Blind Squirrels (14 page)

The next day in PE, Aurora
wouldn’t leave me alone.  Her teacher allowed her to come over to the track and
talk to me.  Mrs. Ray didn’t seem to object to Aurora hanging around either.  I
was almost ready to hurt her feelings when she blurted out, “Why did you join
the club anyway?” 

I did not intend to share my
secrets with her.  “I wanted to be in a club, and Sam asked me.”

“Oh.  My reason is better.  Want
to hear it?”

Not particularly, I thought; but
I said, “I guess.”

“There’s this guy in the club,
and I’m in love with him.  I’m hoping I can get him to notice me.”

Now she had my attention. 
“Really?  Anyone I know?”  I was expecting Pete McDermott or Matt Bruin.  They
seemed her type.

I certainly wasn’t ready for her
answer.  “Max.  Max Savage.  Do you know him?”

“I know who he is.  Does he know
you?”

“Well, he might not remember, but
we met once a long time ago.  Now I just admire him from afar.  He is so cute. 
I just have to meet him again.  Do you think I have a chance?”

I wanted to scream, “No!!  He’s
mine; all mine!”  Instead, I said, “How should I know?  All you can do is try.”

“I’m going to give it my best
shot,” she continued.  “I already know so much about him and we’ll have lots to
talk about.  My mom went to school with his mom.”

My ears perked up.  I’d never
discovered why Max’s aunt lived with him, and I’d never seen his mom around at
all.  “Have you met his parents?” I asked nonchalantly.

“I met his dad briefly.  My mom
and I were at his mother’s funeral.  She died when I was ten, so I guess Max
was about thirteen.  He was so sad that day.  I’ve loved him ever since.”

At this news, I was overcome with
sadness myself.  “I’ve really got to go, Aurora.  I’ve got to run the track. 
Good luck with your romance.”  I practically knocked another girl down trying
to get away from Aurora, and I jogged around the track as fast as I could.  If
Mrs. Ray hadn’t blown her whistle to signify the end of class, I might have
been able to get a quarter of the way around before running out of breath.  I
guess I’ll never know.

That afternoon on the bus, I
began to see some usefulness in my new knowledge.  Aurora was so enthusiastic
about her love for Max and much more willing to admit it than I had been.  This
was my chance to divert attention from myself and focus it all on Aurora.  The
beauty of it was that Aurora wouldn’t even care.

Bons Copains had a meeting that
Thursday at Pete McDermott’s house.  Aurora was there, and she spent all of her
time around Max.  He didn’t even notice her until I pulled her over to Max and
introduced them.  I quietly slipped away as Aurora poured on all her charm. 
She still had Max cornered when I left.  I didn’t even care if he was mad at
me.

The next meeting was at Max’s
again.  This meeting was very important, and Mrs. Kalakos told the inductees
that they had to attend to become members.  Aurora was on pins and needles. 
She couldn’t wait to see Max’s house and meet his dad and his aunt.  It was all
she talked about. 

The meeting was starting at six;
in the past, it hadn’t started until seven.  After the meeting, everyone was
going over to Mama Mia’s Pizzeria to play some games and eat pizza.  Sam and I
had discussed the evening, and she was going to drive us to Mama Mia’s.  I
didn’t have to be home until eleven.

I walked to Max’s house, and
there was only one car in the drive.  The car belonged to Cherry Trinity’s
mother.  She was dropping her off at Max’s.  Cherry was my age.  She was tall
and thin, and she had long red hair.  I didn’t really know her, but she waited
in Max’s yard until I caught up to her.

Max met us at the door.  His dad
and aunt had left for the evening, and he offered us some refreshments.  He
asked me if I wanted a beer, and I said maybe later.  In the meantime, I took a
glass of ice water.

It was almost six o’clock, and
Aurora hadn’t gotten there yet.  I couldn’t imagine what was keeping her, but I
was glad she wasn’t there.  I wondered what would happen when she did arrive.

Sam came in the door with a big
smile on her face.  She was eager to get the evening started.  She pulled me
over to a corner and said, “Have you ever smoked pot before?”

My eyes got very big.  “No!  Of
course not.  Have you?”

