The Tidwell Notebook

By R Ullmann

Charlie is beginning his junior year of high school. Charlie has his two best friends with him. He made the track team as a long distance runner. He meets Sara, who quickly becomes his first girlfriend. And an excellent new science fiction show is making its debut on television. So far, it's a good junior year for Charlie. Then Charlie finds a black notebook with mysterious writing. Soon, some people in his little town slowly start to change. The school bullies find a new interest. His rival on the track team suddenly starts to run faster. But when his girlfriend starts to argue with him and breaks off their relationship, Charlie wants to know what is going on. Charlie must track down what has changed in his little town.

• Language: English
• Publisher: R Ullmann
• Release date: Apr 19, 2011
• ISBN: 9781452427218

R Ullmann

I am a big fan of movies. I mostly watch action, mystery, and science fiction movies. I especially enjoy movies with a good story. One day, I was leaving a movie with a particularly bad plot and thought I could come up with a better story. My daughter had always enjoyed the stories that I made up for her, so I decided to put myself to the test. I started to write down stories. Some stories are about towns. Some are science fiction. And some are about teenagers dealing with changes of growing up. I put these ideas together into The Tidwell Notebook. I added humor and good friends because I know how important they are. Then I added a mystery because life is always a mystery for teenagers. I have a collection of original stories for children. These are based on bedtime stories I used to tell my daughter when she was little. They are short and easy to read. I hope you enjoy them.

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The Tidwell Notebook

R. Ullmann

Smashwords Edition

The Tidwell Notebook. Copyright © 2011 R. Ullmann

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for you use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Chapter 1

As you can see, sir, the results of stage two were very successful. We achieved our target goals in every category. In some categories, we exceeded our goals.

Very impressive, very impressive indeed. These results are better than I had hoped. What’s next?

We have some verification work to finish, and then stage two will be over. Stage three can start next month. All we need is authorization to begin.

You have already picked out a location?

Yes sir. We’re looking at a small town on the coast, not too far from here. It has a relatively young population. Many of the residents are commuters. The town’s social structure is very stable, so we don’t anticipate any complications in the results.

If stage three starts next month, how long before we can start to see any results?

As you know sir, when you start doing measurements in the field, you have more variables you have to account for. Fortunately, we have devised several independent methods of measuring results. We are working on the protocols now. They will be ready by phase two. After phase two starts, we expect to start seeing complete measurements after one month.

Very well, you have my authorization to begin stage three. I expect to get weekly reports from you about your operations. Understood?

Yes sir.

Do I need to say anything about how important it is to keep this whole operation a secret?

No sir. Everyone on the team is fully aware of the consequences if we’re discovered. We plan to spend the first month setting up our positions before we actually begin active testing. We do have one question.

What’s that?

If word does get out, what should we do?

You and your team say nothing. Don’t acknowledge anything. Don’t deny anything. Just report and then stay quiet. We have experts to deal with any leaks. Understood?

Yes, sir.

Very good. I’ll expect a report from you on Monday.

Chapter 2

High school is not as tough as everyone makes out to be, Chuck said.

Charlie smiled. Charlie liked having Chuck as a friend. He enjoyed walking to school with Chuck. Chuck had a habit of launching into good-natured rants about whatever came to his mind. Charlie did not mind. He enjoyed them.

Charlie could tell Chuck was starting a rant. Turning to his friend, Charlie took a deep breath and asked, What are you talking about, Chuck?

Smiling back, Chuck replied, Anyone who watches movies and reads magazines today quickly learns the high school years are full of trials and tribulations for the typical teenager.

Like me? Charlie asked.

Especially someone like you, Chuck said.

An observer watching the two walking down the street would have seen a tall thin teenager walking next to a shorter thin boy. Charlie Pickens was the short teenager, and Chuck Raker was the tall one. Charlie had the lightweight body of a long distance runner. He was always thin for his height while he was growing up, just like his mother. His grandmother maintained her daughter was not feeding Charlie enough because he always looked so thin. Charlie’s mother merely said Charlie was compact. Charlie once tried to explain to his grandmother he was naturally thin. He added that being a long distance runner on his high school’s track team kept him from filling out. He did not think he ever convinced her. Charlie mostly resembled his mother except for his eyes. He had brown eyes like his father. Charlie’s bushy dark hair was always on the verge of becoming a mop. He kept his hair short to keep it out of his eyes when he ran.

Chuck Raker looked like his bones were stretching faster than his body could keep up. Despite his gangly build, Chuck was very graceful in his movements. Charlie always thought Chuck would make a good pole-vaulter, but Chuck preferred not to take part in sports. When the high school’s drama teacher first saw Chuck as a freshman, he immediately tried to recruit Chuck to join the drama club. The teacher wanted to put on a production of Legend of Sleepy Hollow, but he could never find a student suitable for playing the part of Icabod Crane. When he saw Chuck, he knew Chuck was the student he was looking for. Chuck had a mop of bushy dark hair like Charlie, but he preferred wearing it longer than Charlie. Chuck did not wear his hair long as a fashion statement. He merely found it a nuisance to get haircuts.

