That’s weird, Mom never wakes me up…?
Wes Mallinson stood outside the Karate household, determined to make a good impression with his classmate this time. He had the afternoon off from football practice because of the game – his first – that evening. It briefly occurred to him that he was more nervous about seeing Lucy Karate again, than about the kick off in a few hours time. Odd how seeing a girl he didn’t really know made him more nervous than a Friday night football game. His palms were already sweating as he knocked on the door.
A smaller, male version of Lucy answered the door. Craig Karate had the same brown hair and green eyes as his older sister. A little Pug dog stood at his feet and looked up at him. Crossing his arms, he popped his gum and asked, “What do you want?”
“I’m a classmate of your sister’s, actually and…”
“You’re not a drummer.”
“No, I play football.”
The boy’s green eyes grew wide, “Really?”
Wes smiled, and answered, “Yes, in fact, I’ll be playing tonight.”
“Oh, I thought you were talking ‘bout real football.”
“What your country refers to as ‘soccer?’”
Craig’s head went up and down.
“Well, I’ve been playing that a lot longer. Do you play?”
Craig smiled and he answered proudly, “Yup. I’m a ‘keeper. So, what are you doing here? I know most of Lucy’s friends and I’ve never seen you before.”
“As I was saying, I’m in her class and I brought her the homework she missed today. Is she available?”
“Yeah, she’s upstairs.” With that statement of fact, young Craig wandered off, leaving Wes to hesitantly walk in. He walked upstairs, pausing to look at the pictures on the wall. There was Lucy, looking equally stunning in pictures from school dances and very intimidating in her band uniform. Wes continued down the hall, until he came to a room he was sure that was Lucy’s. Pausing at the door for a moment, he opened it quietly, intent on putting the assignment down and getting the hell out of there, when he looked over at her bed and saw Lucy sleeping peacefully. The majority of him knew he should get out of there, get in his car and stop caring, but a smaller part of him urged him forward. He leaned over and carefully shook her. Lucy’s eyes opened and she was staring into green ones similar to her own.
Am I still dreaming?
“Lucy.”
She sat up, and almost jumped out of bed before remembering she had stripped off her flannel pants before her nap, “What are you DOING IN MY ROOM?!?!?”
Wes began backing up slowly, holding his hands up, “You see, your brother let me in…”
“To what?! Take advantage of me? I’m going to kill him!”
A safe distance away, Wes replied, “Look, I feel terrible about earlier this week. I brought your school assignments.”
From the bed, Lucy said sarcastically, “Of course, you bringing me my assignments totally makes up for my lost practice and day off of school. Now, be a good lad and turn around?”
“Why?”
“So I can put some shorts on and change for the game.”
She’s only wearing her knickers?!
As Wes turned around and listened to her grumbling, he tried again to apologize, “Listen, I’m really sorry. I know this must look, well, but, it’s not.”
Lucy quickly threw on a pair of shorts. Ignoring his apology – flustered and charmingly Hugh Grant that it might be – she instructed, “You can turn around now.”
Wes did and saw that Lucy was muttering to herself as she paced around the room, “Pants, shoes, socks, beret, Lieutenant braid, check. Jacket, check. Mallets and drum at school. Hmm, flip flops?”
She practically shoved Wes out of the way, “Here’s one!”
“What’s all that for?” Wes was intrigued.
“Remember the big drum I was wearing that you conveniently kicked a hole through?”
“Yes.”
“Well, I don’t know what happens in jolly old England, but here in the States, after you guys pass, punt, and kick your way to victory or whatever, then we, the Forrest Hills High School marching band, take the field and things really start.”
“Oh.”
“Have you never seen a half time show?” Commenting to herself, she murmured, “They were right here.”
“No.”
“Well, too bad, because you’re going to be in the locker room and miss all the action anyway.”
With that, Lucy half crawled under the bed and then popped out exclaiming, “Aha!”
Messy hair, sleep flushed face, and found footwear victorious, Wes couldn’t recall the last time he had seen anyone so…attractive?
