Glitch in the Matrix

Nervous...

That was the only word for it. James was nervous, as he sat in the back of the car. He was aware, of course, that his mother kept a discreet eye on him in the rear view mirror, but his thoughts were on keeping the contents of his stomach settled. He was concentrating so hard on that he didn’t hear his mother’s question.

“James?” She said a bit more forcibly. He blinked, re-focused, and looked up.

“Yes?”

“I asked you a question,” she said with a smile.

“What did you say? I was 100 miles away,” James replied.

I said, “Are you looking forward to the dance?”

“I guess. I have never been to one before and really don’t know how to dance.”

“James, don’t worry about it. Just stand there like all the boys in your class. You should hear the stories that Rachael and Cheryl tell. I still can’t believe that you didn’t get Carrie a corsage. Anyway, it’s too late to worry because we are here.”

They had arrived at Carrie’s house. He’d been there before, just not inside. And he certainly hadn’t met her parents. Carrie told him that, until now, he was just someone that she jogged with. They were concerned at first, but relaxed when she told them that Amanda joined them on the daily runs. Mom pulled up, parked, and got out. James exited on his side and straightened his jacket.

“I feel like I’m going to be sick,” he muttered.

“Deep breaths,” his mother smiled, “You’ll do fine.”

They walked to the front door and knocked. It opened promptly and Carrie’s mother was there, smiling brightly.

“Welcome to our home,” she said.

“Thank you, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“I’m Wendy, come in and meet Mark, Carrie’s father.”

They went in and everyone shook hands.

“Carrie’s not quite ready yet,” Wendy said.

James nodded his head a bit, knowing from decades of experience that women liked to keep their men waiting. When he was younger, he thought it was a power move. As he got older, he realized that they wanted to look their best and were a little insecure. Plus they had more to do to get ready.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Mark said to James, “although I’m surprised. From what Carrie’s said, I thought you’d be a jock.”

“Really?” James’ voice expressed his surprise.

“Evidently, you work out all of the time,” he shrugged. “It sounded very focused to me and those with that focus are generally working on a sport.”

“No, I’m not a part of that crowd. I’m not really sure where I stand to be honest, but that’s okay, I don’t like being defined by any one thing.”

“Interesting. That is an unusual attitude for high school.”

“I’m working in a computer store at the moment,” James said, to which Mark’s eyes lit up. Wendy laughed and rolled her eyes.

“Boys and their toys.”

Karen nodded, “Yes, we’ve had a few incidents with that.”

“In my defense, I paid for that without quibbling.”

“Yes, it was very grown up of you.” Karen patted James on the shoulder.

Carrie did eventually come down the stairs with her shoes and jacket in her hands. James quirked an eyebrow up as he admired her dress, which was a pale green halter with a hem that stopped just below her knees.

“Carrie, dear,” Wendy said. “This is James’s mother, Karen.”

Carrie smiled and walked over, Karen hugged her, she saw James, smiled and said, “I’m sorry that I made you wait.”

His mom laughed and said, “There is no rush. Besides, we are not leaving without pictures.”

“Okay, I’ve got the camera set up.”

Carrie put her shoes down, slipped into them and put on her jacket. Her father positioned James and her against the wall and stepped back to pick up the camera. The camera flashed multiple times. James blinked away the fuzziness and sighed.

“Now I’ve got spots in my eyes,” James grumbled as he rubbed his eyes, Carrie laughed as she rubbed hers. Saying their goodbyes, they left for the car. As they walked out, James turned to Carrie and commented, “You look nice. That color really complements your skin tone.”

“Thank you. Mom took me shopping and helped pick it out.”

“Me, too. But I am sure that she asked for your opinion rather what happened to me. They just laid out their selections and told me to see what fit.”

“I think it that is nice because not every mother helps that much. From what I have heard, you can tell the boys who picked out their own clothes. And thanks for not getting a corsage, I think they are a waste of money,” Carrie whispered.

“It wasn’t the money; I just didn’t want you to be uncomfortable. Also, mom didn’t accept my excuse; she’s been on my case for skipping one of the rituals,” he replied softly.

“Would you like me to say something?”

