Blind Date

by Bruce Richards

  Evan stirred. Slowly, he pushed himself up into a sitting position. Alicia and the rest of the class watched him as he looked at his feet and saw that someone had tied his shoelaces together. He untied the shoes, then retied them…

  Suddenly he reached over and snatched the love letter from Boomer. Surprised, Boomer tried to snatch it back, but Evan shielded it with his body. Then Evan pushed Boomer so hard, he lost his balance and fell out of his chair.

  The class laughed.

  Boomer's jock buddies in the back row razzed him about being pushed around by a nerd.

  Mr. Bozwell walked down the row and stood before Evan.

  "You were already in one fight today in the cafeteria. You almost took my eye out with that pencil," Mr. Bozwell said to Evan, rubbing his forehead where the pencil had struck him. "Now, isn't that enough?"

  "He had a knife, too, Mr. Bozwell," someone said. "In the cafeteria. But he dropped it when he saw you coming."

  "I'm requesting right now to have my seat changed, Mr. Bozwell," Boomer said indignantly. "As you can see, Evan is quite violent. He could hurt me! The boy's a menace."

  Guffaws from the crowd.

  "And he writes pornography," Boomer added, pointing to the piece of paper Evan still clutched tightly in his hand.

  "Perhaps you should read your little love letter to the entire class," Bozwell said to Evan. Alicia couldn't believe her biology teacher would be so cruel. Maybe he was mad about being hit with the pencil.

  Evan pressed the letter against his desk to smooth out the crinkles. Then he quickly stuffed it into his mouth.

  A few pockets of nervous laughter tittered through the classroom.

  "What's he doing?" someone asked.

  "He's eating the letter!"

  "Now that's weird!"

  His mouth still full of half-chewed paper, Evan walked down the row, brushed past Mr. Bozwell, and walked out of the classroom, slamming the door behind him.

  Alicia rose from her desk and walked out the door without bothering to ask Mr. Bozwell for permission to leave. Enough was enough. The noise of the classroom diminished, then clicked off completely as the classroom door closed shut behind her.

  She hurried down the hushed hallways looking for Evan. This was her chance to redeem herself. She'd be a true friend to Evan.

  As she passed a dark, empty classroom, she heard a chair squeak and scrape across the floor. Was that him?

  Down the hall she heard a typewriter clacking away, probably in the reception area of the principal's office. She paused, then cracked the classroom door open and peeked inside.

  Strange shadows passed through the partially drawn blinds and fell upon rows of abandoned desks. In the odd lighting, they made Alicia think of rows of tombstones. Was Evan behind one of them?

  "Evan?" she called softly. But no reply broke the deathly quiet of the room.

  "Evan?"

  Alicia heard something creak.

  "Evan?" she whispered. "I know you're in here."

  She slipped into the classroom. When the door closed behind her it was darker than before. Her hand went to the light switch, but then she thought better of it. Someone might notice.

  She heard a soft sob. Then another.

  Alicia crept silently up and down the rows of desks looking for Evan. She finally found him huddled under a desk, rolled into a ball like a wounded animal licking its wounds under a bush.

  Tears streamed out from behind Evan's thick glasses and rolled down his cheeks. Alicia placed a hand gently on his shoulder. She felt so sorry for him, it was breaking her heart.

  Evan was a strange boy.

  A strange, hurt boy.

  But he was also a boy in need of help.

  "Evan, let's get out of here," she said. "I'll take you home."

  "No," he said, a sob catching in his throat. "I like it right here. It's safe here."

  Alicia heard footsteps in the hall and looked up. A dim form passed the frosted glass of the classroom door and continued down the hall.

  "Evan… don't let them find you like this," she said. "Don't let them see they can get to you. That's just what they want. Don't give them that satisfaction." Alicia knew that if the football players found Evan and her together like this, both their lives would become hell.

  Evan stopped crying.

  Alicia continued, "When the bell rings, give the halls some time to clear and then meet me behind the stadium, by the concession stand. I'll give you a ride home, okay?"

  No answer.

  "Okay, Evan?" she asked quietly.

  "Will you go back to Bozwell's class and get my clay girl?"

