The Consequences and Rewards of Playing Hookey
Chapter 6
“New” School: Day 3 – The Experiment
“Hey guys!” chirped Sandy Turner as Brett and Tom Nilsen got into the car.
“Hey Sandy,” the twins responded happily.
“I have your assignments that we talked about,” she grinned.
“But guys, don’t just look at them as assignments. Aside from them helping you and you helping them, you both really have a chance to be as happy as I am,” said Derek.
“True Dat,” said Sandy. “Now where was I before I was so rudely interrupted,” she grinned, as Derek stuck his tongue out at her. “Tom, your assignment is Carrie Osterling. Brett, yours is Suzanne Rowan.
Both twins kind of cringed. While both freshmen were beautiful girls, they both had reputations that were not pleasant.
“But Sandy, Suzanne’s such a bitch,” complained Brett.
“I know. If you can guess, I know a thing or two about bitches,” she laughed.
“You’re not a bitch!” exclaimed Tom.
Sandy was touched at Tom’s defense of her, even against her own words. She felt a tear come to her eye, but stifled it. “Thank you, Tom. You’re such a sweet guy. You too, Brett. That’s why I’m sure I’m doing the right thing. These girls have problems but they have a lot of potential too. Suzanne can be bitchy, but do you know that she volunteers time at an animal shelter?”
“We have a Golden Retriever. I love dogs,” admitted Brett.
“I know. Derek told me. That’s one of the reasons why I picked you for Suzanne.”
“Sandy, Carrie scares me,” said Tom.
“Tom, sweetie, that’s why I picked her for you. You’re painfully shy and she’s the perfect girl to break you out of your shell.”
“And bro, even you are going to get laid if you’re with her,” laughed Brett.
“Yeah, eventually there is a good chance that might happen. The girl has a bit of a reputation,” she understated.
“But...” stammered Tom.
“Don’t worry, Tom. If she gives you any trouble, I’ll take care of it. Both girls have their orders and they know they are being scrutinized.”
Derek had been pretty silent up until then. He chimed in after he pulled into the student lot, into a nearby parking space, before putting the car in park. “Guys, listen to Sandy. I knew that there was a sweet girl inside of her. I knew it because we were childhood friends…”
“And he helped bring it out of me,” she grinned.
“Now who’s interrupting?” he laughed,
“I’m not interrupting. I’m just finishing your sentence,” she smiled, as he leaned in and gave her a short, but sweet kiss.
After the kiss was broken, Brett looked at Sandy. “And you think that Suzanne’s like you?”
“I’m not sure why she turned out the way she did, but I think so. Something in life teaches us to be angry when we’re hurt. If that anger isn’t dealt with it can become resentment. I know, firsthand, how the human heart can be twisted.”
“And Carrie?” asked Tom.
“Carrie needs to learn the difference between sex and love. I also sense a chip on her shoulder too,” admitted Sandy, as she unbuckled her seat belt. “Anyway guys, the girls think this is about fixing you into someone they can go to our Prom with. They want to dress you up and teach you some social graces.”
“What should we do?” asked Tom.
“Let them. As they teach you, they’ll be learning themselves. They’ll discover what I already know about you. You are great guys. Most of all, they’ll become better people and can help us to change the tone at this school.” said Sandy.
“What is that bitch up to?” thought Jon Sizemore, as he watched Sandra Turner with a couple of freshman girls and the dweeby Nilsen twins. He had nailed one of the bitches Sandra was with a couple of weeks ago, when he was drunk. He wanted to nail the other, but she shot him down. He continued to eat.
Jon was pissed that the baseball team was doing crappy. They had their first scrimmage against cross-town rival, Harding High and they got pulverized. Ryan Costello, the sophomore playing shortstop, had two hits and scored a run. He also made seven errors, including three in one inning that saw their rivals score eight runs. The only other kid on the team that could play shortstop somewhat decently was their star pitcher, who preferred playing first base on days when he wasn’t pitching. As one of the other pitchers played first, it made sense for them to alternate. While there was a kid playing JV who was OK, his coach didn’t think he was ready to play Varsity. This left Costello and his iffy fielding anchoring their infield.
Joe could tell that his coach was pissed at him for forcing him to cut Derek Carson. The kid wasn’t much of a hitter, but even Jon had to admit that he was a good fielder. Jon would have traded Ryan’s one run for the many runs that he helped to give up. He knew his coach felt that way too, only stronger. “Fuck! Even when he’s not on the team, Derek Carson’s still pissing me off,” he thought. In the end, he knew what it would come down to. Which did Jon hate the most; losing or Derek Carson?
