A brief moment passed before Carol laughed.
“What’s so funny, Carol?”
Carol swallowed some wine. “You. This film you’re making, all the hard work and effort you’re putting into it. To me, it seems to be an utter and useless waste of time. And you’re the furthest thing from a professional filmmaker. I mean, you’re not getting paid, and absolutely nobody in the world is ever going to see it.”
By this time Seth’s fists were so tight his knuckles were bone white. He stood up angrily. “Listen, you! I’m absolutely sick and goddamned tired of taking your verbal abuse! Just because you didn’t have any dreams growing up doesn’t give you the right to shit all over mine! Now, turn your chair around and continue drinking, you lush!”
Carol and Keri were paralyzed from shock.
Marlon came up the steps by the front door. “I’m home.”
Carol began to cry.
Marlon noticed his wife’s tears and said, “What’s the matter?”
Carol couldn’t speak. The only thing she could do was cry. “Seth made mom cry.”
Marlon shook his head. “Let me guess, Carol—filmmaking was mentioned. You were drinking so you ranted to Seth, and knowing you, you kept your mouth open. Which in turn pushed Seth’s buttons to the extreme, and he blew up in your face?”
Carol shamefully nodded.
Marlon shook his head and then bit his lip. “Well, Carol, don’t say I didn’t try to warn you.”
CHAPTER 5
A week after Seth’s blow-up, Keri wouldn’t answer his phone calls, e-mails or Facebook messages, and she even refused to talk to him at school.
He didn’t know what to do. He loved Keri very much, but what would become of their relationship if Seth was being denied the one thing that he needed the most in a relationship, communication? That and the chance to make amends; as far as Seth was concerned, he only had two options: Stop trying and just let his relationship crumble beneath his feet. No, that was too easy. Nowadays everybody just gave up. Unfortunately the art of conversation was slipping into extinction in this modern age. Or he could just keep trying and hope Keri eventually came around.
Seth didn’t know what to do, so he finally decided to ask Vance his opinion.
“How long?”
“Coming up on a week.”
“Shit, man, I’m sorry.” Vance placed his hand on Seth’s shoulder.
“I’ve tried everything. Phone calls, Facebook, e-mail, even trying to talk with her at lunch, but nothing. Perhaps my relationship truly is over,” Seth sighed heavily. “If only I hadn’t shot my big mouth off, I wouldn’t be in this predicament.”
After a moment, Vance said, “You have no idea what you’re going to do?”
“Believe me, if I knew what I was going to do, I would’ve done it by now. I mean, look at me—I’m freaking out here, man!”
Vance thought for a moment. “Would it help if I talked to your unreasonable, thick-headed girlfriend?”
Hope suddenly illuminated in Seth’s eyes. “Would you?”
“Hey, what are friends for?”
The next day at school, while walking the halls between classes, Seth spotted Keri headed in his direction. Seth took a deep breath and mustered up all the courage he could, and when Keri was close enough, he grabbed her arm and swung her into the nurse’s office.
“Take your filthy hands off me, you son of a bitch!”
Seth quickly closed the door. “That was totally uncalled for,” He said, dropping his backpack on the floor. “Are you honestly still this upset with me because of last week?”
Keri stood in silence, her arms crossed and her eyes half-lidded as she looked at one side of the room.
Seth waited for a response, a response he knew he wasn’t going to get. After a couple of minutes, the bell for the next class rang.
Keri suddenly broke her pose. “I’ve got to get to class.”
Seth seethed with anger. “Goddamn it!” He quickly leaps over to the door and locked it.
“Move, Seth. Get the hell out of my way!”
“No! Not until you talk to me. Tell me why I no longer exist!”
Keri dropped her backpack. “It’s not me,”
After a few seconds, when she didn’t continue, he said, “I’m confused, Keri. What isn’t you?”
“It’s my mom. My mom is the one who wants me to ignore you.”
Seth tilted his head in confusion. “Uh, okay. But what does that have to do with you?”
Keri stared with disbelief. “Well, I don’t know about you, but I listen to my parents.”
Seth paced the office. “Keri, please don’t take this the wrong way. But that has to be the stupidest thing I have ever heard.”
“So you obviously don’t listen to your parents,” she snapped.
Seth turns to her and chuckled.
“What’s so damn funny?”
“Oh, I listen to my parents. But I listen to them within reason.”
She crossed her arms again and pouted. “What the hell does that mean?”
Seth took a moment. “It means you’re old enough to make decisions regarding your own life. It doesn’t matter what your parents say or think, because at the end of the day, it all comes down to you.” He reached for his backpack and stood at the door.
He reached for the doorknob and slowly lowered his hand. “You know, before you entered my life, I was a nobody. I was nothing. The only things I had were a pencil and a binder full of paper. I was so damn immersed in my writing that I forgot to live! And then, in one fell swoop, you came into my life and reminded me that I was alive and someone worth loving, and to throw that all away over something as a little slip up, that’s not right.”
Seth never turned around. He opened the door and exited the room.
