At that moment, Heidi and J.T. walked into the restaurant. J.T. noticed Kelso and Heidi noticed Ashleigh.
“Okay, she’s either really embarrassed at something he asked, or she can’t speak,” Heidi whispered to J.T.
“Ten bucks on the latter,” J.T. joked.
“Jayson!” Heidi exclaimed in a whisper.
“Whoa! No full name calling, please. Let’s just go over there and see if we can help out.”
J.T. and Heidi headed for the table with their two friends.
“Hi, J.T. And who is this lovely lady with you?” Kelso asked.
“Oh, she’s Heidi,” J.T. said teasingly.
“I see that you’ve met Ashleigh,” J.T. said nodding his head toward her.
“Yes, I have. She seems extremely shy.”
“Oh, she’s not, Kelso. She’s just overwhelmed. Once you get her talking, she won’t stop for days,” Heidi remarked.
“Hey! That’s not nice!” Ashleigh said.
“She speaks!” Kelso teased. He flashed a bright white smile at her.
“Why don’t you two join us?” Kelso asked Heidi and J.T.
“Oh, no, that’s okay.”
“No, really. You should join us,” Ashleigh encouraged.
“All right. If you insist.” J.T. pulled up chairs for Heidi and himself.
Heidi was right. When Ashleigh finally spoke, you couldn’t get her to keep quiet at all. Kelso didn’t mind. He seemed to be mesmerized by his date, even though he was going to tell her that he wanted to be friends before he got into anything serious. He had a feeling the friends thing wouldn’t last long, because he was falling for Ashleigh quickly.
Heidi glanced at her watch. “It’s 9:45, we need to go.”
“Huh?” Kelso asked.
“Just a little something we worked out with the dean. We have to be back at Julliard by 10, or we get expelled. No big deal.”
“Well, why don’t I come with you? Isn’t there a lobby?”
“Yeah, there is. But, I’m not sure if that would fly with the warden,” J.T. said. “She seems to think that we have to be in our rooms at 10 p.m. no matter what.”
“That’s fine, Kelso. You can come back with me. We’ll just stay in my room for a little while,” Ashleigh said, cutting off what J.T. was going to say.
“All right. Let’s get going then.”
Kelso and J.T. scrounged up their money and paid the bill and went on their way to the dorms.
CHAPTER 8
Ashleigh and Kelso headed up to her dorm room. She left the door ajar and sat on her bed. Kelso didn’t come near the bed, but instead sat on a bar stool that was sitting in a corner.
“You can sit over here. You look like you got in trouble, so you’re sitting in the corner,” Ashleigh said. She patted the spot next to her on her bed.
“That’s okay. I’ll just move the stool over next to you.” Kelso scooted the bar stool over to the bed.
Ashleigh propped her head on her hand and gazed into Kelso’s piercing blue eyes. His long, blond curls mesmerized her, but she knew there was something he wasn’t telling her and the only way to find out was to ask straight out.
“So, Kelso, what do I not know about you, yet?”
“Oh, there’s lots of things you don’t know about me, yet, but I’m sure you’ll find out.”
“Well, give me a briefing, “Ashleigh requested.
“This may change the way you look at me, but I have to tell you or I would just be leading you on.”
“Go ahead, spill it.”
I have—“
RRRRRRRRRRRRING! The fire alarm went off and Ashleigh didn’t hear a word that Kelso was saying. They headed out to the front of the dorms and saw smoke rising from the top of the building. Ashleigh and Kelso spotted the rest of their friends and walked over towards them.
“All right, who decided to pull this prank? Was it you?” Court asked Brady who was standing and staring at the smoke.
“No, man, I didn’t have a thing to do with that!” Brady exclaimed.
“It is the girl’s dorm. They either forgot to turn off their curling irons or didn’t blow out one of their girly candles,” J.T. said.
“Hey, now, not all of us are girly girls,” Freedom said.
“Jury’s still out on you,” Brady said under his breath.
Freedom playfully hit Brady with the backside of her hand. “Yeah, well, you’re no manly man as I recall. You still sleep with a teddy bear.”
