Cara looked at him as if to say “you’re kidding”.
“It’s the only solution that I can come up with. It’s not that bad.” The principal reassuringly smiled at her.
“Do I get credit for being a teacher’s aid?” She inquired.
“No, I’m afraid not.”
“God.” She exasperated.
Changing subjects, the principal moved on to the disciplinary action. “I’ll let your behavior slide on the basis that things in New York are done differently.”
“You’ve got that right.” She casually threw in.
“However, action will be taken the very next time an event like this occurs.” He reclined in his large, plush chair and patted his protruding gut. “In the meantime, I suggest you follow our customs and way of life. When in Rome, do as the Romans.” At the end of his speech, Strugghold flashed her a warm grin that failed in its mission. With his goofy expression in place, he remarked in the optimistic tone of a coach, shouting inspiration. “Now get back to class and show them what you can do!”
Cara rolled her eyes and exited the room.
***
The lunch bell rang promptly at 11:20 A.M. each day. Even a newly initiated person, completely inexperienced with the student body, could see the segregation of social groups spread about different territories. As Cara exited the lunch line, she scanned the tables for an empty seat. She saw the black section in the far right corner bordered by two circular teachers’ tables. On the left toward the back were the popular children and as she scanned closer to her position, the income level of the inhabitants obviously dropped. These barriers that had been erected in the dining area had not been officially imposed; the students had naturally gravitated that way. In the middle of the left side (in-between the haves and the have-nots), sat a sparsely populated table. She headed to seat herself there and walked by a full table where Bryant sat.
As Cara passed by, the males on Bryant’s lunch table began to talk. “Man, I heard her family is loaded!” exclaimed Rick. “To look at her clothes, you’d think she shopped at the Salvation Army,” he stated and looked at the end of the table where Martin tried to include himself in their social group. “And what about that jacket? Who does she think she is, G.I. Jane?” Luckily for Rick, his height and weight intimidated most people into laughing along with him. At six feet three inches with only a moderate layer of fat and the experience of being second-string offensive line, no one opposed him.
Then Bryant spoke. “Yeah, looks can be deceiving.”
“Too bad she’s a stuck up bitch,” Robert, a sycophant of Rick’s and a co-worker of Bryant’s, chimed in from across the table.
Bryant took the offensive. “What makes you say that? This is her first day at school!”
Robert looked around seeking help with his argument, when Martin spoke up. “She hasn’t spoken to a single person.”
“If you moved, would you be very talkative on your first day?” Bryant inquisitively raised both eyebrows.
Rick took control of the conversation again. “I would.” He proudly proclaimed. “I would walk up to the first fine bitch I saw and say ‘Hey, let’s play a game called carnival. You sit on my face and I’ll try to guess your weight’.”
Everyone at the table broke into laughter except Bryant. Silently, he rose with his tray and walked to the nearly vacant table where Cara sat.
Rick watched him rise and walk away. When Bryant was safely seated, he muttered, “Well, fuck him.”
***
Cara finished explaining the morning’s happenings to Bryant as they both ate school pizza with a side of corn. “. . .And I won’t receive any credit hours.”
Bryant listened patiently and then made a suggestion. “Have you thought about dual enrollment?”
Cara suddenly developed an interest in this quiet boy again. “What is dual enrollment?”
Bryant entered his explanation mode, leaning forward and talking with his hands. “Dual enrollment is where you attend Bevill State Community College for a class or two, and attend high school. You get high school and college credit for the same class.”
Cara smiled. “The principal is going to be sorry.”
Bryant caught the malevolent look that flashed through her eyes. “Sorry for what?”
“He, as an educator, should have known about dual enrollment. He would have to be a pretty shitty principal not to. So if he knew about it, why didn’t he suggest it to me?” Cara waited for a reply.
“God, you’re paranoid. Do you really think everyone’s out to keep you from advancing in life?” Now it was Bryant’s turn to wait for a response.
“Well, how else would you explain it?” Her eyes dared him to question her, to come up with some flimsy interpretation.
“Let’s switch subjects. I would hate to jeopardize my date.” His face reddened at his own mention of their deal.
