Author Note: I'm trying a little something new with Jackie & Eric - I've skewed the story time line a bit to fit my fiction so I hope I don't get anyone confused. I haven't see a fan fiction quite like this one so I hope everyone takes a liking to it. Please let me know!
Chapter One – How They Met
Point Place High School
Being a sophomore in high school is like being a third grader in elementary school. You're not new to the school, your not getting ready to graduate… you just exist until summer vacation or the next summer vacation. Jackie Burkhart was looking out the window as Michael Kelso walked through the quad when Mr. Cross clapped his hands. 'Earth to Miss Burkhart, are you paying attention?"
Jackie was roused from her daydream by a poke in the back from the girl sitting behind her. "What?"
Mr. Cross was standing in the front of his class with his arms folded. "I see you have landed. Today is Surprise Pop Quiz and it's your turn at the blackboard."
Jackie blanched. Math – her worst subject and now she had to go to the chalkboard and embarrass herself in front of the cheer squad. She picked up the piece of white chalk and waited for the first question. Mr. Cross seemed to take a special delight in torturing the petite cheerleader. "Miss Burkhart, demonstrate how you would find the square root of 645."
Crap! This was agony. She started to draw the square root symbol and paused. What came next? She drew the number 645 and what came next? The fire drill bell! She was saved! The red bell clanged loudly and the students stood up and orderly exited the room to the designated classroom safe area. Jackie could have cried with relief.
The students milled around waiting for the bell to go back to class. Jackie strained to see the tall handsome junior but being short had its disadvantages. Desolately, she followed the students back to her math class. Mr. Cross waited until all the students were seated so he could retake attendance – a few stray students wandered back into class a few minutes late.
The bell for the end of class rang and the math teacher excused his students. "Miss Burkhart, please stop by my desk before you leave."
All Jackie could see were the sneers in the faces of her cheer friends. She sighed and gathered her handbag and books and trudged to Mr. Cross's desk. He indicated that she should sit in the chair beside the desk. "Miss Burkhart. I have been looking at your last test scores and your lack of homework – frankly I'm disappointed in you."
Jackie looked up. What? She was a good student – all of the teachers loved her except crabby Mr. Cross. He pushed his glasses on his nose, "I'm recommending summer school so you can get this grade up or you'll have to repeat this class in your junior year."
Summer school? That was cheerleader death! No cheer camp? She looked at Mr. Cross, "I can't go to summer school – is there any extracurricular work I can do? I can write a cheer with your name in it for the next football season." Yeah, that was reasonable.
Mr. Cross looked at the small brunette. She wasn't really a bad student, she just had an attitude that she was above reproach. A teacher's role was to teach and Phillip Cross was going to teach Miss Burkhart a lesson. "There is one alternative."
Jackie sat up excitedly. No summer school was worth anything! "Yes Mr. Cross?"
"Math tutoring three times a week until finals. No arguments – no discussions. I will assign a tutor and if you apply yourself you will pass this class with no less than a C."
Mentally, Jackie groaned. A math tutor? Oh jeez, this was almost as bad as summer school! Now she had to hang out with some loser after school three days a week. Cheer camp better be worth it!
*
Eric Forman had no clue why he was sent to the counselor's office. Maybe someone discovered the dead fish he and Kelso left in Mrs. Timberland's desk over the weekend? Or could it be the X-rated picture he drew for Hyde on the black board in study hall? Wait, who would have known he drew that? I'm so kicking Hyde's ass! The office assistant called his name, "Eric Forman? The counselor will see you now."
Eric stepped into the carpeted office of Mr. Stuckey. The treasured paddle-o-shame hung on the wall to remind Eric of the old days. Spankings for bad behavior were frowned upon now, but the paddle was there as a reminder to behave. Eric sat in the wooden chair in front of Stuckey's desk.
The ancient counselor rubbed his hands together. "Mr. Forman…how nice to see you again."
Eric gulped, why was old unlucky Stuckey being nice to him? This was not good. The old wrinkled hands picked up a manila folder. "Eric, this is your permanent record. This file will follow you for the rest of your academic life. Now you may be asking why I called you in today."
"Well, yeah, that crossed my mind when I heard my name over the loudspeaker." Eric joked.
Stuckey didn't find his remark very funny. 'Eric, it has come to my attention that you are a half credit shy of advancing to your senior year. I reviewed your grades and it looks like some days in detention may have attributed to your lack of points. It would be sad if you couldn't graduate with your senior class."
What was the old man getting at? Eric sat up straight, "Well, Mr. Stuckey, how can I get my half credit back? I mean I really don't want to be here when I'm supposed to be going to college "
Mr. Stuckey ran his creased fingers down the pages of the file. "I see that you have been doing well in Science and Advanced Mathematics. I do believe that six weeks of tutoring might persuade me to dismiss this half credit -unless of course you'd like to take one of our new elective courses."
Oh God, tutoring the slow students or taking "Feminism in the USA"? Both were torture. Eric opted for the less painful. "I'll be a tutor." He hung his head, why, oh why did I help Kelso vandalize the girl's locker room last semester? Mr. Stuckey smiled, "Great, report to the library tomorrow afternoon where you'll get your tutoring assignment."
