-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Reach Out And Tuck Someone -*- Copyright 2002 by Ellen Hayes.
Any resemblance between the writings in this work, and any actual persons or places, living or dead, are purely coincidental, except when used for satirical purposes.
This work contains adult situations, adult language, adult concepts, and possibly sex. If you are legally not allowed to read materials containing such things, then you will be breaking the law by reading this. I am not responsible. Continuing to read this document, or storing it or reproducing it in any format means that you explicitly affirm that you are legally allowed to possess and read such materials in your city, county/parish, state, and country.
All rights reserved. See the bottom for distribution rights.
Reach Out And Tuck Someone
*** 11:35 17 Aug
"You think he didn't catch it?" I asked once the doors were all shut.
Kim cranked the engine until it lit, then answered, "Yeah, I think he missed it. Entirely."
"He was a lot more freaked out over those two girls," Jill snickered.
"How could he have missed me?"
"Jeezus, Val, look in the mirror," Jill complained. "You don't even look like you're wearing makeup."
I checked, and she was sort of right. "You think?"
"YES!" they both yelled.
"He would'a spazzed if he had," Kim assured me.
"Yeah... You're right," I decided. Sort of.
*** 11:57 17 Aug
Jill waved before she dashed off to work, and then it was just me and Kim.
I sighed at the same time Kim did.
"Wanna come help me cook Sunday dinner?" I asked her.
"Um..."
"And you and Mike could discuss character stuff while we're there," I suggested. "I just gotta go to the store first."
"Oh, right," Kim said, and dug in her purse for a while, finally coming up with an envelope. "Speaking of your pay..."
*** 13:48 17 Aug
"This? For ONE pair of shoes?" Mom inquired, looking sick.
"You can call and ask them for pricing if you don't believe me, Mom. I was kind of sickened myself, but..." I shrugged. "They're working really well so far. And they should last the entire year. And I was wondering, do I get paid back for used cookbooks we don't have yet?"
"Wh- Let me see them," Mom decided.
*** 18:10 17 Aug
I hadn't ever done a roast before, but Mom gave some tips, and the rest of it was straightforward. And it had turned out pretty well, too, judging by the way it was disappearing.
Well, I mean, I liked it too, but I was sometimes not in tune with everyone else, gustatorily (SAT word) speaking.
*** 19:15 17 Aug
I sighed, as my friends and I sat around the porch and digested. I knew that I would have Sundays off anyway, but the fact was that tomorrow was School and School was Bad, because my vacation and my theoretical freedom was over until next summer.
And I still had to take the trash out, that being one of the new chores I'd signed up for.
Inna minute, I decided.
*** 20:09 17 Aug
Things had broken up, and so I was busy emptying trash cans into a large bag when Mike waved at me. "Ready for tomorrow?"
"Argh!" I complained, almost grabbed my chest before I remembered why that was a Bad Idea, and instead just slumped to the floor and faked a convulsion.
"Good deal," he said calmly, "that oughta get you out of English class a few times."
"Oh ghu," I sighed, then got back up. "I hate English."
*** 22:17 17 Aug
"Aren't you going to bed?" Susan asked when she got my attention and I pulled the headphones off.
"I have to study some ASL," I said. "They're testing me tomorrow to get out of another year of German. If I pass the ASL test..."
"Oh, right," Susan nodded in recollection, having done the same thing a few years ago. "Why didn't they do it Friday?" she asked.
"Dunno," I shrugged. "Maybe the tester was somewhere else? I know they don't have anyone there at McAllen who can do it."
She nodded at that, but warned, "Don't stay up too late, okay? You should be well-rested before you get in there, so you don't start spelling everything badly in frustration."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Suze," I sighed.
She came over and ruffled my hair. "I mean it, don't stay up too late," she repeated.
*** 23:00 17 Aug
I looked at the time, and it was close enough that I should go to bed, so I put my ASL stuff away, made SURE I had those breast forms someplace secure where I could remember not to take them inside school with me, made sure I also had the directions to Stella's sitter and Ricky's school to take with me, and got up to go lie down.
*** 06:00 18 Aug
"Oh god, shut that stupid thing off!" Susan complained as I tried to do just that.
"Take the Mac," I told myself. "Tomorrow." I countered.
*** 06:19 18 Aug
I was going to have to buy some new clothes; my old ones were getting a little tight around the middle. Damn fat, I thought, irritated, and resolved to lose a few pounds.
I wished I could lose it off the top-front too, but that was apparently going to have to wait until some more doctors, or something, and I could wear a button-up shirt open over the T shirt to camouflage things. And I was going to.
*** 06:54 18 Aug
Kim looked about as enthusiastic as she had Friday, which was not at all, as she sipped her coffee. Jill looked happier, though.
"Why was I taking this class again?" I asked Jill as I sat down next to her.
"You're madly in love with me and couldn't stand to be away from me for an instant," Jill said.
"Uh. Yeah, that explains why this is the only class I have with you, right," I nodded, and she grinned at me. "Oh, hey, I brought you a save plate from dinner last night," I told her. "It's in a cooler in my car."
