A chink in the armor

A bit of a problem for this pair... that I do not own

Leonard and his Uncle Floyd came early to the Principals office. They occupied two seats just outside his office waiting for their meeting. Leonard sat quietly nervously fiddling with his hands. Floyd did not actively engage his nephew but imagined that this was completely out of character for Leonard. Floyd knew his nephew to be of an extremely well-mannered and honest person. It was completely beyond his comprehension that Leonard would willfully partake in cheating let alone be the one that was accused of cheating from someone else's material. As soon as T.J. and his mother arrived, the four were ushered into the Principal's office by the secretary. Mr. Miller was already sitting to the side of the Principal's desk.

Mr. Miller started the discussion. "First of all.. I have to say that I appreciate the support of the administration in this endeavor."

T.J.'s mother butted in. "For all the good it did... we would have won that game Friday if you would just have dealt with the one child that was cheating."

Uncle Floyd did a proper harrumph. "I assure you Madame… that the outcome of the contest would have remained the same… as your son would not have participated in either case."

The Principal held up a hand. "Please… we are here to get to the bottom of this issue… not to accuse." Both Leonard and T.J. sat with their heads slightly down as they took a sideways peek at the other child. The Principal continued by turning his hand in the direction of the English teacher. "Mr. Miller?"

The English teacher produced both of the assignments for all parties to look through with some of the pertinent passages highlighted for easier reference. "Now... as you can see… The similarities are striking… They show an in-depth knowledge of the information… along with the uncanny turn of phrase that also shows subtle humor."

Uncle Floyd put up one finger. "I don't understand… That seems more like a ringing endorsement of these two children rather than an action that would require them to cheat."

Mr. Miller countered. "Yes… one would think so… except that the highlighted passages are uniquely phrased and identical… that would indicate that there was one thought… arrived at by a single author."

The principal sat forward. "Would either of you like to say anything?" T.J. looked down… not offering any further information.

Mr. Miller turned his attention to Leonard. "Leonard… do you have anything to say?"

Leonard was practically speechless, knowing that any actions on his part would be seen as breaking the code between friends. Even though T.J. was not really a friend, he was at best a good acquaintance. He was, however, a good friend of Timmy's that up until recently was a member of the "Penny" faction of popular teens. He also knew full well that T.J., by way of his position on the Football team, was an extremely sought after commodity and could easily be used by either group to attract others. Understanding the underpinnings of the social structure of the student body far more than any of the adults in the room, and being well versed in what could and probably would be the outcome if he spoke up… Leonard kept mum.

Uncle Floyd could see the conflict on his nephew's face. Understanding why Leonard could be in turmoil, Floyd again held up a finger. "If I may… Mr. Miller… would it be correct that in order to pose these phrases in this way… they would need to have more than a passing understanding of the subject matter?"

Mr. Miller frowned considering where this would be going. "That would be a fair assumption".

Floyd then smiled. I propose that you ask these young gentlemen to explain the derivation of the phrases and how they came to relate them to the subject matter… Certainly the proper author should be able to communicate the information."

The Principal sat back as Mr. Miller pondered what to do. As the teacher of the class... he couldn't put together any scenario where he would think Leonard could be bested by anyone in the class on the topic… especially someone with the pedestrian grades of T.J. In his fondest hopes, he would want students like T.J to earn and express themselves so eloquently by grasping the subject matter that he himself held so dear. If T.J could articulate these ideas adequately… he would feel justified in some small way.

Mr. Miller turned first to T.J. If he knew the material he would almost certainly seal the fate of young Mr. Hofstadter. If Leonard went first, he was certainly smart enough to recall the passages he wrote and fit them into the coursework… proving that nothing more than he was an excellent mind. If T.J. couldn't do the same then they would have their offender and any accomplices would need to be dealt with. T.J needed to go first.

For the next ten minutes… the four adults and one student watched as T.J. fumbled with trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. T.J clearly had little knowledge of the material. The Principal called Mr. Miller and Leonard out of the office. They then listened to Leonard quote the passages and how he felt they related to the material. Mr. Miller thanked Leonard and apologized for holding him in detention.

