“I know. She’s talked to me several times at school, but I’m afraid I wasn’t very nice to her.” Ellie was apologetic. Then she asked shyly, “Do you go out with her?”
“Kelli? No! Well, not any more, that is. I dated her a few times last year, but we’re just good friends now. Besides, she has a boyfriend, Aaron Johnson.”
“Oh!” Was that relief he detected in her voice?
The two talked a while longer, waiting for the rain to let up. When it showed no sign of abating, Caleb glanced at his phone. It was getting late.
“We probably ought to be going. I don’t think this rain is going to stop any time soon. May I drive you home?”
Ellie hesitated. “Thanks, but I live only five blocks from here. I’ll be alright.”
Caleb persisted. “Yeah, but what about your drawings?” He grinned. “I know you won’t melt like the Wicked Witch of the West, but I’m not so sure about this!” He tapped the sketchbook with his forefinger.
Ellie laughed. “Okay. You convinced me!”
After wrapping her sketchbook in the garbage bag, the pair dashed to Caleb’s car, where he held the passenger door open for her. Driving the half mile to her house, he could tell she was nervous, and he assumed it was because she was ashamed of the lower class neighborhood in which she lived.
Caleb pulled his car to the curb in front of a small bungalow in obvious need of repair.
“Here, let me get that door for you.” He started to get out of the car, but Ellie quickly stopped him by placing a hand on his arm.
“No, I’m fine! Really.” Caleb hesitated indecisively. She forced a smile. “I . . . I’m just not ready for you to meet my foster parents, that’s all. But thanks for the lift home. And thanks for listening to me.”
“My pleasure. See you at school tomorrow?”
“Sure. See you tomorrow.” She got out and dashed up the crumbling sidewalk. He waited until she had entered the house and closed the door before he drove away from the curb.
The remainder of Caleb’s week went incredibly well.
For one thing, Ellie seemed almost happy to see him, smiling and greeting him with a “Hi Caleb” as they passed in the hallways between classes.
On Thursday, much to his surprise, and at the invitation of Kelli, she joined his group of friends in the cafeteria. She didn’t say much, but that was okay by him. The fact that she put forth the effort was a huge breakthrough as far as he was concerned.
And when Megan walked past their table on her way to the tray return line and saw Ellie enjoying herself with him and his friends, well, the look on her face was priceless!
Then to top it off, his doctor cleared him to begin practice with the team on Monday. That would give him four days to prepare for homecoming. Yes, the week was going incredibly well.
Friday night, Caleb traveled with his teammates to nearby Colquitt to play the Chargers. The Bearcats disposed of their win-less opponents, thirty-five to twenty. Coach Davis was happy to hear that Caleb would be back with the team on Monday, and promised to start him with the other seniors for their last homecoming game.
How much playing time he got would be determined by how well he reintegrated with the first string offense during those four days of practice.
The weekend flew by, and on Monday following lunch, Ellie pulled Caleb aside in the hallway to tell him that she had confronted Megan at work on Saturday.
“What exactly did you say to her?” he asked eagerly.
“I told her that her little web of lies didn’t work, and that you and I both know the truth.” She seemed very confident today.
“And how did Little Miss Muffett react to that?”
Ellie grinned, “All she said was, ‘So what? You wanna make something of it? You gonna tell Mr. Pruitt?’”
“Well, are you?” he queried. “Going to tell Mr. Pruitt, I mean. Somehow I can’t see you getting into it with her.”
“Hey, buster! I can handle myself if I have to! I’ve dealt with worse than her before, believe me! But, no. I’m not going to tell Mr. Pruitt. I don’t want him to think he gave this job to a drama queen.”
“So how did it end?”
“Well, I said she might as well give up because we’re onto her, and she can’t hurt either of us anymore.”
Caleb gave her an amused look. “And I’ll bet that went over about as well as using a bowling ball in an egg toss contest!”
