Echoes of Fairborn High: Book 2

By R. Joseph Lessard

The high school on the north side of Birchdale has been on an emotional roller coaster experience as fall was transitioning into winter. Just as the students were basking in the glory of their first state championship in football, they had to bear the devastating death of one of their most popular classmates. The passage of months has also brought about significant changes in the individual family and social lives of the young people, especially in the boy-girl relationships. Ted and Natalie, the shy couple whose security was their unswerving devotion to each other, is experiencing new strains as the beauty of Natalies emerging physical maturity has catapulted her into the limelight of the most desired girls in the school. Jeff has been getting along quite comfortably with Gina, the second girlfriend of his teen years, but just when he thought that his first girlfriend, Jill, had faded out of his life, he unexpectedly encounters her again. His certain world is profoundly shaken as he realizes that the old feelings havent really gone away for this girl who he once loved so crazily that he was certain he couldnt never love anyone else. Yet returning to her presents as impossible since she has rejected him for three other guys and is pregnant by the last one, his younger brother! As conflict rages within his family over what to do about Jill, Jeff tries to focus on his studies and after-school job, only to get kidnapped by the school hoodlums and dragged into what is for him, the scariest place on earth, the now closed old Century Inn. If he gets out of there alive, he may still have to prove that he was not the perpetrator in the breaking and entering of the building. A few secrets of the ancient hotel have been revealed, but the teenage boys who worked there, and the young thugs that break into it, find yet more puzzling mysteries to ponder, not the least of which is whether the building is haunted.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Nov 29, 2010
• ISBN: 9781452086026

R. Joseph Lessard

R. Joseph Lessard is a retired occupational therapist and nuclear medicine technologist with experience as a microbiologist, medical research technician, waiter, dishwasher, telephone switchboard operator, hotel bell hop, grocery store stock boy, ice cream delivery boy, and sales person.  He has bachelor’s degrees from Alma College and the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, with graduate studies at Central Michigan University and additional courses at the Detroit College of Business and Western Michigan University.  This highly varied background included a glimpse into not only the particular work content and material studied, but a fascinating diversity of social interactions and relationships associated with the occupations or study areas, many of which provided ideas for the creation of this work of fiction.  

Book preview

Chapter 1

Miller’s Drug Store was open as usual for a Friday night, but only an occasional customer had been trickling in. Near the front of the store, a young adult female clerk was waiting on a man who was gift shopping for his wife. Near the back of the store, next to the pharmacy window, a stocky, well-muscled 16 year-old boy huddled close to a small radio as he attached price tags to items in a box full of store merchandise. At his boss’s request, Jeff Murdock kept the radio volume low as he listened to the play-by-play sportscast of the basketball game going on across town at the Fairborn High School gymnasium. Just behind the pharmacy window, an aging gray-haired pharmacist and owner of the store was working on his accounts but frequently checking his watch and looking at the back door. The old man was obviously agitated. When’s that guy gonna get here with my merchandise order? he fumed.

The teenage boy looked up at his boss. He still hasn’t come yet?

No, Mr. Miller answered impatiently. He was supposed to be here two or three hours ago! I thought I could depend on that company. Now I’m going to have to think that decision over! I think they forgot me!

The young boy just shrugged his shoulders, not knowing how else to respond.

By this time, Carol, the clerk from the front of the store, had finished with her customer’s gift purchase of an Evening in Paris cologne and powder set and had wandered back to the only part of the store where there was human company. Would you like me to check outside in the front? she asked.

Yes, Carol, the old man said. Why don’t you at least look? He’s most likely not there, but if he’s lost out there, someone needs to go look for him!

Carol walked up to the front end and checked the street. Not even a parked car out on the street now, she called back to the manager.

It figures! Miller said disgustedly. Well, I’ll give him a few more minutes, and if he doesn’t get here by then, I’ll cancel my contract with that company!

Carol came back and joined Jeff beside the radio. How’s the team doing? she asked.

We’re ahead, but it’s tight! the boy replied. He was noticeably uneasy about the game as he checked the priced merchandise off of the invoice list and then leaned in toward the little radio. He gazed at the clock, which read 8:48 p.m. In just a few minutes, his shift would end, and he would hustle out to the gymnasium as fast as his legs would take him so he could at least see the end of the game. He was tapping his pencil and willing the clock forward so he could leave the store, but the ancient time contraption seemed to drag in those last few minutes.

Just then, the delivery door at the back of the store suddenly opened, and an out-of-breath middle aged man came through. Sorry I’m late! the man exclaimed.

Hey, where ya been? Miller exclaimed. We were expecting you two or three hours ago! What’s been keeping you?

A real bad auto accident on Cherry Valley Highway, the reddish-haired delivery man replied, just beginning to catch his breath. The police had the traffic completely blocked in both directions. We were at their mercy and couldn’t do anything but just sit there and wait for them to let us through! But I do have the items you ordered.

Well, thank goodness, you got here before we closed! Miller said. I was getting ready to close the store for the night! Say, Jeff, the manager said to his teenage employee, could you give Mr. Sanders a hand in getting the merchandise unloaded?

Jeff hesitated for just a few seconds before jumping to the task of unloading the packages from the delivery truck. As avidly as he followed his school’s sports teams, it wasn’t easy for him to tear himself away from the radio, but he could also see the urgency in his boss’s request. He got up to help Sanders move the boxes of goods into the store. The truck was backed up tight against the back door so that getting around it would be difficult. By 8:57 p.m. they had moved in the things that were most obvious, but then Mr. Sanders and Mr. Miller got into a discussion about some items still remaining on the truck. Jeff edged up to the radio as he waited impatiently for the two men to make a decision regarding the remaining items. Nine o’clock came and passed, but the men were still huddled together and negotiating what to bring into the store.

