The Trailer Park The Fifth Year Part 2 Music and LyricsChapter 30
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"Mom's mad at me," I said, tossing my cell phone on the unoccupied bed and shutting the door.
"What'd you do now?" Traci asked, dealing six cards to Robbie. I don't know why everyone doesn't want a little sister.
"Not sure." I looked over Robbie's shoulder at the cribbage board. She and Traci were just a few points apart about halfway through the game. Tami, Darlene, Mikee, and Kelly sat around the edges of the bed watching.
I sat down next to my phone. Mikee and Kelly had shown up a few minutes after Darlene, Robbie, Tami and I got back from the play. Their parents, like mine, were staying at the Holiday Inn instead of the Hilton. Traci wandered in a few minutes after that and told me that Mom wanted me to call. I'd grabbed my phone, then took a walk around the hotel a few times while I talked to her. "Is there a reason everyone is hanging out in my room?"
Tami gave me a sharp look. "Actually, it's my room. And unless you want to go sit by yourself in YOUR room, you'll be nice to my friends."
I nodded, though she'd turned back to the game and couldn't see me. "Where's Peter?" I asked to change the subject.
"He went with Mom and Dad to get something to eat," Mikee said. "We weren't hungry." Figuring I was in enough trouble, I ignored the pretzels in her hand.
Robbie cut the deck and Traci turned over an eight.
"Damn!" Robbie muttered.
I smiled to myself. "Let me guess. You discarded two perfectly harmless cards, but that eight made them valuable."
"How'd you know?" Robbie almost snarled.
"Who do you think taught her to play cribbage when he got tired of losing at Monopoly?" It was a rhetorical question, and no one answered me. "Traci always gets a good top card when it's her crib."
"I should have let you bury her in the woods when we were on our road trip," Robbie said, leading a six.
"Hey!" Traci complained. "I'm right here."
"Not for long." Robbie said. "Mikee, see if your brother is back. Maybe she'll go make out, and somebody else can win."
Mikee giggled but didn't move.
"So, why's your mom mad?" Tami asked.
"I think it's the Darlene situation."
"Hey!" Darlene whined. "It wasn't my fault."
"No, it's the situation, not you. Though if she met your step-daddy in a dark alley he'd leave with some bruises. I think she wanted to do a family dinner after the play. But since we didn't get out of there until almost midnight..."
"Oh," someone said while Robbie counted the cards in her hand and looked disgusted.
"Anyway, Trace, tomorrow you and I are doing the brunch thing with the parents. Ten-thirty sharp, and bad things will happen if we're so much as a minute late." Traci nodded as she counted her hand and moved her peg far in front of Robbie's. "Tami and Robbie, you are specifically invited, with the same dire warnings applied about lateness."
"My mom..."
"Is in the loop. I'm not sure if she's coming, but Mom said your mom and Robbie's dad knew all about it."
Tami nodded as Traci turned over her crib, three eights and a seven to go with her eight top card.
Robbie looked at the cards and stood. "I'm going to bed," she announced.
"But the game isn't over yet," Mikee said.
Robbie shook her head. "After she pegs all that she needs one point, and next hand, she counts first," she explained.
I grinned. Traci's luck could be annoying. "The rest of you weren't specifically invited, but weren't disinvited either, so feel free to come. And now..." I stood and moved over to the other bed, laying my hands gently on Tami's shoulders. " ... I hope you take this in the spirit of friendship, love, and respect in which it's meant. Get out," I said to the rest of them.
"Your mom called," Tami said as I opened the bathroom door to let out some of the steam.
"Here?" I asked as I toweled dry.
"Yes, here." Tami said and giggled. "We're supposed to meet them at the restaurant, not here or their motel. I've got directions." When Mom told me she knew about Tami and me having sex, she'd said to keep being discreet. I wondered if her calling Tami's hotel room to leave me a message counted against that. Hell, I wondered if she'd even bothered to call my room first.
"I see you brought a friend," Tami said with a grin as I walked out of the bathroom. "Put it away. I'm not getting grounded 'cause you were late to brunch."
The clock said ten straight up. "But we..."
"No," she said in a tone that indicated that not only was the discussion closed, but anything I said could be used against me.
I shrugged, turned to my suitcase, and started pulling out clean clothes. Tami was on the room phone as I dressed. She hung up as I pulled on my second sock. "Any idea who all is coming?"
"That was Robbie. She and Darlene will be ready in a couple more minutes. I called Traci, too. Did you want to hear about a sleepy male voice in the background of her room?
"No!" I said emphatically as I tied on a shoe. "Is he coming?"
"Nope. Peter and his sisters are going to Olympia with their folks. They'll be home tomorrow."
I nodded and stood up.
"Were you going to put on pants, or were you planning to give my dad a thrill.?'
Tami stuck her tongue out. "I figure your mom gives your dad enough thrills."
I shuddered. "Not going there."
