“Charlie.” She sounded tired. She sat down near him, leaving a gap between them.
They sat in silence, gazing at the empty field. Finally, she spoke. “Glenn Mack asked me to the prom. I said yes.”
“When?”
“When did he ask me? Or when did I say yes? He asked me before I heard you were going with Ronni. I said yes yesterday.”
Glenn Mack was a football player. Tall, handsome, athletic. The type of guy someone like Michelle would be expected to go to prom with. The type of guy Charlie thought she would go with in the first place.
“Did you really think we would go to prom together?” he asked.
“I don’t know. I thought you would ask, at least. I mean, I didn’t know if you would want to go at all. But I thought, if you did want to go, you’d want to ask me…” She looked down. “It doesn’t matter.”
“I never thought you’d want to go with me.”
“You didn’t ask. Why’d you think I wouldn’t want to go with you?”
“Because I thought you’d want to go with someone like Glenn Mack.” Charlie rubbed his forehead. “We spend our time in different circles. We don’t hang out with the same people. You don’t talk to me, you don’t even say hi to me. You pass right by me in the hall like I’m not there.”
“You do the same to me,” she said quietly. “You don’t talk to me. You walk by me and don’t look at me. You told me we were a secret.”
“Aren’t we a secret? I thought you didn’t want anyone to know…”
“I never said we were a secret. You said it.”
Charlie looked at her. “Really? We’re not a secret? You think we should tell everyone what we do in the school on the weekends?”
“No. No! Of course not.” She frowned. “It’s none of anyone’s business. But just because we don’t tell anyone what we do, that doesn’t mean that I thought you and I were a secret.”
“Well, what does it mean then?”
Michelle didn’t answer for a moment. Then she said, “Daryl knows about us. He thinks I’m your girlfriend. Remember? You introduced me as your girlfriend.”
The corner of Charlie’s mouth twitched. “You don’t really think of yourself as my girlfriend, do you?”
Michelle looked at her black boots, propped up on the seat in front of her. “No….” she whispered.
“After that first Saturday…. I tried to talk to you in the hall. I thought you’d be glad to see me, or something. I saw you and I said hi, and you walked right by. I tried again later and the same thing. Walked right by. Like you didn’t want anything to do with me.”
“I was shy.”
“You were shy?” He stared at her. “Two weeks later, you came up to me completely naked and sat right in my lap. You didn’t seem shy then.”
Michelle twisted a strand of her hair around her finger. “I didn’t know what to say to you. You caught me walking around the school naked! And instead of running away from you and getting dressed, I stayed naked and I just kept going. I even went outside with you… and we walked to the locker room… then we had sex…” She bit her lip. “I didn’t really know you. I hoped you wouldn’t tell anyone… but I didn’t know you enough to trust you yet. I didn’t know what there was between us…or if there was anything! Or if it was just something that had happened that went out of control, and would never happen again. I guess I wanted you to tell me what it meant. Because I didn’t know. I didn’t know what it meant.” She took a breath. “I guess I thought you would chase after me. When guys like me, they chase after me. They’ll ask me out and even if I say no, they’ll ask again, and again…”
“I guess I don’t know the rules,” Charlie said. “I didn’t know I was supposed to chase after you. I didn’t think I had to. I thought that Saturday had already made us close. We had sex. That meant something to me.”
“What, and you think it didn’t mean anything to me?”
“Did it?”
“How can you even ask that!” Michelle glared at him.
“You acted like it never even happened.” Charlie hunched over.
“No, YOU acted like it never even happened.” Her voice was starting to rise. “You know what I did? I came back to you, and I gave myself to you. I came to your AV room and I sat in your lap like I belonged to you. You wanted to take me to the locker room so you could have sex with me, and I went. Then you wanted to have sex with me again on your car, and I did that, too.”
“Michelle… keep your voice down…”
“And then you acted like that never happened! So I came to you again, and I gave myself to you again. Completely, absolutely. I was naked, on my knees, with your dick in my mouth, trying to make you happy while you were working on that stupid play!”