Eric stood up, should he shake Mr. Stuckey's hand or just frog him in the shoulder? Eric grimaced and slid his hand into his pants pocket and slinked out the door.
*
Jackie sat alone at a table in the library. She made sure her seat was clean and wouldn't dirty her white pleated skirt. She did have a baseball game to cheer at later! Math – the bane of her existence. Who needed math when you were a Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader or a model or an actress? There was some commotion from the Head Librarian and Jackie looked up. Uh oh – the Tutors were here. Jackie sighed and laid her head down on her sweater covered arms and closed her eyes. Please don't let it be a fat girl or ugly guy or a fat ugly girl or …a poor ugly fat guy.
Eric looked at the list of students that needed tutoring. Oscar Mc Neeley was a troublemaker, skip that one. Janice Daily was pregnant again, skip her. Eric ran his finger back to the top of the list. Jackie Burkhart. Who was he? Eric closed his eyes, did an eeny-meenie-minie-moe and his finger landed on Burkhart. The librarian pointed him to the table in the corner. Great, I get the loser that hides in the corner.
Eric carried his books to the table, dreading each step – the Feminism class was starting to look pretty good after all. He dropped his books on the seat next to him and a small female voice said, "I hope you aren't going to waste my time."
Eric was taken aback. This girl thought he was wasting her time? He was here to help her with math. "Hey Missy, I'm the tutor and I'm supposed to be helping you." There, take that!
The girl lifted her head and pulled her long brown hair into a pony tail. She looked at him and Eric instantly noticed that she was knock em dead gorgeous. Her skin was tan and smooth and she was wearing some kind of shiny lip gloss. She blinked and smiled. "I'm Jackie Burkhart. I'm sorry if I was rude." She offered her hand and Eric noticed that his palm was sweaty. He quickly wiped it on his pants leg and shook her hand.
"I'm Eric Forman, and I'm going to help you pass your math class."
She looked at him, "Can you get someone from the Mafia to take out Mr. Cross?" she deadpanned. Eric started to laugh; he had wanted to knock out the sophomore teacher a time or two himself. Maybe tutoring Miss Burkhart wouldn't be such an ordeal after all.
*
It was Friday and Jackie had a homecoming game to cheer at. Eric wanted to go to the movies with his buddies. This tutoring thing was cramping his life. He had already spent four hours teaching basic algebra to Jackie Burkhart and they weren't making any progress. Not that Eric minded sitting with the beautiful cheerleader while she studied, but tonight was Fright Night special at the drive in.
Jackie sighed and threw her pencil down. "Eric, I just don't understand this - and I'm tired, I didn't sleep well last night. I have a game in 45 minutes…" she groaned and dropped her head on the table. Eric could feel her frustration; he knew that there had to be a way to make her understand the simple equations.
"I know what to do." Eric had a light bulb moment. She raised her face, "What can you do that you haven't already done?" He tore a piece of paper out of her notebook and scribbled something on it. "This is my address. Come to my house tomorrow and we'll work as long as we have to just to get algebra out of the way."
Jackie looked at his address. At least he didn't live in the poor part of town and her dad would probably let her borrow his Lincoln. "I usually sleep in on Saturday."
Eric smiled, "Good, cuz I do too." She contemplated his idea – the library was boring and maybe not being here would be a more favorable learning atmosphere. "Okay, I'll be at your house tomorrow afternoon."
"It's a deal." Eric smiled.
*
"Oh Eric, you're having a little friend come over for lunch? How cute is that? Hahahaha," Kitty Forman laughed. She ran her damp dishtowel over the kitchen table and set down a plate of cookies. Eric scowled at his mother, "Mom, it's not a little friend. It's a student I'm tutoring in math."
Kitty smiled and patted her son on the head, "That's nice dear. Just make sure your friend leaves before dinner time." Kitty untied her apron and hung it on a hook near the refrigerator. She saw a small young girl knocking on the sliding glass door. A girl? Eric's student was a girl – oh my!
"Eric, I think there's someone here to see you." Eric looked up and waved. The door slid open and the petite young lady stepped inside. Eric had only seen her with her cheer skirts on but today she was wearing tight jeans and a pink tee shirt. She had pulled her hair into a pony tail that bounced with every step she took. She was just stunning. Kitty watched as her son's eyes glazed over at the pretty girl and cleared her throat. "Eric?"
Eric blinked wiped his face, "Sorry, Mom this is Jackie Burkhart. I'm tutoring her in math. Jackie this is my mom, Kitty Forman."
Burkhart. Why did that name sound familiar. "Hello Jackie, how are you today?"
Jackie beamed at the older woman. Kitty Forman was the embodiment of what a mom should be. She wasn't trying to wear skinny clothes, she smelled like cinnamon, she had laugh lines around her mouth - she was the perfect mother. 'I'm fine Mrs. Forman. Thank you for letting me come over and study."
