Tim Fenton is a lonely, troubled teenager in the Chicago exurbs, circa 1972. He attends the Chicago Auto Show one weekend with his cousin (and high school history teacher) and her roommate, a female disc jockey who provided the tickets. This the second installment of a story chronicling the week after that outing.
Part Two:
As the sleek green Cougar pulled up beside the radio station building, a slightly built young man with waivy hair stopped to check out Sandy's arrival.
"It's about time you got here," Randy Ferguson said to Sandy as she walked to the door.
"I had to drop my roommate's cousin off at school."
"Uh huh, a guy,"
"Randy, he's only 17!" Sandy chuckled.
"Yeah Sandy," Randy said slyly. "Oh, by the way, Les wants to see you."
"Okay," Sandy said.
Upon entering the building, Sandy walked with some hesitation to the program director's office.
"Uh, Les, you wantned to see me?" she asked.
"Good morning Sandy," Les Healy said. "How are you?"
"Fine sir."
"Better than yesterday afternoon?"
"Les, I don't want to even think about yesterday afternoon."
Les chuckled.
"Sandy, you were a real trouper yesterday."
"Thank you sir."
"Now, what's the problem?"
Sandy explained what had been going on at home and with Tim. She even asked if might have a little more leeway in choosing some of the music on her airshift and Les agreed, if it would help.
Sandy didn't know that Tim's problems at school were yet to stop.
"Hey Fenton!" Baker called out during junior lunch hour. "Come 'ere'!"
"What?"
"We got a girl who wants to go out with you Saturday night!"
"Sorry, I'm not going."
Tim's curt reply didn't stop Baker.
"Well, now you've got a date."
"I don't care. I'm not going."
"Why not? We won't bug you?"
"You mean like you didn't bug me last Frdiay night?" Tim snorted. "Why don't you just leave me alone?"
Tim beat a hasty retreat as Baker continued to give him a hard time.
"What's the matter, Fenton? Afraid you'll hurt your girlfriend?"
Baker laughed and turned around to look straight at Nancy.
"Hey Scott," she said firmly.
"Oh, yes Miss Gallagher?"
"Who are you calling Tim's girlfriend?"
"Some older chick we saw him with Saturday."
"Older chick?" Nancy knowingly nodded. "I have something to say to you and Tony Vernon and all your other little buddies and that's this. Lay off that kid or else."
When Nancy came hone that afternoon, she took in the mail, including a letter with just "Miss Gallagher" on the envelope.
"I didn't think they delivered the mail without a zip code," Nancy though to herself.
She opened the letter, read a few lines and angrily threw it down as Tim entered the building.
"That's a note someone wrote," Nancy growled at him. "If you ever find out who it is, tell them they're not funny."
"Hey, hey, Nancy," Tim couldn't catch her. He turned to pick up the letter, took a look and grimaced.
The words in the letter bit at him as he went with his mother to run some errands that night. He also bought a record.
When the Fentons got home, Tim repaired a burned out light in the hallway. He was finishing up as Nancy walked into the building.
"You'd make a good electrician Tim," she said with a smile."Isn't that the landlord's job?"
"I don't mind," Tim said. "Besides, he's paying me."
Nancy shrugged and invited Tim inside.
Tim fetched his coat and the record sack from the utility closet and went across the hall.
"Hi Tim," Sandy said with a grin, looking up at him while strumming on her guitar.
Tim fidgeted a bit before Nancy finally told him to sit down.
"How are you tonight?" Sandy asked in a whispering tone.
"Okay,"
"What's in the sack?"
"A record."
"What's the name of it?"
"Rock and Roll Lullabye," Tim stammered with a bit of embarassment.
"That's a nice song," Sandy said quietly. "I'll play it sometime when you can hear it."
"You don't have to."
"That's all right," Sandy said quietly. "I won't say it's for you. Is that what's troubling you?"
Tim nodded, partly choking back tears.
"That's not the whole problem," Nancy intoned from the kitchen. "Foxwood High's getting to him. Baker and Vernon are getting to him."
The slight teacher appeared in the kitchen doorway.
"He can't.."
Just than, a car shot through the apartment building's driveway.
"Hey Fenton!" the driver yelled.
"That's them!" Tim said angrily. "I'll see you around."
He rushed out of the apartment. Through the clouded glass on the doors of the building, Tim noticed the headlights of Baker's car. He was more than just mad.
"I feel sorry for that kid," Sandy said as she put on a record.
Nancy was more than sorry.
"I'd like to take some of those turkeys out in back of the school and give them what for," she snarled.
