations Beth harbored died quickly and painlessly.  Cause of
death:  Kara trying to show her up and William's smirk.  Fueled by
adrenaline and a desire to prove them both wrong about her, she took the guitar
and plopped back in her chair.
    She
began tuning the guitar absently while mentally flipping through the songs in
her musical arsenal.  Strongly considering something by Alanis
Morrissette, and almost settling on You're So Vain by Carly Simon, she
finally chose a folk song from her childhood.  Moonshadow by Cat
Stevens.  Her father used to sing it to her when she couldn't fall asleep,
or when a bad dream made it impossible to go back to bed.  Beth strummed
softly for a few bars, and then she began singing.
    I'm
being followed by a moon shadow
Moon shadow, moon shadow
Leaping and hopping on a moon shadow
Moon shadow, moon shadow
And if I ever lose my hands
Lose my plough, lose my land
Oh, if I ever lose my hands - Oh, if...
I won't have to work no more
    Her
voice grew stronger as the song progressed, and she strummed louder.  A
sense of peace settle over her as she remembered clamoring onto her father's
lap in her flannel night gown.  Suddenly it didn't matter that she was
baring her soul for people who despised her.
    And if
I ever lose my eyes
If my colors all run dry
And if I ever lose my eyes - Oh,
I won't have to cry no more
Yes, I'm being followed by a moon shadow
Moon shadow, moon shadow
Leaping and hopping on