Teacher's Pet

by Andrew Neiderman

  “My mother asked her why she permitted Tami to stop seeing the tutor and she said Tami was virtually hysterical about it.”

  “She’s virtually hysterical abut everything,” Sandy said. Gary laughed, but Johnny didn’t crack a smile.

  “Tami’s mother fell for that?” he asked.

  “She said Tami claimed all the other kids were ostracizing her because she goes to Mr. Lucy.”

  Johnny stopped walking. “What did your mother say?”

  “She didn’t say anything, but she’s bothered by it. I can tell. She won’t want to be the only woman in her bridge club to have a child using the tutor. But I’ll go to Mr. Lucy no matter what she says,” she added defiantly. They continued walking in silence.

  Now they stared in silence at Mr. Lucy’s front door. They could hear him talking to Jeff Benson in a low voice as Benson stood in the open doorway. Johnny recognized Mr. Lucy’s gentle but firm way of bawling him out. Benson hadn’t done his homework.

  This is what would happen, he thought. If their parents continued to insist that they come, they would become uncooperative, and after a while, their parents would give up. Mr. Lucy would be finished as a tutor in this town, even though he might have some financial security because of the things they did. He could be left to tutor only the four of them, and if he was left with only the four, their parents might start to feel the pressure, just as Sheila’s mother already had.

  No, he thought, this is the most important meeting of all. He watched Benson move quickly down the avenue. Gary started forward, but Johnny put his hand up.

  “Wait. We don’t want Benson to see us.”

  They waited until he disappeared around the corner at the end of the street and then they moved forward, emerging like shadows transformed into people. They were so silent anyone might have thought there was no substance to their forms. They glided over the small walkway to the front door. Just before they knocked, Johnny looked over at the Lorner house. Something pulled his attention to it.

  He saw Ellen Lorner peering out from between the curtains on the side window. From the way she watched them, he knew she was trying to remain undiscovered. How long had she been doing this? he wondered. Why was she spying on Mr. Lucy?

  Before he could think any more about it, Mr. Lucy opened the front door to greet them.

  “Good evening,” he said. This time he didn’t act surprised or amused. His face was a mask of seriousness and intensity.

  “We have to talk again,” Johnny said.

  “I know,” Mr. Lucy said. “I was expecting you.”

  “You were?” Sheila said.

  “Of course he was,” Johnny said, almost snapping at her. Then he turned to Mr. Lucy and smiled adoringly.

  “Come in,” Mr. Lucy said. “Quickly.”

  They slipped into the house like nocturnal creatures returning to their lair.

  11

  Mr. Lucy took everyone into the living room. Sandy, Gary, and Sheila sat on the old soft cushioned couch. The springs in the seat of it were weak. The three of them sunk so low they looked submerged in it. Johnny sat in the easy chair with the big arms that was just to the right of the couch. The material on it was worn and torn in spots, but it was still very comfortable. Mr. Lucy pulled the hard wood rocker forward so he’d be closer to them all. The only light in the room came from a small lamp behind him and a large lamp with a heavy glass shade to the left of the couch.

  Because Mr. Lucy was backlit, his face was draped in darkness. The light from the large lamp lay a sheet of yellowish illumination over the heads and torsos of everyone on the couch, but Johnny remained in almost as much shadow as did Mr. Lucy. There was an old phonograph beside the small bookcase on the right. All of them had seen it, but no one had thought it still worked. Mr. Lucy had never used it before.

  Tonight he had it playing low. They didn’t know whether he had found the records in the house or had brought them with him. They were the old-fashioned, breakable, 78’s. At the moment, he had on the beginning of Rachmaninoff’s Prelude in C Sharp Minor, although neither Johnny nor his friends knew what it was. He had the music very low, serving as background. Despite the age of the machine and the discs, the tone and quality were rather good.

  “So,” Mr. Lucy began, “things are getting serious.”

  “Yeah, and all because of that creep, Slattery,” Johnny said quickly. He looked at the others, but all of them, including Gary, seemed hypnotized by the music, by the shadows, and by Mr. Lucy’s quiet demeanor.

