Chapter 46

The next morning, I woke up as usual and quickly got dressed. I just managed to get ahead of Willie when we headed out the door. My stepbrother had really taken to this life on the farm and was learning like a sponge from Grandpa. I’m not sure if it was because he was really into farming or that he was happy to finally have grownups who were willing to spend time with him. He had been starved for affection since his mother had passed away and now he had me and four adults willing to make him part of our family.

“You take the eggs,” I grinned, as I handed him the basket.

“Okay, Tommy,” he grinned back, as he took the basket and went in to get the eggs.

I settled into milking Daisy. For some reason, Willie picked Daisy most of the time. I wanted him to get used to milking Amber too.

After milking was done and I had finished cleaning up, Grandpa pulled me aside.

“Tommy, I know you have to get moving, but I would like you to give some thought about how Willie is doing with his chores and how he feels about being out here with us.”

I wondered where Grandpa was going with this. While I spent most of the time supervising Willie during the week, Grandpa spent a fair amount of time with Willie on Saturday working on the more complicated aspects of farming. Then I realized something. Grandpa was concerned that maybe I was feeling left out now that he had a new semi-grandson to teach about farming.

I smiled back at Grandpa. “I think Willie is working out really well. I really like working with him and it really helps me get things done quickly so I don’t have to rush to catch the bus,” I said, before adding, “I don’t know how he feels, but he seems happy to be here. I’ll talk to him if you’d like.”

Grandpa sighed. Grandpa wasn’t the most outgoing person in the world, but he was very kind. He really cared about his family and that family included Willie. “I’d really like it if you could Tommy. He seems to like working with the farm equipment and he’s a hard worker. I just want to make sure he doesn’t resent us.”

“I doubt that, Grandpa. He seems to enjoy working with me on our chores. Sometimes we talk, but otherwise, it’s just nice to have him there.”

“I’m glad to hear it, Tommy,” he beamed at me and patted me on the shoulder.

After my talk with Grandpa, I wolfed down my breakfast and ran to the bus stop with plenty of time to spare. When I got on the bus, I could tell the mood of my bus mates was mixed. Tim’s (and my old team) the Elks had lost to the Dalton Ford Eagles in slug-fest, 10 to 8, despite great games at the plate by my friends Tim, Johnny and Eva. My nemesis, Pat Lister, took the loss, getting shelled for seven runs in only two innings. After that, three pitchers (including Tim and Johnny), held the division champs to only three runs over the next five innings (with Tim giving up only one run in two innings, while Johnny giving up only one in his one inning).

My other bus friend, David was in a good mood, as his team trounced the hapless Danvers Plumbing Pirates, twelve to one in a ‘Mercy Rule’ shortened game. While the Elks had clinched second place in their division, they would be playing my buddy Lionel Carter’s Rotary Club Flyers in the league consolation game. David’s Cheetahs win set them up for the fifth place game, against the ‘Zombies’ (The McNeeley’s Funeral Home Wolves). Of course, the hapless Pirates would be playing the pitiful Beavers in the last place game, while all eyes would be on our championship game against the Eagles.

“That damn Lister!” complained Tim. “After he got shelled in the first inning, we never had a chance.”

“Yeah, that kid stinks,” admitted David. “I hit two of my five homers against him this year.”

“I only hit one off him, but I think it’s still going,” I laughed.

“Yeah, old man Jeffers really screwed the pooch when he cut you and kept him,” stated Tim.

As the baseball conversation wound down, I looked around and saw that Jake could not meet my eyes when I looked at him. I wondered if there was a reason for Jacob Turner’s silence on the bus.

“What’s the matter Jake?” I asked, knowing that I was inviting trouble.

“Nothin’,” he said sullenly.

Okay. I thought. I was going to ask him if he was okay, but then when I thought about, did I really care?

The morning went by fairly quickly and without incident. While I was enjoying a salami and provolone hoagie (courtesy of my future mother-in-law, Natalie), I was called into Vice-Principal Seiling’s office. When I entered the office, I was greeted by a frowning Mr. Seiling and worried if somehow I was in trouble. Mr. Seiling quickly made it clear why I was there.

“Tommy, your dad called me and wanted you to know that no matter what happens don’t do anything to rock the boat concerning Mrs. Douglas.”

“What’s going on, Mr. Seiling?” I asked.

“I’m not sure. I just know that Principal Martin has been in a closed door meeting with Dr. Lester for the last hour and your dad said that Mrs. Douglas has received an official notice of inquiry and she is having a hearing date set.”

I was ripped, but as that feeling of anger washed over me, I realized why my father wouldn’t want me to go off half-cocked and create more trouble for Mrs. Douglas. I took a deep ‘cleansing breath’.

Mr. Seiling smiled. “Well done, Tommy. Who taught you that?”

“My dad,” I explained. “He said it helps you to control your emotions and allows your anger to fuel you in a productive way.”

“It’s one of the things I teach in my dojo. Anger can be a useful emotion, but anger, out of control can not only lead to mayhem, but also to defeat.”

I nodded. “The way my dad tells it, ‘Never fight with uncontrolled emotion, because that fight is over before it starts’.”

“Your dad is a wise man. He extends his wisdom to you today,” he said. “I’m not sure what Mrs. Douglas is being accused of, and your dad won’t say. He just wants to make sure that you leave the matter in his hands and not try to instigate something with Mr. Martin. He said he would talk to you about it more tonight.”

