"Bookstore, can I help you?" He chirped.
I asked for Tracy.
"Just a minute."
The phone clunked down and, instead of being placed on hold, I heard the low murmur of conversations drifting into my ear and the sound of the man who'd answered yelling for Tracy. A few moments later I heard the phone being picked back up.
"Hello?" Came my sister's voice, a tinge of nervousness in it. She was probably not accustomed to receiving phone calls at work.
"Tracy, its Bill." I said.
"Bill?" More worry now. "What's wrong? Are Mom and Dad okay?"
"They're fine." I assured her. "It's you I need to talk to."
"Me?" She said, "How come? And how did you get this number? I'm not supposed to be getting phone calls at work unless it's an emergency."
"The number's a matter of public record Tracy." I told her. "And it's the only way I could think of to get hold of you. Sorry I had to bother you at work."
"That's okay." She said. "But what's wrong?"
"It's nothing immediate." I said. "But I think that there's a chance you might be in, well, in some danger."
"Danger?" She asked, alarmed. "What do you mean?"
"It's probably not a good idea to talk about this while you're at work." I replied. "And like I said, it's nothing immediate. But can you call me tonight when you get off work? Give me a time and I'll stay by the phone."
"Bill?" She asked. "I don't understand. What do you mean I'm in danger? You're in Washington and I'm in California. How could you know anything from there?"
"Tracy, I'll explain everything when you call. Or at least as much as I can. Will you please do it?"
A sigh. "Yes Bill." She answered. "Be by the phone at nine tonight."
"I will." I told her. "Thanks Tracy."
At nine o'clock sharp I was positioned by the phone in the den. When it rang I picked it up before it had a chance to get half a second into the first ring.
"Hello?" I said.
The operator told me I had a collect call from Tracy and asked if I would accept the charges. I told her I would.
"Okay Bill." Tracy said to me. In the background I could hear music and the squeal and giggles of many girls. I concluded she must be on the payphone in the dorm. "Tell me what this is all about."
"Well." I said. "Do you remember when I told you before that you should not get into a car with a certain person on a certain day?"
"Yes." She answered quietly. I could almost hear the shudder in her voice.
"Some disturbing things have happened lately." I went on. "Some things that lead me to believe that you are not exactly out of danger from that."
"What do you mean?" She asked. "I didn't get in that car that night and what you said was going to happen, happened without me. How could I still be in danger from that? Believe me, I'm still not going to get into a car with David Mitchell."
"That's the thing Tracy." I told her. "You didn't get into the car that night and Barbie Langston DID. But Barbie didn't die in the accident. She's still alive."
"So?" Tracy, obviously uncomfortable with the discussion, asked.
"So," I told her. "Some other things have happened that make me think, well this is going to sound crazy, that you were SUPPOSED to die in that car and that since you didn't, things are trying to re-align themselves the way they are SUPPOSED to be."
"Billy," She said angrily. "That is nuts. That's absolutely crazy! What do you mean I was SUPPOSED to die? I didn't. And I'm not going to die."
"Just promise me something Tracy." I asked her.
"What?" She asked.
"Promise me you will never get into any car, with anyone who's been drinking. Especially not your boyfriend's. Are you still seeing him?"
"Yes I'm still seeing him!" She barked at me. "What does that have to do with anything? And I never get into a car with someone who's been drinking.
You should know that."
"I know Tracy." I said. "And that's what worries me. I don't know if the drinking part is a pre-determined factor in this. I don't know much of anything about the rules. I'm not even sure there ARE any rules."
"Rules to what?" She asked. "Where do you come up with these things Bill? You scare me sometimes."
"It's a long story." I answered. "A very long one. Does your boyfriend drink?"
"What?"
"Does he drink?"
"Yes." She said. "He's a college student. We all drink."
"What kind of car does he drive?" I asked next.
"A Corvette." She answered. This should have made me feel better. But it didn't. "Why are you worried about Darren? What does his car and whether or not he drinks have to do with anything? I didn't die that day Bill. Somehow, some way you knew about that. I don't know how. But it's over now. I'm still alive and nothing is going to happen to me. Nothing!"
"Tracy," I pleaded. "Just promise me you won't ever get in the car with him after he's been drinking. Promise me."
"Yes Bill," She recited. "I promise. Is there anything else you want to talk about?"
Actually there was. I wanted to talk about Nina to her, get her feelings on the matter, get advice from her, tell her that she was right and I was wrong. But she didn't seem in the mood for it just then. It would have to wait.
"No Tracy." I answered. "I just want you to be careful. I worry about you."
"I can take care of myself Bill." She said shortly. "I've gotta go."
"Goodbye Tracy." I said. "Thanks for talking to me."
"Goodbye Bill." She answered. A second later there was a click in the earpiece.
I hung up Dad's phone and sat there for a few moments. I could only hope that I'd done some good. Because there was nothing else I could do.
The next day at school I was met first thing in the morning my some of Mike's fabrications and exaggerations. I can't begin to tell you how glad I was to hear them.
"Dude," He said excitedly to me. "Guess what?"
"Hey Mike." I greeted. "Suspension's over?"
"Yeah," He nodded. "But that's not all. I'm back in ROP."
I breathed a silent sigh of thanks to Mrs. Compleigh. "Really?" I asked. "That's cool. How'd that happen?" I was actually sort of curious to see how it had transpired.
"Well, I guess the battalion chief over at the fire department really racked that asshole captain's ass for yelling at me and kicking me out of there. The BC told the counselor that he wanted me back like yesterday." He gave a self-satisfied grin. "At least HE knows what he's got going with me on the department."
"I guess so." I agreed.
"So anyway, they want me to go talk to the BC today and they're going to reassign me to a different station. Station 2 this time. They got a truck and an engine running out of there."
"No shit?" I said, gaining a lot of information from what he was saying despite his embellishments. Station 2, another downtown station, did indeed deploy a truck and an engine. It also was the home, at least in my when, of the battalion chief for that battalion. I figured they had probably decided to move Mike there so that more people, including the boss, could keep an eye on him. He wouldn't be trusted for a while, would in fact face a long, hard road in that endeavor. But at least he was back in.
"Yeah," He strutted. "I hear they're gonna bust that captain back down to engineer for all of this."
"Well," I answered. "That may be so Mike, but if I was you, I'd lay off the buds while I was at the work site. I don't think they'll let you back in if they catch you doing that again. Or even if they THINK you're doing it again."
"Yeah, I know." He said dismissively. "That's what the counselor told me too. I guess I can wait until I get home. So anyway, they tossed out the application for independent study. So I guess I'll hang out for the rest of the year after all."
"Glad it worked out Mike." I told him. "And if you want to keep coming over to have me help with your homework, I'm home the same hours."