Chapter 27

"Robbie, can we talk?"

Robbie closed her locker and looked the other way down the hall. "There's nothing to say."

"You don't understand."

"I think I understand just fine."

"Will you at least listen?"

Robbie spun and looked at me, her face set in stone. "Talk!"

"I..." The problem was, what the hell could I say? I'd been having sex with the two younger girls on the side. I could say it didn't mean anything. And it didn't. It was just sex, But I didn't see that helping a lot.

"That's what I thought," she snapped. She spun again, and started down the hall.

"Robbie, could we..."

"Leave the young lady alone," came the voice from behind me. I didn't have to turn to know it was Mr. Parker.

"I'm just trying to talk to her."

"She obviously doesn't want to talk to you."

It had been a bad weekend. Mikee and Kelly wouldn't talk to me because they thought they'd messed up my life. Robbie wouldn't talk to me because she felt betrayed. Tami wouldn't talk to me because... hell I don't know why Tami wouldn't talk to me, but she wouldn't.

Dad was in a bad mood when he came home because he'd gotten a speeding ticket. Mom wasn't much better cause she'd just ridden a hundred miles with Dad. The runt was okay, but that wasn't a lot of help.

Then Robbie wasn't on the bus this morning, and the bus was late so I couldn't talk to her before class.

Like I said, it had been a bad weekend.

I turned and faced the administrator.

"Just cause you've never had a love life, doesn't mean you should resent those of us who have."

"My office. Now!"

I sat in Parker's office for over an hour while he ranted and preached about respect. After the first hour I pulled out my notebook and started doing my history homework. Parker didn't even notice for five minutes.

"What do you think you're doing?" he bellowed.

"Homework."

"Put that away. We're talking here."

"Talking? That implies we're communicating. Exchanging ideas. I'm sitting here bored out of my skull, and you're doing a rambling monologue. If you like long boring monologues, join a Shakespeare group."

For a few seconds, I thought I'd killed him. I wasn't sure how I felt about that. On the one hand, it wouldn't be much loss to the world of education; but on the other, I have a kind of Buddhist philosophy about the sanctity of life.

His face turned red and his mouth worked, but only silence. That and a little drool. Then he stomped out.

He was back a few minutes later with Mr. Reed, the principal.

"Tell him. Tell him what you said." His face was still red, and that vein in his forehead was throbbing and creeping me out. I considered an innocent act: 'Said? Said what?' Not to stay out of trouble, but because it would piss Parker off royally.

"I don't remember my exact words, but something to the effect of, since Mr. Parker likes repeating long boring monologues, he should join a Shakespearian acting group."

I thought I saw the hint of a smile of Mr. Reed's face.

"You see," Parker said gleefully. "It's attitudes like his that can destroy the school."

"Destroy the school?" I was destroying the school?

I sighed. "Look, Parker brought me in here to suspend me. He hasn't even bothered to call my parents yet. You two may have nothing better to do than sit around all day, but I have a life." Or I had one until Mom gets a hold of me. "So call my parents, pick a number, and let's get on with it. Besides which, lunch was..." I looked at my watch, "... an hour and thirty-seven minutes ago, and I missed it. My stomach is growling."

"Charley, go call his parents." Reed said after a few seconds thought.

"Both are at work. Dad should be easier to get a hold of, but Mom will be madder," I said helpfully.

"Mr. Sims, I'm worried about you," Reed said after Parker had left the room. I looked up at him, but didn't reply. "You've had a very good record. Both at your old school and now here. But lately..."

I think this was the part where I was supposed to break down and confess to drugs, or alcohol, or being abused or something.

"First that fight in January..."

"For which you wanted to suspend me," I responded at last. "But when you actually took the time to investigate, I heard no more about it. Not even a hint of an apology."

"And now this," Reed finished, ignoring my comments. "And you don't even seem to care."

If there was ever a time for the word fuck with a large exclamation point, this was it.