“What did your mom say?” Kristen asked.
“She told me that I could move in with you.”
Kristen literally picked me up and hugged me. “That’s wonderful, Jim!”
I saw mom later talking with her husband. He didn’t seem too upset with what she was telling him, which surprised me.
It took almost a week to completely move my things into the apartment.
Chapter 16—Ticket Abuse
About a week after Kristen’s birthday party, I was in the lunchroom. Kristen, Patty, and I were sitting at our usual table.
“Where’s Sherry?” asked Patty.
I looked around and didn’t see Sherry. “I don’t know,” I answered. “She was in History during first period. Maybe she’s with a teacher. Funny, she didn’t mention anything to me.”
The subject of Sherry was dropped as Kristen and Patty started chatting about various colognes. Kristen wanted to do an outing to an upscale department store where Patty could try various scents to find one that was positively Patty’s own.
Of course, I had little interest in the conversation, except for the fact that I thought whatever perfume Kristen used was probably the nicest one in the world. Nobody will ever get me to admit anything else!
I excused myself from the girls, and went to the boys’ room.
As I pushed the door in to the bathroom, I heard a guy’s voice saying something loudly as I opened the door. As a result, I was quiet as I entered, trying to place the voice.
The voice belonged to Tim Hawking, a sophomore who was in the high honors track. Everybody figured him to be a cinch for valedictorian of my grade—he was bookish since Kindergarten. I was amused at how unlike Tim was to somebody like Camille; they were both the smartest kids in their respective classes.
“You know, you really suck at this!” Tim complained.
I don’t know why I continued to be quiet, but the boys’ room was empty, which was normal for the middle of class. There was nobody at the urinals, and it was very unusual for boys to make conversation between stalls. I couldn’t see Tim or whoever it was he was chewing out. Additionally, it seemed so out of character for him; he was usually at the receiving end of such hazing from the bigger students.
It took a few moments before I saw that one of the toilet stalls was occupied, confirming my suspicions that Tim was in one of them. I saw a pair of jeans crumbled at the base of a pair of a guy’s legs. I also saw somebody kneeling between his legs—a pair of silky legs that looked like a dancer’s legs. The fact that I could make out a short white skirt that came down just below where the barrier panel to the toilet was made me realize that the kneeling legs most definitely didn’t belong to a male.
There was a girl kneeling between Tim’s legs as he was sitting on the toilet!
I wasn’t really interested in Tim’s love life—we hung out in different circles. Still, the act seemed so blatant—totally unlike the Tim that I knew. His prior complaint sounded even more out of place to me.
I was still silent when I heard the tell-tale sounds of sucking and grunting that indicated the oral activity that was obviously taking place. I shrugged, and I decided to make myself scarce. I wasn’t against having a quickie at school, but I figured that my activities with Kristen were a bit more discreet. Hall monitors occasionally came into the toilets to make sure there wasn’t any smoking of tobacco or other substances happening; I thought Tim’s lack of discretion would eventually get him caught. I mentally shrugged at the idea. I would have thought Tim to be much smarter than that.
As I tiptoed quietly out the door, I heard Tim once again loudly say, “You are the fucking worst whore that I’ve ever met!”
Well, it wasn’t a big stretch to say that I was quite unimpressed with Tim’s bedroom manner, even if he was actually in the boys’ room. Calling your girlfriend a “whore,” especially in a public place, was not a way to keep a girlfriend. I wondered what kind of girl would take this sort of abuse from a guy.
I walked upstairs to the other boys’ room, and was finally able to relieve myself.
Back in the lunchroom, Patty and Kristen were talking about swimwear, which was a strange subject being that it was still winter here in the Midwest.
Sherry walked into the cafeteria about five minutes before the bell sounded indicating the end of lunch. I looked over to her, and her eyes met mine. Immediately, however, Sherry looked away from me.
What was bugging Sherry? Neither Patty nor Kristen seemed to notice Sherry enter the lunchroom, so I excused myself again and walked over to where Sherry was.
“What’s the matter, Sherry?” I asked. “Teacher problems?”
“Um… nothing… well…” Sherry paused, trying to find the right words to say. “Can I ask you… for… I need help with some homework.”
This was a totally different Sherry I was talking to. Ever since Camille talked Sherry into being a cheerleader, Sherry became more outgoing. Being one of the few sophomores on the varsity cheerleading squad made her part of the “in group” at school.
Right now, I saw none of the confidence that Sherry lately showed. “What’s up, Sherry?”
“Please may I come over to your place and Kristen’s tonight? I need to ask you guys something.”
“Of course, Sherry. Do you want me to ask Kris…?”
“Please!” Sherry begged, interrupting me. “Ask her later. I’ll see you in English and you can let me know if I can’t come over, but it’s very, very important!”
Without waiting for an answer, Sherry ran out the lunchroom door. I watched her leave, completely mystified about Sherry’s behavior.
I looked back at the table where Kristen and Patty were, and they were both looking at me. The bell rang, and the two girls walked over to me.
“What did you say to Sherry to make her run away like that?” Kristen asked me.
“I didn’t. She asked if she could visit us tonight and that it’s very important. I said that I’d first clear it with you, Kris…”
“Of course, she can come over,” Kristen said.
“I figured that. I told her that I was going to ask you and she ran away. I’m not sure what’s bothering her, but it seems to really be upsetting her.”
Patty burned her gaze into me for a moment and then her look softened. “I’m pretty sure she’s over her infatuation phase, Jim. Maybe she’s having problems at home?”
Kristen suggested, “Maybe her cousin Dale?”
I sighed and shrugged. “I’m not sure.”
“It better not be Dale!” Kristen said with a menacing coldness to her voice.
“Will you see Sherry later?” Patty asked, turning away from Kristen.
“We have English for last period.”
“If she still seems upset, find me after class,” Patty offered. “I can drive her home, if necessary. I’ll try to find out what’s bothering her.”