Leonard held no ill will and explained that he had already made up all the assignments from the other classes. He just asked that he be told how his work was somehow copied. Leonard was quickly joined by his Uncle who felt vindicated in his appraisal of his nephew.

Mr. Miller and the Principal were then treated to a showing of parental authority by T.J's mother as T.J then explained where he had gotten the material from.

Penny had been looking all around for Timmy. She wanted to apologize to him for her actions and to tell him that she trusted him. Unfortunately, she couldn't find him. As she passed by Timmy's locker one last time, she ran into a very upset T.J. Penny really didn't want to get into any of his problems… so she just quickly asked. "Hey… have you seen Timmy?"

T.J. was in no mood for whatever was going on between his friend and his friend's girlfriend. He had spent the night before listening to T.J. moan about something or other about Penny and Lisa… and then about almost finally getting to home plate… all the while just wanting to play video games. He looked up at the pretty Blonde and shrugged as he let out a sigh. "I don't know where he is… he said something about going to the library or somewhere…"

Penny looked confused… "The library…. Timmy…. For real?"

T.J. shrugged again. "That's what he said…"

Penny left T.J at his locker and went off to find out just where Timmy might be. She had no idea why he would be in the library. As she made her way to the library, she ran into Curtis. She rolled her eyes just a bit. In a snarky little tone she questioned. "Still looking for Valerie?" Almost immediately, she regretted the tone she used. It was true that she had no use for Valerie… but Curtis was just one of those guys that sort of followed. He was good looking and sort of buff… not like some of the muscle heads like Kurt… but enough to get the attention of just about any girl in the class. He was actually nice enough… before the whole Brad thing, Penny actually thought he was pretty funny. He just got caught up in Valerie's games too much.

Curtis was surprised by running into Penny. It was awkward enough last Friday when he walked into what was going to happen between Timmy and her… Timmy in his boxers and her half naked. The mind sight of Penny stripped to the waist ran immediately through his head. She didn't have the biggest boobs in the class… Valerie had her beat in that department… but they were just about perfect… perky but not too small. Then… when she gave him a face full… he thought he was going to faint. "Ummm… sorta… look Penny… I'm real sorry for butting in last Friday… I didn't mean to and I swear… I didn't tell Val… and I won't…"

Penny was now more than a little embarrassed. "Thanks Curtis… I appreciate that… Umm… look… I gotta go… I'm looking for Timmy and T.J just told me he was in the Library of all places… See ya… I hope you find Val… Bye". Curtis just smiled as he watched Penny walk away.

Penny went around the Library and didn't see hide or hair of Timmy. She didn't know if that was a good thing or not. On the one hand… she didn't really think she would find him here. He was smart enough not to have to study much yet… not so smart that he actually LIKED being in the library… like Leonard and probably Karen. When she thought about Leonard, she thought of his scheduled help time in the quiet room. She decided that maybe Leonard would be there and he might know where Timmy had gone off to. She was hoping that she didn't scare Timmy off.

Penny came to the door of the room… it was closed. Thinking nothing of it, she opened the door and walked in. To her surprise… she found Timmy… with Val… on her knees... with Timmy's pants unbuckled… with her hand in his shorts… grabbing him… Penny gasped and brought her hand to her mouth…

Timmy looked up… "What the HELL?..." He saw Penny and was stunned.

Valerie looked up in the direction of the open door and saw Penny standing there. She just smiled… as she pushed Timmy's pants... and boxers down hitting the floor.

Timmy turned toward Penny pulling away from Val... fully exposed to Penny... and grabbed for his pants… "Penny…. Wait!"

Penny could feel tears forming. She turned and ran without saying another word.

Val saw the look on Penny's face and smiled wider as Timmy pulled up his pants and went around the table. "Hey… Are you finished?" Timmy just looked back at Val for a second, then turned to go find Penny.