Tami grinned, stood, and started pulling on a pair of jeans over her candy cane panties. "You are so weirded out by that."
"I was thinking. Your dad's such a big guy, and your mom..."
Tami made a face. "Point taken." She fastened her jeans and sat down again to put on shoes. "Think our kids will be weirded out by us?"
I shrugged. "It's traditional."
"Except in those stories you used to read."
I grinned. "Yeah, in a lot of those it's traditional for a father to initiate his daughters into sex and a mother to do her sons."
"Hands on sex ed. I can't imagine a girl having sex with her father. Think anybody we know... ?"
"Nah. Happens a lot more in fiction than in real life."
"What was the name of this place again?"
"The Ugly Duckling," Tami answered Darlene as I held the front door open for the four girls.
"Think they serve duck?" Robbie asked, holding open the inside door.
"Not for breakfast, I hope," I said as I followed the troop inside.
"I don't know how you could eat a cute little duck," Darlene said, running her hand through her hair. Between the wind and a light rain it looked a little disheveled. It had been perfect when we left the hotel.
"You eat cute little chickens," Traci pointed out.
"That's different," Darlene insisted.
"Don't worry," I said, laying my arm on her shoulders. "It's breakfast. I'm sure they have eggs and pancakes and stuff." Darlene looked relieved. "How do you feel about scrambled duck eggs?"
Darlene looked shocked. "They don't?"
I shrugged. Personally, I'd never heard of the place until Tami pulled into the parking lot.
"Don't pick on Darlene," Robbie said, flicking my arm off Darlene's shoulders and giving her a hug. "She's my new chicken coop cleaner."
"Chicken coop cleaner?" Darlene seemed surprised.
"You have to pay for room and board somehow."
I grinned and stepped up to the glass counter filled with ceramic and chocolate ducks. "Hi. We're meeting my parents for breakfast. Sims."
The waitress, a cute twenty-something in a starched pink uniform with a duck head emblem over her left breast, consulted a chart on a clipboard. "Sims. That's meeting room two." She picked up five oversized menus. "Right this way."
We followed her through a pretty standard dining room, except for duck paintings everywhere, to the far wall with four doors numbered one to four. The waitress opened number two and ushered us in.
It was a long paneled room with more duck pictures on the walls. Mom and Dad sat at the far end of a long table big enough for twenty or so. A couple of people I didn't know were sitting to my parents' right, opposite a Hispanic woman. She looked vaguely familiar, but her head was turned mostly away from me, talking to Mom.
Dad smiled at us, but before either of us could say anything I was tackled from the side by one of those alien creatures that suck the soul right out of you. The creature attached itself to my body, and it's soul sucking tentacle wormed into my mouth. I probably would have fallen on my butt, but Robbie braced me. Knowing Robbie, she'd done it instinctively. If she'd had time to think, she would have let me land on my ass.
It took a second to realize that the alien was actually a girl. And the tentacle a tongue, one that was actively dueling mine. It was another second before I realized it was... "Hailey!" I gasped, disengaging her and setting her on the ground.
"Hi, Cuz."
"What are... ?" I couldn't finish the question because another bundle was in my arms. Red-headed this time. Cinnamon kissed me, but without a tongue. Cinnamon let go of me to hug Robbie. I could see Hailey hugging Traci, though not as actively. "I..." A third bundle interrupted me. Blonde this time. "Doctor Blondie," I said after a perfunctory kiss. Of course, after Hailey, anything short of a blowjob was perfunctory.
My mind was spinning. Cinnamon and Wynter should be in Colorado. Hailey should be in Hawaii. No, Oregon. No, Colorado with the other two. But they were here. Definitely here. My cock twitched, and I wished Tami and I had had more time after my shower. And Mom and Dad sitting with the three strangers. Three ... Rosita.
What was Rosita doing here?
And Mom? What was Mom going to think about Hailey's greeting? Where were my hands when Hailey tackled me. God, I hope I hadn't grabbed her ass. Had I fondled her ass in front of my mother? I was never going to hear the end of it.
The strange man looked slightly annoyed. The woman, his wife, I guessed, had her hand covering a grin. Mom, Dad, and Rosita looked amused.
What the hell was going on?
Hailey, Cinnamon and Wynter had finished hugging all the girls. "Cousin Tony, Cousin Traci, ladies, these are my parents, Gerry and Viv," Hailey introduced. She noticed the confused look on my face, because she added, "Hey! Do I, like, need to explain which is which?"
"Hailey!" the strange man, Gerry, said sharply.
Hailey frowned at him. "Oh, cram it, Daddy! Tony's, like, so the family!"
"How... ? Why... ?" I stammered.
"The play," Tami said, seeming to be as stunned as I was.
"They came up to watch," Mom confirmed.
"Close your mouth, Sport. And come sit down." Dad hadn't called me Sport in a long time.
