Stone Ranger

by Bob Blanton

  “Great, then we’re ready to start your lesson.”

  “Sure.”

  “I think we should just do some volleying to start out. It’s been a while since you had a lesson.”

  “I know. I’ve been slacking off.”

  “I wouldn’t call it that, you’ve been pretty busy lately. Besides, it’s good to take a break once in a while.”

  They spent some time hitting the ball across the net. Mrs. Winthrop would suggest corrections to Matthew’s form as she saw flaws.

  After about forty minutes she called Matthew over.

  “Let’s work on how you change grips between the forehand and backhand. I suggest that you continue to use a two-handed grip for both; it cuts down on your range a little, but it gives you more control and power. You’re more than quick enough to make up for the loss of range.”

  Matthew nodded his head and watched as Mrs. Winthrop showed him how to change the grip between the forehand and backhand sides. “See how much quicker and precise the changeover is?”

  “Yes,” Matthew imitated the moves for her.

  “There you’ve got it. Do it a few more times, then I’ll have you hit the ball, alternating sides.”

  Matthew worked the changeover several times. “This is similar to the way I change my grip on the broadsword when I’m using it two handed.”

  “Makes sense, the same principle would apply. Now go over there and we’ll do it live.”

  She hit the ball to Matthew’s forehand side, “Try to get the ball back to the center of the court.”

  Matthew returned the ball, and Mrs. Winthrop shot it back to Matthew’s backhand side. They talked while they hit the ball.”

  “Brea says you’re staying to study and for a movie.”

  “Yes; is that all right?”

  “Of course it is. Sounds like she’s planning to have you over every week.”

  “That’s what she wants.”

  “Is it okay with you?” Mrs. Winthrop asked. “Brea can get a little possessive.”

  “It’s fine; I’m hoping we can actually get our homework done.”

  “Well, you’ll have to,” she continued. “No movie without showing me completed homework.”

  “That should keep us focused.”

  “That’s enough,” Mrs. Winthrop walked to the net. “Brea seemed a little upset when we talked this afternoon.”

  “I think she’s peeved that I’m going to be studying for the SAT with Emily on Mondays and Thursdays.”

  “I see. Well it takes time to figure out relationships. What’s exclusive, and what you have to share. You’ll have to give yourselves some time.”

  “I guess so. I wish she wouldn’t worry about Emily and me.”

  “Well, it was pretty obvious earlier in the year that you were smitten with Emily.”

  They started to walk back toward the house.

  “I know, but it’s Brea and me now. Emily’s just a friend.”

  “You’ll have to say that to Brea a lot before she can really believe it, and she may never be able to.”

  “I guess, but Brea should know that Emily never showed any interest in me.”

  “It’s hard for her to believe that when she thinks you’re so special.”

  “I guess.”

  “Well, you’d better get showered, she’ll be home anytime now.”

  “Cara, I only brought some sweats to change into, will that be all right? I can go home and change.”

  “It’ll be fine. We’re pretty casual around here usually, but you’ll have to dress up for the sushi party on Saturday.”

  “No problem.”

  “And you’re going to come early for a lesson every week, right?”

  “Right.”

  Matthew went to the shower room by the Winthrops’ pool. He took a quick shower and changed into the sweats he’d brought.

  As he headed into the house, he ran into Jason, “Hey, Jason; how’s it going?”

  “Fine, I just gave Brea a ride home from tennis practice; she’s in her room showering.”

  “I hope she’s in the shower doing that,” Matthew joked.

  “Har, har. I’ll see you at dinner. I’m off to my room to study.”

  “You don’t want to study with us?”

  “I don’t think what I want carries any weight with Brea,” Jason gave Matthew a big smile.

  “I guess.”

  “She’s got it set up so you’ll be studying in the alcove over there,” Jason pointed to an area off from the main family room. “You might as well get set up; who knows how long she’ll take.”