Leonard had finished his meeting and went out of the school. Uncle Floyd tossed Leonard the keys to the car. "I believe these are yours… don't fill your head with thoughts of superiority… be careful... I believe you may have some friends you have been missing… perhaps one particularly cute blonde?"

Leonard smiled and looked up. Thanks… but I can take you home…"

Floyd smiled. "It is not so bad a day… a nice brisk walk home and time to think will do me some good." With that, Floyd turned to walk home.

Leonard smiled. He really loved his Uncle. He doubted that his Mother would have stood beside him in the meeting... instead just wanting to get the issue closed and have Leonard suffer whatever consequences that would have been levied. His Father may have been more sympathetic to his side of the story, but wouldn't have left his work to attend.

It wasn't so long before Leonard ran into Timmy who looked frantic. "Leonard… have you seen Penny?"

Leonard cocked his head. "NO… is there something wrong?" Knowing full well that Penny had found Timmy with Lisa's Cheer Pin, and that Penny was going to find Timmy to apologize to him.

Timmy looked a bit frazzled. "NO… yeah… maybe… I don't know… probably… Look… if you see her… tell her I need to talk to her". Timmy then went off trying to find Penny.

Leonard had an idea where Penny might be. It wasn't really a long shot although he wondered if she would be there… considering the place he thought she might be was more of Him and Penny spot rather than a Timmy and Penny spot.

Penny kept running… fighting off the tears that wouldn't stop filling her eyes. She finally stopped to take a breath and climbed up on the table that was outside the back door to her old elementary school. The tears finally overtook her… she slumped over and let them flow. She fought them… she didn't want to let him make her cry.

Leonard came quietly around the side of the building. Penny was facing in the other direction. He gently tapped her on the shoulder. "Penny?"

Upon hearing Leonard's voice, Penny turned and practically jumped into his arms. Leonard didn't exactly know what had happened between Penny and Timmy… She was so happy the last time he talked to her…. She seemed sure that Timmy didn't do anything with Lisa… and that it was her that overreacted. All she had to do was to apologize to him and she and Timmy would be fine. Leonard held Penny as she buried her face into his shoulder. He rubbed her back. "Penny… what happened? Did Timmy and Lisa…"

Penny pulled away and wiped her tears. "It doesn't matter what he did with Lisa…"

Leonard was confused. "He probably didn't do anything… I just saw him and he was …"

Penny sighed as she wiped her nose with her sleeve. "It doesn't matter!"

Leonard didn't really know what to say. "He was looking for you… he looked upset".

Penny sighed. "I found him with Val… DOING her… in the library…"

Leonard was confused. "He hates the library".

Penny looked up a bit annoyed. "Think it through… genius! He apparently doesn't hate the whole library… your study room for example…"

Leonard thought… "Well you seemed to like the room just fine…"

Penny stepped back… "I have never been in that room… especially to do something like THAT! You may think… just like everyone else in this school… that I'm some kind of a cheap tramp!... but I'm not… Timmy and I have not done that… and we NEVER will…"

Leonard stepped back. "Sorry.. I just thought that I saw you and him leaving the room one night…"

Penny slumped her shoulders. "Great… he's been screwing around with other girls too..."

Leonard reached for Penny and she willingly came to his outstretched arms. "I'm so sorry.."

Penny sniffled. "It doesn't matter… he's been trying to get in my pants for a while… it's just that it should be special… not some quickie in the library or under the bleachers…" Penny looked up as Leonard held her a little tighter. "How did your meeting go?"

Leonard smiled. "Actually.. pretty great… Uncle Floyd was there and he made a suggestion that Mr. Miller should ask us about the assignment… and T.J. just froze up. I asked him to let me know how T.J. got my material…"

Penny just let it out. "It was Kathy Geiger".

Leonard stood straighter. "Kathy? Why would she have anything to do with this?"

Penny stepped back. "She took your things to give to Val… to give to T.J. so he could get his grade up before the game Friday… he was going to get disqualified if his grade wasn't good enough… She deserves what she got…"

Leonard ruffled his brow… "What who got?"