“No, don’t bother; it is such a minor point. Your about to find out that I can’t dance and that’s a bigger one.”

“We are teenagers; no one expects us to dance correctly. Just hold me and we will sway.”

“That works. Good thing that there is no longer an East German judge. We’d get a ‘1’,” he said laughing.

They pulled up to the school and James got out of the car. He walked around, opened the door for her, getting a nod of approval from Mom. Carrie took his offered hand as she got out, then he closed the door behind her.

“Call home when you want to be picked up and Rachael will be here in 15 minutes. I have to work tomorrow and need my sleep.”

“Thanks for the ride, Mrs. Smith.”

“Bye, Mom. Thanks.”

They stepped foot into the school and James had a massive flashback. He blinked as he stopped suddenly, then looked around.

“James, are you okay?”

“Yeah,” he frowned. “I just realized I need to keep an eye on something. I heard that a group of the cheerleaders were using one of their own to set up some of the nerds,” James explained.

She nodded her head. “Sure. Let me know if there’s an issue,” she said.

“Yes, absolute bitc...” He bit his tongue and she smiled, knowing what he was going to say. James had experienced that himself the first time around and it really hadn’t been pleasant. He remembered all of the cheerleaders laughing at him as he flushed pink in anger.

“Come on, that’s not you. Best to not dwell on it,” she smiled. “Besides you’re with a hot date and she is not going to make fun of you.”

“True, and thanks.”

He offered his arm and she took it, they entered the lobby and signed in. Laughing, they rejected the printed directions to the gym.

He purposely didn’t arrange to sit with anyone at the dance. With the exception of Pat, who did not attend, he had few friends at school. He dropped the ones from last year since slacker friends didn’t fit with the new James.

James had found out about Amanda’s date, someone called Justin who wasn’t even on his radar. He had discreetly inquired about him and heard numerous conflicting stories but knew that if he tried to tell his twin, he would get accused of being jealous and controlling. Admittedly, there had been a pang of jealousy at first. After all, she had shown only James her tits, so that made him feel somewhat special. But he knew that was months ago and Am had an active dating life, so who knew? Ruefully, he acknowledged he had to butt out.

In reality, he had chosen not to sit near anyone because he’d not really put any effort into making any new friends. He’d been very busy with work and the AP classes. He just hoped it all paid off in the end; it would really suck if it were all a waste of his time.

At least if it turned out to be a waste of time, he could say he tried.

After touring the gym to look at the decorations, they stopped by the refreshment table and then sat at an empty table by the back wall. James wondered if he would see Robin and meet her new boyfriend tonight. Carrie looked around for some of her friends and teammates, but did not see any of them yet.

James noticed this and smiled, “Don’t worry, it is still early. You know they will be here, so relax.”

For the next half hour they sat there commenting on the clothes and dates of the various students. Finally James knew he couldn’t postpone any longer; he looked at Carrie and said, “Would you like to dance?”

“Yes, but let’s wait for a slow one so we can talk. Dancing three feet from each other to a screaming song isn’t much fun.”

James laughed and said, “No argument. Okay, you pick.”

After another 20 minutes, Carrie stood, held out her hand and said, “I know this one by Jewel. Let’s try it.”

She held out one of her hands and let him lead her to the dance floor. As the song continued, he put his hands on her shoulders as she wrapped her arms around his neck while keeping a school-approved separation between them.

James had to admit that this was fun since she had no expectation on his skills and he met them.

Once the three song set was over, he led her back to the table only to find three of her teammates and their dates were waiting for them. Carrie dropped his hand and started rubbed her hands together, proclaiming, “You guys made it. This is my date, James.”

James greeted everyone and shook hands with the guys

The others introduced themselves and James placed their names and image in his memory place.

If they were Carrie’s friends, then he would meet them again. He made a point of being pleasant to them. He preferred that they not think he’s arrogant or an asshole.

But he wasn’t sure how much he had in common with them. He was driven, unlike most high school students. But one thing he had learned had been empathy and they were Carrie’s friends, after all. It helped that they weren’t a bad group and not much of a clique, unlike the AP class.