Chuck continued, You are now halfway through high school. Have you felt any tribulations? Have you undergone any trials that have tested your soul?

Nothing so far today, but the first day of our junior year is just starting, so it’s still early. Something may come up later, Charlie replied. You have to admit there are difficulties all high school students face.

I’m admitting nothing yet, Chuck said. Name me one of those troubles every high student has to face.

How about girls?

Chuck replied, This so-called girl problem is easy to solve. You just have to know which ones to avoid.

I can’t avoid girls, Charlie asked. I have two sisters. I try to avoid them, but it isn’t possible. One of them just left for college, so that helps me some.

Forget your sisters. They’re members of your family. They aren’t the girls you should avoid, Chuck said dismissively. I’m talking about the girls that walk around in groups at school.

You mean like packs of wolves? Charlie suggested.

No, Chuck mused. Packs imply the girls are hunting for something, that they have a purpose in their movements.

Then I think the term does apply, Charlie said. You see how they walk around, looking at the football players, checking out what the other girls are wearing, ignoring the people who are not important. You can’t tell me these girl packs aren’t harmless.

No, I don’t think pack is quite right. They may not look harmless, but they’re not stalking a particular prey. I think a pod is a better term, like a pod of whales. I’ve observed most girl pods consist of four or more girls, although I have seen pods holding as many as fifteen. They keep to the school hallway as much as possible because that is their native habitat. As they roam, they communicate only with each other. They only time they stop talking is when a lone whale from the football team walks by. They all stop, assume a fight-or-flight stance, and watch the guy. When the football player gets out of range, they give off a group sigh.

When I walk by, they give off a group giggle, Charlie said.

That is more than I get, Chuck said. I get a big collective ignore.

Charlie laughed. So why should I avoid these girls?

You have to know why they stay in the pod in the first place, Chuck said. You see, high school girls have their own problems, which I can’t possibly describe. I don’t think they can either. The important point is these girls don’t know who they are yet. While they’re still trying to figure out about being a girl, they join a group of other girls. I like to think of them as a pod. They seem to ripen better when they’re in a bunch, like grapes. Once they figure out this whole ‘girl’ business, they start to leave the pod and venture out on their own.

But all girls go around in pods at school, Charlie protested. I hardly see a girl walking by herself. Does this mean none of the girls at our school are ripe yet?

Chuck slowly shook his head and said, You’re not listening carefully. You have to look at the size of the pod. As I said before, pods usually consist of four or more girls. As the girls start to mature and gain more self-confidence, they start to form smaller pods. When you see two or three girls walking together, they’re ready. They’ve figured out how to be themselves, separate from a group. It’s like they’re ripe and have fallen from the tree. They’re the ones worth talking to.

What if you wait until they start walking by themselves? Charlie asked.

Not going to happen, Chuck said. The human female’s herding instinct is too strong. Nothing ever fully overcomes it. That is just part of their nature.

What makes you such an expert on girls. You don’t have any sisters. Did you get this theory from your dad? Charlie asked. Charlie knew Chuck’s family well enough to know they all shared a practical sense of humor. Charlie could imagine that Chuck’s theory was something he and his dad had concocted.

Chuck smiled. No, I got this one partially from my mom. She and dad were talking about the way female elephants would form herds, while the grown male elephants would walk around on their own. Mom said this reminded her of her days in high school. The rest comes from my field observations.

I don’t know, said Charlie. I think there is something about girls that will always stump us guys. Your rule sounds logical, but I bet it won’t always work.

You’re probably right, agreed Chuck.

Hey guys! How’s it going?

Brad Perez joined his two friends on the sidewalk. The same observer who saw the two teenage boys would now observe a third stockier teenager. The third teenager’s height was halfway between the heights of the other two. Brad had a handsome square face. His hair was also dark like his friends, but considerably more under control. He was frequently smiling because he had the best sense of humor of anyone Charlie and Chuck knew. Girls would come up to Charlie and Chuck and ask to be introduced to Brad.

While Charlie and Chuck had known each other since first grade, Brad was a more recent friend. He and his family moved into town two years earlier. Brad had two younger brothers. His father worked in different cities for his job, so his mother took care of them. At first, he showed the typical behavior of a new kid at school. He did not mix much with others, ate lunch alone, and tried to appear cool. Once he discovered Charlie and Chuck, he started to hang out with them. Brad quickly became the perfect addition for Chuck’s rants.

Hey Brad! Charlie answered back. Chuck was just telling me high school is not as tough as everyone makes it out to be. What do you think?

Brad smiled. Chuck is right. Chuck is always right. Even when he is wrong, Chuck is still right, Brad answered.

So what should a teenager like me do about peer pressure? Charlie asked.

That’s easy, Chuck exclaimed. Just do what your peers pressure you to do. That way, you don’t have to spend any time deciding whether it makes sense or not.

Wait a minute, Charlie said. That can’t be right.

Chuck is right, said Brad. Consider who your peers are, Charlie.

I guess that would be you guys.

Then just do what we tell you to and your teenage years will be trouble-free, Chuck said.