Ellie laughed out loud at his analogy. “Actually, she said I haven’t heard the last of this. And neither have you! But I’m sure that was just an empty threat to save face. I think she was just blowing smoke and had to have the last word.”
He was not convinced that Ellie was right about it being just an empty threat. Megan was not known for letting go of things quite that easily.
On Tuesday, Caleb’s euphoria hit some heavy turbulence, and he went into a tailspin. He was at his locker between second and third periods, when he happened to glance down the corridor in Ellie’s direction. Chris had stopped and was arguing heatedly with her.
From where he stood, he couldn’t hear what Chris was saying, but whatever it was, he could tell that Ellie was terribly upset by it. Other kids were giving the pair a wide berth, or watching from a safe distance.
Leaving his locker ajar, Caleb sprinted toward them in time to hear Ellie shout, “Leave me alone!”
As she tried to turn away, Chris reached out and grabbed the strap of her backpack and spun her around. “Don’t turn away from me!” He cursed at her.
Caleb came up behind Chris and yanked him away from Ellie. “Back off, Chris!”
The forcefulness of his own voice surprised him, and startled Chris, who took a step back to collect himself.
Caleb turned to his friend. “What’s going on, Ellie? What’s he done?”
Ellie’s reply was an emotional mixture of anger and tears. “He told me to leave Megan alone . . . said if I got her fired, he’d make me wish I had never messed with her.”
Caleb turned on Chris. “Why don’t you let your girlfriend fight her own battles? She’s a big girl, now.”
Chris got in Caleb’s face and cursed him, too. “Why don’t you mind your own business, punk.” He gave Caleb an unexpected shove that nearly knocked him to the floor.
Caleb raised both his hands, palms outward. “Whoa, dude! Dial down the aggression, okay? We can handle this thing without getting physical.”
“There’s no ‘we’ here! This doesn’t involve you,” Chris snarled. “It’s between me and her.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. It’s between Megan and her. You have nothing to do with it!”
By now a half-circle of students had gathered to watch the show.
“I told you to mind your own business!” He shoved Caleb again.
But this time Caleb stood his ground, and issued a final warning. “Don’t put your hands on me again, Chris!”
Chris got in his face again. “Or what? What are you going to do about it?”
He was trying to goad Caleb, but Caleb wasn’t taking the bait.
“I thought so!” Chris spat out the words with unconcealed contempt. Then he turned his back on Caleb and began to threaten Ellie again.
Caleb reached out and grabbed Chris’ arm. “Hey, that’s enough! I said this is between—”
Chris spun around and sucker punched him in the jaw, knocking him into the row of lockers with a loud bang. Then he pounced before Caleb could recover, and the two fell to the floor, wrestling and throwing punches.
“Fight! Fight!” The shout rose above the normal hallway noise.
Kids came running until the corridor was blocked in both directions. Caleb tried to get Chris into a headlock to avoid being struck in the face and stomach, but Chris, who was broad shouldered and nearly forty pounds heavier, was able to land a few blows.
Finally, Mr. Templeton, the school security officer, and Mr. Green, the calculus teacher, pushed their way through the crowd of students and managed to p
ull the boys apart. Caleb’s nose was bleeding, and Chris had an angry abrasion on one cheekbone.
“Show’s over, kids!” Mr. Templeton’s voice boomed above the crowd.
The onlookers slowly dispersed. Turning back to the two combatants, he directed his attention to Caleb. “What’s this all about?”
Caleb caught his breath. “He was harassing Ellie Thompson and put his hands on her. When I tried to pull him off, he shoved me, and then he punched me.”
Mr. Templeton turned to Chris. “Is that true?”
“That’s a lie! I was only having a conversation with her, and he came up behind me and grabbed my shirt. Yeah, I pushed him away. But then he punched me in the face!” Putting on an act worthy of an Oscar nomination, he gingerly touched his cheek and winced pathetically. “I had to defend myself!” Then he added, “See how much taller he is than me? It wasn’t a very fair fight!”
