Chapter 89: One Leg at a Time

Monday, April 26, 1982

We were mentioned in the morning announcements, something that was pretty unusual for an extracurricular that didn’t involve athletics. They actually spent a couple of minutes on us. Janet and Lizzie, as well as Callie, were state champions. Amit was state runner up. And Meg was state Coach of the Year. That gets you in the announcements.

And, again, I was struck by this. Janet and Lizzie were damn good my first time. They weren’t defending state champions. They never went to Nationals. I doubted very much that Callie had. Amit had gone, but not sophomore year.

I could, reasonably, give myself a bit of credit for throwing the pebbles that caused the ripples, and give Angie credit for yet more ripples. But cause and effect? No idea. I had a working theory for Janet and Lizzie. Callie? Amit? Maybe team synergy? Maybe having a couple more strong competitors to practice with in class?

In any case, that was curiosity; what mattered most was here and now, and, here and now, we kicked ass.

It didn’t escape me that this also meant that, in less than a month, Lizzie Vinton, formerly (and still, to some people) ‘Lizzie the Lezzie, class outcast,’ had transformed into ‘Lizzie, the kick-ass winner of a student council election and state champion.’ I spotted people all day congratulating her and Janet; many were people who might have sneered at her in a universe just a little different than this one.

That, right there, was truly something to celebrate.

Debate class was, of course, a party. How could it not be? For all practical purposes — even including the Nationals-bound foursome — we were done. No more tournaments until the fall. No more Extemp boxes to fill, no more research to recheck, no more practice rounds.

Oh, we’d keep busy, but mostly? Done. And thrilled about it, or at least I was and Angie was. Rehearsals were going to consume a ton of energy from here until Showtime.

Tuesday, April 27, 1982

Morning found me with a certain cheerleader in my arms. As in, she flew into my arms and made me catch her.

“Congratulations! It sounds like y’all did really well!”

“We did!”

“Now that you’re back ... when are we going out?”

“Friday sound good? And it can be whatever you’d like; no agenda.”

She grinned. “Dinner, somewhere. I’ll pick, this time. Dutch? Then some activity. No idea, yet.”

“Dutch is fine by me, though I’m happy to take you out.”

“Let’s ... table that, then.” Her expression was interesting. I felt like I’d messed with some assumption again, and again in a good way. “Friday. I’ll get a ride to school and we’ll head off into the sunset together.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

She smiled. “You are the lowest-pressure date ... ever, really. I don’t mean pressuring me; I mean ... you’re confident in your relationships. That’s... really good.”

“Thanks. I’m really enjoying getting to know you, Jessica.”

“I am, too, Steve. More than I expected, and I had some good expectations!”

We debaters, plus Jasmine, were working hard to catch up, especially with missing Sunday. Next week would be the last round of exams before finals, and we needed to keep focused. It might well be the hardest week of the year for Angie, Jasmine, and me; by finals, ‘Brigadoon’ would be in the rear view mirror, but right now? We had to balance every bit of studying against the constant repetition needed to keep the show front and center in our thoughts.

Sue surprised me — and several others, I’m certain — late in study group. “Hey, y’all, I’ve got an announcement.”

Eyes swiveled to her. I looked the question to her; she smiled, not even blushing. Go Sue!

“Everyone, first, I wanted to thank you all for being my friends. You really have no idea what it’s meant to me to transfer down here and find a group of cool people who wanted to be my friends.”

People looked around. Connie spoke. “I think some of us do.”

Jimmy nodded. “You didn’t know us before. We know.”

Cammie and Mel hugged. Andy and Cal did, too. “We know.” “We really know.” “It’s amazing.” “It’s changed our lives.”

Sarah was nodding along, too. And the Wonder Twins, uncharacteristically shy. It occurred to me they’d always been ‘the life of the party’ before. And they still were. But, now, they were also valued friends. I hadn’t known them that well before; maybe it was a bigger change than I knew. Emily certainly was.

Sue giggled. “Okay, fine, so, you get it. Anyway. One thing only some of you know is that I’ve been seeing a therapist for a few months. It turns out I had some, um ... hormonal imbalances ... that were affecting how I saw the world. Um, specifically in terms of things like dating and romance.”

A lot of heads nodded. People knew Sue was very single. How could you miss it? Only some of us knew why.

“I’m telling you this partly because it’s, um ... working ... and you’ll start seeing me with people, dating and ... well, I might even draw a straw. I don’t know what I’ll do if I draw one, but, um ... I probably will.”

“You’ll have a nice nap,” Mike said.

Sarah grinned. “A very nice nap. And that’s all it’ll ever be, except to you and whoever accompanies you.”

“Thanks, y’all,” Sue said with a blush. “I need to figure myself out. It’s different for me than some of your struggles but ... well, I knew you could relate.”

Things turned into a hug-fest, of course. Everyone had to hug Sue. And, she’d hit the nail on the head. Maybe Mike had known who he was the whole time. I wasn’t sure of that. Emily, maybe, too, though I doubt her plan way back at the start of freshman year was a long-term relationship with two guys. Gene? He’d grown and changed quite a bit. Jasmine? I knew for certain that she’d struggled. Not so much with who she was, but with how she could be who she was and still fit with someone else.

