January 1967-
The first day of school was hard for Gordie and Chris, Gordie was showing and explaining to Chris where to go for classes and where everything was at. Michelle, who came back a few days before, was trying to avoid Gordie as much as possible, until she couldn't anymore. The two men stood at the entrance of the biology labs, where she walked up.
"Hey there Gordie!" Michelle said perkily.
"Hey there hot mama" Chris said with a playful smile.
Gordie looked at her with a narrowed look, he was still a little pissed off at her.
Chris noticed this and ran with it. "Oh you better watch it, he can be really bitchy when he's mad at you." Michelle retorted "No worse than my 15 year old sister, of course you would know, since he's usually pissed off at you."
Gordie, done being the butt of their jokes, said, "You take him around, I got better things to do like watch paint day."
Gordie stormed off.
Michelle looked at Chris and gave him a look of pity. She realized she was telling the truth.
—-
February 1967
Gordie and Chris would rarely interact. Their schedules not permitting, Gordie would be either at school, studying, or working at the bookstore. Chris would be working at the law offices, if not studying with Michelle, who he had a few classes with.
And when they would interact, Gordie would exchange very few words with Chris. Chris would do the same, but in their lonely rooms, they would lament their behaviors, a reaction to one another.
Gordie took up journaling again, this time, in a velvet purple journal, gotten from the same place as his Christmas present.
It was there that he saw Billy Tessio, next to some guy who was doing his job but looked real uncomfortable next to him.
Billy was still grimy looking, not the same punk kid, but worse. Muscular in ways, but flabby in others, he still had that ugly ass smile he had when he was a teen.
"Well, well, isnt it the Lachance kid?" Billy said with a sneer.
Gordie looked at him, and said, "What is your problem? Mad because mom caught you playing with weenie?"
Billy tried to leap over the counter but the guy held on to his shirt and said through gritted teeth "you started it, and besides, if the manager hears of this, you are finished, and your parole will be violated."
Of course Billy was on parole.
What did he do though? Gordie went up to the other guy, and saw right near Billy what he wanted. A very pretty purple journal.
Gordie paid for it and as he walked out, took one last shot. "I'd be ashamed too if I was your ma."
—
Gordie walked through the door and saw Chris, reaching for his jacket, leaving to meet up with Michelle and another guy in their class, Oscar Reutell. "Hey, guess who I saw."
Chris stopped in his tracks. "Who?"
"That fucker Billy Tessio, working at the stationery shop. Did you know he was there and on parole?" Gordie said with a sneer. He hated the way Billy treated Vern as kids.
"I didn't know he was on parole" Chris said, as he fiddled with his notes.
"Wait, you knew he worked there?" Gordie said, slamming his journal down on the ground.
Chris looked dumbfounded. "Yes, he was the one who monogrammed your pens."
"Didn't it occur to you to tell me he was working there?" Gordie said, now irritated.
"It didn't matter then, since I just went to get your present, Look, I gotta go, if you wanna rip me a new asshole for some bullshit I didn't do, wait til I get home, ok?"
Chris grabbed his books and notes and walked out.
Gordie stood there and screamed, "You are an asshole, Christopher Jonathan Chambers!"
—
In the library of the school, Chris was distracted in his thoughts. With him at a table were Michelle and the other guy, Oscar, a short, round Jewish guy with thick glasses, wearing a sweater vest over a polo shirt and blue slacks. Michelle wore a yellow dress and a headband.
"So who's your valentine?" Oscar asked Chris, chewing on a stick of Big Red, while pouring over the notes for Algebra class.
"I wish I had one." Chris said, looking over the books now.
Michelle looked at him and asked "I thought you already did."
Chris sighed, and said "no, not that one, that one wouldn't look at me even if I parted the Red Sea."
Michelle gritted her teeth. "What the fuck is her (his) problem?"
Oscar laughed and said it simply. "Move on then, Chris, you are a good looking guy. Whoever this girl is, she sounds like you ain't getting anywhere with her. You could have your fill of any of these girls you want, but that girl is the one you want, but she doesn't want you. Move on with it. She will learn, but by then it's too late."
Chris went back to silent and looked out the window facing the courtyard. Oscar was observant but not very shrewd. Michelle however knew what she needed to do.
—-
The next day after the first class of the day, Michelle and Gordie would pass each other, him to Renaissance Literature, her to Chemistry, and they'd smile and chat in passing, but this time, it was different.
The hallway was full of people, but Michelle saw Gordie as he walked out the eastern exit and grabbed his arm.
"Michelle, what are you doing?" Gordie said.
"Stopping you from making a real big mistake, Gordon."
"What do you mean? The mistake was you letting Chambers…"
Michelle yelled in his face. "NO"
Gordie made a face of shock and surprise.
"The mistake here is you are in permanent bitch mode to him, finding reasons to get mad at him, and be horrible to him. You could lose him forever Gordie, and you know that's not what you want. Chris loves you, can't you see that? It's hurting him for you to be treating him like he's not anything to you."
Gordie sighed, and put his head in his hands.
"You need to stop," Michelle said exasperatedly. "He doesnt deserve all that, no matter what he did to you."
Gordie looked at her and said, "you are right, but I am afraid he's gonna hurt me again."
Michelle walked back toward the door, not wanting to be late for her next class, spoke "All life is a risk, and even more so in love. If you love him, then go for it. Fuck the past, it already happened, right?"
Gordie said as she walked away, holding his book bag, "you make it so easy to do, so simple, Michelle."