We sat, Cinnamon and Hailey on either side of me and Wynter across the table with Robbie and Tami on either side of her. Traci sat between Hailey's mom and Tami.
"Somebody stop the world. I'm ready to get off now," I said as Robbie passed out the menus the waitress had left on the end of the table.
"Your cousins came to watch the play," Dad said.
"It would have been nice if you'd actually invited us," Rosita said sternly. She held the stern look for several seconds, then laughed.
"But... ?"
"Here we were, just moved to Oregon, only a few hundred miles away, and you didn't even tell us there was a play," Hailey's dad said, giving his hand a dramatic overhead flourish.
"But... ?"
"We find new family and he ignores us," his wife added, stabbing an accusatory finger at me.
"But... ?"
"Tony!" Robbie said sharply. I looked across the table at her. She took a deep breath, held it, and let it out. I took the hint and followed suit.
"Party pooper," Hailey mumbled.
"They all came to see the play," I said. It may not have been the most intelligent comment I could make, but I was still trying to catch up.
"I invited them and got them tickets."
I looked over at Robbie again. "You did?"
She nodded. "You and Tami were busy with gymnastics and other things." Her last two words were barely audible, but with the nod she gave me, I knew she was talking about worrying about her.
"I knew you'd forgotten that Gerry and Viv had just moved to Oregon, so I got their phone number from Cinnamon, called, and invited them. Then I invited Cinnamon's family for good measure."
"I invited Wynter since she's a cousin too," Cinnamon added.
"So you were all there last night," I said brightly.
"Right in the eighth row between us and Robbie's sister," Dad said. "We..."
"Sam was there?"
I grinned at Robbie. "I guess you weren't the only one with a surprise."
She stuck her tongue out.
Cinnamon's eyes had moved non-stop, observing everyone while we interrupted her. When she saw that we were finished, she continued. "Daddy was going to come, but Mrs. Rikorson is due in a few days and was having complications."
"Hey, it was either leave him or, like, leave Wynter. We so couldn't take both of the best obstetricans at the same time. It, like, so wouldn't be fair!" Hailey added.
Wynter smiled at the compliment. "He's worried about Mrs. Rikorson and an abruptio placentae. It's not life threatening, but has to be watched closely.
"And he wouldn't want you traveling without the best OB in Colorado," Traci said.
"What?" Rosita said startled.
I looked at Traci, then Rosita, then back at Trace.
"You're pregnant, aren't you?" Traci asked, a little embarrassed now.
"How did... ? I'm not showing. I know I'm not."
I got up, stepped around Cinnamon and kissed Rosita on the cheek. "Congratulations."
"But how did she... ?"
"Traci always knows," Mom said.
"A few dozen woman have heard from Traci long before the rabbit died," Dad added.
"They don't use rabbits anymore," Traci giggled.
"They don't?" Dad seemed surprised. I guess it was a good thing he never gave me much of a sex talk.
"They never actually used rabbits much anyway, it was usually mice," Wynter explained.
"The mouse died. Doesn't sound right," Dad commented.
"Actually, the mouse or rabbit always died, independent of the test results." I recognized that Wynter was going into lecture mode. I just hoped there wouldn't be a test afterwards. "Well, almost always. They were testing for the effect of the human chorionic gonadotropin or hCG hormone produced by the embryo and the placenta on the animal's ovaries." I saw the look of concentration on Wynter's face and knew she was trying to make sure she pronounced everything right. I think she did, but what did I know?
"First blood or urine are subcutaneously injected into an immature test subject."
"Ewwww," Traci said, voicing my opinion too.
"Then the test animal had to be surgically examined to determine pregnancy by looking to see if the hCG induced ovulation, and it usually wasn't worth the time or expense to keep it alive."
"That's terrible," Darlene said.
"That's why back in the fifties they replaced it with the frog test."
"The frog died," Dad said making a face.
Wynter smiled. "They didn't have to kill the frog. If there was hCG, the frog would produce an egg within twenty-four hours. Since frog eggs gestate outside the body, it wasn't necessary to kill the frog. But now the test is entirely chemical, though both chemical and animal testing can give a false negative reading if performed too soon after fertilization."
Wynter smiled. It was the exact same smile that Mrs. Ustinov always had whenever I gave wrong answer in the fifth grade. Especially when I sounded sure of myself.
I glanced at Cinnamon. Her head was tilted slightly to one side and her unblinking eyes were fixed on Dad in that computronic way she had. She wore a smile of pride that I realized was for Wynter, her adopted sister, as she studied his reaction.
If there had been bonus points for style, Zoe's Song got 'em. Peter and I were turned out in black tuxedos, and the girls wore long elegant dresses. The official invitation to the banquet had said semi-formal, and of the other two casts, only half-a-dozen guys had even bothered with ties. We stood out. It had been Robbie's idea. She complained that she'd never seen me in a tux and Tami had. She'd been right. As much as I hate even wearing a tie, we looked good. We looked the part of...