  “Slattery?”

  “Richard Slattery, the one who’s most likely going to be this year’s valedictorian. He’s been talking against you and us, and now he’s tutoring some of the kids who’ve dropped out of our classes.”

  “He’s tutoring?”

  “It’s part of an honor society program,” Sandy said. She had been in the honor society until the beginning of this year. Now she was a candidate for reentry, and she agreed with Johnny—it was all because of Mr. Lucy. “Each member is supposed to do some service to help others. Tutoring can be one thing. Only…”

  “Only what?”

  “Only Slattery is making it a personal thing,” Johnny said. “It’s his way of getting at you and at us. He’s taking on any kid who drops you.”

  “I see. Why?”

  “He’s jealous of us,” Gary said. He folded his arms across his chest and sat back. The strands of his long hair lay comfortably around his shoulders.

  “But it gets worse,” Johnny said. “Tell him, Sheila.”

  “I overheard him say that he doesn’t believe Gary and Johnny had the problem with Mr. Zola.”

  “So it is serious,” Mr. Lucy said. He was quiet for a long moment. No one else spoke. The music seemed to get louder on its own. “What kind of a boy is this Slattery?” he asked, leaning forward until he was almost within lamp’s illumination.

  “He’s perfect,” Sheila said quickly, and then looked at the others. “I mean, everyone thinks he’s perfect.” She bit down on her lower lip as if to keep her mouth shut.

  “What she means is he’s a teacher’s pet. He’s got great grades, he’s never in trouble, he’s been a class officer, and now he’s president of the student government,” Gary said bitterly.

  “He was starting center on the soccer team,” Sandy added.

  “An all-around boy,” Mr. Lucy said, a wry smile forming on his face. Johnny heard an apparent note of admiration turn into something bitter.

  Johnny leaned forward, mimicking Mr. Lucy’s posture. He clenched his hands into fists, thickening the muscles in his forearms. His gaze was intense, his blue eyes darkening. He understood that for Mr. Lucy, Richard Slattery represented something hateful, a true target.

  “He’s going to keep on making trouble for us,” Johnny said. He didn’t realize it, but he was whispering now. The others leaned in to hear him. Mr. Lucy sat back and nodded, but it was imperceptible to all but Johnny. “We’ve got to stop him.”

  “We’ve got to be careful,” Mr. Lucy said. “Never let your enemy think that he has any power over you. Negotiations are only effective when your opponent’s confidence has been eroded somewhat.”

  “Negotiations?” Johnny didn’t like the sound of the word. It connoted too much reasonableness, too much calmness. He didn’t care for the restraint. Perhaps Mr. Lucy didn’t realize just how serious this was and just how much damage a kid like Slattery was capable of doing.

  “He’s got a lotta friends,” Johnny said. “And the teachers listen to him. Parents like him, too; they like their kids hanging around him.”

  “I know. I know what he’s like. I’ve known him all my life.”

  “All your life?” Gary grimaced.

  “The type,” Mr. Lucy explained. “I’ve known the type.”

  “He’s dangerous,” Johnny said. “We can’t play around with him.” He pounded his own thigh emphatically.

  “I understand, Johnny, but remember control; at all times, we must all have
self-control. It’s only when you lose it that you make mistakes.”

  “Mr. Lucy’s right,” Gary said quickly.

  “I didn’t say he wasn’t,” Johnny snapped. His eyes widened and the blue became fiery bright again.

  “Easy. We are going to need each other more than ever the next few days,” Mr. Lucy said. “What’s his family like?”

  “His father teaches at the community college,” Johnny said with more restraint, even though he eyed Gary. “Math.”

  “And his mother teaches in the elementary school,” Sheila said. She looked to Johnny to see if he minded her speaking.

  “He has a younger brother,” Gary added, “in the seventh grade. He’s going to have the same personality. I can tell.”

  “Both parents are teachers,” Mr. Lucy said almost inaudibly. Johnny thought he was saying it more to himself. “As you have seen, teachers can be very defensive. Maybe they’re setting him against me.”

