Chapter 2

Meanwhile, I worried about the tests I had taken, and about what my parents would say when they found out I was trying an end run around them. If it came down to it, I was perfectly willing to go to a state home or a foster home if that meant I could get a real education with a real chance for the future. I didn’t kid myself into thinking it would be better than home, but I had a hard time believing it would be much worse.

Monday morning, I was at the high school early, waiting at the front door when the Secretary walked up to open the door. She grinned at me and shook her head.

“You’re that Moore boy, the genius, aren’t you?”

“Well, my last name is Moore, but I am not so sure about the genius part. My dad sure calls me an idiot a lot.” I said with grin.

She just chuckled and let me inside. She opened up the office and invited me back into the administrative area.

“If you want a soda or some juice, there is a fridge in the teacher’s lounge, through that door back there. Just don’t tell anyone. You can hang out here with me until Mr. Rogers or Mrs. Allen come in.”

“Thanks, Mrs. Jackson!” I said, taking a seat by her desk and pulling out a book I had brought from home.

I guess I was even more on edge than I thought. Usually, reading is my escape and no matter what else is going on, I could lose myself in a book. Today, my teenage hormones, the excitement and my uncertainty had me reading the same page a dozen times and leaving me with no clue what I had just read.

Finally, I put the book back in my bag and just waited.

Mrs. Jackson must have seen my problem and she kept me company, just chatting about family, about the places we had lived and about her children and grandchildren.

Mrs. Allen and Principal Rogers came in at the same time, but they told me to hold on, the representatives from the School District were on their way. I thought that was a good sign.

When two more adults came into the office and asked for Principal Rogers, I knew the time was here.

They went into the Principal’s office, the two Vice-Principals followed, and then I was called in a few minutes later.

“Good luck, sweetie!” Mrs. Jackson whispered, winking as I almost sprinted towards the door.

Inside the Principals office, which was much larger and nicer than Principle Halligan’s over at the middle school, was a conference table that would seat eight. All of the seats except two were taken, so I slid into one and waited, looking from face to face. I was introduced to the two Vice-Principals, one for the female students, Ms. Gibbons and one for the males, Mr. Purcell.

“Well, Mr. Moore, I am Dean Simmonds and this is Abigail Barton. You met Mrs. Barton I understand. We are with the school district and there was some interest in your case. To make sure everything was 100% above board, we decided to score your tests ourselves, and we are very impressed with the results.”

“Wayne, the school district decided that any test you took where you scored above a ninety percent, you would pass and could move ahead. I know that an 80 is sufficient in class, but we wanted to make sure no one had any reservations. You passed all of your freshman year courses, all of the sophomore year courses and all except your biology course in the Junior Year. Your senior tests were a mostly good, but your Trigonometry test was scored at an 89% and Chemistry only an 85%.”

“So, young man, with those impressive results, this is what we would like to do. We want you to take Trig and Chemistry this semester and get your grade up. At the end of the year, if you take those two and test out of them, you will only have Biology, Texas History, Physical Education and Health Education for your senior year. Now, that is not enough to keep you busy, but the school district spoke to the Bexar County Community College board and they will waive fees and provide books if you want to fill the rest of your time each day in college courses.” Mr. Rogers said, a big grin on his face.

“Wow. That sounds fantastic! But if I am just taking Trig and Chemistry this last semester, what will I be doing the rest of the time?”

“We thought you could take a couple of electives and even a gym class if you like, get a head start on your year. Since it is not full semester, you will get regular credit for the electives, but not for Gym, unfortunately. Still, I think five periods and a study hall in the library will keep you out of trouble.”

“One other problem. My parents refused to let me skip ahead grades a few years ago, and I don’t feel much hope that they would be open to this move either. I am hoping that wiser heads than mine have some kind of plan?” I said hopefully, looking from one smiling face to the next.

“You just worry about your grades, Wayne, we’ll take care of the rest. In fact, I believe Mrs. Halligan is already hard at work on your behalf.” Mr. Rogers said with a wink, and there were several chuckles around the table.

