Chapter 25

Andy was angry. He milled around the house all weekend, and he heard his Mom telling his Dad what Marcus had done to Katie. He heard how heartbroken she was. Sunday night at dinner, all Andy could think about was how Katie would have to face Marcus at school. His thoughts swirled, and he stared at his plate, absently pushing the macaroni from one side to the other.

"Andy?" His mom asked. "Are you feeling all right?"

He looked up at her quickly. "Hmmm? Oh, uh… yeah. I'm fine."

"You haven't touched your dinner."

"Oh." He scooped up a fork full of food and ate it.

Mike watched his son carefully, but said nothing. He thought he had an idea of what had so preoccupied his boy. After dinner, Mike asked Andy to go with him to the corner store.

"I.. uh… I was hoping, to… uh…"

"Come with me, son."

There was something about the look in his Dad's eyes, the tone of his voice, and Andy realized it was important. He nodded.

"Carolyn, we'll be back in a few minutes!" Mike shouted across the house.

"Okay, see you later!" She shouted back.

They walked outside and three houses away before Mike started talking. "You're upset about Katie, aren't you?"

A pause, and then he nodded. "He shouldn't have done that to her, Dad."

Mike nodded, looking straight ahead. "I agree."

"I just want to pound him for it."

"I know you do."

"Now's where you tell me I can't, right?"

Mike shrugged. "A man's gotta make his own decisions in life."

Andy looked up at his father respectfully.

"On the one hand, it would be nice to teach him a lesson. On the other, it would probably be a wasted effort. Might get you suspended… in hot water with your Mom. Katie might not like it, either."

"Katie?!"

"Sure. She's a good girl, and even though we all know what a creep Marcus is, she loved him. She probably still does."

"What? Why would she still love him?"

Mike shrugged again. "She's a girl. Girls are like that."

Alex sought Katie out Monday morning, before she left for work. She walked into the girl's room and stood by her dresser. "You ready?" she asked her.

"No. If he's at school, Mom…"

"You've got to be strong, Katie. Believe in yourself. You did the right thing, stopping him. You didn't end it, he did. He has to live with his choice, now."

"But how do I do it, Mom?"

Alex moved closer and put her hand on Katie's shoulder. She raised the girl's chin. "You hold your head high. You keep your back straight. And no matter how much it hurts, you take a deep breath and you don't cry."

Katie took a deep breath, but her eyes filled with tears anyway. "It's never gonna work, Mom."

Alex pulled her into a hug. "Jenny will be there with you at school, and your other friends."

At last, the girl nodded and pulled away. Alex kissed her head. "And I'll be here for you when you get home."

Jenny was at Katie's side from the moment she arrived on campus. To her surprise, so was Andy. He said nothing more than "Good morning," and endured the stares of the upperclassmen as he walked with her through the public areas. He left when she and Jenny arrived at the biology classroom.

"He's going to be late for school," Jenny said, watching him jog down the hall, dodging the older kids.

"Andy's downright crazy sometimes," Katie said. Andy was in 8th grade, and the middle school was a block away from the high school. The first bell was going to ring any minute. The girls knocked and entered the classroom.

"Mr. Thompson, we have a big favor to ask."

"Good morning, ladies, what is it?"

Katie looked at Jenny, and then remembered what her mom told her. She stood tall and faced her teacher. "Marcus and I were dating," she said, "But something's happened, and I was hoping you would let me choose a new lab partner. It would be… very uncomfortable to have to work with him."

"You know, in the real world people have to work together with people they don't like all the time."

"Sir, this is something more than that."

Thompson picked up on some tension along with their words. "Are you all right, Katie?" He asked, thinking that of all people, she shouldn't be the kid he should have to ask that question of.

"Yes sir."

"Did he force anything on you? Should you go talk to the nurse?"

"No, sir," Katie said, but her cheeks flushed. "I spoke with my parents, and I just don't think I can be his lab partner anymore, Mr. Thompson."

Thompson seemed relieved. "All right. I'll put you with Kersch." The bell rang, and the girls looked at each other.

"Thanks, Mr. Thompson."

There was no game plan for English class. Marcus sat two seats away from her, and he could easily stare at her the entire period. Katie took a deep breath and sat up straight. She tried very hard to concentrate on the teacher's words, and not the boy who was stealing glances her way every chance he got. To her surprise, she actually did get interested in the lesson, and ignoring Marcus became much easier. She did, however, see that he passed a note to the boy in front of him, who turned and looked her up and down before smiling at Marcus. Katie's hands turned to fists, and she trembled slightly as she fought to hide her emotions.

Andy was at the front of the school, dwarfed by the older boys, but pushing his way through the crowd until he saw her. She seemed upset, but she didn't speak until she caught sight of him waiting for her. Katie jogged up beside him and said, "Andy, what are you doing? You're going to get into trouble!"

Logan shrugged. "Let me worry about that," he said. "I'll walk you home."