Chapter 14: New School - Week 2

Derek woke up Monday morning feeling kind of disoriented. He had been sleeping with Sandy for the past three nights. This morning it was strange not to feel her limbs tangled with his. The Carsons and Turners had decided that school night cohabitation was definitely out as a rule. While he understood, it still made the feeling of her not being there strange.

"Carrie, wakey, wakey " grinned Sandy.

"Did I oversleep?"

"Yeah, but I let you sleep in, I could tell you needed it."

"Are your folks still here?"

"No, they had an early breakfast meeting with some prospective clients. Just grab a shower, get dressed and you can get something quick to eat. Derek should be here in about half-an-hour."

"Thanks Sandy."

Sandy watched Carrie run through the door to the bathroom and smiled. She had always wanted a little sister and now she had one.

"They're here!" yelled Tom as he burst out the door with Brett on his heels. They ran to Derek's car.

"Hey honey," smiled Tom, as he settled in next to Carrie and gave her a peck on the lips.

"Hey baby," she smiled back, as she nestled into him after the kiss.

"So, what is the plan for the day?" asked Brett to Sandy.

Sandy laughed. "We start making things hard on Rogesh and Ranna." Sandy then got a bit serious. "I also have a couple of private matters I need to address."

"Brett, we also have to figure out what you and I are going to do with Connie and the Prom Committee," said Derek.

"And, you are going to talk to Jon about baseball," said Sandy.

"We had this talk..." he started.

Sandy faced him as he stopped at a red light. "We did. You are going to tell Jon not to do me any favors, but if the team wants you to play, you'll play."

"Yeah, I guess so, but I don't think Jon will go for that and I'm not playing if this is a favor to you."

"OK, I see your point ... but I'm willing to if..."

"I'm not," said Derek. The light turned green and they proceeded to school.

Jon saw an interesting sight. He not only saw Derek and Sandra walking arm and arm but also one of the dweeby Nilsen twins doing the same with that slutty little hottie Carie Osterling. "Been there, banged that," he laughed, as he thought of both girls.

Carrie and Tom peeled off to talk privately.

Jon then saw Connie Martin approach the remaining three. "This should be interesting," he thought.

"Hi Derek, Brett ... Sandra," said Connie, sweetly.

"Martin, what do you want?" asked "Sandra" in an exasperated tone.

"Nothing sweetie ... at least from you," she smiled. "Derek, I was hoping that we could set up a meeting tomorrow. I've already started looking for a DJ and am looking for feedback."

Derek looked at Sandy who shrugged. "Connie, I don't think that I'll be able to do the committee after all."

Connie looked grief stricken. "Sandra, I can't believe that you would..."

"It's not my choice. It's Derek's. He may be playing baseball after today," interrupted the blond.

"Is that true, Derek?"

"There's a chance, though I'm not positive ... so don't schedule any meetings on my behalf because I might not be able to make them."

"Otherwise, you can make it?" she asked hopefully.

Derek instinctively turned to Sandy, but didn't wait for a reaction. "I guess I should be able to make it. Though if I'm playing baseball, you'll need to find a new co-chair," he added.

Connie turned to Brett. "Is tomorrow OK with you, Brett," she said, batting her lovely dark eyelashes at him.

"I ... I think so," he somewhat blurted.

"Good, well at least I'm assured that one of you won't stand me up," said Connie, as she flashed Brett a toothy smile and wandered away.

"Hmmm..." grinned Sandy, staring at Brett.

"What?" he asked.

"That girl's got some balls," she laughed.

"What do you mean?" asked Derek.

Sandy laughed. "Not only was she trying to flirt with you right under my nose, but at the same time, she was flirting with Brett to make you jealous."

"I don't know ... she smiled really brightly at Brett," laughed Derek.

Brett shrugged. "Come on, Derek, she's into you, not me."

Sandy softened. "You know Brett ... she's not seeing anyone right now. I can put in a good word if you want her."

"Yeah, like she'd ever go out with me."

Derek put his hand on Brett's shoulder. "She could do a lot worse, pal."

