Chapter 24: A Small Celebration or a Bad Start to the Biggest Day of My Life

I woke the next morning to the jostling of the bed. I hadn't awakened like I normally did, the alarm apparently hadn't gone off, and all of my bedmates were already busy doing a variety of things. I rubbed my eyes, still feeling very tired, and started to get out of bed.

"Oh, no you don't," Allison told me, pushing me back down. "You're supposed to rest up. Just lie there for a bit. Cate will be by to get you later."

So I lay back and grumbled at my girls in my mind, telling them I was perfectly capable of getting up and getting on with my day, but they weren't even listening. That just allowed my mind to wander to other things.

I couldn't really blame my girls for their lack of enthusiasm since I'd never told them what today was, but I was expecting a little something. Maybe a special good morning kiss, an extra special wake up, maybe a nice card or something. Instead everyone was reacting like I wasn't even here. Figuring I'd just get morose if I continued to lie there, I grabbed my robe, which I rarely ever used, and started putting it on as I stood up.

"Where do you think you're going?" Shani asked me in a not overly affectionate tone of voice.

'Everyone is busy and Allison said Cate wanted me, so I figured I'd go downstairs, get breakfast and see what she wanted, ' I mentally replied, not ready to test out my voice yet.

She seemed surprised by my response. "Oh. I guess that's OK, then. But take it easy. You're supposed to be on bed rest."

I grumbled, mostly mentally since grumbling still hurt, and slowly made my way downstairs. When you aren't in front or a part of them, you notice just how many women there are around here in the morning. I dodged a couple as I made my way downstairs. When I got to the kitchen I didn't see any sign of my family. Only Anh and Natalie were there, getting everyone's breakfast started. I just walked up behind them and poured myself a cup of coffee. Natalie noticed me and seemed surprised, then chased me away, pushing me to a seat at the table.

"You shouldn't be up. You need to rest. If you insist on being up, I'll get you your coffee. Just sit there and don't cause any trouble," she warned me.

'Where is everyone?' I asked Anh, since I had no way of talking to Natalie.

'Everyone upstairs still, ' Anh answered without even turning around, which I thought quite rude.

'What about Mom, Dad and Cate?'

'Oh, your father had something at work, so he already left, and your mother had to pick up something we forgot at the grocery. I'm not sure where your sister is, ' she responded, still not turning around as she finished getting everything started for the swarm of women who would soon be descending the stairs.

I proceeded to sulk a bit. I could understand the girls not knowing what today was, but my own parents forgetting about it? OK, I could see Dad forgetting, mostly because Mom is always reminding him of things, so if she forgot then it was assured he'd never know about it. But I was shocked Cate wouldn't remember what today was. She was normally all over me, taking care of me all of the time, watching out for me, worrying about me. The idea that she wouldn't remember...

"There you are."

I turned at the sound of the voice and saw Cate, fully dressed and coming in from the garage.

"Well, come on. I haven't got all day. I need you outside to continue our experiment. If I could do it myself I'd have let you sleep, but since I can't, you'll have to do it for me and then head back to bed."

I still hadn't gotten any coffee. Man, what a crummy way to start a day. Everyone ignoring me, no one remembering one of the most important days in a young man's life, everyone acting rude and Cate, my dear sister, acting like I'm holding her up by purposefully being slow.

I got to my feet and padded out to the garage behind her in my bare feet. When I got there she was already by the cages, setting the two mice out on their little tray. They seemed pretty tame, since they didn't even try to get away.

"Since you're on bed rest today I'm driving Kitty and Chalise to school, so I'm anxious to get started. I'll take your car but one of the girls will pick it up during the day. You should be rested enough to come pick us up when school lets out. Just so you know, Kitty won't be coming home with us tonight. Her mother has something scheduled for her, so you'll only be picking up Chalise and me."

I was trying to stare daggers at her for her rude behavior, but she wasn't even looking at me, already feeding the other animals and checking things off on her task list besides the cages. I quietly gave the two little mice their daily burst of energy then put them both back into their cages. I'd already learned to recognize each of them so I knew which cage each one went into.