"You did?" I nodded. "For real?" I nodded again. "Oh, man, thanks!" she said as she hugged me. "I didn't pack a lunch this morning; I was hoping-"
"Do you two HAVE to be cheerful?" Kim groused.
*** 06:56 18 Aug
I was accidentally looking up when Shannon came in, which might have been a mistake because when we accidentally made eye contact she gave me a nasty look and said something under her breath which was probably 'faggot'.
I thought about replying directly, but I'd have had to say it too loud to make sure she'd hear it, so I just smiled back, and waved, and said to Jill, "These cheerleaders are so rude."
Jill looked at me speculatively - Kim just stared into her coffee like she had been doing - and asked, "Yeah, I've noticed that. Any, uh, ideas, on how to change their attitudes?"
"Not yet," I admitted.
*** 08:01 18 Aug
"You DID take, uh, those THINGS out of your pack, right?" Mike confirmed.
"Oh yeah," I sighed. "Double checked last night and this morning both." He nodded, looking satisfied.
"Eugene!" complained Mrs. Vangormer.
"Here!" I called. Why the hell we had to do it out loud for her, when she should have known who we were already, was beyond me entirely. Maybe she liked bothering people.
At least, the schedule being strange the way it was, I would only see her every other day, since cosmetology was going to be my 'homeroom' every other day, so we could work harder in the lab. I was overjoyed at this not at all.
*** 08:03 18 Aug
She hung up the phone and said, "Eugene Tucker? You're wanted in the principal's office. Now."
"What?!" I couldn't believe it. "I just GOT here, I haven't even had TIME to do anything wrong!"
"Don't argue with me or you'll get detention!" she shrilled, "I've heard about you!"
Not enough, obviously. She was going to regret this.
*** 08:09 18 Aug
"Just that I have to take that ASL test today," I told the guys as I sat back down for a moment. The only reason I'd come back is because I hadn't taken my pack with me, which had probably been a minor mistake on my part. "And when, which is in five minutes. At least it's instead of study hall."
"And, at least you're not in trouble yet," Dan said.
"This is true," I admitted.
"You studied, right?" Mike confirmed.
*** 08:15 18 Aug
I showed back up around the offices about the time the bell rang again. This was not my favorite place to be, but I did want to get out of German this year. Well, all future years, really.
I finally swam through the crowd to the receptionist's desk and handed her my note. "That way, room four," she said as she pointed, and I got quickly out of the way before someone ran over me.
I went over to room four, and there was Dobson for some reason, standing around like he was waiting for me. "Ah, Eugene," he said.
"Good morning," I said politely. "How come you're not our homeroom teacher any more?" He waved towards the principal's office. "Oh, right. D-darn," I sighed.
"Please try not to cause Mrs. Vangormer as much trouble as you gave me," he asked wearily.
"Me? Trouble?"
He ignored that, and opened the door and motioned me in. I went, cautiously, and found a woman in a light sweater and skirt, who signed, <Hello,> as she said, "Haayuh," which told me she was just about completely deaf from a very young age.
<Hello,> I signed back. I looked at Dobson, who showed no sign of leaving, and asked, <Do you want me to speak and hear for you?>
<For a little while,> she signed, and so I spoke it.
"If you don't mind?" Dobson asked. "Eugene?"
I was halfway through signing my own name before I realized he was talking to me. "Uh, no, that's alright," I said, signing at the same time.
She signed at me, <Have a seat,> and she pointed at the seat in front of the desk.
<Thank you,> I said formally, and sat down.
<How are you today?>
<I'm not bad, for the first day of school. I'd rather still be on vacation,> I admitted.
<Me too!> she agreed, smiling.
*** 08:21 18 Aug
She turned and said to Dobson, "Thank you," in that weird way deaf people talk, if they've worked on it.
Dobson nodded, then turned to me and said, "Eugene, when you're done, you will both need to come by my office for a moment."
I translated that, she said, "Okay," or the rough equivalent, and he got up and left, shutting the door behind him.
<You can stop translating now,> she signed at me.
<Good,> I sighed.
<I bet it is,> she agreed. <Do you have a dog?>
<Not at home, no. We had one for a long time,> I told her, <but we had to put her to sleep, three years ago. Her kidneys failed and we did not want to, T-O-R-T-U-R-E,> I spelled out, <her by making her go through all the treatment. Lots of needles and stuff, and she would never get better, you know?>
<That's too bad,> she sympathized. <I have two dogs of my own right now,> she said.
<What kind, or B-R-E-E-D?> I asked.
*** 08:55 18 Aug
We'd had a not terribly great conversation - not that bad, I guess, but it wasn't that great either - about everything from the weather to what classes I liked and what I was going to do in college, and she'd been taking notes every now and again. It sort of reminded me of a therapy session except this woman would let something alone, until she put her pen down, smiled, and scared the crap out of me.
"Okay, good enough," she said. Out loud. Like a hearing person.
I stuttered for a second, then said, <I thought you were deaf!>
"No, my sister's deaf," she corrected. "I'm just really good at imitating deafness."
<No joke,> I agreed, still a bit startled.