  “His mother must’ve known Zola,” Johnny offered.

  “Hmm.” Mr. Lucy nodded toward him. They were all silent again. Then the record ended and Mr. Lucy got up to turn it over. Everyone watched him patiently. “Doesn’t he like any of you?” Mr. Lucy asked after he finished with the record.

  “He likes Sandy,” Sheila said, a note of jealousy evident.

  “Really?”

  “He asked me to the prom last year,” Sandy said. She ran her hand down the back of her hair. “But I pretended I had a date.”

  “She ended up not going at all,” Sheila said. She sounded happy about it. Johnny was getting annoyed with the way she added her little tidbits of information, but Mr. Lucy didn’t seem to mind, so Johnny said nothing.

  “And what about this year?” Mr. Lucy asked.

  “He still bugs me from time to time. Until recently, that is. Maybe he’s given up or maybe he can’t stand me hanging around with these guys,” she said teasingly. Johnny didn’t smile.

  “Well then,” Mr. Lucy said, “we have our negotiator.”

  “What’dya mean?” Johnny asked.

  “Sandy’s the one to talk to him.”

  “I think it would be better if you talked to him.”

  “Ordinarily I might, Johnny, but I don’t think it would be diplomatic at this time. He’s apparently dead set against me, for one reason or another.”

  “I’ll talk to him,” Sandy said, “but what do I say?”

  “For one thing, I’d like you to find out why he’s so antagonistic toward me and the others?”

  “Make him see how much good Mr. Lucy has done,” Sheila said. Mr. Lucy smiled, but Johnny thought he was smiling the way he would if he had to humor someone.

  “Find out as much as you can.”

  “It might just be a waste of time,” Johnny said.

  “It’s never a waste of time to learn all that you can about your enemy, Johnny.”

  Johnny stiffened and looked at the others to see if they thought he was being reprimanded.

  “Yeah, I know,” Johnny said. “I just meant that we’ll never change Slattery’s mind about you and us.”

  “That’s probably true.” He concentrated on Sandy again. “See him tomorrow, as soon as you can. Set something up so you can be alone when you talk to him.”

  “That won’t be hard for her to do,” Sheila said. She practically sang it, her head tilted to one side.

  “Will you shut up,” Johnny said. “This is serious,” he added, trying to imitate Mr. Lucy’s tone of voice.

  “I know it’s serious.” She bit her lower lip again.

  “All right.” Mr. Lucy moved forward so he was between Johnny and Sheila. “Relax. We’ll work it all out, I’m sure.”

  Johnny stood up first and then the others did.

  “We’re going to have some more contributions for the insurance account, Mr. Lucy,” he said, eyeing Gary.

  “That’s right.” Gary said.

  “We know your income has been reduced because of people like Slattery,” he added quickly. He wanted Mr. Lucy to believe the rest was entirely his idea. “So we decided you had better use it as you need.”

  “Well, thank you everybody,” Mr. Lucy said. “That’s very kind of you all.”

  “We don’t want anything to happen to you, Mr. Lucy,” Sheila said. Johnny was embarrassed by the little girl tone.

  “Let’s go,” he said, and moved toward the front door. He opened it quickly and the others began to exit. Mr. Lucy put his hand on Johnny’s shoulder before he followed them out.

  “Take it slow, buddy,” he said, almost in a whisper. “Don’t let events dictate to you. Remember.”

  Johnny felt like embracing him for singling him out this way. He thought, this is the greatest friend I’ve ever had and I’ll ever have.

  “I won’t,” he said. Mr. Lucy winked, and Johnny stepped out to join the others in the darkness.

  The walk back was animated. Everyone wanted to talk at once. Johnny had to continually remind them to keep their voices down.

  “We don’t want to draw attention to ourselves,” he said. “Look,” he said when they reached Main Street. “Let’s just give Sandy a chance to do what Mr. Lucy asked and forget about it all until then. Ignore the creeps as much as possible tomorrow. Don’t let anyone draw you into any arguments.”

  “Right,” Gary said.

  “I’ve got two tests to study for,” Sheila said. “I’ll just think about that.”

