Merrill's Life: A Signs Fanfic
Slither-gurl, wapps921, & Beezer: I'm glad that all of you liked my story! Thank you for reviewing!
Cutie34 & liseybaby75: I know, this does sound like HeathDiva's story. I give her full credit for the idea of Merrill meeting a girl & becoming a teacher. But I did not plan to have the stories similar in any other way. I made some changes from my original idea so that it will be much more different (Merrill might not stay a teacher for long is one example). I'm sorry to disappoint anyone, but I hope that the story gets better.
Chapter 2
(A/N: If you want to get a better idea of what Tracy Woods looks like, just imagine Kate Beckinsale. Another note: I will probably throw in a few things about everything happening for a reason, like it did in the movie.)
"Merrill Hess?" a man said as he peeked his head out of his office.
Merrill stood up and walked into the office. "Yes, that's me," he said. He was having his interview with the principal of Philadelphia East High School today, and didn't want to be a nervous wreck.
"Hi, I'm John Thomas, the Principal," the man said, shaking Merrill's hand. "Welcome."
"Thank you, sir," Merrill said. John gestured to the chair in front of his desk, and Merrill sat down.
"So, you want to be a teacher?" John asked as he sat down in his desk chair.
"Yes, sir," Merrill replied. "I have a degree in teaching, but I never really thought about becoming a teacher until now."
"Why is that?" John asked.
"Because I realized that I needed a real job," Merrill said. "Ever since I quit baseball, I had been a lazy person. I had small jobs at stores and restaurants, but nothing I could really stay committed to. I figured that I should put my degree to good use."
"I like your answer," John said when Merrill had finished. "You seem like you'll be dedicated to your work."
"Of course, sir," said Merrill.
"Congratulations," John said. "You've got the job."
Merrill smiled. "Thank you, sir," he said. "I really appreciate it."
"No problem," John said, smiling. "You won't need to start until mid-August, but there will be a staff meeting next Tuesday at 3:30, and I'd like you to be there."
"I will, sir," said Merrill.
"Graham! Are you home?!" Merrill yelled when he walked into the house. There was no answer. "Graham?" Only silence followed. "I guess he's not home yet," Merrill said to himself.
He walked over to the counter to put down his keys and some papers he had gotten from John. He looked over at the phone and saw that there was a message on the answering machine. He pressed the flashing button.
"Hi, Merrill, this is Tracy. You're probably wondering how I got your number, but I saw it on John's desk when I was in his office today. I heard you got the job, so congratulations. Call me sometime...maybe we can get together...go out to eat or something. You have my number. Bye!"
Merrill looked at his watch. It was already 4:00. He picked up the phone and dialed Tracy's number.
"Hello?"
"Hey, it's me, Merrill."
"Oh, hi! Did you get my message?"
"Yes. I was wondering if you were busy tonight. I thought that since it was Friday, maybe you'd want to go out to eat."
"Sure! I don't have any plans tonight. What time?"
"I could pick you up around 6:00. Where do you live?"
"My address is N2001 Owl Road, right outside of Philly. It's off of the interstate. Take Exit 201. Take a right when you get to the stop sign, and go about two miles. Then turn right on Owl Road, and keep going for about a mile. It's a little white house on the right side, with a barn behind the house."
"Okay. I'll see you then."
"Bye!"
"Bye!"
Merrill hung up the phone and looked at his watch again. It was only 4:10, so he had time. He heard the door open and looked back to see Graham, Morgan, and Bo walk in.
"Where have you been?" Merrill asked.
"We went to the store," Graham replied, setting down some bags on the table. "So, did you get the job?" he asked.
Merrill nodded. "Congratulations!" Graham exlaimed, giving Merrill a hug. "This calls for a celebration! Let's go out to eat tonight!"
"Uh, Graham, sorry, but could we wait until tomorrow night?" Merrill said.
"Why?" asked Graham.
"Because I have a date tonight," Merrill answered.
"A date? With whom?" Graham said.
"Tracy," said Merrill. "I have to pick her up at 6:00, and I'll have to leave around 5:30 to get there in time."
"Well, that's alright," Graham said. "You haven't had a date in a long time, so you should go."
"Are you sure? I mean, I could always ask her another time-" Merrill began.
"No, you go ahead," said Graham. "But you have to tell me all about it later."
Merrill gave Graham a playful punch on the arm and walked towards the stairs. "I have to get ready," he said.
Merrill drove for about 25 minutes before taking Exit 201. His hands were sweating, and he wiped them on his pants when he stopped at the stop sign. After following Tracy's directions, he turned onto Owl Road and drove down it a little bit. He finally saw a white house with a barn in the distance, and turned into the driveway when he reached it.
After stopping in the driveway, he got out and walked up to the door. After wiping his hands off again, he rang the doorbell. A few moments later, Tracy answered the door.
"Hi! Come on in!" she exclaimed. She was wearing a sleeveless black dress, black heels, a silver necklace, and silver hoop earrings. Her hair was down and wavy.
"Hi!" Merrill said, and he walked inside. "You look...amazing!"
"Thanks! You look great, too!"
He had gone through the front door into the living room. The walls were painted in a sage green color. There was a tan couch against one wall, and a TV & stereo were inside an entertainment center across from it. A loveseat was against another wall, and there was an endtable piled with magazines and newspapers next to it. Pictures of Tracy and people who were probably her friends and family hung on the walls.
"You have a great house."
