A study of the mating rituals of the acne studed, binge drinking chain smoking pre pubescent

3 boys, 3 girls, angel faces, all seated in the vestibule area facing each other. Boys on one side and girls on the other.
I am reminded a bit of the Virginia Reel here. One boy visually targets a girl on the other side of the train, he starts to wrestle with the boy next to him making sure that the girl he likes is watching, then wrenching free from his mate he stands, walks to the centre and turns side on so that he can watch both parties. The girl giggles and cops a few elbows from her friend. She looks out the window nonchalantly then slowly slides her bum off the seat, slinks over near the boy and stands facing the opposite way to him, never taking her eyes off the scenery out of the window of the train. He offers a piece of Extra chewing gum with (he thinks) a manly demeanour, she takes it and (she thinks) seductively unwraps it and puts it her mouth. Both turn and face their respective friends, cover their mouths, bend at the waist and splutter (one supposes in mirth) before returning to their seats.
These kids are probably about 13 and in drab school uniforms so you would think it would hamper their mating ritual somewhat but it doesn’t.
The boys are in maroon uniforms, all have a hairstyle that looks like it took lots of primping in front of the mirror with wax or gel to make it stand up like they had just put their finger in an electric socket. All three have tri-coloured streaks in their hair and pretend side burns. (gotta wait til they get some hormones happening for the real McCoy)
They have a silver chain around their necks that looks like it came off the local car park gates and leather wrist bands with buckles and complicated looking straps. A bit like the gladiators used to wear. Unfortunately none have the accompanying muscle bound bodies to set off the chain and the wrist band.
The lack of bright plumage is more than compensated for with the colourful language emanating from their little angelic mouths. All conversation is bellowed at 50 decibels louder than a bingo caller so that any prospective babes in the neighbouring carriages will know that there is talent in this carriage. The swearing and bragging is obviously part of a complex verbal foreplay that has the sole aim to impress and excite the girls and make the boys feel really tough and big and masculine.
The girls, instead of being affronted, giggle at the ef word and hide their faces in pretend shock at the c word and exclaim in all the right places. Keep in mind here that not one of them has made eye contact and nor have they spoken directly to each other.
Most of the boys chatter is about how they, single handed, saved the rugby game on Saturday by scoring 4 field length tries and kicking 8 goals or how they are smoking up to ½ a pack of Horizons a day and only for the fact that they have to go to school for 7 hours of the day they would be smoking a full pack or how legless they were on Friday night and how hung over they were on Saturday when they saved the day on the rugby field or, the best one, how good a French kisser they are because the last 16 girls that they kissed told everyone that they were tongue gymnists. Ho hum.
Every sentence is punctuated with several hundred swear words so that the actual context of what they are saying is lost.
The girls, in navy blue uniforms, have meticulously straightened hair also with the tri colour streaks and they have it tied back with very glitzy hair clips. They have shiny wet glossed lips that are in constantly smacking together as they chew their gum (with their mouths open of course). As they chew they tap in time with their false fingernails on the metal hand rails. This entrances the boys so much that they lose the thread of their boasting. All three girls flick their hair constantly, rearrange their colourful scarves, cross and uncross their legs and giggle and squirm and whisper to each other non stop. (boys get louder in order to cover their lost threads)
Now the boys move into the mating dance. We start with lots of elbowing and slapping each other over the back of the head, then all three start pushing and shoving each other as a kind of chant begins…’you do it’ ‘you do it’ ‘you do it’.
The whole thing is quite energetic and comes to a climax when one boy is forced off the seat onto the floor and is deemed to be the loser. He is then expected to approach the girls and ask the all important question……’what school you from’?
He then launches himself backwards into his seat and the relative safety of his mates and their rather sharp elbows as the girls giggle and scream with mirth.
There is quite a bit of colour now, he is red faced, possibly from his exertions but more likely from embarrassment.
The boys wait – there is a reciprocal dance starting on the girls side of the carriage. They huddle up, hands and nails moving to the rhythm of the gum chewing and the hair flicking. The volume of the giggling increases, one girl sticks her head out of the scrum, takes the chewing gum out of her mouth and says….’who wants to know’?
All six sit back in satisfaction, they have made contact, words have been exchanged and eyes have met. This is the start of great things.
The next 10 minutes are quiet as they all reflect on the momentousness of the moment.
Stay tuned…..same time. Same station