Lucy must have picked up on the weird tension. She said, “I’m going to be late for warm-ups, so you’d better leave and, by the way, I really don’t ever want to see you again.”
Speechless, Wes followed her out of the house. Lucy started throwing her marching accoutrement in the back of her car. She glared at him, motioning to his car. His mini Cooper blocked her in. Still bewildered at what exactly just happened in the past five minutes, he got in his car, disappointed with the outcome of the visit.
What did you think was going to happen? She was going to fall into your arms or something?
No, not really.
Well, then…
Completely distracted by the force that was Lucy Karate, and unsure with the whole driver’s side on the left hand side of the car, Wes cringed when he heard a definitive CRUNCH come from the back of his auto.
* * *
CHAPTER FIVE: The Deal
From inside her Cavalier, Lucy Karate heard the distinctive crunch of a car meeting an immovable object. She cringed, took a deep breath and got out of her car, preparing herself for the worst. Wes was already out of his car, and with a shocked expression on his face, was staring mutely at her mailbox and his bumper, which seemed to have been magically joined.
Craig, followed by a yapping Pam, came running out of the house, “What happened? Is everyone okay?”
Wes looked absolutely mortified, and seeing Lucy’s horrified face, he managed to feel even worse. Lucy somehow managed to smile, “Wes, did I do something to do you in a former life?”
“I – you – oh, bollocks!”
Lucy looked at Wes and began laughing hysterically. The football player put his hands up to try and explain when Mrs. Karate pulled up to the house. She parked near the curb and got out of the car slowly. She looked at the mailbox, the bumper of the little Mini, Wes, and the daughter who was wiping tears out of her eyes and asked, “Would anyone like to inform me what exactly happened here?”
Lucy, Craig, and Wes all began speaking at the same time.
Bronwyn peered through the curtains and couldn’t believe that Lucy Karate was actually pulling up to her house. Even better, the senior had agreed to come in and meet Bronwyn’s parents so that they wouldn’t object to the inevitable future rides Lucy would (hopefully) provide their daughter. Bronwyn had called her best friends, Meredith and Megan, when Lucy had offered a ride to the game after class on Wednesday.
Megan, a flautist, had said, “I heard from one of the upperclassmen in my section that she dated the rival Line’s Captain last season – in secret!”
Meredith, a sax player, said, “That’s not all – she also dated one of the cymbal players!”
Dating habits aside, seeing the stormy look on Lucy’s face as she pulled up to the Flueger residence, Bronwyn wasn’t sure if she wanted to get in the car with her favorite senior. Walking up to the house, however, Lucy’s face morphed into that of a pleasant, normal teenager.
“Hi there, Mr. and Mrs. Flueger!”
Mrs. Flueger extended a hand, “Hello, Lucy. How are you? Bronwyn said you were feeling under the weather this week.”
“Thanks for asking, but I feel much better now. B, you ready to go? We don’t want to be late for your first game.”
Bronwyn nodded as she gathered her gar
ment bag. Her parents smiled as they looked at the picture of the model band student in their daughter, who was dressed in carefully pressed khaki shorts, a clean band shirt, and was already wearing her black shoes and socks. Lucy, the alleged marching band officer, looked the total opposite in her cotton shorts, tank top and flip flops. Bronwyn wondered if there was some secret uniform change that she didn’t know about and mentally started freaking out. She managed to sputter, “Bye Mom and Dad!”
“Nice meeting you!”
Bronwyn carefully hung her uniform in the backseat of Lucy’s car and got in the passenger side. The freshman smiled as she heard Lucy muttering to herself, “Stupid jock.”
Wardrobe questions to the side for a moment, Bronwyn was curious about which ‘jock’ Lucy could be referring to. However, at the last minute she chickened out and asked politely, “Did you have a nice day off?”