“Just a little bit ago.  It’s
neat – I do it all the time.  I don’t have any more, but I’m gonna buy some
beer after we leave Max’s house tonight.  I’m gonna see if anyone else wants to
go with us.”

I just nodded at Sam.  I wasn’t
sure how I felt about her plans.

“Listen,” I said, changing the
subject, “Guess who has a big crush on Max?”

“You!  You told me that already!”

“I mean someone else...”

“Someone else has a crush on
Max?  Who?”

“Aurora Wells!  She is really
crazy about him.”

“Yuck!  I can’t stand that slimy
girl.  She looks like she never takes a bath.  I bet he’s thrilled.  Maybe
she’ll convince him that you aren’t the worst thing that could happen to
him...”

“Thanks a lot!”

“Sorry – I didn’t mean that the
way it sounded.  I just meant that you aren’t as bad as she is...”

“Stop with all the compliments. 
You’re beginning to embarrass me.”

Just then, the phone rang.  Max
answered it, and then he looked at me.  “It’s for you, Kat.”

I gave Max a puzzled look, but I
took the phone.  It was Aurora.

“Kat, you have to come pick me
up.  I don’t have a ride to the meeting, and I have to be there to become a
member.”

“Aurora, you know I’m not old
enough to drive.  Besides, I don’t know where you live.”

“I live in Lavender Park,
apartment 2010-C.  Isn’t there someone who can come?”

“I don’t know, let me ask
someone.”

“Kat, ask Max.  I’d love for him
to pick me up.  I know he has a car.”

“Okay – hold on a minute.”

I held the receiver against my
chest and turned towards Sam and Max just in time to hear Sam tell Max that
Aurora was in love with him.  The look on Max’s face told me everything I
needed to know – he didn’t want any part of her.  Now it was time for me to push
the envelope.

“Max,” I called out, “Aurora
doesn’t have a ride to the meeting.  She lives in Lavender Park and she wants
to know if you will pick her up.”

“Lavender Park?  No – tell her
no.  Tell her my car has a flat.  Tell her anything as long as it is no.”

I put the phone back to my ear. 
“Aurora, Max can’t pick you up.  He has to stay here because his dad’s not
here.  He can’t leave the rest of us in his house alone.”

“Isn’t there anyone else?  I
can’t miss this meeting.”

“Actually, there’s no one else
here that has a car.”  I was lying, but I knew Sam would never go pick her up. 
“I’ll keep asking when people come in, but I can’t promise.  Give me your
number so I can call you back for directions if I do find someone.”

Aurora called out her number.  I
jotted the number down even though I knew I wouldn’t be calling her back.  Out
of the whole club, I probably cared the most about her predicament, and I
didn’t care very much.  I felt a little sorry that she wouldn’t be making it
into our club, but not too bad.

I hung up the phone, and Max
walked over to me.  “Well, is she coming?”

“I don’t think so.  No one wants
to pick her up.  I don’t think too many people like her.  But she told me that
she really likes you, and she was certain that you felt the same.” 

I watched Max’s face intently.  I
was sure I would see his disgust, but what I saw was pity.  “I would go pick her
up if she didn’t live in Lavender Park, but that place is dangerous.  I’d
probably get my tires slashed – I might even get mugged.  It’s a shame that
Aurora has to live there.  And now she won’t be getting into the club either.”

“Wow, I guess you do like her.” 
I hoped this was just another rag on Max, but part of me feared I had guessed
the truth.

“Not in the way she seems to like
me.  But she seemed nice.  And her mother used to know my mother.  It would
have been nice to talk to someone about my mom.”  I suddenly felt very wicked
for this little game I’d come up with.  I’d played with Aurora’s feelings
without a thought, and I hadn’t taken into account that Max might not be as
repelled by Aurora as I wanted him to be.

After the meeting, Sam and I
headed out to her car, a tan-colored ‘68 Impala.  I started to get in the front
seat, and Sam said, “You might want to ride in the back.  Kyle Anders, Mike Barr,
and Cherry Trinity are riding with us.  I’ll get Cherry up front, and the boys
will be in the back with you.  Since you’ve given up on Max, you’ll have a
blast.”