Sandy grinned. She had an idea. "You know, Brett, I'm going to make your stock soar off the charts. Derek, go over to talk to Tom and Carrie."

"OK?" he said quizzically.

When Derek had turned his back to walk to Tom and Carrie, Sandy smiled at Brett, while making sure that Connie could see and hear her from where she was canvassing for committee members. "You know, Brett, you could do a lot better than her. If I weren't seeing Derek, I think I could be interested," she said as she leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the lips, a hug and then she glared at Connie, before whispering "You're welcome" in his ear and walking over to Derek.

Brett blushed as he caught Connie's eyes looking him up and down.

Jon Sizemore, who was still looking on in amazement, shook his head, as he saw Connie Martin giving one of the dweeby Nilsen twins a smoldering stare. "This is definitely not normal," he thought.

Derek and Sandy were eating in the Cafeteria. "But weren't you trying to set Brett up with Suzanne Rowan?" asked Derek.

"Well, you yourself said they weren't having a romantic relationship. Knowing the way Suzanne looks at life, I'm sure she'll be happy to get out of this arrangement with Brett. Besides, believe it or not, I think 'Miss Prim and Proper' might just be interested in our little friend. After I kissed Brett, Connie was looking at him like a dog at a bone," she grinned.

"Maybe Connie might like him, but I'm not sure that's a good thing. Brett told me that there wasn't anything romantic going on with Suzanne, but I'm not sure that Suzanne feels that way. She seemed to really open up to him."

"I guess. I just feel kind of guilty for sticking Brett with Suzanne. Look how happy Tom and Carrie and Devin and Rachel are. Brett is a good guy. He deserves to get laid and now I'm guessing that Connie Martin might eventually oblige," laughed Sandy.

Derek shook his head. "I know you are new to this being nice thing..."

"Not new, just out of practice," she corrected.

"OK, 'out of practice'. My point is that while Brett might not turn Connie down, he isn't looking for that."

"If you're worried about Connie not being smart enough for him..."

"No, I know Connie is a smart girl. She's in a couple of my classes..."

"And a few of mine," she added.

"The problem is that Connie is a shallow girl."

"So is Suzanne, isn't that the point? Getting shallow girls to get beyond that and to help nice, smart guys like Brett ... wasn't that what we were trying to do?"

"Here's the thing. I don't think Suzanne is as shallow as you think. I think Brett really likes her and cares for her. I also sense she really likes him ... maybe even more."

"Shit! And I sicced Connie Martin on him."

"That may not be a bad thing. He'll just have to decide what he wants and then do the right thing."

"Speaking of doing the right thing, I have to go handle that other matter we talked about." she said.

"Are you sure you don't want my help?" he asked.

"No. It's my mess and I need to clean it up. But thanks..."

Sandra was interrupted by Jon Sizemore's voice, as he walked over to the couple.

"Hey Sandra? Can I have a quick word with Carson?" he said with a leering wink at her.

"I don't know. Can you?" she glared and Derek laughed.

"Easy tigress. Jon and I are old teammates. I'm guessing that he just wants to catch up," grinned Derek.

"OK, baby. I'LL catch up with YOU at the library sixth period," she smiled, as she leaned over and kissed Derek.

For a moment, Derek watch Sandy walk away. He was worried about where she was going, but she seemed confident she could handle her mission. "Hopefully she would be right," he thought, before turning to his new companion. He anticipated what would come next, but had to play along. "OK, Jon, what can I do for you?"

"Carson, I was thinking..."

"A first for him," thought Derek to himself.

"The team just hasn't been the same since the star benchwarmer isn't on it this year. I was wondering if you'd like for me to put in a good word for you with Coach?"

"Nothing personal Jon, but why would you want to do that?"

"As I said ... the team hasn't been the same. Just not as fun. Also, I wanted to do it as a favor to Sandra just to show I have no hard feelings," he grinned cockily.

Derek was pissed, so he decided to have a little fun. He flooded Jon with feelings of anxiety. He had a brief headache, but using the "rocking motion" his "friend" had taught him, he was easily able to break through Jon's subconscious resistance.