  "Yeah," she said softly. "I will…"

  The bell ending the period jangled loudly and both Alicia and Evan jumped. Then they laughed. Alicia brushed back a strand of Evan's hair. "I'll meet you by the north end of the stadium, okay?"

  "Okay," Evan said.

  Alicia slipped out of the classroom. The hallway was already clamoring with students eager to break free from school as she hurried back to Mr. Bozwell's class.

  She opened the door slowly, checking to make sure everyone had left. She didn't want to face her classmates just then. She'd just retrieve Evan's biology project and go.

  But when she stepped inside, she gasped.

  The clay girl was gone.

  Chapter 11

  Alicia waited for Evan at the north end of the football field, near the snack bar and the row of pay phones.

  Unfortunately, she was also near the locker room doors. She wished she had named a better place to meet Evan, but she had felt so panicky back in the dark classroom that she hadn't thought clearly.

  In the distance she spotted Evan walking toward her.

  Oh, no. The timing was all wrong. She had wanted to get Scott's car keys and maybe find out what had happened to the clay girl before Evan arrived.

  Too late!

  She glanced nervously at the door to the locker room. She had already sent a guy in to get Scott. She glanced back at Evan, realizing she had led him right into danger. If the football players saw him… Alicia didn't want to think about what condition he would be in after they finished with him.

  Alicia walked briskly toward Evan, glancing nervously over her shoulder as a group of players in pads and cleats came out of the locker room door. If she could reach Evan before anyone else saw him, perhaps they could avert a disaster.

  She saw Ellen and Tiffany way over by the fence, sitting on the hood of Ellen's MG and talking to Charlie Chadwick, Springwood's biggest linebacker. Alicia hoped they wouldn't notice her. Charlie was one of Alicia's least favorite people. He had a mean streak which was most visible in the practical jokes he played on his so-called buddies. A lot of his pranks were grade-school stuff, like sprinkling salt on chewing gun. But Alicia remembered one time when he had actually slashed someone's tires — and it had been one of his friends.

  Evan's smile grew wider as she drew closer, the sun glinting off his big, black glasses.

  Alicia thought it was odd that the nephew of an eye doctor couldn't manage to get a better-looking pair of glasses. As she considered just how nerdy they really looked, the sky darkened and the reflective lenses turned into two black holes. Alicia glanced up at the fast-moving clouds drifting across the sun, sending a shadow across the tarmac toward Evan.

  Then something sailed over Alicia's head.

  Fast as a bullet it headed straight for Evan.

  It struck him flush in the face and rebounded crazily to the ground.

  A football.

  Evan fell to the ground, his face in his hands, his shattered glasses on the ground ten feet from him.

  Alicia spun around angrily, as Scott jogged toward her in his long, easy strides.

  "Teach that little twerp to stick dead cats in my car," Scott muttered as he approached her, his cleats clicking over the gritty tarmac surface, shoulder pads bulging underneath his practice jersey.

  Evan lay motionless, crumpled on the ground. His hand
s covered his face.

  "Hi, Ali," Scott said as he stopped by her side. "I got the keys."

  Alicia ignored Scott and ran to Evan. Scott ambled after her. Alicia helped Evan up. Scott grimaced when he saw the damage he had done.

  Evan's face was terribly bloody. Alicia pulled a handkerchief from her pocket and dabbed at a cut near his eye.

  Scott picked Evan's glasses up off the ground, and Alicia snatched them from him. The frames were bent and a lens was cracked. She handed them to Evan, who slipped them on despite their condition. They sat crookedly on his nose.

  "You could've knocked his eye out, you idiot!" she yelled at Scott. The gash over Evan's eye was nasty, and Alicia wondered if he would need stitches.

  Scott looked sheepish. "I didn't mean to hit him."

  "Yeah, right," Alicia said angrily. "The star quarterback made a wild throw."

  Alicia picked up some pens that were scattered on the ground, and put them back into the plastic holder that had fallen out of Evan's shirt pocket.

  "Hey, dude, I'm sorry, all right?" Scott said to Evan. In the distance, Alicia saw Charlie Chadwick loping toward them — probably planning to show off his brawn to Tiffany and Ellen by getting into a fight.