"You can speak now," she smiled again.
I cleared my throat. "Uh. Um, so, did I pass?"
"I think so," she said, to my immense relief. "How did you learn to sign so well?"
"Uh, well, I learned to speak really late, comparatively, so they put me in the hearing and speech special class where we lived, it was all one group so I was around deaf kids a lot, and I, I sort of kept up with it. My sister and parents did the same thing, 'cause I picked up ASL a little faster than I picked up English, I mean speaking it and understanding it." I shrugged. I think Dad had thought I was going to be retarded or something, judging now by the way he'd spent so much time practicing with me then.
*** 08:58 18 Aug
"What?" Dobson asked, looking aggrieved to see me again. "Oh," he said, sounding much less unhappy when he saw Miz Ellison behind me.
"He's demonstrated very satisfactory proficiency," she said as she handed him some forms.
"Very good," he said, turning to his computer, which probably didn't have a goat's head on it any more, and typed some stuff, in an agonizingly slow manner. I was tempted to offer to type it for him, but he knew better than to let me do that, I think.
"So," he said as a printer spooled up and groaned, "I'll have your revised schedule printed in a minute, but you're getting out at two, rather than taking another class, correct?"
"Yeah," I grinned happily, and then couldn't restrain myself and did a little jig.
*** 09:02 18 Aug
The shove would have vectored me into some lockers if it had connected, but I was 'up' and looking around, so I managed to dodge it barely. Close enough. The growled, "Get outta the way, faggot," from some senior-sized asshole was sort of gratuitous after the shove.
Back to school.
*** 09:06 18 Aug
"Eugene Tucker?" called the teacher, and several people laughed.
"Here," I sighed. I hated this part.
*** 09:55 18 Aug
I had Mister Alston for English again, and I was supposed to be nice to him, I remembered, but I didn't remember why. I hoped that this English class wouldn't be as hard as my last one, but I wasn't hopeful. Literature was not my favorite subject.
*** 09:56 18 Aug
"Eugene Tucker?" Mister Alston called, and several people laughed. Law of nature, I thought as I admitted that I was indeed here.
*** 10:44 18 Aug
It was a pleasant surprise, not, to find that Sabrina and Amanda were in the same government class as me and Mike. Well, it wasn't a surprise, anyway.
"Outta German!" I told Mike, and he slapped my hand and grinned.
"Hey," Sabrina called as I waved at her, and she waved us over. "What did you do to Tom Lenich this weekend?" she asked me. "I want to hear your side of it."
"Ho ho!" Mike laughed.
Oh no, I sighed to myself, but the bell rang, so I had to dash for a seat, so I said, "Tell ya at lunch," and dashed. Unfortunately, the only ones left were in the front row, where Sabrina was.
*** 11:32 18 Aug
"On second thought," I told Sabrina, "call me after eight tonight and I should be home, we can talk then, okay?"
"Ooookay," she agreed. "Why so late?"
"I'm sitting Ricky and Stella after school, still," I told her. "And cooking dinner for them."
"You ARE?" she asked as she packed up her books. "I wanna hear this!"
"Hear what?" Amanda asked.
*** 11:34 18 Aug
"Oh, wait, I need to get food for Jill," I said, "outside in the car."
"Why didn't you bring it inside before school?" Mike asked.
"Would you shut up?"
*** 11:35 18 Aug
"Are you going to lunch or something?" Kelly asked from behind me as I pushed the door open.
"Huh? No, I have some save plates I need to get," I said, holding it so he could come out.
"So, like, what's it like?"
"What's what like?"
"Gaming... I never did it with anyone before," he admitted.
"Never? Man, it can be SO cool," I grinned.
*** 11:39 18 Aug
"Uh oh," I said, spotting someone I did not want to run into in a parking lot. And he looked around and saw me and hurriedly got off the car he'd been leaning on. Well, it was more emphatic, like he suddenly remembered something he wanted to do. "Kelly, get Mike right now," I ordered as I put the cooler down, and moved off so Kelly wouldn't get caught in the zone. "Go!" I hissed.
"You little shit, I'm gonna kill you," Lenich informed me as I took steps to prevent exactly that. Unfortunately, he was between me and the buildings, and I didn't see any teachers in the area.
The new sneaks did pretty well on the asphalt, though.
And adults wonder why kids bring guns to school, I sighed to myself as I desperately tried to conjure one into my hands so I could shoot Lenich with it. He seemed rather eager to get me, not bothering with the cooler at all but keeping up with me even through the maze of parked cars. I was trying to head around him for the fourth or so time when I heard this sort of "Ooof!" of contact, and immediately thought, Oh shit he got Kelly, and popped up to see if I could at least distract him, maybe even blindside him and take him from behind-
Except it was Kelly crouched down and rocking from impact, and someone else making the noise. And no Tom in sight, but I could hear him, and he was now apparently exceptionally pissed with Kelly but not really able to talk about it at the moment.
As I continued running, I stuck my fingers in my mouth and whistled sharply to get Kelly's attention, which I did, and then motioned towards the buildings. He nodded, and then I was back at the cooler and pack so I snatched those and turned around to check for Kelly - still there, still moving - and Tom - just starting to get up - and waited for Kelly so we could provide close support for each other.