Seeing I was done, Cate turned around and walked out of the garage without a word. I sighed, still not an easy task for me to do, and followed her back into the house, my feet already freezing from the cold cement. When I got inside I saw Cate picking up her book bag and my keys. She walked over and gave me a quick kiss.

"Take care, I want to get an early start since I'm not used to driving, and it'll take me longer than it normally takes you," and with that she turned and headed out the front door.

Man, some day this was turning out to be. She couldn't have been colder to me than if I told her she was putting on so much weight she was starting to look like our mother. I couldn't figure out what was going on. Everyone seemed to be in a mood today.

I made my way into the kitchen again, and everyone was zipping past. For some odd reason, no one was sitting down to breakfast the way we always did. Instead, everyone was simply picking up an omelet sandwich and a cup of coffee and heading out the door. Before I could figure out what was going on almost everyone was gone.

"Oh, there you are. You know, you can't just send a generic message to all your girls that you're leaving without telling me," Natalie said, sounding perturbed at me. "It's not like I can hear any of those messages." I tried to reply, but couldn't think of how to do so. Instead she handed me my coffee and put a bowl at my place at the table.

"I'll see you, Alex, your mother forgot something so I'm going to the grocery store as well," Anh told me, zipping past me. "I'll be back later. When you finish that you should get right back in bed since you need your rest today. Don't get started with anything. If you need anyone to record your observations of Rakeem's thoughts, talk to Brooke since she's traveling with a pad so she can take notes whenever you need. But don't bother her with anything else since she's on duty this morning."

And then she was gone, leaving me alone with Natalie, who I couldn't communicate with. She didn't seem to be in a mood to talk anyway. What the hell was going on? Was everyone having their periods today or something? I'd heard about how women living together all tended to get on the same cycle, but I hadn't noticed it happening before this. That's not the kind of thing which just happens in a single day, is it? I sat there scratching my head.

"You finish up, Alex. I'm going to do some laundry. When you're done you should head back up and get in bed. Doctor's orders, remember?" Natalie told me as she disappeared down the hall.

I glanced around the empty room and wondered what the hell had happened. I felt like I'd suddenly fallen down Alice's rabbit hole this morning. I quietly ate my soup, and since Natalie hadn't returned, made my way slowly back upstairs, lay back down and tried to sleep.

But it was still difficult. I still had various static impressions in my head, and my sleep had likewise been intermittent last night as well. Seems Rakeem was upset about a lot of things, mostly trying to figure out how he could manage his business interests when he couldn't speak or function very well.

I awoke to a ringing telephone. Reaching over, I managed to pick it up on the third or fourth ring. It was only after I picked it up that I realized I couldn't say anything. Damn, I should have let the machine get it, I thought to myself.

"Alex, I'm assuming it's you since you can't talk," Cate's voice told me. She immediately went on. "I'll make this quick since I don't have much time. I snuck outside between classes so I could make this call. There are rumors of a female reporter here at Eldorado High asking questions about you. It seems she has free access to the school. The girls and I are upset and ... Oh, damn, that's the bell. I've got to run. I'll give you an update later."

Now that's another way not to wake up. There could only be one female reporter looking for me, and if she'd found me she was likely to dig up a fair amount of dirt on me pretty quickly. I assumed that none of my girls would say anything, but there were plenty of people willing to say any number of things about me—true or not—which could paint a very bad picture of me. Damn, it was New Orleans and Albert Rodriguez all over again. Except this time I couldn't just skip town.

'Gail, are you available?' I asked.

'Alex, what are you doing up? You should be asleep. If you need to record anything you should—'

'Gail, stop! This is important. It seems there's a certain female reporter at my school at this very moment, asking questions about me. She must have already talked to several people if the kids know she's interested in me.'

'Wow, Alex, you're right. That is a mess. I don't know how Lisa Woodall could have tracked you to your school, though.'

'I have no idea either, and I don't know what we can do about it. Do you think you could call my mother and ask her to file a complaint with the school? Or maybe call Michelle or something?'

'Well, frankly, I don't know what we'd be able to do. It sounds like the school has given her free access thinking it will give them free press and make them look good. If she came in and said she was doing a story on you, they might have thought Michelle had called a reporter like she'd threatened to and were afraid to say no.'

