Jean Harnett

Chapter 7: November

"You have an admirer," Zoe announced as she popped one of the last of the Halloween candy kisses into her mouth and dropped onto the sofa at their apartment.

Jean looked up from the paper she was reading, and interest shone in her eyes. "Hmm. Tell me more."

"You might not want to hear about it."

Jean's eyes widened. "It is a man, isn't it?"

"Oh, yes. Definitely."

Jean relaxed. "No problem."

"Yes, there is. He's a Woodstock student."

Jean frowned and laid down her red pencil. "Oh, dear."

"Yeah."

"Who?"

"Jeff Braun."

"Jeff-- Oh, dear!"

"Isn't he the one who went with you and Lacey and Rose on the Great Ghost Expedition to Springfield?"

"Yes. Oh, Zoe, I can see how it happened, why he thinks I'm interested in him, too. I am interested, but in his intellectual endeavors. He's a good student, and I want to stimulate him."

"That, you're doing. Sorry," Zoe apologized to Jean's pained face. "This is no laughing matter. Crushes are serious stuff. They're agonizing for the one smitten and embarrassing for the recipient. You've handled them before, haven't you?"

Jean stood up and paced. "But that was older guys. Well, at least guys my own age. This is just a kid, a kid I like. But not in the romantic sense. I don't want to crush him, Zoe, I just want him to see how hopeless his affection for me is."

"Better develop an 'affection' for someone else then."

"Brian?"

"Nobody would believe it."

"Craig?"

"Your sister would kill you."

"There's nobody else. Rose has Lacey and Jack."

"There's always Robert Cramer."

"Robert Cramer?! Not even a six-year-old child would believe that one, let alone a high school senior. And besides, Cramer wouldn't play along."

"We're back to Craig then."

"He'd do it just to please me."

And he did. Craig squired her everywhere, which didn't bother either one of them. Jean gradually saw the romantic light leave Jeff's eyes to be replaced by a new interest in a certain Sophomore girl. He became a good friend to Jean and she helped him prepare for college. Occasionally, though, just occasionally, Jean wondered what would've happened if Jeff had been a little older and she had been a little younger. He was a nice young man, and that girl down in the Sophomore class better be good to him!

The other result of the little change was that people thought that she and Craig were dating steadily and becoming quite serious. After all, weren't they seen leaving town together on Friday evenings? To many in Woodstock, they were a twosome and linked together in a more serious relationship than they realized.

Jean bombed down the hall and skidded to a stop in Cramer's office.

"Hi!"

He looked at her grinning face and actually grimaced. "What can I do for you this afternoon, Miss Harnett?"

"I just wanted an okay on this project that I'm planning--" Her voice trailed off as she saw his dull eyes and the effort it was taking for him to concentrate on her problem. "Aren't you feeling well?"