And, on and on. Pretty much every one of us had grown and changed considerably, either in themselves or in how they related to others. Often, both.

That’s part of what high school is for, right? Trying things and finding out who you are? We were a pretty stunning success at that, so far.

Friday, April 30, 1982

Jessica met me just outside after school, greeting me with a hug and a peck on the lips. She’d worn a pink blouse and short black skirt. Quite short. Dress-code-challengingly short. I offered her my arm and walked her to my car.

“So, I’ll offer you a few choices. One is: your pick.” She giggled and smiled. “Or, there’s always Pop’s. Third choice is Ninfa’s. The one up on Westheimer.”

“Ninfa’s sounds good.”

She smiled and patted my leg a little as I got the car moving. “It’s a good choice. More of a drive, but it’s hard to talk at Pop’s. Well, it’s easy to talk. It’s hard not to have the conversation go everywhere.”

I nodded. “It’s often packed with Memorial kids. Could’ve matched your agenda, or, not.”

She smirked a little at that, then nodded. “And now you’re getting a bit of a taste of what it’s like in the fishbowl.”

I nodded again. “It’s ... interesting. Not anything I ever thought I’d try.”

She grew silent for a few minutes. Then she shook her head, smiling. “You’re good at that. Most people won’t let a conversation go silent.”

“It’s awkward, and I like to talk...” That got more of a giggle. “ ... but it sometimes covers over what people want to say, and I think you have thoughts that are more interesting than ‘how was your day?’ or the like.”

“I do. I guess, first. Well. You offered to pay for the date, which is nice and romantic and so that makes sense, but I guess ... well. I’ve never dated someone who’s got a girlfriend before. I’d say ‘of course,’ but then, people cheat. Not you, not me. So, adjusting for that makes things different.”

“I’ll be the one to get blunt this time.” That got a little grin. “You’re wondering what I’m after. I mean, one thing is obvious. You know I’m attracted, not that that’s any surprise. But I’m clearly not pinning all my hopes on a glorious romp in the sheets, either.”

She giggled, blushing a bit. “I don’t think anyone has ever said anything like that to me! Either they’re certain good things will happen, or they don’t dare say anything for fear they’ll jinx it. Okay, so ... nothing you said denies an interest in a glorious romp in the sheets, but you’re looking for friendship, first at least. That’s what I’m getting. I mean, have been getting the whole time.”

“That’s a good target, I think.”

“It’s a very good target.” She sighed. “I have a lot of friends, but they’re ... my dad calls them ‘work friends.’ Cheerleading is work. It’s work just in that it’s a team, it’s physical, you have to practice, but it’s also work in that it’s a bunch of catfighting girls. I’m really solid, genuine friends with a lot of the girls. But, we all know that if one of us violates a few of the dozen unwritten rules, we’re done, and the friendship likely goes away at the same time. Outside of cheerleading, it gets more complicated.”

I nodded. “I imagine the pressure is intense.”

“I thrive on pressure, but, yeah, it is. Don’t get me wrong. I’m very happy with where I am, but I also wish...”

“That you could be all of who you are, not just part of it.”

“Being cheer captain and a straight A student isn’t enough?” She had a bit of a wry grin on her face when I turned to look at her.

“You tell me.”

“It’s enough. It’s not ideal.”

Again, I let the silence grow. She held out for a couple of minutes, then sighed. “Okay, so. And I’ll start out by saying this is not why I asked you out, it’s just a bonus. You’ve gotten a bit close with Sheila Adcock, right?”

“Yes. In fact, I took her to the same restaurant we’re going to now. Well, not just her; Jasmine and Lexi Myers were there.”

“Interesting! My spies have let me down. There will be consequences!” She grinned playfully, but that didn’t last. “I don’t know if she mentioned me.”

I nodded noncommittally.

“I ... we were close, back in the day. I didn’t treat her that well while transitioning to high school. She wasn’t the only one, but maybe the biggest one. It bothers me, still. I was ... I was pretty immature.”

I nodded again.

“Okay, damn it. I’ll ask. Did she mention me?”

“I think you know I can’t get into specifics, but, yes.”

She sighed. “I was afraid of that. Do you think ... can we repair a friendship?”

“My guess is that she’d like that, depending on which Jessica she gets.”

“Thank god you have Jasmine, or she has you. Both.”

“Mmm?”

“Few of my girls would be safe if you went after their panties, or what’s in them. That was slick. I know it was genuine, but that doesn’t make it any less slick.”

I shrugged. “They’d put the word out.”

“It’s less successful than you think. Most of them think ‘Well, she didn’t handle that well. I know what I’m getting into. I can change him.’”

I pulled into the parking lot, parked, then got around and offered Jessica my arm. We walked in and were ushered right to a table. We wound up with Jessica sitting to my left, not across from me. I knew what I wanted, so I barely looked at the menu.