"A
Single Yellow Rose" – Chapter Nineteen
Monday afternoon…music
department at Salem High School…
"Good Lord!" Chloe burst out.
"God damn," Philip lamented.
"Oh Scott!" Belle exclaimed.
"Oh shit," Shawn muttered.
Both he and Philip knew what was coming and each
reached out for Jason but Shawn only caught a piece of his shirt before Jason
was up and heading across the room. Shawn and Philip both scrambled to their
feet, quickly following him with Chloe and Belle close behind.
One step past the doorway and Jason grabbed Scott's
shirt by the collar, pulling him away from Mimi. "Get your hands off her!"
Seconds later, thanks to a powerful blow to the jaw,
Scott crashed into the hanging uniforms, the sound of the wooden hanging rod
breaking in half filled the air as he collapsed into a pile of hangers and wool
jackets.
"Scott!" Mimi cried pushing past Jason she dropped
to her knees next to Scott's slumped body. Slowly rolled over cradling his
face, his eyes remained closed and a low moan escaped past his lips.
Philip ran into the room and grabbed a tight hold
onto Jason's arm just as he was reaching down into the closet. "Okay,
okay…that's enough."
"I think you've made your point slugger." Shawn
said, stepping in front of Jason and placing a restrictive hand on his
shoulder.
Turning back Mimi tossed her hair over her shoulder
her eyes blazing with fiery anger. "What the hell is the matter with you?" she
demanded.
"Me? What about this jerk!" Jason bellowed, lunging
forward again. "You don't have to attack a girl just to get a kiss you know!"
"Are you saying," Mimi's voice dropped to a cold
edge of bitterness, "the only way a guy would want to kiss me is if he was
doing it by force?"
Jason blinked, her question shocking him into
silence as he turned to look at the equally stunned expressions on Philip and
Shawn's faces. "What? No…of course not. Why would you say…hey, wait a minute,
it was me that was kissing you just a couple of nights ago."
Mimi turned back to Scott helping him as he
struggled to get into an upright position. "Well, I guess I could claim force
there too since then it was you who was the one grabbing me."
"Don't say that." Jason leaned forward and lowered
his voice, pulling free from his friend's restraints. "You wanted that kiss
just as much as I did and we both know it. It may have surprised you at first
but it didn't take too long before you joined in."
Mimi's head snapped up, her eyes were full of an
unspoken pain as they shifted from her friends that crowded around Jason to the
gathering of kids in the doorway. She didn't want to get into this now but
there was no way she was backing down in front of all these people. "So what
exactly did that make me that night…your practice session, your warm up?"
"What do I have to do to get you to realize how I
feel? I mean you don't go making out with-"
"Don't even go there!" Mimi warned, thrusting a
pointed finger in his direction. "You don't have the right."
"The right? You in here with this guy and I'm right
out there but I guess you were too busy swapping spit to notice-"
"We were rehearsing you idiot!" her voice filled
with exasperation.
"You were rehear…you were what?"
Standing, Mimi helped Scott to his feet, wrapping
her arms around his waist as he started to sway giving him a few moments to
gain his balance in the jumble of uniforms underneath their feet. "We were
rehearsing," she repeated, one eyebrow arching in contempt, "you know, for the
school play… Scott and I have the leads. Now get out of my way."
Jason closed his eyes for a moment as the realization
of what he had done washed over him. He stepped back as Mimi and Scott moved
forward. The play! The one thing she was so proud of. He knew that from the
shared car rides home when she had go on and on about everything from the sets
to the costumes and most importantly that as a junior she had landed the
coveted lead role. He was sure she had told him who she was playing opposite
but of course that fact never registered in his brain.
"Do you need any help Mimi?" Shawn asked.
"No thanks, I think I need to get Scott to the
nurse's office." Mimi said looking over at Scott who could only nodded in
agreement, his jaw still cradled in his hand. The rest of the kids moved out of
the way as they headed out of the room and drifted away now that the excitement
was over.
"Remember that you said about strike three earlier
today? Well, I think you just got yourself kicked out of the ballpark, Jase."
Philip said following Jason back out into the main music room. Shawn, Chloe and
Belle were close behind and all saw the cold stare Mimi shot in Jason's
direction just before the door closed behind her.
"Me and my big mouth," Jase mumbled as he walked
back over to where they had left their books with the rest of the gang
following him.
"And your big temper," Chloe said as she and Belle
sat back down, "what is it with you guys and throwing punches?"