This just wasn’t fair, Jeff thought to himself. The game would soon be into the fourth quarter, and if he didn’t get there soon, he would miss his chance to see the finish. It was his team, and he had long been a devoted follower of major sporting events at his school. He just wished that his employers could be a little more sympathetic toward his enthusiasm for school sports. Tonight, if he had had his choice about it, he would be out there at the game in the company of his girlfriend, Gina Tanaka, and rooting for the hometown boys. As it was, he would have to run like a maniac to get to the gymnasium while there was still any of the game left. Well, as luck would have it, Mr. Miller looked up and saw the anxious expression on the face of the teenage boy.

Oh, I’m sorry, he said to Jeff. Do you have to leave?

I really would like to, sir, the boy replied. It’s a tight game, and there’s not a whole lot of time left!

I was kind of hoping that you could stick around a few extra minutes and give Mr. Sanders a hand in getting the rest of the things into the store, Miller said. Are you sure you can’t do that?

Jeff didn’t reply. This scenario seemed like an old familiar script to him, but something he more associated with his last job at the big old hotel across the street, not here at the drug store. Mr. Miller didn’t need to have Jeff respond verbally to understand his hesitancy. The boy’s feelings were written all over his face.

Okay, kid, the old man said. Why don’t you just sign out and go to your game! But could you leave through the front door? The back one’s gonna be blocked for a while.

Okay, Jeff replied. Thank you! I really appreciate getting off on time to catch some of the game.

He quickly signed out and was slipping on his Fairborn Golden Knights varsity jacket as he made his way out the front door. He just had a short distance of sidewalk to travel southward toward the downtown area before turning east toward the school. The slightly added distance of using the front door was not a serious problem for his agile young legs, but as he walked along that short distance, his attention was caught by the big hulking monolith of the Century Inn across the street from the drug store. Every night before now, at least in recent months, the big building stood dark, empty and ominous looking. Well, Jeff really wondered about empty. It was probably still very haunted by its ghosts and paranormal events. Tonight, however, Jeff noticed light emanating from the front lobby, but a light so dim as to give an extra measure of eeriness to a place already too macabre for his comfort. If light was normally a positive thing, this light made his blood run cold and his skin break out in goose bumps. It was a relief to simply turn the corner to get the hotel out of his sight. He had other reasons to hurry along, but his desire was to put as much distance as he could between himself and the ancient edifice as he could. The bright lights of the gymnasium, crowds of people excited by basketball fever and all those pretty girls, represented a much different mood for Jeff. They were the antithesis of the big old spooky building across from the drug store where he worked.

The grounds of Fairborn High School were a little more illuminated than usual on this starlit Friday night in Birchdale. From inside the building could be heard the sounds of boisterous cheering, the shriek of referees’ whistles, the pounding of the basketball on the hardwood floor, and above it all, the drumbeats and trumpets of a pep band. Though on most nights the neighborhood around the school was rather quiet, on Friday nights this time of the year, that quiet, peaceful slumber was far from evident. Tonight, Fairborn’s Golden Knights were well into their contest against the Montclair Wombats in the first game of the year. The home team fans had been promised a better year this year than last year, and with the game midway through the fourth quarter, the Knights were ahead by nine points, 54-45. It looked like this could be the better year the fans were hoping for.

How realistic was this new optimism? Last year, this crowd had pinned its hopes on the 6’-2 forward, Dick Kozlov, from Philadelphia, but as was all too familiar a pattern, the season had been mediocre, despite Kozlov’s occasional heroics. Still fresh in the memory of Knights fans was the way this team bowed out of last year’s state tournament with an 85-51 shellacking at the hands of the Wellington Redcoats. The Redcoats had a team that most high schools could only dream about. A dominant 6’-9 center and a pair of 6’-5" twin forwards who could shoot the lights out in most games. Against a team like that, Fairborn’s Black and Gold seemed outmanned and outclassed. Was there reason to think that things would be any different this year? Well, the scoreboard showed the hometown Knights ahead, but this was just the first game, and the Wombats were making the Knight fans a little nervous about whether their Black and Gold could hold the lead tonight against the visitors.

One big reason for the high pre-season hopes, with the emphasis on big, was another transfer student, a 6’-11 center, Melvin Redford, from Birmingham, Alabama. Redford, a junior this year, had not yet scored a lot of points in this game, but he had three monster slam dunks so far tonight, and was a dominant presence and intimidating shot-blocker on defense. One other starter, Stanley Shipman, had some size to give the Knights better scoring and rebounding power. He had been moved up from last year’s junior varsity due to his greatly improved play and his growth spurt. He was now 6’-7 tall, but curiously, he was listed on the program as a guard.

Up high in the bleacher seats overlooking the basketball court, two Fairborn girls sat watching the contest. They were together this night to console each other for the reason that the boys who ordinarily would have brought them here had not. One of the girls was Natalie Brown, whose boyfriend, Ted Hodson, was not able to come to the game tonight because of a sprained ankle from a game of pickup football earlier in the evening. The other girl was Sue Lindgren, who had just recently endured the tragic death of her boyfriend, star quarterback Kurt Steinbeck. Just before cancer took his young life, Kurt had led the Knights to their first ever state championship in football. Although by now a few weeks had passed since the funeral, Sue’s feeling of personal devastation from his loss was still very heavy on her heart. The basketball game was a distraction that temporarily lifted her out of her grief and loneliness in his absence. Natalie was, of course, disappointed that Ted had not been able to come with her to this game, and she was even a little angry with him for putting himself in jeopardy for an injury the same night as their date of the basketball game and its dance afterward. But she knew that Fairborn boys’ enthusiasm for football had persisted long after its usual duration, probably due to the Knights’ football team winning the state crown. For the boys, there was nothing quite like those pick-up games to relive the magic moment in their imaginations as they played. Ted was trying in his clumsy way to act out the part of Kurt Steinbeck when he injured his ankle on a move that was much more Steinbeck’s kind of move than his own. Natalie just wished that Ted had thought more about the risk such a game put on their time together as a couple. Well, how could she dampen her boyfriend’s enthusiasm for football, especially when everyone was still basking in the euphoria over the team’s success?

