Chapter 17: Resolutions

Suzanne Rowan had a fitful night. She had spoken to Brett for more than an hour before she went to bed and they had consoled each other over the loss of Sadie. She was surprised by how much Brett had cared for Sadie. He had only met her once and held her for just a few minutes, but Brett explained a sensation that Suzanne had felt the first moment she had seen and held Sadie. There was something about the dog's eyes. There was a palpable sweetness in them; a look that told whomever her companion was at any given moment that she loved them. They both agreed that Sadie was proof that dogs had souls and that Sadie had touched theirs.

When Suzanne hung up with Brett, she felt that despite losing Sadie, she finally had someone in her life that understood her and could talk to her about her life. While this made her feel better, she knew that it would take a long time to get over losing Sadie. When she woke up, she was both physically and emotionally exhausted. As she got dressed, she hoped that her brother was still asleep. After what happened to Sadie yesterday, his was the last face that she wanted to see this particular morning.

"Brett, how are you holding up," asked Sandy, moments after the Nilsen twins had climbed into Derek's car; Thursday Morning, on their way to school.

"OK, I guess. Suzanne had a tough night," said Brett somberly.

"Yours wasn't so easy, bro," said Tom.

"I'm sorry, Brett," added Carrie, as she put her hand comfortingly on her boyfriend's twin's shoulder.

"Thanks guys. I feel awful for Suzanne, but I have to admit that I feel like I lost a friend too."

Derek felt Sandy's hand touching his side casually, in a gesture of familiarity and affection. He felt a vibe of love and care in the car. "Well, maybe my Mom was right when she said I shouldn't have brought you guys to the shelter."

"That's odd that she would have said that," said Tom.

"True. Mom wasn't around yesterday afternoon either. You don't suppose that Mrs. Endicott would have told our parents that Sadie was being removed and perhaps our parents were trying to stop us for that reason?" asked Brett.

"Maybe," admitted Derek.

"Thank you all for coming," said Principal Hanson, as she looked at Derek, Maya, Mindy, Chantelle and Sandy before continuing. "From talking with Mr. Fitzwater and your Mom, Derek, I think I have pieced together what has been going on. Needless to say, I am shocked at the behavior of Mr. Fitzwater and it will be dealt with. I'm almost equally shocked that students of such high social and academic standing would cut school in such a calculating and manipulative manner," she glared at Sandy.

"Mrs. Hanson. May I speak?" asked Derek.

"Certainly Derek."

"First of all, there is no excuse for our actions. I will say that Sandra was having a hard time coming to terms with who she was and that as terrible as this experience was, it changed her in some very positive ways. She's still feeling the guilt and shame of her actions, but Mr. Fitzwater made the first advances toward her."

Principal Hanson's eye brows rose. "Would you like to talk about this in a more private setting, Sandra?"

"No. I've told everyone in the room. They all know," replied the blond student.

"OK. Is what Derek is saying true?" asked the principal.

"Yes. Mr. Fitzwater had been constantly calling me in to see him to talk about my grades and to discuss colleges with me. I could tell that he wanted me. He always touched my leg or shoulder and he always let his hand linger a little too long for me to feel comfortable. He also said things like 'I want to help you, but you need to help me.'"

"He could have meant that he needed you to try harder in school for him to be able to help you."

"His hand was on my thigh when he said that," said Sandy.

"Why didn't you go to me or Vice Principal Simmons," she asked.

"Because, he said with my reputation nobody would believe me. I hated to admit it, but I actually started to believe him. That is why I went along with him touching my breasts. At first, I didn't think it was a big deal, but then I realized how sick this all was. I decided to use my cell phone to take a video of him touching me but it fell over so I only had audio," said Sandy, as a tear ran down her cheek.

"Then you decided to blackmail him."

"Into stopping his advances mostly, though I had liked the idea of controlling him," she admitted. "Mostly, I guess I just wanted proof. You see my life had been spiraling out of control. Derek helped me to see that. It was then that I tried to break free of Mr. Fitzwater."

Mrs. Hanson sighed. She was in a tough position. She and the Superintendent of Schools had decided to force Fitzwater to retire at the end of the school year, rather than face a lengthy legal dispute. She knew that if it went to arbitration or court, there was not enough evidence for it to be a slam dunk in the school's favor. Fitzwater had denied everything, yet because of what he had said in his outburst, he did not seem credible. She was convinced he was lying and she had a responsibility to keep the children of her school safe. For now, she would determine how to handle Fitzwater so he would not longer advise children. Despite everything, she needed to discipline the kids for their role in this. This meant coming up with a fair solution to deal with this whole matter, while keeping the matter discreet. "Well I've decided that I won't tell your parents other than Sandra's and Derek's who already know. Instead of giving you detentions, you will all have to engage in twenty hours of community service. I will make a public announcement that the five of you have agreed to participate in a community service program that I'm piloting. After you've met the required hours, you are free of any further responsibility and the cutting afternoon classes will not appear on your record. You should know that this is more than fair."

Derek sighed in relief and nodded. It really was more than fair. He had been dreading what Maya's, Chantelle's and Mindy's parents would do to the girls. As Sandy had pointed out yesterday, they still had to get together three times a week to meet the original agreement with the stranger.

