I nodded.
“Yeah, seriously. So, look, please, I have to ask you, please don't mention to anyone from the old days that you saw me, okay? I've gone to a lot of trouble to make sure that he doesn't find me. I really, really don't want him to come looking for me, and believe me, he's psycho enough to stalk the social media accounts of everyone in our senior year just to see if there's any hint of where I am. So please keep it a secret, okay?”
She nodded.
“Wow, I didn't realize it was that serious. Alright, sure... Vivienne. I won't say a word. But seriously, let's go out for drinks sometime.”
“We can do that. I'm here with friends so I can't sit with you now, but give me your number and I'll give you a call sometime, alright? It'd be good to connect with someone from my, er, my old life.”
“Sure.”
She scribbled down a number on a bar napkin and handed it to me.
“That's it. And hey, if you lose that, just look me up on Facebook. My profile picture is me in an orange bikini on a beach.”
“Alright, I'll look you up. Nice running into you, Angie.”
“Yeah, great running into you Alic-, I mean, Vivienne.”
I smiled, waved a polite goodbye and then headed back to table with Graciela, where I finished off my beer.
It was around an hour later when I left, and I headed straight home. It was late, but not super late; around 10. As I pulled into my driveway, I had to sneak a glance across the road at Everett's place, and I saw that his garage door was open and the light was on, and he was inside setting up power tools. Feeling a little emboldened by the wine I'd had, I parked my car and walked across the road and up his driveway. He saw me coming and smiled.
“Good evening, Viv,” he said. “Nice night, huh?”
“Sure is,” I replied. “I hope you're not going to be starting up any of these power tools right now. It's a little late to make noise like that in this neighborhood. Not too many night owls.”
“Actually, I was planning on cranking up my chainsaw, maybe saw through a couple two-by-fours, see how tolerant my new neighbors are of loud and annoying noises late at night.”
I laughed.
“You do that; we'll see what Mrs. Dobbins across the road has to say about it!”
“Is she gonna come out with a double-barreled shotgun pointed at me? With an army of cats trailing behind her?” he asked with a cheeky grin and a wink.
“Everett!” I exclaimed with mock shock. “She isn't a crazy old cat lady! I can’t make any promises about the shotgun, though!”
He chuckled.
“You know I'm just kidding.”
“I know, I know. How was your first full day at JFK?”
“Ah, there was a lot to do. It's always crazy busy at the beginning of the academic year. But I think I'm gonna enjoy it there. The staff is fantastic and the deputy principal is a real great guy. Yeah, it's gonna be good.”
“Good to hear! Well, I saw your garage light on and I just wanted to come over and say hi.”
“Oh, where were you?”
“Just at this little Irish pub called MacFey's. It's a great spot. My coworker, Graciela, it's her birthday tomorrow, so we just had a quiet birthday drink to celebrate.”
“Oh, so you were slamming tequila shots and chugging beers through a funnel, huh?” he said with a playful smile.
“Yeah, as you can see, I'm totally wasted right now,” I replied with a laugh. “Well anyway, I better get back to my house. Another early start tomorrow morning, and a long day of work lies ahead.”
“Yeah, I've got an early start too,” he said. “So, I guess this is where we say good night.”
I looked at him, and our eyes locked for a while, and an intense look passed between us.
“Yeah... This is where we say good night.”
I smiled, and so did he, maintaining eye contact all the while, and I could feel a powerful sense of attraction crackling in the air between us.
“Good night then, Everett,” I said as I turned and walked off.
As I got to the street, though, I heard him jogging up behind me.
“Wait, Vivienne,” he said as I turned around.
“Yeah?”
“There's something I forgot to ask you.”
“Okay, what is it?”
A look of sudden shyness, almost, came across his face, and he looked down at the ground.
“Would you, uh, would you like to go out with me, say, for dinner and a movie on Friday night?”
I smiled.
“That sounds lovely. Sure... it's a date.”
