Class is Now in Session
Dates
I got a letter the next day that almost made me cry. It was a big, handmade card that read, "Please come back soon, Ms. Ericson! We miss you!" in big black letters. It was signed by all ten kids in my class.
"Aw, look at that, you have some fans," Mike said, reading the card over my shoulder.
"Speaking of fans, did you ever read that letter from the girl Cynthia in my class?" I asked. I had completely forgotten about the letter.
"Yeah, actually, I did read it," he replied. "It was pretty nice."
"Oh yeah, what'd it say?"
"It said that I was really cool, and that I kicked ass on bass," he told me with a laugh. "Then it said something about giving her private lessons, I think."
I laughed. "Wow, she must really like you."
"I guess, don't know why, though. There are better looking people than me to chase after," he said, shrugging his shoulders.
"That may be, but you're a pretty good catch all the same," I told him, giving him a kiss on the cheek.
"You're too kind," he laughed, putting his arm around my shoulder and walking into the living room so I could display my card.
Another day or two passed. St. Luke's had been closed after what had happened, and they wouldn't reopen until they got a new principal and all the legal issues were sorted out. That was fine with me. I guess that the kids had gotten together and made the card on their own time since they weren't in school. That just made the card even nicer than it already was.
I got a call the next day from my lawyer, Mr. McNeil. He asked if we could have coffee together. I was speechless when he asked. It was so out of the blue, I didn't know what to say at first. After a second, I agreed. It'd been a while since anyone had asked me out, whether it was on a date or not. I hung up the phone feeling a little weird. I sat down at the kitchen table and let my mind go over what had just happened.
"Who was on the phone?" Tre' asked as he walked into the kitchen. He went over to the fridge and stuck his head inside, looking for something to eat.
"My lawyer, Mr. McNeil," I told him. "He asked me out for coffee for tomorrow."
"He WHAT?!" Tre' exclaimed, almost dropping the cookie he was holding.
"I know! I'm as amazed as you are!" I replied.
"Are you gonna go?" he asked.
"I said I would, but I wonder if it was the right idea," I replied, resting my head on my hands. Tre' walked over and took a seat next to me. He put his hand on my shoulder and gave me a concerned look.
"You wanna know what I think?" he asked. It looked like he was having some trouble talking.
"What?" I replied.
"I think you should go out and have some fun, just be careful and don't end up getting pregnant," he said, trying to hold back a smile that was pulling at the corners of his mouth.
"Thanks, I'll try not to get knocked up," I laughed.
"That a girl," Tre' said, taking a bite out of his cookie and walking out of the room.
"Carrie, hurry up, you're gonna be late!" Billie called up the stairs the next day.
"I know, I know, I'm comin', I'm comin'!" I yelled back, rushing down the stairs. I stopped in front of the guys and held out my arms, showing off the outfit I had picked out. I was wearing a casual black dress that showed off my curves, but wasn't too slutty.
"Well, what do you think?" I asked, doing a 360 turn for them.
"You look great, but that won't matter if you don't get your ass movin'!" Mike said, walking behind me and giving me a push toward the door.
"All right, all right! I'm goin'!" I said, grabbing my keys out of the bowl by the door. I gave each of the guys a hug and then ran out the door, hoping that I wasn't going to be too late.
I arrived at the little outdoor café' with exactly two minutes to spare. I saw Mr. McNeil sitting at a small round table, reading through that day's paper. I hoped he hadn't been waiting long for me. I walked right over and said, "Hey," in my nicest voice. I was trying to hide my nervousness.
"Hey! Glad you could make it," he said, looking up and stowing his paper away. "Please, have a seat."
"Thanks," I said, pulling out the chair opposite his and sitting down. "Have you been waiting long?"
"Actually, I just got here," he said, giving me a smile.
Oh, okay, good, I thought I was late," I said, letting out a relieved breath of air. He laughed a little then just stared at me for a second.
"What?" I asked.
"Nothing. You just...look really nice," he replied, shaking off my question.
"Oh, thanks," I said, nervously sticking a piece of hair behind my ear.
"So, what do you say we get some caffeine flowing, huh?" he said, making a joke. I gave him a small laugh. I'd heard better, but it was a good try.
After our coffees came, Tim (yes, he asked me to call him Tim) and I just talked a little bit. He was a pretty nice guy. He liked a lot of the bands that I did and he knew a fair amount of useless music trivia. "This guy really isn't so bad," I thought to myself. Maybe we could be friends?
After we'd spent another half hour just chatting away about nothing in particular. I have to admit, I was having a pretty nice time. I was almost a little sad when we said good-bye to each other...almost.