Jon felt a sudden headache come over him. Then he looked at Derek. The kid looked confident. "I guess who wouldn't be confident if they tamed the hottest, meanest bitch in school?" ran through Jon's mind. He thought he had, but in the end, despite his efforts, all it did was to make her an even bigger bitch. He had to marvel that Carson could do what he could not. Jon began to get nervous.

Derek looked at Jon to see tell tale signs of his handiwork. Jon was sweating. His cocky look had faded into a nervous one. Derek's confident grin brightened. He knew he had the baseball star just where he wanted him. "Jon, you know what I think?"

"No," Jon uttered cautiously.

"I think that while Ryan Costello is a good hitter, he can't field a lick. He doesn't belong at any infield position except perhaps at first ... certainly not at shortstop, where I'll guarantee he'll lose more games with his glove than he'll win with his bat. So give me a break! I come back and I'll easily start two thirds of the games at short, maybe all of them if Flynny balks at playing short when he's not pitching or playing first. So don't waste my time with 'favors' for ex-girlfriends and team bench or locker room chemistry. You guys need me a hell of a lot more than I need you."

"What happened, Carson? I thought you were a competitive guy."

"I am. I just don't like having smoke blown up my ass by someone who I'm convinced was responsible for me not making the team in the first place."

Jon was really concerned. He was hoping to manipulate the situation to his advantage to allow himself to save face with his coach, become a hero with his teammates, get Sandra owing him and manipulating Carson into trusting him, so he could find out what was happening. Now it was all spinning out of control. He had to do something.

"Look Carson, I've never liked you," he admitted anxiously. "But you're a nice little shortstop who can flash the leather. We don't need any more lumber in the lineup. We just need someone who can anchor the infield." He paused again. "I still like Turner ... I'll admit it and I want to do something to make her happy, but no strings ... I promise."

Derek smiled. He had everything he wanted. He had just earned his way back on the team on his own terms. Then he thought about the girls. This decision would affect them too. He would need to get their input and ultimately their blessing. He knew his power over them would hold sway, but he really cared for all four and knew that it had to be discussed among the five of them. "OK, Jon. You've given me something to think about. Sandra, my folks and I will talk about it."

"Just to remind you, the season starts Thursday. Our last scrimmage is tomorrow against King of Prussia. We could really use you," stated Jon.

"I'll keep that in mind," said Derek, as he walked off to his first afternoon class.

Jon Sizemore just stood there shaking his head, trying to figure out how he could have given away his advantage.

"I can't say that I'm not disappointed, Miss Turner. Very disappointed!" spat Roscoe Fitzwater from behind his desk.

Sandy turned on "Sandra mode" as she faced her accuser. "I am too. I'm disappointed in how a grown man would allow himself to feel up a minor."

"Listen Girly! You are a horny little slut. You liked it and you know it."

"I hated every moment your slimy paws were on my breast. I let you do it so I could get what I wanted. Now I am terminating this arrangement and you have nothing to say about it."

"Don't be so sure, bitch!" he growled.

"What are you getting at?"

"Does your new boyfriend know what kind of slut he's going out with?"

"Sandra" laughed haughtily. "Derek knows everything about me. More importantly, he knows everything about US."

Fitzwater began to get uneasy. He knew the Carson boy's mother was a powerful member of the Town Council. Still, he gambled that she would not risk the scrutiny her son's girlfriend would bring on her political ambitions.

"Well, Miss Turner. I'm going to tell you something. You better change your attitude about me, or not only will I not write you a recommendation for college, I will send a negative letter to all of the Deans of Admission of all of the schools we talked about you applying to."

Sandy was shocked. She thought Fitzwater would just back down. She had tried to shoot video of the encounter, but the phone fell. All she was left with was a muffled recording of her being felt up, but despite the awkward context, this wasn't hard evidence. All it would do is reflect badly upon her. She tried to appeal to any shred of decency the man might have. "Look, I was a bitch. I'll admit it. But, like you pointed out, I have a new guy in my life. I'm trying to change..."