"Thank you, Mrs. Hanson, it is more than fair," said Mindy.

"Yes, it is," agreed Chantelle, as Derek, Maya and Sandy nodded their agreement.

Mrs. Hanson smiled. "Good. Come up with a proposal for what organizations you want to help with and I'll contact them to set this up."

"Mrs. Hanson, I'd like to volunteer for the student leadership of your community service program for real. It really is a great idea and I think we can make it work," offered Derek.

"You're serious?"

"Yes. My mother told me that the town council is cutting services due to budgetary shortfalls. I think your idea would be a great way of helping to fill in some of those holes. There are plenty of needs" said Derek.

"I never thought that this would really fly. How are you going to get volunteers?"

"Leave it to us, Mrs. Hanson," smiled Sandy, as she felt Derek wrap his arm around her waist.

"So, Paul, I usually talk to Maggie about my investments," said Sven Nilsen into his phone from behind his desk.

"Actually I'm calling concerning our investment with you. Rick asked me to check. Any news?" asked Paul Turner.

"Nothing specific yet, though early indications are good," replied Sven.

"Good. Please let one of us know if you hear anything."

"Will do, Paul. We really appreciate your help with this."

"No problem Sven. You're a good customer and your kids are good friends of Sandy, Carrie and Derek so we are happy to help."

"Hey Sven?"

"Yeah Paul?"

"As you know, my wife is reviving 'Book Club'."

"I know. Maggie invited Ilsa and she plans on coming."

"I figured that you would be at loose ends. Since Maggie and Ronnie will be busy too, Rick and I are organizing a poker game. We're hoping that you would join in."

"Sounds like fun. It's been a number of years since I've played."

"Don't worry. It is just a friendly game. Low stakes. Mostly just an excuse to get together and drink beer."

Sven laughed. He had spent the last few months traveling a lot. His schedule over the next few weeks was easier. Like Rick Carson, his schedule really didn't offer him much opportunity to make friends. He had been somewhat friendly with Rick Carson in the past because their children were friends. He had a professional relationship with Paul and Maggie Turner. Sven had liked them both a lot, but never really had a chance to do anything socially with them. Here was the chance. "Well, count me in Paul, I'd love to."

"Good. I guess the kids will be on dates."

"Well, I know that Tom and Carrie have plans. I'm hoping that Brett and Suzanne will be helping with something else."

"Me too," said Paul.

"I can't believe we're together," smiled Connie.

"I always thought you were cute. It's just the timing was never right," said Dean, as he wrapped his arm possessively around her waist while they walked to the cafeteria."

"So, Martin, I see you're slumming it," laughed Jon Sizemore as he came up from behind the couple.

"Dude, you're such a punk," laughed Dean.

"You're just jealous," she grinned.

Jon laughed. "Yeah Martin, I guess you never showed me any interest, but you're a sweet girl. Anyway, I'm happy for you, Flynny."

"Thanks, guy. I'm actually grateful to your ex and Derek Carson. They thought we would be a good fit."

Connie grinned. "And they were right."

"What's the deal with Carson and Turner? Are they playing matchmaker for the entire school?" asked Jon.

"It seems that way," said Connie.

"Well are you coming to the game to see your new boyfriend in action?"

"You better believe it," she grinned as she kissed Dean on the cheek and the happy couple walked off.

Jon shook his head. It really looked like Carson had turned Jon's evil ex into a catalyst for positive change. He had no idea how Derek managed this, but Jon had to admit that things were going better for the baseball team and the school in general. He had seen how chummy Flynny and Carson were the last couple of days. Now it appeared that Connie and Sandra had buried the hatchet. That would unite the popular smart kids with the popular jocks. Jon realized that he was running out of time if he wanted to find a way to block Sandra. Flynny, Connie's senior friends and the senior cheerleaders were beginning to give Sandra a solid foothold in the senior class in addition to her dominance over the lower three classes. Pretty soon, she would not be just unstoppable, but also beloved. He had to find a way to stop that if he hoped to remain relevant.

"That sounds like a great idea!" exclaimed Tara Broome.

"So we can count on your help?" asked Derek.

"Of course. St. Agnes has a soup kitchen which is always understaffed lately. I volunteer every other weekend, but they could use more help," she replied, before taking a bite out of an apple.

"How about you, Kyle?" asked Sandy.

Kyle looked a bit nervous. "I guess, though my parents might not like the idea. They keep reminding me that I need to focus on my studies if I hope to be Valedictorian."

"You know, Colleges look for more than just grades when they look at applicants," stated Derek.

Kyle laughed. "Spoken like the number three ranked junior looking to pass me."

Derek laughed back, but Tara chimed in. "Kyle, school is important, but I think you are losing sight of what really matters. People matter. One day, there won't be any school; just life. You've lost your way, Kyle. I think that I'm here to remind you of that."

"Why do you care so much about me," he murmured.

Tara blushed before saying, "Because I really like you."

"Kyle, you really are a little cutie and getting littler all the time," grinned Sandy, at Kyle's improving physique.

Derek smiled at Tara and then at Kyle. "Are you two busy Saturday night?"

"I'm free. Why?" asked Tara.

"Derek and I are double dating with Rogesh and Ranna. We plan to open it up to Devin and Rachel too," explained Sandy.