"I had a really nice time today, Tim," I said, giving him a friendly hug.
"I had a nice time, too," he replied. "If I asked you to do it again, would you say yes?"
"I think so," I said, flashing him a smile and nodding my head.
"Great! Then we'll definitely have to do it again soon," he replied. "How about I call you when I have some spare time to spend with you?"
"Sounds like a plan," I said, turning to walk to my car that was parked down the block.
As I walked, I went over the good time I'd just had. I was smiling to myself. Tim was just a really nice guy.
When I walked in my front door, I was greeted by loud barks and the sounds of fingernails clicking on the hard wood floors. Mugsy came bounding down the hallway and stopped right at my feet. He reared up on his hind legs and placed his front legs on my own so that I could pet him. He was making really loud snorting sounds since his nose was pushed in and he was breathing heavily. I always thought that that was quite funny.
"Hey buddy, did you have fun with the guys?" I asked, petting him on the head. He gave a happy bark in response.
"I'll take that as a yes," I laughed, walking towards the stairs so that I could get changed into some pants. Mugsy trotted along behind me.
I ran into Tre' halfway down the upstairs hallway. He was shirtless and had a towel wrapped around his head.
"Hey, ya just get out of the shower?" I asked, looking at his wrapped up hair.
"Yup. I should be good for another couple of days now," he said. He gave me a kiss on the cheek. "How was your date? Did you take my advice and not get knocked up?"
"No, I avoided getting pregnant, don't worry. But the whole time itself wasn't too bad. I actually had a pretty good time," I said. "And it wasn't a date. It was just afternoon coffee."
"Call it what you want, I call it a date," he said walking into one of the spare bedrooms and closing the door behind him.
I walked into my own bedroom and started going through my drawers, looking for a comfortable pair of pants to slip on. I finally found what I was looking for in my bottom drawer. While I pulled it out, a small piece of paper fell on the floor after it. I threw the pants on my bed and picked up the paper. Only it wasn't a piece of paper, it was a picture. An old picture, at that. I checked the date on the back. 1992. It was a picture of me, back when I was just a teenager, only 13. I was standing with an 18 year old Billie, Mike, and Tre'. It looked like we were in somebody's basement. I remember I used to hang out with them when I first got into music. I would sneak out and go to all the party's the guys were playing at for friends.
I just stared at the picture for a while. Billie still had his long dread locks, Mike had Jesus Christ hair, and Tre's hair was tinted green. My own hair was still dark brown, but I had put red streaks in it. We all looked so happy.
"Whatcha looking' at?"
I looked up and saw Billie standing in the door with a bottle of root beer in his hand. I stood up and showed him the picture.
"Oh my God, I forgot my hair used to look like that," he said, examining the photo. "And I forgot that you used to put different colored streaks in yours. I remember you had a different color every other week."
"What can I say? I was very indecisive at 13," I laughed, taking the picture and setting it on my bedside table. I thought about maybe framing it later.
"Well, I'm gonna go see what Mike and Tre' are doing," Billie said, turning on his heels and walking out the door. "You want the door open or shut?"
"Shut, please. I have to get changed," I told him unfolding my pants.
"Thanks for warning me. Who would want to see that?" he teased. I threw a pillow at him and but he blocked it with his free hand. He closed the door and I heard him walk across the hall to Tre's room.
Tim called me the next day, asking if we could go out and get some lunch together in about an hour. I agreed and quickly ran upstairs to pick something out. I picked out a nice red and black striped shirt and a pair of black dress pants. I rummaged through the bottom of my closet in search of a pair of nice boots. I found what I was looking for and tossed them on top of my bed.
After getting dressed, doing my hair, and then doing my make-up, I had about a half hour before I had to leave. I decided to kill some time by going through some drawers to see if I had a small frame for the old photo I'd found the day before. I found what I was looking for and quickly ran upstairs so I could put the photo in. I did so and displayed it on top of my TV in the living room. I took a step back to see how it looked with the rest of my stuff. It looked good. It really pulled the room together. I looked at the clock on my VCR. I had to leave! I grabbed my jacket, my keys, and my purse and ran for the door.
"Guys! I'm going out to lunch with Tim. I'll be back in a bit!" I yelled from the door.
"Got'cha, Carrie! Have fun!" I heard Mike yell from the kitchen.
The lunch went even better than the coffee. Tim and I were starting to talk more with each other and we felt a tad bit more comfortable cracking a joke here and there.
The lunch ended about an hour and a half after it started. We were both having such a good time. We really had a lot in common. And this time, when it was over, I was a little sad.
Tim and I went out to dinner a few more times over the next couple days. It seemed like we were having an even better time each time we got together. We made jokes about each other and I felt more comfortable talking to him about things.