Outside the school building, at the edge of the brightly lit grounds beyond the main front door, a lone figure emerged out of the darkness of the neighborhood and was walking in a hurried pace toward the door. Jeff Murdock had pushed himself at a record clip to traverse the distance between the store and the high school. He recalled that his last check on the progress of the game at the store had the Knights ahead, but not by a comfortable margin. He quickly checked his watch as he came into the light of the school grounds. It was 9:12 p.m., but the sound of the crowd and referees’ whistles from inside the building relieved his mind that there was still some of the game yet to play. Once inside the main front door, he quickly made his way to the ticket window just inside the short tunnel to the gymnasium, only to see that the window was dark and unattended.

His first thought was that he would not be allowed into the gym because he didn’t have a ticket, and he saw no way to get one. Jeff moved on through the tunnel toward a pair of men standing in the doorway. There he could steal glimpses of the game in progress and see the scoreboard, that showed the Knights ahead 59-53. A truly welcome sight to him was this new tall black player wearing a Knights uniform. Melvin Redford had been a towering presence in the hallways of Fairborn for about a month or so, and he was very likely the reason Fairborn was ahead in the game. It was good that the home team finally had some size that they could put against the opposition.

One other thing that was good was when Jeff slipped past the two men standing in the doorway, no one asked him for a ticket to get into the game. What he would learn eventually was that he could have entered the gymnasium any time during the second half, when tickets were no longer sold nor collected. With the Wombats now working the ball around the perimeter of the Knights’ defense, Jeff scanned the crowd in search of his girlfriend, Gina Tanaka. Too big a crowd. Too many faces. He couldn’t find her. He made his way to a slightly open area to the left side of the cheerleaders, in the third row of bleacher seats. As he was sitting down, a girl next to him handed him an extra copy of the game program with the team lineups. He welcomed that. The referee’s whistle sounded as a Wombat player drove for the basket. A foul was called on Dick Kozlov, last year’s star and leading scorer. While the Wombat player was taking his place at the free throw line, Jeff checked the program to see who the players were that he had been hearing about on the radio. He needed to connect names and faces. The radio descriptions had mentioned Mel Redford frequently, and according to the program, he was 6’-11 tall. The most frequently mentioned name for scoring, however, was Stanley Shipman, a junior player moved up from the junior varsity, now listed at 6’-7 and last year’s 6’-5 center, Hector Gorek, had been moved over to forward. Jeff found it a little bit puzzling that, with Shipman as the second tallest player on the team, he was listed as a guard, while 6’-2 Dick Kozlov was still listed as a forward. Why not put 6’-7" Shipman on the front line and let Kozlov bring the ball down the court? By last year’s standards, he was adequate as a forward, but beside this year’s taller boys, he looked like a runt.

With the added points from the free throws, the Wombats had now closed the score to 59-55, with about four and a half minutes of playing time remaining. The Knights once again had the ball, and as they looked for an opportunity to score, Jeff grabbed a quick glimpse of the home town crowd and tried again to locate his girlfriend. He was also curious as to who else he knew that was at the game tonight. Just a short distance away to his left, Jeff recognized last year’s senior quarterback, Marv Logan, right in front of the cheerleaders and rooting as much for Judy Lindgren’s cheering as for the Knights’ play. Judy appeared to have returned to her happy self as Jeff had always known her, especially with her collegiate boyfriend cheering her on. Dumping her guitar-playing former boyfriend, Greg Tunney, seemed to have actually made her happier once she adjusted to the breakup of their troubled relationship. Tunney himself wasn’t at the game.

A few seats beyond Logan was last year’s cheerleader captain and homecoming queen, Margie Hufnagel, with her Air Force boyfriend, who was now her husband. And not too surprising to some, Marge was wearing maternity clothes and sporting a rather prominent baby bump. Those fly boys don’t waste any time, Jeff thought to himself. When it involved an exceptionally beautiful girl like Marge, perhaps that was understandable. Cece Thornhill, the black cheerleader who had graduated last June, was in her blue jeans and sitting on the far side of Margie and doing a lot of cheering when big Melvin Redford did something special. Out with the current cheerleaders was the red-haired senior, Toni Fryatt, who was looking better than ever in her uniform, but was now wearing some guy’s class ring on a chain around her neck. Janet Norcroft, the strawberry blonde of this squad, was a senior now and very much enjoying the Knights’ greatly improved basketball team. Jeff had seen Janet with a couple of different boys since football season ended, but whatever seemed to be developing between this girl and his buddy, Duane Nesbitt, seemed to be over about as quickly as it began. Duane wasn’t talking about it. Jeff was less surprised that the relationship had ended than that she had given him another chance at all. A new cheerleader in the lineup this year was Maureen Woodridge, a tall junior girl with dark pixie-styled hair. She was pretty in a quiet sort of way, but she had some interesting moves and could get quite excited when the Knights scored. Jeff had seen her in the school hallways now and then, but he didn’t know her very well. Abby Holiday, the short blonde cheer girl who had had a very intense infatuation for football linebacker Vito Bastianelli last year, was on this year’s squad and busy rooting for the team. Jeff had come to recognize when Abby was genuinely happy with her life and when she was faking it. This night, her happy face was the artificial one. Jeff had to wonder what was bothering her now. Bastianelli had broken up with her a long time ago. Wasn’t she over him yet?

There were girls Jeff was accustomed to seeing with these Black and Gold clad uniforms, but not out there tonight. Cece Thornhill and Marge Hufnagel, of course, but at least they were here at the game. Jennifer North had graduated and had gone away to college, but Jeff didn’t know where. One other girl Jeff missed on the cheer squad was the very talented gymnast, Mary Jean Camden, who had suddenly moved out of Birchdale to a more suitable place to train for the Olympics.

