by Jerry Moore
I reported to the library at one o’clock on the dot. I finally met Bart Tucker. He was a black man about thirty years old or so and looked like he was in great shape. I shook his hand when I met him and I could feel the strength he had. He gave me a little more detailed tour than I had gotten from Carl the day before.
In a nutshell, my job was to help out the library patrons. When I wasn’t doing that, I was supposed to restock any books that had been turned in. It didn’t sound like it was anything too hard. Not that I was surprised. After all, this was a job that I had gotten through the government. More to the point, I had gotten it through the marshal service.
Bart was showing me where the newspapers were stored. “The only thing that I ask is that I know where you are at all times.”
That seems a little strange. “Okay, but can I ask why?”
“Well, I just need to coordinate breaks for you and the other employees. So if I need to know what area you are going to be in. We can’t have students looking for help and not being able to find any.”
“I guess that sounds logical enough.”
I made it back home with Jenny a little after five o’ clock. Now, I finally had a grasp on all my classes and my supposed job. The job had turned out to be every bit as easy as I thought it would. I could get used to this whole college thing. I just needed to get through these next few months and the looming trial. Then maybe my life could go back to being sort of normal.
I woke up on Wednesday morning, excited to be going back to school. More to the point, I was excited about going to History class again. I really shouldn’t have been excited at all, given how badly I had flamed out on the first day. Unfortunately, History was just about the only place I knew of that Jeff might be. I made a point of picking out my tightest pair of jeans and doing my makeup. I was bound and determined to get him to at least notice me today.
I got to class early and noticed several of the male students taking notice of me and even a few of the other girls noticed, if their glares were any indication. They definitely had their claws out today. The problem was that Jeff walked in, sat down, and didn’t seem to notice me at all. I decided he must be gay.
I looked across the room and saw a girl giving me the evil eye. If looks could kill, I would have been dead on the spot. She was a pretty red head who didn’t look like she appreciated the competition. Her whole look screamed “cheerleader”. I always hated cheerleaders. It seemed like her name was Allison something or the other.
Dr. Greene walked in and the class promptly started. “Before we get started, I would like to point something out that was in the syllabus. The role of the American Indian will play a major role in our studies this semester. To that end, there is a major project due in three weeks. Each of you will be paired with a partner. I will pass those assignments out during class on Friday.”
Actually getting paired with Jeff was too much to hope for. I sure wasn’t counting on that. It really didn’t matter. Jeff didn’t seem interested in me or anyone else, as far as I could tell. Either he didn’t like women or he probably had a girlfriend. Who was I kidding? Of course he would have a girlfriend. The cute ones always had a girlfriend.
Near the end of class, I saw the first chink in Jeff’s outward, bad boy armor. I caught him sneaking a peak at me. I could have sworn he was checking me out. Of course, it could have just been some wishful thinking on my part. Maybe he would decide to talk to me after class. I wouldn’t mind if he showed half as much interest as Carl had after English.
Unfortunately, my bad boy didn’t stick around and left History class without even another glance in my direction. Maybe I did just imagine him trying to sneak a peek at me. I mean he had to be looking in some direction and just because he was looking in my direction didn’t mean that he was necessarily looking at me.
I went onto my English class and tried to console myself with the fact that Carl still thought I was pretty hot. I thought about my infatuation with Jeff and his obvious lack of interest in me. About half through Dr. Sloane’s thrilling lecture about subject verb agreement, I decided that I was done worrying what Jeff Campbell was or wasn’t doing.
***
I was sitting in my Thursday Chemistry class but still thinking about who I would wind up paired with for my History paper. My thoughts were interrupted by Brenda passing me a note, asking if I wanted to grab some lunch in the food court after class. I slipped her a note telling her yes. It would be like a mini girl’s night out.
After class, Brenda and I walked over to student union. We found the food court only about half full. It wasn’t noon yet, so most of the lunch crowd hadn’t shown up yet. We found a table in a sparsely populated area.
Brenda looked around and then waved to someone. “I hope you don’t mind, but I also invited one of my other friends.”
I gave her a dismissive little wave. “No problem, I’m just happy to have someone to eat with.”
I watched a slightly heavy set girl headed for our table. Brenda introduced me to her friend, Tina. The three of us ordered burgers and fries. We made small talk about our different classes. Tina seemed like a really bubbly person. She had a little darker skin than Brenda and I did. She explained that her mother was from the Philippines and her parents had married while her dad was in the Army.
Brenda looked around. “Speaking of guys who used to be in the Army, you two have a common classmate.”
I jumped at the insinuation. “You have a class with Jeff Campbell?”
Tina shook her head. “No, I mean I know who he is. I don’t actually have any classes with him though.”
I was confused. “Then who do we have in common?”
Brenda smirked. “Actually, I was referring to Allison. I believe that is who Tina heard about Jeff from.”
Tina’s face lit up. “Oh, now I get it. You’re the girl she keeps saying is a little tramp.”