“Thank you, Mr. Seiling,” I said, feeling frustrated, but understanding that my old man would have matters under control.

“Any time, Tommy,” he replied. Then he added. “Most of us like Mrs. Douglas and don’t believe that she has done anything wrong. Having fought in Vietnam, I saw the kind of bigotry that many feel toward people of oriental descent. Mrs. Douglas has done nothing but distinguish herself as a teacher. I would hate to think that she is a victim of such small-mindedness.”

I agreed with my Vice-Principal, before thanking him again, before getting a hall pass from Mrs. Davis and heading back to the cafeteria. I only had five minutes left to finish my hoagie.

After getting hugged by my girls and munching the rest of my lunch. I went to Spanish. As I frequently mention, Spanish had been one of my least favorite classes. That was even before I found out that Mrs. Perez had been cheating with Mrs. Douglas’ husband. First of all, it was way too easy. The first class, she assigned us Spanish names (my name was of course ‘Tomas’). After that, she told all of us that we would be using mostly Spanish in class (little English). This didn’t happen. Oh, she would try every class, but most students addressed her in English and after a few feeble attempts, she would give up. She would never hold the students accountable, so they began to exploit her in this way.

Despite my disappointment in my teacher (and recently, my disdain), I did my best to speak mostly Spanish. My effort was reflected in my grades, which clearly sat at the top of the class. After class, I saw her smirking at me. My immediate reaction was to confront her. It was clear that she knew something about Mrs. Douglas’ hearing notice. Still, I remembered what Mr. Seiling warning and proceeded to walk out of the class. Just as I was almost at the door, I heard my teacher’s voice. “Tomas, Un momento, por favor.”

“Si, Senorita Perez?” I asked turning to face her.

She was still wearing her smirk and I was concerned.

“Tomas, I hear you are a special student. From what I’ve seen, you are. You’re easily the best student in my class.”

“Muchas gracias,” I replied, ‘en Españiol’.

“Am I your favorite teacher?”

This was an uncomfortable question, so I responded as carefully as I could. “It’s wrong to play favorites, Senorita Perez.”

She laughed. “Yes, it is, but it is only natural to do so, isn’t it?”

Again, she was putting me in an awkward position. I couldn’t lie and so far, I hadn’t. I decided to continue the track. “For some people. But I try to be fair and judge a teacher by their merits and give them the benefit of the doubt.”

“That is a very mature response for one so young,” she said before a brief pause. “Yes ... now I can see why she is so fond of you.”

I was mortified. Was she actually referencing to Mrs. Douglas? I did my best to keep my face bland, but I’m sure that the color must have drained from it. “Mrs. Perez?”

Smirk intact, Miss Perez was clearly using her youthful charms to toy with me (and make no mistake, she was very attractive). “I don’t want to make you late. Go to your next class, Tomas. I look forward to getting to know you better.”

I could not have left the room faster and it was not because I was afraid of being late for Study Hall.

Study Hall was good because I was able to finish my Algebra problems and most of my Pre-Algebra homework. The good news was that Mr. Harris told me that I was almost done with my course work for Algebra One and could likely take final exam before I had even taken my Pre-Algebra final. I still had a handful of problems and some English and History reading, but overall, not much more than an hour or so of homework tonight.

Gym went okay, as we did our last fitness test of the year (which I passed with flying colors, as Granddad likes to say). After that, I got on the bus to go home. Today, Willie and I had to muck the horse pens, in addition to our afternoon milking.

When I got home, I finished my Pre-Algebra homework before changing my clothes and getting a head start on horse pen. After I had been at it for about ten minutes, Willie got back from school. Less than five minutes later, Willie had changed and joined me. After we were finished, we cleaned up. As we were about to start milking, I saw Mom had already started.

“Get cleaned up for dinner, boys. I’ll finish this.”

“We have a great Mom,” I said, realizing that I may have made a mistake. Willie had lost his mother only several months ago and might have been bothered by referring to my mother as ‘our Mom’.

Willie surprised me by grinning and saying “Yeah, we do!”

Supper was different tonight, as Grandma cooked a fancy lamb dish.

“It’s something that Trudy sent me to try,” she grinned.

Regardless of whose recipe it was, it was tasty. I was happy that my grandparents got along so well and tonight, it was my taste buds that benefited.

After supper, I finished my English and History reading and still had time to watch some TV with my folks and Willie for old time sake. My Grandparents liked to watch the NBC TV show, Real People, but when Willie moved in, they decided to let him pick some shows. Tonight Willie picked a show called The Greatest American Hero, so he turned the television to Channel 4 (the ABC station). The show was a show about a high school English teacher who had an alien ‘superhero suit’ that gave him Superman-like powers. The show seemed fun. Grandpa liked it because it had one the actors from the old show, I Spy on it. Mom and Dad reminded me that it had some of the writers of The Rockford Files on it, too. Either way, I figured that I would try another episode (assuming I had the time).

Before I went to bed, Dad pulled me aside and reminded me to be careful at school when it came to Mrs. Douglas or Principal Martin. Mrs. Douglas’s hearing would be next Monday, but he did not seem worried. I did tell him about my talk with Miss Perez and his eyes narrowed. “You be careful of her. You can’t give her any reason to give you a bad grade, so you must stay neutral, no matter how hard it may seem.”