It's Just A Skirt

by Matthew Potter

  From what I’d seen of her, she wasn’t the brightest crayon in the box.

  I tried the knob but of course, it was locked.

  I knocked to be sure but there was no answer.

  Damn, I thought this was going to be easy.

  I looked at my watch, the only article of male anything I was currently wearing. It was just a bit after seven in the morning now. Morning mass would start in about thirty minutes or so. So that meant I had from now until mass ended to get this door open. Morning mass usually lasted about an hour. Thankfully I thought ahead. I slipped a few bobby pins into my hair just in case. I’d only ever picked one lock in my life. It was a few years ago when Mike thought it would be funny to lock me out of my bedroom at home. Back then though I had some paper clips and a lot more time.

  I tried to remember back to what I did.

  I vaguely remember bending the clip until I straightened it out and there was a lot of jiggling. I tried bending the bobby pin but it was a little harder than I thought. Well, it wasn’t meant to be flexible for one thing. Cursing, I tried harder. I finally started to work it into shape when I heard the tapping of feet on wood. I just had enough time to drop the pin and look like I was knocking on the door before whoever it was reached me.

  I turned and saw a girl.

  No, not just any girl.

  “Are you lost?” she asked, stopping when she saw me.

  I didn’t know what to say.

  “Or are you looking for Cherry?” she asked, looking at the door. “My sister isn’t here. You just missed her actually. She’s gone to Mass already”

  It had to be Jade.

  Not that I had anything against Cherry’s sister. It’s just that of all the people who almost caught me breaking into this room, it had to Cherry’s sister. Jade herself was pretty cool actually. Like her sister she was a red head with freckles, her green eyes like two shiny emeralds. Her family was a clear personification of their Irish surname. Unlike her sister, though, the tips of Jade’s hair were purple. It was the most she apparently could get away with without violating the school’s appearance code. That was Jade for you, though.

  Always trying to push the limit.

  You see there’s something you need to know about me.

  Whereas I don’t have a lot of friends, I do know people.

  I might be the shy, quiet kid who always sits in the corner but I did pay attention.

  That’s how I knew Cherry.

  It's also how I knew Diana was an idiot.

  I knew Jade the same way as well.

  She and I were the same age, had a couple of classes together actually. Her two friends were Clarissa and Maggie. They usually sat in the back of the room and most of the time pretended to not pay attention to the teacher. For some reason, they put up the pretense of not being very smart but I could tell they were faking it. I knew because I once caught a look at Jade’s notes in the library one time. They were pretty extensive. I’m not sure why she pretended to be a moron. Maybe she was like me in a way and just didn’t like the attention. Or maybe she figured there was no point trying to compete with her sister who was one of the smartest girls in the school.

  I sorted knew how that was too.

  Mike was, after all, Mr. Popular.

  I think that’s why I paid attention to her so much. It was because somehow I felt a bit kindred to her.

  “Hey I know you,” she said with a smile. “You’re in some of my classes right?”

  Shit.

  I nodded. “Three”

  Thankfully my voice had never cracked. I could only imagine what would have happened if I opened my mouth and sounded like a fog horn. The illusion would have been shattered in an instant. As it was, I passed pretty damn well.

  “Right,” she said, smiling. “I’m sorry. I don’t know your name”

  “Geo” I blurted out before inwardly cursing.

  It was a nickname actually.

  It was Kelly’s doing.

  When she was a little girl just learning to talk, she couldn’t say George fully. Whenever she said my name it came out “Geo”. My parents said it was so darn cute that they kept letting her call me that. It seemed to be contagious because the rest of my family started doing it too. Before I knew it, at home I was no longer George at all. Not that I minded actually. As far as nicknames go, it was actually a pretty decent one.

  I’m just not sure why I decided to tell Jade that.

  “Geo,” she said, nodding. “That’s fucking awesome. I wish my parents could have named me something cool like that!”

  “Jade is cool too” I blurted out before thinking.

  “It's not real,” she said with a sigh. “I gave it to myself last year. My real name is Courtney.”

  I heard the disappointment in her voice.

  I’d actually forgotten.

  Everyone---including several teachers---called her Jade.

  The school was pretty accommodating that way.

  “Well Geo is fake too,” I said, lying with style. “Its actually Georgia but who wants to be called that”

  She laughed.

  She had a great laugh.

  I found myself laughing too. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d actually laughed with someone, not a family member. Did I ever do it? Certainly, I must have at some point but thinking about it, I really couldn’t remember.

  “So Geo who is Fake,” she said, giggling a bit as she did. “What is that you’re doing at my sister’s door?”

  Time to put on the lie.

  “This guy in the quad asked me to get him something,” I said, adding in a half truth. “He said your sister had a necklace he gave her and after they broke up she refused to give it back”

  I decided to go for broke.

  It was worth a shot.

  I saw the disgusted look on her face a moment later, though. It was clear that I might have said the wrong thing.

