Part 1

Ch. 2: Denial

I got out of the car and walked up to his door. I raised my hand slowly to his door. Then I stopped. I was debating with myself. Should I talk to Mr. Dimitri first, or should I talk to Grace. I knew I would have to say something to Grace, but should I say something to him? I then realized that Grace is the one that I should talk to. I knew that I needed to hear it from her. So, I slowly backed away from his porch, and walked back to my car. I sat in it for a few minutes before starting it up. Then I drove away to go home.

I was home for over an hour before going upstairs. It seems as if I had been hovering around her door. I was hovering around her door. I didn't know when the right time was, or if there was one. But, I convinced myself that I needed to do this now. So I knocked on her door.

"Can I come in?" I said peering at her.

"I guess." She said, barely looking up at me and tapping her pencil.

"What are you working on?" I said picking up a shirt that I then began to fold.

"I'm trying to figure out a new ending for my story."

"You wrote a new one?"

"No. It's the one you read. I'm just changing the ending."

"I loved that ending. But I thought you sent it out to that magazine?"

"Well that's no reason to stop working on it."

"Oh." I said. I saw a book lying on her bed. So I picked it up. "Since when did you start reading Checkov?" She looked at the book in my hands.

"Mom . . . I need that." She said as she grabbed it out of my hands, not even looking up at me. She put it on her dresser and then looked back at her story.

"Sorry . . . Is that a library book." I said knowing that it wasn't.

"It's just this book that Mr. Dimitri lent me."

"Oh . . . really."

"Yeah. He wants me to start reading Checkov cause my work is sort of in that tradition." She said looking up. I thought that now was as good a time as any.

"So, how was the movie last night?"

"What do you mean?" She said slightly moving her head.

"I'm just wondering who exactly was there."

"Why are you asking me this mom?"

"Because I got a rather disturbing phone call today from Alexa's mother. She said that Alexa said."

"Mom, I know what Alexa says. She's insane. She's spreading ridiculous rumors about me. Mom, we haven't done anything wrong. I mean we went to a movie. Big deal. It's . . . okay, these other people they were supposed to come, and at the last minute they decided not to. And that's it. That's-that's what happened."

"Okay honey, I-I believe you." I said.

"You do?" She said out of shock.

"Yes, of course I do. Yeah. I mean. I know how these things happen. A teacher singles out another student. But, I think for the time being it might be best if you didn't spend so much time with Mr. Dimitri outside of school." I said to assure her that I understood.

"What." She said with a tone of anger in her voice.

"Just for now-just until. Grace, it's not a punishment believe me. I think it's

best . . . "

"Fine. Fine. Fine. Ill come home everyday after school. I wont go anywhere or see anyone without checking with you first." She said cutting me off.

"Well thanks. I'd appreciate it." I said sarcastically. I walked out of her room towards mine when I heard the door slam. Rick was there when I walked in our room. He would have distracted me, but I was to concerned with Grace's situation than with him.

"What was that all about?" He asked.

"What was what about." I replied.

"The whole you going in to Grace's room and her slamming the door."

"Oh . . . that . . . well, I got a phone call from a mother of a girl in one of Graces classes."

"And . . ." He said trying to get it out of me.

"And . . . she said that her daughter said that Grace and her English teacher

are . . ." I said stalling.

"Are what?"

"Are having an affair."

"What . . .are you serious . . . Wait. When did this happen." He said. I wondered if he got the chills like I had. I walked to the bed and started to take the pillows off. Rick did the same.

"When they went to the movies."

"They went to the movies?"

"It's okay. I just had a long talk with her." I said trying to assure myself that everything was fine.

"No. No. No. What's this teacher doing taking her to the movies."

"Well, this whole thing was a big misunderstanding. A bunch of other kids were supposed to be there . . . what. The reality is she probably has a crush on him. After all . . .look at him." I said while Rick looked like he had an annoyed look on his face. "But if you ask me that, you know." I said shaking my head.

"What are you going to tell Jake."

"Jake?" I forgot about Jake.

"Well yeah. If it was Jessie, I'd want Karen to tell me."

"Tell you what . . . that some hysterical mother called with this nasty rumor that her malicious daughter probably made up." Rick sat there and looked at me. "What."

"Nothing. I just . . . if you don't uh-nevermind. I'm sure it's fine." He said holding back.

"So what. Are you saying that you think it might be true?" He continued to look at me and not say anything. "Rick . . . answer me."

"What movie?" I then realized how it sounded. A teacher takes a student with him to a movie playing one night, and it is just the two of them.