'Well, can't you stop her? What if Michelle called the school and said she didn't authorize it?' I asked.

'Sorry, but that's a no go, Alex. We don't know what she said to gain access. If she didn't say anything about Michelle, then you'd just be creating a hornets' nest. Plus she'd be able to claim the school was hiding something if they threw her out now. It's a no win situation. I think you should simply sit it out. You trust those friends of yours, don't you?'

'Yeah, ' I replied hesitantly.

'Well, they are your best defense. Hopefully no one who actually knows you will say anything. The school is not about to say anything negative about you. About the only ones who would say anything would be people with a clear agenda against you, and for her to report that would make her look irresponsible if several people came forwards afterwards and contested what was said. Frankly, I don't think she will dig up much. I'd say just let her dig around. Once she finds there isn't a story she'll get bored and move on.'

'I don't think it will be as easy as that, ' I argued. 'She's obviously here after a story, and if she's here, then it means she's convinced the station there's a story. All she needs is to paint me as a high school con man, building up a following of religious fanatics, and she could have a lead story in no time.'

'Well, as you always say, you'll have to cross that bridge when you come to it. At this point we have no idea what she's after. So far she hasn't reported anything, so she doesn't seem to have anything significant on you yet aside from the rantings of a crazy lady who tried to set fire to her own church. I know it's hard, but you are going to have to just relax and try to not let this get to you. I'll let everyone else know what's up. We'll discuss it and think if there's anything we can do.'

'Arghh! I guess there really isn't anything else we can do. Well, thanks anyway, but I don't think I'll be able to sleep after this. This is going to keep me up for the rest of the day. I think ... hold on Gail, there's the phone again. I'll contact you again later.'

'Fine, but don't let yourself worry about it. You know what Cate's been saying. The last thing we need is you giving yourself a stroke over this. Leave those for Rakeem.'

I jumped up and managed to run downstairs just in time to hear Kitty's voice on the answering machine.

" ... ing to several of the other girls. So far, I don't think anyone's said anything yet. But everyone is very upset. Anyway, I know you can't respond, but I just wanted you to know. I'll talk to you later. Bye," and with that she hung up.

Needless to say this was hardly the kind of thing I needed to hear to make me relax and recover. My mind started racing and I paced a bit, at least as much as my body would let me. I considered my options but couldn't think of anything very workable. Each option I could come up with had its own negatives associated with it. After all, the last thing I wanted to convey was that I was hiding something.

'Alex, this is Gail again. I just had your mother call the school and talk to the principal. According to him the reporter was very polite, respectful, and interested in both the school and you. He thinks she's writing a positive piece about a promising student being stricken by a random act of violence, and how the school rallies around him to help him make it to graduation. It's possible this is all just what it sounds like, getting upset isn't going to change anything. If it's negative, we'll find out about it. However, I think your best defense is your friends. I sent a text message to Cate, Kitty and Chalise, telling them to speak with each of your friends, telling them to be open with Lisa, telling her what she wants to know, giving her a very positive view of you but nothing overtly controversial. I'm hoping that will be enough.'

I realized Gail was right. I couldn't very well fight this battle from here, lying flat on my back unable to speak. If my world was going to come crashing down around my head we'd find a way to deal with it. But I couldn't picture her wanting a general interest story on me. That wouldn't make any sense given how she came to know about me. Somehow she sensed a story in this.

But I needed more information, and I could only react after she made her move. If she made an accusation then I could counter it. This was more like a chess game, where there are two opponents who each make a series of orchestrated moves aimed at winning a larger prize. Hers was supposedly to expose me while mine was to maintain the privacy we all needed. But I'd need to see her move before I could attempt to counter it. I had to see her hand, to mix my metaphors.

With that finally decided, I went to an empty kitchen to make some lunch. This worrying really makes one hungry. I had no idea where Natalie had disappeared to, but I was less concerned about it than I was that morning. After I ate, I returned to bed to wait for the next shoe to drop.