“Well, Wayne, if you want to come with me, I can get you a locker and a map, schedule and so forth. Might as well get started making JFK even more famous!” Mr. Purcell said with a big smile.

“Now listen, Wayne, you are a bit younger than the regular freshmen, but not by much. I don’t think you will have any real problems but, if you do, you come see me, okay?” He told me as he led me to my locker. He had given me the schedule and showed me on the map where the classes were. He had also given me a slip to be late to first period Astronomy, one of the electives I had chosen.

“Not a problem, sir. I have already met a few of the students and so far, they seem ni...”

I cringed as I was cut off by a screech from my mother.

“What are you doing at the high school, Wayne? Are you skipping school?”

“Ma’am, I am Vice-Principle Purcell and young Wayne here is certainly not skipping class. He is working with us on a special project for his principal over at the middle school. Did you need help with something?” Mr. Purcell was a big man and when he squared his shoulders, my mother just looked sour and shook her head.

Martin was standing behind her, his eyes wide and he looked a little nervous when he caught my eye for a second.

“Mr. Purcell, this is my mother Mary Moore, and my brother Martin. He was injured in an accident and is just now registering after our move from England.” I told him, introducing him to my family.

“Wayne, you go on about your business, you know where you need to be and I will check up on you later.” Mr. Purcell said, pushing me gently. He turned and began speaking to my mother as I headed off, turning down the first hall I came to and leaning back against the wall. I was praying that no one would say anything until it was all set in stone. I was too close now to let those fuckers bring me down again.

Classes that day were interesting. Showing up for a senior level Trig course caused quite a stir, though the teacher was quick to clamp down on the noise. She gave me a book and sat me at the rear of the class where I would cause less of a disturbance. Biology was much the same, and I even had three people I recognized from Trig. The highlight of the day was having the gorgeous Alice in my Biology class!

After Biology was lunch, and Alice grabbed me as I exited the classroom.

“Wayne, right? What are you doing in a senior level class?” she asked, a big smile on her face. “That is going to set some tongues wagging!”

“I told them to put me in any class where you were, of course.” I said, like it should have been obvious.

She looked at me like I was crazy, then cocked her head. “I don’t know if you are lying or if you are just too smooth for your age. Tell you what, you come sit with me and my friends for lunch and you can tell me all about it.”

If walking into a Senior class as an underage freshman caused a stir, then sitting with a group of eight of the most beautiful and popular girls in school almost caused a riot!

She led me over to a long table already occupied by two girls who had brought their own lunches. Both were fantastic looking, one with olive skin, some of the biggest breasts I had seen in school so far and black shiny hair down to her ass in a single braid. The other was slim, sleek and trim, with small breasts and hair almost as long and every bit as shiny and black. Both were Hispanic and both sexy as hell.

“Simone, Roxy, this is Wayne and I invited him to sit with us.” Alice said brightly, setting her bag down. “Save me a seat next to you, Wayne, I have lots of questions!” she told me and sauntered off towards the food line.

I smiled at both girls and sat down, pulling out my lunch bag.

“Hi, I’m Wayne and I just transferred here.” I said, setting my sandwich and apple on the table.

The two girls looked at each other, then looked back at me like they were having a hard time believing that I was really there.

“Um, I am Simone, and this is my cousin Roxanne. We’re juniors and you?” Simone asked.

“Hm ... I know this will sound weird, but I think I am technically a junior, I guess, because I will be a Senior doing half days next year. Or maybe I am a senior, but I need extra credits? I am not sure how that works, actually.” I said and took a bite of my apple. I would have to ask Mr. Purcell.

“You don’t know? How could you not know?” Roxanne asked, looking at me like I was speaking Swahili.

“Tell you what, Alice wanted to hear all about it too, so if it would be okay, I’d like to wait until she gets back. That way I only have to tell it once.”

The two girls nodded, then put their heads together and were whispering frantically, ignoring their food.

Alice returned, with five other girls in tow. She sat down next to me, giving me a hip check, and then looked up and laughed. The rest of the girls were standing there, looking at me like something the cat drug in.