“Well, what would you like to talk about then?”
“What are you doing after school?” Bryant crossed his fingers under the table as he asked.
“I was thinking that you could help me study.” She suggested with a wry smile.
Confused, his eyes narrowed and several creases developed on his forehead. “Study for what?”
She coyly laughed. “Anatomy.”
Bryant tilted his head like the RCA dog and said, “But you’re not in the Anatomy and Physiology class.”
“I was trying to be seductive.” She giggled at the change in his facial expression. The sudden enlightenment on his face made him look so cute. “He is actually blushing” she mused.
***
Cara walked into the large house. Two stories with an attic and a basement, the structure actually contained four levels. The exterior sported faux-log cabin siding and a flat, neatly trimmed lawn. In the backyard, a concrete slab held an in-ground swimming pool filled with clear, chlorinated water. As she stood just on the inside of her front door, she glanced at her wristwatch. The white face and hands relayed that it was three thirty P.M. She examined the simple black band and thought about how cheap it was. The device was ancient, but she wore it proudly because it was bought with her money, not her parent’s funds. The cash came from a job in fast food that lasted two hours. As usual, she had quit because the other employees and managers were beneath her.
Bryant whispered over her shoulder. “Are you going to let me in?”
“Sssshhhh. Let me make sure my parents aren’t home.” She finished her quiet command and called out “Mom? Dad?” Then both children patiently waited for a response. With none forthcoming, they cautiously tiptoed into the house. Cara whispered to him, “Dad won’t be home for two more hours, but I don’t know where Mom is.”
Bryant was busy looking around the house at document frames containing awards, diplomas, and degrees. “Is your whole family as nerdy as you?” He quipped. He caught her sneer and continued examining items. A small but ornate table lamp rested on what appeared to be a writing desk. He leaned over to look at the sheet of college ruled paper lying out. “Hey, this note says that your mother has gone to Tuscaloosa looking for a job and will not be back until five.”
Cara grabbed his hand. “That means we have at least an hour and a half.” Then she led him by the hand toward a staircase connecting to the second floor. Bryant wanted to ask questions. Where were they going? Was he interpreting these actions correctly? Step by step, he ascended with her. His heart beat faster and he knew that blood pulsing through his veins was redirecting to his penis. His manhood threatened to rise in anticipation at just the hint of sex. At the top of the stairs, she opened a door leading to a minimalist room holding only a bed and a stereo flanked by filled bookcases along the wall. She sat down on the bed and motioned him over to her.
Bryant sat down and clumsily tried to slide his arm around her. She caught his maneuver and said, “Just so you know, I’m not going to sleep with you today.”
He nodded with a solemn face but inwardly glowed. Had it been his imagination or had she emphasized “today”? Instead of pressing the matter, he just whispered, “There are lots of ways for us to have fun without going all the way.”
“Like what?” She responded and shed her camo army surplus jacket.
Without marring the moment with words, he leaned forward and kissed her. It was eager but with a level of restraint that made the kiss passionate but not sloppy. She responded in kind. The longing for this previously absent physical affection made her hands tremble. Bryant grabbed her hands to steady them. “Are you alright?” He asked with honest concern.
She nodded almost imperceptibly. “Yes, it’s just that you are the first boy I’ve ever let kiss me.”
He could not contain the grin that broke out over his face. He reached up and gently slid his hand down her cheek. “You have no idea what my life was like before you came here.”
She closed her eyes and breathlessly sighed. Her heart threatened to burst if she did not confess the truth behind her feelings. “You are the first person I’ve felt anything for. I’ve looked at everyone else in terms of what they lack. I look at you and see everything you have to offer. You are sensitive, caring, funny, confident, and pensive. It doesn’t hurt that you’re handsome too.”
Bryant’s response was to lean forward and plant a small kiss on her forehead. “Thank you.”
