Chapter 19: Suspicious Minds

Thursday was mostly uneventful. Christy told me more about the drama club, and tried to remove some of my suspicions about her involvement with Steve Williams. I know she could detect my discomfort, especially when she mentioned him. She spent most of our lunch period snuggled against my left shoulder. I tried to put it behind me, but the nagging sensation just wouldn't go away entirely. My insecurities were showing.

There was an incident that occurred after AP History. Mrs. Parkman asked me to stay for a couple of minutes as the bell rang.

"Mr. Marlow, I need to ask a favor of you."

I dropped into the desk in front of her desk and considered where this might be going.

"What kind of favor?"

"I have a few students that are already beginning to struggle this year. I had a feeling they would before class began, but I wanted to give them a couple of weeks to settle in before I made my assessment. After the last round of quizzes, I'm afraid my fears have been confirmed."

"Two weeks?" I wasn't trying to challenge her, but it seemed two weeks was too short to make that determination. Of course, I'm the student and she's...

"I've been a teacher her for six years now. For the first couple of years, I waited too long to reach out to my students who were struggling and they suffered for it. I'm trying to be a little more ... proactive. I want to reach them before they really start drowning."

"What can I do for you?"

She smiled and leaned forward on her desk, the view down her blouse improving by the second. Her smile told me it might not have been so accidental.

"I am asking you, Danielle Adams, and Sheila Turner, to act as tutors for a few of the students. Right now, I have three that need some attention, but there could be more."

I'd seen this coming, but wasn't especially thrilled. Danielle was a senior and the likely valedictorian. She looked like a young librarian wearing clothes that tended to be dark and frumpy, matching her personality. She didn't associate with anyone or participate in any school activities. There had never been any rumors of her dating or of any guys approaching her, and it wasn't because she was necessarily ugly. Her demeanor just seemed to shout 'NO!' Having said that, she was an accomplished tutor and a pet for nearly every teacher on staff.

Sheila was more of a 'normal' teenager, as far as that went. She wasn't part of the popular crowd, she wasn't a geek and she wasn't a rebel. She was just an average person who generally got along with everyone and was near the top of the class academically. If she was a flavor at Baskin Robbins, it would have to be just plain Vanilla.

In thinking about the evaluations for both of them, I would have no doubt that their opinions of me probably would have been very similar. What an exciting bunch we were!

"I have questions..."

Mrs. Parkman cut me off. "Of course you do. The answer is, Tuesdays and Thursdays each week, an hour each day, for the next six weeks, beginning next Tuesday. The payoff is extra credit and a note of commendation in your student record." She seemed to be very satisfied with herself, thinking that she had anticipated my questions.

"Can I think about it?"

That seemed to put her off as she leaned back and folded her arms across her chest. This was not how she saw this playing out and her 'enticement' was being withdrawn.

"My GPA is already a 4.0. I have two letters of commendation in my folder from last year; and, although another wouldn't hurt, you're asking me to sacrifice a lot of free time." Mrs. Parkman was clearly not happy with this turn of events and the fact she was not getting her way. She had a serious frown on her face; still beautiful. "All I'm asking is for a night to think it over."

"That's fine, Mr. Marlow."

She handed me the tardy note for the next class, but didn't release it.

"While you are thinking it over, maybe you can also tell me what happened to the Mr. Marlow who I kept hearing about last year. He wouldn't have given it a second thought before agreeing."

I smiled at her and gave her a quick wink. She released the note and I headed to my next class.

She was right. Last year I would have volunteered without thinking about it. Was I becoming selfish? Maybe. But last year I had no life at all. I was nearly desperate to fill my free time with something. I headed into Computer Science and handed the tardy note to Mr. Danks. He reviewed the note, shook his head and pointed to my desk.

Mom was home by the time Sparks and Heather dropped me off. I tried to talk Sparks into giving me a hand with the treehouse, but one look from Heather and I knew I was on my own. Sparks promised me some time Sunday. Mike had promised the same, but I didn't plan to wait for either of them. After a change of clothes and a hug-n-kiss from Mom, I headed out to start framing.

By five o'clock, I had the walls framed, but not placed before deciding to take a break. Carlos had left a nail gun to help and help it did in allowing me to get this far. But this was as far as I could go before getting some help. I headed into the house and grabbed some water and a quick snack Maria had for me, before heading back out to clean up and call it a night.

Something was different. I knew what I had left on the platform before I took my break and it did NOT include a junior varsity cheerleader with shoulder length light brown hair and pretty brown eyes.

"Hi, Phil."

"Hi, Christine. What brings you to my humble abode?" Christine giggled at my characterization.

"I thought I would stop by on my way home and thank you for what you did the other day. I would have stopped by yesterday, but practice ran over."

"You could have called or texted me."