"Whafuck?" Kelly asked as we departed.
"That's the fuckhead that hit m- a girl I know, this weekend, and so I kicked his ass for it then," I panted as we made it to the door. We went in, and I added, "I think he's kind of resentful about it."
*** 11:42 18 Aug
"So," Mike said as we caught up with our little gaming group, me keeping a watch for Debbie ahead as well as Tom behind - it would be too ironic if I was watching behind me for Tom and ran headlong into Debbie, so I HAD to be careful. "Got lunch?"
"Yeah," I said.
"What else happened?" Mike asked.
"Kelly rescued my ass," I grinned.
*** 11:44 18 Aug
Having arranged ourselves in a position we could observe all approaches, and expand-envelop-and-close-in should it become necessary, Mike got back to gaming stuff. "I think we work on characters some more today, and then run preludes for each of you starting tomorrow. Your character's done, right?" he asked me.
"Yeah," I agreed. "Are we gonna like assist in each others' preludes, as extras?" I asked as I opened the cooler and handed a full plate to a happy Jill.
"Oooh, yeah, if you don't suddenly want to see all those bonus points disappear," Mike grinned at me.
"Do we have to run preludes?" Dan whined.
"Mmmm, tasty, two more freebie points," Mike enticed.
"Four," George bargained.
"Four what?" James asked, wearing another Star Trek T shirt today.
"Shut up Jim," George grinned. "Four!"
"Sheesh, you guys are already getting twenty-one to start," Mike complained. "I shouldn't give you ANY, but I am merciful in my storytelling," he said as he bowed.
"We're gonna die," Book sighed.
"Painfully," Dan agreed.
To the puzzled girls and freshthings, I explained, "When he starts by boosting us way over suggested starting character levels, and then talking about how merciful he is and stuff, he's got something really nasty in mind. He ALWAYS tailors his games to what the characters start with."
Matt, Book's little, started "And-"
"And we're gonna die," George sighed.
"It's just a game, though, right?" Amanda said.
As both Dan and George crossed themselves, I replied, "You keep telling yourself that."
*** 11:46 18 Aug
"Tuck," Mike said.
"What?"
"She's not gonna come over here and bite you," he assured me.
"I don't know," I sighed. "She might."
"Who?" Kelly asked.
"My ex, Debbie," I told him. "We did not do the 'let's be friends' thing when we broke up."
"Oh," Kelly said as he turned to look.
"Kelly," I said as I grabbed his shoulder and turned him back around. "Don't look, okay? She might notice you and then see me."
"Tuck, you're being an ass," Mike mentioned.
"And, I'm not getting ripped to pieces either, did you notice that?" I mentioned.
He sighed, and shook his head.
*** 11:48 18 Aug
"No PE?" George commented. "What did you do, threaten to date one of the coaches?"
"Ha, no," I said. "Dobson, Doc Treble, and my parents all agreed that it would be a Bad Thing if I was in a locker room ever again."
"Ohhhh," George sort of groaned as he nodded.
"Why is that?" Kelly asked.
I was trying to think of something to say, when Mike patted him on the shoulder and said, "We'll tell you when you're older, dear."
"Hey," Jill said, "did you see how some people have gym like every day, and some have it twice a day now?"
"What?"
"I mean, every other day for two periods," she corrected.
"Hey Tuck, guys," Kathy said as she came up and hugged me tightly from behind, luckily avoiding my nipples so I didn't have to scream.
*** 11:50 18 Aug
"So," I guessed, "you... change, go out, play half a game of volleyball or something, go back and change again, maybe shower," which I had never bothered doing, figuring that the less time I spent naked around those people the longer my life would last, "all in forty-five minutes, and then do it again the next day?"
Kathy shrugged. "I think it's easier than doing aerobics for an hour and a half solid, though, don't you?"
"Aerobics? Are you serious?" I checked, and it was right there; I'd just found the 'classroom' field of GYM on her schedule and not looked for the class name itself. "Jeez. When did we start having things besides just 'gym' and athletics practice?"
"It's some kinda weird," Jill nodded.
"So, Tuck," Kathy smiled at me, which I didn't like when she did it like she was doing it now. "When are you going to tell us what happened this weekend?"
"Eight o'clock when I get home from sitting," I answered. "That way, I get everyone on the conf call that hasn't heard it already, I think-"
"I'm working," Kathy frowned.
I sighed. "At eight?"
"My life sucks in some respects," she lied. "So, dish!"
"Don't make me tell this now!" I begged.
*** 11:52 18 Aug
"And you just saw this going on and JUMPED?"
I sighed. "Look, it's not that big a deal, okay?"
*** 11:59 18 Aug
That was about eight feet, I decided, so I slid over the railing, aimed a bit, and dropped, fell and compressed and rolled over and popped back up and slapped Kathy's shoulder. "Like that," I said. "Not that hard, if you know how to fall right."
"Jesus H," Kathy said, and looked up at the fire stairs again, like most of the girls were doing now. The ones that weren't looking at me, anyway.
