Chapter 1

Marilyn Baker is a fox and a brain. Unfortunately, she’s also a bitch. I guess that’s a simplistic way of putting things though it works.

She started at Westside High School as a junior when her parents moved to our town for his job. He was the new plant manager at the town’s largest plant. That put her family in an elitist status for the area. She gave all of us the cold shoulder from the first day that she started attending class at our school.

From what I could determine, she wasn’t happy about moving from the civilization of suburban Chicago to small town Georgia. The advanced placement students in our year at Westside were mostly female and, even with them, Marilyn only got along with a couple of them and they weren’t close. She made it clear that she had no use for any of the “redneck boys” in class.

I have to admit that I resented that attitude. My father is a Superior Court judge and my mother was a teacher until she retired. I’m an honors student as well as an athlete playing football and baseball. I played basketball but wasn’t a starter in that sport. I also participated in track. My name was my only problem. Jerome Evelyn Short isn’t an awe-inspiring moniker. I go by Jerry. Other than that, I was over six feet tall by about four inches and in good shape with light brown hair and hazel eyes. I had a date any time I wanted one. I didn’t bother to ask Marilyn ever knowing she would turn me down. After trying to talk to her just as a friend and being shot down harshly, I avoided her as much as possible. I didn’t comment to anyone about that or about her. I just avoided her.

We graduated near the top of our class. I don’t think she liked having to walk behind me since I was third to her fourth. I made that issue as minor as possible. I had a merit scholarship as well as a scholarship for baseball and another for track. The new football coach wanted me to “walk on” which I was considering. The baseball coach had no objection. I spent summer quietly working at one of the local stores. By the end of summer, I reluctantly decided that I would “walk on” for football. I figured I would be a linebacker or safety which were my two usual positions in high school. I say reluctantly because my parents and I had talked about football last spring. The coach at the time would not have permitted me to play other sports or live anywhere other than in the athletes’ dorm where the likelihood of other people with my major was very small. That coach was fired and a new one was hired who had his defensive coordinator encourage me to walk on.

I attended orientation and saw Marilyn. I made no attempt to speak to her. Toward the end of the day, she walked up to me. “Jerry, you could at least say, ‘Hello,’ to me since we come from the same town.” There was no one else around.

“Marilyn, I saw you. When I’ve tried to talk to you in the past, you’ve rebuffed me quite firmly. Why should I want to get abused again?”

She looked a little troubled. “You beat me for graduation order and you’re a jock. I just study while you do so many other things and make it all look easy. That made me angry. I apologize for how I have acted.” She looked lost. “I-I don’t have any friends and you have many. Would you be my friend? I’m alone here.”

“Marilyn, we can try it but your supercilious attitude won’t fly with me nor with other friends of mine. I’ve watched how you treat people. I didn’t like it when you gave me that treatment nor when you treated others that way.

“Who am I going to know? I already know Marilyn, the bitch. That person would embarrass me with friends of mine here like you tried to do in high school.”

I was uncomfortable saying that to her or anyone but I liked people and tried to treat people well and fairly. Marilyn’s looks did not carry her far with my guy friends at home. While most of them were jocks, they were also pretty smart. I don’t think any of them were into being abused. I watched her face as it reddened. I figured that, based upon past experience, this conversation would now end quickly.

It did but not how I thought. She started sobbing! I didn’t expect that. She just stood there in front of me sobbing with tears falling. After an instant, I realized that they were real.

I waited for her to get her body and emotions under some semblance of control. It took a couple of minutes. When that happened, I said, “Let’s go over to that bench and sit down. We should talk about your reaction to my statement.”

I pointed at the bench but neither touched her nor further directed her. I wasn’t sure I wanted to touch her. I had watched her be very harsh to a guy who was simply trying to be polite while we were all in high school. That time was in public. She had treated me in a similar manner though privately. We sat down but not touching nor even very close.

She was still crying but the sobs seemed over. I gave her another minute or so and then handed her my handkerchief to wipe her face. She did though her eyes still looked puffy. I said, “Okay, Marilyn. What gives? I heard what you said and how you reacted to me but why and why now?”

She said, “I spent a lonely summer. I saw you a number of times and you were always with people and having a good time. I envied you then and envy you now. We’re both here and you have friends already. My roommate dropped and so is not here. I have another but don’t know her. I don’t know anyone nor how to get to know anybody. I’m lonely and need help.”

I said, “Marilyn, you’re a good-looking girl and smart. Why do you think you have no friends?”

“I don’t know. I smile at people but no one smiles back at me. You were avoiding me.”

“That’s true. I was trying to avoid a confrontation with you. It seems that I just put it off. I like a peaceful life and try to avoid tense situations and toxic people. You create both and word gets around. No guy likes to be put down and laughed at. When I thought to ask you to be a friend, you could have just said no which would have been okay but you made your rejection clear including making it clear that I was clearly inadequate to even have contemplated being acquainted with you. I don’t make that kind of mistake but once. However, I have proven that I’m adequate since I beat you scholastically, do other things well, and have friends including girls who are friends.”

I shook my head. “If I become your friend, what do I get from it other than an opportunity to be abused when you tire of me and my friends?”

Tears were flowing again. “Nothing, except that I promise not to be abusive to you or those I might know either now or in the future. Jerry, I want you to call me down if I get out of line. I don’t like the person I had become. I really do want to be a better person. I need you to show me how to act to be a nice person.”