Chapter two

Jackie woke up in a startled panic when she heard a tapping on the window. It took her a moment to calm down and forget the idea that someone was trying to break into her room. She turned on the light and then carefully approached the window. Squinting a little, she peered into the darkness outside, trying to see who could possibly be out there. With a bit of caution, she opened her window.

"Who's out there?"

"Jackie, it's me." Epstein said, a little above a whisper.

"Juan!"

Jackie looked out and saw him clinging to the trellis along the side of the house. He maneuvered himself, careful not to slip, to where he would be able to climb in through the window.

"Do you need help?" she asked "I wouldn't want you to fall."

"Nah. I'm used to climbing in through windows." He placed his feet on the floor and then straightened himself to full upright position. "Of course back home I normally do it from fire escapes but this works in a pinch."

"Juan you're crazy!" She pulled him further into the room and then closed the window. "You could have got hurt!"

He shrugged "Didn't want to wake nobody up. What time is it?"

She glanced at the clock. "It's about 1:30 in the morning. And don't worry about waking up my parents. They're sleeping with Valium and vodka tonight."

"That's like my parents. Only they skip the valium and vodka and go straight for tequila." He frowned a little. "Probably how they wound up with so many kids."

Jackie laughed, smiling at him. She was beaming with loving bliss, unable to handle the fact that her boyfriend was finally there. He looked at her, bringing her close to him, and gave her a slow, sensual kiss. When the kiss ended she blushed, smiling brightly and slightly surprised.

"Wow! Juan!"

"I know. I'm a good kisser." He sat his bag down beside him on the floor. "Been wanting to do that since we first met."

"Really? But I hated you then."

"I know. Didn't stop me from wanting to kiss you."

"That's so true. I have that effect on guys."

"You sure are full of yourself. I like that."

She took his hands and looked into his eyes. "So, I know it's late, but what would you like to do?"

"There's only one thing I want to do." He walked over to the bed, taking her with him.

"But Juan!" She giggled. "You're so bad! You just got here!"

"What?" he sat on the bed, frowning slightly "No not that! It's been a long trip here. I'm exhausted and it's late." He stretched out and held his arms out for her. "Come here."

"Oh I get it. You want to snuggle." She grinned.

Jackie giggled a little then climbed in bed next to him. She situated herself where she rested her head on his chest and he would have his arms around her. He grinned, looking down at her, bringing her as close as comfort would allow.

"This is nice, Juan." She said, closing her eyes.

"Yeah." He began to brush his fingers through her hair. "Though, if it led to something else, that would be nice too."

She reached up and slapped his arm.

"Alright alright!" he chuckled. "Not tonight. This is nice then." He lifted her head a little and then kissed her forehead. "I love you, Jackie."

She grinned softly. "I love you too." She turned to switch off her lamp. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." He kissed her again and then leaned his head back against the pillow. He let out a happy sigh and closed his eyes. The trip was long and tiring, but it was already worth it.

…

The next day at school was strange without Epstein's presence. There was talk among the students, discussing his whereabouts and the possibility of him never returning. While there were some students and school staff members who were thrilled over his absence, there were others who were actually concerned.

The Sweathogs especially were concerned because they knew that, like always, Epstein had gotten carried away with his romantic side and had moved way too fast. They knew he was prone to falling ass over feet in love at first sight, ready to uproot himself and start a brand new life with the girl he was dating.

This was only supposed to be a visit with Jackie. But they feared it wouldn't be long before Epstein let things get out of hand. If they weren't there on time to stop him, he surely would be moving in with her. And since he was already in Wisconsin, they knew that they needed to move even faster to put an end to things. The trouble was, they weren't sure how strong of a hold Jackie had on him, especially since they haven't seen each other since the beginning of summer. And that, they knew, was going to make things harder for them.

"Alright." Vinnie said to his friends. "Here's what I think we should do."

Vinnie moved to sit on the bench as Freddie and Horshack moved closer to him.

"Freddie, I figure it'll take two of us to convince Epstein to come home. That's where you and I come in."

"Right. So are we headed to Jackie's house?"

"Not exactly. We're going to Donna's house. On account of I already know how to get there. Plus I figure she could help us get to wherever Jackie and Epstein are."

"Coo' coo'. So we get to Donna's, she takes us to Jackie's house. What do we do from there?"

"I ain't figured that out yet."

"Vinnie." Horshack said "Hey Vinnie? What will I do when you two are gone?"

"See, Horshack," Vinnie replied, turning to place his hands on Horshack's shoulders. "You have a very important job. You have to stay here and hold down the fort for the rest of us. If Mr. Kotter asks questions about where we are or what we're doing, run interference, deny everything."

"Ok but Vinnie, how do I run interference?"

"Do whatever you feel is necessary. We'll be back before you know it."

Horshack nodded a little warily. He then nervously began laughing until someone stopped him. Right in that moment, Gabe stood in the doorway of his classroom, and drew their attention onto him.

"Fellas." He said "Is there any time today that you will grace the rest of the class with your presence?"

"In a minute, Mr. Kotter." Vinnie said "We're conducting some important business here."

"Business. In the school hallway. In the middle of my class?"

Vinnie looked at him and grinned, showing off his dimples. "Yeah. Now if you'll excuse us, Mr. Kotter, you're interrupting our business."

"But how can you conduct business when you're missing your chairman of the board?"

Vinnie looked around, confused. "What?"

"The chairman of the board, Vinnie. The one in charge of the meeting."

Again, Vinnie looked around with the same amount of confusion. "Where?"

"Where?" He asked. "Epstein, Vinnie. I'm talking about Epstein. Where is he?"

Vinnie strolled over and stood in front of Gabe with a cool demeanor. "I don't know."

"Hey, man," Freddie said "All we know is he ain't here."

"Don't tell me he actually ran off to Wisconsin."

Horshack approached him. "Well, well, well Mr. Kotter! It seems that you already know where Epstein is. So there's no reason to be asking any of us."

Gabe waved his arms in a comical, yet, frustrated manner as he yelled. "Would you cut it out?" he straightened his posture and adjusted his tie. "Now, forgetting about Epstein. Why don't you guys finally join me in my classroom?"

"Yeah yeah we're goin'." Vinnie said before heading into the classroom.

"Man you sho' know how to spoil our fun." Freddie shook his head, disappointed, before following Vinnie into the classroom.

Horshack walked over to Gabe. "I am disappointed in you, Mr. Kotter." He followed after his friends.

"Good. Finally we can start class."

Gabe turned to enter the classroom, only to have the door shut in his face. He then looked away, dumbfounded, pondering the events that had just taken place.

"What just happened?"