"I don't know," Jason said still standing and
staring off into space. "I just saw him grab Mimi and all of a sudden I had
this image in my head of that guy pinning Belle to the ground and backhanding
her across the face-"
"Jason!" Shawn slugged him in the shoulder cutting
off his words as Belle went pale, gasping at Jason's words. Chloe immediately
reached out for her, wincing at the unyielding grip of Belle's hands on her
own. She trained her eyes on Belle's and watched as her friend tried to blink
away the memories.
"Oh God," Jason dropped to his knees in front of
Belle. "I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking…again. Boy, twice in less than five
minutes, must be a record for me. I didn't mean to…I didn't want-"
"It's okay Jase." Belle said, taking a few deep
breaths trying to control her hurried heartbeat. "I know you were just thinking
out loud."
"I'm so sorry."
Belle nodded as she slowly released Chloe's hands.
"I'm okay…really. But what did Mimi mean when she said 'a warm up'? Was she
talking about party out at the lake?"
"Yeah she was. I guess I can tell you what happened
that night since it looks like I have blown my last chance at telling Mimi."
Jason sat down at the edge of the tier as Philip moved to sit next to Chloe and
Shawn sat behind Belle, framing her with his legs. "Where to I start?"
"How about the dance floor?" Shawn suggested.
"Right. You remember when you came off the dance
floor to get you and Mimi some more of that bash? You came over to where Shawn
and I were standing."
Belle nodded as she unconsciously leaned back
against Shawn's chest. "Yeah, I remember that."
"Well, after you two left Jan came up behind me and
starting mouthing off about Mimi and it was pissing me off because she was
getting some of the other kids around her involved too and…"
*****
Shrinking back as close to the wall as she could,
she picked up the handset for the pay phone and dropped a quarter into the
slot. Her fingers hovered over the keypad of buttons but she suddenly replaced
the receiver listening to the coin drop down to vibrate in the return tray.
Her eyes drifted down to the newspaper lay out on
the shelf in front of the phone. She had read the article about Belle's assault
so many times this morning she could recite most of it verbatim. But it wasn't
until she had walked into the ladies room just before lunch and caught Belle
staring at herself in the mirror that it really hit her what had happen. She
watched as Belle leaned over the counter, moving closer to the mirror, her
fingers stroking the bruised side of her face as if she could make the
discoloration disappear beneath her fingertips. Their eyes locked in the mirror
and she felt her own eyes fill with tears at the sorrow she could see reflected
there.
She watched as Belle raised her chin, challenging
her to say something but she just quickly brushed by her and entered one of the
stalls waiting until she heard Belle leave the bathroom before coming out.
Walking over to the mirror until she was only inches away, she stared at her
own reflection. Touching her smooth skin with the back of her hand, she stopped
to press her fingertips hard against her lips. She wondered what it felt like
to kissed against your will, to feel the overpowering strength of another human
and knowing you couldn't do anything to stop it and when you tried your reward
was a blow to head that was strong enough to leave such an ingrained reminder
that would always be there, even after the body had healed.
She had never felt that fear having been raised to
the point of being spoiled by a loving father and older brothers. Always
popular with her friends, when it came time for dating she was always the one
in control of what boy she spent time with and what, if anything, would
happened. She couldn't image not having that control…not having the choice of
having that control.
Pushing back the small metal flap, she fished out
the quarter and again lifted the receiver. Dropping in the quarter, she waited
for the dial tone before punching in the number not sure she wouldn't hang up
if she had a moment to think about it. She counted the strident rings.
…one…two…three…
"Salem Police Department," the crisp female voice at
the other end said.
"Detective Brady please," she whispered, turning her
back to the open area outside of the cafeteria.
"One moment please."
Silence filled the air as she grasped tightly at the
cord encased in swirled metal and she had to press the receiver hard against
her ear to keep from hanging up.
"Brady here."
She opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out.
"Hello?" he repeated.
"I…umm, I-I know who beat up Belle Black."
"Who is this?"
"That's not important. Do you want the guy's name or
not?"
Bo waited a long moment as he sent a coded signal to
the other detective seated across from his desk and watched as he hurried from
the office. "Yes…yes, of course I want it."
"Roger Turner. He's a senior at Milford High."
"How do you know this?" Bo asked, quickly writing
down the information.
"Trust me," the girl swallowed hard before
continuing. "I know."
"Did you witness the attack?"
"No."
"Can you place him at the party?"
"I'm sure there is someone who can."