  “You mean Frank,” she said venom in her voice. “That guy is such a tool. I’m sorry you got roped into this. I’m not sure what the hell he’s talking about but c’mon, let’s go see if we can’t get Cherry to let us into the room”

  Wait Cherry, no that wasn’t a part of the plan.

  It was one thing to lie to Jade. I was doing it to get in the room. I was hoping maybe she had a key or something. It was easy to lie to one person after all. Cherry, though, that was too complicated. If something went wrong then she’d know I was here. There could be questions, ones I couldn’t answer and make convincing lies about. The best lie was a simple lie. Especially when you didn’t know everything like me. It was easy to say Frank stopped me in passing but Cherry was certain to ask more questions.

  Not only that, I promised Frank I’d be discreet.

  If he knew I got her involved with it then I know he’d be pissed.

  Damn it.

  “Its ok actually,” I said, trying to save myself. “It's not that important. It’s not like the guy was paying me to get it or anything”

  Shit, my money.

  ‘I wouldn’t take his money even if he offered, you might catch some fatal disease from it”

  I let out what I hoped was a convincing laugh.

  ‘He is kind of slimy isn’t he?”

  “Frank is what happens when Donald Trump and Slime have a kid together”

  I didn’t have to fake the laugh that followed.

  Jade was definitely not what I was expecting. I mean I was pretty sure she was going to be opinionated but I never expected her to be so cool about it. She didn’t care what she said or who she said it about. I think most people would have been afraid to openly insult Frank Curtis like that. I mean he was pretty big. When someone rubbed him the wrong way, he tended to rub back pretty badly. I’d been pretty careful dealing with him so far, playing to ego, trying my hardest not to push it too much. I knew what would happen if Frank didn’t like something I was doing though or if I screwed something up.

  It was not a good idea to be in that gu
y’s crosshairs.

  “Are you going to Mass?”

  Crap.

  “Well seeing as I’ve now missed breakfast thanks to Slime Trump, I guess I don’t have anything else to do”

  We both laughed at the in-joke.

  I inwardly cursed.

  Now I was going to have to keep this ruse going for the rest of the day. I mean, after all, Cherry would return to her room and put the necklace back on. That meant the only other time I could actually get my hands on it would be later tonight during evening Mass. It was definitely going to make the rest of the day very complicated. I’m not sure how I was going to pull it off either. I mean dressing like this for an hour or so was fine. I could get away with people only half wondering if they knew me or had seen me before.

  Doing it all day was going to be a problem.

  Jade was already a big problem.

  Not only did she recognize me but she knew my name now and she knew where to find me again. I cursed myself for lying so well and not lying enough.

  I found myself walking with her, though. I’m not sure why exactly. I suppose I could have made up an excuse and ditched her. I mean it wouldn’t have been hard. There was just something about her though that made me stay. Maybe it was because someone was actually talking to me for once. Someone who didn’t have an ulterior motive that is. It felt kind of nice being friendly with someone and not having to bother to hide away from them. It was just an added bonus that it was someone as cool as Jade too.

  As the two of us walked down the hallway together, I felt something.

  Call it an epiphany or whatever you want, it was at that moment I realized something genuine. This was a lot easier than it should have been.

  Maybe it just wasn’t a skirt.

  3.

  Though we were Catholic, my family didn’t practice much. We went to church when we could but very little after Mom’s death. Dad sent us to St. Andrew’s because it was where Mom went when she was a girl. It helped that my grandparents and Aunt Rachel lived in Dover Creek---the town the school resided in. On some weekends and holidays, I often ended up at my grandparents over flying all the way back home to Oregon. Dad would often fly in for the major holidays and we’d try our hardest to be a family.

  It was never easy.

  Like most of the activities in school, Mass was a collective process. The only time the boys and girls were separated was in the dorms and during gym class. Every other time we were always together. I managed to sit in the back, trying my hardest not to be noticed. Most of the students around me didn’t seem to know who I was which I liked just fine. I did catch eyes with Frank a few times, though. He kept giving me this look, the “what the hell are you doing here look”. I tried to nudge my head toward Jade but he didn’t seem to connect the dots.

  Most of the service was a blur.

  My mind too preoccupied with other things.

  Mainly trying to figure out how to get into Cherry’s room and get that necklace. I spotted her a few pews up, sitting with the bubble head Diana and a girl I think was called Charlotte. Jade was sitting next to me, her two friends in the pew in front of us. We had arrived a bit late so we only just managed to squeeze in the back before things started.

  As things started to wind down, I watched Cherry like a hawk.

  Frank seemed to watch her as well.

  When the service ended, the whole room seemed to make a collective flood toward the doors. In the commotion, I pushed away from Jade. I hated leaving her high and dry but I was a man on a mission after all. At the door, I noticed Frank catching Cherry. The two of them were in a heated discussion. Diana however was making her way down the hall. I stuck to her, trying to stay out of sight. It was clear that Frank was trying to stall Cherry so I could get into the room and get his prize.

  Diana wasted no time heading back to their room.

  I hid in the nearby alcove and waited.