Jeff’s attention was drawn quickly back to the game when the Wombats brought the score within two points of the Knights. He eyed the Knights’ big black center, who had raised expectations high for this year, but other than one slam dunk over the past few minutes, Redford hadn’t been very active in the offense and seemed to be operating on about half of the power that pre-season press had led fans to expect. Perhaps he would get better as the season progressed. The guy who was now getting the cheers of the Fairborn fans on the offensive end was Stan Shipman, who just now slapped away a pass intended for the Wombat center and drove through traffic for a slam dunk at the opposite end of the court. Add a free throw as he was fouled in the act of shooting, and he had the Knights back on top by five points. Jeff’s curiosity now was what Dick Kozlov was contributing to the game. He was hitting his patented deep corner jump shot every now and then, and was at times surprisingly open for it. Perhaps with the offensive power and the presence of Big Mel and Stanley Shipman in the lineup, the Wombats could ill afford to double team or otherwise distort their defense to contain Kozlov. But Dazzling Dick was not yet up to the level of his tournament play of last year. In many ways, this team appeared to be having difficulty getting untracked.

As the frenzied final minutes of the game were counting off and the Wombats were attempting their run to catch up in the score, Jeff began to understand why the Knight coaching staff had made the second tallest player on the team a guard. Shipman was an excellent dribbler who could move the ball against the desperate tight-pressing defense that the Wombats were using. Kozlov, in a similar situation, tended to get the ball stripped away. Trapping defenses were frustrated by Shipman’s ability to use his height to throw over the top of them. Stanley also loved to post up smaller guards and take them underneath and take ‘em to school. Shipman’s most crowd-pleasing move, however, was when he was on the perimeter of the other team’s defense and he suddenly decided to take it to the iron and zig-zag his way through the traffic. If he telegraphed his intentions to the Wombat defense by the way his dribble pounded the ball on the floor, his frequent scores at the conclusion of it were enormously satisfying to the Fairborn crowd, like a psychological in your face exclamation point that the opponents couldn’t miss. By comparison, Kozlov was more the pure scorer. He could take a well-timed pass and just shoot the ball, or he could wiggle free of his defender for a mid-range jumper. The Wombats played a man-to-man defense, but last year, Kozlov had been known to murder zone defenses. On defense, the Knights would usually assign Shipman to the opponents’ second tallest player.

Tommy Reid, a guard from last year’s team, was still with the Knights. He was scoring now and then, but in less spectacular fashion than Shipman. Hec Gorek would end the evening just short of double digit scoring, but he wasn’t the main thrust of the Fairborn offense. Others who got into the game but didn’t score much were Skip Pendleton, last year’s alternate guard, and the new guy on the team, Tim Rathnaw. He was only 5’-7 tall, but was a confident dribbler. In the game tonight, his scoring was limited to a pair of free throws. As play wound down to the final seconds of the game, the Knights were still holding on for dear life to a four point lead, when Tommy Reid stole a pass and fired the ball to Hector Gorek at mid-court. Gorek quickly lofted it sky high to Monstrous Mel, who got another gorilla dunk" that almost ripped down the backboard of the basket. The Fairborn crowd loved it and again erupted in loud cheers when Stan Shipman batted a Montclair pass high into the air and went up and got it. He was immediately fouled to keep the Knights from going into a stall. The free throw was missed, but Big Mel snatched the rebound and dished the ball to Tommy Reid to dribble away the remaining time on the clock. The buzzer sounded. The Knights survived with a 74-68 victory.

As the happy crowd of spectators made their way to the exits, Jeff was able, with some difficulty, to locate Gina Tanaka in the crowd and catch up to her. She was in the company of her friends, Becky Flowers, Karla Austin and the always popular and pretty Wendy Ashbury. Wallace Pettibone, the school geek, was also in the group, but hand-in-hand with Wendy. His doing so was no longer the surprise that it had been when the two first took up with each other. Fifteen rows of seats above them, Natalie and Sue were able to see them, but the people in front of them were moving too slowly, and by the time the pair of girls got down to the basketball court level, their friends had disappeared out the front door.

Where were you, Jeff? Gina was finally able to ask as they got outside into the cool night air. You obviously made it to the game, but I just couldn’t find you in that big crowd of people in the gym!

I didn’t get there until after nine o’clock, he said. I hustled the best I could to get over to the game, but I was still working at the store right into the second half of the game. When I couldn’t find you, I just sat in the lower bleachers.

So what do you think of our team this year? Wendy asked him.

They looked good, definitely better than last year, Jeff replied, but for all of the size of our players out there, I was frankly hoping for better. Especially from our big man, Mel Redford. Somebody needs to light a fire under that guy. I would expect Kozlov to score more points this year, with the pressure taken off of him by the threat of the big men scoring. Dick’s used to being the big cheese on the team, and he might not be this year. He may have to share the glory with our tall guys, especially that Stanley Shipman. Now there’s someone who impresses me! Wow, can he move the ball against the press! And his dribble drives from the top of the key have to be plenty scary to the opposition too!

Isn’t Stan even taller this year than he was last year? Becky asked.

He grew like a weed over the summer, Jeff replied. And he worked on his game to get even better. I’m not sure he was even 6’-4 last year, but I can’t believe the improvement in his dribbling. Some tall guys get the ball stripped away when they dribble, but when the opponent guarding Stan wants to steal the ball away, he gets down low and doesn’t let the ball get more than four inches off the floor. He maneuvers with ease at that level where a lot of big men can’t. And he can bounce the ball all over the place to keep it away from the defender’s groping hands!"

Oh, I thought he was wonderful! Wendy exclaimed enthusiastically. He’s probably our best player this year!

