Chapter 15
I was awakened by Stacy shaking my arm. "Lance, if you want to eat breakfast you have to get up now."
"I don't want to go to school today," I replied.
I had been thinking about Keith and the taunting I might have to face from him and the other football players. I wasn't sure I would be able to control myself if they pushed me too far. I didn't care about school anymore. I was contemplating returning home to Canada.
"Are you not feeling well?"
"I'm…" and then I stopped. I was not going to lie anymore. "I just don't want to go, Mrs. Muller."
"If you're not sick there's no reason to stay home. How are your feet?"
"They're fine," I replied, after having soaked them in an herbal solution last night.
"You can't stay here by yourself. If you want breakfast you have to get up now."
"I'm not hungry."
"Lance you didn't eat any supper last night. You need to eat."
"I don't want anything."
I got up and took some clothes out of my luggage. I carried them over to the bathroom and I locked the door. I could hear Stacy mention my name to Shannon in the other room, but I couldn't make out what else she was saying. I washed my face, dressed, and then came back out. The girls were eating breakfast as I walked past the kitchen and out the front door. I sat down on the front steps to watch the sunrise.
Soon afterward, Shannon's car backed out of the garage and came up alongside the curb. I could see AJ and Shannon looking at me through the windows. I walked over to the car and slid in the back seat. AJ flashed me a smile, but I ignored her. I rested my head against the car door and closed my eyes for the duration of the ride. Nobody said a word.
We arrived at school and I followed Shannon to homeroom. Keith was already there and he greeted her. He took no notice of me. Reina came over. "Hi," she said. "I am still free for the dance."
"Sure, I'll take you," I softly replied.
"Thank you!" she exclaimed while putting her hands on my face and kissing me on the cheek.
"You're welcome."
Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Shannon glancing in our direction. This little exchange perked me up. I sat down beside Reina and began to admire her. She looked over at me and I smiled. She smiled back. "Do you want to know something?" I asked.
"What, Lance-san?"
"You have beautiful brown eyes and you look really nice today." This statement caught her off guard because she actually began to blush!
"Thank you so much!" she exclaimed.
After homeroom we made our way over to Biology class. As I walked down the hallway, I saw the new kid whose first name was Brian; the kid who had resisted the football players helping themselves to his lunch. He now sported two black eyes. A feeling of anger stirred within me, but I suppressed it. I then turned a corner and came face-to-face with Ron Boyle, and laughed! He too, was the proud recipient of a black eye! He looked the other way when he saw me and hurried on by. While continuing down the corridor, I saw Keith and Shannon up ahead, walking and holding hands. Feelings of self-pity and jealousy filled my mind.
The morning classes came and went, but I was oblivious to what was being taught. I didn't care or pay attention. At long last it was time for lunch and I made my way over to the cafeteria. But I still did not have an appetite. I sat down at the same table as I had yesterday. I was soon joined by Bob, Darlene, and Jill. Reina spotted me and she too, joined us. She shared this same lunch period on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Jill glanced over at me and mouthed "I'm sorry." Reina stared at me and asked, "Are you not eating?"
"No."
"What is bothering you?"
I said nothing as my eyes followed Keith and Shannon walking together over to a table. Reina followed my gaze and then she frowned. I heard a commotion going on at the other end of the room. I stood up to get a better view. Several players were gathered around the kid named Brian. They taunted him, grabbed his food tray, and then began helping themselves to whatever food was on it. He looked like he was going to cry. My hands formed into fists and Reina took notice of it. I pushed my chair back, walked out of the room, and then headed for the outside courtyard. After making my way over to a bench, I sat down and took out my smartphone.
"Hi, mom."
"Lance, how are doing, honey? Is everything okay?"
I updated her on my situation and then asked if she had any news about Scott.
"On Saturday two men from the RCMP came here. They were looking for you. They wanted to talk to you."
"What did you say to them?"
"I told them you weren't here and that you were in the United States for the rest of the school year. They asked for the address. I had to tell them."
"It's okay. Don't worry about it. I'll call you again when I know precisely where I'll be staying. I love you, mom. Take care."
