Prep School Rebel - Flash of Jazz Story

 

I remembered her quite well, even after all these years. Her name was Maggie LaFleur, honest to god that was her name, and she was the rebel of St. Severus of Avranches Preparatory School. I always thought it was funny that our beloved school was named after the patron saint of silk makers but then again, I always found such strange and unusual facts to be quite hilarious. Maggie was a year older than me, yet we lived in the same dorm building due to the fact that we were both products of upper-middle-class families. While I was strictly a bookworm who loved the violin, playing chess, and reading The New Yorker, Maggie's passions ran in the form of the theatre. She declared one evening in the Common Room that she was going to become a famous actress. None of that Hollywood bullshit, she would sneer to us as we listened in various forms of enrapture; she wanted to dominate Broadway. I merely smiled behind my cup of hot jasmine green tea and wished her luck. Throughout our years at the school, our parents saw us only twice a year - once to drop us off and once to pick us up for the summer holiday. In between those times, Maggie and I became good friends. I would assist her with her chemistry homework, while she would read articles of interest from the literary magazines she subscribed to. I introduced her to my violin named Bonaparte, and she would give me free tickets to whatever play she was a part of, either through the school or in the small town. She wore her black hair long and fierce and would tie it up only when she wanted to dance mad like to bebop jazz. She adored Dizzy, Bird, Coltrane, and her god, Miles Davis. During the summer before our senior year, she and I flew to New Orleans because according to her, "that's where all the sinners master their passions". I had been to New Orleans before but under the watchful eyes of my parents who loved Mardi Gras and all its debauchery. So, during our two weeks in New Orleans, we smoked, pretended we were old enough to drink (which was never a problem), crawled through the various bookstores, and gave in to our foodie delights. When we finally left the city, I was both sad and quite relieved. The senior year flew by quite quietly, and Maggie suddenly changed. She studied more so than ever before and rehearsed for plays with a tinge of madness that could almost be called undiluted devotion. Graduation was a blur, and soon I found myself working in a publishing house in New England, while Maggie took off for New York and never looked back. Ten years later, I became a managing editor for the publishing company and rubbed elbows with many a literary darling. On a cold day in October, I flew to New York to meet with an author we had just signed and since I would be there for a week, I decided to take in a play. And just like that, I read about the "hottest actress to ever set foot in NYC - Maggie LaFleur!" She was in a play titled The Loney Hearts and I knew that I would enjoy it. I gave up messy romance and traded it for my self-worth and was truly content with being single. I paid for a box ticket, wore my lucky black sensual yet academic dress, and arrived quite early. When I got out of the taxi, I walked up to the theatre and gave my name to the box office attendant for my ticket. After receiving it, I milled around the lobby, hoping to see anyone that I knew. Suddenly, everyone began to applaud in a frenzy. I turned to see my old school chum dressed in a killer red dress, parading through the lobby. When she saw me, she squealed and pulled me into a tight embrace. She hadn't aged at all. Maggie smelled of Chanel No. 5 and expensive cigarettes as she linked her arm through mine and led me backstage to meet the cast. At that moment, cold and grey Boston seemed so very very far away. 

(inspired by the jazz album Balanced by Jan Harbeck Quartet)  

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