Into the Woods (5 page)

The school year was coming to a rapid ending, and with the work
I
had to make up and my new assignments. I was too busy to involve myself in much more. However, one afternoon as I was leaving history class. Trent Ralston came up beside me and started a conversation.
I
couldn't help looking at him from time to time and even listening to him talk to other students. Autumn's infatuation with him had drawn my interest. The truth was, she was right about him. He was one of the handsomest boys in school, if not the handsomest, and what interested me about him just from watching him at a distance was his apparent oblivious attitude about himself. It was as if he had never looked into a mirror or received a compliment.
I
wasn't sure if it was aloof arrogance or simple innocence.

"How do you remember all those kings and queens and what happened under each one's reign like that?" he asked as if we had known each other for ages, 'Mr. Caswell never catches you with your notebook down." he added, his voice full of
admiration. He widened his eyes and twisted his torso. "While I shiver in the back, afraid he'll remember I'm in his class, too."

I laughed. Out of the corner of my eyes.
I
could see Wendi and Penny looking our way. They never miss a beat, I thought, and turned to Trent almost as much to spite them as to please myself

He raised one eyebrow. His good looks didn't sit only in his near-perfect facial features. He had a unique shade of blue-aray eyes. I had seen him in his physical education class and knew he had one of those sleek, muscular male bodies that models have in fashion magazines.

"I'll pay you." he said.
"How do you know what it will cost?"
"I
don't care. I'll even give you one of my

