Chapter 27

"Thanks, Mom. I really appreciate this," I said as the car rolled to a stop.

"Just remember this in a few months when you get your license and I ask you to take Traci somewhere."

I looked blank. "Traci, Traci who?" I started to open the door.

"It's a long walk to Robbie's from here."

"Oh, Traci! My beautiful, talented, loving sister. Why didn't you say so?" I grinned as I stepped out of the car. The raindrop hit right in the center of my head. I looked up and a second drop landed in my eye. Damn forecasters were right. "I should just be a minute."

Mom nodded and opened the magazine that had been in our mail.

Another drop landed on the back of my neck, and I raced toward the front door and knocked.

"Tony! What a nice surprise. How are you?"

"Fine Mrs, uh, Reed." I almost called her Mrs. Carter, which probably wouldn't have gone over very well with her new husband. "I just came to pick up Darlene."

"I'll see if she's ready. Come in out of the rain."

I stepped inside and closed the door behind me.

"What are you doing here?" Darlene's step-dad asked, unpleasantly, from the sofa.

"Just picking up Darlene for play practice."

He looked up at his wife as she and Darlene came into the room. "Honey, we have that dinner with the Jameson's tonight. I thought Darlene was going to watch the girls." Darlene had an eight-year-old sister and had inherited a nine-year-old step-sister.

"Mike can watch them," Darlene said quickly.

"Can't, got plans," Mike said from his chair.

"So do I. What are you doing?"

"Brian and I thought we might go to a movie."

"Might! Mike can watch them," Darlene said firmly.

"Mike has plans," her step-dad said. "You'll just have to stay home."

"I've watched the brats the last five times you've gone out, cause Mike always has plans. If he can't change his plans, why don't you change yours."

Her step-dad exploded out of the sofa. "I've had enough of your attitude, young lady! You can go to your room." Darlene started to speak, "Now!"

Darlene looked at me, her eyes starting to fill with tears. I shrugged and gave her a small smile.

Her step-dad looked at me. "Did you have something to say?"

I bit my tongue. Hard!

"Madame director," I said, walking up to Robbie after Mom dropped me off. "Darlene can't make it," I said softly.

Robbie looked like she wanted to kick something.

"That's just great. First you skip out on a week of practice. We finally get you back, and now Darlene can't make it," she said sarcastically.

"Roberta!" Robbie had been looking down at a clipboard of notes. Her eyes snapped to me at the use of her full name. "You can talk to me that way all day, but you use that tone of voice on Darlene when she gets back, and I'll take you over my knee."

Robbie's nostrils flared.

"I may get a lot of bruises doing it," I continued, "but sitting down will not be a pleasant experience for awhile. Darlene CAN'T make it.

I watched her face as she processed what I'd said, both the threat and the emphasis on can't. The anger faded and she nodded. "What's wrong?"

I hesitated. "She'll tell you if she wants you to know."

Robbie nodded again. "Okay, I can do my part and her part too. But I ain't kissin' ya."

"Draft Kelly. We're all using scripts anyway. Kelly can read Darlene's part."

"You just want someone to kiss," Robbie challenged.

I grinned.

Mikee, Kelly and Tami were standing together, talking. Paul Tucker, Mikee's leading man, was standing just outside the group. I nodded to him as I walked up. Mikee and Tami looked at me with Cheshire cat smiles.

"You two know something I don't know," I accused. I didn't know how. I'd just left them twenty minutes ago. Kelly had just gotten home. She'd come in third in her meet. She'd even shown me her medal, so that wasn't it.

"I know too," Kelly boasted.

The only thing I could think of was that Robbie had a new boyfriend; but then, she ought to be in a better mood. I shrugged.

"Fresh meat," Tami said.

"Fresh meat?"

Kelly giggled at my expression, then Mikee and Tami joined in.

I grabbed Kelly, pulled her arms together in front of her, and held them with one hand while my other hand slid into her armpit and I started tickling. "Talk!" I commanded as the younger girl squirmed.

"New girl. Just moved into the Martin's old trailer with her family. Tami said you'd think she was cute," Kelly reported breathlessly. I released her and she spun and stuck her tongue out at me.

"Okay," I said, looking at Tami. "Name, age, shoe size and what'd she get on her last math test?"

"Zoe, thirteen, nine, and an A."

"You're making that up," I accused.

Tami shrugged. "Her names Zoe. Zoe Morganthal. She turned thirteen two weeks ago, but she's a freshman cause she skipped a grade. I'm pretty sure about the shoe size, and I figured if she skipped a grade, she probably gets A's on tests."

I nodded. My own little secret agent. "And what... ?"

