French Lessons, Volume 4, Part 3: Poets Behaving Badly

[fleurlb]

Julie timed her entry into the cafeteria on Saturday so that she arrived a minute before 8am. Vice Principal Trucks was sitting at a table in the front, dressed in a short sleeved shirt with horrible sans-a-belt pants. Julie wondered if that's what his whole wardrobe was like.

 

 

She pictured him wearing that outfit to go on vacation to the beach or to go hunting. The images caused her to giggle, which made him shoot her a dirty look. Julie stopped laughing and sat down, momentarily unnerved. It was almost like he'd read her mind. Creepy.

 

Julie looked around the cafeteria at the other students who'd committed transgressions requiring Saturday suspension. She was the only girl in a room of about ten boys and she'd be surprised if she could name three of them. These weren't exactly the sort of social circles she traveled in.

 

She had no idea what happened in a Saturday suspension. A few of the other inmates were napping. A couple were staring off into space. One seemed to be carving something into the table. Julie took a book out of her purse and started reading. She figured it might not be so bad, if all she had to do was sit there and read. Sure, the chair would get uncomfortable, but reading was enjoyable at least.

 

Julie was lost on the road with Jack Kerouac when she heard the seat next to her scrape across the floor. Startled, she looked up, afraid of which juvenile delinquent might have decided to become her new best friend. She nearly breathed an audible sign of relief when she realized it was just Tim.

 

His clothes were wrinkled, he smelled like whiskey, and he looked like he hadn't slept in two days. He slumped into the seat and put his head down on the table.

 

“What are you doing here?” she whispered without looking at him.

 

“Got in trouble,” he shrugged.

 

“You look terrible. Did you even go home last night.”

 

“Nope,” he lifted his head and gave her a wolfish grin. “Was too busy makin' memories.”

 

“You know, can you explain this making memories thing to me? Seems to me like you drink enough to eliminate any memories you might have had in the first place.”

 

Tim put his finger to his lips and shushed her. “Taylor, I am so totally hung over right now. I really can't answer brain teasers.”

 

Julie opened her purse and rooted through it until she came up with a bottle of Advil. She slid it over to him.

 

“Thanks, Taylor,” he whispered. Then he spoke up. “Excuse me, sir, can I go get a drink of water?”

 

“Nice of you to join us, Mr. Riggins. No, you may not.” Vice Principal Trucks went back to making notes on the papers in front of him.

 

Tim sighed and tipped a few pills out of the bottle, steeling himself to dry-swallow them.

 

“Tim, wait,” whispered Julie. She picked up her purse and walked up to the table, where she whispered something to Mr. Trucks. He flushed and gestured her out the door. On her way out, she gave Tim a triumphant smile.

 

She returned about five minutes later and set her purse on the table between Tim and her. The zipper was open to reveal a couple of bottles of water and some candy bars.

 

“Take whatever you need,” she told Tim.

 

“Thanks, Taylor,” he whispered. He kept his eyes on the vice principal and managed to down an entire bottle of water when the man wasn't looking. Tim put his head back on the table and closed his eyes.

 

At about 8.30, Vice Principal Trucks cleared his throat and began to give out the assignments for the day. A couple of kids were sent into classrooms to scrape chewing gum off desks. Another few were tasked with picking up litter from the school grounds. Tim and Julie get the last assignment – packing up the equipment in the school science labs.

 

On the way to the science lab, Tim ate two candy bars and seemed to be getting his strength back.

 

“Why are you here?” asked Julie.

 

“Got in trouble, I guess.”

 

“I figured that much. What did you do?” said Julie, rolling her eyes.

 

Tim shrugged. “Does it matter? I don't even think I remember.”

 

Julie wanted to press him. How could you not remember what landed you in Saturday suspension? But they were already at the first science lab, where Miss Gorman was waiting for them.

 

It was a biology lab and the teacher explained that they were to take inventory of all the dissecting kits, note anything that was missing, clean anything that was dirty, package everything up in boxes, label the boxes, and carry them to the storage room down the hall. In the chemistry labs, they would be wrapping the glass equipment in bubble wrap and packing it up in specially designed boxes.

 

Julie listened carefully and nodded in all the right places. Miss Gorman sat down at a desk in the front of the room and rested her hand on her chin. Julie couldn't decide if the teacher was bored silly, exhausted, or both.

 

Julie picked up her clipboard and started with the inventory, then moved onto the cleaning and packaging. She stole a few glances at Tim and he seemed to be moving through his work much more quickly that she was. This irritated her, so she tried to work faster.

 

They'd moved onto the second biology lab when Mr. Trucks came through to make sure they were carrying out their punishment without having any fun. There was no danger of that, Julie thought grimly. She was so sick of cleaning crusted up frog bits off of scalpels, she thought she might just vomit.

 

After Mr. Trucks left, Tim sauntered up to Miss Gorman and had a brief chat with her. Julie couldn't hear the words, but she could hear Tim's soft, reassuring tone. She watched different expressions move over the teacher's face until she finally settled on relief. Julie watched in surprise as Miss Gorman left the room.

 

“What did you do?” Julie hissed at Tim.