"Stop drooling!" I came back to reality. "I wasn't drooling." Tami and her mother looked knowingly at each other. "I wasn't ... I was just imagining ... I mean..." "Tony, my future son-in-law, have you ever heard the expression quit while you're behind?" I decided I had a very wise future mother-in-law and nodded. Tami looked satisfied. "She was real excited, though naturally her father had trouble deciding between pride and paternalism." Tami shook her head in awe....
"Ladies!" The gymnasts who had been milling around quickly took seats on the bench, Cheyenne sitting last. "I am very disappointed. In fact, I'm down right disgusted." The girls looked at each other in surprise. In the bleachers I saw parents who were mostly used to my after-meet tirades looking surprised, too. I waited a beat. "I hate ties. Next time, win or lose, but no more ties." Kelly stood. "On behalf of the team..." and blew me a loud raspberry before sitting back...
"Okay, Trace, you're up." Traci frowned but stood up. "I don't know why you signed me up for this. I've been vaulting like shit." That was the truth. Since her fight with Peter almost a month ago, she hadn't been worth much of anything, in gymnastics or school. I'd told Mom about the fight with Peter, though not what it was about, and convinced her to give Traci some space to work it out. Now I was ignoring my own advice. I ignored her comment, smiled at her, then walked up to...
"Have you talked to her?" Beside me, Tami shook her head. "Damn!" I said as I pulled my car into the middle school parking lot. I parked next to the gym. We got out and headed inside. I hadn't seen Robbie since the play Saturday night. She'd missed three days of school, which was one more than she'd missed in the last three years. I'd called several times, but her dad said she wasn't feeling up to taking calls. This was not Robbie. "So who goes over tonight and barges in, you or...
"Are you totally blind?" The ref turned and glared at me, then turned back to the game. On the field, Mike Reed was climbing to his feet again. French Park had just logged their fourth late hit and gotten away with it again. Not that it did them any good. The pass that Mike had launched seconds before the hit had sailed right into Robbie's arms. She made another seven yards before two of the Legionaries brought her down. I looked across the field at the other sideline. The Legionaire...
"Yo, stud, the music stopped." There was something about holding Tami. We were surrounded by a hundred other couples, but as I held her close and danced we might have been alone on a deserted island. I'd been looking in her eyes and had gotten lost in them. "Huh?" I looked around. The band had stopped playing, and the other couples had stopped dancing and were applauding as Dennis Krimalaenski walked to the center of the stage. Ski, as everyone called him, held up his hand and the...
"If you were grinning any harder, you'd hurt yourself," Tami said as I slipped into the seat beside her. "Nothing wrong with being in a good mood," I said defensively, but my grin didn't slip. I checked the whiteboard in the front of the room, but Mr. Walker hadn't written anything, so it was business as usual. Tami looked at me suspiciously. "What are you working on?" "Nothing exciting. Just the grades list." The school paper printed a list of everyone with a three point or...
"You've got to be kidding." Robbie grinned, then shook her head. "It's perfect for your next song in the Spring Concert." "But..." "After all, you're the Donny Osmond fan." I sighed. "I made one little comment about him going from teen idol to game show host. That doesn't exactly make me the president of his fan club. Does he still have fan clubs?" Robbie grinned again. "Sure. Teachers, librarians, and waitresses in their fifties who go home, put on their old mini-skirts,...
"Are you still on the team?" I asked as I slipped my arm around Robbie's back and cupped her breast. "Don't know. Don't care. Feel good." I had a feeling that she wasn't talking about the hand that was gently toying with her already erect nipple. "We got the job done," she elaborated. "Did Parker say anything?" Tami asked from my other side. We were sitting on Robbie's bed, our backs leaning against her headboard, and I had a tit in each hand. The stereo was playing something...
"You're kidding, right?" I grinned and kept packing the back of Mom's mini-van. Tami looked up and surveyed the dark grey sky. "It's not that I don't want to, it's just..." I shoved in the last bundle and closed the rear door before it could fall back out. I grabbed Tami and pulled her into a tight embrace, pressing my mouth down against hers. "Tami, my love," I said a minute later, "do you want to stay home?" "No. But..." she looked back up at the sky. "This is all a...
Two things helped me salvage my dream of finishing the week with my body intact. One, Robbie knew it was the right thing to do. Even after installing the Bradley family in three of her unused rooms there were two left for future refugees. And two, she liked the girls from the moment she met them. As we walked in the living room I pulled a whistle out of my pocket and blew it hard. Robbie turned around and looked at me as if I'd lost it, but as she turned back the four Bradley girls were...
We got to the theater just before one. Luke Reese and Ricky Calloway were already busy tearing down our sets. Ricky looked at our group in amazement. "It's bad enough you travel with your own little harem, but I see you've added a new blonde, brunette, and a redhead." I grinned. "They say variety is the spice of life." Tami cuffed the back of my head as Robbie punched me in the arm. "Guys, these are Tony and Traci's cousins from Colorado and Hawaii," Tami said, then continued with...