Derek smiled as he left his final class. He saw his friend Kyle, walking with a meaty, but cute brunette. Derek could tell that the girl was doing most of the talking, as it sounded like she was talking about nutrition and exercise schedules. He knew Kyle was scared out of his mind, but as Derek waved to the couple, he sensed that his friend seemed happy.
“Looking at our handiwork?” smiled Sandy.
“They’re not going to be mean to the guys?”
“Tara and Carrie will be nice. Suzanne may prove to be tricky, but I sense Brett is up to the challenge. Devin will have his hands full with Rachel Connors, but he seems cocky enough to be able to handle her.”
“I’m kind of worried about Devin. He talks a good game, but my guess is she’ll eat him up,” said Derek.
“Oh ye of little faith,” she laughed. “I’ll have you know that Rachel is a mirror of Devin. Underneath it all, she’s a scared little girl. I think they’ll discover that about each other pretty quick in the process.”
“What about Rogesh?”
“Rana is perfect for him. While they both are not traditional, she comes from a fairly traditional Indian family. They almost didn’t let her join the squad. Anyway, as Rogesh is Indian and Islamic too, they shouldn’t have any problems. According to Rana, her parents were actually plotting to get them together. She wasn’t thrilled to be his assignment, but I reminded her that Rogesh was a gentleman and would not force her to do anything. Of course ‘Sandra’ made it clear that she didn’t have a choice,” she laughed.
“You know, Connie made a subtle move,” he said, changing the subject.
“What did she do?” she arched her eyebrow in a familiar way.
“She asked me to co-chair the committee with her.”
“Of course she did, the little viper,” grinned Sandy. “That of course means extra meetings together. Private meetings…”
“Don’t worry.”
“I’m not. In fact if you want to fuck her, be my guest. Just make sure you leave the rest of us what we need and don’t fall for her. You’re mine!”
Derek took Sandy in his arms. “She’s cute, but she’s not as hot as you are. Why would I chance losing the most beautiful and loving girl in the school?”
“We both know that can’t happen.”
“It might in September,” stated Derek.
Sandy clasped Derek’s head and looked into his eyes with her dazzling blue ones. “Derek, this is not about September. Now I am me again, I won’t want to go back to my old life!”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because I have you and will still want you. I will be able to choose for myself in September and I will choose you. I’ll always choose you!” she brought her mouth to his to punctuate her comments.
“Hey guys,” said Tom Nilsen, as he and Carrie Osterling went up to them, as Sandy had broken the kiss.
“Hey Tom, How’s Carrie here, treating you?” asked Sandy, seeing the younger girl’s head bowed.
“She’s really nice!” said Tom.
“I’m not so nice,” muttered Carrie under her breath.
Derek noticed his friends smile but also saw the expression on the girls lowered face. At first he thought it seemed that she was embarrassed at being with Tom, but with his girlfriend being nice to Tom and his other friends, he had noticed that people had stopped looking down on them as much. With Sandy in full “Sandra mode” with the JV Cheerleaders, he doubted that Carrie, who was only a freshman, would have that kind of attitude about Tom. He sensed something was wrong.
“Hey Tom, can I have a quick word?” asked Derek.
“Sure,” he said, as the boys walked into a nearby, empty classroom.
“Isn’t Carrie amazing! She’s so pretty and she has been nothing but sweet to me all day…”exclaimed Tom.
“Tom, I think something is bothering her.”
“No. She just told me that she was feeling tired.”
“No, buddy, I’m good about noticing these things and something is definitely bothering her.”
“You know, I guess I’ve been so caught up in being with her that I didn’t notice. What should I do?”
“Tom, you’re a sensitive guy. You know what to do. Just be yourself.”
“OK,” he said, sounding not quite as happy as he had been, as they walked back to the girls.
“You better make sure that you’re good, to him!” snapped “Sandra”, as Carrie’s head continued to be bowed in the same fashion as before the boys left.
“Hey baby, let’s let these two be together,” said Derek as he and Tom walked back. “Carrie, after practice, we’ll take you home.”
“OK,” she said blankly, as she and Tom wandered off toward the girl’s locker room, so she could change into her Cheerleading outfit.
“So, I’ve got ten minutes. Do you want a blow job?” asked Carrie.
“Ummm… I…. Look, Carrie… I… I’d love to get one from you… but…”
“But what?”
I’m… worried about you.”
“Why would you be worried about me?”
“You’re acting like you’re sleepwalking.”
