(Mr.) Max POV:
Jeanine stands up against her desk, pacing in front of me.
"What are we going to do?" she asks sharply.
I shrug.
She glares at me, "About running for mayor. We need another way to get to Marcus Eaton, other than through his son."
"We could go in and kidnap him."
"And what good would that do?"
"I mean, his son."
"I just said, other than through-"
"Jeanine, hear me out. I hear that he wants his to be top notch. Like a great athlete, student, and citizen. Because he thinks if people know that his son is great, then they'll think he's good too."
"So...how do we turn him into a bad kid?"
"I hear his childhood's ruined because Marcus beat him."
"So we either get him to talk to a reporter for the newspaper, or turn him into a bad kid."
"How?"
"I also hear that he's going to Homecoming with one of Marcus' co-workers' children."
Jeanine looks at me, then after a while she nods her head, "That might actually work. But we still need a backup."
"Like what? You're the one with a Ph.D."
"Well, I remember when Marcus and I were great friends. We grew up and went to the same high school together, this one, in fact. My dad ran it. I was the valedictorian, and later, Marcus said he had a crush on me. So that summer, we went out and ended up going to Loyola together. It was a blast. Then we went separate ways. I got a scholarship, so I had to stay at Loyola to study teaching and eventually psychology. But Marcus wanted to travel and get a master's degree in architecture, to study city design and development. He broke up with me, and went to Boston university. Seven years later, we promised to meet back at the Cloud Gate, or 'Bean.' The problem is, he came back with a pregnant wife. He said that graduate school had only taken two years, so afterwards, he eloped. I told him that my application to become a teacher here, at this school, had been accepted. Marcus said that he wanted to run for mayor, and we agreed to stay friends. I later became the principle, and Marcus the mayor. I got married, and when his wife ran away, Marcus had drinking problems. I helped him with them and we would regularly meet for coffee, strictly business, of course."
"So...you have nothing against him, right?"
Jeanine shakes her head, "In 2008, the stock market crashed. Marcus wanted to use the remaining money on helping the homeless, and when we talked about it, I said the money would have more use in schools, or even public utilities. Marcus got furious and went back to drinking. I tried to help him, and ended up telling the city council about his problem. They didn't believe me, so I told them about Marcus' plans for the city's money. They sided with Marcus, naturally. So I turned Marcus into a rehab facility for four years, and his son went to boarding school. Marcus came out, and told everyone that he had been at a Hindu monestary for those four years. Everyone believed his and he ran for office again, and was successful. His son finished the school year and was accepted into this school."
I finish for her, "And you two have grown further apart ever since."
Jeanine nods, "And so even though we were friends once, I have never trusted Marcus, since Chicago has lost a money through trusting his 'selfless' actions."
"What if you videotaped him drinking and abusing his son, or you got hold of his rehab records?"
Jeanine nods, "That might actually work. Thank you Max. And one more thing, Marcus has a file of gang violence in Chicago on his computer. Daniel and I want that file. We had Eric try to get it, but he was caught. If you can, try and think of another strategy."
I nod.
We stand up, and shake hands.
"Tell Daniel good luck, and to cheer up," I say to her.
"Yes, he will win this race and become mayor, if it's the last thing he does. But Max,"
"Yes?"
"Do me a favor and don't end your sentences in prepositions."
I smile and we laugh.
She waves goodbye and I head back to my classroom to correct papers.
Damn.
I forgot I needed to tutor Tris.
But when I get to my desk, I see an email from her dad.
From: A Prior andrewprior chicagocitycouncil .gov
To: Max Fesler mfesler chicagoprephigh .com
Sent: Monday, October 7, 2013 4:23 PM
Subject: Tutoring Beatrice
Dear Mr. Fesler,
This Andrew Prior, regarding Beatrice's math tutoring. She forgot about coming today, and is deeply sorry. Beatrice thought it was only for one week, but if memory serves, I remember us saying that it would be until she gets at least an 85% on the upcoming test.
Sorry again,
Andrew Prior
I roll my eyes. This guy is too formal. So I type,
Dear Andrew,
To be honest, I forgot too. So let's just let bygones be bygones, and resume tutoring tomorrow. And you are correct; I will tutor Tris until she gets a 'B' on that big test, which I believe is the PSAT.
Sorry too,
Max Fesler
Then I rub my eyes and go back to grading papers.
Will POV:
"Ha! Oh, Will, you're so funny!" Christina tells me, her smile a mile wide. She licks her spoon.
I smile back and look into my half-empty container of Pinkberry chocolate-hazelnut frozen yogurt.
My eyes glance over Christina. She won't stop smiling at me. Wow.
I reach over and kiss her.
And Christina kisses me back.
Our lips meet in the middle of the tiny table, and Christina's bunched sleeve is falling off her elbow, and into her mango fro-yo. But for once, she doesn't care. Christina. Is. Acting. Natural. That, or she just really likes me more than her clothes. So I smile, and can feel her lips smiling against mine.
"Mm," she says after we break apart, "Chocolate-hazelnut."
My hand reaches across the table, and my spoon scoops up some mango fro-yo. I smile at her, and Christina grins evilly back. She takes my container and mixes the two flavors together, earning a laugh from me. She scoops half it back into my container.
"Eat," she states.
"I will if you will," I say back.
"Okay. On three. One...Two...Three."
And we eat and make a big mess, causing the store manager to kick us out.
Christina looks hurt, but I punch her shoulder playfully.
"Hey, it's cool. We're bad kids now," I say, to cheer her up. Christina smiles at me and we get in my old mustang.
We drive around town, with the windows down and the radio's volume cranked all the way up.
An hour later, I drop Christina back at her house. We kiss goodbye and I watch her walk up to the front of her house and use the key to get in. She waves at me and I blow her a kiss back. Although I don't see her, I can feel her giggling at that.
Then I drive back home, to do homework.
Jeanine POV:
After Max leaves my office, I pull my hair back into a ponytail and get to back to work.
When I check my email, I see the Chicago daily news bulletin.
There's a bunch of stuff on farming and life outside the city, and I skim past that. Only one word comes to mind: amity.
Then I see an article that interests me:
Mayor Eaton to be Visiting Homeless Shelters on Wednesday; Hopes to Find Improvement Since Last Food Drive
Mayor Marcus Eaton is going to be touring Lincoln Park Community Shelter and Interfaith House On Wednesday, October 8th in hopes to find improvement among Homeless. The last time he visited these shelters, in June, he found many people that teared his heart. "Hundreds lined the streets, and gang violence is among them. Why should we spend all of our money on Porsches, or any material wealth, when our downtown areas are full of homeless men, women, and children?" Eaton said to the crowd, as he presented them with over 100 boxes of food and clothes. And after our food drive last month, Eaton wishes to give the homeless people throughout our city over 300 boxes of food and clothes. After this, Eaton says that "Even though I am doing this out of my heart and for the better of the world, I hope that many will vote for me in the upcoming election." Then he jokes, "I am Marcus Eaton and I approve this message."
To read more, go to: news/local/mayorvisitshomelessagain/
Watch news channel 8 at 11 AM to see Mayor Eaton visit the Homeless people of Chicago live.
What a load of BS. There's no way that Marcus would really do that. Then I think about it. We can break into his house and get the file. Surely we can't just break in, though. The mayor of Chicago would have a security system.
So I call Eric.
"Yes, Mrs. Matthews?"
"Oh, hello Eric. Do you still have the key to the Eaton's house?"
"Yeah; it's in my backpack. Do you need it?"
"As a matter of fact, I do."