Monday night I got home about six. It was kind of nice. With football and the play done for the year, all I had to worry about was school and gymnastics. It was almost like having free time. I parked in front of the trailer and then walked Tami to her house, with Kelly beside us heading for her own. "Good practice," I said, swatting my favorite munchkin on the butt as Tami and I stopped in front of her house. "I don't think Cheyenne thought so," Kelly giggled. "Go!" I said, pointing...
"Are you planning to be a playwright?" I smiled and shook my head. "Robbie may make me write one more, but after that I'm done. I'm just a dumb jock." Janet Martin smiled back. "That's like saying Albert Einstein counts good." "Where is Miss Tate?" Robert Annoly asked. "She, uh, wasn't feeling good. She went home after the curtain," Tami said. Before the play, Robbie had apologized to everyone for being a bitch all week, then after the last curtain, had snuck out as fast as...
I woke up when Tami elbowed me in the stomach. I opened my eyes. She was still asleep in my arms but had shifted position. Her head shared my pillow with mine. Right now she was facing away from me, so that all I could see was hair and an ear, but that was enough. Besides, it was a beautiful ear. I could stay like this forever, just watching that ear and feeling Tami's gentle breathing. Forever or until five o'clock when Mom and Dad were supposed to get home. I glanced at my clock on the...
"How's it going?" I asked, sticking my head into the music room. Traci jumped up and raced toward me, throwing her arms around my neck. "It's perfect," she whispered. I looked questioningly at Sally at the piano. "Her second song," she explained. I hugged my sister, and she kissed me on the cheek. "Be sure to hug Sally too," I said as I released her. "It's her music." "I already did." I swatted her on the butt, then headed for Mrs. Wayne's room. Toby was plugging his...
"We're on with the one and only Monster Girl," the disc jockey said in his best announcer voice. Tami reached forward and turned up the volume on the radio. We were driving home after she'd picked me up at the club after I'd worked all morning. It was the first Saturday since the baseball season started that I didn't have a double header. "An undefeated season so far. That's got to feel good." the announcer prompted. "It feels great." "Tuesday you play Lake again, and if you...
"What are you grinning about?" I climbed back to my feet. It felt like every Tiger in the stadium had piled on me after I ran back the kickoff to the fifty. "I was thinking how nice and peaceful it was to just be playing football." "Peaceful?" Robbie asked, cocking her head. Then she got it and nodded. "Maybe we can do a double or triple overtime so you can stay out here." "Please." "I talked to the coach, and he said it was okay." I looked blankly at Tami. "Coach?...
Usually a three-day weekend is something kids live for, but this one seemed to drag on forever. At least the weather cooperated. Saturday, Tami and I, with Robbie and Mark Russell, went out to the National Forest and hiked for about four hours. That night Tami and I played Monopoly with Traci and Peter, Mikee and Sam, and Kelly and a freshman named Kyle. Robbie and Mark were supposed to play too, but spent most of the evening in my room with the door shut, something that Sam and Kyle noticed...
The ball took one hop and seemed to home in on my glove. I'd been playing up close, right on the edge of the grass. I pulled the ball out of my glove and tossed it backward. As I turned, I saw Robbie take the toss from just behind second base. She stepped forward onto the bag and made a hard throw to first as the runner slid into the base. Ricky, his foot on first, leaned forward. The ball slapped into his glove a good second before the batter got there. I grinned at Robbie. Two pitches and...
I had lived in the Old West Trailer park just outside of Las Vegas for 4 years. I had a string of bad luck at poker and craps. I had lost my house, my wife and my dog over a short period. Being 23 years old and broke sucks big time. I now play poker tournaments on the Internet and have won enough to pay for a trailer and beer. I have open my second beer since I started writing this story. I am not sure how it happen but I am glad it did. It all started about a month ago.I was hanging my wash on...
"Are you ready to party?" Several hundred voices answered Tami, though I didn't have a clue what they said. "Just a couple things before we start. This concert is sponsored by the Junior Class Prom Committee. We're planning to raise more money for the prom this year than ever before." Cheers. Mostly from the students, but some of the grown-ups joined in. "You may know that last year, we had one of the best proms ever, and it didn't cost hardly anything. We figure if we can raise...
I looked at Peter, curled up in his sleeping bag on my floor almost like a puppy. I think he really missed his mom and dad today, though being a grown-up freshman he couldn't show it. But on Thanksgiving even grown-up juniors feel just a little closer to their families. Peter and Traci had taken to following along when Tami and I took our walks. Not intruding, but creating their own little ritual. I wondered if they'd last. They were awfully young. Damn, now I knew what Mom felt like when...
