Wrestling Against Myself (17 page)

Tony camped out by his car. He could see the school and the practice field. Seeing that Peter and his group got busted once this week by the vice principal, he doubted they would do anything stupid where they could be seen.

He got into his car and rolled down the windows. At least, he thought, he had gotten into the habit of rolling them up during the day. He learned the hard way that keeping the windows down was detrimental to his interior. On several occasions the year before he went home with wet clothes because he had no choice but to sit in a puddle.

As Tony was leaning over to roll down the passenger side window, he saw Pete and his crew running along the backside of the practice field.

“This can't be good,” he said as he sat back up and wondered if he missed Courtney leaving.

Peter led his group to the weight room and they disappeared behind the small building.

“Don't these guys ever give up?”

Tony got out of his car; the parking lot was almost empty. All that remained besides his Firebird was Peter's Ford pickup. He looked toward the school, sure enough; Courtney was just about to leave.

Tony walked briskly to intercept the girl. He knew where she was heading and it was straight into a trap. He didn't know what Peter and his goons had in mind, or how violent they intended to get, but Tony was sure they weren't waiting to offer an apology.

Courtney had a lead on the teen, and there wasn’t a way for him to catch her without running, which might cause her to sprint towards danger. Tony marveled for a moment, when she was walking to school it was at a snail’s pace, but when she was leaving from school, she could rival Flash Gordon.

“Hey!” Tony called out. “Courtney, wait up.”

Courtney paused and gave the boy a strange look.

Tony took a light jog so he wouldn't keep her waiting in the Florida heat.

Courtney looked down as soon as Tony made it to her, refusing to look him in the eye. “Hi Tiny,” she said in her small voice.

“Hey.” Tony wondered how to deal with the situation without scaring the girl. “Wanted to catch up with you after school, the cafeteria and hallways are so noisy, you know?”

Courtney let out a strained smile.

“I know you normally cut across the field to get home, but I was thinking that I could give you a ride.”

The girl looked up. “It's not far. My house is right next to the wall.”

“But still,” Tony struggled to come up with an excuse for the girl to ride with him that wouldn't alert her that a group of boys were waiting to harm her just beyond the weight room. “I figured it would give us some time to talk, you know, with no one around.”

“Why are you doing this?”

“Doing what?” Tony asked, trying to hide his nervousness. He knew that at times people could easily read his facial expression. He hoped that he wasn't giving anything away.

“Ever since school started people have either picked on me, made fun of me, bump into me on purpose, or refused to have anything to do with me. Everyone except you, “Courtney said in a rush, frustrated by her own confusion. “Oh, and that girl Tracy who tried talking to me, but I know that you told her to. You go out of your way to be near me, you wait at your locker for me, you wait by your car and watch me leave, heck you even eat lunch with me now, what gives?”

Tony's eyes grew big. “Wow.”

“Wow what?”

“That is the most I've heard you say at one time since I've met you.”

Courtney blushed and looked away from the boy.

“I'm not upset.” Tony tried to keep his voice under control; he didn't want to appear upset. “I didn't know you had it in you. You can sure pack a wallop.”

Courtney stood in silence.

“Okay, so what's the deal? Right? Okay. I'll tell you. I want to be your friend, is that so wrong?”

“Some people might say it is,” Courtney replied but still stared at her shoes.

“Can I tell you a secret, something I learned not too long ago?”

Courtney raised her eyes. “Sure.”

“Some people are idiots.”

A smile came across the small girls face.

“Come on; let me give you a ride. We can get out of the heat, and, besides, I got a really cool car. You don't want to pass up the opportunity to ride the beast.”

“The beast?”

Tony smiled as he took a step towards the Firebird and saw that the girl walked beside him. “Yeah, the beast. That's what they named my car. Actually, it was John Sharp who came up with the name, but it stuck and everyone calls it that.”

Courtney made her way to the passenger side of the car. “I thought guys named their cars after girls.”

“Some do, but I think if I called her Esmeralda in front of other people I would be made fun of.”

Courtney let out a small laugh.

“That's better.” Tony opened the door for the girl. “Your chariot, my lady.”

Courtney daintily sat down, getting in the car the way most girls did, by lowering their bottom to the seat while keeping their feet on the ground before swinging their legs inside the vehicle. Tony watched. He always wondered why guys and girls got into cars differently.

Tony looked towards the weight room. Peter stuck his head from behind the building. Even from a distance, Tony knew that the bully was not a happy camper.