"Thanks. Did you want to sit down for a little while, or did you want to get going?"
"If you want to go, we can. The reservations are for 6:30."
"Where are we going?"
"To Michael's." (A/N: Pretend that Michael's is a fancy restaurant in Philly.)
"I love Michael's! That's one of my favorite restaurants!"
"Really? I'm glad you like my choice."
Merrill and Tracy didn't get to the restaurant until 7:00 because traffic was worse than they expected. Merrill walked up to the podium in the front with Tracy right behind him.
"Welcome to Michael's. Can I help you?" the hostess asked.
"Reservation for two, under Hess, H-E-S-S," Merrill said.
The hostess scanned her reservations sheet. "Merrill Hess?" she asked.
"Yes," Merrill replied.
"I'm sorry, but we gave your table away about 10 minutes ago," the hostess began. "Your reservations were for 6:30, and we thought maybe you weren't coming."
"What?! But don't you think I would've called if I was cancelling?" Merrill asked furiously.
"I'm sorry, sir, but we had a big rush, and we don't have any more availible tables right now," the hostess said.
"But why did you give my table away?! Don't reservations mean anything?!" Merrill exclaimed.
"I said that we're sorry, sir, but you didn't show up at your reservation time, and our policy is that if the customer doesn't show up 20 minutes or less after the reservation time, we give their table away," the hostess explained.
"Merrill, it's alright. We'll go somewhere else," Tracy said. "And anyway, we're holding up the line."
Merrill looked back and saw many angry customers behind him. "Let's go, Tracy," he said. He put his arm around Tracy and they walked out.
"I'm sorry about that," Merrill said after they were out of the parking lot. "I hoped that we could still get in."
"It's okay, Merrill," Tracy reassured. "We can always go somewhere else."
"What are you in the mood for?"
"Anything you want."
Merrill turned onto the main street and drove for a little while. He spotted an Olive Garden to the left, and pulled in the driveway.
After stopping, in front of the restaurant, Merrill said, "I'll be right back." He got out and came back a few moments later.
"Well?" Tracy asked.
"They're packed, too. I guess we'll try somewhere else."
After stopping at a Perkin's, an Applebee's, a Chili's, a Red Lobster, and an Outback Steakhouse, they still hadn't had any luck. Merrill saw a Taco Bell up ahead and drove in.
"Do you like Mexican?" he asked.
"Yeah," Tracy replied. "We can eat here."
"I know we're a little overdressed, but I guess this is our only choice. It's almost 7:45, anyway."
After ordering their food, Merrill and Tracy sat down at a booth by the window. A group of teenagers came in a moment later, and they came over to the table.
"Hey Miss Woods!" one girl said.
"Hi Megan! How are you?" Tracy said.
"Fine," Megan replied. "We were just cruisin' around...decided to stop here."
Merrill noticed that one of the guys in the group was looking at him. He said, "Hi, I'm Merrill."
"Merrill? As in Merrill Hess? The greatest Minor League player?" the boy said with a gasp.
Merrill laughed. "Yeah, that's me. But I don't like to brag."
"You're know Merrill Hess, Miss Woods?" the boy asked Tracy.
"That's right, Josh," Tracy answered. "Actually, we're on a date."
"Wow," Josh said. "Mr. Hess, can I have your autograph?"
"Call me Merrill," Merrill said.
Tracy dug in her purse and got out a pen. "I don't have any paper, though," she said.
Merrill scanned the table and picked up a napkin. He took the pen and scribbles his signature on the napkin. "Here you go, Josh," he said, handing the napkin to Josh.
"Thanks! It was nice to meet you!" Josh answered.
Merrill smiled and shook Josh's hand. "No problem," he said.
"Bye Miss Woods! Bye Mr. Hess!" Megan said as she and Josh walked away.
Tracy smiled and took a drink of her soda. "Those were some of my former students," she said.
"I see," Merrill said, smiling. "I'm glad they stopped, though. It's nice to know I had a fan every once in a while."
"I'm sure you had a lot of fans. You know what? I was actually at a few of the minor league games a long time ago."
"Really? How could I have missed you?"
"It's not like I stand out or anything."
"Of course you do. You're nice, you're smart, you're funny, and you're beautiful." He smiled.
Tracy smiled and blushed a little. "Merrill, don't say things like that!"
"Why not? They're all true."
"You're so great, Merrill."
"I had a really nice time tonight," Tracy said when she and Merrill walked onto her front porch.
"So did I," Merrill said. "I'm sorry we couldn't get into any decent restaurants."
"It doesn't bother me. I don't have to eat somewhere fancy to be happy." She leaned over and kissed Merrill lightly on the lips. "I'll call you sometime." She smiled. "Bye."
"Bye." Merrill watched Tracy disappear into the house before returning to the car. He started the car and drove down the driveway.
After getting on the interstate, he turned on the radio. After flipping through several stations, he stopped to listen to the news.
"...And we have an update on the restaurant fire that happened this evening. For those of you who are just tuning in, there was a fire at Michael's restaurant around 7:30 this evening. The cause of the fire has not yet been determined, but authorities suspect it was accidental. 10 employees and 15 customers are in critical condition at Philadelphia Memorial Hospital with second-degree burns. Their names are not being released to the public yet. And in other news..."
Merrill turned down the radio. 'We sure were lucky,' he thought to himself. 'If we hadn't gotten there late, we could've been the ones in the hospital. I've got to tell Graham about this.'