The Devil and Jimmy Neutron

by Gary D. Snyder

Part 7:

The next day was something of a nightmare for Cindy. She was painfully aware that only one condition remained to void her escape clause and she was determined to do everything she could to prevent it from happening. At the same time Lou had warned her against forcing someone to do or not do anything or else she would immediately forfeit the contract. As a result she was nearly driven to distraction as to how to handle the problem of Jimmy possibly telling her that he loved her, negating the escape clause, and causing her to lose her soul. Finally she decided that the only feasible course of action was to ignore him completely. In that way, she was reasonably sure, she could avoid any contact with him and thus prevent a conversation with him that could ultimately prove disastrous.

Her plan worked well at first. In the morning she said nothing to him and Jimmy didn't seem inclined to speak with her either. As the day wore on, however, he seemed to sense her attempts to keep a distance between them and attempted to learn what was going on. When she continued to ignore his occasional remarks and mild insults his mood gradually changed, turning first from initial puzzlement to idle curiosity, then from idle curiosity to growing interest, and finally from growing interest into consuming obsession.

At last the lunch bell rang and Cindy raced from the room before Jimmy could stop her. She hoped that she would not have to deal with Libby as well, but fortunately (for Cindy) Sheen was monopolizing Libby's time discussing their date for that evening. Cindy briefly considered where she could go to avoid Jimmy until class began again. Her first thought was the girls' bathroom, but she quickly decided against that. The other girls would wonder why she was spending the entire lunch period hiding there and without a good answer for them she knew that they would invent whatever rumors or gossip they could spread that they thought would explain it. In any case Jimmy could always ask Libby or one of the other girls to go in after her and the rumors about that would be even worse. As she considered her other options she heard a voice that was by now all-too-familiar calling her.

"Hey, Cindy," the voice said. "Over here."

Cindy looked around but saw no one. "Lou? Where are you?"

"In here," the voice said. "The utility closet."

Cindy moved over to the door. "How'd you get in there?"

"The door's unlocked. Better hurry and come in. Neutron will be passing here any minute now." Cindy didn't really trust Lou but given the unthinkable alternative of facing Jimmy decided it was the lesser of two evils. She tried the door and finding that it was indeed unlocked she quickly entered the closet and shut the door behind her as quietly as she could. The light inside was on and inside she saw that Lou was waiting for her, idly tossing a ball into the air and catching it. "How's it going, Cindy?" he asked.

Cindy slumped to the floor with her back against the door. "Terrible. I'm at my wit's end. And it's all your fault!"

Lou stopped his game in mid-toss and seemed surprised. "My fault?"

"Yes, your fault. If you never gave me those escape clause terms I never would have signed that stupid contract or gone half-crazy worrying about it."

Lou sighed and resumed his game of ball toss. "Hey, the contract was for you to humiliate Neutron. You never said anything about being happy about it."

"Yeah, but…" Cindy tried, and then gave up. "In any case, I feel like I'm going insane. At first I was afraid to talk to Neutron because I thought he might blurt out that he loves me and I would lose my soul. Now I'm afraid not to talk to him because it makes him want to talk to me even more. I don't know what to do anymore and it's driving me crazy. And I have to get through two more days of this."

Lou was wearing an enigmatic smile. "Do you really think that Jimmy would tell you he loves you?"

"Well…" Cindy thought about it. It was true that at times she and Jimmy had seemed on the verge of something, but they had never really been quite there. Perhaps they weren't really meant for each other, or perhaps they just weren't ready. Maybe it was something that needed some more time, or perhaps it was something that would never come. "I don't know," she said finally. "And I can't afford to find out. At least not until this weekend."

Lou nodded. "Well, I'd say your odds are good."

"Yeah, that's what I thought about Carl not getting an A on his recitation," Cindy said bitterly. "Or about Libby going on a date with Sheen. Who would have thought Jimmy would find a poem about llamas somewhere, or that…Sheen would have been…hit by…" Cindy's voice trailed off, her eyes following the softball that Lou was tossing into the air. He turned at her silence and smiled at her.

"Go on," he urged.

Cindy's anger came bubbling up. "It was you!" she snapped.

"What was me?"

"You did that! Hit Sheen with that ball! And I'll bet you arranged for him to get those movie tickets as well!"

Lou shrugged easily. "Called in a favor or two. But what's the harm? He likes Ultra Lord and I thought it would be nice for him to have a thrill in his young life."

Cindy was so angry she could hardly speak. "You've been manipulating things all along! You…you creep!"

Lou looked hurt. "Hey, I never told him to ask Libby to the movie. Or made him dive in front of the ball. Or forced her to accept his invitation. I just set the stage a bit. Kind of like when you asked Libby not to go on a date with Sheen. I played by the rules like you did. I just played a little better." His expression changed and his voice took on a tone that Cindy found hard to interpret. "I think you should be flattered. There are a lot of patsies out there that I could get with one-tenth the trouble I'm going through here for you. I mean that, Cindy. Really."

Cindy didn't feel flattered in the slightest. "And Jimmy? Are you going to manipulate him, too?" she said, her voice like knives of ice.

Lou shrugged. "I don't know. Neutron's pretty sharp. But there are ways."

Cindy took a deep breath to steady herself. "Now listen here. I don't know what you're going to try next, but it won't work. I'm not going to talk to Neutron, I'm not going to look at Neutron, and I'm not going to have anything to do with Neutron. You got that? He hasn't said he loves me yet, and if he hasn't by now he never will!"

Lou sighed and shrugged his shoulders. He seemed about to say something in reply, but then appeared to think better of it and moved towards the door. Cindy opened it for him without a word and he walked out, apparently defeated. Once outside, however, he glance up the hall where Jimmy was walking slowly away, headed for the building exit. Judging by his pace and distance Lou calculated that Jimmy had apparently been right outside the door just as Cindy had made her closing remarks. Lou allowed himself an inscrutable half-smile.

Perfect, he thought to himself.

End of Part 7.