School Days

by Ed Nelson

  I came to the conclusion that it didn’t matter. We never could go on dates, only write so we were already pen pals. That sounded good, but for some reason it still hurt. Only earlier today I was thinking I didn’t want a girlfriend. I was now getting what I wanted and I didn’t like it. Things can be so confusing.

  Spanish was fun as usual. Mrs. Hernandez had brought newspapers from Cuba. Actually a friend in Miami had bought them at a local newsstand and mailed them to her. We would take turns trying to read an article she had selected.

  Half way through the lesson I realized that Mary would be reading Spanish before she learned to read English!

  I worked harder with the typewriter at the keying lessons. I was getting better at striking the right keys without having to look, but I had a long way to go.

  I started a new book set during Elizabeth the Firsts reign. It involved Sir Francis Drake and the Spanish Main. A young man’s adventures at sea surely would take my mind off of the sad events of the week. I hoped that Amyas would end up with the lovely Rose.

  The middle of the week and the weather was clear and cold. I ran, but regretted it as it hurt my lungs to take in the cold air. Today I enjoyed the porridge. It was warm and filling.

  Tom and I walked down the hill to school. We didn’t have much to say. The mood of the school was funny. It was somber. There were at least twice as many black arm bands today as yesterday. It was excitement. There was an unplanned day off from school. Better than a snow day because you could get around.

  Yesterday there were red eyes all over school. Today there were few in sight. Eleanor was one of those. I felt bad for her, but there was nothing I could do.

  These were somber and excited feelings that you thought you could sense. There was one item that was very real. A social revolution had hit our school.

  All those girls that knew their place at the bottom of the social order had the nerve to get dates to the Sadie Hawkins dance!

  It didn’t matter to the top of the order, but those girls further on down the ladder now had a choice. Ask some boy they wouldn’t have been seen with normally, or stay home.

  I didn’t see it, but supposedly there was one hair pulling match in the gym. I found that hard to believe. Girls wouldn’t act that way.

  I saw June Hardesty in the hall. I had time to tell her that I had bought a royal blue tie.

  She gave me a smile and said, “Good.”

  That was her only reaction. I don’t know if there will be a relationship or not, but I’m not getting the best feelings about it.

  After school lessons were taking more of my time than school lessons. I was still getting all my school work done on school time. After school was out I would hurry home and look up the words I had written down yesterday.

  These were new Spanish words that had been used for the first time. I would then confirm its meaning in my Spanish to English dictionary that Mrs. Hernandez had provided.

  I would then write it out ten times so I got used to its spelling while pronouncing it out loud. The other kids were just learning the words by rote memory, but I wanted to actually be able to read and write in Spanish.

  We then would have our lesson, mostly from the newspapers this week. The comics were kind of strange. What the Cubans thought funny didn’t always make sense. I would write down any new words then use them in my typing lesson.

  The typing text had me repeating keystrokes over and over which I did, but then I would also type out my list of new words to look up later. I would read my hand written list and type without looking at the keyboard. I was very slow and would hit the wrong key, but felt like I was getting a little better.

  I finished up my story set in the Elizabethan times. I was really disappointed. Amyas did get wealth, fame and married a beautiful Indian princess. Unfortunately he was blinded by a lightning strike at sea. Also Rose his first love was burnt to death by the Spanish Inquisition. That ending didn’t make me feel any better.

  The truth is that I started skimming the book at the end when it started getting dismal.

  Chapter 21

  I was able to run on Thursday morning. I was glad to do so. Today wouldn’t be a fun day and the better frame of mind I was in to start it off the easier it would go. Mum asked me when I was going to the funeral parlors. I replied the sooner the better. She and Dad were going around eleven o’clock.

  They had some business to discuss. It was about time for Jackson Housing to open an office downtown. The third unit had just been acquired and three more were under negotiation.

  Dad was now being approached by owners who wanted to make a private sale to avoid the realtor fees. Our attorney was versed in real estate, so that wasn’t a problem.

  An office downtown made sense. The tenants would have a place to call or go if there were problems rather than our house. They could pay their rent there. Dad would get all of his business paperwork out of the house.

  Furthermore as Mum said, “It will get your Dad out of the house.”

  I think he had been home more than usual lately.

  There was an office unit available on Main Street across from the courthouse. It was in the same block as J C Penny. The nice thing was that while it was not real wide it was deep. It went clear back to the alley, so they could store painting equipment and other items to maintain the houses in the backroom.

  My parents were informing me of what they had decided, not asking my permission. They did think I should see it, so I agreed to meet them there at eleven thirty.

  The viewings were not as bad as I thought they would be. Both caskets were closed which meant the boys were torn up pretty bad. All we had to do was go in, sign the book and file past the coffins. There were flowers everywhere and the scent was sickening to me.

  After slowly passing the coffin on its pedestal I went over to the parents. In both cases at each of the funeral homes the parents were talking to other people sitting with them. They nodded as we went past and that was it. Both boy’s mothers looked tired and worn the fathers grim and stoic.