After school, Seth never met Vance at the bus stop. He walked to another one further away. When Seth got home that day, he went directly up to his bedroom and put on the album Both Sides by Phil Collins.
*
Earlier that evening Vance tried calling Seth, except Mrs. Zimmer told Vance Seth wasn’t taking any calls.
So Vance decided to call Keri. “What happened today with Seth?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, he didn’t meet me after school, and when I called his house, his mom said he wasn’t taking any calls.”
There was a moment of awkward silence.
“Really? That’s strange. That’s not like Seth at all.”
Vance rolled his eyes. “No, it isn’t.”
“What? Are you suggesting I had something to do with this?”
“If not you, then who?”
Another few moments of awkward silence passed.
“Well, he did talk to me,”
“Really? What the hell did you say to him?”
“Nothing, Vance, I didn’t say one peep to him!”
“Well, and that’s your problem, isn’t it?”
“What the hell does that mean?”
Vance paused. “You’re twisting Seth up on the inside. You’re slowly killing him, you bitch! And over something as stupid as an argument in which you had no involvement!”
Insulted, Keri snapped, “I was so involved!”
“How, Keri? How were you involved?”
“I’m involved because it was my mother Seth was yelling at!”
Vance said quietly, “I’m going to ask you a couple of questions, and how you answer them will help me determine who’s right.”
Keri frowned.
“Was your mother talking down to you or Seth?”
Keri shook her head. “Seth,” she said reluctantly.
“And when Seth snapped because of your mothers’ abuse, was Seth yelling at you, the innocent bystander, or your mother, the perpetrator?”
Keri desperately scrambled for the right words but was at a loss. “My mom,”
Vance sucked in a breath. “Good. Now, I seriously suggest you beam down to earth with the rest of us. Get your head out of your ass and get wise to the situation, before you completely destroy Seth!”
He took a few deep breaths before continuing. “And if I ever hear that you hurt Seth, I’m going to make sure it comes down tenfold on you!” Vance angrily hung up.
After spending hours in the dark, Seth turned his night table lamp on then reached for his phone. He looked at it, deciding if it would even be worth calling Keri. He reluctantly started to push the buttons to call her but stopped halfway through the number and put the phone back.
He got up and headed for the door but stopped dead in his tracks when the phone rang. He dashed back to his bed and looked at the caller id.
He nervously recognized Keri’s number but answered anyway. “Hello?”
“Hi, honey!”
“Uh, if this is an obscene call, I’m hanging up.”
“It’s me, Keri.”
“Are you feeling all right? You don’t seem like yourself.”
“Sure,” she said slowly. “I feel like a million bucks!”
“Yeah? Good. I wish I could say the same.”
“I know, babe. I take full responsibility for that. I really wish you’ll be able to forgive me one day.”
Seth remained silent. Nothing was said for the longest time.
“Seth? You still there?”
Seth cleared his throat. “All right. I’ll forgive you. It’s going to take a little time, but I’ll forgive you.”
On Monday afternoon, Seth got called into the principal’s office.
“You wanted to see me, Mr. Caprice?”
Principal Caprice looked up from his desk. “Ah, Mr. Zimmer. Please, have a seat.” After a pause, he said, “So, I hear you’re making a film in Mr. P’s class?”
“Yes,?” Seth knew something was going on, and a feeling fell over him—he suddenly became uncomfortable.
“Well, you ought to be proud; it’s the buzz around the school.”
“Why am I here? Am I in some sort of trouble?”
Mr. Caprice sipped his coffee. “Trouble? No, you’re not in trouble. I do, however, want to bring to your attention how many students you’re distracting from different classes.”
Seth smiled, and after a couple of seconds he began to chuckle.
Mr. Caprice was not amused by Seth’s sudden outburst. “Did I say something amusing, Mr. Zimmer?”
Seth quickly settled down. “Distracting them? No, far from. They all enjoy helping out. And yes, I do realize how many students I’m borrowing from other classes.”
Mr. Caprice started pacing. “Five electrical students, five engineering students, three metal shop students and three mechanical students. Total number of students out of class five days a week—16!”
Mr. Caprice firmly planted himself back at his desk.
“Yes, sir. I also added up 16,” Seth said sarcastically.
Mr. Caprice folded his fingers and cleared his throat. “You know, Seth, in the 150 years this school has been in operation, no student has ever created a film project—production—of this immense size.”
Seth smiled. “Really? Wow, that’s exciting!”
“Not quite the word I would’ve used, Mr. Zimmer.”
“Is this project of mine a problem?”
Mr. Caprice leaned back in his chair as he gathered his thoughts. “Well, yes and no. It’s not a problem for you and your fellow classmates, as that’s your regularly scheduled class. But for those 16 students who don’t belong, they’re drastically falling behind in their classes.”
Seth took a moment. “So you’re essentially blaming me for them falling behind?”
“I’m not blaming you per se, Seth. I am, however, blaming the fact that your film requires so much fine detail, man hours and students.”
Seth was beginning to get annoyed and impatient. “Is there a particular reason you called me in here? Is there a point? Or did you call me in to shoot the breeze?”