I laughed again. "Right, it will complete my own collection."
"So, what's your secret?"
"I study," I said. He started to grimace. "No. I mean it. I really study. I concentrate and don't let anything distract me. I don't listen to the radio. a CD, let a television blare on in the background, interrupt with phone calls.
I
just set down a period of time and make it sacrosanct."
"You make it what?" he asked, grimacing as if he had bitten into a rotten peach.
It means untouchable, inviolate, holy."
He shook his head. "No wonder you can transfer from one school to another nine times a year and still get A's," he said.
"I don't transfer nine times a year."
"Yeah, well, you and some of the others from naval families move around quite a bit, don't you?"
"Our fathers get transferred often. It can't be helped, but after a while you get used to it."
"I guess some can take it and some can't. I heard about Autumn Sullivan," he said, lowering his voice. Some people talk a little too loud on purpose, if you know what I mean." he added, gazing at Wendi and Penny.
I nodded. "I know exactly what you mean." They turned away from my glaring eyes.
"Maybe we could get together and study for the history final." he said. "I promise I won't turn on any music or television." he added when I didn't respond.
I had never thought much of studying with any of my classmates. It always turned into a gab session. There were just too many opportunities to interrupt or take breaks that went on and on. In the end it was always what I did on my own that made a difference. but I was tempted to break my own rules for Trent.
A part of me was hesitant, however, for another reason.
I
remembered how much Autumn liked Trent. and I couldn't help feeling like someone who was getting too involved with her friend's boyfriend, even though he was far, far from that. She had barely spoken to him. It was ridiculous to feel that way.
I
knew it and put it aside.
"All right," I said.
'How about tonight?" he fired back at me before I could even think of taking another step. "We shouldn't waste any time!" he added with a look of exaggerated panic. At least. I shouldn't."
I stopped myself from laughing again. I was beginning to feel like one of those girls who giggled after practically every word said to them, especially when they are standing in the glow of some goodlooking boy.
"Okay," I said. "Come to my house at seven."
"Your house?"
"I'll leave your name at the gate. Here's my address." I tore a sheet of paper from my notebook. He spoke as I scribbled and made a little map of the street.
"I was thinking I could maybe come get you and take you to my house. It's going to be very quiet there. My parents are going to a charity event, and my sister is sleeping over at a friend's house."
I handed him the paper. "I don't go anywhere on a school night," I said with a finality that made his shoulders sag,
"Oh. Your father's like a general or something, isn't he?"
"No," I said, laughing with good justification this time. "The navy doesn't have generals. Admirals. My father is a lieutenant commander, an instructor in Heliops."
"Huh?"
"Helicopters.''
"Oh."
"Don't look so worried. The last time he bit someone, there was no sign of rabies." I added.
"I
just thought we would be more comfortable at my place:"
"I'm
very comfortable at home. I have my own room. No one will bother us.
I
promise." I said "All we're going to do is study anyway, so why worry?"
"Right," he said. He glanced at the group of students hovering around Wendi and Penny and then smiled at me and said he would be there at seven.
Before the end of the day
I
saw him again. He gave me a big smile and waved on his way to baseball practice. I knew he was one of the school's star pitchers and there was one more big game to be played.
I
had yet to attend one and thought that I just might go to this game. scheduled for Friday at the home. field.
Despite my determination not to let our study session be anything else but that.
I
couldn't help feeling excited about it. I tried to be as casual and nonchalant as I could when I informed Mommy that Trent was coming to study with me. Daddy was still at work, and then he called to say he wouldn't be home for dinner. He had a meeting with his command to plan an elaborate exercise. At dinner Mommy asked me about Trent, and
I
told her he was the boy Autumn had a big crush on.
I
explained haw popular he was, a star on the baseball team, and very goodlooking.
I
added that
I
had told him how seriously I took my studying for tests, practically growling about it.
She smiled to herself as if she knew something about me that I didn't know.
I went on and an about how helping someone study reinforces everything for yourself. She listened and nodded but kept that soft smile on her lips.
"What?" I finally cried. "I know you've been laughing at me. Mommy."
"I'm not laughing at you, Grace.
I
think you're cute justifying a study session with this boy. You let slip how good-looking and popular he is, not to mention what a hero he is on the baseball team. You like him, don't you?"
"I don't know him enough to like him. Mommy."
"Okay." she said, and then dropped the smile from her lips and looked hard at me. "Don't let what happened to Autumn Sullivan dominate your relationships with boys. honey. Keep it all in mind, be cautious, but don't be afraid of yourself. Do you know what I mean? I want you to have fun. too. There's a balance you have to find. If you make every boy you meet feel like he's a rapist, you won't ever have any good times, and before you know it, you'll have left all the opportunities behind and never have a real youth. With all the moving we've done, I'm always afraid you will miss out on the fun."
"How do you find the balance?"
I
asked.
"You'll find it. You've got a good head on your shoulders. Just listen to all the little voices and warnings and take your time before you place your trust in anyone. That's the best advice I can give."
"Didn't Autumn's mother give her any advice. Mommy?"
She shrugged. "Maybe not. honey. Some people are afraid of bringing any of this up. They have this faith that somehow, miraculously, everything will turn out all right. I don't think Autumn had too good a selfimage, either, do you? She was too desperate for acceptance. At least, that's what I've concluded after listening to her mother talk about her."
"Yes," I said I started to help her clean up.
"Go on. Prepare for your study session." she said. "There's not much to do here. and I know how you are about your room whenever anyone, not to mention a handsome young man looks at it."