Yeah, like eat your vegetables, Brad said.

Wake up in the morning like you mean it, Chuck commanded.

Accent the second syllable when you say ‘toothbrush’, suggested Brad.

Don’t grunt like a pig when you do your math problems, added Chuck.

Wait a minute, do I grunt when I’m doing math? Charlie asked.

No, said Brad, we’re just using peer pressure to be sure you don’t start.

Aren’t you missing something? You guys are suppose to be doing these things first. You’re suppose to be pressuring me to do the things you already do so that you will accept me and I’ll be cool like you, Charlie said. He paused for a second and said, Wait a minute! You guys aren’t cool. What am I saying?

Oh, you are so wrong there, said Brad, Chuck is cool. Chuck’s coolness goes beyond what most people can detect. For example, can anyone else make grunting as a pig as cool as Chuck can. I mean, when you hear Chuck grunt, the first thing that comes to your mind is ‘Wow, that is so cool!’ I know I could never make a grunt as cool as Chuck. I can only aspire to his greatness. As your friends and your peers, we’re just trying to protect you from yourself. If you tried to do cool grunts, you would just embarrass yourself and us. You just don’t have the feeling for pigs like Chuck does.

That’s true, Charlie laughed. When I think of pigs grunting, an image of Chuck comes to mind.

Charlie, Chuck, and Brad approached the red brick building of Allin High School. They followed the other students onto the school grounds, looking for the line to stand in to get their class schedules. They could see many of their classmates from last year along with the new faces of the incoming freshmen.

Allin High School would be called a medium sized high school in most big cities. In the town of Tidwell, California, Allin was the only high school. The school’s front building is a two-story red brick building built back when Tidwell was a small farming community in northern California. At the time, the red brick building served as the only school in town. Every child, from elementary to high school, attended this school. As Tidwell grew, the younger children started to attend newer neighborhood elementary schools. The junior high students were the next group that got their own school. Soon, only the high school students were left in the old building. As Tidwell grew in size, the high school added new buildings for the new students. The buildings formed a high school campus that stretched behind the red brick building.

Two years before Charlie and his friends started high school, a team of seismic experts from the state government came to inspect the school. They determined the brick building did not meet earthquake building codes and was too unsafe for students. The school district quickly moved the classrooms out and into the other buildings. At first, the school district made plans to tear down the brick building to build a more modern structure. They wanted to a building to hold the school offices and a new auditorium. They quickly ran into opposition from the long-time inhabitants of Tidwell. Too many of them had fond memories of the old school house and did not want to see it go. The local legislative representative got the brick building onto the state’s list of historic buildings. This listing kept the school district from tearing down the brick building. The school district then looked into retrofitting the building to bring it up to code. When the school district received the contractor’s cost estimate, they balked. Retrofitting the building while maintaining its outer red brick shell was more expensive than tearing it down and building a new building. After consulting with other contractors and state officials, the school district decided they could only afford to keep the building as it was. Now, the red brick building was largely vacant except for storage and school offices. Many close observers in town think the school district is hoping a large earthquake will knock down the brick building soon. Then they can build what they originally wanted to build.

Tidwell started as a farming community on the northern California coast in the early 1900s. After that, not much happened in Tidwell until World War II started. The military notified the town council they were thinking about establishing a training facility near Tidwell. This news generated a great deal of excitement within the town. Two weeks later, an army general arrived in town to do the formal evaluation. The general spent the day touring the town and the surrounding area. The general was impressed with the costal landscape and thought it would provide a good training ground for ship-to-shore operations. At the end of the day, the town officials treated the general to dinner at the best local restaurant. As the general looked at the menu, he realized he wanted some seafood. He reasoned that since Tidwell was on the ocean coast, it would have good seafood. No one thought to tell the general otherwise. The general ordered a seafood platter. The general was up all night. Two weeks later, the military decided against opening a training facility in Tidwell.

During the 1950’s, a farmer argued persuasively before the town council that Tidwell needed a theme to help it stand out from other farming communities. He pointed to the California town of Gilroy, which had become famous as the garlic capital of the world. The town council thought the farmer’s idea was sound and started to discuss what their town’s theme should be. The town council worked hard over the next few days to come up with a possible theme. They decided from the beginning not to pick another town’s theme. They saw the conflict between Alma, Arkansas and Crystal City, Texas over who was the real spinach capital of the world. The town council wanted a theme that was unique and would reflect favorably on Tidwell. They quickly ruled out anything based on the local agricultural products. Other towns had already claimed them.

The excitement spread to the town’s residents as they speculated on what the town council would pick. After rejecting many candidates, the town council voted that Tidwell would become the home of the world’s largest coat hanger. With great pride and fanfare, the council members informed the citizens of Tidwell of their decision. The citizens reflected on the decision. All the council members had trouble getting elected at the next election.