Mr. Caprice stared at Seth for a moment. “I’m an educator, and you’re a student. You enjoy filmmaking—great! It’s my job as an educator to encourage that in you. But when your love of filmmaking interrupts and distracts other students, then I have to step in.”
Seth opened his mouth to say something, but Mr. Caprice put his hand up to stop him from speaking. “I was seriously thinking of stopping this film from being made, but then I realized how far along you were. So the good news is, you can continue making this film of yours. The bad news is that after this film is complete, I cannot allow any more film projects of epic proportions. From now on, every time you make a film project, it will be monitored by me personally. You have to realize this is a school, not a film studio.”
The room fell eerily quiet.
“Do you have any idea of the enormous impact of what you just said to me?”
“Sure. In layman’s terms, I told you to minimize your future film projects.”
“No. What you, an ‘educator,’ told me, a student, was to put a limit on my creativity! And let me tell you, I’m offended by this.”
Mr. Caprice got defensive. He slammed the top of his desk and rose to his feet. “I said no such thing, Mr. Zimmer!”
Seth closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths to remain calm. After a couple of moments, Seth opened his eyes and stood. “Well, let’s agree to disagree, Mr. Caprice. Good day.”
Later that evening, Seth was in his room listening to soft music. He decided to call Keri as she wasn’t at school again that day.
“He actually said that, Seth? Whoa, that guy’s ballsy.”
“I couldn’t believe it either. He says he’s an educator. But educators don’t go around limiting the creativity of their students.”
“Well, I can see where he’s coming from. I think if I were Caprice, I would’ve done the same thing.”
Carol softly opened Keri’s bedroom door and entered.
“Seth, I have to go; we’ve got company.” Seth started saying something else, but Keri hung up before he finished.
“Keri, may we talk?”
Keri swung her chair around, now facing her mother.
Carol’s right hand was behind her back. She sat on Keri’s bed, and the crumpling of a paper bag could be heard.
“What’s behind your back, Mom?”
“Before I reveal what’s behind my back, I want you to answer a simple question.”
Keri scratched her head. “I’ll try my best.”
“I’m your mother. I just want you to know you can talk to me about anything, and come to me with any problems you may face.”
“Mom, what’s this about?” Her mother placed a white paper bag on her lap. “What’s in the bag?”
“I’ll get to that in a moment. But first: Are you and Seth sexually active?”
Keri’s mouth dropped and her face became beet red. “Mom!”
“Don’t ‘mom’ me, Keri. This kind of information should be discussed openly between every mother and daughter.”
Keri sighed, embarrassed. “And this information is relevant to whatever’s in the white bag?”
“Very much so. It’s not a hard question, sweetheart.”
“Yes! Okay? Seth and I have sex regularly!”
“Good. Now are you or Seth using any kind of protection?”
Keri’s eyes widened. “Uh, yes, of course. Seth wears protection. Why?”
Carol smiled deviously. “Good! Because I have a plan.”
Keri didn’t like where this is going and reluctantly asked, “A plan for what?”
Carol opened the paper bag and then braced herself for her daughter’s reaction. “We’re going to get
you pregnant.”
Keri’s eyes widened. Her jaw slowly dropped, and she gasped. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, what? Are you crazy? I’m not getting pregnant at this age!”
“Keri, calm down! Not for real, honey!”
“What? What do you mean? I’m confused.”
Carol reached into the paper bag and pulled out a box of birth control pills, handing them to Keri.
“We’re going to start you on the pill, and then after a while you and Seth are going to engage in unprotected sex. Then, soon after that, you’ll tell Seth you’re pregnant.”
Keri sat speechless for a moment, honestly unable to believe what she just heard her mother say. “I can’t believe what I’m hearing. Mom, who the hell are you? That’s sick! What’s the point of that?”
Again Carol smiled wickedly. “The point, dear daughter, is very simple. You tell Seth you’re pregnant, and he gets scared and runs off. Nobody gets hurt, and he’s out of our lives forever!”
Keri didn’t know what to say. “That’s mean and immoral. I honestly can’t believe you would even consider a low-down and rotten plan like that! I mean, what if I actually become pregnant? Did you ever think about that?”
Carol knew her daughter was right, but she was more than willing to sacrifice Keri if it meant Seth was out of their lives forever.
“I didn’t think of that. But if that bridge should be crossed, I’ll take you to have an abortion.” Keri just stared. “Please listen to me, even if it’s just once.”
“I hate this plan! Why should I listen?”
Carol got up and threw the empty bag at her daughter. She walked to the door and turned to Keri. “Because mothers know best. Besides, I have the power to throw your ungrateful ass out of this goddamn house!”
She exited the room, slamming the door.
Keri remained seated, still shaken by this plan of her mother’s. She didn’t know what to do. This despicable plan echoed in her mind and taunted her.
She felt sad, and the tears started. The calmer she tried to remain, the more out of control she became. After a couple of minutes she began to hyperventilate. She spotted the paper bag on the floor, picked it up and began breathing into it.
Growing Pains Page 4