Tony got in his side of the car and fired it up. He revved the engine a few times to warm it up.

Courtney looked at the driver. “Are you trying to show off? I already know it’s fast.”

Tony smiled. “Not trying to show off at all. If I don't do this, we'll stall and then I'll wind up pushing you to your house before she'll start again.

“If you say so.”

As Tony put the car in reverse he saw Peter and his group pop from behind the small building and start heading back towards the parking lot.

The girl noticed them too. “Did you know those guys were waiting there?”
 

“What guys?” Tony tried to play it off as he put the car into drive.

“You did, didn't you?”

Tony shrugged, as he drove towards the exit.

Courtney folded her arms and harrumphed in her seat. “You know, you could have told me those guys were waiting to beat me up instead of telling me you wanted to give me a ride because you're a nice guy.”

Tony sighed. “I didn't want you worried. Besides, I like having someone ride with me. You're really doing me a favor.”

“Hardly.”

“No, honest. Listen, I know we don't know each other yet, but that can change. It looks like you could use a friend, and I could always use another.”

“So I'm a charity case?”

Tony knew he offended the girl. “No. Geez, nothing like that. People meet each other in all kinds of circumstances and become
friends; this is just a different circumstance.”

“So you want to be my friend?”

“With all my heart,” Tony said as he took one hand off the wheel and crossed his chest and then held up three fingers. “Scouts honor.”

“You're a Boy Scout?”

Tony laughed. “No.”

“That's kind of required for scouts honor.”

“I didn't say it was my honor. Pick any scout you want, we'll use him.”

Courtney relaxed and unfolded her arms. “Do you even know where you're going?”

“I know where the entrance is. One of the guys from the team lives in there. I've given him a ride home after practice a few times.”

“Were people waiting to beat him up too?”

“No, but he's my workout partner and I can wear people out.”

“I can see that happening,” the girl said with a sly smile.

“Anyway. Until this all blows over between you and Peter, why not let me give you a ride home. He'll get bored in a week or two.”

“I guess. Wait until I tell my mom that Tiny is giving me rides home.”

“It's not that big of a deal.”

“Are you kidding, she'll flip.”

“She'll get mad?”

Courtney shook her head. “No, the other flip. The most popular guy in school gave me a ride home, she won't believe it?”

Tony rolled his eyes. “Don't let it go to your head, or I'll make you drive next time.”

“Turn down the next block,” Courtney said as she pointed.

“You're more chatty away from school.”

Courtney shrugged. “I guess I don't have to worry when a gazillion people aren't around.”

“A gazillion? That's a new number for me.”

“It's a million zillion, it's a lot of zeroes.” Courtney giggled.

It surprised Tony how differently the girl behaved one-on-one than she did in a crowd. He could understand it if it weren't so extreme. In a crowd he often felt like he was on display and needed to be 'on.' He tried his best to remain consistent no matter what size group he was in.

“See the minivan,” Courtney said. “That's my house.”

Tony pulled into the driveway. “Here you go.”

“Thanks Tiny.” Courtney opened the door and got out of the car. “It beats getting beat up.”

“I don't know if they were going to beat you up, but it was my pleasure. See you at lunch tomorrow.”

“If you want, I mean, you don't have to go out of your way.”

“No,” Tony said with a smile. “I want. Like I said, I want to be your friend.”

“Cool. See you tomorrow.” Courtney retreated towards her home.

Tony watched the small girl scampered into her house. “Social anxiety,” he said out loud as he tried to figure out the girl and why she had such fear at school.

He figured he would solve the problem soon or later, backed the car out of the driveway and then headed home.

Fridays are an energizing day. Tony could feel it in his step when he got out of his car and headed towards the gym. He missed visiting Coach Walker the day before, but he was never denied access to the
coaches’ office. He walked up the embankment from the parking lot to the door outside the boy’s locker room. A group of kids were waiting to be allowed in.

Tony made his way past the kids and opened the locker room door.

“It's not open yet,” one of the boys said.

Tony turned toward the kid and smiled, but he didn't say a word.

“Don't you know who that is, Dufus?”

“Who?”
 

“That's Tiny. He has the keys to the whole school.”

Tony let the door close behind him and tapped on the glass window of the Coaches' office.

“Hey Tiny,” Coach Walker said as he looked up from his oversized mug of coffee.

“Coach!” Tony then nodded to the other two men in the office. “Coach, and coach. You can start a sitcom in here, my three coaches.”