It was a hot summer day, and the birds were all atwitter,
When Leslie Ann decided it is time to make a play.
She eyed Jonathan all morning and knew he planned,
To eat lunch in a nearby park, so it had to be her day.

She went earlier to his favorite spot and waited in a thicket
Until Jonathan appeared with a folded newspaper in hand.
Before he could speak, she walked up silently and said hello.
Perturbed, he said hello and then noticed it was Leslie Ann.

He sat down and opened his paper, and cast her a smile.
She eased in near him and eyed the paper’s business page.
Nodding her head forward and flaunting her long, slender neck,
She pointed to a pharmaceutical stock that was all the rage.

Jonathan was astonished that one so young could be so smart?
He proceeded to discuss blue-chip stocks and a cash commodity.
Leslie Ann sat not uttering a sound, and she stared into his eyes,
Which made him feel tall, not like some broken-down oddity.

When he paused, she smiled and made one tiny suggestion,
To meet her at the library, perhaps they could compare notes.
Jonathan thinks for a moment and finally decided, why not?
His routine of school and home was becoming a kind of rote.

Leslie Ann continued apprising him of her market successes.
Nearby, pictures were being taken of them with a mini binocular.
Leaning in close, Leslie Ann revealed her most fervent desire.
To win a Nobel Prize in chemistry or become a Rhode Scholar.

Suddenly, arising from a thicket came a loud cough and snort,
Thomas meant to keep quiet, but could barely suppress his disdain.
Jonathan smiled at the winsome Leslie Ann, sweet and all innocent,
And promised to meet her at five sharp, providing it didn't rain.

It was past two, and long after the striking duo left the park
That Thomas emerged from the woods, miserable and forlorn.
He was not given to bouts of self-pity and feelings of isolation,
Though he knew the next step, yet he felt conflicted and torn.

He’d talked with Mary Ann, and together they'd formed a plan.
What if it hurt Leslie Ann? It was a thought he could not endure.
Mary Ann soon determined altruism was not Thomas’s motive,
Though she liked him, she vowed their plan she would pursue.