Nancy stopped for a moment and then went to the record rack. She got out one of her grandmother's hymn albums and placed it on the turntable. Nancy listened to those old records whenever she felt depressed or angry.
After turning on the stereo, Nancy turned to find Sandy smiling.
"What's the matter?" she asked.
"I just had an idea that made me feel so good."
The next morning, Nancy shared the idea with Tim as they drove to school.
"You've got a dinner date with my roomie the knockout lady deejay tonight at 6 p.m. in our apartment. I'm the chaperone," she said.
Tim nodded and shrugged.
"I'll be there."
"Well, don't be so excited about it."
Tim just looked at Nancy, as if to say "So what? It's you and your roommate. Now they beat up on you two just like everybody else. I'm sorry I got you into this."
Tim didn't feel much better after he got home from school, although the prospect of the weekend was appealing.
"I'll be glad to get out of there," Tim thought to himself. "That place is driving me nuts!"
The radio station clock read quarter to six. Sandy leaned back while her record played with her eyes closed, smiling. She was still brimming when she left the station.
"You seem quite happy tonight," an engineer commented as Sandy departed.
"I am," she said. "I'm having a friend of mine over for dinner."
Nancy let Tim in about 6 p.m. and then had to answer the phone.
"Clark and Gallagher's,"
"Hey, what you got cooking tonight?"
"Hamburgers, Baker!" Nancy snapped, slamming down the phone.
She looked up at Tim.
"Don't let those clowns get to you Tim," she said. "They're supposed to know better."
At dinner, Tim told a few jokes and his share of quizzing from Nancy and Sandy. Then his cousin turned sober.
"I know it's tough, but don't let those goons at school get to you Tim," she said. "I mean everybody around here thinks well of you the Good Lord loves you too."
Tim shrugged.
"It sure doesn't seem that way at Foxwood," he said.
"Well Tim, I understand, but..."
Just then a car shot through the driveway.
"Hey Fenton!" Baker called out.
Tim bolted up from his chair and started for the door.
"That does it!" he said angrily.
Tim bolted out of the apartment with Nancy and Sandy behind him.
"Tim, don't do anything stupid," Nancy said.
Tim stormed out of the building and headed towards Baker's car.
He glared at the group of high school cool guys in the car jeering at him. Baker made a series of suggestive remarks about Sandy as Tim continued his approach.
"She's standing right behind me Baker," Tim growled.
"What are you going to do about it?"
"He's not doing anything," Nancy said. "You're going to pull that car over to the side and get out. Now!"
Baker parked the car and got out, but his smirk never dipped, even as Nancy marched towards him, the heels of her boots making a menacing clump.
"I'd like to hear you say some of those things to that lady on the doorstep," she demanded. "Why? That's my only question."
"We just want Tim to have some fun," Baker chuckled.
"Fun?" Nancy said. "You call this fun? All year, you have been making his life miserable, and you call this fun?
I know you're behind the phone calls Scott."
Vernon began to pull an envelope off the car's dashboard.
"What is that Tony?" Nancy demanded.
"May I see it please?"
Vernon hesitated and then finally handed the envelope to Nancy. She looked at the address and then glared back at Baker.
"You two are in a lot of trouble and so is anyone else involved with this," she said. "I'm going to check a few things out about this car and then I'm calling the police. I don't want to see either one of you within range of him for the rest of the year. Do you understand me?"
Baker nodded.
"You'd both better expect to be called to the principal's office in the morning. Now get out of here."
As Tim's tormentors left, he cautiously backed away from his cousin.
"Well what's your problem?" she asked.
"I don't want to get on your bad side."
Nancy shrugged and walked back into the building. Tim headed for the door of his apartment.
"And just where are you going?" Nancy demanded.
Tim turned and went back into Nancy and Sandy's apartment.
"You're not dismissed yet." Nancy said, tilting her head and smiling.
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Reviewed by Tinka Boukes
2/22/2007
oh my this is getting better all the time....MORE please!!
And Steve...the same rule counts for this write...you have to go over your work at least once to clear the errors my friend...will all due respect and in friendship okay!!
A wicked Cajun Fairy named Robes Pierre entered the impenetrable Magical doll land of Sha Bebe. Queen Faustina, the ruler of the doll land, thought she had destroyed him, but he's back! Will the doll land survive his evil ways?
A wicked Cajun Fairy named Robes Pierre entered the impenetrable Magical doll land of Sha Bebe. Queen Faustina, the ruler of the doll land, thought she had destroyed him, but he's back! Will the doll land survive his evil ways?