"How did he... ? Why did... ?" They were almost the first five words Tami had spoken since the scene in the locker room. I treasured them. "Did you say something?" I asked to tweak her. In the two hours since the game ended, she'd been absorbed in her own world and ignored me. Our original plan had been to stay and watch the second game so that I could size up next week's competition. In fact, my plan involved staying at the motel another night, though the team was driving back after...
"You've got a funny look on your face." I'd just stepped out my front door to meet Tami. I kissed her, slipped my arm around her and my hand into her back pocket, and we started walking. "I'm trying to decide whether to be insulted or not." Tami giggled. "About what?" "Mom and I were talking about Darlene, and she was saying that she was proud of me for bringing home strays, girls who need help." "And that's insulting?" "Then she added she'd be prouder if my strays...
The doorbell rang. It was the high point of my day so far. Freedom isn't over-rated, but it can be boring. I put down my book, Harrison's A Stainless Steel Rat is Born. I'd decided to re-read the series in chronological instead of published order. I stretched and answered the door. "What are you doing here?" I asked astonished. "That's the thanks I get for breaking out of maximum security to come see you." Robbie's grinning face was just the tonic I needed. "Maximum...
"You look way too happy for a Monday morning." I smiled at Robbie. "I take it you're smiling cause you're still in school?" Tami asked. "Nah, I'd be happier if I got a two week vacation, but I'm stuck here." "Give it up," Robbie said with a laugh. "Everybody knows you like school." I tried to look shocked. "Who's been spreading those rumors? I'll sue." "Tony, I hate to break it to you, but they all know you're a nice guy too." The line moved, and we got closer to...
"Tony. How's your first day?" "Good so far," I said with a smile. "Why? What have you heard?" Mr. Reed sighed and sat down across from me. "Could you at least try to go a week without problems?" I shrugged. "I can try." "Why do I feel like I should have told Jason no and gone back to watching television?" It was rhetorical, so I shrugged and kept quiet. I'd been sitting by myself in the library. I had calculus sixth period, not that I thought I would ever use it, but it...
"You've had a busy morning." "I have?" I said, turning around. I'd been standing in the lunch line with Tami and Robbie when Stephy Ward came up behind us. "Un huh," she said with a giggle. "When I got to the office second period, Mr. Parker was in with Mr. Reed. He wasn't exactly yelling, but he was pretty loud, and even with the door closed I heard your name several times." I tried to look humble. "One of the prices of fame. Everybody talks about you." "Just before I left,...
Coach Vickers blew his whistle and signaled the team over. "Settle," he yelled as we formed a circle around him. I was feeling good. It had been a good week. So far, no one had threatened to suspend or expel me. Dad gave me some funny looks. I think he was trying to decide if he had to say something about Tami and me, but in the end I guess he decided that Mom had handled it. Football practice had gone great and so had the play. It was Thursday. Maybe, just maybe, I would finally get the...
As soon as Tami and I got to school, three basketball players grabbed me and started carrying me around the halls. Mike, Luke, and Robbie were getting similar treatment. And it didn't stop when the bell rang. Not that the teachers tried. We'd had an assembly scheduled for second period, but with most of the student body roaming the halls chanting, clapping and stomping, Mr. Reed moved it up. I was carried triumphantly into the gym. Mr. Reed caught my eye and tilted his head to the lectern...
"The answer is... ," I hope, "three-x." Mrs. Wayne smiled. "Now trying saying like you believed it." "Three-x." "Very good. Now did everyone get how he got that? Tony, did you get how you got that?" Robbie giggled from the next desk. The door opened, and Tami stuck her head in. "Mrs. Wayne, could I borrow Tony and Robbie for a couple minutes?" Mrs. Wayne hesitated, then nodded. Robbie and I glanced at each other, then gathered our stuff. "Pages one-twenty-five thru...
Since there was no school Friday after Thanksgiving, Coach Vickers made it very clear that everybody had to be in the parking lot for the bus by ten. No exceptions. Still, he didn't sound very surprised when I called and said that Robbie and I were running late, and since we didn't want to hold everybody up, we'd drive ourselves. "My Tony, who doesn't lie," Tami sighed from the seat next to me as I put my cell phone back in my pocket. "I didn't lie. There's no way we can make the...
"Yes." "Yes what?" Tami asked as my hand sank into the back pocket of her jeans. "Yes is the answer." "What answer?" Tami asked a little over loudly. Behind us, I saw Traci and Peter come out of their own world to look. It was the Sunday night after the brunch, and we were talking a walk around the park even though it was misty. I smiled. Turning my head, I nibbled on her earlobe. "The answer to the question you're going to ask in about twenty or twenty-five minutes." "What...
"You dog, you." I didn't recognize the voice, but it had a touch of envy, so I looked around. Calvin Bateman was coming out of a room three doors down. I guessed that he'd seen me kissing a half-naked Bobbi saying goodbye. He walked over and clapped me on the back. "I heard you were a player, but I have to admit I'm impressed." Calvin was the only sophomore to make varsity and hadn't been my pick for the job. Robbie said he had potential, and I wasn't going to argue. Calvin...