“I never asked you to…”
“I guess Ronni says hi to you when you pass her in the hall. Is that what it is? Is that the difference between me and her? I’ve let you fuck me, what, four times? But she says hi to you in the hall. So that’s why you’d rather be with her. Of course! It all makes sense now.”
“No! That’s not why.”
“You know what? I don’t even want to know why.” Michelle set her boots back down onto the metal flooring, causing a rattle to vibrate through the stands. “You take Ronni to the prom. I hope you have a good time. I hope you treat her better than you treated me.”
“Michelle…” he started, but she was already on her feet and walking away. He thought about chasing her, but the truth was, he didn’t really know what else to say. He watched her walk down the stairs, watched her until she was gone.
“Goodbye…” he whispered.
***
“You ever eat anymore, Charlie?” Greg asked him.
Charlie took a moment to register that Greg was talking to him. He looked down at the fork he’d been using to scratch at his mac and cheese. He stabbed one of the noodles and brought it to his mouth.
“Glenn Mack and Cody Scolari,” Greg said. “Is that who you’re looking at?” The two football players sat together on a table in the corner of the cafeteria, laughing about something.
“Yeah.”
“Those two guys should go to prom together,” Greg said. “You never see one without the other.”
Charlie stabbed another piece of macaroni. “No. Cody is going to prom with Vampire Vanessa. And Glenn is going with…”
“With your Michelle. Yeah, I know. I was just joking.”
“Vanessa and Michelle are best friends. Cody and Glenn are best friends. It’s a perfect fit. Two cheerleaders, two football players. The popular kids. Isn’t that how it is in all the movies?”
“You regret you didn’t ask Michelle?” Greg asked.
Charlie shook his head. “No. Why would I? I’m going with Ronni.”
“Right.”
Charlie pushed his food around with his fork, staring at his plate silently. “I just regret how I handled it,” he said finally. “I could have handled it better.”
“Yeah?” Greg asked, too casually. No doubt hoping Charlie would finally tell the story of what had transpired between him and Michelle.
“Yeah. I should have talked to her more. I just assumed… I just made too many assumptions. I should have just talked to her.” Charlie shook his head. “I guess it doesn’t matter. It’s all the same in the end.”
***
Charlie lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. It was early evening Wednesday, and he was wondering if he should go to the school on Saturday. Michelle wouldn’t be there, of course. Or maybe she would be, but she wouldn’t talk to him. Probably, she wouldn’t ever talk to him again.
Under his bed, he still had his treasure trove of Michelle’s things. He should get rid of them. Bundle them in a paper bag and toss them into a dumpster somewhere. Or, even return them to Michelle. It would be awkward, but maybe she deserved to have her things back. Did she wonder where she’d misplaced her vibrator?
He felt v
ery tired all of a sudden. Tired of thinking, tired of everything. He closed his eyes, surrendering to his weariness.
In the dream that came, he sat by himself on a school bus. The bus was full, and he could hear the chatter of teenagers around him. The bus wasn’t moving, but he knew it would move soon. Outside, he could see the bus waited in front of the high school.
Someone came up the steps onto the bus. It was Michelle. She had on a frilly pink dress that seemed too fancy compared to what everyone else was wearing. Michelle stopped at the front of the bus and looked up the aisle uncertainly, as if not sure where to sit.
The bus driver was a middle-aged woman with short hair. “Clothes off, honey,” the woman barked. “Whores don’t get to wear clothes on the bus.”
“She’s not a whore,” Charlie whispered, but Michelle immediately complied with the bus driver’s command, reaching around to unzip her dress. She pushed it down her body until it fell at her feet. Underneath, she wore a black bra and panties, and she stripped these off as well, her eyes downcast. Now naked and shivering, she gathered up her clothing and pushed them into a black box which sat behind the bus driver.