Unfortunately, it seemed that was all the ammunition Lucy needed to launch into a tirade about her day, “He is such a JERK! So, I’m all asleep or whatever and then I wake up and who is in my room? The crazy British transfer!” Lucy faked a snooty British accent, “Hi, I’m Wesley Mallinson the Third; it is a pleasure to meet you.”
Bronwyn giggled, “Did he actually say that?”
Lucy punched the radio presets on her car and continued her tirade, “No, but he somehow managed to talk my brother into letting him in the house and in my room to ‘bring me my homework.’ Finally, I get him the hell out of there, and as he’s leaving he actually backs directly in to my mailbox! Then my mom shows up! Then, they talk and do you know what my mom decides to do?!”
The freshman redhead was almost afraid to ask, but questioned, “What?”
“She decides the best idea will be to have him work off the damages by doing yard work AT MY HOUSE! I can’t escape him! He’s like a disease!”
Bronwyn looked shocked at the outburst. Lucy glanced at her passenger and felt terrible, “Bronwyn, please forgive me. I’m not sure if it’s the Benadryl talking or just my overall rage towards Wes, but I didn’t mean to unload on you like that. I mean, we should be talking about you – it’s your first game and you must be totally excited!”
Bronwyn nodded, “I really am.”
“Do you feel ready?”
“I think so.”
“You’ll do fine.”
With that, two-thirds of the female force on the Forrest Hills drumline arrived at the school. Bronwyn walked into the band room, eyes wide. Lucy looked over and saw things through Bronwyn’s eyes: uniforms, garment bags, sequins, secret pal gifts, glitter and instruments. The sound alone was deafening. Somehow, it made all the long hours of practice worth it. Bronwyn followed Lucy into the percussion room where things were a little different. The redheaded freshmen already loved the percussion room – it was like the VIP room in a club and she was always on the list.
Tom grabbed Lucy and pulled her aside, winking at Bronwyn, “I have to borrow her for a few minutes.”
The first march down the field of the season was always a blast. The band, proud at two-hundred fifty plus members strong marched in the following order: Drum majors, Auxiliaries, Woodwinds, Brass, and ended with the Line (snares, tenors, basses, cymbals, and Pit). In parades, sometimes they mixed it up with percussion in the middle, but on the march to the field, it was Line in the back. The percussionists had some new cadences they were trying out and Lucy forgot the rush of setting of multiple car alarms. It was even more exciting knowing that it was HER section that was responsible. Kevin and Thomas were all smiles as they marched. Even Mark and Lucy glanced across at each other and shared a grin.
On the field during pre-game festivities, the marching band played the Star Spangled Banner and the colors were raised. As the band filed into the stands, the drummers waited their turn and Lucy looked out onto the field and, without meaning to, immediately focused in on a familiar figure, the kicker, #11. Wes looked, well, undeniably good, in his green football jersey and black pants. After watching him stretch and warm up for a few moments, Lucy made her way up to the stands, silently questioning her mental health.
I have a boyfriend…I’m not supposed to be ogling football players who cause property damage!
After the warm up at the end of the second quarter, the band marched out onto the field, more than ready to perform to the packed stands. With military precision, Fred and Drew performed their salute near the fifty-yard line and Drew came running across quickly to climb the Drum major’s podium. Briefly making eye contact with as many players as possible, he brought the band to attention, then lifted his hands and the show began. Bronwyn couldn’t believe what a high she was getting from performing in front of the crowd. The opener was quickly over and Drew climbed off his podium and waited for Fred to begin the next song. With his back facing the stands he winked at Bronwyn and asked, whispering, “Where was Lucy yesterday?”
Bronwyn was shocked he was actually talking to her, in the middle of a performance no less, and replied with more wit than she actually imagined she had, “Misguided apology.”
Fred began the second song and the percussion feature began. Drew marched off in the direction of the smaller podium to Fred’s right. Bronwyn blinked and wondered, did that actually just happen?
Post-halftime show, Lucy and the rest of the Line walked off the field. After placing her drum in the stands and overseeing the rest of the basses do the same, Lucy walked over to the concession stand, with Gina and Mandy at her side.