Chapter Six
Everett
I couldn't deny I felt a rush of excitement as soon as Vivienne said “yes” to my invite to go out on a date. I had been thinking about her all day, and had been seriously tempted to message her, but with everything I'd been caught up in, it had been tough to get a moment to myself, and then when I finally did have time, I figured it would be a bit too late.
Thus, imagine my surprise when she came strolling up my driveway late at night to say hi. It had been the perfect time to ask, and she said yes. We made plans, and I was going to be sure to stick to them. I had to make a good first impression.
I would pick her up at seven, and we'd head to a nice Spanish restaurant that had good reviews. After that, we'd catch the late show at the movie theater around nine. I had to admit I was looking forward to it. Luckily, Maggie had recovered from her illness and was willing to look after Jane for the evening, so I didn't need to worry about that.
I watched her as she walked up her driveway, and as she got onto her porch, she turned and waved to me. I waved back, smiling, and then she went inside and locked up. I headed back to my garage, where I finished setting up my circular saw, and after that figured I'd better get to bed as I had to be up early for my morning jog on the treadmill.
With a smile still plastered across my face, I turned off the garage light, locked it up, and headed inside.
FRIDAY
It was the second day of school, and already things were crazy. This was a much bigger school than the inner-city school I'd worked at previously, and while things were much better run around here and a lot more efficient, just the sheer number of students and staff made it quite a challenge to run.
Still, though, I kept things under control. I not only handled pressure well, I thrived on it. I always had; stressful situations often brought out the best in me and had me performing at levels that were beyond what I could normally achieve.
During lunch period, I joined the rest of the teachers and administrators in the staff break room. I'd been introduced to all of them the previous day, of course, but it would still take me a while to learn all of their names.
Instead of eating, I went around to each teacher individually and spoke to them, exchanging a few words and asking about their classes. It seemed everyone was settling in pretty smoothly, although, as was to be expected, there were a few stories of problem students, and, of course, the ever-present worry about the effects of the Rocket epidemic.
The last person I stopped to talk to before lunch was over was another brand-new member of staff, a young chemistry teacher by the name of Irene Greer. She was only 24, and fresh out of college. She'd done two years at a school in Northern California, and she had just moved out here a few weeks ago.
“Hi, Irene,” I said, remembering her name from the day before. “How are things coming along?”
She smiled at me. I had to admit that she was very pretty—a brunette with long, silky hair and a slim, toned figure, she had a killer smile, and with her full lips, she flashed me one of those.
“Hi, Everett,” she said. “Oh, it's going alright so far. Um, I do have a bit of an issue though with some of my eleventh graders.”
“Oh, and what's the problem?”
“Two of the boys sitting in front keep making, well, comments that are quite inappropriate.”
I nodded. It was easy to see how two teenage boys could get, in the
words of Van Halen, “hot for teacher” considering Irene's youthfulness and frankly stunning good looks.
“Yeah,” I said with a sigh. “Teenage boys can be like that. Have you had a word with them?”
“I called them out, but they didn't seem to take me seriously.”
She batted her mascara-heavy eyelashes at me.
“Do you think it's because my skirt is too short? Or maybe that my blouse is cut a little too low? They can see my, you know, my cleavage.”
It hit me then – she was trying to flirt with me, drawing my attention to her admittedly very attractive physical features. I was flattered, of course, but my thoughts in that department already seemed to be only on Vivienne. And, of course, I was a strict proponent of the old rule of not getting romantically involved with anyone you worked with. I wondered what the best way to deal with this situation was. Obviously, I wanted to keep things light between us, and maintain a good, friendly relationship as I would with any other member of staff. But also, I needed her to know that it wasn't okay to flirt with me. This was a tough one.