Mr. Green eyed the heftier youth somewhat skeptically. “No, it probably wasn’t. In any case, I think we need to continue this conversation in the Administration Office. You two have caused enough of a disruption to the educational process for one day.” Mr. Templeton put his hand on Chris’ shoulder and spoke firmly. “Let’s go!”
Chris shrugged off the officer’s touch, and scowled to show his displeasure, but went along with the other three to the school office.
After spending nearly an hour in the inner sanctum of the Administration Office, Caleb and Chris were released to join their respective classes in progress, with the warning that any further contact between the two would result in a call to the local sheriff’s office requesting their removal from school.
Once the incident had been thoroughly investigated, they and their parents would be notified of the proper disciplinary action which, they were informed, could range from a write-up to a week’s suspension.
At lunch, the cafeteria was buzzing with gossip about the fight. Rumors were flying faster than the fists that started them. Some had Caleb starting the fight to impress Ellie Thompson, while others had Chris blindsiding Caleb, who had to defend himself.
When Caleb walked through the double doors and got in the food line, a palpable hush descended over the room. He tried to ignore the stares and whispers, and began selecting his à la carte items as the crescendo of lunchtime conversations returned to its normal level.
He hadn’t even sat down at the table before his friends were all over him about the incident.
“Caleb, are you all right?”
“What really happened?”
“I’ve heard all sorts of things!”
He gave them the abridged version of the incident. He noticed Ellie wasn’t at their table, or the one in the corner, either.
He leaned toward Kelli, who was sitting next to him, and lowered his voice. “Have you seen Ellie? She was pretty upset.”
“No, I haven’t. Maybe she’s in the Senior Suite today.” He quickly scarfed down his meal and went outside to look for her.
She was not there. Knowing that she preferred solitude in times like these, he concluded there was only one other place to which she might withdraw.
Entering the quiet, carpeted room of the school library, Caleb looked around for Ellie, again ignoring the stares and whispers. He spotted her sitting in the corner, with her back to him, at one of the cubicles—a long countertop against the back wall with partitions separating the individual spaces.
He slipped inconspicuously into the empty cubicle next to her without her noticing. “Ellie!” he whispered in his best undercover voice.
She startled. “Caleb!” Then, realizing her voice was too loud, she leaned around the partition and whispered almost inaudibly, “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine. What about you?”
“I’m okay now. It took me a while to calm down, though.” She paused. “I spent all of third period in the bathroom!”
He could identify with that escape tactic.
“I’ve never skipped class before.”
“I don’t blame you. You were pretty upset,” he sympathized.
“So, what happened in the office? Are you in trouble?” She seemed worried. That was reassuring.
“Don’t know yet. They’re going to let us know about consequences once they finish the investigation.”
“But you shouldn’t be disciplined at all!” Ellie’s reaction forced her to lower her voice again. “Chris is the one who started it.”
“I know. But his account is, um . . . a little different than mine.”
“What do you think they’ll do?”
“I don’t know. Mr. Green said it could be anything from a write-up in our student files to a week’s suspension.”
“A week! But that would mean missing homecoming Friday night, wouldn’t it?”
That possibility was not lost on Caleb. “Yeah. But I hope it doesn’t come to that. That would really hurt.”
“Well, there were lots of eyewitnesses. They can prove you’re telling the truth.” She tried to sound encouraging.
“Don’t forget, some of those eyewitnesses are Chris’ friends. They’ll take his side if asked. But most kids won’t talk at all in situations like this.”
Just then the librarian came over to remind them that there was to be no talking in the cubicles, and pointed to the signs posted in each to reinforce her position on the matter. Caleb whispered a “sorry” and got up to leave.
Ellie grabbed his arm. “Let me know as soon as you hear something, okay?” she whispered.
Caleb gave her a thumbs up.
“And thanks for standing up for me.” With her beautiful brown eyes sparkling, she gave him her best smile yet. “It’s nice knowing that someone as wonderful as you cares about me.”
