The Consequences and Rewards of Playing Hookey
Chapter 17
Resolutions
Suzanne Rowan had a fitful night. She had spoken to Brett for more than an hour before she went to bed and they had consoled each other over the loss of Sadie. She was surprised by how much Brett had cared for Sadie. He had only met her once and held her for just a few minutes, but Brett explained a sensation that Suzanne had felt the first moment she had seen and held Sadie. There was something about the dog’s eyes. There was a palpable sweetness in them; a look that told whomever her companion was at any given moment that she loved them. They both agreed that Sadie was proof that dogs had souls and that Sadie had touched theirs.
When Suzanne hung up with Brett, she felt that despite losing Sadie, she finally had someone in her life that understood her and could talk to her about her life. While this made her feel better, she knew that it would take a long time to get over losing Sadie. When she woke up, she was both physically and emotionally exhausted. As she got dressed, she hoped that her brother was still asleep. After what happened to Sadie yesterday, his was the last face that she wanted to see this particular morning.
“Brett, how are you holding up,” asked Sandy, moments after the Nilsen twins had climbed into Derek’s car; Thursday Morning, on their way to school.
“OK, I guess. Suzanne had a tough night,” said Brett somberly.
“Yours wasn’t so easy, bro,” said Tom.
“I’m sorry, Brett,” added Carrie, as she put her hand comfortingly on her boyfriend’s twin’s shoulder.
“Thanks guys. I feel awful for Suzanne, but I have to admit that I feel like I lost a friend too.”
Derek felt Sandy’s hand touching his side casually, in a gesture of familiarity and affection. He felt a vibe of love and care in the car. “Well, maybe my Mom was right when she said I shouldn’t have brought you guys to the shelter.”
“That’s odd that she would have said that,” said Tom.
“True. Mom wasn’t around yesterday afternoon either. You don’t suppose that Mrs. Endicott would have told our parents that Sadie was being removed and perhaps our parents were trying to stop us for that reason?” asked Brett.
“Maybe,” admitted Derek.
“Thank you all for coming,” said Principal Hanson, as she looked at Derek, Maya, Mindy, Chantelle and Sandy before continuing. “From talking with Mr. Fitzwater and your Mom, Derek, I think I have pieced together what has been going on. Needless to say, I am shocked at the behavior of Mr. Fitzwater and it will be dealt with. I’m almost equally shocked that students of such high social and academic standing would cut school in such a calculating and manipulative manner,” she glared at Sandy.
“Mrs. Hanson. May I speak?” asked Derek.
“Certainly Derek.”
“First of all, there is no excuse for our actions. I will say that Sandra was having a hard time coming to terms with who she was and that as terrible as this experience was, it changed her in some very positive ways. She’s still feeling the guilt and shame of her actions, but Mr. Fitzwater made the first advances toward her.”
Principal Hanson’s eye brows rose. “Would you like to talk about this in a more private setting, Sandra?”
“No. I’ve told everyone in the room. They all know,” replied the blond student.
“OK. Is what Derek is saying true?” asked the principal.
“Yes. Mr. Fitzwater had been constantly calling me in to see him to talk about my grades and to discuss colleges with me. I could tell that he wanted me. He always touched my leg or shoulder and he always let his hand linger a little too long for me to feel comfortable. He also said things like ‘I want to help you, but you need to help me.’”
“He could have meant that he needed you to try harder in school for him to be able to help you.”
“His hand was on my thigh when he said that,” said Sandy.
“Why didn’t you go to me or Vice Principal Simmons,” she asked.
“Because, he said with my reputation nobody would believe me. I hated to admit it, but I actually started to believe him. That is why I went along with him touching my breasts. At first, I didn’t think it was a big deal, but then I realized how sick this all was. I decided to use my cell phone to take a video of him touching me but it fell over so I only had audio,” said Sandy, as a tear ran down her cheek.
“Then you decided to blackmail him.”
“Into stopping his advances mostly, though I had liked the idea of controlling him,” she admitted. “Mostly, I guess I just wanted proof. You see my life had been spiraling out of control. Derek helped me to see that. It was then that I tried to break free of Mr. Fitzwater.”