  "Honest, I didn't mean to hit you in the face. But you shouldn't have stuck that dead cat in my car," Scott said.

  "He didn't do it," Alicia protested.

  "Yeah, right," Scott responded sarcastically. Then he turned back to Evan. "Just admit it, and I'll forget about it. We'll pretend it never happened. Just admit it. Because the next time you do something like that, I'm gonna pound the crap outta you," Scott said.

  Evan stared silently at his shoes, the bloody handkerchief pressed to his face.

  "You're not going to do anything," Alicia declared to Scott.

  "Are you going to admit it or what?" Scott asked Evan, ignoring Alicia.

  "Yeah, admit it," Charlie repeated, jogging up to them. "Before I rip your legs off and make you eat them."

  "And you know Charlie can do it," Scott said to Evan.

  "Admit it or say your prayers," Charlie snarled.

  Scott and Charlie, standing side by side in their shoulder pads and cleats, looked even taller and more broad-shouldered than they normally looked — and they normally looked pretty big. Next to the two jocks, Evan looked like a dwarf.

  "Why do you always have to bully him?" Alicia asked, exasperated. "You never let up."

  But the boys continued to ignore her. Like dogs who smelled blood, nothing would stop them from getting their prey.

  "I'm waiting — spaz!" Charlie growled, taking a generous handful of Evan's oversized shirt. A button popped off. Charlie lifted Evan into the air with one hand. "Admit what you've done or prepare to die!"

  Chapter 12

  Charlie shook Evan, and several more buttons flew into the air.

  This was all her fault, Alicia thought miserably. If only she had picked an out-of-the-way spot for them to meet. She looked around for help.

  But who would help a nerd like Evan?

  "Please put him down, Charlie," Alicia pleaded.

  But now Charlie just kept shaking Evan. Evan's glasses hung from one ear now. "So? Are you going to admit it? Or is it time to kiss this life good-bye?"

  "Yeah," Scott yelled, caught up in Charlie's blood frenzy. "Admit it!"

  "You guys…" Alicia said, feeling helpless.

  Evan hung limp in Charlie's massive arms. His glasses slipped down, then fell completely off his nose.

  "Are you going to admit it?" Charlie asked. "Last chance!"

  "No!" Evan screamed.

  Charlie smiled and dropped Evan roughly to the ground.

  Evan stood up with what Alicia thought was a surprising amount of dignity. He dusted himself off, picked up his damaged glasses and slipped them back on.

  "Okay, then I guess I'll have to admit it," Charlie said.

  "Huh?" Scott said.

  "I put the cat in the trunk of your car," Charlie said, a long grin creasing his face.

  Scott was stone faced.

  "Chadwick, you are such a jerk!" Alicia yelled.

  Charlie's grin grew wider, revealing a missing front tooth. "You are so easy, Martin," he said with a laugh. "I had you going from here to nowhere."

  Scott kicked Charlie's football helmet clear across the tarmac. "I'm gonna kick your ass for this, Chadwick."

  With lightning speed, Charlie's hands shot out and secured Scott in a wrestling hold, lifted him from the ground, and dangled him helplessly in the air.

  "You gonna kick my ass now, Martin? Huh? Huh? You gonna kick my ass!" Charlie was yelling, red in the face.

  Alicia looked away. Watching her boyfriend hanging like that was a real embarrassment. She saw Evan walking away. He was almost to the concession stand.

  "Evan," she called. "Wait up!"

  But Evan kept walking.

  "Evan!" she called again.

  But he never even turned around.

  * * *

  "Two fights in one day!" Ellen said to Tiffany, her face flushed with excitement.

  Johnny Murphy was beginning to bore her. How many Jean-Claude van Damme movies could one girl be expected to sit through, anyway?

  She climbed up on the hood of the MG to get a better look. Ellen couldn't believe her good luck.

  She had her sights set on Alicia's boyfriend, of course. She hadn't thought that beating Alicia out for cheerleading captain would help her to win him over. But now, by standing up for Evan, Alicia was practically pushing Scott into her open arms. All Ellen had to do to help the process along was exaggerate a little.