Our actual relationship was getting somewhat serious, too. Tim would hold my hand when we walked down the street together and he even gave me a small kiss on our last date. I felt so happy when I was around him.
Tre', on the other hand, seemed to get a little more annoyed every time I went out with Tim or even just said his name. I couldn't figure out why. He seemed happy for me the first couple times, but now he just gave me a weird look every time I went out with Tim. I decided to confront him about it.
I found Tre' sitting in the living room, with his feet up on the couch, just relaxing. I walked over and gently pushed his legs over so I could sit down.
"Tre', can I ask you something?" I asked cautiously. I didn't want to piss him off or anything.
"Shoot," he replied.
"Do you have a problem with me seeing Tim?" I asked, still taking cautious steps, so to speak.
"No, I have no problem with you seeing him. It's the dating that's annoying," he replied, lifting his head up to look at me.
"And why is dating him a problem to you?" I asked.
"Well, I just don't get to see you as much anymore. You're always out somewhere with Tim," he said.
"Is that really how you feel?" I asked.
"Yeah, it is," Tre' replied, putting his hands behind his head.
"Then how about a set aside a night just for you and me?"
"That'd be cool."
"Good. Then how about we go out to eat tomorrow night and then maybe go back to Mosh and see who's playing?"
"Sounds like fun," he said, sitting up to give me a kiss on the temple.
Tre' and I had a great time on our night out. We went out to dinner and I barely had time to eat, I was laughing so hard. Tre' had to be the funniest person I know. He'd always been able to make me laugh, whether it was hanging a spoon off his nose or pretending to get drunk and start hanging all over random strangers.
After dinner, we headed over to Mosh. Inner Rage was playing again and this time I actually bought their CD. Tre' had a good time talking with the band's drummer. And I was even happier that he didn't get drunk for real this time.
When the night was over, I was a little disappointed.
"Tre', I think that, from now on, Fridays should be "Carrie and Tre' Night," I told him after we'd gotten home.
"It's a date, then. Fridays at 8 o'clock," he said, giving me a hug and a small kiss on the cheek. "I had a great time, Carrie."
"Gee, Mugsy," I said as I got ready for bed," I may be a little disappointed when my dates with Tim are over, but I'm gonna be just plain old sad when Carrie and Tre' Nights are over."
Mugsy just gave me an intent look like he knew something I didn't...something that he wanted to tell me...
"Aw, look at that, you have some fans," Mike said, reading the card over my shoulder.
"Speaking of fans, did you ever read that letter from the girl Cynthia in my class?" I asked. I had completely forgotten about the letter.
"Yeah, actually, I did read it," he replied. "It was pretty nice."
"Oh yeah, what'd it say?"
"It said that I was really cool, and that I kicked ass on bass," he told me with a laugh. "Then it said something about giving her private lessons, I think."
I laughed. "Wow, she must really like you."
"I guess, don't know why, though. There are better looking people than me to chase after," he said, shrugging his shoulders.
"That may be, but you're a pretty good catch all the same," I told him, giving him a kiss on the cheek.
"You're too kind," he laughed, putting his arm around my shoulder and walking into the living room so I could display my card.
Another day or two passed. St. Luke's had been closed after what had happened, and they wouldn't reopen until they got a new principal and all the legal issues were sorted out. That was fine with me. I guess that the kids had gotten together and made the card on their own time since they weren't in school. That just made the card even nicer than it already was.
I got a call the next day from my lawyer, Mr. McNeil. He asked if we could have coffee together. I was speechless when he asked. It was so out of the blue, I didn't know what to say at first. After a second, I agreed. It'd been a while since anyone had asked me out, whether it was on a date or not. I hung up the phone feeling a little weird. I sat down at the kitchen table and let my mind go over what had just happened.
"Who was on the phone?" Tre' asked as he walked into the kitchen. He went over to the fridge and stuck his head inside, looking for something to eat.
"My lawyer, Mr. McNeil," I told him. "He asked me out for coffee for tomorrow."
"He WHAT?!" Tre' exclaimed, almost dropping the cookie he was holding.
"I know! I'm as amazed as you are!" I replied.
"Are you gonna go?" he asked.
"I said I would, but I wonder if it was the right idea," I replied, resting my head on my hands. Tre' walked over and took a seat next to me. He put his hand on my shoulder and gave me a concerned look.
"You wanna know what I think?" he asked. It looked like he was having some trouble talking.
"What?" I replied.
"I think you should go out and have some fun, just be careful and don't end up getting pregnant," he said, trying to hold back a smile that was pulling at the corners of his mouth.