During the 1960’s, some hippies from San Francisco moved to Tidwell and opened a commune at the edge of town. They were able to support themselves by establishing a thriving organic squid ink business. They sold the ink to alternative publishers who wanted to be free of the corporations controlling the ink supply. The demand was steady for several years. Then one year, the demand for their ink doubled over a period of a few months. Puzzled by the sudden jump in demand, the commune members discovered gourmet restaurants were using the squid ink to color their pasta and ice cream black. Some members felt it was wrong to sell to the restaurants. They felt the rich parasites of society should spend their money to help others instead of buying bizarre food. Other members of the commune had no problem with the social implications. The commune split up from the inner tensions. The commune members who remained formed eventually dissolved the commune and created a company called Specialty Liquids. They continued to produce specialty products. They recently got a contract to produce organic fake blood used by Hollywood movie studios. The movie studios wanted something that was biodegradable.

Before 1973, the main road between Tidwell and San Francisco was forty-five minute ordeal to drive. The road curved through steep hills that separated Tidwell from the San Francisco. A few San Francisco residents kept a second home in Tidwell, which they visited on the weekends. Very few were willing to make the commute to San Francisco every day. When a rainstorm came through the area, the drive became even more treacherous. The hills kept Tidwell isolated for much of its existence.

In 1974, the state finished building a new road between Tidwell and San Francisco. Suddenly, the forty-five minute tortuous ordeal between San Francisco and Tidwell became a fifteen-minute drive. Tidwell was now a bedroom community for San Francisco. Residents who kept a weekend home in Tidwell now started to make the commute on a daily basis. San Francisco residents who wanted a quieter environment bought houses in Tidwell. Within ten years, Tidwell had doubled in size. The morning and evening commute times also increased during that time. The rush hour commute time is forty-five minutes again. People still keep moving to Tidwell.

During the 1980’s, the town council felt Tidwell needed another source of revenue. The agricultural industry was shrinking as farms were converted to housing. After several meetings, the town council decided to go after the recreational fishing industry. Tidwell already had a small harbor on the Pacific Ocean. The town council wanted to improve the facilities in the harbor to attract San Francisco residents who enjoy fishing. They would offer the Tidwell harbor as a cheaper place to berth their boats. The fishermen would come over the hills, buy their supplies in Tidwell, go out fishing for a day, come back, buy dinner, and then return home. Fishermen who wanted an early start would come over the hill, spend the night in a local motel, and then go out fishing early in the morning. The town council also wanted to attract businesses that offered boat tours for whale watching, bird watching, and seal watching. One town council member did suggest conducting a survey of boat owners to see how many would be interested in putting their boat in the Tidwell harbor. The other members voted the idea down as being a waste of money.

Work started on the harbor improvements right away. At the same time, the council created a color brochure and sent it to boat owners in the San Francisco region. The brochure promised modern facilities, quick access to the ocean, cheaper docking fees, and plenty of parking. The town council waited for the responses to come pouring in. They set up a toll-free number for answering questions. They hired extra staff. They created a lottery system for all the requests that exceeded the harbor’s capacity.

The town council waited for two months. Only three boat owners wanted to move their boats to Tidwell. The council needed at least fifty new boats to pay for the harbor improvements. The members of the town council were very nervous. If they did not get more responses, they would lose their position on the town council. Some of Tidwell’s citizens were already saying this was the dumbest scheme of the town council since the giant clothes hanger. At three months, the town council was ready to cancel the entire harbor project. At the end of four months, they finally received a letter from a company running summer camps. This company wanted to open a summer camp along the coast for children who were interested in boating. They inquired if the Tidwell harbor had any open space for the boats they would need. None of the other harbors in the area had much free space. The council immediately replied they had space available in their harbor and the company was welcome to open their camp in Tidwell.

The summer camp turned out to be a better deal for Tidwell. During the summer, hundreds of children with their parents would flood into Tidwell, spending far more than fishermen would have. The parents especially like the modern facilities the harbor offered, such as an observation deck, a coffee bar, and plenty of parking. Most of the town council members kept their position at the next election.

Today, Tidwell is a quiet suburban town. The adults like Tidwell because it is a quiet, safe retreat from the troubles of a crowded world. They do not want to live in a place that gets featured on the local evening news as the site of another crime. They found Tidwell to be the quiet community they wanted. Their kids thought Tidwell was a boring place where nothing interesting happens.

Watch out, Charlie warned, there are the Withens twins. Looks like we will be dealing with them for another year.

John and Jack Withens were identical twin brothers. They learned at an early age that if they worked together, they could take whatever they wanted from the other kids. They quickly became the acknowledged bullies of the Allin High School. They even dressed the part of bullies. They wore the jeans with holes, t-shirts sporting slogans that tried to offend someone, black military boots, and military fatigue jackets that could hold any number of illegal or threatening objects. They avoided haircuts as much as possible, so their dark hair went down to their shoulders. The twins were not very big, but they made up for it by their teamwork.

The twins did not bother Charlie or Brad because they did not think Charlie or Brad were worth the trouble. However, they did like to pay attention to Chuck. As one of the smartest and more vocal students in the school, the twins felt Chuck needed of humbling every now and then. Fortunately for Chuck, the Withens twins never approached him when he was with Charlie or Brad. They preferred to go after solitary victims.

