Old Flames

Old Flames: Chapter 8

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Lainie picked at the shepherd's pie on her lunch tray.  Tracy, her best friend, chatted next to her, not noticing that Lainie's mind was a million miles away...well, not a million.  More like across the cafeteria.  She didn't know what it was about Aaron Dozier, but he disturbed her somehow.  Last spring, when his family moved here during his junior year he'd been assigned her lab partner in advanced biology.  He was quiet, he kept to himself, but he did his share of the assignments.

Now, entering their senior year together, after a summer apart, even though they lived basically in the same neighborhood, he'd made an effort to always be around when she least expected him.  Coming out of the girls' bathroom, she would spy him across the hall, goofing off with his friends.  He'd look up, meet her eyes, never smile, and then go back to his male bonding.  During Spanish class, she would turn in her desk to pass back the Senor Garcia's homework assignment to Eric, the boy that sat behind her, and see Aaron watching her.  Even now, the back of her head burned.  If she glanced over her shoulder, she'd see his eyes trained on her, no expression on his face.  Like he couldn't decide what to do about her, like she was a problem he couldn't understand.

Lainie Moon had never been a problem.  All her teachers liked her, and she worked very hard to keep her grades up, never causing any ruckus or problems in class.

Tracy waved a hand in front of Lainie's face.  "Earth to Lainie.  What's gotten into you lately?  You're so...moody."

"I'm fine."

"Is this about what Bobby Michaels said about you last week?"

Lainie's head popped up.  "What did Bobby say about me?"

Tracy's mouth sealed tight.  Apparently she didn't know that Lainie had no idea the gossip that Bobby had been spreading.  "What did he say?" Lainie asked again, searching Bobby in the crowded cafeteria.  She saw him, sitting on the right of Aaron.  Wonderful.  Somehow, she knew that both Aaron and Bobby were talking about her, and she didn't like it.  She didn't like it one bit.

Tracy sighed.  "It's nothing, Lainie, just a bunch of trash.  You know how boys are."

"Tell me anyway."

Her friend picked up her pencil and doodled on the top of her notebook, not meeting Lainie's eyes.  Lainie began to get angry, and her temper wasn't a pleasant sight to see.  "Tracy," she said in a warning voice.  "Tell me, or I'll walk right over there and ask him myself."

"You'll do it anyway, once you hear it," Tracy mumbled.  Her friend, though vivacious, never liked to cause ripples.  Confrontation never set well on Tracy's stomach.

"Tell me," Lainie commanded in her sternest voice, playing on Tracy's weakness.  Tracy blanched and dropped her pencil.

"Okay, but you have to promise that you won't do anything.  He's a jerk, and you'll just make things worse for yourself."

Lainie waited.  Tracy pleaded silently with her to promise.  Finally, she nodded, not at all sure if she could keep such a pledge.  "Okay, here it is," Tracy said, lowering her voice to a whisper, although the two of them were sitting at a table by themselves, "Last week, Aaron Dozier said something to Bobby about Mrs. Williams giving him grief over some Shakespeare essay he was supposed to write.  Then Bobby told Aaron that you wrote a paper for him last year, but he had to pay for it, if you know what I mean."

Lainie frowned, not liking where this story was going.  "No, I don't.  What do you mean?"

Tracy began to get tears in her eyes.  "Please, you promised.  Don't do anything, alright?"  She paused for a second, waiting for Lainie's repeated nod, but she didn't have the frame of mind to give it.  Tracy went on hesitantly, "Bobby said that...to get his paper...you told him that he had to...um, go down on you."