Michelle lifted her eyes, gazing into the interior of the bus. She looked even more anxious now, her eyes darting from seat to seat, looking for an empty space while the raucous crowd showered her with catcalls and laughter. Charlie waited for her to see the empty seat next to him. He knew that was where she would sit.
She began to make her way slowly down the aisle, and as she did, those she passed reached for her greedily, fondling her body as if she was public property. A hand reached out to squeeze her breast. Another hand slid over her backside. Michelle took a step forward, and a blonde girl reached between her legs to dig a finger into her. Michelle grimaced, but endured these violations without acknowledging them. She continued down the aisle.
The boy in front of Charlie twisted around, and Charlie recognized Cody Scolari’s freckled face grinning at him. “What a whore!” Cody smirked. “You see her?”
“She’s not a whore,” Charlie said louder, but Cody didn’t seem to hear.
“You can tell she likes this,” Cody said. Michelle passed his seat, and Cody lunged for her, catching hold of her nipple and pinching it tightly between his thumb and index finger. Michelle flinched and stopped. She leaned forward, trying to pull out of Cody’s grip. Charlie could see her breast stretch to the side as Cody kept a tight hold of her nipple. Finally, the nipple slipped free. Michelle winced in pain and resumed her torturous walk.
Charlie looked down at the empty seat next to him, then watched in surprise as Michelle passed by without even looking at it. Charlie kept his eyes on her, watching helplessly as she approached an empty seat towards the back, next to an unknown boy with long black hair and a goatee. She sat, and the boy immediately reached for her, pulling one of her legs into his lap, groping between her thighs…
Charlie’s cellphone rang, startling him awake. He sat up, momentarily disoriented. Such a vivid dream… he could still picture the distraught look on Michelle’s face…
He glanced at the screen of his phone, seeing a number he didn’t recognize.
Michelle!
He seized the phone, his heart pounding. He pressed it to his ear. “Hello? This is Charlie.”
“Hey! Charlie Tucker?” A man’s voice. Not Michelle.
“Yes, this is Charlie.”
“Hey, how’re you doing. This is Brent Greene. I’m a professor in the film department of Jefferson University.”
“Oh, right! How are you, sir?”
“Good, good. I wanted to let you know that we’re reviewed your application for our Apex film program, and we’ve selected you as one of our final candidates. We’d like you to come in for an interview, and to show us some of your work. Can we schedule a time?
“Sure! When?”
“We have some openings this Saturday, or you can come in the following Saturday.”
“I’m free this Saturday. What time?”
“Let’s see. We have 2 PM, 3 PM, 3:30…”
“How about 2?
“Okay, I’ll write you in for 2 PM. You’re in Pine Hills, right?”
“Right.”
“What’s that, about a half hour drive?”
“Yes,” Charlie said. “Or I can take the train.”
“Sure. There’s a train stop just a few blocks from the university. You’ll be able to show us some of your work?”
“Yes. I’ll bring a few things.”
“Great. 2 PM, this Saturday, at the film department. We’ll see you then.”
“Okay!”
“Looking forward to seeing what you got. Bye, Charlie.” The call ended.
Charlie gripped the phone in his hand and stretched his arms towards the ceiling. “HELL YEAH!!” he yelled.
His next thought was that he wished he could tell Michelle.
The Jefferson University Apex film program received a large number of applicants each year for only ten slots. Anyone who was accepted to Jefferson University could decide to major in film, but the Apex program was specifically designed for students who intended to pursue careers in the film industry. It was an intensive program that offered access to cutting edge production and editing facilities, and a lot of alumni from the program had gone on to do work for major studios.
Ten slots. Charlie wasn’t sure how many applicants had been selected as “final candidates”, but he suspected at least twenty. He knew he shouldn’t celebrate yet. He really needed to nail the interview. Suddenly, his editing reel seemed pretty flimsy. A few student films from his Video I and Video II classes, plus a lot of edits of sports and live events. He hoped it was enough.