“Jesus, sit down already. I invited him. He’s a nice guy.” Alice said with a laugh. The other girls all sat down and I was surrounded by every high school boy’s wet dream.

There was Alicia, who was short but built like a gymnast. Carmen who had more curves that Marilyn Monroe. Christine who was tall and regal, real model material except for the flaming red hair and freckles. Beverly was blonde, buxom and bubbly and Catherine, the last girl, had a whole sexy librarian vibe going that had me trying not to drool.

“Okay, going clockwise, this is Christine, Catherine, Alicia, Roxanne, Simone, Beverly, Wayne and over on my other side is Carmen. This is Wayne, he just transferred in, Mike and I met him after school yesterday, and he is way too young to be in Senior level courses, but there he was today. So, Wayne, what gives?”

I told them that I was registered at the middle school but was going to school over here for the rest of the year. I had tested out of all of the classes for high school except a few, and I would be a senior here next year. I told them about going half days and going to Alamo college the other half.”

“So, you are actually a genius, a real genius. How cool is that? How old are you?” Carmen asked, leaning around Alice.

“Thirteen, but I will have a birthday before school starts next year so that’s something.” I admitted, shrugging.

The rest of the lunch was full of questions about England, about what I wanted to study at college and even a few questions about me and what I liked to do for fun. I think I blew a few minds when they asked me what kind of girls I like.

“That’s not an easy question to answer. Some guys are breast men, some go gaga over a set of nice legs. Me, I am a butt guy. Big, small, round, heart-shaped, I don’t care as long as it fits the woman, I am happy.”

“Yeah, like you would know what to do, little man.” Roxanne laughed sticking her tongue out at me.

I leaned closer, but my voice was still loud enough for the other to hear me.

“Roxanne, I would rock your world. If you have never passed out from a guy eating your pretty little pussy, then you are in for a treat. When I was done with you, I could take you around the world and you would be coming back for more.” I told her, then popped the last bite of my sandwich in my mouth and sat back.

There was silence at the table for a moment, most of them were in shock, I think, but it seemed like all hell broke loose for a bit. Roxanne was blushing and glaring at me, her cousin Simone was laughing her ass off. The other girls were laughing and razzing me, but I just calmly chewed and swallowed.

“I may be young, but I learned from the best.” I said and shrugged. Alice was sitting there staring at me, an odd look on her face and a speculative gleam in her eye.

“You boys all talk big, but when it comes down to it, most high school boys are two pump chumps.” Catherine said, smiling at me.

I just grinned at her and shrugged. “You can’t win if you don’t play the game, Catherine.”

“So, you are just playing, are you little boy?” she crooned, pouting.

“I meant you, beautiful. You have to buy a ticket if you want to ride.”

Alice just laughed and turned to Catherine who looked a little surprised. “I think you have found someone who can flirt as well as you can, Cat!”

“I think I will introduce him to Missy.” Catherine said with a grin. Alice’s thoughtful nod was intriguing but nothing else was said about this Missy person.

Last period gym turned out to be the PE class with all the jocks in it. They would use that time to get a start on practice. The football team was the big thing here, this being Texas, and the average size of the people in class with me was roughly twice my weight.

One of the trainers pulled me aside first thing.

“Hey, I know you just transferred, but tomorrow, brings shorts, a jock and a t-shirt. You won’t be working out with the teams, but we can find you something to do.”

“I want to get in better shape, strength and conditioning. Is there something I can do that will help?”

“You do anything at home? Lift? Run?”

I explained about my little program and admitted how pathetic it was, then outlined my goals over the next ten weeks.

“Sounds like you got the right attitude. Tell you what, the team will monopolize the Atlas machine and most of the free weights, but I can set you up with some of the smaller ones the big guys don’t use. We’ll work out a routine for you, okay?”

I told him that I was looking forward to it, and he sent me off to the library for today since I didn’t have gear.

As I walked out the doors at the end of the day, my other problem appeared.

Jane walked up beside me and paced me down the steps and into the parking lot.