My jaw dropped. “Excuse me?”
Tina shrugged. “I didn’t realize it at first. You are a lot prettier than she said you were. Now I see why she is so worried about you.”
I didn’t understand. “Worried about what?”
Tina leaned forward. “She was all acting like Jeff is her man and you are trying to steal him away. She is super possessive.”
My heart completely fell. “Her man? I didn’t realize they were together or that he was even interested in her.”
Tina said, “I don’t know if they are really together or not. I just know that this morning in Algebra that she said that the tramp in History class had better back off before she got her feelings hurt.”
Brenda put her hand on my arm. “I don’t think they are together. But at least now you know who one of your competitors is.”
I sat back and tried to sound composed. “It doesn’t matter if they are together. I have already decided that I am so over being ignored by Mister Campbell. Really, she can have him.”
I could see by their expressions that they weren’t buying it. That was okay, I didn’t buy it either. Really, for the first time in my life, I really disliked someone that I had never really even spoken to. I really, really disliked this Allison person. The fact that it sounded like she didn’t like me either made me a little happy.
Friday marked my first full week in Lubbock. No one had shown up and tried to kill me yet. That made it a pretty good week in my book. I headed off to school with a sense of excitement. I was ready to find out who I would be partnered with on my History project. I was beyond hoping to get paired with Jeff or even with Brenda. At this point, I would be happy with anyone but Allison.
I took my seat in History and made a conscious effort not to notice or even look at Jeff Campbell. Besides, the last thing I needed was some guy complicating my life. After all, it was a guy that had gotten me into my current mess in the first place. I could easily ignore him for the three hours a week that I had to see him in class.
Once class started, Dr. Greene announced that the list of partner assignments was po
sted in the hallway outside of the classroom. We could check them once class was concluded. That gave me an hour to sit and wonder who I was partnered with. Of course that was whenever I wasn’t too busy ignoring Jeff. He was looking particularly good today in a tight fitting polo shirt that highlighted his compact but muscular body. Not that I was noticing him, I was definitely ignoring him.
Dr. Greene let us out a little early so we could check out the pairings he had posted out in the hall. I was excited to go see the list but I was also dreading seeing the list. I made a slow walk out of the classroom and turned to check out the list. I found my name quickly enough and immediately lost all pretenses that I could ignore Jeff any longer. He was listed as my partner. My heart sped up. I looked around for him. This was my chance. I could talk to him about the paper and not seem like I was coming on to him. The only problem was that Jeff was nowhere in sight.
Chapter Three
I showed up for work at nine o’ clock Saturday morning. I was ready to get busy and stop thinking about my upcoming History paper or my writing partner. Apparently, Jeff was so worried about the assignment that he didn’t even bother to check who his partner was. I thought that maybe I just didn’t see him check the list. But I talked to Brenda after class and she said that she saw him walk out of the classroom and he kept on going without ever even glancing at the list. I had gone from excitement that Jeff was my partner to be concerned that I might be on my own as far as this paper was concerned.
The day went pretty quickly in spite of there not being a lot of people in the library on a Saturday. I was straightening up the newspapers and magazines in the basement and did not hear anyone come up behind me.
I heard a voice behind me. “Excuse me Miss, I am looking for some history books.”
I turned and saw Jeff Campbell smiling at me. “You know, some books on the American Indian.”
I tried to act putout. “I don’t know if I should help you right now. You didn’t even stick around to see who your partner was for the History paper.”
He gave me a little smile that said he knew something I didn’t. “I had some, shall we say, inside information on that. I knew you were going to be my partner.”
“I see.”
“So what time do you get off of work today?”
I could see where this was headed. “I get off at four o’clock.”
“Great, I was thinking maybe we could grab some dinner and talk about our paper.”
Apparently Jeff thought I would be so impressed with his attention that I would just automatically fall into his arms. “You must think that I am either extremely stupid or extremely easy. We could have talked about the paper after class yesterday.”
“Well, I was just thinking…”
“You were just thinking that you didn’t want to talk to me in front of your little girlfriend.”
“What girlfriend?”
“You know exactly who I am talking about. I already heard all about how you and her are an item. What is it she said about me? Oh yeah, that I was a tramp and needed to back off before I got my feelings hurt. I think I will pass on being your little weekend conquest. If you really want to talk to me about the paper, you can do so in class on Monday.”
With that I walked off in a huff. I didn’t want to hear anything else he had to say. Did all guys think that I was just their play thing? I was tired of egotistical men who thought they were exactly what I needed. I could decide on my own what I did and didn’t need. At the moment, I didn’t need Jeff Campbell.
I was still in a mood when I got off from work. Jenny picked me up and we had our usual ride in silence. Went straight to my room and fired up my laptop. I spent about thirty minutes sitting at my desk and pretending to do homework. I heard a knock at my bedroom door and saw Jenny standing there.