“Well, Irene, I think that you'll have to be the judge of that yourself. You know the school code here allows you to make your own choices regarding how you dress, but we do encourage a more, um, conservative manner of dress. I'm not saying you have to cover up, but dressing a little more conservatively might help with regard to teenage boys and raging hormones. Anyway, if they give you any more trouble, send 'em straight to my office, and I'll make sure they stop their comments right away.”
She smiled flirtatiously at me.
“Thanks. It's good to know that I have a principal looking out for me the way you do. I really, really appreciate it, and I'd love to return the favor somehow.”
I chuckled dryly, not taking the bait.
“Oh, as long as you do your job well, I'll be happy, and that'll be all the thanks I need.”
Just then the bell signaling the end of lunch rang.
“Alright people!” I said loudly, “Keep up the good work everyone. The weekend is almost here!”
It was during the last period of the day that the intercom on my desk buzzed. I saw that it was Ben, dialing from his office.
“Ben, what's up?” I asked as I answered the call.
“Ev, we've got a situation. Two kids just got busted snorting Rocket in the boys' bathrooms.”
“Where are they now?”
“I've got 'em here in my office.”
“I'll be right there.”
I got up from my desk and hurried through to Ben's office. I was surprised to see two preppy-looking guys standing in front of Ben's desk, their heads hanging in shame.
“Well, well, well, what do we have here?” I said as I walked in.
I walked slowly around each boy, giving them cold, merciless stares. I took one by his chin, forcing him to look up at me, and saw that his pupils were dilated. He was definitely high.
“What are your names?” I demanded.
“I'm Charlie MacDonald,” mumbled the one whose face I was gripping.
“And I'm Dylan Korb,” muttered the other. Both of their voices were shaky and tinged with nerves and fear.
“And you two idiots were sniffing that Rocket garbage in the bathrooms, huh?”
Neither replied; they both just stared at the ground.
“Tell me, boys, what were you thinking? Oh wait, I know, you weren't thinking. I know, you thought you'd be cool, huh? You thought you'd be little rebels, sneaking out of class to go get high. Yeah, as if that's never been done before. But this isn't just sneaking around the back of the bike shed to smoke an illicit cigarette. Do you understand that? Do you know what this junk is that you're putting in your bodies? Do you know how dangerous this stuff is? Do you?”
Both of them continued simply staring at the ground, unable to respond.
“Do you know how insanely bad this stuff is for you? Look, I was seventeen once. I know what it feels like to feel like you're totally immortal, like nothing can touch you. I know! But dammit, boys, you're not immortal. Do you know about the kid who died from this crap? That's right! This stuff is pure evil! It's gonna destroy your insides! It's like a cancer, but even more aggressive and merciless.”
I paused here to catch my breath and give them a few moments to digest what I said.
“This is what I'm gonna do,” I said to them. “I'm gonna call your parents in, and we're gonna sit down and talk about this with them when you two have sobered up. If necessary, I'm gonna recommend pulling you out of school and sending you to rehab. Getting you off this trash is more important than missing out on a few weeks of school. But what I want to know now is, who did you buy it from. Who?! Give me a name.”
Neither of them seemed willing to speak.
“Was it that kid, Panetti?”
Charlie shook his head.
“It wasn't Panetti. He's dry; he doesn't have no Rocket right now.”
“Oh, is he?” I asked, feigning ignorance about Panetti's situation. “Well, then who was it? Tell me!”
“We don't know who the guy is,” Dylan blurted out suddenly. “All we know is that he drives a black Lexus with black tinted windows. He drives past the park across the road at 12 o' clock sharp every day and sells to whoever is waiting there. He's only there for 30 seconds though – real fast. We can't see who he is either coz he wears a mask. We just know him as Mr. Mask.”
I nodded.
“Mr. Mask, huh? And you say he's there every day?”
“Every weekday. No weekends.”
“That's good. Thank you for that information, Dylan. I might go easy on you when your parents are here. Might. Now get outta my sight. You two wait on the bench outside while I wait for my secretary to get hold of your parents.”
The boys shuffled out of the office, looking downcast.