"You weren't at the party?"
"Look, if I know Belle she didn't let this happen
willingly so I bet she left a few marks on him. I wouldn't wait too long to
talk to him."
"I would like to talk to-" Bo's words were cut off
as a dial tone filled his ear. He set the phone back on its cradle and slowly
circled the words he'd written on the note pad in front of him. Moments later,
the other detective returned.
"Well?"
"That call came from a pay phone."
"Damn…where was it located?"
"Salem High School."
Bo nodded his head as he stood up and grabbed his
leather jacket off the back of the chair. "Let's go Kurt. I don't know if this
is a prank but it's the only lead we got."
Placing the receiver back onto the phone she leaned
against it, closing her eyes. Taking a deep breath she gathered her books and
the paper and stepped away from the phone just at the next period bell rang.
"Hey, is that the paper that has the article about
Belle?" Heather asked, stopping her as she started down the hall. "Are you done
with it? I haven't had a chance to read it yet."
"Yeah…here, it's all yours," she said, tossing the
paper at her friend.
"Thanks."
"No sweat," Jan replied, walking away. "Consider it
my good deed for the day."
*****
"…so that's the whole story." Jason said.
"I can't believe it," Belle said. "I can't believe
that Jan would go to so much trouble just because she was pissed about Mimi
having your jacket."
"Well, we figured that when she jumped all over her when she told you at school last Friday morning she had it." Philip said.
"Yeah I saw that too but after the game, Mimi and I were talking about the kiss - well, we were talking and she mentioned that she and Jan had a little talk that night and I bet you were the topic of conversation," she said, pointing at Jason.
"But she sat with Shawn and I during the game and then we all met up in the parking lot afterwards. She didn't talk with Jan then." Chloe said.
"So it must have been before the game…and before that kiss." Shawn reasoned. "So if she was upset about Mimi just having your jacket can you image how she felt seeing that kiss you laid on her?"
"God, I'm beginning to regret that kiss." Jason groaned.
"Funny…I feel the same way."
Jason jumped to his feet at the sound of Mimi's voice. "I didn't mean it that way. Look Mimi…you've got to let me apologize…"
"Save it!" Mimi slapped a soft cover book into Jason's chest, quickly yanking her hand away the moment she felt his hand touch her as he reached for the book. "This is your script. I suggest you get busy memorizing your lines."
"Lines? What-what are you talking about?"
"Scott is on his way to the hospital with a broken jaw thanks to you."
"A broken jaw?" Chloe repeated as the rest of them rose to their feet.
"I couldn't have broken his jaw," Jason protested, "I didn't hit him that hard."
"Well, then maybe it was the hanging rod in the closet or landing on the concrete floor that did it. But as of right now you're lucky he's not pressing charges and you now have the lead in the fall production of the Salem High drama department. Congratulations Starbuck." Mimi turned to walk away.
"Star what? Wait a minute," Jason grabbed her arm but quickly released it the moment she spun back around. "I don't know anything about acting…I can't do this!"
"Well, you have to do it because there is no one else to do it and opening night is in nine days."
"Wait…don't you guys have some else standing by for this stuff?" Jason asked. "What's it called…an undertaker?"
"I think the word you are looking for is understudy," Philip said, trying to control his smile.
"Undertaker…understudy…whatever. Isn't there someone like that?"
"No there isn't! John Silverman was the understudy but he father got suddenly transferred and he is gone. I ran into Mrs. Lakota, the drama teacher as I was helping the nurse get Scott into her car. She was very upset about Scott and the play until I assure her that I had the perfect person in mind to replace him. She of course is thrilled to have a star football-slash-baseball player willing to step in and take over a part that is…in my opinion…perfect for him."
"But I don't know this play," Jason looked down at the cover of the book, "The Rainmaker? What the hell is that?"
"It's not a 'that'…it's a 'who' and that's you." Mimi said, advancing on Jason. "Starbuck is The Rainmaker and he is a pompous, arrogant man who thinks he is God's gift to a small town in need of rain and a small town girl. I think you'll be perfect! Rehearsals are in the theater right after school. Don't be late."
Mimi stormed away leaving Jason to only stare after her. He again looked down at the script in his hand before raising his eyes to look at his friends. "She's got to be kidding…right?"
"I don't think so," Shawn answered. "But look on the bright side…maybe you can finally get Mimi alone long enough to explain everything to her."
"And you know there's a kissing scene," Philip added. "How bad could it be?"
To
be continued…