Next, I called Peter. The call went into his voice mail and so I left a detailed message about how I ended up at the home of this gorgeous, blue-eyed blonde who lived with her sister and mother. I described Shannon in vivid detail and I also told him I was working on making her my girlfriend. I said that I'd e-mail him some pictures soon. I felt I had nothing to lose in making such assertive statements which were partially true.
I glanced down at my watch and got up to head for Spanish class. I decided to sit at the same desk as I had yesterday. It gave me a great view of Shannon's profile since she and Keith were also both sitting at the same desks. I rested my head on my hands and stared at her beautiful face and light-blonde hair. My mind drifted back to Saturday morning and my first meeting with her. I began to relive my past and imagined how things could have been if I'd only done them differently. I pictured us walking along the beach together with my arm around her shoulder and talking to her as the sun set. While smiling, I held her in my arms and stared down into her incredible blue eyes as she stared back up into mine. As I bent my head down to press my lips against hers, I suddenly heard Mr. Ramirez exclaiming "MR. ROCK!" Startled, I shook my head to clear it and then looked over at him.
"Mr. Rock, three times I have called out your name for attendance and you have sat there with a glazed look in your eyes and a silly grin on your face, ignoring me. Miss Muller is not your teacher, I am. Would you be so kind as to focus your eyes and attention off of her and onto me?"
The class exploded in laughter and I could feel my face blushing. Sweat began to drip from my armpits. Shannon was being verbally teased by the students surrounding her and her face too, was turning pink. Only Keith wasn't laughing. I slouched down in my chair to try and hide, but it was useless. After class, I stayed in my seat staring down at the desktop until everyone had vacated the room. Then I cautiously walked out and made my way over to the gym. When gym period was over, I decided to skip my last course—Physics. Keith and Shannon were also in that class and frankly, I was just too embarrassed to go to it. I went to the library instead. I showed my student identification to one of the librarians so that I could use a computer terminal. It was time to do a little research on several people with the last name of Muller and one with the last name of Mitterhauser.
Determined to obtain the information I was seeking and with an attitude of disdain for amateur security measures, I assaulted website firewalls and chuckled as they collapsed before my onslaught. Fifty-five minutes later I had retrieved and collected a significant dossier of data. As I got up to leave, another thought suddenly occurred to me. I accessed the internet once again and I brought up a map search engine. I punched in latitude and longitude coordinates; the ones that Scott had written on his farewell note giving the location to whatever the key opened. As I zoomed in on the results of my search, my eyes grew large in surprise. He's got to be joking! I thought. How and why did he put it there and how in the world does he expect me to…? I shook my head and smiled. Travelling to this location was not going to be easy; feasible, but certainly not simple. It was going to take preparation and planning which meant I was going
to have to wait until the end of the school year before I could attempt it. I stayed in the library until the ringing of the bell that signaled the end of class.
After a trip to my locker, I made my way outside and then over to Shannon's car. While leaning against it with my arms crossed, I patiently waited until I finally saw Keith and Shannon approaching me. When they got to within10 feet of the car, Shannon stopped, turned, and then said goodbye to him. He bent his face down to kiss her on the lips, but at the last second she turned her head aside. His kiss landed on her right cheek instead. He threw up his arms in surprise and I could hear him remark in annoyance, "What's up with you?"
"I'll see you tonight," she calmly replied.
We both got in her car and as she drove I asked, "Aren't we going to pick up AJ?"
"She's going to a friend's house after school. She'll be home later tonight."
"About Spanish class today, I'm… sorry… I… I didn't… I wasn't trying to embarrass you."
While glancing over at me she remarked, "Lance, you have to understand that Keith is my boyfriend. Just because you apologized to me last night for the way you've treated me, doesn't mean I'm going to automatically drop him and go out with you."
"I'm not feeling well at all," I remarked. "I'm starving."
"You didn't eat supper last night, breakfast this morning, or lunch today," she replied while slowly shaking her head. "No wonder you're not feeling well. Even though you're in fantastic shape, you need to learn to take better care of yourself."
"How do you know that I didn't eat lunch today?"
