Getting to Know You
Simon and Jeanette's story
Part XV
The alarm went off at ten to six. From the floor, the kids groaned as they woke up and fumbled around for the off button.
"Okay," Alvin groaned, "Ladies first, that goes for getting up and getting washed and dressed."
"Oh you're so kind Alvin." Britney said sarcastically, getting up from her spot on the couch, where her back had been comfortably against his front keeping warm under the unzipped sleeping bag they had used as a comforter the night before.
"Theo," Ellie called from down the hall as she walked towards the bathroom, "Could you start cooking some breakfast? There's the blood drive at school today remember."
"Got it El," Theo replied sleepily, stifling a yawn from his spot on the floor.
"You're not getting up to make us breakfast are you Theo." Simon stated once Jeanette and her sisters had finally left the room and were getting ready for the day.
"Nope, do you want to?" he offered in reply.
"Sure, why not. All I have to do is scramble some eggs and make some toast right?" Simon questioned, pushing himself up onto his elbows as he struggled through the fog of residual sleep and stumbled to the kitchen.
"Yeah, the coffee maker is already set for six ten so forget about making that," Theo instructed, surprisingly lucid for claiming to be sleepy, "Oh, but get a grapefruit out for me and Ellie would you?"
"Yeah sure," Simon said unaffectedly. He wasn't that hungry but he had some time to kill while the girls were getting washed and dressed.
As he was cracking the eggs over the bowl, Eleanor came into the kitchen. Her hair still a bit wet, but she sat down to watch anyway. He fumbled the first egg and had to pick the shell out of the yolk which made Eleanor giggle a little bit. He ignored her and successfully cracked the second egg in two.
When he had managed to repeat the act about four more times, he beat the eggs until it just looked like a yellowy paste in a bowl. By now, the stove top and the pan were hot enough and he started to pour them into the hot skillet and began to move them around them slowly. Ellie apparently didn't approve of the job he was doing and walked over to where he was struggling at the stove to help him out. He backed away as he began to whip up six even shares of beautiful eggs and he just stood in the corner buttering toast.
"Well, I guess I know now why Theo's always bragging about you in your cooking class." Simon said appreciatively.
"He brags about me?" she asked stunned.
"Oh yeah, all the time, it's actually rather annoying after a while, but he means well." Simon finished as he left the room to go do his own morning stuff.
As he walked out, Theo walked in, clean and ready to eat. But when he went to pick up his plate of food, Eleanor smacked his hand away with the still warm spatula.
"Ow!" he said exasperatedly, "What was that for?"
"That's for making Simon cook when I asked you to." She said sternly, though a little bit jokingly as well, "Now you don't get to eat until Simon gets his plate."
"Humph," he grumbled, sinking into a chair, though he was careful not to go near the food again until everyone had walked in ready for the day.
The group sat around the table for and ate quickly, understandable since they were almost late. When they had eaten what was on their plates and put the dishes away, they headed out for their rides and left the house. By the time they arrived at school, they had all finally woken up and were ready to talk about their classes and their plans for the day. Simon walked Jeanette to her locker and was happily talking away to her about the upcoming Science test when his face suddenly screwed up in an expression of abject loathing. When Jeanette tried to turn and see what it was behind he that had brought on this sudden change, Simon spun her back around and hissed, "don't move, don't say anything, and whatever you do, don't turn around."
She promptly ignored him and turned her head to check whatever it was out, she was surprised to see that it was just a group of guys laughing their way down the hall. As they got closer, she could see that most of them had on a pink shirt of some kind and leather jackets. On top of their heads they wore their hair with looked like an oily layer of grease that she could only assume was hair gel. Was this Bill and his gang, she wondered. Before she could turn around to face Simon and ask, the tallest one of the group met her gaze and smiled maliciously and started to saunter over to her.
When he got over to Jeanette and Simon, he grinned again to show off his smoke stained teeth and he started to speak to her, "Hey there baby, where have you been?" he asked in a thick southern drawl.