  They parted to go their separate ways as usual, but Johnny cut around through the alley between Miller’s Department Store and Kayfield’s Bar and Grill to cut off Sandy before she reached her street. She didn’t seem surprised to see him emerge from between two large maples.

  “I’ve got to talk to you privately,” he said.

  “I had a feeling you would.” Her eyes danced with glee.

  “Really?”

  “Just a feeling. What is it?” She pressed closer to him.

  “I got an idea for tomorrow. I didn’t want the others in on it because they’d want to be involved and too many could spoil it.”

  “What?” Her face brightened with curiosity, the little dimple in her cheek flickering. For a moment Johnny lost track of what he wanted to say. Her skin looked so soft.

  “I don’t trust that creep with you,” he said. Sandy smiled. For a while now, she had been sensing a growing intensity in their relationship. The four of them had become such a clump, she thought, it was impossible for the two of them to be alone. But often, she would catch Johnny staring at her and the looks between them had become more suggestive.

  “I can handle him,” she said, and continued walking home.

  “I don’t doubt it, but why take chances?” He wanted to take her hand.

  “So what do you suggest?”

  “Where’d you plan on…on seeing him alone?”

  “I thought I’d talk him into walking me home. Paula’s going to Paramus to spend my father’s money. No one will be home.” She paused and turned to him. “You wanna listen in, is that it?”

  “Yeah.”

  “All right. I’ve got an idea. We keep a house key under the welcome mat. Just go directly there and let yourself in. I’ll follow with him. Go up to my room and hide in my closet.”

  “Really?”

  “Uh huh. I’ll take him up to the room and you’ll hear and see everything through the door. Only, don’t make any noise or you’ll really screw it all up.”

  “I won’t. I’ll be like dead. Unless you need me.”

  “If I need you, I’ll let you know.”

  “Great,” he said. They both stopped and she turned to him. “You’ll hang around awhile after he leaves, OK?”

  “Sure.”

  “It’s been great, being close like this,” she said. Her face was only inches from his. He could smell the scent of her hair. “I’m glad Mr. Lucy has brought us together,” she added, and she kissed him. He was only annoyed that he didn’t kiss her first. He didn’t want her to think that
he was too timid, so as she started to pull back, he embraced her and pressed his lips so hard against hers, she could feel his teeth behind them. “Here’s to afternoon delight,” she added, and started down the street to her house. He watched her walk until she reached the front door and disappeared within.

  He couldn’t remember feeling so alive, so excited, and so powerful. He felt as though he could walk through buildings. How much his life had changed since he met Mr. Lucy. How wonderful everything was now. And to think there were people out there who wanted to stop it all from happening.

  It filled him with a rage that matched his emotional high in its intensity. He couldn’t wait for tomorrow and the days that followed because he believed that in the end they would find a way to crush the jealous and vicious people like Richard Slattery. Mr. Lucy and his kids, he thought, nothing could stop us.

  The music of a dozen different television adventure shows followed him home. And when he got there, he went to sleep dreaming of Mr. Lucy, his arm around him, his voice soft and soothing, as the two of them walked off the screen, leaving thousands of young people his age dreaming of having such a relationship with so great a man.

  Gary was a little suspicious at the end of the day when Johnny made excuses to get home early. Gary’s plan was to hide well and to wait for Slattery to leave Sandy’s house. Then they would go to her to see how she made out.

  “We’re all meeting back at Mr. Lucy’s,” Johnny told him. “We’ll discuss it there.”

  Johnny made as though he had things to do and left him. He hurried through the village to Sandy’s house, found the key where she said it would be, and let himself in. He had been in her house a few times before, and each time he had been taken by the femininity of it. There was something about the scents, the way the furniture was arranged, the daintiness of the knickknacks, the colors of the wallpaper and the paint…all of it had the feel of a woman’s influence.

  Johnny never said it, but he admired Sandy’s stepmother. He thought she was a very attractive woman. She was always very friendly toward him, and even though he knew it might be his imagination, she seemed flirtatious at times. Of course, he enjoyed it, but he would never let Sandy know.