As they were returnning to the table after their next time on the dance floor, Carrie gave him an assignment, saying, “You know that you need to learn how to dance before the next dance.”

“I will learn if you join me for the lessons. I don’t want to get any ideas going with another dancer,” James said while grinning at her.

Carrie laughed, saying, “We’ll see.”

James leaned in and pointed out one of the kids that they had discussed. She turned her head slightly and snorted in amusement, “God, he looks terrible, like he dressed in the dark.” James smiled briefly, “Poor kid.”

“He’s your age.”

“I know, but you can tell the difference in maturity.”

“Yes,” she nodded. He saw the cheerleader in question, she made a beeline for one of the kids and the poor boy got laughed at. James shook his head sadly at this. Carrie grabbed his hand as another slow dance came on and dragged him onto the floor.

At midnight, James called home and arranged for Rachael to pick them up. While they were waiting for her, they stood outside of the building holding hands. “This was really nice. I have never been to one of these before and it was better than I expected,” Carrie commented.

“I agree. I had no expectations and was pleasantly surprised. I am sure your mother is waiting up for the full story.”

“And yours won’t be?”

“Not just my mother, all of my sisters will want to know everything. At first I thought that they were living their life through me, but in reality it is more they want to make sure I don’t make too many mistakes. It makes it hard to complain since they have my best interests at heart.”

Walking up and down the sidewalk to keep warm, they saw Rachael pull up and flash the lights. Opening the door, he let Carrie get in first and then sat by her. Rachael immediately started peppering them with questions. James spoke up, “Hold off Rachael. Ask me at home so I don’t have to repeat myself.

Rolling her eyes, but admitting the truth of his statement, Rachael said “Fine.”

On the drive to Carrie’s house, they were content to hold hands and enjoy the thoughts from their night. Once they reached their destination, James walked Carrie to the front door and gave her a gentle hug. She then went inside and he could hear her mother starting to ask questions.

James got in the front seat of the car and commanded Rachael with “Home.”

They got into the house and he sat down for the Spanish inquisition. Once they were all satisfied, James lumbered up the stairs. The next morning he skipped running, choosing to just sleep.

“I notice you didn’t jog this morning,” Amanda said as she saw James out on the chair on the front lawn.

“I’m tired,” he shrugged. “I noticed you dancing with Justin.”

“Jealous?”

“A little,” he shrugged. “I thought we had a bond.”

“We do, but I like to keep secrets just like you do,” she shrugged, mimicking his movement. He nodded at the sentiment.

‘Touché,’ he thought. Aloud, he mused. “I’ve heard stuff about Justin.”

“That’s none of your business.”

“True,” James smiled. “But I like gossip.”

“Come on! I never pegged you as such.”

“One of my secrets,” he held up his coffee in mock salute.

She nodded a ‘touché’ of her own. “What have you heard?”

“He’s a bit handsy.”

She snorted, “That’s it?”

“Yup.”

“That’s most boys,” she rebutted with a scowl and started to walk off.

“Am, I am concerned. How serious is this?”

“It’s just a date,” she replied angrily. “Not that it is any concern of yours. Besides, you’ve never asked me about any of my other dates.”

“I did not have any issues and you never seemed to date anyone more than a couple of times,” he responded.

“I don’t have a problem with Justin, so don’t you, either,” she snapped, then turned and walked away.

He looked up at the ceiling and then resumed drinking his coffee. ‘That went well.’

James had another date that day, but with a teenage boy. He met Seth at his house, exchanged pleasantries but something had obviously happened. Seth had a noticeably negative attitude.

“James, I appreciate your money, but I get a lot of satisfaction helping Mrs. Meyer’s students pass their exams.”

“And that is what you are doing here,” James riposted. “Thanks to your help, I am able to understand the material, which is critical to meeting her deadline.”

Seth looked at him, shook his head, and said, “All right, let’s start.”

Every session was the same, Seth would give him a worksheet and while James completed it, he would grade his homework. He would then grade the night’s worksheet and then show him how to fix the mistakes in the homework and worksheet. Over the weeks, James was able to reduce the number of errors as he gained a comfort balancing the information in his memory and the formulas and techniques provided by Seth.