“Have you heard anything before about this 'Mr. Mask' character?” I asked Ben.
He shook his head.
“Nothing with that name specifically,” he replied. “But I have heard of a dealer who goes around in a Lexus, specifically targeting high school kids. It's gotta be him.”
“So what do we do, Ben? Set up a sting for this guy on Monday?”
“Yeah. I'll get hold of a friend of mine who's a cop. I'll see what he can do,” Ben stated.
“Good. I'll call a quick staff meeting as soon as the day is finished, just to let the teachers know about this situation.”
“Sure. Thanks for the help, Ev.”
“No problem.”
I sent out a message to all the teachers informing them of the meeting after school, and at the meeting, I told them about the boys who had been caught sniffing Rocket and the fact that there was a dealer known as Mr. Mask who sold the stuff to kids at the park across the road. I cautioned everyone and suggested they remain aware of this, and keep an eye out for any kids attempting to sneak out to the park during recess.
After the teachers all left, I went and spoke to the boys who had been busted and their parents. Both boys, who had since sobered up, agreed to not touch the drug again. If they did, they'd be hauled out of school on the spot and sent straight to two months in a rehab center.
It had been a long day, and the sky was already low in the sky when I walked out to the parking lot where my truck was. As I opened my truck's door, however, I saw a note stuck under my windshield wiper. I pulled it out and saw that it was put together with letters cut from various newspapers and magazines.
“Hey, Principal James,” it said. “I know you think you're onto me – but I want you to know that I'm onto you. Good luck finding me, chump. - Mr. Mask.”
I wanted to crumple up the paper and fling it aside with rage, but instead, I kept my cool. I peered around me, subtly assessing the situation as old but not forgotten instincts and training kicked in.
It appeared that I was safe, for the moment at least. Nobody was here. I carefully set the note down on the passenger seat, then got in and drove off.
THAT
EVENING
It was at 7:15 in the evening, when I was getting ready for my date with Vivienne, that I got the message on my phone from Panetti.
“Mr. James, it's Panetti. Mr. Henderson told me you guys are looking for Mr. Mask. He's gonna be outside the apartment building you guys busted me at in 15 minutes. Please don't mention my name – the guy seems a little crazy. Fifteen minutes sharp. Be there at exactly that time if you want to catch him.”
I replied right away.
“Thanks, Panetti. Don't worry; your secret is safe.”
There was no time to think or do anything else. Thankfully, I had already dropped Jane off with Maggie. Leaving my tie and my bottle of cologne on the table in front of the mirror, I sprinted out to my truck with my shirt still unbuttoned. I would call Vivienne when I was at the apartment building where Mr. Mask was gonna be and tell her I was gonna be late; it would be last minute notice, but I hoped she would understand. This was very, very important business.
I scrambled into my truck, started it up, and gunned the motor, screeching the tires as I tore out of my driveway and raced down the road. I was thinking of Vivienne as I drove, and obviously not wanting to screw things up before they had even started – but my mind was also on Mr. Mask. He had made this personal, and now it was my mission to get him, and this might be the only chance I had, now that he knew we were onto him, and would probably not go around to the park anymore.
I arrived at the alley precisely 13 minutes after Panetti had sent me the message. I had two minutes to spare, so I figured it would be a good time to call Vivienne and explain that I would be late. I hoped that she would understand, even though it was almost literally the last minute.
I reached into my pocket to get my phone – and that's when I realized I had left it on the table, next to my bottle of cologne.
Chapter Seven
Vivienne
It was kind of hard to believe that I was actually going on a date, and the reality of it really did take quite a while to sink in. It wasn't as if I hadn't been on any dates since the end of my disastrous relationship with Simon; it was just that the ones I had been had turned out... not so well. And while I had to admit that at least a little bit of the blame for that was on me, with my trust issues and finicky outlook when it came to men, if we were being completely honest, it was largely because of the very unsuitable men.
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