"Back off asshole," Simon said, stepping forward threateningly, "You try anything funny with her and I can guarantee that my brothers and I will kick your ass."
"Well would you look what we have here boys!" Bill said, switching his focus to Simon, "Looks like we got a hero. What is this, twice in one week that I'm going to kick your ass?"
"You haven't kicked my ass today." Simon answered, confused, right before he was slammed backwards in to the locker by a couple of the smaller guys in the group.
"Oh but I will." Bill said leaning forward into Simon's face threateningly.
"Stop it!" Jeanette said, getting in between the two boys, using her body as a shield.
"Jeanette, go get the guys." Simon whispered into her ears, his arms still pinned to the metal doors of the lockers.
"Oh so you're Jeanette. Strange, I remember you being a lot uglier. Glad to see that you improved." Bill said licking his lips.
Before he could get any closer to her, she ducked out of the circle of pink shirts and ran off down the hall looking for Alvin and Theodore.
As she disappeared around the corner, Bill was free to turn his attention undivided to Simon yet again. He backed up a step and Simon relaxed slightly. Big mistake; the next thing Simon knew, Bill had balled his fist up and slammed his whole weight behind one punch to his already bruised stomach, almost causing him to throw up. Bill grabbed his head by the hair and pulled him up to face him. Their faces inches away from each other…
"You just don't learn do you nerd boy?" he asked sarcastically, "If you ever talk to me that way again, I will make damn sure that you never speak again."
He let go of Simon's head and motioned for his goons to do the same with his arms, as he walked away down the hall, he glanced back and said, "By the way, if I were you, I'd watch that girl of yours, you never know who she'll be riding next."
Simon's vision fuzzed a little and he had to sit up and put his head between his knees to get the room to stop spinning. Just as he was considering standing up again though, Theo, Alvin, and Jeanette sprinted down the hall and knelt next to him.
"Simon," Jeanette gasped, seeing how he was holding his stomach, "Did he hit you again?"
"Again!?" Alvin asked shocked, "Where the hell is this guy, I need a workout."
"Calm down Alvin, first things first, find out what happened." Theodore cautioned, looking expectantly at Simon and Jeanette.
"What happened was Bill came out of nowhere and started to come on to me." Jeanette said quickly, "Then Simon tries to protect me and the next thing I know, he's pinned to the lockers and he tells me to go get you two."
"Is that all that happened Simon?" Theo asked, looking concernedly at Simon.
"No, he also slugged me in the gut again and told me that if I wasn't careful and watched how I talked to him that he'd make sure I never spoke again." Simon said as he got up off the floor.
"That is not good." Theo summed up, fear in his eyes, "I heard about Bill from some of the guys on field. They said that the reason he got kicked out of his last school was because he pulled a knife on this guy he had just beaten up and was about to cut him by the time the cops showed up to stop him."
"Well, whatever the hell he did, if he tries anything, I'm going to personally kick his ass." Alvin swore, a look of absolute fury in his gaze as he stared into the locker behind Simon's head.
"Don't." Jeanette said forcefully, "I don't want anyone getting hurt, not you three and not Bill. I don't care what he did, if you get him then you're just as bad as he is."
"She's right." Simon agreed, "If he tries anything again, I'll just be sure to avoid getting pinned and I can defend myself. I took that self defense last year remember?"
"Alright," Alvin grumbled, "But what are you going to do if he goes after Jeanette though." He asked forebodingly.
"If he tries anything with me," Jeanette cut in, "I know what to do."
"Well, do you know what to do if you're late to class?" a voice said from behind them.
All four of them jumped and spun around to see the assistant principal standing there with his hands on his hips and a steely look in his eyes, "Now I can understand Alvin being late, but the rest of you, I am surprised. Didn't you hear the bell a few minutes ago?" he asked.