The boy left before Cara’s parents arrived home. The goodbye was rife with repeated hugs and kisses ranging from quick pecks to long deep kisses and even some experimentation with Frenching. When he stepped into his mother’s truck, he could not stop smiling and his erection refused to die down. The long drive back to his trailer agonized him as the sensations of physical affection still burned hot in his brain. Nothing felt worse than an itch you couldn’t scratch. While occupied with his thoughts of future glory, Bryant decided to scratch his itch while going sixty down Highway eighteen (also known as the Vernon highway). The only thought occupying his mind was “don’t let me get pulled over, don’t let me get pulled over”.
***
The next day after school, Bryant regretted having to work. He suddenly realized that he could be with Cara if he did not have a low paying, crappy job flipping burgers or running the drive-though. His co-workers tried to cheer him up. Robert stepped around the grill and walked up front during one of the slow periods. “Hey man, you look like somebody pissed in your cereal. Customers got you down?”
“No, it has nothing to do with customers.” Bryant remembered Robert calling Cara a “stuck-up bitch” behind her back on her first day of school. The insult infuriated him still. Robert was trying to befriend him again, the hypocrite! “It has to do with you being an asshole.” He calmly stated.
“What?” His mouth hung agape in disbelief.
“I have a girlfriend now, someone that everyone at our lunch table has never spoken to but hates. You could at least have the decency to leave her out of conversation when I’m around.” His blood slowly simmered with repressed anger.
“That’s what this is about?” Robert let out a short chuckle. “We talk shit all the time to each other. This is the first time it has ever bothered you.”
Bryant looked him in the eyes with a solemn demeanor that surprised the cook. “It’s because she is important to me.”
“Okay, that’s fine with me. Just know that whenever Rick is around, I’m still going to be a bastard towards the both of you.” He smiled like a doofus and nudged Bryant with his elbow. “Can I tell you something and you keep it a secret?”
“That you’re really a nice guy but can’t risk your popularity?” The star struck lover quipped.
“Everyone knows that; I’m talking about Debbie over there.” Robert pointed to a light skinned black girl working at the second drive through window. “I’m going to fuck her one day.” He stated in his matter of fact manner.
“How do you figure that?” Bryant was almost laughing. “Your friends would ostracize you.”
“I wouldn’t tell them, idiot.” The presence of his broad smile made it hard to tell if Robert were serious or just joking. “She has those thick lips and that light skin, oooh, and that straight black hair. Plus, she’s got that figure, man. If I could convince her to give a white boy a chance, I’d lick the jar if you know what I mean.”
“I can’t decide if I should hate you right now or not. You are not a racist, just incredibly shallow.” Bryant pointed at the monitor displaying new orders, just arriving. “You’ve got a burger up.”
Robert disappeared behind the stainless steel fixtures suddenly shouting “coffee with cream!” and tossed pre-formed patties onto a clam-shell grill. Sizzling and a hiss of steam drifted up to Bryant and he began stocking cups of various sizes. When he walked over to the drive-through to check the level of the cups, he smiled at Debbie and appraised her.
Robert had spoken the truth. She looked very nice in her uniform. The visor on top of her head sprouted a black ponytail out of the back. Her black jeans tightly hugged her hips and showed off her well-proportioned figure. Her complexion was superb - no blemishes only smooth caramel colored skin. Yes, Robert was serious, but he could only express himself in his own offhanded way.
Bryant walked back to the grill and leaned over the condiments table to address Robert. “What do you have to offer her?”
Robert spun back around pulling a bun out of the rack and placing it on a spread wrapper. “I have a nice body, from all that Tae Kwon Do and Tang Soo Do that I’ve been taking. Plus, I hit the weights with most of the guys at the facilities by the stadium.”
“Anything emotionally?” Bryant raised an eyebrow.
“Sure, I’m nice. I won’t call her a trick ass bitch or anything like that.”
“I’m sure she’ll appreciate that.” Bryant then returned to his post leaving Robert to the grill.
***
Doctor Wagner walked into the hospital cafeteria and scanned the faces. Anxious family members and exhausted members of the staff sat at scattered tables with plastic trays loaded down with food placed in front of them. Most of the nurses ate quickly but few of the visitors touched anything on their plates. One beaming face caught his attention and she beckoned him over. It was an attractive, voluptuous woman (some would say full-figured). He nodded in acknowledgment and headed to an empty seat across from her.