"No, I wanted to do this in person." Christine came over to stand in front of me, giving me a look similar to the one she gave me when I saw her for the first time after returning from Kansas. 'Doe-eyed' would be an apt description. "I felt terrible the other day. I thought I had ruined the party. Not only did you stop David from getting out of control, you made me feel a little better about myself. I thought the varsity cheerleaders would come down on me, but Jamie and Wendy have been really nice about it."

"Maybe they're a little worried about what could be said about them? They were pretty cozy the other day."

"That's not it. Everyone knows Wendy is bi. Jamie was suspected. It wouldn't hurt their reputations, hell, it would probably enhance them!"

We both laughed at that.

"So, what are you doing up here?"

"I'm framing the walls. I think I'm about done for the night, though. I can't go any further without help."

"I can help. Tell me what you would like me to do?" I was unable to hide my skepticism. "Oh, c'mon Phil. I've helped my dad whenever you or Mike wasn't around. I'll bet I'm better with that nail gun than you are."

Well, that wouldn't have been much of a contest. I hadn't actually used a nail gun before that day. For the next hour, Christine and I got the four walls set. She was remarkably skilled with the nail gun, something David should probably know before he pissed her off again. She helped get the tarp set to cover in case it rained. Her phone beeped, indicating a new text message.

"That's Mom wondering where the hell I am," Christine said.

"Thanks for helping me, Christine. I'm not sure how I would have gotten this far without you. Consider us even."

Christine approached me, again invading my personal space. She was making that a habit, and I wasn't about to complain. "Almost even." She pulled me in for a nice comfortable hug. It didn't take long for me to recognize other ways that Christine had grown over the summer. She was nearly as big as Jessica up top. When Jessica graduated, it would not be long before Christine assumed her role as the queen of Richmond High. "I know you are dating Christy, but I wanted to give you this as my personal thank you."

Christine gave me no choice. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. She placed her left hand on the back of my head and pulled me in for a kiss. At first, the kiss was soft and friendly. But within a couple of seconds, that thought was destroyed as the kiss descended into lust and desire. I wanted to resist her, I'm sure I did, but I was a rank amateur and my resistance disappeared as quickly as her tongue searched for, and captured, mine. There was no way she didn't feel my growing reaction.

I know the kiss probably only lasted seconds, but it seemed to go on for several eons. When we finally broke apart, we couldn't do anything but just hold each other, stare and pant. The moment finally passed when Christine's phone chirped again.

"I have to go." She pulled me in for one last hug and a peck on the lips. "That's for being there for me, the other day. Not just because you stopped David from doing something we would have both regretted, but for taking time to calm me down and make me feel better."

"I don't think we are even anymore, Christine. I think I owe you, now."

A little smirk appeared as she replied, "I'll cash that in at a later date, trust me. Cya!"

I wasn't dating either of the Baker girls, but I had received kisses from both of them in the last couple of days. They were easily two of the hottest girls in school. Who am I, and how the hell did I get here?

Just after dinner I took some pictures of the treehouse to show Carlos, Sparks, Mike, Tom, Christy, and Mom, the progress I had made that afternoon. A few minutes after sending the email, Carlos responded back telling me to verify the work with a level before moving on to the next task. Otherwise, he thought it looked pretty good. Mike reiterated his intention to help me Sunday. Sparks suggested we install a slide. I suggested he get some medication.

Everyone else responded with a 'good job' or 'looks nice'. I was hoping they would say 'be over tomorrow to help out', but that didn't happen. I wouldn't be able to make progress on the roof unless I had good help to get it done. I didn't like asking for help, but understood that I wouldn't be able to make any progress without it. The roof was set to be just a simple shed roof, but being twenty feet off the ground made it more challenging.

"Tom would love to help you, Phil, if you just asked. Maybe he can't do it tomorrow, but I would think this weekend he would be all for it."

"I'm sure he would, Mom, but I hate to ask for help."

"You'd be surprised. People appreciate being asked to lend a hand as long as they feel it's worth their time and appreciated. I don't think you'll have a problem. Besides, if you get Tom, he'll likely bring Mike, too."

"I was thinking about asking Ken, as well."

"Oh, that's a really good idea. Why don't you call him tonight and see when he's available? We can entice him with dinner before we put him to work."

"It'll be nice to have Mr. Ken over for dinner again" Maria added "he really enjoys my cooking. I don't have any leftovers with Mr. Ken."

Ken did agree to come over for a couple of hours the following Tuesday, and was happy to lend a hand. He had his own tools and a ladder, which would help tremendously with the roof construction.

Christy and I talked for a good hour before heading to bed. We talked about the away game the next day and lamented the fact that she wouldn't be home until late. She promised to contact me the moment the game was over and again when she got home. I reminded her I was taking Mom out to celebrate her promotion to the morning newscast. As close as she and Mom had gotten the past weekend, I'm sure Mom would have enjoyed having Christy along, but I was still pretty happy to be taking her out by myself. For the last ten years we had learned to rely on each other and overcome a lot together. Mom's promotion really was a celebration for the both of us.