Mrs. Hanson sighed. She was in a tough position. She and the Superintendent of Schools had decided to force Fitzwater to retire a couple of years early at the end of the school year, rather than face a long and lengthy legal dispute. She knew that if it went to arbitration or court, there was not enough evidence for it to be a slam dunk in the school’s favor, but she also had a responsibility to keep the children of her school safe. She would determine how to handle Fitzwater so he would not longer advise children. Now she needed to discipline the kids. This meant coming up with a fair solution to deal with this whole matter, while keeping the matter discreet. “Well I’ve decided that I won’t tell your parents other than Sandra’s and Derek’s who already know. Instead of giving you detentions, you will all have to engage in twenty hours of community service. I will tell all concerned that it is part of a community service program that I have decided to pilot. After that, you are free of any further responsibility and the cutting afternoon classes will not appear on your record. You should know that this is more than fair.”
Derek sighed in relief and nodded. It really was more than fair. He had been dreading what Maya’s, Chantelle’s and Mindy’s parents would do to the girls. As Sandy had pointed out yesterday, they still had to get together three times a week to meet the original agreement with the stranger.
“Thank you, Mrs. Hanson, it is more than fair,” said Mindy.
“Yes, it is,” agreed Chantelle, as Derek, Maya and Sandy nodded their agreement.
Mrs. Hanson smiled. “Good. Come up with a proposal for what organizations you want to help with and I’ll contact them to set this up.”
“Mrs. Hanson, I’d like to volunteer for the student leadership of your community service program. It really is a great idea and I think we can make it work,” offered Derek.
“You’re serious?”
“Yes. The town council is cutting services. I think your idea would be a great way of helping to fill in some of those holes. There are plenty of needs” said Derek.
“I never thought that this would really fly. How are you going to get volunteers?”
“Leave it to us, Mrs. Hanson,” smiled Sandy, as she felt Derek wrap his arms around her waist.
“So, Paul, I usually talk to Maggie about my investments,” said Sven Nilsen into his phone from behind his desk.
“Actually I’m calling concerning our investment with you. Rick asked me to check. Any news?” asked Paul Turner.
“Nothing specific yet, though early indications are good,” replied Sven.
“Good. Please let one of us know if you hear anything.”
“Will do, Paul. We really appreciate your help with this.”
“No problem Sven. You’re a good customer and your kids are good friends of Sandy, Carrie and Derek so we are happy to help.”
“Hey Sven?”
“Yeah Paul?”
“As you know, my wife is reviving ‘Book Club’.”
“I know. Maggie invited Ilsa and she plans on coming.”
“I figured that you would be at loose ends. Since Maggie and Ronnie will be busy too, Rick and I are organizing a poker game. We’re hoping that you would join in.”
“Sounds like fun. It’s been a number of years since I’ve played.”
“Don’t worry. It is just a friendly game. Low stakes. Mostly just an excuse to get together and drink beer.”
Sven laughed. He had spent the last few months traveling a lot. His schedule over the next few weeks was easier. Like Rick Carson, his schedule really didn’t offer him much opportunity to make friends. He had been somewhat friendly with Rick Carson in the past because their children were friends. He had a professional relationship with Paul and Maggie Turner. Sven had liked them both a lot, but never really had a chance to do anything socially with them. Here was the chance. “Well, count me in Paul, I’d love to.”
“Good. I guess the kids will be on dates.”
“Well, I know that Tom and Carrie have plans. I’m hoping that Brett and Suzanne will be helping with something else.”
“Me too,” said Paul.
“I can’t believe we are together,” smiled Connie.
“I always thought you were cute. It’s just the timing was never right,” said Dean, as he wrapped his arm possessively around her waist while they walked to the cafeteria.”
“So, Martin, I see you’re slumming it,” laughed Jon Sizemore as he came up from behind the couple.
“Dude, you’re such a punk,” laughed Dean.
“You’re just jealous,” she grinned.
Jon laughed. “Yeah Martin, I guess you flew below my radar until it was too late. Anyway, I’m happy for you Flynny.”
“Thanks, guy. I’m actually grateful to your ex and Derek Carson. They thought we would be a good fit.”
Connie grinned. “And they were right.”
“What’s the deal with Carson and Turner? Are they playing matchmaker for the entire school?” asked Jon.
“It seems that way,” said Connie.
“Well are you coming to the game to see your new boyfriend in action?”
“You better believe it,” she grinned as she kissed Dean on the cheek and the happy couple walked off.