"Can we leave?" I asked nervously. If a teacher saw me doing this I'd get detention, for some bizarre reason involving other people and Inciting Stupidity. I was hoping sociology would teach me about this, but we weren't up to that yet in class.
*** 12:01 18 Aug
"So, when are you going to talk to Debbie?" Sabrina asked me as we walked back. "She said she called you and left a message."
"Uh, why do I need to talk to her?" I asked.
"Because she wants to talk to you?"
"That's a good reason to avoid it, I think," I said.
"Don't be so paranoid!"
I stopped, and grabbed her arm. "This Debbie is the same one that threatened me with death more than once, sometimes over- Over, uh, things like who I'm dating," I finally came up with. "And you think I want to get within striking range of her again? I was lucky she was in shock Saturday, and if she hadn't been I would have left IMMEDIATELY. Or I wouldn't have gotten involved at all, just left."
"Vv-Tuck," she stumbled, "are you just going to avoid her all year or something?"
"If I can, yeah," I agreed.
"Don't you think that's a little bit of overreaction?" she asked, measuring about a centimeter with her fingers.
I took her hand and squished her fingers together. "I don't want to die, and Debbie's unstable, you know that, and I think the best way to avoid setting her off, which could very well end up getting me killed if she starts screaming stuff here? You know? I think if I avoid her, then she doesn't, I mean, there is NO chance that it'll happen. That's worth some work, to me," I said.
She sighed and shook her head, obviously thinking 'What a complete paranoid!' But it wasn't paranoia if you did have enemies.
*** 12:19 18 Aug
Debbie finally left the area, without ever getting within ten meters of me, and I sighed with relief about ten seconds before the bell rang. "Oh, sh-" I started to say. If the whole year was going to be like this, maybe we could find another place to play during lunch.
*** 12:27 18 Aug
I checked around the classroom after roll call, and it was true; there were only a dozen people in here with me, and only one girl. And I was definitely the youngest.
Apparently college-credit calculus was not too popular this year, or something.
At least, though, it looked like this was going to be one class I wouldn't have to worry about being beaten up in.
*** 14:01 18 Aug
I couldn't think of a nicer way to end the day than math and physics, really. It was too bad the rest of school wasn't like this. It was also too bad it wasn't something like 'High Energy Particle Physics, Honors', but it would have been insane for the school to let students play with a particle accelerator. Ghu knew, I would have been trying to commit Evil with it.
*** 14:04 18 Aug
It was nasty, having homework the first day, but they seemed to like being nasty about things like that. I sighed, and made sure I had everything, then remembered that I had to go drive over to Rachel's, then pick up Stella and Ricky, then go to the Parkers' house...
"Oy," I sighed.
*** 14:24 18 Aug
"Hey," Rachel said as she looked up from the television. "What are you doing here?"
"Just got off the first day of class, and now I gotta change and run and pick up Ricky and Stella," I reminded both of us. I sort of wanted to go home and hide. The combination of the usual level of alertness I needed to survive school, plus having to worry about Debbie, had really been stressful. Maybe I just wasn't used to it yet.
She turned off the TV, stood up, and asked, "Oh, how was it?"
*** 14:28 18 Aug
"Physics AND calculus?" she asked as I pulled out a basket of my clothes.
"Yeah," I grinned up at her. "It looks cool."
"Are you taking any computer classes?"
"No," I sighed. "I sort of got ejected permanently from them."
"What? Why?"
*** 14:29 18 Aug
"Oh my god," she giggled.
"Yeah, and they said that if I could pass two final exams in AP computer, then I'd get two A's for the year, and even if I didn't I wasn't going to be allowed to take computer classes again. They didn't even let me in the lab the first semester, but they backed off on that. So, instead of having two or three easy A's for each year, I have to scramble a bit to find stuff, if I want an honors degree. They almost canceled the AP Calc class this year, and it's only half full, and there's not any other math I can take at this point..."
*** 14:51 18 Aug
I felt a lot better being in shorts and a tank than I had all covered up for classes, but it had been a case of better safe than sorry. I checked the address one last time - match - then knocked on the door.
A minute or so later, a woman answered it and said, "Yes?"
"Hi," I said back, smiling, "I'm Valerie, Stella's other sitter, and I'm here to pick her up?"
"Oh, hi," she smiled back, and opened the door the rest of the way.
Cute smiles were immensely useful door-openers, I was finding.
*** 14:54 18 Aug
One munchkin down, one to go, I thought as I locked Stella's crash cage into the back seat.
*** 15:04 18 Aug
I'd thought our school was a madhouse when school let out (for the most part), but it barely compared to Ricky's. I was actually going to have to crawl through a traffic jam to get to where he should be.
"Can you believe this?" I asked Stella.
Stella gargled so fiercely for a second that I thought she was choking, but when I looked she was blowing spit all over the back seat.
*** 15:10 18 Aug
Ricky saw my car about the same time I saw him and honked and waved. He ran over quickly and got in.
"How was your first day of school?" I asked.
"I hate it," he said.
"Me too," I agreed.