Chuck looked over and saw the twins eyeing the new freshmen. You remember when I said high school was not too tough? Chuck asked. Well, I guess I didn’t take the Withens into account.

Maybe they won’t bother you too much this year, Brad suggested. Look at all the new freshmen they can terrorize.

I wish I could count on that happening, but I’m not too hopeful. At least I don’t have to worry about sharing any classes with them. I won’t be taking remedial knuckle dragging or English grunting as a second language, Chuck said with a wan smile.

They reached the lines where they picked up their schedules. Afterwards, they regrouped and compared their schedules. Do we have any classes together this fall? Charlie asked.

They discovered their schedules overlapped for most of the day except for science and math. Chuck was one year ahead of his friends thanks to his parents’ encouragement and the extra classes he took in the summer.

You guys are going to have Mr. Spotson for math later this morning, Chuck exclaimed. You’ll like him. He’s the best math teacher I ever had.

That’s easy for you to say, Charlie replied. You never got less than 98 in all your math classes.

Yes, that’s true, Chuck admitted. It’s a curse I’ve lived with all my life. Do you know how agonizing it is to look at a math problem and know I’ll get it right despite all my best efforts? Do you realize how boring it is to be perfect in math? My family and I have sought medical help for my condition. We’ve contacted the experts all over the world. We finally found a specialist in Germany. He sat us down and gave us the bad news.

Chuck paused and gave a sigh like he had the weight of the free world on his shoulders.

What did the specialist say? Charlie asked.

Chuck sighed again and said, My condition is terminal. Nothing can be done. I’ll be good at math until my dying day. It’s not a pretty picture.

Chuck sighed heavily again. Then he brightened up and said, But seriously, Mr. Spotson is a good teacher. You’ll like him despite your best efforts.

The school bell rang, signaling the students to get to class. Charlie, Chuck, and Brad went off to their first class together, which was American history. They were happy to see they had one of the better history teachers in the school. After a promising first history class, the three friends headed to their English class. As they walked along, Charlie was thinking that the first day of school was off to a good start. His opinion change drastically when he walked into his English classroom and discovered who else was in his class.

The Cindys were in his English class. Charlie, Chuck, and Brad groaned to themselves. The Cindys were three dark-haired girls who hung out together. Only one of the girls was named Cindy. The other two girls were named Nancy and Mary. Nancy and Mary were natives of Tidwell. Charlie had known them since elementary school and thought they were quiet but nice. Three years ago, Cindy Larson and her family had moved to Tidwell from San Francisco. Cindy had made herself into a fashion diva in San Francisco and was very proud of her skills. After Cindy arrived at Allin High School, she looked around for new friends she could impress with her fashion abilities. Cindy soon found Nancy and Mary. Cindy got them to form a girl gang with her. Nancy and Mary thought Cindy was an exotic creature from another world who had come to make them glamorous.

Cindy started to remake Nancy and Mary. She convinced Nancy and Mary that their names were too old fashioned, that they should have more fashionable names. So they became the Cindys. They addressed each other as Cindy when they talked. Cindy also convinced them nobody should have to wear the sensible clothes they wore. Nancy and Mary started to wear more short skirts and tank tops, even in the middle of winter. Cindy convinced them to go to a tattoo parlor to get Cindy tattoos. They were stopped when their parents found out about the plan and called every tattoo parlor in the area. The parents informed the parlors that the girls did not have their parent’s permission and that the parlors would have more legal problems than they wanted if their daughters came home with tattoos.

Cindy never got much attention from her fellow students at her schools in San Francisco. She did not stand out very much. She started to like the attention she got in Tidwell. She started to do things to attract even more attention. She started to give Nancy and Mary bad fashion advice so that she would look better when compared to them. The Cindys hung out at the popular places in the high school so that everyone would see them.

Charlie was not happy to see the Cindys in any of his classes. They had developed the habit of asking teachers dumb questions. Cindy had convinced Mary and Nancy that boys do not like girls who are smart. They purposely asked dumb questions to show they were not bright. Cindy also realized the dumb questions were another way to draw attention to herself. Charlie remembered one time from last year when they were in his English class. The Cindys wasted half the class asking the teacher why the word verb was a noun when it described words that were not nouns.

The English class started. Charlie and his friends sat down in their assigned seats. Their English teacher introduced herself as Ms. Cuttner and started to cover the course requirements. Along with vocabulary lessons and writing essays, Ms. Cuttner expected her students to read at least five books and prepare book reports. One of the Cindys raised her hand.

Ms. Cuttner?

Charlie knew what was coming. He could hear Brad saying under his breath, Here it comes.

Do you have a question? Ms. Cuttner asked.

Yes. Would a book report about the instruction book for my cell phone count as one of the books I need to read?

Charlie and Brad’s next class was math. Chuck went off to take Spanish. Charlie walked into the math classroom expectantly. He had heard Mr. Spotson was a good math teacher. Charlie and Brad found two free desks next to each other. They both knew they would probably end up sitting next to each other since teachers tended to arrange the students in alphabetical order. Charlie’s last name was Pickens and Brad’s last name was Perez.