That might not be enough to win a championship unless Redford gets the lead out of his pants! Jeff said. Melvin ought to be scoring twenty points a game, mostly on slam dunks. I don’t think even Wellington’s big guy should be able to stop him. The Redcoats will be coming at us again this year with almost the same starting lineup as last year. By rights, that team ought to be defending state champions, with our boys challenging them for the title this year. They had a near miss, and they’ll be hungry to get the prize that got away from them. I can hardly wait to see how our team matches up against them. I guarantee you, they won’t dominate us with size this year!

Wallace, still holding tight to Wendy’s hand as the group moved along, felt pangs of jealousy at hearing his girlfriend praise the play of Stan Shipman with such raving emotion. Although she had given Wallace a lot of physical affection since they began going steady a few weeks ago, his personal history as the school geek and a guy some still called Wall Ass, didn’t leave him a comfortable margin of confidence when she lavished verbal tribute on other boys. It many times left him wondering just how much she liked the ones she praised. Frankly, there were times when Pettibone wished his girlfriend would cool it on some of those gushing compliments she had for a particular few boys, especially the athletes, whose talents and well-sculpted bodies were unattainable qualities for him personally. Those who knew Wendy realized that she was simply expressing herself as had always had, not always aware of the effect this enthusiasm had on Wallace. Her shy boyfriend wondered what, if anything, he could say about it to her. He didn’t want to sound jealous, but in his personal situation and having lost this girl once already, he did feel threatened. He bit his tongue and didn’t say anything.

By the time that this collection of young people was approaching the Game Room, the talk about basketball had shifted subjects to who was going to the after-game dance, which would be starting in about a half-hour or so. That made Wallace feel better in ways most of his friends there couldn’t quite appreciate. At this time of the year, basketball players tended to replace football players as the objects of intense adulation by many girls, and if Wendy’s words were an indication, this seemed to include her too. At times, listening to girl talk could be upsetting to Wallace, but this time, it seemed to tell these people that he was Wendy’s date and she was looking forward to being at the dance with him. Gina and Jeff, now with the group, would be going to the dance together. Becky Flowers and Karla Austin would go as singles, but Karla was hoping to see her heartthrob Rich Waters there around 10:30 or so.

As Wendy assessed the dating pairs among their friends who would be attending the after-game dance, she realized that one rather significant couple was not with them. Does anyone know where Ted and Natalie are tonight? she asked. I thought they planned to go to both the game and the dance afterwards.

I thought I saw Natalie with Sue Lindgren at the game, Becky said, but Ted wasn’t with her.

Wendy had a momentary memory flashback to Jeff’s sudden out-of-the-blue problem with his previous girlfriend, Jill Dubbs, a problem that led to their ultimately breaking up. Now she had an awful feeling that something of that sort might be happening between Natalie and Ted.

Ted’s laid up with a sprained ankle, Jeff responded. He did it in a pickup football game this afternoon. The ankle was so swollen and sore that he couldn’t walk on it this evening. I’m sure that’s why he and Natalie didn’t go to the game together.

There goes Natalie’s dance date too! Gina commented sadly.

I know Ted was looking forward to being with her tonight, Jeff answered. I know if he weren’t in a lot of pain right now, he’d be with Natalie. He was looking forward to our first basketball game too.

Wendy sighed silently with relief that her friend wasn’t having trouble with her relationship. She knew how Natalie loved Ted. She looked up ahead of the group. The Game Room, with all of its bright lights and its big booming juke box, was just ahead. It would be good to be in there again. Wallace felt a fleeting twinge of the old fear of going into that place, but he reminded himself that things had been a lot better lately. It wasn’t as automatic as it once was that, if he entered this building, someone in there would call him Wall Ass. As the group went on inside the teenage hangout, the boy bravely followed the others inside. It was a privilege to be with the girl who had made all of that possible for him.

The group distributed themselves between three tables along the back wall. Several went up to the snack bar to get refreshments. Cheryl Grinsted, Natalie’s cousin, was the girl behind the counter helping Jimmy, the bald old manager, wait on the snack bar’s customers. Those who planned to go to the dance would not be lingering long after they got their refreshments. The soft lights and romantic music of the school’s gymnasium would soon be beckoning them. Wallace continued to marvel within himself that he would again be there this night, with his favorite girl in the whole world, Wendy Ashbury. Even after dating her as long as he had, he still regarded their relationship with awe because he knew quite well that she was the number one favorite of many of the boys at this school.

Back in the mass of students coming toward the Game Room and all those bright lights, Sue Lindgren and Natalie Brown were moving a little slower than most of the crowd. Their conversation had at first been about the basketball game. It was a feel good thing the way the team had led throughout the game and finally won it. These girls didn’t have to analyze the game like a Jeff Murdock to enjoy it. They hadn’t discussed it for very long before Natalie recognized from Sue’s silence and pensive look that the game wasn’t the thing uppermost on Sue’s mind.

What’s the matter, Sue? Natalie asked. Are you okay?

I guess so, the other girl responded hesitantly.

You’re thinking about Kurt again, aren’t you?

Yeah, I guess I was, she said. I can’t tell you how much I miss him! It really gets to me when we have a sporting event. Kurt was so involved in that sort of thing. And we always went to the dances.

Do you at all feel up to going over to the dance for a little while?

In a way, I’d like to, she replied, but I know that it’s because part of me still expects Kurt to be there and dance with me. If I go there, of course I won’t see him there, and I’d probably just cry. Oh, Natalie, why did he have to die? He was so good!

Natalie just shook her head. It doesn’t make sense to me that a guy as good as Kurt was had to be taken that way, but I don’t think he’d want you to be lonely.

I still have the feeling that being seen with another guy would be like betraying his memory. Anyway, I just don’t feel like getting involved with a new guy right now.

It’s okay, Sue, Natalie assured her. I’m not pushing you. And don’t let anyone else do it. You’ll know when the time is right to start dating again.