“So? Look, Tom. You seem like a nice guy. A decent guy. The only reason a guy like you would want to be around a slut like me is to get fucked…”
But Carrie…”
“Hear me out, OK? I’m sure that’s why Sandra picked me for her little experiment. She wants me to fuck you. She knows I’m good at it. I certainly have had a lot of experience, as I’ve been doing it for a long time.”
Tom Nilsen was a quiet guy. He was a shy guy. But most importantly, he was a sweet and loyal guy. His loyalty always emboldened him and now was no exception. “Stop!” he yelled, before getting quiet. “First of all, you’re not a slut. You’re a nice girl that I want to be friends with.”
Carrie Osterling was a troubled young girl. Most people thought this, but nobody understood the depth of her trouble and what that trouble was. She was a really good lay. She was proud of her ability. It gave herself a sense of confidence and an identity. The problem was she hated sex. She hated men. She hated herself. Now she was confused. “What?” she asked quizzically.
“I want to be your friend.”
“Nobody just wants ‘to be my friend’. They want me to be their friend who will fuck them.”
Tom thought. He could strongly sense now what Derek had told him. Now he had to impress her with his sincerity. “I don’t want to fuck you.”
“What’s the matter with me?! I’m not pretty enough? I’m too slutty? My tits aren’t big enough? I’m not good enough for you? Why don’t you want to fuck?!” she spat.
Then Tom did something that surprised himself and definitely surprised Carrie. He started to cry.
“I want to be you friend!!!! I don’t want to fuck you!!!!” he shrieked.
Carrie was blown away. She was speechless.
“I think you’re beautiful, I think you can be sweet! I think your breasts are perfect and I want to be your friend!”
“Why?” she asked again, as a tear ran down her cheek.
“Because I really like you,” said Tom.
“Nobody really likes me… not even me.”
“I do. I don’t know who made you like this, but I could kill them!” he exclaimed.
“What do you mean?”
“You’re fourteen or fifteen years old…”
“Actually sixteen, my family moved around a lot when I was little and I lost a year of school,” she admitted.
“Either way… you have your whole life ahead of you. You can do anything or be anyone that you want to be. “
“Why would you say something like that?”
“Because something has happened to take away that thing that makes you feel special about yourself. I know I’m a big geek, but I’m proud of myself for who I am. You should be proud of who you are too.”
“But all I do is fuck around. I hate that, but that’s all I’m good for.”
“Who told you that?” asked Tom.
“I can’t say.”
Tom knew what all the signs were pointing to. He knew pushing her right now was not going to help. Instead he made a tactical retreat. “I don’t know who did this to you, but I need you to know something.”
“What?”
“I’m your friend. You can tell me anything. You can just hang out with me, if you don’t want to be somewhere. You can count on me, if you need me. You need to know that I like you for who you are and who I know you’ll be one day.”
“Really?” she asked in a small voice.
“With all my heart,” said Tom.
She quickly threw her arms around Tom and hugged him. Then she ran down the hall to the locker room. Tom knew they might have been overheard by someone, but luckily not by a teacher. While he felt good about her reaction to their interaction, he was really worried about her. He walked out to the field to watch Carrie cheer.
“So what’s eating Carrie?” asked Derek.
“Someone has been hurting her. Someone close to her,” said Tom, without his trademark smile.
“Sexually?”
“I’d bet on it.”
“Do you want to tell a teacher?”
“Not yet. Not until she’s ready to admit it or until I see some evidence.”
“Wanna add her to the car pool?”
“I was hoping you’d offer,” smiled Tom.
After Carrie, Tom and Brett had been dropped off; Derek told Sandy what he had learned about Carrie from Tom. “Shit! I was pretty mean to her,” groaned Sandy.
“You didn’t know,” said Derek, as he rubbed her shoulder.
“I should have realized. She has all the classic signs.”
“Well, were going to make a point of interjecting ourselves into her life. As she doesn’t have a lot of friends, somebody in that house won’t be expecting us and will be getting a rude awakening.”
“On the brighter side “The Experiment”, as the JV squad has been calling it, is going pretty well.”
“Brett told me that Kyle and Tara are getting along OK,” smiled Derek.
“What about Rogesh and Rana?
“Rogesh had a Scholastic Team Meet, so they only really spent a few minutes together at lunch. Of course Brett really seems to have his hands full with Suzanne. He did manage to talk her into letting him help her at the animal shelter on Saturday.”
“I’m sure that will win him some points with her,” said Sandy. “How’s Devin making out with Rachel?”
“He’s not,” laughed Derek. “Actually, they seem to be proceeding cautiously. Devin thinks she’s hot and Rachel thinks he’s a goofball, so we’ll have to see how that one works,” grinned Derek.
