Chapter 35: April 2

It’s the week before the spring band trip and three weeks until prom. There is lots of drama and angst about the prom as the date gets closer. I guess it’s the same every year. Katie and I, being freshmen, couldn’t go to the prom unless we’re invited by a Junior or a Senior, which is an invitation neither of us would accept, so we’re not personally feeling the angst. That doesn’t mean we don’t see the drama going on around us, though. I know it’s not just happening at our school. It has to be a universal high school experience.

“Have you talked to your cousin Lucy, lately?” Katie asked me after school while we waited for my Dad to pick us up. Katie’s still been staying with us in the afternoons since that crackpot preacher from the Garretts’ church is still on the loose.

“I don’t talk to her much, actually,” I shrugged. “She sends me a text every now and then and I follow her on a couple of sites, but that’s about it.”

“You know she’s got a boyfriend, right?”

“I knew about that,” I nodded. “She shared a selfie of the two of them the other day. Plus, she sent me a text on my birthday with a bunch of kiss emojis and told me that’s the only kisses I get because her boyfriend might get jealous.”

“Aww, that’s cute,” Becky giggled. “You didn’t tell me about that.”

“Sorry.”

“It’s no big deal,” Katie smiled. “Anyway, she told me that she and Dennis are going to the Prom this year.”

“Cool!” I grinned.

“You know,” Katie smirked, “the Prom is when a lot of girls give up their virginity...”

“I don’t know, Katie,” I said, “Lucy only got her first kiss back in December.”

“From you!” she laughed.

“Yeah,” I said, “so I’m not sure she and Dennis have gotten to that point in their relationship.”

“We’ll know soon enough,” Katie told me. “Their Prom is the first Saturday in May.”

“Did you hear about the big drama of today around Abby Kowalski?” I asked.

“Another fight with Chris?” she sighed. “Those are getting old. So, what happened this time?”

“It was mostly Chris. Abby doesn’t have the same lunch period he does,” I said. “Anyway, Chris was practically yelling to the whole cafeteria during my lunch period that Abby Kowalski is a twisted freak.”

“That’s what the whole breakup was about,” Katie said. “I wonder what she did that he thinks is so freaky.”

“No idea,” I shrugged. “You know, I have to give Abby credit. She’s been true to her word and been nice to everyone for the last month and it’s been interesting to watch people adjust to the idea of Abby being a nice person.”

“I think most people have been happy about it and have been really nice to her,” Katie said.

“All but her ex-boyfriend,” I said. “Pardon my language, but Chris has been an asshat about the whole thing.”

“Him saying she’s a twisted freak has sure brought out the weirdos,” Katie said. “They’ve been sniffing around Abby like they think they have a chance at her. I can tell she’s not welcoming the attention. Even though she’s been a nicer person for the past month or so, I saw her totally shred one of the jocks when he approached her. He had to have said something crude because she’s turned down a lot of other invitations without being nasty about it.”

“So today at lunch,” I said, getting back to the story, “Chris just wouldn’t shut up. Some guys from the band, mostly the percussion section, cornered Chris in the cafeteria today, and I heard them tell him to shut up about Abby. They were loud enough about it that practically everyone heard. Ian Williams told Chris that Abby’s been acting like a human being for the last month for the first time ever in her high school career. Then he said that everyone happens to like the new Abby.”

“Ian’s a big guy and he doesn’t yell much from what I know of him,” Katie commented.

“Well, Ian certainly yelled at Chris today,” I told her. “The best bit was when he said, ‘Just because she’s too much woman for your pansy ass doesn’t make her a freak.’”

“Go, Ian!” Katie giggled.

“He went on to warn Chris that if he keeps talking trash about her, the whole band is going to get in line right behind Ian to take turns kicking his butt,” I concluded.

“Wow!”

“Yeah, and since Ian and the five guys with him are all several inches taller than Chris, he agreed to shut up.”

“That explains what I heard this afternoon, then,” Katie said.

“Oh?”

“I heard that Abby agreed to go to the prom with Ian,” Katie grinned.

“Do you think it’s the start of something?” I wondered aloud. “Ian’s a nice guy.”

“He is a nice guy,” Katie shrugged, “and, even if it doesn’t go anywhere, at least it’s a nice reward for the way Ian stood up for her.”

We were startled when someone honked right in front of us. It was Becky. We’d been expecting my dad to pick us up, so we hadn’t spotted her in the line of cars. Katie pulled me toward the car and we climbed into the back seat.

“I thought my dad was picking us up,” I said.