"Thanks, I'll try not to get knocked up," I laughed.
"That a girl," Tre' said, taking a bite out of his cookie and walking out of the room.
"Carrie, hurry up, you're gonna be late!" Billie called up the stairs the next day.
"I know, I know, I'm comin', I'm comin'!" I yelled back, rushing down the stairs. I stopped in front of the guys and held out my arms, showing off the outfit I had picked out. I was wearing a casual black dress that showed off my curves, but wasn't too slutty.
"Well, what do you think?" I asked, doing a 360 turn for them.
"You look great, but that won't matter if you don't get your ass movin'!" Mike said, walking behind me and giving me a push toward the door.
"All right, all right! I'm goin'!" I said, grabbing my keys out of the bowl by the door. I gave each of the guys a hug and then ran out the door, hoping that I wasn't going to be too late.
I arrived at the little outdoor café' with exactly two minutes to spare. I saw Mr. McNeil sitting at a small round table, reading through that day's paper. I hoped he hadn't been waiting long for me. I walked right over and said, "Hey," in my nicest voice. I was trying to hide my nervousness.
"Hey! Glad you could make it," he said, looking up and stowing his paper away. "Please, have a seat."
"Thanks," I said, pulling out the chair opposite his and sitting down. "Have you been waiting long?"
"Actually, I just got here," he said, giving me a smile.
Oh, okay, good, I thought I was late," I said, letting out a relieved breath of air. He laughed a little then just stared at me for a second.
"What?" I asked.
"Nothing. You just...look really nice," he replied, shaking off my question.
"Oh, thanks," I said, nervously sticking a piece of hair behind my ear.
"So, what do you say we get some caffeine flowing, huh?" he said, making a joke. I gave him a small laugh. I'd heard better, but it was a good try.
After our coffees came, Tim (yes, he asked me to call him Tim) and I just talked a little bit. He was a pretty nice guy. He liked a lot of the bands that I did and he knew a fair amount of useless music trivia. "This guy really isn't so bad," I thought to myself. Maybe we could be friends?
After we'd spent another half hour just chatting away about nothing in particular. I have to admit, I was having a pretty nice time. I was almost a little sad when we said good-bye to each other...almost.
"I had a really nice time today, Tim," I said, giving him a friendly hug.
"I had a nice time, too," he replied. "If I asked you to do it again, would you say yes?"
"I think so," I said, flashing him a smile and nodding my head.
"Great! Then we'll definitely have to do it again soon," he replied. "How about I call you when I have some spare time to spend with you?"
"Sounds like a plan," I said, turning to walk to my car that was parked down the block.
As I walked, I went over the good time I'd just had. I was smiling to myself. Tim was just a really nice guy.
When I walked in my front door, I was greeted by loud barks and the sounds of fingernails clicking on the hard wood floors. Mugsy came bounding down the hallway and stopped right at my feet. He reared up on his hind legs and placed his front legs on my own so that I could pet him. He was making really loud snorting sounds since his nose was pushed in and he was breathing heavily. I always thought that that was quite funny.
"Hey buddy, did you have fun with the guys?" I asked, petting him on the head. He gave a happy bark in response.
"I'll take that as a yes," I laughed, walking towards the stairs so that I could get changed into some pants. Mugsy trotted along behind me.
I ran into Tre' halfway down the upstairs hallway. He was shirtless and had a towel wrapped around his head.
"Hey, ya just get out of the shower?" I asked, looking at his wrapped up hair.
"Yup. I should be good for another couple of days now," he said. He gave me a kiss on the cheek. "How was your date? Did you take my advice and not get knocked up?"
"No, I avoided getting pregnant, don't worry. But the whole time itself wasn't too bad. I actually had a pretty good time," I said. "And it wasn't a date. It was just afternoon coffee."
"Call it what you want, I call it a date," he said walking into one of the spare bedrooms and closing the door behind him.
I walked into my own bedroom and started going through my drawers, looking for a comfortable pair of pants to slip on. I finally found what I was looking for in my bottom drawer. While I pulled it out, a small piece of paper fell on the floor after it. I threw the pants on my bed and picked up the paper. Only it wasn't a piece of paper, it was a picture. An old picture, at that. I checked the date on the back. 1992. It was a picture of me, back when I was just a teenager, only 13. I was standing with an 18 year old Billie, Mike, and Tre'. It looked like we were in somebody's basement. I remember I used to hang out with them when I first got into music. I would sneak out and go to all the party's the guys were playing at for friends.
I just stared at the picture for a while. Billie still had his long dread locks, Mike had Jesus Christ hair, and Tre's hair was tinted green. My own hair was still dark brown, but I had put red streaks in it. We all looked so happy.