“So, do you want to come in and see ‘the rents’?” she asked.
“I’ll be seeing them in a couple of days…”
“Ahem… in other words, do you want to spend some more time with me before you have to go home?”
“Well, if you put it that way,” he grinned, as he opened his car door.
“I can’t believe I have to hang out with you,” complained Rachel.
“Well, you ain’t any bargain, yourself sister,” smirked Devin.
Rachel laughed.
“What’s so funny?”
“What you said and the way you said it. It sounded like it came out of ‘Film Noir’.”
“What’s wrong with film noir,” he asked with a pout.
“Nothing. I love film noir,” she said.
“Me too! Sometimes I think I was born too late!”
“Really! So do I!” exclaimed Rachel.
For the next hour they enthusiastically discussed their favorite movies and actors, instead of doing homework, as they purported to be doing to her mother.
Finally, Devin looked at the clock. “I probably should be going. My folks expect me for dinner.”
“Do you have to go?” she pouted.
“You want me to stay?”
“Do Bogie one more time.”
“’Here’s looking at you, kid’,” he imitated.
“God! That makes me so hot!” she groaned, as she jump on top of him, knocking him to the bed. Soon their tongues were dueling and her hands were all over him.
“Hold on Rachel,” he said after breaking the kiss. He pulled out his cell. “Hey Mom.”
“Hi honey,” came his mother’s voice.
“I just wanted to oh…” he groaned, as Rachel was looking at him, while holding his hard cock in her hand.”
“Are you OK, baby?” asked his mother’s voice.
“I’m OK, uh… just stubbed my toe. I’m going to be having dinner with Rachel.”
“Oh, this is sounding serious,” his mother said mischievously.
“I guess.”
“Is she your girlfriend?”
“Are you my girlfriend?” he asked.
Rachel answered by nodding and continuing to stroke his cock. “It looks that way…” he moaned.
“Well you better have your new girlfriend take a look at your boo-boo. We wouldn’t want it to get swollen.”
“OK… bye Mom,” he said, disconnecting quickly, as he felt his eyeballs roll back in his head.
“Hi, is Carrie there?”
“Who’s this?” came a gruff voice on the other end of the phone line.
“This is her friend, Tom”
“I don’t know any ‘Tom’s.’”
“We go to school together. I’m her tutor,” he lied cleverly.
“She doesn’t need a tutor.”
“I’m sorry, but the school insisted. I need to tutor her or I’ll lose my credit and I’ll have to report you to the school for…”
“OK, easy kid. She’s kind of busy now, but I’ll have her call you in about five minutes or so.”
“OK, who is this ?”
“I’m her stepfather.”
“Should I be talking to you about this?”
“Yes, I’m her sole legal guardian.”
“Shit! “thought Tom. As he hung up the phone, he could have sworn that he heard a whimper in the background. He knew what was happening, but there was nothing that he could do about it. He raged inside, but he was completely helpless. The next ten minutes were the longest of his life. Finally, the phone rang.
“Hello, is Tom there?”
“Yes, Carrie?”
“Yes,” she said.
“Listen to me. I told your stepdad I was your tutor. What subjects do you need help with?”
“Algebra, American History, Biology…”
“I guess you really do need help. Look, I need you to meet me at the library right now.”
“I can’t. Daddy won’t let me.”
“Tell him you have a big History test and that you had forgotten about your tutoring session.”
“OK,” she said before putting down the receiver.
Tom heard some voices in the background. One of them yelled. “No.” He then waited for a moment and Carrie came back on the line. “Sorry Tom. He said no,” she said in a monotone.
Tom was angry. He was angrier than he had been in his life. His loyalty swallowed his meekness. “Carrie, put him on.”
“OK,” she whimpered, fearing for her friend and herself.
“Yeah, what do you want?” came the voice again.
“Sir, your stepdaughter stood me up for our tutoring session. She’s telling me that she cannot do it now.”
“It’s 7:30, it’s too late…”
“Sir, I don’t think you understand. Your daughter is doing poorly in several classes. She has an important exam tomorrow in History. If she flunks it, I will have no choice to report to her teacher that she failed to attend her tutoring session on the day before...”
“OK, kid… I’ll let her go. But she has to be back by 9:00,” he said by adding ominously, “She has other responsibilities at home.” As he disconnected, Tom knew he needed help. His father was an attorney, but was across the country consulting on a case. He knew that he would be in meetings for the next couple of hours. He didn’t want to tell his mother, as she would have told him not to get involved. Obviously he needed to tell Brett. Then there was still someone he needed to call.