“Hello to you, too,” Becky laughed. “I called Billy and told him I was free to pick you up this afternoon.”

“More meetings with your lawyers, Mom?” Katie asked.

“Meetings with police detectives, actually,” Becky answered, shocking us. “Pastor Wilkins was arrested this morning while he was trying to break into our house, so I had to go deal with it. This is one time I’m thankful for nosy neighbors like Mrs. Bray.”

“We’ll have to bake her some cookies,” Katie giggled.

“You can if you want,” Becky laughed. “I’m taking her to lunch tomorrow to thank her for calling the cops on that idiot.”

“Did he actually get in the house?” I asked.

“He broke the storm door on the back,” Becky told us, “but he didn’t actually get in the house. I don’t know if that’s exactly breaking and entering, but the stuff the police found in his car will keep him in jail for a good long while.”

“Oh?” Katie and I asked.

“Ropes, blindfolds, handcuffs, knives, guns, a pipe bomb...” Becky shuddered. “The FBI, ATF and Homeland Security are going to have a field day.”

“That scares me, Mom,” Katie sniffed. “I don’t think I’ll feel safe at home ever again.”

“I know, Katie,” Becky said. “That’s why I’m going to talk to a realtor tomorrow and see if we can get the place listed. I’ll have the foundation buy the next house. None of those idiots know the foundation’s name, so that should throw them off the trail.”

“But what do you do until then?” I asked her.

“In the short term, my company has a condo near the office that they use for visiting executives from other branches of the firm,” Becky explained. “My boss is going to let us use that until we can get moved.”

“But John will be so far away,” Katie complained.

“I’ll make sure you get to see your boyfriend,” Becky told her. “I’ll also see if Billy and Lily can keep picking you up after school, and besides, there’s only about six weeks of school left, anyway.”

“Okay...” Katie sighed.

“I know it’s not perfect, honey,” Becky told her, “but we’re doing this to keep us safe.”

“When you put it that way, Mom,” Katie sniffled, “I guess I’m just being selfish.”

“No, you’re just in love,” Becky smiled, “and I know how you feel. Now, we’re going home so you and John can have some time together. Then we’re going to have dinner with John’s folks to celebrate the arrest of one more crackpot.”

Katie and I cuddled in the backseat of Becky’s car for the rest of the way. We were surprised to discover an older woman sitting in a lawn chair by the front step when we pulled up. I deduced that it was Mrs. Bray, guarding the house until we got back. Katie went over to thank her for calling the cops when Pastor Wilkins was trying to break into the house.

“I’m glad I did, young lady,” Mrs. Bray told her. “Especially after police found all those things in his car. I shudder to think what might have happened if he’d actually gotten into the house.”

“Thank you again, Mrs. Bray,” Becky told her. “We’re home for the next couple of hours while Katie and her boyfriend, John, do their homework. We’re going out to dinner and then Katie and I will be home again.”

“John,” Mrs. Bray nodded at me, “I’ve seen you coming and going. It’s nice to know your name.”

“It’s good to meet you, Mrs. Bray,” I said. “Thank you for what you did today.”

“I’m too nosy for my own good,” she laughed, “but some good comes from it once in a while.”

The older woman left, carrying her lawn chair with her. Katie and I followed Becky into the house.

“I asked her to keep an eye on the place while I went to pick you up,” Becky laughed. “I never expected her to act as a sentry.”

“At least she’s honest about being nosy,” I said.

“She’s actually pretty nice,” Katie said in her defense.

“That’s true, Katie,” Becky said, “and she just admitted she’s seen John coming and going, which makes me think she’s probably seen him coming here with me when she knows you’re staying with your dad but she’s kept her mouth shut. She could ruin us if she wanted to gossip.”

Katie looked appalled at that idea and I was frankly a little disturbed by it, too. “We’re gonna need a bigger batch of cookies,” she sighed.

“We can do that when spring break is over,” Becky told her. “For now, you and John go ‘play’ while I try to get some work done. This crap with Pastor Wilkins blew up my whole day.”

Katie pulled me by the hand up the stairs and to her room, where we stood by her bed and kissed while we tried to undress each other. It wasn’t very efficient, as undressing goes, but it was pretty good foreplay. By the time we got each other down to our underwear, I was rock hard and Katie was dripping. I know because I could feel the wetness though the crotch of her panties when I played with her through them.

By mutual but silent agreement, we stepped apart and shed our own underwear before Katie led me the rest of the way to her bed. She pulled the covers back and lay down, spreading her legs invitingly.