*** 15:33 18 Aug
Ricky bailed out as soon as I stopped the car, and he'd gone inside before I could get Stella out of the car seat.
"Feeling a bit eager to get home?" I asked rhetorically.
Stella decided she was, and that crying would hurry me along.
*** 15:45 18 Aug
"No, I need to get my homework done first, and you should do it too," I said.
"Aw, man!" Ricky complained through his snack apple.
"Well, you can do it now, or later-"
"Latugh!"
"And don't talk with your mouth full."
*** 16:00 18 Aug
I'd looked at my watch when it beeped and gone back to calculus before I realized that I had to at least start thinking about dinner now, if I wanted to have it ready at seven. Then I realized I had to see what had appeared in the refrigerator and pantry over the weekend, so I got up to go inside and look.
"Watch me! WATCH!" Ricky yelled at me, so I obediently turned around and watched him have a midair fit before plunging into the water. I waited until he came up, then said, "Cool!"
*** 16:11 18 Aug
Miz Parker, or Mister as the case might have been, had gotten everything I'd asked for, but I felt a little tired and not too interested in cooking a feast today; it could wait until tomorrow.
"How about," I suggested to Ricky, "spaghetti and meatballs, and a salad for your folks, and garlic cheese bread?"
"That sounds okay," he allowed.
*** 16:54 18 Aug
"Oh, great," I sighed as my pager 'went on'. "Who's bugging me now?"
*** 16:56 18 Aug
"Hello?" asked Mom over the phone.
"It's me, you paged?" I nudged.
"Oh, yes, we were- You're not up in your room, are you?"
"What? No, I'm playing games with my phone system," I told her, which was true. I'd dialed up my own voicemail and punched out and called our house, which was always the safe way to go. "I'm sitting."
"When are you coming home tonight? We were going to take Susan out someplace nice for dinner, before she left," she said.
"Argh!" I complained, because I had to stay here and cook.
*** 17:40 18 Aug
I'd thought Ricky was watching cartoons in front, since I'd made him come out of the water before anyone got home, but apparently he wasn't up front any more.
"Hi!" Miz Parker said as she came in, with Ricky wrapped around her waist and chattering. That was how I could tell he wasn't up front.
"An' she's fixing spaghetti and garlic bread," Ricky continued.
"And a salad," I quickly inserted.
"And, we got you a phone for your line," Miz Parker said, and held out a bag. I looked inside, and it was a bubble-packed phone of decent quality, though not boasting Caller ID. I'd have to bring one of the old modules from home, I realized, and made a mental note. Then I looked up and smiled and thanked her, which made her smile back.
*** 17:42 18 Aug
"No, especially during this time of year, we let him play while it's still light outside, and do his homework later, if he wants," Miz Parker told me.
"Okay, I can see that," I admitted. "I just thought he could get it done with me here, and I could answer questions and stuff, but NOT do it for him," I grinned, before I got up to check the sauce.
"He is devious that way," Miz Parker agreed. "And what are you studying?" she asked, pointing at the book I still had out on the table.
"Physics, I'm reading ahead a little, and I already got done with my sociology and calc homework, and my cosmetology reading," I said. How much garlic is too much garlic for these people? I wondered, looking at the sauce. "Could you come taste this and see if I have enough garlic in it?"
*** 18:04 18 Aug
I really hoped that I wouldn't get baby food in my English text; it would be a little hard to explain. Stella was trying her best, though.
"Stella, if you don't stop spitting this and eat it," I lied, "I'm going to rub it in your hair and let it rot."
"Bububububububububububub," she said, and looked around, obviously cowed into complete obedience not.
*** 18:46 18 Aug
I heard Mister Parker pull up- well, what I heard was Ricky launch himself towards the garage screaming, so it was time to put the bread in to warm, and toss the salad a few more times, and pack up my books. I had more than gotten everything done, which was pretty nice, and if it stayed this easy, which it wouldn't, then I'd be completely set. Except I needed to get a good apron or two soon, and find some way to do a lot of laundry including what I was wearing now, which two items were not surprisingly related.
*** 18:57 18 Aug
"You cooked all that and you're not even staying to eat it?" Miz Parker exclaimed.
"Well," I shrugged. "I had to taste it a lot, so I'm pretty full already."
"Oh, Valerie," she said sadly.
*** 19:22 18 Aug
Eating with all of them was intensely uncomfortable, like being at a date's house and eating with their parents, except at least I wasn't having to deal with resentment that I was dating some member of the family. And, I was sure the food would be decent before I ate any of it, since I had cooked it. They seemed to like it a lot, though I did have to explain the vegetables I put into the sauce, and why I'd put them in, before Mister Parker would try it. The man was bizarrely mundane in what he liked and didn't. It was kind of sad, actually.
*** 20:04 18 Aug
The entire house was empty, a very unusual state of affairs, so once I'd finally disconnected the MacinClock and put it in a crate, I found a Caller ID box in the parts bin and signed it out, along with some more wire and an extra-long handset cable, which ought to keep me busy at the Parkers' house for a while. Once that was done, I took the opportunity to crank up the main stereo and some decent music for a bit.