Sue shook her head slowly. "I can’t even think of myself with another guy. I don’t see how anyone could ever take his place! He loved me so much, and I loved him more than life itself. Tonight was rough on me. I’m sure you must understand. It was the kind of thing he and I did together. But I appreciate your being with me tonight. I think it eased the pain a little."

I admit I was a little angry with Ted for getting into that pick up football game and risking an injury like he had, Natalie commented, "but that’s nowhere near the kind of grief you’ve been going through. Ted will get better, and I know that he loves me. But I miss him tonight."

I more than miss Kurt tonight, Sue said. Just the idea that I’ll never see him again just feels like a knife in my heart! I can’t describe the pain! She was getting choked up with tears. Natalie put her arm around her friend to comfort her.

I’m so sorry, Sue! Natalie responded, tears now in her eyes. I wish there was something I could do to relieve your pain. I care, Sue! I care! I wish you weren’t hurting that way!

Really, Sue said through her tears, being with you does make me feel a little better. I appreciate that you care, and it means a lot to me. You’re a real friend!

The two girls entered the Game Room. They looked for and found a quiet table at the darkened far end of the big dining area. It was near their fellow students, but with just enough disconnection for the privacy that they seemed to need now. The mood of the mass of teenagers here was one of raucous celebration over their team’s basketball victory, but the girls, in their quiet, relatively secluded table, continued their conversation in low voices.

Have you had a chance yet to talk to anyone about Kurt’s death? Natalie asked as they settled into their seats.

Judy and I have talked a lot, Sue said. She’s been a great sister to have at a time like this, and I’ve had some very long chats with Mother about it. She’s always sympathetic and caring, but I seem to need something beyond what she can tell me.

You remember that counselor who spoke to us at the school assembly, don’t you? Natalie asked. Millicent Kincaid, I believe her name was. You recall that she talked to us at the assembly about Kurt’s death?

Yes, Sue replied, and I got on a list of students that are supposed to have appointments with her once she starts coming regularly to the school.

I hope she can do something for you! her friend said. You need someone who can take you through this! I hate to see you suffer like you are!

Sue pulled her purse up onto the table, opened it up and began looking for something in one of the little pockets inside. She pulled out a tiny scrap of paper. She unfolded it and handed it to Natalie.

Natalie took the little scrap of paper, gazed at it for a moment, then broke down in tears herself. There in Kurt’s handwriting on the little paper scrap were the words, I love you, Sue! Natalie had been told about that little note that was found crumpled up in Kurt’s hand on the morning that he had died. This was the first time Natalie was actually looking at it. She knew what it had to mean to her friend.

The two girls cried and held each other’s hands for a long moment. Natalie gave the little scrap of paper back to Sue. You must treasure this! she said to her.

Beyond anything words can describe! Sue replied. But I’d rather have Kurt himself here to say those words to me!

I understand! Natalie responded.

These words come to me like something he’s saying to me right now, Sue said, but there are other times when I feel so alone, I can hardly stand it!

Maybe that’s something Miss Kincaid can help you with.

I hope so. I really hope so.

Back at the table with Wendy, the boys, and Becky’s bunch of friends, the conversation was much more light-hearted. Most were finished with their snacks and awaiting the signal from one of them to begin the trek over to the gymnasium. Jeff had already offered his comments and analysis of the basketball game, and now he was content to just sit back and listen to the girl talk. But while he was watching, a middle-age business-type man came in the door and went up to the snack bar and began talking to Jimmy, the manager.

While most of the group didn’t know this visitor and only barely noticed him, to Jeff, he was a very familiar face. The sight of him had the emotional effect of a bolt of lightning, someone that he had seen a lot of a year or so ago, but not much lately. Seeing the father of his old girlfriend, Jill Dubbs, did trigger a flood of old memories and all the emotions associated with those scenes. The boy was familiar with the saying that a person about to die has his whole life flash before his eyes. He didn’t feel imminent death, but he felt like, in a moment of time, he was reliving intense moments of his time with Jill. He tried to remind himself that he had moved on. Yes, he was with a new girl who was with him tonight, and he had been having a good relationship with Gina since he and his first girlfriend had broken up. But he also realized that there was a more urgent reason that he had had to move on. Jill Dubbs, the girl he once loved passionately and crazily, had become pregnant by another guy, and that guy was his younger brother, Rob!

Jeff recalled how difficult it had been to make a decision between Jill and Gina when both girls wanted him. He had chosen Gina as the truer, more faithful one of the two girls. And Gina had done no wrong in their relationship, as far as he knew. But something in that bolt of lightning reminded him of how terribly intense his relationship with Jill had been. For a question that he thought was settled in Gina’s favor, he now suddenly wondered, how completely had he gotten over the feelings he once had for Jill? In his haste to not prolong the agony for the girls, was he just now learning that he may have rushed his decision too much?

As Mr. Dubbs continued to talk to Jimmy over some papers that the Game Room manager brought out of his office, Jeff looked over toward the door where Jill’s father had come in. For just a flash or so, he thought he saw the face of Jill standing outside the window just beyond the front door! It seemed like months since he had last seen her. He thought of all the times he had wanted to talk to her, but once the news was out that this girl had become pregnant, she seemed to drop out of existence. Jeff heard from family members that she had checked into a school for girls, where those who get in trouble can live, be taken care of, and have their babies, away from the curious eyes of the quick-to-shame public that would be less than sympathetic toward her reasons for being there. Jeff himself had gone through an emotional phase in which her pregnancy by his brother made him angry and totally deny the feelings he still had for her. As time went on, he got over that and would have given anything to talk to her. But when he had called her house, he only got the message from her parents that she had gone away and was not available anymore. Those words had struck with a terrible finality. But now, out of the blue, it looked like Jill was just outside the door of the Game Room!