“Hey, I’m just about to leave Sandy’s. What’s up?” asked Derek into his cell.
“It’s Carrie’s stepdad. I’m sure he’s molesting her,” said Tom’s voice.
“What do you need?”
“Meet us at the library!”
“I’ll be right there.”
“What’s wrong, Derek?” asked Maggie Turner.
“I have to go, but I have a hypothetical question to ask.
“Ask away,” said Paul Turner.
“What do you do when you know someone is being molested by a parent and that they would be raped upon their return?”
“You don’t let her return and you call the police,” said Paul emphatically
“Is a friend of yours in trouble?” asked Maggie.
“We think so,” answered Sandy.
“You need to be sure,” said Paul.
“I think we’ll find out tonight,” replied Derek.
“Please, don’t make me say it! You said you were my friend!” she cried.
“I am! What he’s doing is wrong!”
“He’s not doing anything!” cried Carrie,
“Then what are those bruises on your arm?” observed Brett.
“I got them at practice,” lied Carrie.
“Carrie, we were in the same car after practice. We saw you. Those bruises weren’t there,” said Tom
Carrie started to cry. Tom closed the distance to hug her and she melted into the embrace.
“Carrie. We know he’s hurting you and we’re going to stop him, he whispered into her ear.
“Please. He said he would kill me…” she whimpered.
“He won’t. Our Dad’s a lawyer. He’ll make sure he doesn’t touch you,” said Brett.
Sandy and Derek pulled into the library parking lot. He saw his friends and pulled into a parking space near them. “So do we know?” he said, as he and Sandy climbed out of the car.
Tom looked and Carrie and she nodded.
“Carrie, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know!” exclaimed Sandy, as she hugged the surprised girl.
“OK. We talked to Mr. and Mrs. Turner and they’re on board,” said Derek, “I’ll call my Mom too. Since she’s a Councilwoman, she has some pull.”
Then Derek saw something ominous. He saw a figure beckoning to him from the shadows. He realized who the figure was. “You guys wait here. I need to talk to that guy,” he said.
“Derek, let me go with you,” said Sandy, as she recognized the figure.
“No, babe,” you wait here, he said as he started toward the stranger.
“Hey Derek. Thanks for accepting my invitation,” grinned the stranger.
“Did I have any choice?”
“Not really, but I wanted to give you the illusion of choice,” he laughed.
“Thanks for that,” deadpanned Derek.
“Damn kid, you crack me up. I have to say if I was impressed with you the other day, I’m crazy about you right now.”
“Why?”
“You’re trying to change the world! Shit, this is what every nerd has wanted to do since the beginning of time and thanks to your brains and the tools I provided you with, you’re on your way to building the perfect school social hierarchy. Nerds and prom queens, geeks and athletes, will be able to walk the halls with a ‘hail fellow, well met’ attitude. It’s a thing of beauty to behold Derek and you are making it happen!”
“I’m glad you approve, but I’m kind of dealing with a crisis here,” explained Derek.
“That’s why I’m here kid,” said the man, as he clasped Derek’s head with his hands.
Derek felt dizzy for about a minute. “What was that you did to me?” he asked, trying to remain calm.
“I gave you a weapon to fight with. Son, as I told you before, you have an incredible power of empathy. I’ve since learned that it is even more powerful than I originally thought. I’ve given you the ability to channel and then focus your empathy.”
“What will that do?”
“You’ll be able to project emotions onto others. You already have been doing that subconsciously, as you’ve seen with your little harem. Now you have limited control over others and you’re going to need it,” he said.
“I’ll need it?” asked Derek.
“To resolve your crisis, you may need to master this new ability, sooner rather than later.”
“How do I use it?”
“I’ll leave you with just one word, Derek ‘concentrate’,” he said, as he wandered away.
“Derek are you OK?!” asked a concerned Sandy.
“I’m fine. We’ll talk about it later. We have to bring Carrie someplace safe.”
“How about my place? My folks said they would help,” offered Sandy.
“I agree, said Tom.
“No Tom… Please… I’m… so scared!” cried Carrie.
Derek saw how upset the girl was. He decided to try out his new ability. “’Concentrate’” he thought. He looked into Carrie’s eyes and concentrated on calm thoughts. He felt a pressure pushing back against him. He was getting a headache. Then the pressure gave way. A serene look came across Carrie’s face. Then she looked at Tom. “I was really scared, but I guess having you and the others here are making me feel better. OK, let’s go,” she said.
The group got into the car and drove to the Turner’s house.