*** 20:31 18 Aug
A minor noise that wasn't in the music caught my attention, and I opened my eyes and saw my mom stomping over to the stereo and turning it down.
"Oh, you're back," I said as she changed her mind and ejected the CD entirely. She was all dressed up too, and I wondered where they had gone.
*** 20:33 18 Aug
"It was really good, though... did you eat already?" Susan asked apologetically as she slipped out of her heels.
"The Parkers made me stay and eat with them tonight," I sighed.
"We brought you a dinner," she said.
"I think you meant 'lunch for tomorrow'," I grinned.
*** 20:38 18 Aug
Susan had gone off to pack some more, so I was calling Mike.
"Jeez," Mike complained into his phone, "I can't believe they always give us homework on the first day. You had pre-calc last year, right?" he checked.
"Yeah, wh- You're gonna want help on your math, right," I said.
"Yeah... what are you doing now?"
"Did all my homework over at the Parkers'," I said. "With some time to spare, actually, but I don't think that's gonna last."
"Man," he sighed.
*** 21:02 18 Aug
I couldn't quite stand it any more, so I finally got Mike off the phone by telling him I wanted to call Travis, and then I did.
It rang for a while, and then Travis picked up and said, "Hello?"
"Travis?"
"Hey, Val!" he said, like he was happy about me calling, which made me feel good.
*** 21:19 18 Aug
Arrakis went 'doop' and the light flashed, so I looked to see who else was calling. Sabrina, said the display a few seconds later. "Oh gods," I accidentally said out loud.
"What?" asked Travis.
"Sabrina's calling, and I don't think-" My pager went off. "Travis, can you hold on a few seconds while I get rid of them?"
"Them?"
"There's got to be more than one of them," I sighed. "Hold on..." I flipped the keyboard switch and tapped the CallWaiting key and said, "Hello?"
"Hey Val!" Sabrina said happily. "I thought you were going to call us?" and several people laughed.
"I thought I explained it to everyone at lunch?" I mentioned. "And besides, I'm on the other line with TRAVIS," I hinted strongly.
"Why do you want to talk to HIM?" giggled someone.
"'Cause he's got a bigger dick than any of you do." That produced a half second of silence, so I said, "Bye!" and went back.
"Done!" I said to Travis.
"That was quick," he said.
The phone strobe started flashing again.
"Well, I wanted to talk to you," I said, and hugged my bear.
*** 21:31 18 Aug
"They're calling me back," I sighed. They'd been calling me back for the last ten minutes, and the flashing was starting to get on my nerves.
"Maybe I could just see you tomorrow?" he suggested.
"That sounds great... you know I've got, I mean, I'm working until uh, seven thirty, and I have to be going by like ten, though?"
"That sucks," he agreed. "Um... you wanna see a movie?"
"Which one?"
*** 21:33 18 Aug
"Yeah," I giggled. "Um, Travis?"
"Yeah?"
"They're still calling, so... I'll see you tomorrow night?"
"Okay..."
Pause.
"You hang up this time, I want to know if YOU can do it," I grinned, and he laughed.
*** 21:34 18 Aug
"What?!"
"Jeez, Val, what were-"
"I was talking to my boyfriend," and I had to fight not to yell that last word, which would be a bad idea since I was in my house with my parents home, "or trying to, and having a nice conversation with him, since I won't get to see him very much now that school's in, you know?"
That caused them to shut up, too.
"Were you serious about having sex with him?" Amanda gasped.
"Yes!" I said. Perhaps unwisely, I realized as soon as the words left my mouth, which was of course far too late.
*** 21:42 18 Aug
It had definitely been unwise, because they wouldn't stop asking me deep and personal questions that I never asked girls myself, and when I tried to stop someone dropped out or something and started paging me again. I got up and turned THAT off, but they were still bugging me on the phone, and I didn't feel like shutting down my system, since if I did that the phone calls would rollover to Dad, who I REALLY didn't want talking to these girls. ESPECIALLY about my boyfriend. And if I didn't shut it down, then it would keep flashing at me, since I had never before thought that I might want to sit and ignore someone calling me, especially once I got Caller ID working and could trace prank calls instantly.
"Doesn't it hurt, though?" Amanda asked.
"A little, yeah," I admitted. "Didn't it hurt the first few times you had sex, though?"
"Well..." The pause generated some giggles that for once weren't directed at me.
*** 22:02 18 Aug
My door opened, and when I turned around it was Susan again, and ready for bed. "Uh, guys, I gotta go, my sister's ready for bed so I gotta go," I said, and hung up.
"You didn't just say, what it sounded like you just said, did you?" Susan glared.
"Since two of 'em were here Sunday morning to see you coming out of my room," I said back, "I don't think it's that big a secret any more, do you?"
"Nnnnngh," she said as she made a halfhearted attempt to catch me by the neck and strangle me.
The phone started flashing again, startling Susan into blurting, "Whafuck?"
"Phone ringer hooked to a strobe light trigger," I reminded her. "Hey," I said as I pulled the headset off my head. "How about you answer it?"
"Who is it?"