Jon shook his head. It really looked like Carson had turned Jon’s evil ex into a catalyst for positive change. He had no idea how Derek managed this, but Jon had to admit that things were going better for the baseball team and the school in general. He had seen how chummy Flynny and Carson were the last couple of days. Now it appeared that Connie and Sandra had buried the hatchet. That would unite the popular smart kids with the popular jocks. Jon realized that he was running out of time if he wanted to find a way to block Sandra. Flynny, Connie’s senior friends and the senior cheerleaders were beginning to give Sandra a solid foothold in the senior class in addition to her dominance over the lower three classes. Pretty soon, she would not be just unstoppable, but also beloved. He had to find a way to stop that if he hoped to remain relevant.
“That sounds like a great idea!” exclaimed Tara Broome.
“So we can count on your help?” asked Derek.
“Of course. St. Agnes has a soup kitchen which is always understaffed lately. I volunteer every other weekend, but they could use more help,” she replied, before taking a bite out of an apple.
“How about you, Kyle?” asked Sandy.
Kyle looked a bit nervous. “I guess, though my parents might not like the idea. They keep reminding me that I need to focus on my studies if I hope to be Valedictorian.”
“You know, Colleges look for more than just grades when they look at applicants,” stated Derek.
Kyle laughed. “Spoken like the number three ranked junior looking to pass me.”
Derek laughed back, but Tara chimed in. “Kyle, school is important, but I think you are losing sight of what really matters. People matter. One day, there won’t be any school; just life. You’ve lost your way, Kyle. I think that I’m here to remind you of that.”
“Why do you care so much about me,” he murmured.
Tara blushed before saying, “Because I really like you.”
“Kyle, you really are a little cutie and getting littler all the time,” grinned Sandy, at Kyle’s improving physique.
Derek smiled at Tara and then at Kyle. “Are you two busy Saturday night?”
“I’m free. Why?” asked Tara.
“Derek and I are double dating with Rogesh and Rana. We plan to open it up to Devin and Rachel too,” explained Sandy.
“In other words, quadruple date!” laughed Derek.
“Guess what?” laughed Devin as he talked to Rogesh in the library.
“What?”
“Rachel and I are going with you guys on the date. I think Kyle and Tara are going too.”
“You seem way too happy about this,” said Rogesh mournfully.
“I’ll take any chance to be with Rachel and to show off that she’s my woman. She’s amazing!”
“Better than you deserve.”
“Don’t I know it,” he laughed. “What about you and Rana?’
“She still likes Paul Prescott.”
“Dude, didn’t you hear what Rachel said about him? That guy is a first class asshole.”
“I hinted to her that she should be careful, but then she accused me of being jealous. She told me not to bug her anymore, or she would actively look for a way to discredit me to get out of the deal with Sandra.”
“What a bitch!”
“She’s not a bitch, Dev!” defended Rogesh.
“Damn, you really are hung up on her.”
“She really is sweet…. I know it.”
“OK… sorry… I just don’t like what she accused you of.”
“In a way, she’s right. I hate to admit it, but I am jealous of Paul.”
“If you like, I can have Rachel talk to her about Paul.”
“I guess she can try, but I don’t think she trusts Rachel much at this point.”
“Well, then I guess she’s just going to have to find out the hard way…. Wait…”
“What?”
“I think I may have an idea, but we have to get some back up.”
“What do you have in mind?”
“Do you and Rana have any plans tomorrow night?”
“No. Just Saturday’s double… well, quadruple date. Her parents won’t let her out of the house unless it would be to see me.”
“Well ask her if she wants to make a date with Paul, but you’ll need to know where if you plan to cover for her.
“OK… but won’t he try something?”
“That is exactly what I’m counting on,” grinned Devin.
Sandy grinned at Derek as she looked at her boyfriend dressed in his baseball uniform walking over to her. “Good luck, baby,” she said as she leaned over the fence and kissed him sweetly on the lips.
“Now I know we can’t lose,” he smiled, as he waved and went back to the dugout.
Sandy saw Connie Martin sitting in the stands, so she walked over to her. “Mind if I sit next to you?”
“It’s a free country,” she smirked, causing Sandy to laugh.
“Damn, you really are a cold bitch.”
“Takes one to know one.”
Sandy smiled broadly and then Connie did too. “Truce?” asked the blond.
“Yeah, truce,” sighed Connie.