Kelso guffawed as he listened to this conversation.
“Well, isn’t that special,” Parker chimed in.
“It is not a teddy bear. It is a grizzly bear that my little sis gave me before I left home.”
A chorus of “Aw, how sweet” broke out from the group.
“Okay, so what are we going to do about this, guys. We’re supposed to be the front runners of a campaign to get curfew extended and now we have this to deal with,” Heidi said, pointing to the flames at the top of her dorm.
“That’s what you’re worried about. Not that fact that we all got out and nobody got hurt, but the fact that we need to extend curfew?!” Dashelle exclaimed.
“I’m just looking at the bigger picture. The dean is going to think that we need to keep this outrageous curfew, so things like this won’t happen again,” Heidi remarked.
Dashelle shook her head. “Heidi, did you ever think that this occurred before curfew?”
“Oh, yeah,” Heidi practically whispered. She looked at the ground embarrassed.
J.T. lifted his girlfriend’s head up with his finger. He flashed a grin at her. “You were just being practical, that’s all.”
“Yep, that’s me, little miss practical.” Heidi rolled her eyes.
“ATTENTION, students of Julliard,” a voice sounded from a megaphone. “There is no need to panic. There was a small kitchen fire in one of the suites that is now under control. No one is to remain on the top floor this evening. Please go to the lobby or find an empty bed in another dorm room. And for those of you that do not live on the top floor, please be kind and accommodate those who do. You may return to your dorms at this time.”
The girls headed back to their dorm. The guys walked with them until they got inside.
“So, I guess I should probably go now,” Kelso told Ashleigh.
“Oh, you don’t have to go just because everyone else is. We weren’t finished talking,” Ashleigh remarked.
“For now we are. I want you to think about what I told you before we went outside,” Kelso said. He gave Ashleigh a peck on the cheek and left.
Ashleigh scrunched up her face. She didn’t remember what Kelso had said before they were hurried outside. She would have to think hard about their conversation because of her memory loss. Ashleigh shrugged her shoulders and walked to her room.
The phone jingled in the dorm of J.T. and Mario at midnight. Mario lifted off his sleeping mask and fumbled for the phone.
“Hi, hi,” he answered.
“Uh, Mario, is it? Can I speak to J.T., please? It’s Heidi.”
“Hold on just a minute, sweetie. I’ll have to wake him up. He came right home and hit the bed as soon as the all clear was called. Wait just a sec.”
Mario tiptoed over to J.T. and nudged him. “Psst, J.T. Heidi’s on the phone.”
J.T. opened one eye. “Tell her to call back later. I’m sleepy and grumpy.”
“Any other dwarf you want me to recall for her?” Mario said. He giggled.
“Just give me the phone, Mario.” Mario presented the phone to J.T. with a limp wrist.
“Hello,” J.T. answered groggily.
“I’ve got a problem.”
“And it can’t wait until morning?”
“No, it can’t. I can’t get to sleep.”
“So, you decided to wake me up so I could suffer, too--“
“No, I said someone could stay in my room tonight and she took me up on t
he offer. When she wasn’t talking constantly, she turned to snoring so loud that I think the whole floor can hear her. I need a place to crash.”
“Well, all the girls are over there, so pick one.”
“J.T.,” Heidi whined.
J.T. smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand. He knew that voice and he knew what the next thing said was going to be.
“I was wondering if I could come over. All the girls have other people with them and I don’t want to impose on them.”
“Well, Mario and I like it pretty quiet over here right now.”
“I promise you won’t hear a peep from me. I just need to get some sleep,” Heidi said.
“Let me talk it over with Mario. I’ll call you back. Bye.” He trampled over to where the phone cradle was and hung up the phone.
“Hey, man, gotta girl comin’ over. Cool with you?”
“Just peachy,” Mario said. “Just tell me when to leave and I will.”
“Oh, nothing like that, Mario. She just needs a place to sleep tonight. Seems it a little crowded over at the Burn Unit,” J.T. said recalling the name the gang had given the girl’s dorm.