Jeff became suddenly very restless. After a minute or so of intense agitation, he suddenly excused himself as if to go to the men’s room, but headed out the front door instead. Gina didn’t see him slip outside, but his suddenly getting up and excusing himself hadn’t yet given her reason to be concerned.

Out in the cool night air, Jeff turned to where he had seen Jill, but she wasn’t there. But as his eyes began to penetrate the darkness, he finally did see her. She was about twenty feet further down the street, slowly walking away from him and not looking back.

Jill? he called out as if to make certain it was her.

The girl didn’t respond, but continued walking slowly away. Jeff trotted toward her quickly to catch up with her. She knew she couldn’t outrun him. When he got close, he saw that she had been crying. Jeff, please leave me alone! she said in a muffled voice choked with tears.

Jill, where have you been? he asked in a pleading voice.

It doesn’t matter, she said with despair.

Yes, it does! he insisted. Jill, you don’t know how many times I’ve wanted to talk to you! To just sit down and have a conversation. But you were so unavailable!

You have someone else now! Jill said. You have Gina. She must be very happy to have you, isn’t she?

I guess we’ve had some good times together, yes! he replied. But I’ve missed you far more than I thought I would!

Oh, Jeff, I’m so ashamed! she sobbed. I’m not worthy of you!

Jill, please, don’t be ashamed! Jeff responded. If you had any idea just how precious you are to me—and always will be—you couldn’t say that!

Precious to you??? Jill reacted with surprise. Jeff, haven’t you heard? Hasn’t the truth reached you yet?

What truth? he asked.

"I’m pregnant!" she said.

I know! he said. I’ve known for quite a while. And I even know who did it!

You must really hate me, don’t you?

I was angry for a while, he admitted, but I can’t hate you after all the wonderful times we had together! I’ll remember them as along as I live!

Jeff, I know you could never love me again like you once did, so why don’t we just face it and not see each other anymore!

Do you really want me out of your life forever? he asked.

What difference does it make what I feel? Jill asked. Sure, I have feelings. I’ve always had feelings! Do you know what it’s like to look into the Game Room and see all the people that used to be my friends and know that they would never accept me again? Right now, my life is so destroyed that my feelings can never matter again. It’s just desolation everywhere I look!

Oh, Jill! Jeff exclaimed. "I think you must feel something of what we once shared! Is that……possible?"

It doesn’t make any difference! she said. I can never have you again!

Tell me honestly, Jill, is anything left of it at all?

What if there was? she asked.

Back when we separated, I thought Rob was the one you wanted!

I don’t know what ever possessed me to get so carried away with him! she said. He doesn’t love me. He never loved me like you did! If I ever started to feel anything for Rob, I got over it very quickly when I found out how he reacted to my getting pregnant by him! I get this feeling that I was like a trophy or prize that he had to conquer, and that once he had me, he just wasn’t as interested anymore!

Rob is very competitive! Jeff said. "I’ve known that for a long time. He seems to want everything I have and seems to want to outdo me at everything, including taking you away as his victory prize. He must have really gloated inside the night he….uh, got you!"

I would have hated you for telling me that at the time I was going with him, Jill admitted, "but now, looking back on it……I can see where everything you say might be true! The trouble is, I’m going to spend the rest of my life paying for it!"

Whatever happens, Jill, I think life should be kinder to you than that!

You love Gina now, don’t you? Jill said, looking away.

She’s a very sweet girl, Jeff replied. She deserves to be loved.

That about does it for me, then, doesn’t it?

You have me wishing very hard that it would not! Jeff said. Both you and I have gone a long way down a road that takes us away from each other, but…..if you and I are meant to be…….there somehow has to be a way back!

A way back? Jill asked, now overwhelmed with despair. How is that even possible?

Jeff shook his head slowly. You put me in a very difficult position, Jill! I don’t know what the road back is. Right now, things look so set in the direction they’re going, I don’t know what the road back is or where it is……or even whether it is! But one thing is clear right now. Neither of us is married to anyone—yet. We both have big things to work out, and we each need to determine what is really right for us. In the meantime, I want you to keep your chin up and not give up on yourself because of what Rob did to you! And please, Jill, don’t withdraw so completely that you won’t talk to me, okay? I won’t be your enemy. If I got over my anger and forgave you, I think the other significant people in your life ought to do the same. Anyone worthy to be called a friend of yours would do that. About us, you and me…….somehow, it has to work out. It just has to!

Jeff, the girl said, looking up at him shyly, you really made me feel better!

I’m glad! he said. "But right now, please forgive me, I must get back to Gina! She is my date for tonight. I hope I don’t upset her too much by this diversion. But I had to see you!"

Good bye, Jeff, Jill said. Thank you for saving my life!

He looked back at her with deep concern. Jill, don’t think you weren’t worth it! You be good to yourself now! Do you promise?

Yes!

Jeff kissed her softly on the forehead, then trotted back to the Game Room.

Chapter 2

When Jeff rejoined the others in the group he had been with earlier, Gina looked at him strangely and asked, What kept you? I thought it was a routine trip to the boys’ room!

For an awkward moment, Jeff didn’t know what to say to Gina about the sudden reappearance of Jill Dubbs. The mere mention of her name would have sent his current girlfriend into a tailspin. I’m sorry, he finally answered. I, uh, ran into someone I knew and got a little carried away in conversation, he said.

Well, we’ve been waiting for you! Wallace said. We’d better get started for the gym while there’s still some music to dance to!