 

“What you mean what did I do? Mr. Trucks is lazy. He won't come back here until just before it's time for us to leave,” said Tim with quiet certainty.

 

“How do you know?”

 

Tim laughed. “Ain't my first rodeo.”

 

Julie sighed impatiently. “OK, fine, but how'd you get rid of Miss Gorman?”

 

Tim stretched and smiled. “Piece of cake. Poor lady was probably even more hung over than I was this morning.”

 

Julie's eyes widened in surprise. “Seriously?”

 

“Yeah,” said Tim. “You didn't notice that?”

 

Julie shook her head. “Is like figuring out other people's weaknesses your super power or something, Riggins?”

 

Tim tilted his head and smiled at her, a slow, wide grin that set a flock of butterflies loose in Julie's stomach. “Haven't figured yours out yet, Taylor. I'll have to keep trying.”

 

Julie ducked her head and opened a dissecting kit. She was disgusted to find another dirty scalpel. She was about to lift it out and clean it when Tim reached over and shut the kit.

 

“Don't bother. Just do the inventory and then let's get these things packed up. Sooner we're done, the sooner we can relax.”

 

“But we're supposed to-”

 

“Taylor, we're putting 'em in sealed boxes. No one's going to know what's done right. It'll all just be done.”

 

Within an hour they'd finished the second biology lab and the first chemistry lab. Halfway through the second chemistry lab, Tim declared that they were done.

 

“But, we still have to finish this lab,” protested Julie.

 

“Yeah, but if we get everything done then it looks bad, like we cut corners. We leave something undone, then it looks like we've done just enough, just right,” said Tim, walking into the office attached to the lab. Inside was a metal desk, an ancient metal office chair on a heavy base with wheels and a small couch.

 

Tim pulled down the shades and then lay down on the couch, his knees on one of the couch arms while his legs dangled down. He folded his arms behind his head and looked over at Julie.

 

She sat down in the desk chair, finding it surprisingly comfortable. She tipped back in the chair and then spun around, laughing.

 

“Now what?” she asked.

 

“Now, whatever,” said Tim, closing his eyes.

 

Julie groaned. “Aw, you're not going to sleep, are you? That would be really boring for me.”

 

“Nah, I'm not going to sleep. I'm just resting my eyes. I'm still talking to you.”

 

“Okay, that's all right, I suppose,” said Julie. She looked over at him and noticed that the top three buttons of his shirt were undone, providing a fantastic view of his tanned, muscled chest.

 

She let herself stare for a few seconds because really, it was like looking at Michelangelo's David or something. You had to appreciate art whenever and wherever you found it.

 

Afraid of getting caught gawking, Julie tore her eyes away and began to slide the chair back and forth across the room. A few minutes of silence stretched between them, since Julie wasn't really sure what she wanted to talk about.

 

“Taylor, this whole talking thing is going to go a lot better if you actually....you know...talk,” said Tim.

 

Julie stopped sliding around in the chair, looked at him and said the first thing that popped into her head. “That thing about you and the Stratton sisters. Is that true?”

 

Tim turned his head, opened one eye and smirked at her. “Yes.”

 

Julie's mouth fell open and she tried to but failed to recover gracefully. “That's kinda sick.”

 

Tim shrugged one shoulder and smiled to himself. “It's all about the memories.”

 

Emboldened, Julie flipped through the rumors she'd heard about Tim. “What about Mrs. Diaz, the Spanish teacher who quit in the middle of last year.”

 

“Uh....”

 

“Oh my god! You didn't!” squealed Julie.

 

“No, it's not like what you heard. Something happened, but only after she'd already been gone for a few weeks and I ran into her at a gas station in Barton. And seriously, she was only 23.”

 

“She was still married.”

 

“Oh, yeah. I guess she was,” said Tim, looking ever so slightly abashed.

 

Julie grinned and tried to think of a rumor that would provoke a reaction from him. Unable to think of one, she resorted to inventing one on the spot. “What about Tyra's mom?”

 

“What?” asked Tim, opening his eyes and sitting up.

 

“Tyra's mom,” said Julie, trying to keep her voice and face serious.

 

“You really think I'd still have my balls if that one were true?”

 

Julie shook her head and tried to control the giggles that were building up inside her.

 

“Seriously. Where did you hear that?”

 

“I made it up. I'm sorry – I just wanted to get a reaction from you,” said Julie before she collapsed in a heap of giggles.

 

Tim looked annoyed, then relieved. He kicked out a leg and made contact with the chair, sending Julie spinning across the room. He settled back into the couch, grumbling good-naturedly. “You know, Taylor, you going to ask me all these personal questions, I think it's only fair I should get to ask you some.”

 

Julie got herself under control and sat up straight. “Okay, but my life is way more boring than yours.”

 

Tim looked at her while he thought, but then after several seconds he closed his eyes. “What's the most memorable thing that's happened when you've been with Seven?”

 

Julie looked down, knowing her cheeks were going to be burning red before she could get a single word out. “Memorable,” she repeated, trying to buy herself some time. “Memorable good or memorable bad?”