"I… you didn't take any with you this morning."
"How do you know I didn't buy anything?
She sighed and said, "Okay, I saw you get up and leave the cafeteria without having bought or eaten anything."
"How do you know I'm in fantastic shape?"
She sighed again, rolled her eyes, and then shook her head slightly. "Because you're very muscular and you'd have to be in fantastic shape in order to swim the way you did on Sunday. Are you happy now?"
"Yes," I replied while smiling triumphantly. "Are you going to become a nurse like your mother?"
"I was considering it," she answered while glancing over at me quizzically.
"I think you'd make a great nurse, or doctor, or anything you'd want to be. Being an honor student for the past three years certainly proves you're smart enough."
"How do you know I've been an honor student for the past three years?"
"You have a 4.0 grade point average. Doesn't that put you on the honor roll?"
"How did you find out about my grades?"
"I… have skills," I replied, while again smiling triumphantly and leaning my head against the window. She said nothing more, but out of the corner of my eye I could see she was deep in thought.
Once home, Shannon offered to reheat last night's supper for me. I accepted while she checked the mail.
"Lance, here's a note for you from my mother. It's important," she said, while laying it in front of me. She turned and went up to her room. Probably a new list of chores, I thought. I'll read it later. I needed to get some school supplies and after eating, I went upstairs and knocked on Shannon's bedroom door. She opened it, and I gasped! I had up to this point, never seen her in full make-up.
"Can I help you?" she asked.
"You look… wow!" I exclaimed.
"Thank you," she softly replied. "Keith is taking me out for dinner tonight."
I stood there admiring her—totally infatuated. While cocking her right eyebrow she asked, "You knocked on my door. What did you want?"
"I need to get school supplies. I was wondering if you could help me with that. You know, recommend a store, or even drive me there."
She shook her head with a puzzled expression on her face and asked, "Why?"
"For school."
"What do you mean for school? Didn't you read my mother's note?"
"No. I was going to read it later."
"Lance, the school called today. They told my mother that they were unable to find another host family for you to stay with. I guess this means you'll be going back… to Canada."
My eyes dropped to the floor in mild shock. She put a hand on my shoulder. "I am sorry. Are you okay?"
"Don't be sorry. I really… didn't fit in here anyway. And besides, as of last night, I have no reason to want to stay down here any longer."
I turned and went back downstairs. Mrs. Muller came home and told me there was a flight back to Toronto leaving this Saturday just after lunch. She had graciously booked it for me. I thanked her, and then offered her some money to pay for it, but she refused. The doorbell suddenly rang. It was Keith having come to take Shannon out on their date. She came downstairs to greet him. He saw me and said, "I hear you're leaving us." I glanced over at Shannon and she quickly averted her eyes. Keith continued, "Coach and the players don't want you to leave. They've decided to chip in and buy you a cot. They're going to set it up in the playing field locker room. Coach remarked, and I agree with him, that you're the best bench warmer the team has ever had. So, please don't go. I'd like you to keep my seat warm."
"Keith!" exclaimed Shannon.
"Ah, I'm only joking around."
"Well, I'm not joking around when I tell you this," I remarked while walking up to him and pointing my finger at his face. "If you touch her inappropriately, or touch her in any way that goes beyond her will or consent, I personally guarantee that you will never be able to put your hands on a girl in the same way again!"
"Lance, you are unbelievably embarrassing!" exclaimed Shannon. She looked both shocked and hurt. "How dare you speak to my boyfriend like that!"
"He knows what I'm talking about!"
"I have no idea what you're talking about!" he angrily replied with his face now contorted in rage. Stacy, sensing a fight was imminent, quickly said, "You two leave now!" And she hurried them out the door. After closing it, she turned to me and with exasperation in her voice said, "You have crossed over the line. You gave me your word that you would not cause any more trouble around here!"
"Am I causing trouble simply because I want to look out for her welfare? If she had a father or brother who loved and cared for her, would they not show the same concern?"
"You are neither her father nor her brother. I know Keith, and he is a decent, well-behaved young man. I also know jealousy when I see it! This is your last chance, Lance. Mind your own business!"