"No sir," Jeanette answered for them hurriedly, "But we have a good reason, you see…"
"I don't care about your excuses Jeanette. I just care that you get to class on time, but seeing as this is your first time being tardy this year and I see Simon and Theodore with you, I know you're not up to anything bad. Now get to your classes or I'll throw all four of you in detention."
"Yes sir," they answered in unison, heading to their different classes quickly, but not before telling each other that they would talk later at lunch.
When the lunch bell rang, the six friends met up in the courtyard and Jeanette and the boys filled in Britney and Eleanor on what had happened. When they were done, both of the girls agreed that it was best to simply avoid Bill and his group. Just then, Simon got a text message from one of his friends from gym class.
"You're not going to believe this, but Tony just heard that Bill got suspended for a week for fighting on school grounds. Apparently, the vice principal heard about the fight from a group in the hall this morning." He said, grinning at the realization of just what this news meant.
"So that's why he let us go this morning?" Alvin asked, "Because he got dirt on Bill?"
"That's what it looks like." Theo summed up happily, "I guess that you don't have to worry about him for a while huh Simon?"
"I guess not." He agreed happily, grinning at Jeanette, who smiled right back at him.
"What about the kids in his group?" Britney asked, "Aren't they going to do something to get even?"
"Not a chance," Simon said confidently, "They were nice guys before he recruited them, and I know for a fact that I'm stronger than any of them."
"Then how were they able to pin you to your locker?" Alvin asked, teasing his little brother.
"Because they acted as a group," Simon explained, "If they act as a mob, none of us would win, but if they try anything alone, I can easily throw them to the floor in under a minute."
"If you say so dude," Alvin said laughing and putting his arm around Brit's waist and walking her towards the exit to the parking lot.
"Where are you going?" Eleanor called after them.
"I'm treating Britney to lunch off campus, anyone want to come?" Alvin replied over his shoulder.
"I'm in!" Theo said happily, he loved eating at the nearby food places.
"I suppose I'll come too then." Eleanor said in agreement, sprinting to catch up.
"You in Simon? Jeanette?" Britney called back.
"No thanks!" Jeanette answered for them both, "We'll be in the library getting some work done."
"We are?" he asked, looking at her surprised.
"Well, I don't really know, but that sounds a lot better than, we're going to make out in the empty art room, don't you think?"
Simon pretended to think about it for a second or two. Then he smiled at her and placed his own arm around her waist and led her into the arts wing of the high school, "I guess it does."
"Say Jeanette," he started to ask as they walked through the doors into the hallway leading into the art hallway, "Are you doing anything this Friday night?"
"No, why?" she answered, looking up into his eyes hopefully.
"Because, I got two tickets to the observatory and I was looking for someone to go with. You like the stars don't you?" he said, crossing his fingers behind his back.
"I love the observatory!" Jeanette answered happily, squeezing his side in excitement, "It's the one place that sets my soul on fire and always gets new ideas in my head for writing."
"Well then, would you like to go with me?" he asked again.
"Of course Simon!" she replied, "And this will be our first real date by ourselves won't it?"
"I believe so yes." He said as he realized that she was dead right, they had never been on an official date by themselves since they started going out about three weeks ago.
"Then I'll make sure I wear something very special." She promised, her mind already gone on to Friday night.
Simon laughed and pulled her closer into his arms for a kiss, unaware that there was a spectator to their little public display of affection who had heard every word.
UH OH, WHO IS THIS PERSON IN THE SHADOWS. ARE THEY CONNECTED TO BILL? WHAT ARE THEY DOING SPYING ON JEANETTE AND SIMON? WHAT WILL THEIR DATE BE LIKE ON FRIDAY? FIND OUT THE ANSWERS TO ALL THESE AND MORE IN THE NEXT CHAPTER OF Getting to Know You.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter and will read the next one. I know I'll have fun writing it, so have fun reading it.
Happy Reading,
Musicalreader
PS- this chapter is dedicated to roguelover as well as Sergeant Daniel and yet again to Starbin21 and SimonandJeanette4evr. Here's to you guys!