“What are you doing at the high school?” she asked, just walking along beside me.

“Special project for extra credit.” I said, not lying, exactly, but definitely not telling the truth.

“Does mom and dad know?” she asked, her expression almost gloating.

“Yes. In fact, I was with the Vice Principle, Mr. Purcell when mom brought Martin in to register for school this morning and she talked to him about it while she was here.” I told her and watched as her expression changed to her normal blank.

“Whatever.” she said, veering off and hurrying to catch up to a guy. “Hey Joe, wait up!”

Martin was nowhere to be seen, thankfully, and the rest of the walk went smoothly. I even saw the vatos down by the store, but they just nodded as I walked by. How about that?

I was up in my room, going through the chapters of my Trig book when dad got home. His bellowing voice made it perfectly clear that he had heard something, probably about the school, and I cringed but made my way downstairs.

He was standing there in the entryway, his fists on his hips and still in his uniform. My mother was standing in the door to the kitchen.

“What the hell is this crap I hear about you being in high school, and a senior? Why is it that my commanding officer calls me into his god damned office and congratulates me on my genius kid skipping from 8th grade to 12th fucking grade? I am standing there looking like an asshole because I don’t have a fucking clue what he is talking about, then he goes on to say that it is a huge honor to have one of his men’s dependents be accepted in to college at thirteen. WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?”

By the time he reached that point, his face was beet red, he had two veins throbbing in his forehead and spittle was flying across the intervening eight feet to hit me in the cheek.

“They said they had to test him” My mother piped up, and dad swung his angry gaze her way. “It was because of the school in England!” she yelped, looking wary.

“When I took the tests, they sent me to the high school to take more tests. That is what I did all week long last week.” I told him.

“And you didn’t think it was important to tell your parents?” he growled, grinding his teeth.

I ignored the question and went on. “Today they gave me the results. They were enrolling me to catch up in a couple of areas like Biology and Trigonometry, and next year I will be a senior going half days to Alamo community college.”

His eyes narrowed and he stalked closer, looming over me. “This is about that bullshit in New Mexico, isn’t it? That teacher you bullshitted into thinking you could skip a grade. We put a stop to that nonsense and this is your way of getting back at us, isn’t it?”

“No, sir. This is about a chance for me to get a good education. There were people there from the School District who said they would be keeping a close eye on me, to make sure I have a chance to succeed.” I said, standing up to him. Sure, he could pulverize me, but I would make him pay through the nose for it. I was not the thirteen-year-old kid he used to beat with impunity when he lost his temper.

He raised his hand to backhand me but my mother spoke up again. “Don’t, Chuck. He is not worth ruining your career over. Let him go to school, let him brownnose the teachers. What do you care?”

Lovely. Such a warm and caring woman.

“If my fucking CO had not practically ordered me to bring you by to meet him, I would break every god damned bone in your smart assed little body. Get the fuck out of my sight!” he spat, turning and stalking out the front door, slamming it behind him.

I felt a burning pain in my ear when my mother smacked me upside the head. I whirled around on her, my teeth bared.

“Don’t.” I growled. She looked at me with surprise on her face, and just a little fear, and I spun around, heading for the stairs. I was wondering what would happen if I took that cudgel to dear old step-dad’s head. I really didn’t want to physically fight with either of them. I needed a place to live and someone to feed and clothe me. If I could get them to just leave me alone for the most part, I would be satisfied.

Little did I know that my mother was already plotting something. I wish I had known, but there weren’t any clues for me to catch and by the time I did learn, it was too late.

The next two weeks were tense around the house, but much better in school. I got some shit for being so young, but mostly I was a novelty that wore off soon enough.

When I came home from school on Friday, three weeks after this whole thing blew up, I opened the front door to find my parents smiling at me. I had a bad, bad feeling in the pit of my stomach.

“Since you don’t think you have to live by our rules, we don’t want you here. You are going to live with your Aunt Pat. They wanted to take you when we lived in New Mexico, and we decided to give them their wish. Your suitcases are already packed. Get in the car.” my dad said, grinning like a hyena.