  "There hasn't been this much excitement in Springwood since…" Ellen suddenly stopped in mid-sentence, her mouth gaping.

  Tiffany shot her friend a puzzled look. "What…?"

  Ellen's face filled with terror.

  "Ellen — what's wrong?" Tiffany asked.

  "I thought I saw… I thought I saw…"

  Ellen's face twisted with horror and a chill ran up Tiffany's spine.

  Chapter 13

  Tiffany crawled up on the car and followed Ellen's gaze across the tarmac. Her heart was pounding, her palms sweating, her senses swirling, fully expecting to see some truly unimaginable sight, something so reprehensible and repulsive it would make her hurl.

  Instead she saw Alicia and Evan.

  "Alicia just kissed the geek!" Ellen said in horror.

  "Oh." Tiffany groaned. "Is that all?"

  "Isn't that enough? He was staring at me all through lunch period today. That guy is creepy with a capital C!"

  Tiffany looked back to Alicia and Evan. Evan was fumbling with his glasses, which appeared to be broken. Even though she and Alicia were friends — and she was always willing to give a friend the benefit of the doubt, Tiffany couldn't imagine what Alicia could possibly see in Evan. Why was she always defending that weirdo? Evan made Tiffany nervous — she wished he didn't live so close to them on Elm Street. If only Evan and his equally-weird uncle would move to another part of town… or, even better, another part of the world.

  "Hey, I have an idea…" Ellen said. Her eyes glowed wickedly. "I know how we can teach Weird Evan a lesson."

  Tiffany's eyes narrowed. "This idea wouldn't have anything to do with that clay thing Johnny stole from Bozwell's class, would it?"

  Ellen's answer was a crooked grin.

  Tiffany looked back at Evan.

  Poor bastard.

  Chapter 14

  Evan crossed the stadium parking lot and headed for Elm Street, for home. He had taken enough punishment for one day.

  When would it stop?

  When?

  Never! He knew that as sure as he knew his name. He knew it even if the voices in his head didn't keep telling him the same thing.

  He walked along the sidewalk keeping his eyes glued to the ground, his head whirring with thoughts. Evil thoughts. Dark voices chattered inside his head. Voices he had been trying desperately to shut out. Voice
s that had been growing louder and louder every day.

  Evan used to think the voices were his dead parents giving him advice and encouragement from the grave. But not anymore.

  The bullies were winning.

  When would it end?

  Never! repeated the dark voices from inside. Not till they're dead. Not till they're all dead!

  They were all his enemies. Everyone and everything. Except his uncle. And his cats. And maybe Alicia.

  But even friends had to be punished sometimes when they misbehaved. Punished like unruly children.

  He heard the purr of a finely-tuned engine and his head shot up. Were they coming for him? He saw a convertible rolling down the street toward him. Scott's? No, a small MG. What would it be this time? Water balloons? Black ink in a squirt gun?

  The afternoon sky had turned dark and gray, the air wet and heavy. Pregnant clouds hung low.

  The MG pulled up alongside him.

  In the two-seater were two cheerleaders. Evan recognized them: Tiffany Clark and Ellen Sawyer. Two girls that any guy at Springwood would die to have.

  Even Evan.

  "Evan," Ellen called with a friendly wave, getting out of the car.

  Evan swallowed hard. If the blonde goddess was being nice to him, she must have something diabolical in mind, he figured.

  Evan eyed Ellen suspiciously as she approached him.

  "Hi," Ellen said, showing perfect white teeth.

  "Hi, Evan," Tiffany said with a friendly wave.

  "Hi," Evan said warily to the two girls.

  What did they want with him?

  Ellen's face suddenly filled with concern. "Evan… what happened to your eye?" She took the handkerchief from his hand and gently dabbed at the bloody gash.

  "You didn't see?" Evan asked.

  "See what?"

  "What Scott did to me."

  "Scott did this?" Ellen asked in fake disbelief. "What a brute."

  "Yeah, well," Evan mumbled nervously.

  "Was it over the cat thing?"

  "Yeah."

  "But you didn't do it?"

  "No. No way."