Finally, the time had come for the practice test. He came in Saturday afternoon after work and met Mrs. Myer in her classroom. “I never expected you to be ready for this, James. Seth has kept me posted on your progress and we are both astounded by your accomplishments. It seems impossible that you have learned so much without a formal class,” she said. “But I will keep my word. If you pass this practice test, then I will allow you to take the AP Stat exam next month. I have already slotted you in the exam so that if you pass, there will be a place. All you would need to do is complete the paperwork and pay the fee.”

“Thank you. I appreciate your confidence.”

Pointing to a desk, she laughed, “Well, we will know in a few hours.”

He sat down, pulled out his calculator and opened the test booklet.

Three hours later James put down his pencil and closed the booklet. Handing it to Mrs. Meyer, he then stretched and popped his neck.

“So, how do you think you did?” she asked.

“Honestly,” James replied, “I was able to follow the questions and with the understanding that Seth’s tutoring provided, I think I passed. But you have the test key, so you tell me.”

“James, go home and get some dinner. Come back in two hours and I will have an answer.”

James was too keyed up to go home. So he grabbed his bike and went for a ride. “I know I did well, but will my feelings translate to a passing grade? Without the memory palace, I would have been lost. If I pass, it will give me ammunition with Mrs. Faun to get into the maximum number of AP Classes next year.”

“It’s funny, my first time through I didn’t care about the money for college because I was lucky to graduate from High School. And between my grades and attitude, I could only get entry level jobs. Now, the sky’s the limit,” he reflected.

Finding himself at home, he realized that he had spent the entire ride on autopilot. Walking into the house, Mom asked, “How did it go?”

He replied, “I think it went well. But I have to be back in around 90 minutes to hear the results. Mrs. Meyer is staying late to grade my test.”

“That is excellent. I will drive you because it is getting dark. That will give you time to eat something.”

“Thanks. So what’s for dinner?”

Mom walked to the oven and pulled out a covered plate. “You tell me,” she joked.

90 minutes later James walked into the classroom. Mrs. Meyer was eating a sandwich and talking to Seth.

“I didn’t expect to see you, Seth,” James commented.

“I wanted to see how my experimental student did. I am as curious as you are.”

Mrs. Meyer stood and said, “Have a seat, James.”

Once he sat, she continued, “You passed. But barely. There were sections that clearly had you foundering - Seth and you will need to focus on them. Seth, here is the test booklet and graded exam sheet. When is your next session?”

“Tomorrow.”

James groaned, “I am not sure my brain will be working then.”

She laughed, “You are the one who wanted this. See me on Monday and I will give you the paperwork so you can pay your fee. Congratulations, you did it.”

James stumbled out of the building and got into Mom’s car in a daze. “I passed. She said I need to do even more work to make sure I can pass the real exam.”

His mother leaned over and kissed his cheek. “You don’t know how proud I am of you.”

James closed his eyes and rested on the ride home.

“What happened to you, James?” Carrie asked when she saw him enter the mall Sunday afternoon.

“I was hit by a truck called the AP Stat practice exam. Three fun-filled hours of questions,” he replied.

“You told me on the phone you passed. If you are too tired, we can pick a different day.”

“No, I need a break from studying and you are the perfect antidote. I had the test yesterday and another tutoring session this morning. I just want to walk and spend some time talking about something other than math and statistics. Even Amanda doesn’t want to talk to me since I was so focused on the test.”

“I understand. That is why I have been giving you space. You have an insane workload and just seeing you takes a lot of scheduling,” she said.

James took her hand and they started to walk the corridor. “It’s my fault. I underestimated the amount of work required. Believe me, I would prefer to spend time with you then curled up with my stat take-home tests. But the tight schedule for the exam means I don’t have a choice.”

“I like that you give me full attention when we are together. Plus, we still go jogging every morning, so there is that time together. Well, as long as I don’t expect scintillating conversation during our run.”

“That’s what you get when you are in better shape than your date.”

They stopped at an Orange Julius and James bought them both small ice cream cones. “Tonight is a school night so we only have a little time. I just needed a break with a smiling face,” James said. “I appreciate you biking over for just an hour.”