"Oh, you have such good manners! Eric, be nice to this girl, your father and I will be in the next room."
"Thanks Mom – I'm sure you'll be listening!" Kitty's tinkling laugh could be heard as the kitchen door swung shut.
*
An hour had passed and the pair was making no progress whatsoever. Eric sat back and exhaled. 'Jackie, let's stop concentrating so hard. Let's just talk for a few minutes."
Jackie dropped her pencil on the desk. "God, thank you. I think my brain is going to explode."
Eric reached for a cookie. "Besides being a cheerleader, what else do you like to do?"
Jackie thought about it for a minute and replied: "I love to draw, go shopping, unicorns, the color purple, ABBA…" Eric touched her hand, "Okay stop – too much information. Let's try something different here. See this equation here? N + 7 = 36."
"Oh Eric, you're just going to give me a headache." The pretty girl moaned. Eric grinned because he had a plan. "This should be very easy for you. Think of "N" as a new purse." Jackie's head popped up off the table. "Okay, I love new purses….
"So if "N" is your new purse and you have 36 dollars… then you are going to write this equation. 36 dollars – no don't write the dollar sign, just write 36 and a minus sign, equals "N' your new purse. So…"
"36 dollars minus the new purse equals 7! I just bought a new purse for $29.00! What a bargain! Wait, did I get that right?"
Eric was happy, "Yes! 36 minus "N" equals 7 so the answer is "N" equals 29." Jackie squealed with delight, "Oh, math is like shopping!"
Eric wasn't sure where she was going with this, "O-kay. I guess it can be. Let's try a couple more equations."
At the end of the hour, Jackie had bought a horse, a new dress, three pairs of shoes and they were all on sale by the way of algebra. She happily closed her book and put her chin in her hand. "Eric, why can't Mr. Cross teach math the Eric Forman way? I would do so much better in class." Eric kind of like the way she looked at him – a little bit of hero worship – a little bit of respect from a snooty cheerleader. "Well Jackie, Mr. Cross is just old. I don't think he even shops so he wouldn't grasp the Jedi way of thinking."
She fluttered her long lashes, "Han Solo is so cute." She sighed. Eric frowned, "What's wrong with Luke? Why do all the girls go crazy for Han Solo?" Jackie gazed at the cute skinny nerd boy. "You look more like Han than Luke. Girls might go crazy for you."
That startled him. "You think I look cute? Han Solo cute?" She nodded her head. "So, my Star Wars geek boy, how did I do today?" She called him a geek! Well if she wanted to call names, she was short! "Well, midget, you did very well. Next Monday we'll cover square root and maybe you'll ace the test."
"I hope so. I just want to squash an eraser in Mr. Cross's face." She gathered her books and pencils. She liked this green kitchen. Working here on her homework was so much better than the library or being at home. She skipped around the table and kissed Eric on the cheek. "Thank you so much for the lesson! You're a good teacher."
Eric touched his cheek where Jackie kissed it. He didn't expect it or the butterflies in his stomach. She paused at the door and waved before she left. I'm a good teacher! Eric had a smile that lasted all day.
*
Kelso climbed over the back of the old battered sofa in the Forman basement. "How could you get a half credit for detention? Man that just sucks. So what happens now?" Eric got a Popsicle from the freezer, "I have to tutor math for the next month a half. It's okay though, I do want to graduate next year."
Kelso grinned, "Who'd you get stuck with? I'll bet it was prego Janice – she's always failing math." Fez, Kelso's foreign exchange friend hopped down the stairs, "Janice can't even count to nine months – twice!" Kelso laughed out loud. "Nice burn Fez!"
Eric smiled at his goofy friends, "No, actually I'm tutoring Jackie Burkhart in math." Kelso's mouth dropped open, "You got the hot cheerleader? Man, you have to introduce me!" Fez was grinning too, "Yes, I've seen her do the splits in the air – she is very sexy."
Eric didn't think of his student as being sexy. She was sweet and smart and pretty as all get out, but his friends were practically drooling! "Kelso, she's failing math – if she doesn't get her grades up then she won't be cheering any time soon."
"Eric, man – you have to introduce me. Think how cool I'd be with Jackie Burkhart on my arm." Kelso was daydreaming again. Eric looked up at the basement steps. His curly haired friend with shades jumped over to his regular chair. "Who's Kelso stalking now?"
Fez unwrapped a Tootsie Roll and popped it in his mouth. "A hot cheerleader." Kelso still had stars in his eyes thinking about Jackie Burkhart at the top of the cheer pyramid. Steven Hyde smirked, "Cheerleaders are snobs' man. They only care about the pretty people. Hey, wait, Kelso is man-pretty. Go for it man."
Eric threw his hands in the air. All this talk about Jackie Burkhart was cutting into his Sunday "us" time. In fact, he was still waiting for the other part of "us" to come down the stairs. Then there she was, tall, slender with long flowing red hair – the crush of his life, Donna Pinciotti - his next door neighbor.
"Hey dill holes – what are you talking about?" Donna plopped down on the sofa next to Eric and the cheerleader story continued.
*