Gina tucked her arm in Jeff’s as they slipped out the door. She was eyeing him strangely, but wasn’t saying anything. Her searching look at him suggested that she might not have been totally satisfied by his explanation. Fortunately for him, the other conversations in the group seemed to take over as they made their way up the street toward the high school. Jeff was momentarily relieved. He was anything but ready to explain to Gina that Jill Dubbs had once again inserted herself into their relationship—or more accurately, his previously unrecognized leftover feelings for Jill had motivated him to renew contact with the girl after their relationship appeared to have ended. Frankly, he was taken by surprise by the intensity of the feelings he still had for his old girlfriend, enough so that he felt like he was in a tailspin of his own, just to decide how to handle it. If he had slipped the noose of questioning for now, he would have to deal with it soon or see his relationship with Gina deteriorate. Jeff believed in playing it straight and honestly with both girls, but what was he going to do about the big hit that Jill had laid on him by her sudden reappearance? Gina had long been sensitive to the times when he was brooding about Jill. The first thing he had to do was pretend that he was happier than he now really was inside. He just didn’t realize how much it showed that something was bothering him, despite his attempt to cover it up.

The group of teens continued on toward the school and its gymnasium that by now had made the transition from the bright lights of a basketball game to the soft lights and romantic atmosphere for slow dancing. Conversations of various topics were going on between the young people, but the one uncharacteristically silent was Jeff Murdock. Gina didn’t say anything about it then, because she and Wendy had been talking about a school play that was coming up, and Wendy wanted to try out for a part. But Jeff’s silence this night after a sporting event like a basketball victory didn’t go unnoticed by Gina. She continued talking to the girls, but she was also eyeing Jeff with some curiosity. Was he suddenly feeling ill? Had someone said something to upset him?

Although Jeff knew that he was under no pressure to decide anything or take any action this night regarding the two girls, a time could come soon when he would have to make yet another decision and declare his choice between them. It ought to be easier than this, he thought. Hadn’t he already decided? Wasn’t he now going steady with Gina? Shouldn’t that settle it in her favor? There was an informal social ethic among his classmates that emphatically said yes, it should. But that bolt of lightning at the Game Room had suddenly changed his emotional scene tremendously, and it most likely wouldn’t go away soon. It wasn’t something he could just ignore. He must have loved Jill far more than he ever realized. Well, consider the alternative. What would it mean to decide things in favor of Jill? Was that really even a choice? Besides being quite unavailable lately, that girl was now carrying his brother’s baby in her body, and he had become accustomed to his parents’ reasoning that this left him no future at all with Jill. On the other hand, it appeared that the final door had not yet closed on brother Rob’s possible future with this same girl. Certain comments, especially from the boys’ mother, made it sound like she was still trying to tinker and manipulate things to get Rob and Jill married to each other. That, to Mother, would be the most reasonable outcome of the pregnancy mess. To Jeff, the thought of little brother married to Jill was enough to make him sick. What he hated most about all this was the way the emotional needs of all of the involved young people, especially himself, were not in any way considered. It was all about doing the right thing. That phrase had been heard about the Murdock house so often lately that Jeff wanted to vomit every time he heard it.

The group arrived at the school and entered the main front door and proceeded through the tunnel to the ticket table just beyond the entrance to the gymnasium. For most of these young people, it was a routine entrance, even for someone like Wallace, who until recently considered it a novelty to go to a dance at all. But Jeff, while he doled out the money for the tickets, was still rather silent and had a far-away look. That look was more familiar to Gina than she would have wanted to admit. When she had seen it before, it had meant that Jeff had her rival, Jill, on his mind. That couldn’t be true now, she felt, because Jill had been gone for a long time. In the meantime, she and Jeff had been enjoying the best relationship they had ever had. Gina was saying nothing, but she was already beginning to have very uneasy feelings about it.

Once inside the gym, this small cluster of teens could see about a dozen or so couples on the dance floor. The band was playing soft, dreamy romantic music that slow dancers always love. The bleacher seats beside the basketball court had clusters of students here and there, and a circle of boys was starting to form up a short distance from the entrance to the gym. Wallace and Wendy immediately went out and joined the couples already on the floor. Karla and Becky decided to dance with each other, just to have some opportunity to get in on the festivities. They were all missing Ted and Natalie about now. Jeff slowly followed Gina out to the dance floor, and the two began to dance, but she felt that she had to know what was on her date’s mind to put him in this somber facial expression.

Jeff, what’s the matter? she asked. Are you feeling okay?

Yeah, he said in a low voice.

Are you sure?

The boy nodded. He wasn’t very convincing.

You look like something is upsetting you! she said. Ever since we left the Game Room, you’ve been like this! Something is bothering you!

Jeff just shook his head briefly. It’s nothing, he insisted.

Did it have anything to do with that conversation you had with your friend? the girl asked. You seemed upset after that!

Just some bad news of sorts, he said hesitantly. Personal stuff.

Do you want to talk about it? she asked.

I’d…..really rather not just yet, he said.

She again eyed him deeply, and then took him into her arms to dance with him. Gina couldn’t yet identify a real reason for concern for their relationship, but as she contemplated it, her thoughts kept returning to Jeff’s former girlfriend, Jill. That was a name she hadn’t heard mentioned very much recently, and if Gina had her way, she’d never hear the name come from his lips again. She recalled his far-away look months ago when it was about which of the two of them he would choose as his girlfriend. It had been painful to her, going through all those agonizing weeks while Jill was putting him off, and Jeff was holding out too patiently for his old girlfriend. Gina had no desire to return to the anguish she was feeling during those times. If Jeff was once again longing for his old flame, Gina had an awful feeling it would take more than their going steady relationship to hold his love. A far more compelling reason he should have had for forgetting about Jill was that she had become pregnant, not just by another guy, but by his own brother! How could that girl possibly deserve Jeff after selling him out that way?

Wallace and Wendy were dancing in a tight embrace as they swayed to the music in the softly lit gymnasium. The girl’s gushing words of praise for Stanley Shipman and the way he played basketball had not left the young boy’s consciousness yet, but the loving, affectionate way that Wendy was now holding him felt good and was especially important in his moment of doubt. He gazed down at her adoringly. In the dimmed light of the dance floor, she somehow looked even prettier than usual. He pulled her in closer to him, and she hugged him and smiled to him in response, then laid her head tenderly on