"Sabrina, again. Get rid of 'em, I gotta get ready for bed."
*** 22:16 18 Aug
When I came back from getting ready for bed, Susan was looking sort of dazed as she stared at the ceiling. "Are they always like that?" she asked me, turning just her head.
"Oh, I think the beginning of school has them a little more excited than usual, but yes, they are," I sighed.
"Gawd," she sighed slowly. Then, "Did you ever check if Debbie left you a voicemail?"
"Uh, yeah?"
"And?"
"Uh, yeah, she did..."
"And you haven't listened to it yet?" she asked, getting up. "Do I have to do it?"
"No! Wait... yes," I decided.
She stopped. "Are you serious?"
"Why not?" Because I jumped eight feet off a staircase, is why not, you idiot. "Never mind, I'll do it," I sighed, and sat down and picked up the headset again.
*** 22:20 18 Aug
"Suze?"
"Yeah?"
"Can you listen to this?"
"I thought you didn't want me to?"
"That's what I thought too," I agreed. "But..."
She sighed and got up. I handed her the headset and got ready to play it back, which I did when she nodded at me.
*** 22:22 18 Aug
"Tuck? What did you do?" she asked as she pulled the headset off.
"Oh God," I sighed, "not again."
"Let me rephrase that: what STUPID thing did you do?"
"Don't you start!"
She just looked at me, looking way too much like Mom did. "Tell me what happened," she demanded.
*** 22:27 18 Aug
"Did you have to jump-"
"I thought I did," I lied. I hadn't thought about it at all, which I was now desperately wishing I had, way too late. And again.
She sighed, instead of continuing, and just looked at me. "Tuck... I guess..."
"What?"
"Well, I don't like you jumping off stuff-"
"No one has," I thought I should mention. "About six times already."
"But," she said, holding up a finger to get me to stop, "I do think it decent of you to keep someone from hitting a girl in a domestic dispute-"
"That was not-"
"That was a relationship conflict that had come to blows," she interrupted me, "which is sort of the definition of 'domestic dispute', and do you remember how dangerous those are?"
"That's one reason I got the hell outta there as quick as I did," I lied. Well, that sort of thing had been on my mind, just not in those terms.
"ANYway," she emphasized, "it was a good thing for you to do."
"Really?"
"Yeah," she nodded. "At least there's one guy who might think a couple of times before hitting a girl he's dating."
"Maybe more than one," I pointed out. "There were some other kids that saw me, I think."
She nodded.
"So... that voicemail?"
"She broke up with you in June, right?" Susan confirmed.
"Yeah?"
"Have you two even said 'hi' to each other or anything since then?"
"God no!"
She nodded at me. "That's why it sounded like that, I think. Neither of you dealt with breaking up yet, did-"
"I did!"
"Sure ya did, Tuck, that's why you went crazy to defend her," she nodded.
"Ye- No!" I protested.
*** 22:30 18 Aug
"Listen!" I think Susan said, as she hit 'R' and the message started playing again into the headphones she was holding on my head.
"Um, Tuck, it's me, Debbie," Debbie had said, sounding like she'd been crying. "I, uh..." She'd sniffled. "Thanks for, uh, for, for doing that... I don't, I don't know..."
Then she'd cried into the phone, and my voicemail, for a while.
"Anyway," she'd said when she got some control back, "um, I just, uh, thanks, okay? I really ap-ap-appreciate it, an'," and a large sniff, "and I, I guess I owe you one, or something?" She'd kind of laughed, then, and then said, "And in case you're wondering, um, I have DEFINITELY broken up with him over that, and I don't care what he says or what anyone tells you, okay, we are broken up. I was going to do that anyway. After that... Um, see you later, okay?"
Which is when she'd hung up, sounding like she was doing so quickly before she started to cry again.
Susan silently handed me a few tissues, which I used to wipe my own face with.
"Man is a rational animal who always loses his temper when called upon to act according with the dictates of reason." - Oscar Wilde
Distribution: No part of this work may be distributed as an original work by another person or group. Permission is given to redistribute this by electronic means, as long as the entirety of the work (from the BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE header to the END PGP SIGNATURE footer) is distributed, and credit is given to the original author, me. And no fee may be charged. Archiving is permitted provided no fee is charged for access.
All rights reserved.
- ==[-------- Ellen Hayes @>--,--'--- ellen@barkingduck.net + PGP DH/DSS keyfing: 33D4 156A AE39 53E2 0313 6714 2878 56A8 61B0 9CDC + http://www.barkingduck.net/ehayes -=[1990]=- vicki .sig virus 11.4 +
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2
iQCVAwUBPMo27XYDebnvyV1VAQHjYQP/chXSMwzLiN5AGeKxuu7PFgjtWoLUINuZ 1iQ0RlXgU6Z8X8S9jAGdcQAa3yADYP0WuFVvWLYSP+RqmAQVV/woqKcCs9UcRdA2 3I6TQHry1l56zqvTyqRmqjSsKqfHTpXBbmcdFIGvw+N0LGoT0P221tpOhhIlh1f6 K43fy8QBZ8U= =Dp7N -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----