She winked and nudged me with her shoulder.
I smiled at her and then went to my room. Nervously,
I
set it up, placing two chairs at the desk, then thinking they were too close, then too far away. I adjusted the blinds, debated about how much light we needed, fixed my bed until it looked as snappy as a military bunk, cleaned the vanity mirror, dusted, set out my books and my notebook, started to plan a strategy for studying our history notes, checked myself in the mirror, brushed my hair, debated about putting on lipstick, thought about putting on same cologne, and then finally sat and stared at the clock. It was five minutes to seven. The guard at the gate would be calling any moment to let us know we had a visitor.
Wendi and Penny were sure to find out about this.
I
thought.
I
wondered if it would raise my status in their eyes or simply frustrate them more. They had done their best to isolate me from the other students who came from naval families, as well as many of the students in our class, portraying me as snobby. That was ironic. Who in the school was more conceited than those two? I knew that my shyness was often misinterpreted that way, however, so I realized they were having success. This would be their first big failure, and it hadn't come too soon with the school year's end just around the corner.
I began to ad
^-
antsy at five after seven. I told myself not to get upset, civilians didn't have the same commitment to time and schedules as we did. When someone in the Navy was told to report at thirteen hours, he or she was there at the striking of the hour. Lateness was almost as sinful as disloyalty.
However, by seven-fifteen I was seriously concerned, even a bit angry. I opened my notebook and began to review the day's new material, trying not to look at the time or think about it At twenty-five after seven. Mommy knocked on my door.
"Didn't you say he was coming at seven?" she asked. "Yes. He was supposed to be here by then."
"Oh. Well.
I
told Lorraine Sanders I would stop by at seven-thirty to help her choose some new wallpaper for their kitchen."
"Don't wait around, Mommy. He's rude to be this late and not call me."
"Just don't get yourself upset over it. Grace,"
"I'm not." I lied. "I'm doing the studying I have to do anyway."
She nodded. "I'll call you in an hour. You know where I am if you need me.," she added.
I heard her leave the house, and then
I
sat back and folded my arms under my breasts. When I gazed at myself in the mirror. I thought I looked as if I was fuming enough to start a stream of smoke out of my ears. Wendi and Penny must have gotten to him.
I
thought. They must have found out, and they must have pulled him aside and told him ridiculous stories about me. My rage blurred my eyes when
I
went back to my notes, which only made me angrier.
Finally, at seven thirty-five, the phone rang. I made up my mind I would tell him the thirty-five minutes we lost couldn't be made up. We were stopping at nine no matter what. I had other things to do. People had to realize the consequences of their inconsideration.
To my surprise it wasn't the guard at the gate. It was Trent.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I sprained my ankle at baseball practice, and they took me to the hospital emergency room. I just got home. and I'm sitting here with ice on my ankle."
"Oh."
"I would have called you earlier, but with all the excitement and waiting for the X ray..."
"That's all right," I said "Is it painful?"
Not as much now, but I'm out of the game. I might even have to stay home tomorrow. I don't know. They gave me a crutch so I would stay off the foot, but maybe if I just rest it I won't need it. "Anyway," he said before
I
could respond, "I'm really in deep trouble now study-wise and need your help more than ever. Would it be all right if I send a cab to pick you up and pay for one to take you home?"
"'What?" He was speaking so fast I couldn't absorb the idea.
"The taxi could be there in twenty minutes. I already found out. Actually. I've already sent him to your address, hoping you'll say yes. We could still get in a couple of hours. My notes are a mess."
"I..." I looked in my mirror and saw myself shaking my head. "A taxi? That's expensive, isn't it?"
"It's worth it. My parents will be proud that I spent money on a good thing for a change."
There was a beep on the phone.
"Hold on, someone's calling," I said, and pressed the button marked Flash.
"I
have a taxi arriving for Grace Houston." the guard at the gate declared.
"What?" He really had done it.
"Sending him through," the guard declared.
"Wait," I started to say, but the line went dead.
I
flicked the button. "The cab is already here!"
"Great. See you soon. He knows my address." Trent said, and hung up.
When I looked at myself in the mirror again, I saw how my jaw had dropped.
Quickly I rose, went out to the kitchen to find the Sanders's number on our Rolodex. I heard the taxi driver beep his horn. As soon as I found the Sanders's number.
I
punched it out, but it rang and rang and rang, and no one picked up. Whoever was on the phone was not going to permit an interruption. The driver sounded his horn again.
I went to the front door and waved to him. "Just a minute, please." I called. He nodded,
I returned to my room and stood there for a moment, completely indecisive. Then I gathered up my books and notebook and went back out, stopping in the kitchen to call the Sanders's home again. It still rang and rang. so I gave up.
As quickly as I could.
I
wrote a note to Mommy, explaining what had happened, and left it beside the phone. Then I hurried out to the cab. The driver was standing and smoking. He flipped his cigarette at the street and opened the door for me. I got in, and he backed out of our driveway. My heart was thumping.
This is both ex
^-
citing and crazy, I thought, never recalling doing anything as impulsive.
Minutes later we were on the highway. and I was sitting rigid in the back, embracing my books as if they were a parachute and any time I wanted I could pull the cord and bail out. I replayed Mommy's advice to me as if it was a prayer.
I want you to have fun, too. There's a balance you have to find. If you make every boy you meet feel like he a rapist, you won't ever have any good times, and before you know it, you'll have left all the opportunities behind and never have a real youth. With all the moving, we've done, we always afraid you will miss out on the fun.