  I had run into Tom at Eicholtzs so we walked the three blocks down to Delong’s Music Store and checked out the latest releases. There was nothing that struck my fancy. On the way there I had shown him the office space we were going to rent. It was a pretty drab looking building front.

  I met Mum and Dad at the office right on time. Denny and Eddie had school but Mary was with my parents. Mum took one look at the drab storefront and told Dad that it had to be cleaned up.

  She told him the pubs in London looked better than this. She wanted the wooden façade across the top painted a dark forest green with Jackson Housing in recessed letters painted gold so they would stand out on the background.

  The brick facing would have to be cleaned and flower pots with green plants in the entrance. A local florist would be hired to take care of them. Even the side walk in the front of the building was to be cleaned.

  Dad had the keys, so we were able to see the inside. According to Mum that would take even more work. The wooden floors would have to be sanded and refinished. At the front, low wooden railings would separate the waiting area from the office.

  There would be a small conference room which would have wood paneling on the lower half with wall paper on the top half. There would be chair railing separating the top and bottom.

  The table and chairs would be nicer than the best real estate office in town. That meant they would be better than Tapps.

  There was an open work area and a hallway with two private offices on each side. One of the offices had a window facing to the open work area. Both had glass windows in their doors so you could see into them. These offices would be carpeted.

  At the end of the hallway was a door which opened to an employee kitchen area. Another door at the back of the kitchen opened into the storage section of the building. The storage area was a large open area.

  It had a stairs going into a basement. Dad told us he hadn’t a chance to look down there yet.
We decided to examine the basement later.

  Mum said, “I want this to look better than an old wealthy conservative bank.”

  She just broke Dad’s budget by several thousand dollars.

  He never batted an eyelash he just replied, “Yes Dear.”

  My Dad is a smart man.

  Mary had an interesting question.

  “Will there be toys like the Doctors office?”

  My parents exchanged glances and Dad told her, “Yes, we will have a toy chest, right here in the waiting area.”

  He looked at Mum and said, “Out of the mouths of babes.”

  She replied, “We should probably have coffee and tea available also.”

  I put in, “A fridge in the backroom with soft drinks would be nice.”

  Dad laughed, “A fridge for the office workers lunches would be good, bring your own soft drinks.”

  I tried to protest that I was thinking of others, but they didn’t buy it.

  We parted ways Mum, Dad, and Mary to home and me to Don’s. At Don’s almost every seat was taken. Tom was sitting at a table with Eleanor. He waved me over to an empty seat at their table. I asked Eleanor how she was doing.

  “I’m better now. The shock is passing. I had just one date with Tom so it isn’t like we were in love. It just happened so fast I was shocked for several days.”

  “I think the whole school was shocked to varying degrees. Things like this aren’t supposed to happen to us.”

  “But they do.”

  I then relayed to them the conversation I had overheard between Miss Bales and Mr. Hurley.”

  Tom thought it strange that they had to see the same thing over and over. It sounded like a science fiction story to him. They were doomed to repeat themselves till they got it right. From there he transitioned to going back and doing things to get it right.

  He continued, “It would be so cool to go back to a younger self keeping your knowledge. You could be rich, and avoid mistakes you made.”

  To me it seemed like you would be doing all the work twice and while I would avoid a lot of mistakes, I would also make new ones. It would make a neat movie if you had someone do the same day over and over until they got it right. It could be really funny.

  Eleanor picked up on a different thought from what I had told them.

  “Cora and Myron neither have ever been married, do you think?”

  I didn’t want to think.

  They were old, why they must be over fifty. That was older than my parents. Yuck!

  We joked around for several hours. People came and went all afternoon, so we caught up with what was going on with every couple at school. The ‘mice’ had the school in an up roar.

  Girls which had never got a second look were being reviewed. A good deal of those girls had had a really bad time growing and maturing. Now that was coming to fruition. Girls who had been pigeon holed as ugly or socially inept were now like butterflies emerging from the cocoon. It was time for new pigeon holes.

  When I got home there was a letter from the United States of America, Department of Justice. I had to read it three times before I understood what they were saying. It is illegal to possess or discharge an unauthorized firearm on a U.S. military reservation.

  Due to the special circumstances of an incident that I was involved in, I wouldn’t be prosecuted. Whew!

  However I would be held strictly liable in any future incidents. Okay I would let the spy blow the place up.

  It was signed by an Assistant U.S. Attorney named “Lisa”, it was only hand signed and I couldn’t make out her last name.

  I shared the letter with Mum and Dad. Dad told us he had heard that the commander out at the base had been relieved of duty. Apparently he had made a decision which went against policy. He had the guards keep their weapons unloaded to avoid accidents.

  We figured between the government wanting to keep the attempted incursion quiet, the commander leaving his troops unarmed to be saved by a civilian, plus the FBI passing the chance to catch the guy that there was no way they would want to prosecute me.

