Lewis was only in the early stages of lately developed adolescence. He knew that Lynda had made an unprecedented impression on him, but he had no idea that this was meant to lead to dating and kissing. Though 14 or 15 like himself, Lynda had matured much sooner, and wanted keenly to undertake such experiences. Lewis vaguely sensed her fondness for him, but was unable to respond. The girls had been amusing themselves in the park, while their fathers played tennis on the Saturday afternoons. It seemed, from what they said, that it would continue to be a weekly event.

One thing was for certain. Lewis would turn up at that park again the following Saturday afternoon, as though he intended to read again, and hope that somehow something would be revealed of what might come of his having met Lynda Fielding.

The following Saturday, the one before school went back (to year 10 in his case), he was there again. While he was reading, the girls turned up and called out their ‘hello’ greetings to him. They went into the change rooms and soon came out, wearing a different combination of each other’s clothes, and paraded themselves in poses to gain his attention. He smiled and waited to see what would happen next. They went back into the change rooms once more and then came out in a third reshuffling of their combined wardrobe. Still the boy lacked the slightest inkling of what he was meant to do next.

Not willing to lose heart, despite the boy’s apparent inability to take the lead, Lynda led her friends back to their fathers and asked for some money to take up to the corner store for afternoon tea. Then the girls came over to Lewis and invited him to go with them for a walk up to the shops. When they reached the shops, Lynda asked Lewis if he’d like an ice cream.

“I should have the money to buy you one,” he said, embarrassed at the fact that he had spent all of his allowance earlier in the week.

“No, that doesn’t matter,” said Lynda, and persuaded him to accept one.

They all walked back to the park, eating their ice creams. Lewis was driven into an unexplained series of sensations at the sight of Lynda licking her ice cream. How he wished that she had been eating him. When they had finished, the girls’ fathers concluded their last set of tennis and asked the girls to be ready to go home. Lewis was determined to be there the next Saturday afternoon, if he had to spend the whole week trying to understand what was to be done about the fact that one girl, it seemed, was very important to him.

Yet there was a greater problem to be faced than his latent lack of maturity. In years 7 and 8 at school, Lewis had been lazy and dishonest and disruptive at school, achieving grades far below his potential, trying to get away with a minimum of work, and reaching the point where his pranks and misbehaviour during class time brought him within one step of being expelled from the school.