“Fine. Just as long as I can get beauty sleep, I’ll be fine.” Mario slipped the sleeping mask back over his eyes. “Night, night.”
J.T. called Heidi and told her to come on over. He laid a sleeping bag out on the floor for himself and let Heidi take the bed. She fell asleep immediately. J.T, on the other hand, could not get comfortable. He was up when the resident director came by to do a second bed check.
The key slowly turned in the door and J.T. shot up.
“BED CHECK!” the resident director warned. He swung open the door and flipped on the light. When he saw Heidi, he looked at J.T.
“Not good, J.T. Gonna have to write you up for this.”
“What the heck did I do this time?!” J.T. asked with anger tinting his voice.
“Girl in the room after hours,” the resident director answered.
“Oh my gosh. She couldn’t get to sleep over at the other dorm because of all the commotion, so she came over here. Should she be punished for that?? Hmmm?? She has an early class and she needed to get some shut eye. In fact, she woke me up, so she could sleep.”
“Aww, isn’t that sweet? But it’s not going to hold when you tell the dean.”
J.T. growled. “I should have just stayed in my flat instead of moving in here. I have never been in this much trouble in my life!”
“I’m just doing my job. Anyway, her RD is going to notice that she’s not in her room and she’s going to be in as much trouble as you.”
“Man, you don’t understand. We are all ready on probation for breaking curfew the first night here. Then, you want to report us because you caught my girlfriend trying to be responsible and get some sleep, so she wouldn’t be tired in class tomorrow. I mean, I all ready have Mario in here, what’s another girl gonna do to me now?”
“Well, Mario is a special case.”
“Oh, he’s special, all right,” J.T. sighed.
“What’s her name?” the RD asked.
“Heidi.”
“What dorm?”
“The one that was on fire earlier. I don’t remember the name.”
“Fine. I’ll tell the dean the situation, and she can take it from there.”
“Great. I’m so thrilled that you’re looking out for me,” J.T. said with sarcasm dripping from his voice.
“Good night.” The RD left the room and shut the door. J.T. threw his shoe at the door and grunted.
“If I drop out of this place, I hope you know it’s because of this crap!” he yelled after the RD.
CHAPTER 9
“So, how did the meeting with Harlow go this time?” Court asked J.T. as they sat waiting for their professor to arrive.
“Better than expected. She actually let me talk this time,” J.T. said.
“Whoa, she must have taken some medication,” Court joked.
“No kidding. She says that she’ll overlook what happened because of the circumstances. Her words not mine,” J.T. remarked.
“And what did she say to Heidi?”
“I have no idea. She’s supposed to meet with her tomorrow. Right now, Heidi is concerned with getting this petition out, so the rest of us can go play.”
“I’ll be glad when it’s over with. I can’t stand being home at 10 at night. I feel like I’m 16 again and my parents just gave me keys to the car,” Court remarked.
“You actually got to stay out that late? I’m surprised they trusted you.”
“Hey, man, I was with you!”
“Exactly. Do you remember what we did when we were 16?”
Court and J.T. daydreamed for a minute about their younger days. They were sitting in their Shakespeare class and waiting for their professor. He had been out for the first week with the flu, so classes had been cancelled. Rumors had spread that he was the worst professor in the whole bunch of instructors that Julliard had ever hired. Court and J.T. had to see for themselves.
Dr. Graham walked into the room. He looked like he stepped out of a storybook about teachers. He wore a brown corduroy sport jacket with brown leather patches on the elbows. His short, disheveled gray hair stuck out in every direction. His button up shirt stuck to his body like a magnet attracted to metal. He almost ran into the room and threw his briefcase on the front table.