Charlie gazed at his phone. Michelle was probably still mad at him and he didn’t have her phone number anyways. But he had Vanessa’s, from when she’d texted him, and maybe Vanessa would give him Michelle’s number. Suddenly, all the drama from the past week seemed unimportant. He just wanted to speak to Michelle, to share his good news with her.
He found Vanessa’s text on his phone and selected the “Call Back” option. He put the phone to his ear and listened to it ring.
Click. “Hi, this is Michelle. Leave a message please.” Then a beep.
Charlie was too confused to speak for a moment. Michelle’s voice. Michelle’s phone. So it wasn’t Vanessa that had sent that text to meet at the football stands. It was Michelle.
He found his voice. “Hey, Michelle. This is Charlie.” He took a breath. “Hey, I heard back from Jefferson University. The Apex film program. They told me I’m one of the final candidates. They want me to go to the university this Saturday, for an interview.” He hesitated then the words rushed out. “I thought I’d take the train. My interviews at 2, and if I catch the 12:30 train to Linterna, I’ll be there in plenty of time. There’s a train station right near the university. Michelle… do you want to go with me? To Linterna? You could go shopping while I do my interview… there’s all those shops on Campus Road… and then after, we could eat at one of the restaurants maybe? You could meet me at the train station, and we could go to Linterna together…” He faltered, leaving a moment of silence. “I’d just really like it if you would come with me, Michelle… this could be a big thing for me and… and I feel like I’m going to mess it up…” Again he faltered. It felt like he had so much he wanted to say to her, but he didn’t know where to start. The silence stretched endlessly, and finally, embarrassed, he disconnected the call.
For an hour, he couldn’t do anything but pace his room with an eye on his phone. He hit himself on the head, called himself stupid, wished again and again that he could delete that message from her voice mail. The last time Michelle had talked to him, she’d stormed off in anger. They hadn’t said a word to each other since then. And now he’d just called her out of the blue and asked her to go with him to his interview? In a city thirty miles away? What the hell was he thinking?
H
is phone didn’t ring. Of course it didn’t. She probably deleted the message right after she heard it.
He barely slept that night. When he woke up in the morning, the first thing he did was check his phone. No response. No text message. Not even a ‘go to hell’.
Thursday. Friday. Nothing.
He told himself he shouldn’t have expected any different. Why would Michelle respond to his ridiculous message? Michelle thought he was an asshole, and honestly, she was right.
At least it gave him something other than the interview to worry about.
***
On Saturday, Charlie bought his train ticket and walked onto the platform. He counted ten, maybe fifteen people waiting. Michelle wasn’t one of them. A few of the benches had empty seats, but Charlie chose to stand.
So he would go to his interview alone. He would go, do the interview, then maybe get some fast food and eat it while waiting for the train back. A waste of time to worry about the interview now; it was going to go how it would go. It wasn’t like he could edit something new on the train ride there. He had a portable drive in his backpack with all his work on it. Hopefully something he had done would impress them.
Suddenly, he caught the trace of something in the air, the scent of a familiar perfume. He whirled around, and Michelle stood right behind him. She wore an army green jacket over a yellow fifties dress. Charlie was so surprised that for a moment he could only gape at her with his mouth open.
She stepped forward to stand next to him. “I told you that you would get into the film program at Jefferson.”
“Ah…” He blinked at her, still barely able to believe she was there. “… I’m not in yet… I still have this interview…”
“I know. But you’ll get in. You’ll see.”
He gazed at her profile. “Thanks for coming with me,” he murmured.
“Sure.”
After a moment, he said, “You look amazing.”
She smiled slightly. “Thanks.”
The train arrived promptly at 12:30, and Charlie and Michelle boarded. It was half full, and they had no problem finding a seat together. Michelle took the window seat and Charlie took the aisle. The train started to move.
Saturday Night School 2: Risky Behavior Page 4