I pulled into the lot, parked, and killed the engine. It felt good to be back. I climbed out and grabbed my backpack from behind the seat. 'This ought to surprise Robbie and Tami, ' I thought, grinning to myself. Surprising Monster Girl was never easy and almost worth a week of suspension if I could. I walked in the front door and stopped in the main hallway. I was kinda surprised that it didn't feel different. The hall was mostly deserted. I glanced at my watch. Second period had started...
I've always heard that when you're drowning, your whole life passes in front of your eyes. I wondered if that had anything to do with my thoughts about the first time I made love to Tami. "Tate! Sims! You're up." I stood, and picked my helmet. Robbie was waiting for me just over the sideline. I put on my helmet and we walked toward the fifty-yard line. Normally we jogged out, but I held her back and we walked. Mr. Metzger, an old friend, was the chief referee. "Gentlemen, and...
"Don't you want to say anything?" I looked up from tying my shoe. Luke Hastings and I were alone in the locker room. I'd been late. Robbie, Tami, Darlene, Mikee and I had been talking about the play. "About?" "I passed my drug test Thursday, and you never said anything." I looked back down and finished tying my shoe, then stood. "Good," I said flatly. "That's all?" "What do you want, a pat on the back? Let's be honest, the only reason I care at all is that I put my...
"Tony, where are you heading?" Mr. Calloway was leaning out of his classroom. "I have P.E. in five minutes." "I have a free period. Could I see you for a few minutes. I don't think Mr. Vickers will mind." I nodded, then looked around the hall, spotting Toby Reyes. He had P.E. this period too. "Hey, Toby!" I yelled to get his attention. A minute later I was walking into Mr. Calloway's room and Toby was going to tell Coach Vickers why I was late. "What can I do for you coach?" I...
I leaned back, taking my fingers off the keyboard and flexing them. I decided that writing wasn't nearly as easy as I'd thought it was. Especially writing to a deadline. The other play had been easy, but then, it had been nothing but a bunch of songs held together by a little dialog. Now the dialog had to tell the story. And on top of that, just when I was trying to think, 'How would this character say that?' I found myself thinking, 'Robbie expects a first draft tomorrow.' No...
"How'd your meeting go?" Robbie asked. "Not great," I said and sat between the two girls. Robbie and Tami were sitting on the stone wall outside the side door. Thirty-seven-and-a-half percent of the cheerleading squad were sitting on the other wall. I gave Mikee, Allie, and Darlene big smiles. Beyond the overhang the rain was coming down. Mr. Nye, the science teacher, said we might set a record. I didn't want to set a record, I wanted football practice, and if it didn't lighten up...
"Feel like we've done this before?" After the referee flipped the coin, I was shaking hands with the Grizzly quarterback. "Now that you mention it, it does feel familiar," I said with a grin. "Yeah, but last time was just a bad dream. This time we'll get it right." I shrugged. "I thought it turned out pretty good last time." Last year we'd met the Grizzlies in the semi-finals and beaten them, though all the sportswriters had predicted they'd have an easy game. This year, we...
"TONY SIMS. PLEASE COME TO THE OFFICE." I looked at Tami, and she shrugged. Robbie, on my other side, was no better help. Then I looked at Mrs. Conners. She was looking at me. "I have a topic," I said with a big smile. "Resolved: Teenagers and debate teachers are prone to auditory hallucinations, but should learn to ignore them." Mrs. Conners smiled but inclined her head to the door. I sighed, picked up my books, and left, wondering which of my past indiscretions was coming back to...
"Are you in trouble?" I'd been nuzzling Tami's neck as we walked. I kissed it and said, "Don't think so. Why?" "Look." I lifted my head, Tami was pointing toward my house. Robbie's little Rodrigo was parked in front, and Robbie was sitting on the hood. "Should I make a break for it?" Tami smiled evilly. "Nope, she's faster than you." I made a face. "And tackles harder." For a few seconds I contemplated replacing Tami. A nice dumb blond. Judy Saunders was major cute. And...
"Nobody out, man on first!" I shouted, then tossed the baseball in the air and smacked it toward Elvis Carson, who was playing first. The freshman snagged it on one bounce, spun, and raced toward first, tagging it easily. He looked at me, tossing the baseball up and down and grinning like he'd just been named Rookie of the Year in the American League. "Great play," I yelled. Impossibly, his grin got bigger. "We now have a man in scoring position with only one out." His face fell. "I...
"TONY SIMS. PLEASE COME TO THE OFFICE." Fuck! There is no way. Mrs. Conners shot me a dirty look but didn't say anything as I closed my notebook. We were getting ready for a team debate, and I'd been jotting down ideas. "ROBBIE TATE. PLEASE COME TO THE OFFICE." Robbie grinned at me. "Maybe my little sister got into a fight too." Darlene was a month-and-a-half younger than Robbie. "Maybe tomorrow you'll stay for the entire class," Mrs. Conners said dryly. "The way things are...