Penny was now a little worried. "Kathy… she got you in trouble… T.J. was going to get benched anyway… all she did was get you in trouble…"

Leonard questioned more. "You said she deserved what she GOT…"

Penny looked up. "What does it matter? She did it just to get in good with Val and her friends… that SLUT".

Leonard let go of Penny and stepped back. "I found Kathy tied to a tree… when I left the game last Friday… did you have something to do with that?"

Penny saw that Leonard was looking a little angry… she had never seen that look on his face before… she didn't think he could actually BE angry. "What?... NO!..."

Leonard stared at her. "Penny… it's NOT okay…"

Penny was now getting a bit annoyed. She was being accused. "Who cares!... She did something BAD to you… and you got in trouble… it was going to bring down your PRESIOUS grades!..."

Leonard raised his voice a little "I CARE! You don't go around tying people to TREES! No matter WHAT they did…! ."

Penny replied again. "Leonard… she didn't care about you… she's bee pawing after you since the term started… probably because she's trying to get out from being a nerd… she doesn't care about you.. if she knew ANYTHING about you… she would know how important your grades are to you… and she wouldn't SCREW around with them!"

Leonard took a deep breath… "She said that Tammy and Anna… and B-r-a-d... were some of the people that tied her to the tree… Whatever happened to me is my problem… not yours or your friends… It was between Kathy and ME…It's not your place to protect me… did you have anything to do with this?"

Penny felt she was being backed into a corner… and now… at the mention of Brad… she was angry. She just found her boyfriend screwing her biggest rival in school… she was told that this same boyfriend was probably screwing other girls… and all the while he was trying to SCREW her! On top of that… her old boyfriend… that ACTUALLY screwed her... was now somehow involved with this Karen Slut that was hurting Leonard… her Leonard... her BEST FRIEND… she always protected him… she never let anyone hurt him… and he didn't even CARE! "You know what? It doesn't matter... you wouldn't believe me no matter what I said… this conversation is OVER!" Penny turned and walked around the corner of the building.

Leonard followed her. He was angry, but he still couldn't bear to see Penny hurt or the possibility of her being hurt. "Penny… do you want a ride home?"

Penny heard the words but couldn't believe what she was hearing… he had just accused her of plotting against the slut that was USING him… and he didn't care… all he cared about was making sure she got home safe...WHO would do that? No, she didn't have anything to do with the plan to tie Karen to a tree… but she had to admit it was a pretty great plan.. she deserved it… even if Leonard didn't think so… she hurt him… and she deserved what she got… she was going to have to talk to Tammy and Anna about it. Penny quickly turned to look into Leonard's eyes..."NO!"

The next week progressed in a kind of cloud. Every time Penny saw Timmy coming, she turned the other way. When she confronted Tammy and Anna about tying Karen to the tree… she was furious. "How could you DO that to someone?"

Anna looked confused. "We thought you would be happy about it… when we told you about her plan with Leonard's stuff… you said someone should do something to her…"

Penny was surprised. "YEAH… but not THAT!"

Tammy giggled. "You should have seen her… with that corn cob stuck in her mouth… it was hilarious!" Anna and her broke out laughing. "Everyone thought so…."

Penny tried not to smile. "I bet it was…" She then gained a little composure. "But it was wrong… and now Leonard thinks I had something to do with it…"

Tammy stopped laughing. "We'll take care of it…

Penny looked back at her friends. "You better". Penny then turned and walked away. She hadn't seen Leonard since their argument. He just went to the library during lunch and there was little chance she was going back there… ever.

It was by chance that Penny saw Curtis by his locker. She tried not to make Eye contact… but when he turned in her direction, Penny could see that Curtis had an incredible Black Eye. "Oh MY GOD… Curtis… what happened to you?"