“So just like that, without telling anyone, you are shipping me off?” I asked, shocked. What about my plan? About being a senior next year? About college?

“GET IN THE FUCKING CAR.” he screamed, grabbing me by the arm and shoving me towards the back door of the apartment.

I stumbled, but managed to catch myself before I fell, and made it out the back door just ahead of his boot. He shoved me down the steps and drug me to the car, opening the back door and shoving me inside.

Forty-five minutes later we were at the airport and going through security. An airline employee offered to escort me to the gate and keep me company, but he just growled at her.

“I’ll make sure the little bastard gets on the plane, you can bet your ass on that.”

When we got to the gate, he shoved me into a chair and stood over me, grinning.

“Let’s see how you like it out there, smart ass. Your Uncle John won’t take your fucking lip.”

When the flight was called, dad grabbed me by the arm, handed my boarding pass to the lady at the gate and shoved me down the tube.

I didn’t look back.

I had plenty of time to think on the flight. We flew to Phoenix first, then I had to change planes, then on to Santa Barbara, California. Total time seven hours.

I didn’t remember a whole lot about Uncle John at that time in my past, he had seemed like a nice guy. I had only met him the once at this point in my life. Aunt Lucy was my mother’s twin sister, and I liked her a lot better than my mom, and she had offered to take me with them when they visited us in New Mexico.

Even then, my step-father had a very heavy hand and, when he threw me down the stairs and busted my wrist while they were visiting, my Aunt made the offer. It led to a huge row and they left for California the next day. I remember wishing that I could go with them and being heartbroken when they left without me.

I didn’t know how they would feel about school, but I had a chance tied with the school books in my bag. The name, address and phone number of the school was stamped inside the front cover. If I could get to a phone and get the school talking to whatever school I ended up at, I might still have a chance.

My grandparents lived out there in California too. They didn’t like me because I was the family bastard, but maybe they were an option too if things were bad with Aunt Lucy and Uncle John

My flight had left at 1705 but, because of the time shift, we landed at 2100 in Santa Barbara and I was met at the gate by my Aunt, Uncle and two cousins. The greeting was a far cry from the sendoff, with my Aunt crying and hugging me, John giving me a manly, one-armed hug and even Beverly, my oldest cousin, giving me a hug and a kiss on the cheek. The younger cousin, Lisa, just smiled faintly and hid behind her father.

Bev was a year older, a blonde California girl with a nice body and John’s daughter from his first marriage. Lisa was two years younger, still a coltish young girl and my Aunt’s daughter from her first marriage. Together, sometime in the next year or so, they would have John Junior.

“Wayne, we are so happy you are here!” Aunt Lucy said, beaming and hugging me again.

“I am relieved to hear that, Aunt Lucy. You know James couldn’t get rid of me fast enough.” I said sourly.

“Well, he never did have any patience where you were concerned.” Aunt Lucy said, frowning and shooting a look over at Uncle John.

“Well, we’ll have plenty of time to talk about that later. Let’s go get your bags.” Uncle John said, looking grim for a moment.

My bags were loaded into the back of their suburban and we were out of there and on the way home within a half hour. It was another forty-five minutes to their house and Aunt Lucy, apologetic, asked if I had eaten dinner when we were halfway there. I told her the stewardess had given me some snacks, and I could wait to get home.

Their home was a large, ranch style home with four bedroom, a two-car garage and a big swimming pool in the back. The girls each had a room and the last room had been used for a combination home office and junk storage. Jack said he had managed to get most of it out of there and had moved the desk over against the wall.

When he showed me into the room, it was about twice the size of my room in Texas, so I was happy. They also apologized for the air mattress on the floor, telling me that tomorrow was the soonest the furniture place could deliver my bed and dresser. The desk could be moved to the garage or I could use it if I wanted.

“Honestly, don’t even worry. This is a lot nicer than my old room and if you don’t need the desk, I would love to have it.” I told them, giving Aunt Lucy a hug. She seemed about to cry, her eyes wet and she clung to me.