“Good afternoon, fellow Shakespeare lovers,” Dr. Graham remarked. “My name is Dr. Graham and I’ll be your instructor for this class. The first order of business is the syllabus.” Dr. Graham pulled out the syllabus from his briefcase, licked his thumb, and counted off the number he needed and slid them onto the tables of students. “Your first assignment is to read the first act of Romeo and Juliet and recreate a scene in front of the class.” Dr. Graham scanned the room through his thick glasses. “I see that the men outnumber the women in this class, so you’ll find that you have to be true Shakespeare actors. Since I’m still a little sick, I’m going to leave class early. Office hours are on my door if you need to talk and any other information is in the syllabus. Goodbye.”
Dr. Graham picked up his briefcase and ran out of the room. The class looked around at each other with blank stares.
“So, I guess were just going to have to learn on our own,” Court said.
“Sounds like it,” J.T. said.
A girl with long, blond curls came up to Court and put a hand on his shoulder. “Hi, would you mind being my Romeo?” she asked.
Court’s eyes darted from side to side. “Uh, okay, I guess, but it’s okay to call me Court.”
The girl chuckled. “Well, you don’t have to call me Juliet. Ok, actually, you do. My name is Juliet. So, when do you want to get together?”
“Anytime before 10.”
“Oh, yeah, that little rule. You don’t have to worry about that when you’re with me. My mom is the dean’s sister and Aunt Stacy tends to overlook those things when it comes to her niece.”
Court turned to J.T. with a wide grin on his face. He raised an eyebrow and mouthed “all right!”
“So, is tonight okay with you?” Juliet asked.
“Okay? It’s great with me. Where should we meet?”
“My dorm room—the burn unit. I’m staying in Heidi Weir’s room right now. I think you know her.”
J.T. put his hands over his face and shook his head.
“Why don’t we meet at the Julliard Café.” Court nudged J.T. “This is Heidi’s boyfriend and I think they want to be alone tonight.”
Juliet squealed. “Oh, you’re J.T. Yeah, we can definitely meet there, Court. I’ll see you then.” She walked out of the room and Court and J.T. looked at each other.
“I’m either going to get into really big trouble or become the dean’s pet,” Court remarked.
“Guess we’ll have to find out.” J.T scooped up his books and walked out with Court.
Heidi was waiting for them outside the door.
J.T. put his arm around Heidi and kissed her on the cheek. “So, what are you up to?’ he asked her.
“I have a problem.”
J.T. exhaled deeply. “What would that be?”
“I’m supposed to meet with the dean earlier than I thought and I don’t have these petitions signed. I wanted to show her the progress, but I don’t have any progress to show. Look!” She slipped the petition in front of J.T.’s face. He grabbed it.
“No problem. I don’t have any more classes today and the rest of the guys need something to do. Problem solved.”
“Man, why do you get me into these things?” Court whined.
“Because you need to figure out that person that you just flirted with,” J.T. snapped. “Go ahead and tell Heidi who you’re partnering up with.”
“Juliet. The girl that was in your room the other night.”
“And hasn’t gone back to her room, yet?! I can’t stand her.”
“She’s the dean’s niece,” Court said trying to find something good to say about her.
“And she let’s everyone know. She walks in late to every class I’m in with her. She ignores all rules all the time and gets away with it. I think it’s time someone shows her the ropes of responsibility or she is going to wind up in big trouble.”
“Well, Heidi, dear, I’m not a babysitter.”
“Well, Court, be prepared. That’s all I’m saying. She is very high maintenance from what I’ve heard. And she just broke up with her boyfriend because he wouldn’t buy her a pair of shoes that she wanted.”
Court hit his forehead with the palm of his hand. “Oh, great. Not again. Why are they always attracted to me? Do I look like I’m a money tree?”
“You do have a nice trunk,” Heidi grinned, “and your branches aren’t bad either.”
“So, what am I? A shrub?” J.T. joked. They began walking Heidi to her pointe class.
“No, you’re much more than that, but I can’t think of a good comparison.” Heidi stood on her tiptoes and gave J.T. a peck on the cheek before entering her class. “Get those petitions signed for me, okay. Bye.” She disappeared.
“You heard her, Court. Put on something skimpy, so we can get these signatures,” J.T. remarked.
“I think you’ve been spending too much time with Mario.”