I took my seat, leaving a partially confused Sherry behind me.
After History class, I put my book into my case and moved toward my math class. For some reason, the idea of sines, cosines, and tangents just didn’t appeal to me.
Sherry caught up to me in the hallway. “What’s wrong, Jim?”
“Oh, Kris and I had a fight. She’s not talking to me.”
I saw a bunch of emotions rush through Sherry’s face. I was about to once again head to math when Sherry asked, “Anything I could do to help?”
I shrugged. This would be interesting. “Yeah. Kristen has fourth period lunch. If you see her, give her this.” I handed Sherry my note.
I had no idea if Sherry would read the note. At this point, I didn’t know what I wanted. Camille’s prognosis about our chances the previous day didn’t seem to be very good, and I guess I was feeling a bit lost.
There was a quiz in math. Surprise! I didn’t even bother answering any of the questions.
I skipped Music class, and hung out in the lunchroom, looking for Camille. She wasn’t there. If I had actually thought about it, I would have realized that she probably used her National Honor Society pass to spend the period in the library. As it was, I didn’t see her in the lunchroom, so I just wandered around.
I managed to evade most of the hall monitors. I wasn’t exactly sure why I was avoiding music class, and I felt a bit guilty wandering in after the class was half over. As it was, I ended up near the music room when the bell rang and the period was over.
I was standing near the doorway when Mr. Proilet noticed me and called me in. I was a bit sheepish, just having been caught ditching his class. He didn’t appear upset over that, however.
“I heard you let out practice a bit early yesterday,” Mr. Proilet told me.
“Yeah,” I said.
“Amy Grant told me that she wants to leave the jazz band.”
“She did?” I asked, taken by surprise. “She has been doing pretty well, actually.”
“She told me that she thought she wasn’t doing very well at all,” my teacher said.
“I’ll see if I can find her to straighten this out. She’s very talented and has been doing great.”
“Are there any problems, Jim? It’s not like you to skip out on music class. Usually the band members have nothing but nice things to say about you.”
I sighed. “I think I’m having girl problems. I’ve been acting stupidly, and it may be affecting other things, like Amy.”
My teacher nodded. “I know you’re young, Jim, but the students look up to you. If they think you’re not happy with them, it will have a bad effect on their morale.”
“I understand that now. I didn’t even think about affecting the other band members.”
This earned me a smile. “Well, you’re learning, and that’s what high school is about. We’re not just babysitters here!”
I forced a smile. “I guess not. Thanks, Mr. Proilet. I think I needed the cheering up.”
“Amy has orchestra practice during seventh period. If you can find time, you can find her there.”
“Thanks.”
I left the music room, and headed toward the lunchroom. When I got there, I didn’t see either Kristen or Sherry. Patty was sitting at our usual table.
“Camille told me about your discussion yesterday,” Patty said, simply.
“Yeah. I guess I’ve been more than a little obtuse.”
“Camille didn’t understand some things about you, and she pointed out to me that with your relationship with Kristen being a first for both of you, it’s easy to make some classic mistakes.”
“I never realized how observant Camille is. She practically read my mind yesterday.”
“Camille is much smarter than she appears. She’s probably going to be the class valedictorian this year.”
“She’s that smart?” I asked.
“Don’t let her blonde hair and good looks fool you.”
“A genius that looks like Marcia Brady,” I whistled.
This earned me a huge laugh from Patty. “Camille would probably kill you for describing her that way, but you’re right. She does look like Maureen whatever from that show!”
I laughed along with Patty. It was good feeling a bit happier, even if only for the moment.
“Where’s Kristen?”
“She was talking with some other student and left. I didn’t get a chance to talk with her today.”
I nodded. I knew that Kristen probably didn’t want to see me, and was avoiding me intentionally. She might be in the library, or she could be just about anywhere else.
After a few moments silence, I said, “Kristen pointed out to me this weekend that you may still have feelings for Toby. Is there anything I can do to help you out there?”
Patty looked at me, and then smiled. “I’m not really sure of my feelings there. Thank you for asking, though.”
Something Patty had told me earlier suddenly clicked. “The girl that Kris was talking to, who was she?”
“I didn’t see her face, Jim,” Patty answered. “I don’t know. She was a younger girl with brown hair.”
I knew that description. “Sherry? She has curly brown hair.”
“Oh, shit! Of course! What was Kristen doing talking with her, especially if she’s mad at you?”
I wasn’t completely sure. If Sherry knew that Kristen and I had a fight, she might see it as an opportunity to wedge herself between us. Just last week, she had been willing to get me into a compromising situation. She appeared happy with me this morning, but that was before I gave her the note.
Why did I give Sherry that note? I realized now that it was a stupid thing for me to do. I could just imagine what she might be telling Kristen now. Of course, Kristen might be of the mind to think the worst of me, despite the fact it was Sherry talking to her. I wondered if Sherry was in any danger, actually.
I put my head in my hands. My problems seemed to be multiplying.
I told my French teacher that I needed to see another student regarding something about the jazz band. She agreed to let me out five minutes before the end of the period.
At the appointed time, I headed for the music room with a hall pass in hand, in the event that I met up with any of the hall monitors. The “Do Not Disturb” light wasn’t on, thank goodness. I walked in quietly and saw Amy behind the piano. The teacher was working with the cello section, so I made my way to Amy and said, “Excuse me, Amy?”
Amy looked up, startled. Apparently, she had been lost in thought and didn’t expect anybody to be near her.
“Sorry for startling you like that. Mr. Proilet told me that you were considering leaving the band. I wanted to apologize for what happened yesterday. I’m not mad at you, nor am I mad at Kristen. I was being stupid, and I think you are an extremely talented piano player.”
Amy looked at me during my prepared speech, and then cast her eyes down. “I’m not going to figure out the solos.”
“Kristen seems to want to work with you, Amy. She’s probably a better teacher for you than I am. She seems to understand you.”
Amy didn’t answer.
“Please come back next Thursday. You offer the band a touch of class that nobody else seems to have, including me.”
I was aware that I was the object of attention of more than a few band members in the general area. Amy, of course, wilted underneath the spotlight.
A minute passed, and the class bell rang. I sighed, and headed out.
“I’ll be there, Jim,” Amy said quietly, but loud enough for me to hear.