As he left the library, Caleb was smiling himself. It was nice knowing that someone as wonderful as Ellie cared about him, too!
Wednesday afternoon, during his sixth period economics class, a student volunteer from the office interrupted the lecture to hand Mr. Grossman a note. The teacher read it, and then walked down the row of desks to where Caleb slouched at his desk. Mr. Grossman leaned over and whispered, “You’re wanted right away in the office.”
Several nearby students let out an audible “Uh-ooooh!” as Caleb packed up his notes and left the room.
So this is it. He headed down the empty corridor to the Administration Office near the front of the school. In a few minutes he would learn his fate.
Any other week he would have gladly accepted a suspension. But to miss homecoming would only make it that much more difficult.
With his heart pounding, he pushed open the door to the outer office and approached the counter. The secretary had him take a seat on the worn vinyl bench outside the principal’s office. He waited there for what seemed like an hour, but the clock told him it had been only ten minutes.
Finally the door opened and Chris emerged with a very unhappy look on his face. He scowled at Caleb as he passed and stormed out of the office without a word. His body language confirmed Caleb’s worst fears. Chris had been suspended.
Mr. Abernathy, the school principal, stepped through the doorway. He motioned for him to enter. “Caleb?”
Caleb silently prayed for strength as he arose and entered the office.
The security officer sat to one side. Mr. Abernathy closed the door and offered Caleb the seat facing his desk. Then he took his place in the high-backed executive chair behind the imposing dark mahogany desk. He put his hands together and silently studied Caleb. An old-fashioned mantel clock that sat on the credenza under the window quietly ticked in rhythm to his heartbeat.
The principal took a breath and began. “Caleb, I’m sure you know why you’re here.” Caleb nodded. “I first want to say that here at Baxter High School, we have a very strict policy against physical violence. Fighting of any sort will not be tolerated. We simply cannot have these kinds of disruptions to the educational process. It’s spelled out very clearly in the student handbook you sign at
the beginning of every school year. As a senior, I’m certain you know that by now.”
Caleb replied meekly, “Yes, sir.”
“Good. Then you know that the consequences for such actions, depending upon the circumstances, warrant anything from a write-up in your permanent student record to a one week suspension from school, with no participation in school-related activities for that period of time. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, sir.” He feared the worst.
Mr. Abernathy glanced over at Mr. Templeton, who nodded in silent agreement. “That being said, Mr. Templeton and I have reviewed the security tape of the incident in which you and Mr. Miller were involved on Tuesday morning in the main hallway.”
Caleb had forgotten about the monitors strategically placed in the classrooms and halls throughout the building.
His principal continued. “From what we observed, Mr. Miller instigated the entire confrontation and was clearly in the wrong. It appeared you were trying to diffuse the situation, and the attack was totally unprovoked. You had every right to defend yourself. And Miss Thompson, I might add.” He turned to the security officer. “Mr. Templeton, would you care to add anything to what has been said?”
“Just that I would encourage Mr. Sawyer here, as I did with Mr. Miller, to avoid contact with each other as much as possible. We don’t want a repeat of what happened on Tuesday, do we?”
“No, sir!” Caleb replied adamantly. “I didn’t want it to happen in the first place.”
“We know you didn’t, Caleb,” Mr. Abernathy interjected quickly. “You’ve been here three and a half years now, and I’ve never known you to be involved in an incident like this before. Unlike Mr. Miller. Besides, it seems totally out of character for you.”
Caleb was thankful for that kind of reputation, but he was anxious to hear about his consequences. The administrator must have sensed that.
“As to the consequences, we have suspended Mr. Miller from school and all related activities for a period of one week. As for you, since you were involved in a physical altercation, we are required to place the report in your permanent student file. But we have noted that you were not at fault, nor were you able to avoid the unfortunate incident. There will be no disciplinary action taken against you.”
A Future and a Hope Page 9