Curtis put a hand to his cheek. "Oh… this little thing? I kept looking for Val when I saw you… and I found her… in the library… like you said… with Kurt… and well… they were sort of…"

Penny put up her hand. "Yeah… I got it… BOY that girl gets around… I found Timmy… in the library… doing HER…"

Curtis smiled. "That's too bad… Timmy's a nice guy… at least he was at first… Kurt's kind of an ass… but at least he's sloppy seconds… but where does that leave me?"

Penny scrunched up her nose. "Do you mind? That is a picture I don't really have to see in my head… and don't sweat it… I'm through with Timmy… unlike Kurt… I have standards… Although, there are a lot of girls that would line up for Kurt… if the stories are true…"

Curtis now held up his hand. "Your turn to stop… Yeah… I got in one good swing before he could get his pants back on and then… well…" Curtis pointed to his eye. "Anyway… things were a little off for Val and me for a while… ever since your party really… she was trying to get with Kurt back then. We haven't been really "together" since then… She practically jumped him right there at the game…"

Penny sighed and smiled at Curtis. She put her hand to the side of his face. "You poor baby". She then turned and started to walk with him. "At least Val wasn't still trying to get some from you while she was screwing Kurt… and Timmy… for that matter… or whoever else she could get…"

Penny looked at Curtis, he looked really down. "You know… you shouldn't put yourself down… it wasn't so long ago that Val and I were fighting over you and Brad… you're a pretty good catch…"

Curtis was surprised. "You were fighting over ME?"

Penny shrugged her shoulders a bit. "Yeah… and Brad… as it turns out… Brad wasn't that big a deal".

Curtis couldn't help himself. "Do you mean his?"

Penny stopped walking. "Proper girls don't kiss and tell…"

Curtis smiled. "Fair enough… If it's any consolation… Brad won… you're way hotter than Val…"

Penny looked over. "Really? Even with her huge boobs?"

Curtis smiled. "Yeah… they are aren't they…" He looked into Penny's eyes. "But you're way prettier… you have unbelievable eyes… and your… well… you got it all in the right places."

Penny blushed. "Knock it off Curtis".

Curtis stopped them both and turned to Penny. "It's true… Your way hotter than Val… everyone says so… everyone knows it… even Val… that's why she's such a bitch… she's afraid of you.."

Penny was surprised at his words. "Everybody? Really?"

Curtis didn't say anything… he just leaned over a bit and kissed Penny right on the lips… not hard… tender… like he wanted her to know. Know that he wasn't just one of them… like everyone else… after her because she was popular… and hot…

Penny didn't move at all. She just stood there and returned the kiss. Soon enough the kiss became a little more and Penny then put her arms around Curtis's neck.

Leonard was sitting in the library… He should have been at lunch. He had decided to avoid any more open conflict with Penny over the Kathy issue. He still had inner conflict though. He couldn't understand how anybody could do that to another person. It didn't matter what they said or who they were… it was wrong. If he didn't have to see Penny, he didn't have to face the issue.

Tammy sat next to Leonard and Anna sat across from him. "Hey Leonard".

Leonard looked up. He was a bit hesitant as to why they were here… they rarely sought him out without Penny being with them. "Hey girls…"

Tammy reached for his hand. "Leonard… Penny didn't have anything to do with Karen… she's as upset by it as much as you are… although probably for a different reason. That bitch deserved it… Penny's upset because you won't talk to her anymore… and now that her and Timmy are in the crapper… well… she misses you… and to be perfectly honest… she's a little tough to be around when she's not happy and right now?... she is one UNHAPPY girl… she got this way right after her and Brad…"

Anna almost yelled. "TAMMY!"

Tammy looked over. "Yeah you're right. Anyway she didn't have anything to do with it and she's upset that you are avoiding her… so make up with her will ya… for our sake… See ya". The two girls got up and left.

Leonard sat and thought about what the girls said. It was probably true… Penny wasn't that kind of person… she was nice and kind… she would never do something like that to someone. Leonard decided to find Penny and talk to her.