Mandy asked, “Did anything interesting happen on your day off?”
With their new Captainships, Mandy and Gina were both extremely busy before the game, so Lucy hadn’t had a chance to catch up with either of them. Also, somehow, getting the story out to Bronwyn had made her feel a lot calmer, so she merely replied, “Well, I took a nap and was woken by my ‘Prince Charming’…”
“Sam came home to visit?” questioned Gina.
“I was kidding. Wes came up to see me…”
“In your bedroom?!” Mandy practically shouted, loud enough to attract a few stares from passing band members.
Lucy clapped a hand over her friend’s mouth, “Shh!!! Anyway, he brought my homework and when he was leaving, managed to back into our mailbox. My Mom, in a complete moment of brilliance, decided that he would ‘work off’ the debt owed to our family in the form of yard work and maybe even personal coaching for Craig. ”
The trio’s attention was suddenly caught by the announcement which echoed across the stadium, “From across the pond, Wes Mallinson puts up his first field goal in the United States. Let’s give him a big Forrest Hills round of applause.”
Gina nudged Lucy, “So, you mean to tell us that guy was in your bedroom earlier?”
Lucy rolled her eyes, “The one and only.”
Sam called Lucy when she was on her way to Waffle House that night. He greeted her warmly, “Hey babe. How was the game?”
“It was a decent first official show. The freshies were so cute on their big first night.”
As Sam proceeded to inform her about his day of classes, Lucy’s mind started to wander.
You need to tell him about Wes. Like, now.
What is there to tell?
How would you feel if some chick walked into his room and woke him up?
You make it sound as if something actually happened.
So, why aren’t you telling him? What if he shows up one day and there’s Wes in your yard, what then?
So, my parents hired him to work—
Did you learn nothing from last year?!
I guess you’re right.
Sam’s voice brought Lucy’s thoughts back to her boyfriend, “Hey I gotta go, talk to you soon?”
Lucy replied brightly, “Sounds great!”
I’ll tell him next time…
* * *
CHAPTER SIX: Say Goodbye
The next morning, Lucy walked downstairs close to noon – her traditional waking hour after a long week of school and staying
out after the game. Her mom was busy working on the computer. Craig and her dad were at her younger brother’s soccer game.
“So…Mom?” Lucy grabbed a carton of yogurt out of the fridge.
“Yes, honey?”
“It would’ve been nice if maybe you had asked me about Wes yesterday.”
“What do you mean?”
“For all you know he could be some crazy psycho that doesn’t even go to my school.”
“Nonsense, I remember reading an article about him recently in the paper. He just transferred here from the U.K.”
“And so that makes it okay for him to just start working around our house instead of paying off the damage like a normal human being?”
“Well, I figured he probably doesn’t have citizenship or time to get a job with being on the team and all. Plus, Lucy, he really did want to make things up to us. I thought it might be a good lesson in integrity for Craig.”
“Hmph,” Lucy stabbed her spoon into her yogurt cup.
“You don’t have to see him, so I don’t even see why you’re getting so bothered about it.”
“I have to go study.”
Lucy went up to her room, still frustrated with the situation. She was about to sign online and maybe talk to Cartwright about the recent developments, when she remembered her silly promise to Tom the night before. She went to her closet and changed. Heading downstairs, she called to her Mom, “I’m going to have lunch with Tom.”
“Have fun!”
“I will.”
“Oh, and Lucy, if you want to avoid Wes, he just called, so be sure to find something to do tomorrow afternoon,” Mrs. Karate added, watching her daughter walk out the door.
The next day, Lucy got out of bed, strangely sore. Thinking back to yesterday’s events, she knew the results were totally going to be worth it. Hearing Sam’s familiar ring tone, Lucy smiled and picked up the phone. As much as the whole long distance thing sucked, at the end of the day it was still fun to say, “My boyfriend? He’s in college.” Whether or not Sam was technically her boyfriend, remained to be seen.
A Fine Line Page 4