"Whatcha looking' at?"
I looked up and saw Billie standing in the door with a bottle of root beer in his hand. I stood up and showed him the picture.
"Oh my God, I forgot my hair used to look like that," he said, examining the photo. "And I forgot that you used to put different colored streaks in yours. I remember you had a different color every other week."
"What can I say? I was very indecisive at 13," I laughed, taking the picture and setting it on my bedside table. I thought about maybe framing it later.
"Well, I'm gonna go see what Mike and Tre' are doing," Billie said, turning on his heels and walking out the door. "You want the door open or shut?"
"Shut, please. I have to get changed," I told him unfolding my pants.
"Thanks for warning me. Who would want to see that?" he teased. I threw a pillow at him and but he blocked it with his free hand. He closed the door and I heard him walk across the hall to Tre's room.
Tim called me the next day, asking if we could go out and get some lunch together in about an hour. I agreed and quickly ran upstairs to pick something out. I picked out a nice red and black striped shirt and a pair of black dress pants. I rummaged through the bottom of my closet in search of a pair of nice boots. I found what I was looking for and tossed them on top of my bed.
After getting dressed, doing my hair, and then doing my make-up, I had about a half hour before I had to leave. I decided to kill some time by going through some drawers to see if I had a small frame for the old photo I'd found the day before. I found what I was looking for and quickly ran upstairs so I could put the photo in. I did so and displayed it on top of my TV in the living room. I took a step back to see how it looked with the rest of my stuff. It looked good. It really pulled the room together. I looked at the clock on my VCR. I had to leave! I grabbed my jacket, my keys, and my purse and ran for the door.
"Guys! I'm going out to lunch with Tim. I'll be back in a bit!" I yelled from the door.
"Got'cha, Carrie! Have fun!" I heard Mike yell from the kitchen.
The lunch went even better than the coffee. Tim and I were starting to talk more with each other and we felt a tad bit more comfortable cracking a joke here and there.
The lunch ended about an hour and a half after it started. We were both having such a good time. We really had a lot in common. And this time, when it was over, I was a little sad.
Tim and I went out to dinner a few more times over the next couple days. It seemed like we were having an even better time each time we got together. We made jokes about each other and I felt more comfortable talking to him about things.
Our actual relationship was getting somewhat serious, too. Tim would hold my hand when we walked down the street together and he even gave me a small kiss on our last date. I felt so happy when I was around him.
Tre', on the other hand, seemed to get a little more annoyed every time I went out with Tim or even just said his name. I couldn't figure out why. He seemed happy for me the first couple times, but now he just gave me a weird look every time I went out with Tim. I decided to confront him about it.
I found Tre' sitting in the living room, with his feet up on the couch, just relaxing. I walked over and gently pushed his legs over so I could sit down.
"Tre', can I ask you something?" I asked cautiously. I didn't want to piss him off or anything.
"Shoot," he replied.
"Do you have a problem with me seeing Tim?" I asked, still taking cautious steps, so to speak.
"No, I have no problem with you seeing him. It's the dating that's annoying," he replied, lifting his head up to look at me.
"And why is dating him a problem to you?" I asked.
"Well, I just don't get to see you as much anymore. You're always out somewhere with Tim," he said.
"Is that really how you feel?" I asked.
"Yeah, it is," Tre' replied, putting his hands behind his head.
"Then how about a set aside a night just for you and me?"
"That'd be cool."
"Good. Then how about we go out to eat tomorrow night and then maybe go back to Mosh and see who's playing?"
"Sounds like fun," he said, sitting up to give me a kiss on the temple.
Tre' and I had a great time on our night out. We went out to dinner and I barely had time to eat, I was laughing so hard. Tre' had to be the funniest person I know. He'd always been able to make me laugh, whether it was hanging a spoon off his nose or pretending to get drunk and start hanging all over random strangers.
After dinner, we headed over to Mosh. Inner Rage was playing again and this time I actually bought their CD. Tre' had a good time talking with the band's drummer. And I was even happier that he didn't get drunk for real this time.
When the night was over, I was a little disappointed.
"Tre', I think that, from now on, Fridays should be "Carrie and Tre' Night," I told him after we'd gotten home.
"It's a date, then. Fridays at 8 o'clock," he said, giving me a hug and a small kiss on the cheek. "I had a great time, Carrie."
"Gee, Mugsy," I said as I got ready for bed," I may be a little disappointed when my dates with Tim are over, but I'm gonna be just plain old sad when Carrie and Tre' Nights are over."
Mugsy just gave me an intent look like he knew something I didn't...something that he wanted to tell me...