Charlie looked around and saw Mr. Spotson sitting at his desk. He was looking a piece of paper with some type of list on it, and then writing something down on another piece of paper. Mr. Spotson was a teacher at Allin High School longer than almost any other teacher. He was short and squat. He reminded Charlie of a dwarf, except that most of Mr. Spotson’s hair was grey and was getting thin. Mr. Spotson did not carry an axe, but he had a mustache that would make any dwarf proud.

The school bell rang again, marking the beginning of class.

Mr. Spotson stood up from his desk and said, Before you get too settled, I want to give you your seating assignments.

Mr. Spotson started to call out the students’ names and telling them where to sit. When Mr. Spotson got to Charlie’s name, he paused for a second and then said, Charles Pickens. That sounds a lot like…

Yes sir, Charles Dickens. My father was a big fan of his, replied Charlie. Mr. Spotson was not the first person to point out the similarities between Charlie’s name and the famous author’s. Charlie used to find the similarity embarrassing, especially when his English teachers would exclaim what a wonderful name it was. As he got older, Charlie became more tolerant. He realized his life would be much worse if his name was Charles Dickens.

Mr. Spotson smiled and said, "It must have been bad to have Bleak House read to you at bed time."

Charlie smiled. He remembered when his father had read Charles Dickens’s Bleak House to him at bedtime. Charlie thought the book was incredibly boring. He remembered pretending to be asleep so his father would stop sooner. Charlie then wondered how Mr. Spotson knew his father had read Bleak House as a bedtime story. He made a note to himself to ask Mr. Spotson at a later time.

When Mr. Spotson finished reading the names, Charlie and Brad found themselves on opposite sides of the room. Charlie and the other students were perplexed by the seating assignments because it was definitely not alphabetical.

Mr. Spotson looked over the puzzled faces of the students, smiled, and said, I see the seating arrangement has perplexed you. Some of you may be thinking the seating assignments are random. I can assure you they’re not. There is a pattern.

What is the pattern? asked one of students.

Before I answer that, I want to ask how many of you have taken a qualification test to advance to the next grade? Mr. Spotson asked.

All the students raised their hands.

How many of you took classes where the coursework consisted of practicing to take these qualification tests?

All the students raised their hands again.

I thought so, said Spotson. While there is nothing wrong with preparing to take these critical tests, the tests should not be the entire focus of the class. If you focus only on the qualification test, then all you know how to pass the qualification test. You will not have learned the other important skills needed to succeed in life, such as how to solve a problem, how to analyze information, and how to think. I’ll help you in this class to pass your qualification tests. But my main focus will be to teach you how to solve problems. You are part of the first problem for this year. I made the seating assignments using a method. For extra credit, figure out the method. You have all year. If you have a guess to submit, write it down on a piece of paper with your name and give it to me. If you are correct, I’ll let you know. I do ask you keep your guesses to yourselves. I want each of you to work independently on the problem. Any questions?

Brad asked, How many guesses can we give you?

Good question. The last thing I want is for someone to bombard me with dozens of guesses and then getting the correct answer by chance. You can each submit three guesses, answered Spotson. By the way, you may have heard from former students that I have posed this same problem in the past. Don’t think you can get the answer from them. I use a different seating method every year. Any other questions?

No one said anything.

Okay, lets get started on today’s topic. We have a lot to cover this year, said Mr. Spotson.

Charlie listened to Mr. Spotson while he launched into a discussion about the differences between a hypothesis, a lemma, a theory, a conjecture, and a thesaurus. Charlie suddenly became aware of the girl sitting in front of him with very nice brown hair. Charlie stared at her. He did not know who she was. During the confusion of moving to their new seats, Charlie had not noticed who sat in front of him. Charlie concentrated on who this girl could be. He thought he should recognize her from her hair, but he couldn’t. Charlie stopped paying attention to the lecture and focused on this girl. He ruled out that she was a new student. He felt sure he would have noticed any new girl students before the class started. As he started to run through all the girls he knew, the girl turned her face enough so he could see her profile. The girl was Sara Cabotson. Charlie mentally kicked himself for not thinking of her right away.

He had known Sara Cabotson since they were in the first grade. They both lived in the same neighborhood and attended the same schools. As Charlie looked at her, he wondered why he had not paid more attention to her. He felt like he was looking at her for the first time.

As Charlie was growing up and went to school, he knew girls were also at the school. He knew the names of some of the girls, and he remembered playing with some of them. But he couldn’t remember anything special about any of them. During elementary school, all the girls were interchangeable. None of them really stood out except for Sara. He first noticed Sara in the second grade. One day during recess, the Withens twins thought they would scare the girls. They found some worms in the schoolyard and started to toss them at the girls. All the girls except for Sara screamed and ran away. Sara turned toward the twins and said, Why are you hurting those worms?

This was not the response the twins expected. They quickly recovered and replied, Why do you care? Do you love worms?

Sara responded, They’re easier to like then you are. Sara then turned around and walked away to rejoin her friends.

Charlie and Chuck had watched the whole exchange. Chuck said, Sara is crazy or brave.

