She was wearing her old school sports uniform. I said nothing. It was probably all that she had at the time. Increasingly over the previous few weeks, Amandaâs clothes had descended into the oldest and tattiest possible. I had the impression that she was having problems at home, but wanted to leave it there. So I never pushed her.
Watching her set up in those clothes, it reminded me of when I frequently saw her dressed that way. Little V-neck t-shirt and pleated mini-skirt: very distracting. But I had work to do. I never thought sheâd take me up on my offer but she did. Maybe just to get away from home occasionally.
Amanda has very small hands - delicate would be the best word. And very small fingers, so guitar is not the ideal instrument for her. But I had offered to help her, and now she wanted guitar lessons. So it was a simple arrangement, I teach her some songs and techniques for one hour a week, and I get twenty bucks. Worked well, considering I wasnât actually a guitar tutor.
At least that was how it was supposed to work, over the past month or so she hadnât been able to pay me anything. But I was still willing to give her lessons. It gave me something to do and something to look forward to each week.
She sat on the chair across from my bed and started strumming a song I had taught her a while ago. She seemed content so I just watched and listened. I remembered a time when she smiled more often, a time when she would have worn that uniform for a reason other than that it was the only thing available.
When Amanda smiled, it was cute, but somehow gloriously beautiful at the same time. Something I had never thought possible, to look childish and mature at once. Her face would light up. And framed by her golden hair, she was to me something I could only dream of being close to. But she didnât smile any more. She just looked weary. Her clothes faded and worn, with holes appearing in her shirt.
She continued strumming and asked me what the lesson plan was. I said that she could just play all the songs she could remember for me. So I could see how she was doing. âSort of a revision lesson,â I said. And she just strummed away vacantly.
Amanda never used to seem so detached to me. She used to always smile and participate. That very distracting uniform used to fly in the breeze as she would toss footballs, chase tennis balls, and bounce around basketball courts. Bouncing, she always looked good when bouncing. Her torso matched her hands, small and delicate. But down below she looked massive in comparison. Her hips seemed too large for her upper body, and her thighs matched her hips.
The way she thundered around would shake her thighs and make her ass bounce beautifully. The disproportion of Amanda was such that she looked bottom heavy, but due to her delicate and very feminine features above, you couldnât imagine her any other way.
âWhat do you think?â I was startled, but it was my own fault. She was staring at me with an unfortunately disinterested expression.
âVery good,â I felt stupid. Worse I felt like I was some old sentimentalist, dreaming about how things used to be. Of course that just made me think of what it couldâve been like with Amanda, but now she had grown distant and she would have no interest in me. She probably wouldnât have been interested back then either.
âHourâs up,â she said. I nodded, and she began packing up. I was suddenly brought back to more practical matters.
âAmanda, has everything been going alright?â I asked. She just looked at me. âI mean it has been a while since youâve been able to pay me. I was just wondering, thatâs all.â She looked down, finished packing away her guitar. I thought she was going to say she couldnât do this any more.
She walked over to me, not looking in my eyes.