Chapter 11

It was still cold and rainy, so no running today. It was almost cold enough to turn to snow.

Thursday my first stop was at the school shop to see Mr. Donaldson and pay him what I owed him. Dad had also managed to get the NDA’s from Mr. Burke, so I presented those.

He signed his and would have his brother sign the other at lunch today. He would have it for me after school along with the blueprints.

They had turned on the heat in the school. The boilers were rattling the radiators in our classroom. By lunchtime, the school would be so hot that teachers would be in danger of falling asleep standing in front of the class. We went through this every year.

The best thing to do when students are hot and sleepy is to give a snap quiz to wake them up. Every teacher in school seemed to work on that principle today. The students wailed in the halls between classes.

It didn’t bother me at all. I was ready for the tests. The teacher would allow us five to ten minutes for the exam. After they were collected, we were then allowed to work on our lessons.

This allowed me to keep ahead in each chapter. While we were doing this the teacher would stand by the open classroom door. The doors were open to help cool the room. In Miss Bales room she had to crack a window at the back of the room it was so hot. I noticed the teachers would congregate in the hall for a minute, talk and then return to their classroom to make certain we hadn’t stolen the furniture.

Of course, there was a lot of whispering and note passing. I kept out of that and just worked. Tom had told me I was getting a reputation as a ‘grind.’

No fun at all.

In study hall one of the reference books was really interesting. Since it was one that could be checked out, I did so, I wanted to read it. It was deeper than anything I had previously read, other than Plato’s Republic. That one still kept my head in knots thinking about it.

This one was on how a leader should run his country to keep his power. It had nothing to do with ethics or morality it was on the use of power. I don’t think I would be speed reading this one.

In Algebra after the test, Sue wanted to talk, I couldn’t avoid it. In a whisper, she wanted to know if I liked her.

“Sure I like you, I’m just not ready for a girlfriend.”

“What about that girl in Columbus?” she asked.

“Judy is a good friend, but we both agreed that with the distance it would make no sense to try to date.”

“Then you could have a girlfriend here.”

“Yes I could but I’m not going to.”

That ended that whispered conversation. I don’t think Sue liked me very much just then but I wasn’t ready for a girlfriend. I’m not even sure what that means, I like the hugging and kissing part, but not the being together all the time and letting her set the agenda. I had things to do. I hadn’t taken the time to go to the youth center or to Don’s for weeks. My life was too busy.

I thought about explaining all this to Sue but realized that she wouldn’t understand. Or worse yet she would say she understood until we started dating then try to change me. I had heard girls use the term, ‘work in progress’ about too many guys.

After school I went back to Mr. Donaldson’s office, he had the signed NDA from his brother and a cardboard tube with the blueprints rolled up inside. We pulled them out and went over them.

After reviewing the design we were both happy. His brother would machine the parts and then have them chromed at an electroplater in Urbana. They should have them done by the middle of next week.

It took longer than I thought. School had been out for forty-five minutes. As I left the main door to head home I noticed Steve Simmons standing across the street under a tree. It was still raining and cold so it must have been uncomfortable for him. I didn’t think too much of it at the time and headed home.

Mary was now at the whiny “I don’t feel good” stage. Poor kid ached all over. Mum tried every favorite food of Mary’s that she could, but she just wasn’t happy. From the looks of her, I wouldn’t have been happy either.