  The fact remained I screwed up and had better learn to think before I acted.

  After that I played pool with Denny who had just got out of class. Eddie joined us and of course I couldn’t beat either of the pool sharks. Mary was the only one that I could routinely beat and at the rate she was improving I wasn’t sure how long that would last.

  I was saved by Mrs. Hernandez showing up for our Spanish lesson. This time she brought recipes with her written in Spanish. We talked about them for an hour. I made a copy of one for a flan. Mum never made anything like that. Maybe I could talk her into trying it. It sounded like a fantastic dessert.

  After language it was time to type. I had borrowed Mum’s kitchen timer. I was now up to twenty words a minute. That was fast enough that I was starting to think about typing my essays.

  I tried reading before sleeping, but the story about descending through a volcano to a huge underground ocean and prehistoric animals just didn’t interest me. This story by one of my favorite authors hadn’t aged as well as many of his others.

  Chapter 22

  Friday seemed a little strange, going back to school for one day after having a day off. Some kids even asked why the parents didn’t have the funerals on Friday, so it could’ve been a three day weekend.

  Some people are self-centered if you ask me.

  There was a note waiting for me in home room. It was from Mr. Donaldson asking me to come to his office after lunch. The morning flew by as every teacher felt they had to give a quiz to make up for the day off.

  Mr. Donaldson had a surprise for me in the form of a set of drawings and half a dozen hand sketches.

  “My brother Jim and I got to talking about your shower head idea. Do you realize that your design is all about an adaptor? The ball joint can be directly incorporated into the shower head and bypass your patent.”

  “Here are sketches of the shower heads you provided with the adaptor built in. Here is a primary India ink drawing on white paper. Included on the drawing are the details of either machining the parts, or more likely casting them from aluminum.

  It staggered me about the major error which I had almost made. I asked him what he and his brother would like for their efforts. He looked a little nervous.

  “I understand from our conversations you are going to offer this for license rather than manufacture it yourself?”

  “That’s correct Mr. Donaldson.”

  I had been kidded many times in the past for always calling adults Mister or Misses, but this time I really did it out of respect.

  “Jim and I feel like this is a pretty big deal and would like to share between us ten percent of the license income,” he said hesitantly.

  I had never had an adult act so nervous about something in my life.

  “That seems reasonable to me.”

  You could see the relief sweep over him.

  We wrote it down in my ever present notebook, and both signed and dated it.

  “I will get our lawyer to formalize this with a contract between you and your brother and Jackson Engineering.”

  We shook hands on the deal. This was another first for me.

  When I got home I explained the situation to Mum and Dad. The information stopped them cold.

  Finally Dad said, “We better get this to the patent attorney in Columbus as fast as we can. I think you are doing the right thing by Tom and Jim Donaldson. They could have even filed for a patent themselves.”

  Dad then stated, “Rick this is your business and your money, but I have a question for you. Did you have to make a decision right then and there?”

  That stopped me cold. “I’m not sure, Mr. Donaldson appeared nervous, do you think there was a problem?”

  “Rick, Tom and Jim Donaldson are as honest as the day is long. Tom was nervous because he was asking a teenager for money. You are a minor and any deal made has to be approved by us. Now as I said, it is your b
usiness and your money, and we will automatically go along with your decisions, but that is not the point.”

  “What is the point?”

  “You didn’t have to make that decision right then. You could have told him you would check with the lawyer, talk it over with us and get back to him with a written proposal. Right now Tom and his brother are wondering what we have to say about all this. They are afraid that we will think they are trying to rip you off. We know that isn’t close to the truth, but they don’t know that.”

  “Rick, I don’t have that much more business experience than you do, but I have life experience. I have learned to slow down and take time where I can when making decisions on money and firearms. Sometimes you have to act immediately such as the bank robbery. Most times like today and at the airbase you have time to think. You have to learn to take time when you can.”

  “I personally think you have made a good decision on how to treat Tom and Jim. It shows you have good instinct to do the right thing. You want the business image of doing the right thing after mature thought. You got the right thing down pat. Now learn the mature thought part. By the way son, I’m proud of how you’re doing business.”

  Boy that was a sharp learning experience. A letter from the Department of Justice and a lecture from Dad on the same problem is not the way I am used to learning. High School is easy compared to these lessons.

  I was really glad when Mrs. Hernandez showed up for Spanish. I was ready to change the subject. Spanish was fun since tonight was the Sadie Hawkins dance, as we had our own with everything in Spanish of course. Mrs. Hernandez had come prepared with her own records. She had one of a dance called a Tango.

  When she heard it playing Mum came downstairs to watch. Mrs. Hernandez danced it with each of us. Denny and Eddie both said it was a stupid dance. Mum spoke up and said that men originally danced it together.

  Eddie asked where it was danced she said, “Argentina.”

  “No Mum I mean, where would men dance this dance together, what type of dance hall?”

  Both Mum and Mrs. Hernandez got real red in the face and ignored his question. I would have to look up the history of this dance!