I'd set my alarm, making sure it was turned on this time, since it seems someone had turned it off on me last night. When I got up with the alarm, on schedule this time, I got dressed and made my way downstairs where I met Natalie. When I cocked my head in the only pantomime of a question I knew, she gave me a little more information.

"We need to get going. You need to pick up Cate and Chalise, and you're not driving since you're supposed to be resting," she informed me. Since I couldn't argue the point with her, I simply followed her out to the car.

As we made our way to school, I was expecting the worst when we met Cate and Chalise. When the final bell rang kids started streaming from the school, but I saw no sign of them. We waited for quite a while before the girls came out together. Cate and Chalise, followed by most of the girls who shared our lunch table. The others peeled off, waving goodbye to my sister and my girlfriend. When Cate started looking around for me, Natalie honked the horn at her and they both ran to the car.

"Hey, bro, thanks for picking us up today," Cate told me when she climbed in the back seat. "The girls said they were busy today for some reason and wouldn't be able to pick us up. We've got a lot to tell you about, so go ahead and drive, Natalie. I'd rather be far away from here before we start talking about it."

"Yeah, it was crazy today," Chalise told me, leaning between the seats to give me a kiss which my sister was afraid to give me for fear of people watching, though hers was pretty chaste, given the condition of my throat. "That reporter lady, Lisa Woodall, was all over the school today. My understanding is she started out with Principal Phillips. After that, she talked with a few teachers and then she started talking to various students."

"She talked to a few of the guys from the lunchroom crowd," Cate told me. "They all said good things about you and tried to play down the stories of numerous women, but they didn't know what she'd heard, so they couldn't really try to address anything. Apparently, she was just looking for general information, since she didn't seem to ask any leading questions. Frankly I'm worried she's getting all the dirt she wants from your enemies, and she's not interested in what your friends are telling her. But then again, she's polite and doesn't seem like she's probing. Frankly, I'm not sure how to interpret it."

There was no way I could ask them any specific questions, so I figured any questions would have to wait until we got home and I could get one of the girls to speak for me. Natalie was strangely quiet, probably because she couldn't think of any alternatives either.

"Anyway, Alex, you shouldn't get upset about this," Cate told me, caressing my cheek. "I only told you so you'd be aware of what's happening, but I don't want you to stress over what you don't have any control over. You need to relax."

I was starting to get tired of everyone telling me to relax, but Chalise reached around the seat and started to massage my back. Doing something to help me relax was better than nagging me. It was a bit awkward, since it put pressure on my tender neck, but it did help relax me. I simply closed my eyes and rested as the girls talked about what our group had to say about Lisa's interviews at the school. They talked almost the entire way to Becky's apartment, but when Natalie passed the road heading to Becky's I looked at her inquisitively.

"Don't worry, Alex," Natalie told me, "we wanted you to look at the loft space before we finally commit to it. We don't want to apply for the loan and tie up our credit before we're sure you actually like it."

I wanted to tell her that I trusted their opinion on the place, but I had no way to say it. I made writing motions to Cate, but she was so busy talking to my girlfriend she didn't notice, so I just settled back. Natalie drove us into an industrial area on the edge of town, and we finally pulled up to an older building which looked like it had some work recently done to it. For an industrial area I thought there were a lot of cars nearby, but then again I figured the space had been converted to residential space, so it made sense there'd be cars around. Natalie let us into the building and to a rickety old elevator. She pushed the button for the top floor and it creaked, moaned and shook as it started to rise. I thought it odd they could get the top floor loft, but apparently Natalie noticed my confused expression.

"I wanted to show you the view from the top floor before we look around. You can get a nice view of the building by starting at the top and walking down." I nodded that I understood.

The elevator stopped and we walked out into a small vestibule, where Natalie walked up to one door. She started to put a key into the door. I didn't know why she was trying to open the door when she said we'd be looking out the window, but something caught my eye. Grabbing her arm I maneuvered her to the side so I could see the door clearly. Although I hadn't seen it before, I recognized the concept of the painting on the door. It showed a single eye, looking down, with an angel's wings unfolded around it. I glanced meaningfully at Natalie. She had the nerve to giggle.