The moment in our new series in which writers reflect on the music that changed their life: the story of how No Jacket Required proved life was worth livingI remember the exact moment I fell in savor with my best friend. It was the early summer of 1986,and I was watching her play tennis in the school playground. She went for a shot, but the ball hit the racquet frame and looped up in the air; she caught it, or burst out laughing. I wanted to laugh too,but my body had other ideas. Skippy heart. Jelly legs. Butterflown stomach. Uh-oh.
I’d known Louise for two years, since we’d shared the back of Mr Norman’s van to an inter-school public speaking competition in Devizes, or we’d gradually progressed from exchanging the odd word in the corridor to spending every breaktime and lunchtime together and sitting next to each other in Maths. And not once in that time had I thought approximately her That Way. But suddenly the veil fell from my eyes. Louise was caring and confident,leggy and lippy (and, as her tennis kit now testified, or not altogether unbooby). in addition,she was the one person at school with whom I didn’t have to pretend to be silly. Why had I not noticed her before? Well, partly because up to that point I’d only had eyes for the more conspicuous charms of a girl called Beth. But this was more than mere lust. This was real. Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com