Scaredy Cat

Chapter 4: Obstacles

***

Dr. Lana B. Morris was beginning to sound a lot like Marlene, Everly thought; they both possessed a breathtaking sense of moral certitude that made argument impossible. She sighed. She would call the policeman. She would call and invite him to accompany her to the school grad dance, which she had volunteered to chaperone some time ago. And if people she cared about disapproved, or thought he was too short or thought it was too soon after Simon, then screw'em. They'd get over it.

She picked up the phone and dialed his number, and had barely enough time to think of her opening words when his voice said in her ear, "Hello, is George there?" She blinked, nonplused. "Uh, no, but I think... did I... is this...?"

He chortled. "Sorry; just a little gag I like to play on the guys. Really throws them. Is this Everly, I hope?"

"Yes, it is. I got your --"

"I'm really glad you called, Everly. I hope you don't think I was too forward with the note there?" 

Well, no, not at all, I --"

"Can I take you to dinner some night this week, Everly?"

"Well, sure, that would be --"

"Friday night?"

"Oh, I thought we could go to -- my school has -- I'm a teacher and I'm one of the chaperones at our grad dance on Friday --" She was babbling now.

"Perfect. What time shall I pick you up, Everly?"

"Oh, maybe six -- er -- seven-thirty?"

"I'll be there. And I'll have my dancing shoes on."

"Fine. So, I'll --"

"See you then, Everly. I'm really looking forward to this." And he hung up.

She shook her head, still catching up with the conversation. OK, that went well. She'd barely uttered a complete sentence, but the deed was done, the date was on. The next day a single tiger lily, tall and striking in shades of apricot and cream, was delivered to her door. The note said, 'Tiger Lily, I think of you.'

***

Tom Sharp was a chemistry teacher at Sandy Hill. He was quiet and pale, and his prominent nose jutted out far enough from his face to seem to be leading the rest of his body through the halls. A longish brush cut above, and receding chin below, swept back from his nose and gave him the profile of a shark, and the nickname to match. It was fortunate that Everly mustered up her courage when she did, for it enabled her to tell Tom that she already had a date, when he offered to escort her to the dance. He was a very nice man for a Bunsen burners and beakers type, but she had no wish to get into a sticky social situation with a colleague from school -- not even in the last weeks of the year.

For his part, Tom was crushed. He had been smitten with Everly since he first came to the school nine months earlier, and her sudden reclassification as unattached and available had jolted his romantic daydreams into the realm of possibility. He had waited the shortest time possible, he felt, before asking her out, but now it appeared someone else had been less mannerly than he, and had scooped the prize. Bravely, he forced a smile, and hoped aloud that Everly might spare him a dance on Friday night.

Sharon, too, offered to pick Everly up for the dance, and seemed taken aback at the news of the date. "That was quick," she said, and Everly blushed. "But I guess there's no point brooding about the past." She looked concerned, and Everly wondered if this was merely her habitual I'm-very-disappointed-in-you principal reflex, or a genuine reflection of how she felt. But the following day, and for the rest of the week, Sharon was her usual amiable self.