Charlie thought she was brave. He did notice that the twins stopped throwing the worms and they never bothered Sara again. Ever since that incident, Sara was no longer just one of the girls. Since Sara’s last name started with a ‘C’, she never sat near him in class. Charlie always noticed when she was in the same class as he was. If she was not in his class, he would wonder which class she was taking instead. If she was absent from school, he would wonder why she was gone.

As Charlie watched Sara’s brown hair, he remembered another incident with Sara. He and Brad were at Chuck’s house last Halloween watching a good vampire movie. Chuck’s parents were at a costume party, so Chuck and his friends were answering the door for trick-or-treaters. Chuck liked to refer to it as door duty. The evening was growing late, and fewer children were showing up. The boys were glad because they got to keep any leftover candy. Right during a particularly scary scene in the movie, the doorbell rang. Without taking their eyes off the screen, Chuck and Brad said at the same time, Its your turn Charlie. Charlie could hardly argue.

Charlie went to the door with the bowl of candy. He was surprised to see Sara standing on the doorstep wearing a clown outfit. She was carrying a very large bag of candy. Before he knew what he was saying, Charlie asked, Sara? Aren’t you a little old to be out trick-or-treating?

Sara smiled and said, I’m actually collecting candy donations for children who are in the hospital tonight. Since they cannot go trick-or-treating tonight, we bring the candy to them. We would be very grateful for anything you can give.

Wow, I never thought about them. Here, hold your bag out, Charlie said as he poured the candy from the bowl into Sara’s bag.

Thank you, Charlie. This is very generous of you, Sara said. She continued, I didn’t know you lived here.

I don’t, Charlie said. This is Chuck’s house. Chuck invited Brad and me over to watch a movie. We’re taking turns answering the door tonight.

I’m sorry to take you away from your movie, Sara said as she started to turn.

It’s not a very interesting movie, Charlie lied. I’m glad to be doing something else.

Well, I’m glad you answered the door, Sara said. With your generous contribution, I think I have enough candy for tonight. Sara started to turn again and walk away.

Wait a minute, Charlie said. Do you need any help at the hospital giving out the candy? I would be glad to help.

Sara turned back around, walked back toward the door, and gave Charlie a surprised look for a minute. Sara finally said, The nurses actually supervise giving out the candy during the Halloween party. We have enough volunteers for tonight. You are sweet to offer to help though. Maybe next year, you can help me collect the candy again?

Charlie replied, Sure. I would be happy to.

Thank you so much, Sara said and turned to walk away.

As he closed the door, Charlie felt good. He had enjoyed talking to Sara for that brief period of time. Sara volunteering to collect candy for the children in the hospital impressed him. He could imagine the comments she got when parents opened the door and discovered a high school sophomore asking for candy. Charlie suddenly regretted his offer to help next year. Sara may not mind the comments, but what would his friends think if he went trick-or-treating next year when he was a junior. He felt even more regrets later when Brad and Chuck found out how little candy was left in the bowl.

The class bell rang, signaling the end of class. Charlie realized he could not remember anything Mr. Spotson said in the last half hour. He had been too busy thinking about Sara. As Charlie got up from his seat and silently followed Sara out of the room, he thought to himself this math class was going to be a challenge.

Brad and Charlie met Chuck at lunch. All three brought their lunch to school. They quickly learned during their freshman year that bag lunches were better than the school food. After they found a free table, they sat down and eat their lunches.

Charlie turned to Chuck and asked, Do you remember our discussion this morning? About how high school is not too tough?

Chuck finished a bite of his peanut butter sandwich and said, Sure. What about it?

I don’t think you finished covering all the problems high school students face.

Let me see, you asked about girls and peer pressure. Those are the two biggest problems. Everything else is minor league stuff, asked Chuck.

Girls! You covered girls? exclaimed Brad. Why didn’t wait for me before you covered girls?

Don’t worry, you didn’t miss anything important, Charlie said. Chuck showed he is as clueless about girls as any guy is. What I want to know about is beer. Why isn’t alcohol a serious problem?

Chuck smiled and replied, Have you ever tasted an alcoholic beverage like beer or whisky?

Brad and Charlie both replied, Yes.

What was your initial reaction to it? Did you like it? Chuck asked.

No, said Charlie. I tried some of my cousin’s beer two summers ago. I spit it out. I didn’t like it at all.

I don’t remember the first time I had beer, said Brad. My dad said he gave me some when I was three and that I spit it out. He said I kept coming back for more though and eventually developed a taste for it. He would let me have occasional sips. One day, my mom overheard him telling his friends how cool it would be to have a four-year-old son with a beer belly. Mom made him stop.

I bet your dad was giving you cheap beer, said Chuck.

He probably was, Brad said. According to my mom, money was tight back then.

That’s the reason you spit it out, Chuck said. You got only the cheap stuff. You have heard about people paying hundreds or thousands of dollars for a bottle of wine. Right?

Charlie and Brad both nodded.

And you both know you can go into a liquor store and find bottles of whiskey and scotch for two hundred dollars or more. Right?