"What the hell are they doing?" I yelled, jumping to my feet. I felt two hands grab my arms and try to pull me down, Tami on one side and Mikee on the other. "Quiet!" Mikee hissed. "You're not supposed to be here. I stayed on my feet as the referees untangled the dog pile with Luke Hastings on the bottom. As he stood, Hastings threw the ball on the ground in disgust. I couldn't blame him. The blocking had been horrible, and we got sent for a five yard loss. I let Tami and Mikee...
"Do you want the good news or the bad news?" I finished twisting my combination and opened my locker before looking at Ricky. "Christmas vacation just ended. I haven't been back in school three minutes yet. There can't be bad news." "Winter break," Robbie corrected. Tami and I had driven her to school. Her little Honda, Rodrigo, was getting a tune up. Ricky just smiled. "Okay, I'll play," I said reluctantly. "What's the good news?" "Schedule's out for baseball," Ricky...
"Take five!" "But, we're..." I took a couple quick steps and jumped up to the stage. "We're taking five," I said firmly. I took Robbie's hand and pulled her toward the exit. Outside, I took a deep breath of the cool night air, then pushed Robbie to sit on the low concrete wall by the door. "Want to talk about it?" "There's nothing to talk about." "Okay." I sat next to her, taking her hand again. We sat like that for several minutes. Robbie tried to stand, but I held her...
I looked around the locker room, taking a second to study each player. I looked longer at Luke Hastings. I had to admit he was good. Damn good. I'd bet big bucks that Coach Branson would be up here scouting him sometime this year. But I didn't think he was that much better than Casey Williams, the kid from Seattle who was the Washington all-state halfback last year. I wasn't sure he was better at all. I made up my mind and printed two names on the slip of paper on my knee. ROBBIE...
She was thinking about Max and the crazy sex they had last week nonstop since it had happened. Her pussy or "Cunt" as she was now calling it because Max had called it that and it now pleased her to call her betraying vagina a cunt. Her cunt was back to normal. For a few days after 'having coffee' with Max it was sore and stretched. Very tender and leaking his cum. She smelled and tasted it for days. On the third day she could still get small traces but she really had to force her fingers...
I heard the patrol car crunching gravel before I saw it in my rear view mirror. It pulled up behind me and parked. "I'm guessing this is official, so I should say, 'What can I do for you deputy?' instead of how you doing Dan?" "It's official," he confirmed. Dan Boyd walked around the car and got in on the passenger side. "We got a complaint that you refused to leave school property." "I'm just waiting to pick up Tam." "But you've been suspended?" "Yep, about twenty...
My car was crowded as I drove to school, Tami in the seat beside me and two cousins and an adopted cousin in the back seat. I was glad to have my Mustang back from Mom, but sometimes her minivan made more sense. I smiled, listening to the conversation in the back seat. Wynter seemed thrilled to be going to high school, if only for the day. Hailey, the experienced freshman, wasn't nearly as impressed, and Cinnamon just took it in stride. I just concentrated on my driving and how I was going...
"Ready to start?" I nodded to Robbie. "What? No cute remarks about the Committee to Undertake New Theatrical Sensations?" I shook my head. Tami was sitting on my left leg. She leaned over and kissed me on the chin. "Tony's having a bad day. He thinks it's safer not talking." "He's probably right," Traci said sharply, then glared at me. Then she grinned, came over, and sat on my other leg. Bad day was an understatement. It started at seven, which is bad all by itself since...
I remember reading a memoir by some general who talked about the 'logistical nightmare' of coordinating D-Day in World War II. Twelve thousand planes: fighters, bombers, transports, even gliders. Almost seven thousands ships: everything from battleships for shore bombardment to landing craft to hit the actual beaches. Ten thousand tons of aerial bombs and millions of rounds of ammunition. Food, clothing, medical supplies. Add to that he was dealing with eight different navies and almost as...
"... Tate with the ball. She's scrambling. She see's an opening and... it looks... it looks like a perfect pass right into the hands of Zach Hissman. A good catch, and Zach brought down on the thirty-four. That's another first down for the Rebels." I leaned back and took a deep breath, then looked at Tami beside me. "I didn't realize that talking was such hard work." Tami gave me a quick grin and went back to her laptop. I looked back down on the field. "The Rebels out of their...
"Have you ever considered having a study hall for seventh period?" I shrugged as Mrs. Connors glared at me. The PA system had just summoned me to the office again. I'd expected the summons yesterday or the day before. I gathered my books and stood. "TAMI SHARP, PLEASE REPORT TO THE OFFICE." Tami and Robbie looked surprised. "I give up," Mrs. Conners muttered. "Anybody else want to go? The office? The library? Hell, Dairy Queen?" I think a few students liked the Dairy Queen idea...