  Matthew took the bag with his tennis stuff upstairs and out to his bike. After that he came back downstairs and grabbed his backpack and went over to the alcove where Brianna had set up. He took his laptop out of it and the book he was working on for his Advanced Novels class, For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemmingway. He’d finished re-reading the novel last night, but needed to take references from it to complete his report on the symbolism used in it.

  He was looking up a section to quote when Brianna walked in. She had put on a pair of red silky pants with a tee shirt with “New York, New York” in red across it.

  “Hi, Matt.” she brushed his cheek with a kiss.

  “Hi, Brea. What do you have to do for homework?”

  “I’ve got a bunch of math and biology, and I have to write a paper for American Lit on Robert Frost.”

  “Is the paper due tomorrow?”

  “No, it’s not due ‘til Friday, but I have to get most of it done today. I usually get a long History reading assignment on Thursdays.”

  “I’m not sure we’re going to get to a movie tonight if you’ve got that much to do.”

  Matthew spent twenty minutes helping Brea with her math homework and then turned back to his paper. After another hour, Mrs. Winthrop came in.

  “How’s the homework going? Dinner will be ready in ten minutes.”

  “Okay, we’ll be right in,” Brianna replied. Matthew noticed a slightly panic tone to her voice.

  When Mrs. Winthrop left, Matthew spoke up, “Brea, we don’t have to watch a movie tonight. I’ve got a lot of work still to do on my paper.”

  “It’s okay, I’ll finish it up tomorrow,” Brianna didn’t sound too sure.

  “I’m serious; we’ll have lots of chances to watch a movie together. We don’t want to start out having your mom get mad at us because you didn’t spend enough time on your paper.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Definitely.”

  “Okay, thanks. We’d better head up to the dining room now.”

  “Matt, you’re over there,” Mrs. Winthrop said pointing to the chair on her left. “Carl is out of town, so it’s just the four of us.”

  Jason walked in at that time, “Sorry I’m late. I’m having a hard time with that paper on For Whom The Bell Tolls. I’m still not sure what Mrs. Opperman wants.”

  “Yeah, it’s pretty tough, pulling out all the symbolism,” Matthew said.

  “Yes it is, and I didn’t read the book for fun last summer. Well you’re going to get to watch the movie alone for sure tonight, I’ve got to keep at it.”

  Matthew gave Brianna a look.

  “We’re not going to be able to watch a movie tonight, either; I still have to work on my Robert Frost paper.”

  “I’m glad to hear you’re staying focused on your homework,” Mrs. Winthrop said, with a wink at Matthew.

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  After dinner, Matthew and Brianna went back to the alcove area and continued with their work.

  About an hour later, Matthew closed his laptop, saying, “I’m done with this for now. Do you want me to read your paper?”

  “Would you?” Brianna asked, hopefully.

  “Sure, I can’t promise that it will help.”

  “That’s okay, just being able to talk about it with you will help me.”

  It took Matthew ten minutes to read the paper. “Brea, this is good.”r />
  “Do you think so?”

  “Yes, there are just these two paragraphs that seem to be going in circles.”

  “Which ones?”

  “Here where you’re talking about Mending Fences. You start out…”

  “I know, I really struggled with that part,” Brianna interrupted.

  “Well, you need to decide what you want to say about it. Just stay consistent. There’s always going to be another point of view, but if you try to cover them all, you’ll need a book instead of just a five-page paper.”

  “I guess I’m trying to be fair to every point of view.”

  “Well, if I were you, I would read the poem again and then rewrite that section. Then you’re more likely to have a strong feeling on what you want to say.”

  “How come you’re so good at this and math?”

  “Well, my mom does teach comparative literature at UCSD,” Matthew said. “It’s hard to avoid this stuff at my house.”

  “Oh right, I forgot about that,” Brianna said. “Thanks for helping me with my paper. I guess we should call it a night. Do you want to watch anything before you leave?”