I did not know that, said Brad. I’m not sure I believe you. I think I should go to the liquor store and investigate your claim. Everyone else ready to take a field trip?

We would only get as far as the door, said Chuck. They don’t let anyone our age into the store. Have you ever wondered why?

Sure, Charlie answered.

Because they don’t want us to know about the good stuff they have. They want to save it for themselves, Chuck explained.

Who are the ‘they’ that you’re talking about? asked Charlie.

‘They’ are the alcoholic beverage establishment. You know them. They’re the ones who are trying to get teenagers to want to drink without actually advertising to teenagers. Or am I thinking about the cigarette companies. They all seem to blur in my mind, answered Brad.

Exactly, said Chuck. They want everyone to drink the cheap stuff. Why do you think they have to advertise American beer so much? They wouldn’t have to if the beer actually tasted good.

Charlie thought about this and said, I can see your point. But how does this help the poor teenage boy who is assaulted with the beer companies’ non-advertising? In fact, I feel I’m slowly succumbing to their subliminal pressures. Anyone got a beer on them?

Hold on a little longer, Charlie, said Brad. I think Chuck has the answer for us.

Chuck gave a proud smile and said, I do have the answer, and it’s very simple. Think about all the side effects of drinking the cheap stuff. You feel good for a short time. Then you start doing things you would never do if you actually thought about it. As you keep on drinking, you develop an extraordinary desire to pee. However, peeing in a safe and responsible manner takes more coordination and planning skill than you currently have. I won’t even get into the subject of driving a car at this point. Next comes the sick and vomiting stage. But you keep drinking. You eventually pass out. Now your friends get a golden opportunity. They get to do things you are in no position to resist. Just think of the things guys come up with when their drunk, passed-out buddy is at their mercy. I don’t have to go into detail because there are websites devoted to this subject. Then we get to the next morning, where you wake up with a bad headache and feeling completely rotten. You think back to the previous night, and you wonder why you paid money for the privilege of feeling so bad.

Chuck paused to catch his breath and drink some water. He then continued, Now, you have paid good money to drink bad beer so you can feel bad. That sounds like a bad deal to me. If you want to drink, why not just wait until you can get the good stuff and at least drink something that taste good. Don’t waste your time and money on the cheap stuff.

What about the high school student who does not have any money? Brad asked. What can that student do?

Since high school students can’t afford the good stuff, they should avoid drinking completely, Chuck said. High school students should hold out for the good stuff. Problem solved!

Brilliant, exclaimed Brad. Didn’t I tell you Chuck would have the answer? When Chuck is right, he is always right.

Wait a minute, Charlie said. How do you know the good stuff is any good unless you have something to compare it with? Maybe all those guys drinking cheap beer are doing it so the good stuff will taste any better.

That sounds like the ‘banging your head’ argument, Chuck said.

‘Banging your head’ argument? What’s that? Charlie asked.

That’s the argument that people should bang their head against the wall so they will know how good it feels when they stop. You have been to some good restaurants before, right? asked Chuck.

Sure, we go whenever someone in our family has a birthday, Charlie answered.

And you enjoyed the food there, right? asked Chuck.

Yeah, it’s very good. It’s certainly better than anything my older sister can cook.

Would you enjoy the food even more if you ate nothing but fast food before you go? asked Chuck.

Charlie thought about this. Maybe, I would. But I would rather not eat the junk food just so I can enjoy a fine meal more. I would rather have fine food all the time.

So why have the cheap beer? Chuck said with a triumphant smile.

I think there’s a catch in there somewhere, Charlie said. I’ll have to work on it. By the way, did Mr. Spotson do the weird seating chart for your class last year?

Yes, he did. Is he doing it again? Chuck asked.

Yes. Did you figure out his method last year? Brad asked.

Sure did. In fact, I was the first one in my class to figure it out and turn it in. It took me two months to come up with the answer. I think only four other students came up with the answer.

What was his method for your class? Charlie asked.

Sorry, but I’m not suppose to tell, Chuck replied.

Come on Chuck, Brad said. You can tell us. If you do, Charlie will put in a good word for you with his older sister.

Charlie smiled at this. When he and Chuck were both freshman, Chuck had developed an infatuation with Charlie’s older sister, Ann. Ann was a junior at the high school. Chuck annoyed Charlie by finding any excuse to come to his house, especially at dinnertime. Since Ann showed no interest in Chuck, he gradually got over his infatuation. Chuck was ready to put the whole episode behind him, but Brad found out about it. Brad knew this was too good to bury in the dust.

Chuck sighed and said, Thanks a lot, Brad. Now don’t tell anyone I told you this. Last year, Mr. Spotson used the number of letters in everyone’s name. He took the number of letters in their first name and the number of letters in their last name. My first name is Charles, which has seven letters. My last name, Raker, has five letters. He put the two numbers together to form 75. He then arranged everyone numerically in the seating chart.

Clever. What about students who had more than ten letters in their first or last name? Charlie asked.

"For those student, he still just put the two numbers together. For example, if I had six letters in my first name and eleven letters in my