Unfortunately, Leonard turned the corner just as Penny was putting her arms around Curtis's neck. That was a stab to his heart. He had been hoping for something with Penny for as long as he had known her. He gave her up to Timmy just to make her happy… He even gave her back to him telling her that Timmy probably didn't cheat on her. And now… now she was in the arms of Valerie's boyfriend… Leonard stood watching Penny kiss Curtis like he wished she would kiss him. He stood thinking about their relationship from the very start… when she knocked him over in the hallway on his first day in school here in Nebraska… What was wrong with HIM? Why couldn't Penny see how he felt about her?... Why couldn't it be HIM she was kissing… Was he too short? Not buff enough… not good looking enough? Was it because he was too smart? He had no answers… it was clear to him that Penny and he just didn't belong together. Leonard turned and went out of the school from another door.

Penny stepped back from Curtis. She looked into his eyes. "WOW…" She then tried to think of something to say. The only thing she could think of was… Leonard. She shouldn't be thinking of Leonard… but she couldn't stop thinking about the kiss she just had… she had kissed Brad… and she had kissed Timmy… neither of them could kiss like THAT… What did it mean? It was happening again…

Penny had a hand on Curtis's chest. She rubbed softly… "I gotta go." Penny turned and left.

Curtis clearly felt something special between them. They had been friends in the past… the only reason they weren't now was because of Valerie…. But Val was out of the picture… what did it mean? Could Penny feel anything like he did? He saw the confused look in her eyes when she left… but just after they stopped kissing… he saw something else… and it wasn't confusion… or fear… she looked excited… there was a twinkle in her eye and the slightest hint of a smile on her soft lips… what did it mean? He didn't know, but he could hope.

Leonard got home and shut the door a little harder than he intended. He passed right by the den. Uncle Floyd was sitting in a chair reading one of his books and seemed to want to say something, but Leonard purposefully said nothing and went straight to his room, again shutting the door harder than he intended. Finally, Leonard fell onto his bed… face down on his pillow… with his arms folded.

Uncle Floyd could see that there was something wrong with his nephew. He gathered himself up and went up to Leonard's room and softly nocked. Hearing nothing, Floyd came in and sat at the desk in the room. "Leonard… what is troubling you?"

Leonard didn't move he just buried his face in his arms. "What is wrong with me?"

Floyd was puzzled by the question. "I'm afraid I need some more information".

Leonard turned onto his side facing away from his Uncle. "Why don't girls like me?"

Floyd had a better picture. "Ahh… I suspect that this has something to do with Miss Pettersson…"

Leonard sat up and grabbed his pillow. "She broke up with Timmy and before she said anything… she was kissing Curtis. Why can't it be me?... I've been her friend forever…. Is it because I'm short … or unattractive?... or nerdy?... Why can't it be me?"

Floyd had little in the ways of answers. "Leonard… it is not my place to judge your friend or to have ill will toward her for causing you such heartache. You need to come to an understanding with her, an understanding that only she can give you. It is true that you have been friends for quite some time. And it would be foolish for anyone that has seen you two together to deny that there is some special bond between you. But the bond between a man and a woman is different… one would hope that it is based on something as good and strong as a good friendship… but love and friendship are two very different things… love may be fleeting… it is often that you can love someone… but the more important question is… do you LIKE that someone. Love is a fickle thing. It comes and goes. If it was love that kept couples together… the divorce rate in the country would not be what it is… Friendship… however, often spans decades… no matter the distance… or the frequency of the meetings… once a true friendship is struck… there is very little anyone can do to break it… Leonard, there is nothing WRONG with you… you are a fine young man… and you will grow into an exceptional adult. Your physical attributes are as they are… but that is fleeting at best. It is the inner being that will draw one to your particular flame… and you will find that someone… fear not… it is destined to be… whether it be Miss Pettersson or some other person… it will happen. Be the best friend you can be… accept all that you can… help where you can and… be able to realize the difference… you are very young… take your time… live your life… it will all work out in the end… mark my words."

Floyd left the room and Leonard turned to lay on his back… pondering what he had been told… thinking of how he could be a better friend to Penny.