Taking The Queen's King

The Class

"What was the point of that whack test, anyways?" Erin wondered, twirling spaghetti on her fork.
"I didn't even get a result!" Joe complained. "But it got me outta physics, so that's good."
"What test?" Mary inquired, confused.
"They showed us different ink blot tests," Danny explained. "I got the one with people arguing. Apparently, I have low self esteem." He rolled his eyes, finding it ridiculous he had to take the class.
"Oh, dear. That's very bad. Low self esteem can result in—"
"Mom. I don't have low self esteem."
"But the test—"
"Lied. I was being an ass, and got myself roped into that pit of weirdos."
************
Linda sighed as she sat in her new, after school class. A boy sat in the vacant seat next to her.
"So, what're you in for?"
She inwardly cursed at the boy. Tommy LaRue was her new admirer since the beginning of the new year. They had been back in school for three weeks, and he had done everything for her to notice him.
"Cause dicks like you keep hitting on me. It's very disconcerting." She stood up and plopped down in the next row.
"Didn't expect to see you here."
"Danny!" Linda hated how her face cracked into a smile.
"You get stuck here cause you were being an ass as well?"
"Oh yeah. Total ass." She pointed to herself, then quickly at Danny. "If you say anything about my ass, I'm gonna renounce our friendship."
"Now would I ever do that?" He sat down next to her, "Don't answer that."
"Good morning, class. My name's Mr. Wright, and I'm just gonna say that you can do it. You can achieve high self esteem."
Linda rolled her eyes and shook her head, turning to the blank piece of paper in front of her.
"Step one-"
"We can have lotsa fun," the blonde mumbled, not knowing she made Danny smile.
With each step, Linda finished off the lyric to the song Step By Step.
"..... you have to discover yourself."
Danny raised his hand- this was a perfect opportunity to show off being an ass. The teacher went on without seeing his hand, "excuse me!"
"Wait till after the talk, hm?"
"But I don't understand how you want us to discover ourselves. Do you mean, like, mentally? Or spiritually? Or physically? Cause... I've already done that. A few years back."
The class giggled, and Linda choked on something.
"Let's continue, shall we?"
"But how can I understand you, if I don't know what the hell you're talking about?"
"You'll catch on."
Danny frowned, crossing his arms. He looked over to Linda, who was blushing hard. She's really cute when she blushes.
***********
"Today, we talked about turning your dreams into reality. Tonight, I want you to go home and do just that." Mr. Wright summed up the class, then sighed when a had was raised. "Yes, Mr. Reagan?"
"I can't do that, cause what I wanna do is illegal in New York, and she won't do it with me."
The whole class echoed an "oohhh!!", while Linda hid her head and blushed, feeling the stare of Danny.
"Mr. Reagan-"
"How can I achieve my dreams if I can't even expedite them?"
"That's the wrong word, and you already admitted you do it to yourself," Linda almost shot back. She saw the look on Danny's face- a mix of surprised, pleased, and a little devious.
"Achieve your dreams, don't let anything get in your way. You're dismissed."
"Illegal in New York?" Linda walked out with Danny, her heart pounding in her ears.
"Uh, yeah..."
"Who's the she?"
"Just a pretty girl I know," he shrugged, well aware of the fact that he was blushing.
"Does she have a name?"
"Uh...." he said the first name he thought of, "Rose."
"Huh. I know a Rose."
"You... do?" Why did that come out as apprehensive?
"Yeah. Me. My middle name's Rose."
"Linda Rose.... I like it."
"What's your middle name?"
"Uh, Fitzgerald."
"Mm. Don't know many Fitzgeralds... if any. Except you, of course. Listen, I gotta go." She started walking away quickly.
"Linda!"
"What?" She turned around.
"You're coming with me."
".... what?" She asked quietly.
"With us, I mean. It's Tuesday, Joey's waitin'."
"Oh, I forgot...."