  “I don’t think so. It’s late and I should get home. Don’t want to start out being late, or my mom might get mad.”

  “Okay, wait a second.” Brianna trotted down the hallway, poking her head into a doorway, “Jason, would you give Matt a ride home?”

  “Do I have a choice?” Jason said, turning from his desk.

  Brianna just gave him a stare.

  “I guess not. Hey, Matt, do you want a ride home?”

  “You don’t have to, I can ride my bike.”

  “No, we’ll put your bike in the back of the Expedition. We can talk about Hemmingway on the way.”

  “Okay, if you insist.”

  Brea mouthed thanks to her brother as he grabbed his jacket.

  When Matthew got home, he did a quick check on Alex. She was just starting up her car to head home. Checking out the house, Matthew saw that its owner was still away.

  Vision Quest

  Thursday evening Matthew met Emily at her house to study.

  “Emily, are you ready?”

  “Sure, come on in, we’re going to study in the den, that way we can use the computer if we want.”

  “Suits me,” Matthew said as he entered the house and followed Emily down the hall to the den.

  “Have you checked on Alex lately?”

  “Not yet, but last I checked, Sayid was still away.”

  “Do you want anything to drink?”

  “A Slice,” Matthew said.

  “We’ve got Seven-Up, is that okay?”

  “That’s fine.”

  Emily went to the kitchen and got the drinks. While she was gone, Matthew unpacked his bag, setting his books and laptop on the table.

  “I figured that would be the easiest place to study since Mom said my room was off limits,” Emily said, a little embarrassed. “The computer’s close by if we need to look something up on the Internet.”

  “Don’t you have a wireless network?”

  “Yes, Dad uses it with his laptop so he can work out on the patio when Sonja is swimming or playing out back.”

  “That’s good. I’ve got a wireless on my laptop. If you’ll let me look up your settings, I can tap in. That way the computer will be right next to us.”

  “I thought we’d start with the vocabulary section, and then alternate between math and vocabulary every few weeks. We can slip in work on the writing section once in awhile, too.”

  After a couple of hours of drills, Emily suggested a break.

  “Do you need another soda or something to eat?” Emily asked.

  “Another soda would be nice, and do you have some pretzels?”

  “Why don’t you check in on Alex while I go to the kitchen?”

  “Sure,” Matthew said.

  Then he relaxed his breathing and focused on Alex. She came into view almost immediately. She was sitting in her car overlooking Sayid’s estate. She was using the dome light in her car to read her history assignment, the binoculars and parabolic microphone in the seat next to her.

  Emily came back in with a bowl of pretzels and two glasses of Seven-Up. “How’s Alex?”

  “She’s spying on Sayid’s house again; fortunately nobody’s home,” Matthew said, shaking his head.

  “We’ve got to find a way to get her to give up on this thing.”

  “I don’t see how, she’s so single minded about it. You and Jason could stop covering for her.”

  “I know, but that would ruin our friendship and Jason would be toast. I hope Sayid stays away until after Thanksgiving. Maybe the ski trip will take her mind off of him,” Emily said.

  “That’s right, they’re leaving next Wednesday. Four days in Vail might be enough.”

  “Are you going?” Emily asked

  “No. Brea invited me, but I don’t want to leave Mom alone for Thanksgiving.”

  “I understand. It’s the first one since your dad died, isn’t it?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, if something changes, I’m sure we’ll have room for you.”

  “I didn’t know you were going?” Matthew said.

  “Yes, Mom and Cara have planned the whole thing. We’re flying on Dad’s jet.”

  “Your dad has a jet!” Matthew exclaimed in shock.

  “Kind of. He and a couple of his pals bought a Gulfstream and formed a small charter company. That way we can use it whenever we want; it’s the same jet and pilot. But the main reason they did it was so they could fly it.”

  “He’s going to fly it?”

  “Probably part of the way, but the charter pilot will always be in the cockpit. Mom won’t fly with him unless he promises to keep the pilot there when he’s flying.”