“You know, I’m not as much of a bitch as everybody thinks.”
“Yeah, Derek kind of hinted at that last week. You really set Dean up with me just to be nice?”
“Well, Derek had a part in it too. Are you happy?”
“Yeah. Dean is great. I can tell he really likes me too. Sandra, I know I really wanted Derek, but I never thought that I would ever get together with Dean. Now that I’m with him, I know it was the right choice.”
“Good. I’m happy for you Connie. I really am,” smiled Sandy, her eyes shining with sincerity.
“You really are,” marveled Connie.
“I am. You want to hear a secret?”
“What?”
“Derek and I are trying to make the school a better place. Do you want to help?”
“Tell me more, Sandra.”
“I will; though only if you call me Sandy.”
Connie smiled. “OK, Sandy. I will.”
Tom was talking to his father on his cell phone from the bleachers
“OK, Derek is giving us a lift home after his game, but we’ll need to drive Carrie and Suzanne home.”
“That will be fine, they can all come over,” said his Dad. “I’m ordering pizzas.”
“What’s the occasion?”
“We have something to celebrate. I’ll tell you more when you get here.”
“OK. Thanks Dad.”
Wilson High appeared to be firing on all cylinders. Pitcher Tyler Messing had nine strikeouts and scatter eight hits as he rode an Offensive explosion from his teammates to an 11-2 victory. While not the hitting star of the Game, Derek had an exceptional game at the plate. He went three for three and a walk, with two clean singles and a smash down the line that went for a two run double. He wound up driving in two runs and scoring two. Jon, Tyler and Flynny all hit dingers. Jon added a double and a single to his batting totals, while scoring two runs and driving in four himself. In the field Derek played an errorless game, while making two plays that saved runs and turning a couple of double plays.
Jon saw Derek, Flynny and Marco talking and realized that Derek had already cemented his presence on the team. When Jon looked up in the stands, he saw his girlfriend Sissy and her best friend Lorelei, who was a lovely half-Asian JV cheerleader. They were talking to Sandra Turner. A worried look crossed his face. Then Sandy called him over.
“Hey Jon,” she grinned.
“Hey ladies,” he smiled, as he noticed that his girlfriend and her friend were blushing and not saying anything. This really made Jon feel queasy.
“Do you remember how I said I could make your life hell for you?”
“Yeah, but baby, I’ve been nice to Carson.”
“I know,” she grinned.
“You do?”
“Yeah. Derek told me that you’ve been a good teammate.”
“So why are you threatening me?”
“I’m not. I’m just reminding you that I could if I wanted,” she paused before leaning over and whispering in his ear, ‘I can also make your life Heaven too,” before grinning.
“What?”
“Do you see your blushing girlfriend? I bet you didn’t know that she likes to play both sides of the street.”
Jon looked stunned, as his girlfriend turned a brighter shade of scarlet.
“I bet you’d never guess who she carries a torch for,” smirked Sandra, as she looked over at Lorelei, whose blush seemed even more pronounced.
“Well it just so happens, that they enjoy getting together every once in a while to get their inner lesbian on. It also seems that sweet Lorelei was curious what you were like in the sack,” she paused before whispering, “Don’t worry, I wasn’t as mean as I could have been,” she laughed.
“So what are you getting at?” asked Jon.
“Thanks to my influence, I’ve just got you another girlfriend; so long as you are willing to share your new girlfriend with your old one and vice versa.”
“You’re shitting me?”
“You don’t believe me? Ask them yourself.”
“Really, Sissy?”
“Yeah…Lorelei and I have been fooling around since we were thirteen,” she admitted.
Jon turned to the other girl. “You want to be with me too?”
“My boyfriend broke up with me to take his ex to the senior prom. I figured this would be a chance to try something different,” said Lorelei, before adding, due to a glance from Sandra, “If you are willing to play ball with Sandra.”
“What do you want?” he asked, looking at his ex.
“The status quo. You don’t bother me, Derek or any of our friends. Simply put, don’t piss in my pool and I won’t piss in yours,” her eyes narrowed.
Jon’s jaw dropped. Lorelei was a little hottie and Sandra was just dropping her in his lap. He leered to himself, “I could have both girls at the same time and watch them.” Then he realized how much he had underestimated his ex’s resolve and influence. She must have really wanted his cooperation to have done this, but she knew exactly the right buttons to push to have him go along with her. What red blooded male wouldn’t want an arrangement like the one he was being offered. The answer? Zero. Not even Jon. “OK, Sandra. You got yourself a deal.”