I didn’t know I had given up on
Max, but it still sounded like fun.  I climbed into the backseat, and I was soon
sitting between Kyle and Mike.  As we backed out of the yard, I noticed Max
watching us from the living room window.  I wondered how he felt about our
seating arrangement.

Our first stop was a liquor
store.  Sam went inside.  I was nervous.  I was certain we were going to get
caught trying to buy beer.  A few minutes later, Sam came out with two
six-packs.  Cheers erupted from both sides of me as Sam passed each of us a
Miller High Life.  Mike opened mine for me, and then challenged me to a
chugging contest.  I turned my beer up and drank half of it in one swallow. 
Mike did the same.  We decided it was a draw.  I was getting used to the taste
of beer.

A little later, we stopped by Mama
Mia’s Pizzeria, but we didn’t stay long.  We couldn’t buy beer in there, and,
besides, there was plenty waiting for us in the car.  We each had two beers,
and then Sam pulled through a liquor store drive-up and bought another
six-pack.  After the third beer, Kyle said he had to go home.  He lived in a
neighborhood called Rosewood, and so did Mike.  We let Kyle out first, and he
staggered up to his front door.  Mike rode with his arm around me until we
reached his house.  He kissed me on the cheek, and it surprised me.  Then he
leaned in through Cherry’s window and kissed her, too.  I felt I would never
understand boys.

Miraculously, we made it home
safely that night.  I wasn’t the least bit scared when I entered our house, and
neither Mom nor Dad knew I’d been drinking.  That night was a prelude to my
carousing days.  It would get much worse before it got better.

The next week, Mrs. Kalakos
posted the new club members.  Aurora didn’t make it, and Kyle Anders withdrew
his application.  Everyone else made the cut.  Additionally, two others joined
in the place of Aurora and Kyle: a sophomore named Sunny Wren and the star
quarterback of our football team, Kenny Byron.

Sunny lived a few blocks from me,
and we started riding together to all the meetings.  Although we made an
unlikely pair, we were soon good friends.  Sunny was very sophisticated, and
she considered herself a member of high society.  I later learned that her
mother was from a very rich family, but her father was just average.  Sunny’s
mom spoiled her rotten.  Sunny would try to boss me around from time to time,
but I would usually stand up to her.  It was only when she put on her pouty
face that I would give in and do her bidding.  She would lower her big blue
eyes, wrinkle her little nose, poke out her full red lips, and bat her long
thick eyelashes; I could almost see the tears in her eyes.   Her silky black
hair crowned her head like two floppy ears, and she reminded me of a puppy that
needed loving.  I know – I was a sucker.

Sam had grown tired of Bons
Copains.  She hadn’t officially withdrawn, but she was skipping all the
meetings.  Sunny moved right into Sam’s shoes as my club buddy.  Sunny didn’t
drink or anything, so she was mostly good for me.  Sam and I were still
friends, but we would never again be as close as in those first months in Bons
Copains.

A few things were changing at
school.  My circle of friends was growing, and my grades were holding up pretty
well.  I was beginning to hate French – or maybe it was just Monsieur Guest
that I hated.  The first semester ended, and school was half over.

As the new semester began, Mr. Raymond
– my Chemistry teacher – married his long time sweetheart and moved away to her
hometown of Pittsburgh.  Mr. Billet would be our new Chemistry teacher.  I was
a little saddened, but I soon learned that Mr. Billet was less demanding and
that I had more time for writing in his class.  Mr. Billet was much older than
Mr. Raymond.  He was very short and skinny and he combed his obviously dyed
black hair over the top of his head in an effort to conceal his baldness.  I was
sure he thought that the sparse comb-over completely fooled everyone; I’m also
sure that a few years later Mr. Billet would become the number one fan of hair
in a can.  Mr. Billet was passionate about chemistry and his lectures could be
stimulating and compelling.  Unfortunately – or maybe fortunately – his stamina
was low, so his lectures generally lasted less than half an hour and his
assignments never took more than ten minutes to complete.  I usually had thirty
minutes to spend on my stories and notes.