  “That seems smart.”

  “Oh, I guess. Dad says he’s glad he sold the stock to order the plane. The market took a dive right after, so he says he’s ahead. At least, that’s how he explains it to Mom. He says that the other charters the plane flies pay most of the bills, and the rest is a tax write-off.”

  “Wow!” was all Matthew could say.

  “Anyway, we’ve also rented this huge house, so there’s plenty of room and there will hardly be any expenses.”

  “Sounds like fun, maybe next time.”

  “Okay,” Emily said. By the way, have you figured out if you can hear with your eyes closed?”

  “Yes, I listened into Mrs. Opperman’s lecture during Calculus.”

  “So it works?”

  “Yep. Do you want to help me with some other experiments?”

  “Definitely,” Emily said. “Could you always hear through it?”

  “Sure. No, that’s not right, I couldn’t the first few times. I thought I was daydreaming, so it never occurred to me that there was no sound.”

  “Well, maybe you have to do something special to hear, and you just started doing it by accident.”

  “That makes sense. I’ve been working on hearing. It seems that when I concentrate on hearing, the sound is level is better. At first I could only hear if someone was shouting, maybe it’ll work the other way.”

  He brought his virtual camera back up. He then focused only on Jason who was watching a movie; it was a war movie so the sound was blaring. Then he focused on seeing, not trying to listen. The sound went away.

  Emily waited a patiently for a few minutes, “Well?”

  “Apparently I have to try to hear. Otherwise it’s just video.”

  “What about smell?”

  “What?”

  “Smell. You can see and hear, why wouldn’t you be able to smell?”

  “I don’t know, I guess we could try.”

  “Great, I’ll get a perfume spritzer and spray it into the air.”

  “Sure,” Matthew said, “but you’ll have to do it in another room.”

  “I have to go to my bedroom anyway.”

  Matthew opened his portal and viewed
Emily in her room. She waved and held the bottle up and sprayed some perfume into the air.

  Matthew focused on smelling. He focused so hard that sweat started to bead on his forehead, but he didn’t smell anything.

  As Emily waited to give Matthew a chance to smell the perfume, she looked around the room wondering where he was looking. She sprayed another puff of the perfume into the air, and moved closer into the mist until all Matthew could see was her eye.

  Emily sucked in her breath, “Matt,” she gasped, “I can see an eye.” She hurried back downstairs to the study.

  “I couldn’t smell a thing.”

  “But I could swear I saw your eye.”

  “What?”

  “I was looking into the perfume cloud and I could swear I saw an eye.”

  “It was probably just a reflection off the perfume cloud.”

  “No way, I bet it was your eye.”

  “Why?”

  “It makes sense, if you can see me, why can’t I see you?”

  “Maybe it does. It could be like a pinhole camera; the viewing end is just a small hole, while you can see a wide view past the lens, and when I try to smell, the other end gets big enough to see back through.”

  “That must be it.”

  “Well then, let’s do some more tests.”

  “Where should I go?”

  “You don’t have to leave. If we’re not talking about sound or smell, we can be in the same room.”

  “How?”

  “Just sit here in your chair.”

  “How will that work?”

  “My portal doesn’t have to go in a straight line. It curves however it needs to.”

  “Really, that is so cool.”

  “Why?”

  “You can check out the back of your head to make sure your hair is right.”

  “I never thought of that,” Matthew said, rolling his eyes.

  “Hey that’s important, and it’s so hard to get a good view, even with a good set of mirrors.”

  “Whatever; let’s try this.”

  Emily said, “Boys,” exasperatedly, as she sat down next to Matthew.

  “Okay, I’m looking right at your face, can you see anything?”

  “Wow, that was fast. You can turn it on that quickly?”

  “I’ve been getting faster.”

  “That sounds promising; and no, I couldn’t see anything.”

  Matthew focused on smelling, trying to get more through the portal.