As Derek saw Jon and his girls walk away, he walked over to Sandy. “Are you sure Lorelei wants this?”
“She was pissed about her ex breaking up with her. Sissy was spending too much time with Jon, so she was missing her. I think she wanted to shake up her life and this way she gets to spend as much time with Sissy as she likes. I guess she finds Jon attractive, so everybody wins.”
“Jon doesn’t deserve this.”
“You’re telling me?” she laughed. He could see her suppress a sigh. “If it keeps him off our backs then it will be worth it. This way, he should be too busy to bother us anymore. Of course there is the hidden benefit.”
“What?” asked Derek.
“He better treat Lorelei well, because her dad is a former Marine and about as big as Jon is,” she laughed.
Derek joined in the laughter. After calming down, he smiled at her. “Since you and Connie are now besties, are you OK with us doubling with her and Flynny tomorrow night?”
“Yeah. I like ‘Miss Prim and Proper’ now that she’s a slut like me.”
Derek gave his girlfriend a severe look “Sandra.”
“I’m just kidding. I’ve let her in on our plans and she wants in. She has a lot of the same aims we have; especially as they relate to the Prom. She even wants Brett to continue to co-chair the Prom Committee with her and for you to be on it when you can make meetings.”
“You really are amazing!” he smiled.
“Thanks. But honey?”
“Yeah, baby?”
“I’m not ‘Sandra’. Please don’t call me that,” she said plaintively.
“OK, Sandy,” he said, as he leaned in and kissed her, causing her to smile brightly.
“We’re home!” said Tom and he and Carrie bounded into the Nilsen home followed by a more subdued Brett and Suzanne.
“Shhhhhhh….” quieted Ilsa. “Someone’s sleeping.”
“What?” asked Brett.
“Follow me,” said Ilsa, as she and Sven led the kids up the stairs to the spare room. When Suzanne walked into the room, her eyes grew wide and in seconds she was in tears. In the corner of the room, she saw Sadie lying in a big crate, with a large doggie bed inside. She was sound asleep.
“But Mrs. Endicott said…” started Brett, as he too was filled with emotion.
“They did take Sadie early, because I asked them too. She really was suffering and I wanted her to have the operation sooner,” said Ilsa.
“Why didn’t you tell us?” asked Suzanne, as she melted into Brett’s arms.
Sven smiled. “Because there was a real chance that Sadie might not have survived the operation. What good what it have done to have told you if that happened? We all agreed that it would be better not to tell you just in case she didn’t make it.”
“We figured that you would forgive us since she did,” smiled Ilsa.
Then Brett looked at his Mom. He knew what a sacrifice she was making and was worried about her well being. “Mom… are you sure that OK with this.”
“No,” she laughed, as a tear ran down her cheek. Sven wiped it away. She continued, “But Irma told me that Sadie was a ‘peach of a dog’. I also know that this time it will be different.”
“It will be Mrs. Nilsen. This time you have me,” said Suzanne, as she ran to her boyfriend’s mother’s arms and hugged her tightly.
Derek wanted to take his time and enjoy what was happening, but knew that Sandy’s parents would be home soon. He looked around Sandy’s bedroom and saw his four beautiful women. Maya was riding him, her eyes glowing with submissive love. Sandy and Chantelle were kissing. Mindy’s head was between Chantelle’s legs eating her to climax. He had already made love to Mindy without a condom for the first time (she had been on the pill for more than a week) and he was now completing his second sex act of the week with Maya.
He felt Maya beginning to cum, but knew he had to hold out a little longer. Once he saw that Chantelle had recovered from her Mindy induced orgasm, he rolled Maya over so he was on top and began to pound into her with abandon. When he felt himself begin to cum, he cried out. As the first of his seed jetted into the lovely Hispanic woman beneath him, he quickly he pulled out and Maya’s pussy was replaced by Chantelle’s mouth. She swallowed his seed and proceeded to blow him for another minute until his cock fell limply out of her mouth. Meanwhile, Derek had found Maya’s lips and they deeply frenched while Mindy and Sandy languidly made out.
When they heard Sandy’s parents pull into the driveway they all quickly got dressed, freshened up and went downstairs to greet them.