“Can we talk, Aunt Lucy, Uncle John?” I asked, my tone serious.

They exchanged a look and then nodded. Neither of then looked happy at the prospect, but it was as if they knew it was going to happen, so they might as well get it over with.

Lisa was already watching TV in the living room and Bev was on her way out with some friends, so we went into the kitchen and sat at the breakfast table.

“Oh damn. What do you want to eat, Wayne? Snacks are not dinner! How about a sandwich? We have ham, and some roast beef. I could make some soup?”

“A ham sandwich would be fine, thank you.”

Once we were settled, both adults with a cup of coffee, I broke the ice.

“I don’t know what they told you, and you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want, but I know you were aware that things were not ... happy there. I remember New Mexico and your visit there.

Aunt Lucy was crying silently, John holding her hand.

“Wayne, we saw the scars on your back when we visited. We saw the lock on the outside of your bedroom door, the welts on your wrists. When James threw you down the stairs, broke your arm ... I couldn’t not say anything.” Aunt Lucy said, pain in her voice at the memory.

“Your mother and I used to be so close, but she married that bastard Beeman. Then she split up with him, got pregnant and shut the whole family out. I thought we were going to repair some fences, get close again when she invited me out to visit you in New Mexico.”

“I hadn’t met any of you before then, marrying your aunt just a couple of years before the visit. Did you know about the fight, son?” he asked me, but I just shook my head.

“Your stepfather and I went at it pretty good. Only the neighbors jumping in to break it up kept it from being really serious. I packed our bags and we left at first light. We couldn’t help you and it was breaking Lucy’s heart. We called the police, the Air Force, even the State but we got the run around. Your Aunt has been reminding your mother that you were welcome to come stay with us every time she talks to her.” John said softly. Aunt Lucy just cried and nodded her head, reaching across the table and grabbing my hand.

“I never knew. Things at home have been rough for a long time. We got kicked out of England because of Jane, and when I got the free college offer, I thought for sure he was going to kill me. I honestly think it was his CO knowing about the whole thing that stopped him.” I told them, shaking my head.

“What college offer?” John asked, leaning forward.

“I figured.” I groaned. Then I told them the whole thing, about the testing, the results, the college offer. I went and grabbed my book to give them the number of the school. I gave him the names of the Principal, the Vice Principals, the counselor and the Board of Education members who were there.

“Please, call and talk to them. Maybe I can transfer this out here.” I begged. “They wouldn’t let me skip grades when we lived in New Mexico, but in England, at the British school, I was advanced on merit. If they had known, I probably would have been forced to ride the bus an hour and half each way to attend school on base. I need this.” I told them, almost begging.

Aunt Lucy looked angry now, her hands twisting and tearing at the tissue she held.

“That bit ... um ... damn her!” she sputtered, blushing a bit. I just pretended not to hear her.

“I will do everything I can, everything we can, to make this happen, Wayne. Your parents gave us power of attorney and I called my lawyer today. If you like it here, we want to talk to you about making it permanent.” John said.

Now I was speechless. I never spent much time around my mother’s family. Her father had refused to even speak to me until after my brother died, still a couple of years into the future. His first ever words to me were, “Well, I guess you are what’s left. You are the only male in the family, god help us.”

I had never gotten to know my Aunt and her family, now I was wishing I had.

“Right now, I can’t think of anything I would want more.” I said sincerely and was rewarded with another hug and kiss from my Aunt. How could identical twin sisters turn out so differently?

“Why don’t you go a get a shower, relax. Maybe unpack your things. We can talk more tomorrow, I imagine you are pretty wiped out about now. It’s what, about one in the morning in Texas?”

“Yes, sir. I think a shower and some sleep would be great. Thank you, both of you, for this chance.”

I took a shower and then opened up the suitcases that I had brought. Since I didn’t pack them I had no idea what was even in there. When I opened the first, it was stuffed full of random things from my bedroom. The second was filled with what turned out to be rags, mostly. Old clothes I had outgrown or worn out!