She came in and sat on my bed. “So, I was thinking about ordering some pizza. That sound good to you?”
I looked up from my computer. “Sure, that’s fine.”
“So, you feel like talking about it?”
“Talk about what?”
“Whatever it is that’s been eating at you since I picked you up.”
“There’s nothing to talk about. It’s just some stupid guy.”
“Is this someone I should be worried about?”
“No, he is just a guy in my History class. We are supposed to be working on a History paper that is due in a few weeks.”
“So he’s not doing his part of the work or what?”
“That’s not it. He showed up this afternoon and asked me out to dinner. He said it was to talk about the paper. I think he had something else in mind.”
“Oh, I get it. What is he, one of those real nerdy looking guys?”
“Actually, he’s really cute.”
“You were right to not go anywhere with anyone until I have a chance to check them out. Just give me his name and I will look into his background.”
“I didn’t even think about that part of it. I should have, but I didn’t. The reason I didn’t go is because I resented being taken for granted. I’ve been down that road before; I’m not going to let any guy treat me that way, no matter how cute Jeff Campbell is.”
Jenny stood up. “Listen, I am going to go ahead and look into this guy’s background. I do think that you might not want to date anyone until the trial is over. Some unpleasant things about you could come out during the trial.”
I nodded my head. “We both know that those unpleasant things are going to come out. What kind of guy would want to be with me after that?”
I stepped out of Jenny’s car in front of Holden Hall on Monday morning. I felt a little better than I had Saturday night. I took a deep breath and headed into the building. I would have to face Jeff this morning. That is, unless he was too much of a coward to show up. Eventually I would have to get along with him long enough to get this History assignment done.
It turns out that Jeff wasn’t a coward. He was waiting for me outside our History classroom. I picked up my pace and tried to look confident and controlled as I approached him. I was fully prepared for this confrontation. I had no doubt that Jeff would do what all guys do. He would try to turn the whole thing around and try to make me feel like I was the one who caused the problem.
Jeff stepped right into my path as I got close to him. “Hey Lisa, you have a second?”
I was unwilling to give an inch or show any weakness. “I guess so, but make it quick.”
“I just wanted to apologize for Saturday. You were right, I was inconsiderate.”
I was a little surprised and unprepared for his surrender. “Well, I guess I could have been a little hard on you.”
“I probably had it coming. I would like to talk to you about our project though. Maybe there is a time we could meet today?”
“Look, I get out of English as ten. Could you meet me in the student union at ten fifteen or so?”
He paused for a second. “Okay, I can do that.”
With our meeting time settled, we both headed into History class. Jeff went back to ignoring me and I pretended to ignore him. Almost everything was the same as the week before. Jeff and I did not speak during or after class. Allison continued to give me dirty looks. The only difference was that Brenda was not in class today. I figured she must have overslept.
After another boring lecture in English, I headed for my meeting with Jeff. I was ten minutes early and a little surprised that Jeff was already there. I entered the student union through the entrance closest to the library. Jeff was waiting just inside the doors.
I still wasn’t sure I was ready to forgive him. “I’m here, so let’s talk.”
He looked around. “Okay, but can we walk while we are talking?”
I shrugged, “I guess, you need to be somewhere?”
“I just want to keep moving. It will keep your watchdogs from hearing everything we say.”
I was feeling uneasy but we started walking through the student union. “What watchdogs? What a
re you talking about?”
“Maybe we should wait until we walk outside to continue this conversation.”
We walked out the front of the student union and started across the parking lot between the student union and the administration building. “Okay, we’re outside. What are you talking about?”
He looked almost amused. “I mean the guys that shadow you wherever you go. I am going to take an educated guess and say that they are with the marshal service.”
I felt a chill run down my spine. I started looking around for any sign of someone watching us. “I don’t know what you are talking about.”
“Oh, now I get it. They didn’t tell you that they were following you did they? That explains why they have to scramble from time to time. They aren’t sure where you’re going are they?”
I could feel the anger rising inside of me. Being followed was not part of the deal. That bothered me but so did the fact that Jeff had spotted them. “You have a way too active imagination. What are you some kind of English major? You’re obviously very good at creative fiction.”
“You don’t have to tell me the truth.”
“Uh, the truth is that you are crazy. Look, you asked me to meet you about the History paper that we are doing.”
“Oh yeah, the History paper. Listen, I know you work tomorrow afternoon. So I was thinking we could have a working lunch tomorrow to discuss some ideas. I have some thoughts and could bring them in written form. Maybe you could jot some things down as well.”
We stopped walking once we got to the administration building. “So what is the bottom line on what you wanted to tell me today? Other than that you have a heck of an imagination and are a little weird?”
“The main thing I wanted to tell you is that I would prefer if you met me without your marshal friends. I am sure that the lady marshal that drives you to school can make that happen.”
“That is my Aunt Jenny. Don’t worry though, it will just be little old me at lunch tomorrow.”