"I refuse to tell you her bra size," Tami interrupted proving yet again that telepathy existed and she had it.

"You know, it hasn't been a bad day," I mused to Tami as we left her house.

"You're just saying that cause you finally got your threesome."

I reached over and slid my hand into the back pocket of her jeans and gave her butt a squeeze. It was just after nine and it had finally stopped raining, so Tami and I were trying to get a walk in before it started again.

"Actually, it was a pretty good day even without sex. The sex made it great. It was a beautiful morning, rehearsal went great, and I'm walking with the bestest girl in the whole world."

"Rehearsal did go pretty good. Too bad Darlene couldn't come. What happened anyway? You went over to get her."

I started to give her the same answer I'd given Robbie, then changed my mind. I told her what it was like for Darlene living with her new family.

"That poor girl," she said when I'd finished.

"You want a sister, I'm pretty sure she'd love to get adopted."

"I'll talk to Mom," she said, and I knew she was serious. "And while you're cataloging the day, don't forget the new girl. You're going to think she's cute."

"And just how do you know I'll think she's cute?"

"I know your tastes."

"You do, don't you," I said with a grin she couldn't see in the dark. "After all, you sure liked Mikee.

I didn't have to see her to know she was bright red.

"Maybe we should invite the new girl for a walk. Just to be neighborly," I suggested.

"Can't."

"Why?"

"She's going to be playing Monopoly with Mikee, Kelly and Peter in a few minutes."

"Oh."

"At my house."

"Oh."

"And if you're good, I'll let you come."

"And just what do I have to do to be good?"

"Damn! There's never a bed around when you need one," Tami complained.

Zoe was cute. No, Zoe was hot. Silky black hair that hung to her shoulders. Large but firm breasts, about the size of cantaloupes. Legs that seemed to go on forever.

Definitely a work of art to be admired.

But I didn't like her.

She and her family had just moved from New York, and she seemed to have taken the New York City stereotype to heart.

She was brash.

She was loud.

And she complained. A lot.

It rained too much. We only had four screens at the local theater. There was no indoor ice skating rink. The list went on. And on. I decided that the only way I wanted her in my bed was with one of those rubber ball gags I'd seen in S-and-M cartoons.

And...

She was lucky at Monopoly. She creamed all of us. Chapter 28

"I will be so glad when this week is over," I moaned.

Tami grinned and patted my arm. "Poor baby."

"You do know we have to go back in there."

She picked up my wrist and looked at my watch. "Not for another three minutes we don't," she said firmly. It was raining, but we were sitting on a low wall near the side door getting some fresh air.

October was almost gone. In fact, Sunday was Halloween and the end of the month, if I made it that far, cause everything had waited for this week.

Monday, yesterday, and today we had standardized testing. The whole sophomore class spread out at tables in the gym, taking tests from first bell till the end of the day, with only a few breaks like this one to keep us from cracking up.

Then last night, Tommy Sands and his crew performed The Music Man and did awesome. A fact that even Robbie admitted, though I thought I'd have to hold her down and tickle her before she would. Tonight, Leslie Villers and her group were doing Inherit the Wind, about the Scopes monkey trial, then tomorrow we were up.

Add to that, Friday night we played the Huskies, the toughest team on our schedule.

Then add to that waiting all weekend for the election on Monday when the student body would decide which play got to enter the contest.

Robbie walked up and stood behind us. "I've got good news and I've got bad news," she announced. We turned to look at her. "Which do you want first?"

"The good news. I could use some good news," I said, and Tami nodded.

"The quarterback from Goddard High in Vancouver was caught taking steroids. His team's been disqualified and we're in the Halloween Bowl."

I looked at Tami, not knowing what to say. Tami did. "What's the bad news?" she asked.

"The quarterback from Goddard High in Vancouver was caught taking steroids. His team's been disqualified and we're in the Halloween Bowl."

Tami looked confused, but I got it. Maybe because I'd already been thinking about Hell Week.

"That means Friday night we play the Huskies, then win or lose, we jump on a bus, ride half the night to Seattle, and play again Saturday morning at ten," Robbie explained.

"Wow," Tami said in understatement.

"But we're the first school to ever send both a middle school team and a high school team to the bowl," Robbie pointed out.

"Big deal. It's only the Halloween Bowl's third year." I was in no mood to be happy.

"Yeah, but we'll always be the first. And the best part... ?"

"What?" I almost growled.

"We've got about fifteen seconds to get back in the gym for more tests.

"Everybody over here!" I yelled, then waited while the cast, crew, and musicians slowly gathered. "I've got a few things I want to say."