 

“I don't know, Taylor. Memorable-memorable. When you're 87 and you look back to this year and all the time you've spent with Seven, what's the first memory that's going to pop into your head.”

 

“Oh.....yeah. That would be the time my dad walked in on us at Matt's house.”

 

Tim's eyes snapped open and he turned his head to look at her. “For real?”

 

She hunched her shoulders, ducked her head and looked at him through her bangs. “For real. I mean, we're weren't exactly doing anything right at the moment, but we were, you know, in his bed and it was pretty obvious.....”

 

Tim gave a low whistle of appreciation. “And Seven's still alive. Wow. I don't think I ever realized how brave that guy is.”

 

Julie laughed. “Brave. He didn't want to touch me again and was afraid to come near the house for two days. I finally had to tell him to man up.”

 

“But he did....didn't he?”

 

“Yeah, he did. Seemed like every time he came over for the next few weeks, my dad was cleaning the grill or sharpening the knives or chopping wood or doing something that involved sharp objects and physical force.”

 

Tim laughed. “That's classic. I gotta remember that if I ever have a daughter.”

 

They traded questions for the next two hours, some of them serious, some of them silly. Julie told Tim about the time she stole a pack of gum from a grocery store and Tami caught her and made her go back. Tim told her about the copper wire. Julie talked about The Swede and he talked about Lyla and Six.

 

After telling him about how hard it had been for her when Gracie was first born, Julie smiled. “You know what this feels like? It feels like confession.”

 

“Confession?” asked Tim.

 

“Yeah, confession. Catholics do it – they go to the priest and tell all their sins and then ask for them to be forgiven. Absolution. That's what they call it. Can you absolve me of my sins?” she asked with a smile.

 

“I don't know, Taylor, can you absolve me of mine,” he asked, catching her gaze and holding it.

 

“I don't know. Just from the little I've heard here, it sound like it would be quite a long list.”

 

He gave her a rueful smile. “Yeah, you'd be here for a long time. A lot longer than just a Saturday suspension, that's for sure.”

 

Tim sat up and stretched. Julie watched his shirt ride up and then felt mortified when he caught her looking. He just grinned and leaned back. He reached out a leg, hooked his foot around the base of her chair and pulled her over so they were face-to-face.

 

“Let me ask you one last question,” said Tim. “Was it worth it?”

 

“Was what worth it?” asked Julie.

 

“Giving that speech? What did it get you? Was it worth it?”

 

Julie shrugged.

 

“You know what I think? I think you've just got a spot for rebels. For bad boys. Even if they're 19^th century guys who'd be more interested in each other than you?”

 

“Is that what you think?” she asked.

 

He grinned. “That's gotta be it.”

 

“I don't like being teased,” she said, half in jest and whole in earnest.

 

“Yeah? What are you going to do about it?”

 

She reached out to tickle him, but his reflexes were quicker. He wrapped his hand around her wrist firmly and didn't let go. But then she wasn't exactly squirming to get away either.

 

They both looked down at his hand on her wrist. She looked up first. After a few seconds, he lifted his chin and looked at her. It was his mouth that she noticed first. How could she have missed that full bottom lip? She met his gaze, appreciating the intensity in his green eyes.

 

It was like she was seeing him, really seeing him, for the first time. And in finally really seeing him, she'd completed a circuit. The last switch had clicked into place and electricity was now coursing through her. She was surprised that she hadn't gasped until she realized that she wasn't sure she was breathing.

 

It felt like time had stopped and they were frozen, suspended at the edge of a cliff. It would only take a feather-soft breeze to send her over the edge, tumbling, letting go, falling onto those lips.

 

How had she never noticed before how beautiful he was? All those hours she had spent at his house, checking his homework, talking, laughing, studying. How had she not noticed? Had her nose been so far in her books? What had she been thinking?

 

But then it hit her. Matt. She'd been thinking about Matt. Julie sighed and twisted her wrist away from Tim. As soon as she started to move, he loosened his grip and she was able to easily pull away. She pushed back and the chair glided back across the room, putting several feet of safety between her and Tim.

 

She loved Matt. She knew she did. So why this curiosity? Why this sudden, unstoppable pull toward Tim? Was this just some phase, some temporary insanity that every girl at Dillon High School passed through at some point?

 

Tempting as it was to consider this just a passing phase,she knew that if she was honest with herself, she would have admitted that it felt like a lot more that that.

 

She watched Tim through her bangs until he looked away. She thought she saw a flicker of disappointment in his eyes. But when he looked back at her, his eyes were different, closed off, any feelings hidden away. She felt it as a loss, even as she reminded herself that she still had Matt.

 

She felt like she was outside of her body, observing, watching herself struggle to find a path through this unexpected thicket. She heard her lips form lame words about getting back to work. She watched him nod and shrug apathetically. And she wondered what it would have been like if she'd let in that feather-soft breeze instead of closing the window against it.

 

Part 1             Part 2

 

Comments

[fleurlb.livejournal.com]

You are so right about Kermit and it was one of those things I had entirely forgotten about. Now I want to see the Muppet Show again!

Don't worry about the commenting difficulties - I am impressed you were able to edit your comment at all. I still haven't figured out that LJ party trick.