  Five minutes later, she was out of the room.

  The hall was still fairly crowded with girls rushing to their rooms before morning classes. In the commotion of it all, I made it back to the door. This time, it was unlocked. I slipped inside quickly, finally letting out the breath I’d practically been holding since leaving the church.

  The room was larger than mine.

  Then again it was meant for two.

  It didn’t look all that different from mine though save the décor of course. Most of the dorm rooms it seemed carried over the same general look of the dorm itself. They all had the hardwood floors and dull colored walls. The rooms themselves also had hardwood crown molding and other accents, giving them all a certain old world vibe. I did notice that Cherry had a big bay window with a bench, something my room was certainly lacking. Not that I minded of course.

  Looking around the room, I could tell who’s side belonged to who immediately.

  Diana’s side looked like a cotton candy machine had exploded all over it. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much pink in my entire life.

  Thankfully Cherry’s side was a lot more muted.

  I ignored Diana’s things though and went to Cherry’s. They both had matching vanity’s, in different corners. Diana’s was overly cluttered with cosmetics and other crap, Cherry seemed to be pretty neat and organized. On the corner was a jewelry box, I smiled when I saw it. Thankfully it wasn’t the kind that locked. I pulled out the picture---Frank gave it to me---then opened the box. The necklace was right on the top. I let out a huge sigh as I grabbed.

  “What the hell do you think you’re doing!”

  I snapped around, holding the necklace like a kid with his hand caught in the cookie jar.

  Standing in the doorway of the room was, of course, Cherry.

  These sisters were going to give me a heart attack.

  I opened my mouth to say something when she, of course, noticed the necklace.

  “Is that my necklace!”

  I found my voice. “It's not what it looks like,” I said quickly.

  “Well it looks an awful lot like a little bitch stealing from me”

  “Ok it is what it looks like but I can explain”

  Cherry walked into the room, her arms crossed in front of her. She looked like she wanted to kick my ass. I didn’t blame her. If I walked into my dorm room and found someone in the midst of stealing something of mine, I’d be pissed too. She sat on the edge of her bed, not taking her eyes off of me. She did hold out her hand, though. Sighing, I stepped forward and placed the necklace in it. So close and yet so far away. Frank was really going to kill me now.

  “Start explaining”

  I sat down at her vanity, making sure to sweep the skirt underneath me like I’d seen my sister do many times before.

  “Well, Frank told me it was a family heirloom and paid me to get it…”

  She cut me off right there. “Frank Curtis sent you?”

  I nodded. She looked even more pissed now.

  “That son of a bitch” she snapped, jumping to her feet. “Heirloom my ass. I’m gonna kill that bastard. Him and his stupid game, every damn year”

  Game? What game?

  Cherry was fuming now, actually pacing.

  “Game?”

  Cherry stopped pacing and when she looked at me she gave me a sympathetic frown.

  “You’re a freshman right?” she asked, I nodded. She sighed. “I’m sorry you got roped into this sweetie. Frank pulls this crap every year. He finds himself a shy little freshman, feeds him some sad bull shit story and sends him our way. Every year it’s something different, a stupid kind of hazing ritual. Most of the damn dorm is in on it. He suckers the unsuspecting kid into breaking in here, swiping something of ours and bringing it back to him. Last year it was a pair of Crystal Hoight’s panties. The year before that it was Clara Ross’s brand new tennis bracelet. The uniform is new, though, nice touch…”

  Her voice trailed off a bit as she looked at me.

  I was flabbergasted.

  Frank suckered me.
/>   How in the hell could I have fallen for it? I guess I should have known something was up when none of the other guys were in the common room this morning. I mean it’s not usually like them to be there that early but there’s always at least one of them. Damn it. I felt like such an idiot. What’s worse, he got me to wear this uniform too. This was worse than the bullying. I could feel my anger beginning to rise over the whole situation. In that instant, I made up my mind. I was going to use those recordings. I’d bury the son of a bitch with them. Entitled pricks like Frank thought they could do whatever they wanted with whoever they wanted.

  Well, not me.

  I was clenching my fists and didn’t notice as Cherry stepped in front of me, grabbing my hands gently.

  ‘Its no use getting angry over it” she said softly. “Frank does this every year and every year the guy he screws over always tries to cry wolf. But it’s his word against Frank and when your Daddy donates a ton of money to the school every year, guess who usually wins”

  I couldn’t help but smile at that.

  “Did any of the other guys record their conversations?”

  Cherry’s eyes widened in surprise. “You didn’t?”

  “I was bullied a few years ago for my size. My father is a lawyer. I don’t interact with any guys bigger than me without recording it all”

  “Holy shit,” she said excitedly, hugging me. “You little genius”

  I smiled. I would even let the “little” comment slide. It was worth the hug.

  “You have any idea what this means?”

  I nodded. “I’m going bury his ass,” I said triumphantly.

  “Sure you could,” she said slyly “or we could use it to our advantage.”

  “I’m not sure I’m following you”