He Loves Me Not
Sometimes the simplest plan is the best plan. MacGyver decided to just wait for Joanna to get over her initial shock and anger at finding out about Sam. How long could she hide, after all? In watching her with the students, Mac had found her to be intelligent, open-minded, and sympathetic. Surely it was just a matter of time until they would talk it out and put this whole incident behind them.
Hours turned into days, and Joanna kept herself locked in her office. She no longer helped out in the learning center or joined students for lunch in the cafeteria. If MacGyver didn't park next to her car every day, he wouldn't even know she was there. As time passed, his frustration mounted so he decided to stay as busy as possible to keep his mind off the stubborn female. He spent his time helping Officer Carl monitor the security cameras, and he assisted Mr. K. in not only Chemistry, but Biology and Physical Science as well. He ate his lunch in the cafeteria, usually surrounded by students eager to hear about his adventures with the DXS and Phoenix and he happily shared the declassified details of his exploits. After school he could be found assisting teens with the computers in the learning center or monitoring the recreation room. It was here, as he was making some minor repairs to the ancient pinball machine, that Jesse found him.
"Hi Mr. Mac!" She greeted him enthusiastically.
"Hey Jesse, how's it going?"
"All right," she shrugged. "I'm really glad you're helping out in my Biology class."
"Well, it keeps me out of trouble," he teased.
Jesse's face grew serious. "Mr. Mac, do you like Ms. Jo?"
Well, that was a loaded question that came out of nowhere. "Do you like her?" he countered, wary of the twist in the conversation.
"Yeah, I guess," Jesse responded thoughtfully. "She's pretty nice."
"That she is," MacGyver agreed with a smile.
"You've seemed kinda sad lately, Mr. Mac. Is something bothering you?"
MacGyver eyed the teen carefully, trying to decide what to say. "A friend of mine is going through a tough time right now and I'm just concerned. It'll all blow over soon, though," he assured her.
"Well, if you need to talk, my friends say I'm a good listener," she offered.
Despite the warmth of her words, MacGyver couldn't help seeing the coolness in her eyes. "Thanks, I'll keep that in mind," he responded, patting her on the shoulder before turning back to his tools, silently signaling the conversation was done.
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After yet another day passed with still no Joanna sightings, MacGyver decided it was time for Plan B. If he couldn't wait her out, he would draw her out…carefully. He made sure to arrive before she did the next morning and gently slid some take-out menus under her office door with a note that read 'still your turn'. The day crawled by as he waited for Joanna to respond to his offer, even if it meant she threw the papers in the face. Nothing. He was in his office late that afternoon trying to catch up on some paperwork when he heard Joanna leave for the day. He soon followed suit only to find the pamphlets he had left for her tucked under the windshield wiper of his Jeep. Strike one.
The next day, MacGyver decided to take a more traditional route. One that had proved successful for generations. He sat at his desk, flipping through the Yellow Pages searching for a florist. After finding one nearby and calling in his request, he leaned back in his chair, a self-satisfied grin spread across his face. Hours later, he was once again squeezed in the security booth with Carl when a delivery van pulled up. MacGyver quickly buzzed in the young courier bearing a vase of freshly cut spring flowers and directed him straight to Joanna's office. He was confident she would be too polite to turn the man away and he was correct. The van driver returned empty-handed except for the sizable tip he was tucking into his pocket. Mac relaxed a bit. It was only a matter of time, now.
MacGyver had just made his way through the cafeteria lunch line and settled his tray at a table full of freshman when the P.A. system crackled to life. The boisterous room suddenly quieted. Apparently, school-wide announcements were a rare thing. Above the static he heard Evelyn's voice: "Mr. MacGyver, please report to the Administrator's office at your earliest convenience." What in the world could be so important to warrant such a request? Mac bolted from his seat, abandoning his lunch tray as he quickly headed to the office. He tried to remain calm and not allow himself to think of the horrible scenarios he might need to deal with.
When he got to Evelyn's office, the door was partially closed. He knocked briefly before walking in.
"What's going on? What's wrong?" He demanded.
"Ah, MacGyver! I didn't mean to worry you. I just thought you should know…" She waved her hand to the corner of her desk. A vase of colorful blooms mocked him. "Joanna brought these to me. She said she's allergic."
"Is she?" he asked warily.
"I don't know. But that's not the point now, is it?"
MacGyver hung his head in defeat and frustration as he turned to leave.
"MacGyver!" Evelyn called. "Don't give up on her!"
"I don't intend to, ma'am," he replied as he headed back to his lunch.
Mac decided to leave work earlier than usual that afternoon. He not only had to find a way to get Joanna to talk with him, but he was yearning to work off the frustration that had been growing daily. He stopped to chat with Officer Carl.
"I don't suppose you know of any hockey rinks around here?" he asked the officer.
"No sir, I don't. I'm a football man myself."
MacGyver smiled and shook his head. Minnesotans learned to skate before they could walk and apparently Wisconsinites cut their teeth on the ole pigskin.
"There is that fancy indoor center that opened a couple years back," Carl mused.
"Tell me," Mac encouraged him.
"It's called the Pettit National Ice Center. If I recall it has one or two ice rinks and a speed skating oval."
"Sounds impressive," Mac observed.
"Eh, if you're into that sorta thing I suppose."
MacGyver received directions on how to get there from Carl before hurrying home to grab his gear. Some one-on-one time with the ice was exactly what he needed to gain some perspective.
He arrived at the modern skating facility around supper time. The place was deserted except for one rink where a small group of young boys practiced basic hockey skills under the watchful eye of their coach. MacGyver suited up and stepped onto the adjacent rink. For several minutes he simply skated around the perimeter, hockey stick in hand. He loved the sensation of gliding over the smooth ice. It was as close as a man could come to flying without leaving the ground. He then snagged a puck and started skating around would-be defensemen, taking shots on goal. He was about ready to call it a night when thoughts of Joanna started creeping back into his brain. He decided to put himself through one final exercise. He piled up some pucks in front of the net to practice his slap shot. This skill demanded his concentration: stick position, blade placement and weight shift. One after another, he sent the pucks slamming into the net. It was so easy without a goalie! He smiled ruefully to himself.
The next morning MacGyver limped into Challengers. Man, he had to get himself back into shape! Fortunately, the hockey practice had cleared his mind and presented a fool-proof way to lure Joanna to him. He used his lunch break to run a quick errand. When he returned, he pulled a small white envelope from his jacket pocket and took out the contents. Two tickets to that evening's Admirals game. First row behind the home team's bench. They didn't get any better than that. Feeling quite pleased with his offering, he tucked the tickets back into the envelope and slid them under Joanna's office door. Now all he had to do was wait, again. But this time he could taste success.
It was almost 5pm and still no word from Joanna. MacGyver was worried. He checked the parking lot. Her car was gone. He muttered a mild oath under his breath and headed to the main entrance.
"Hey Carl," he greeted the officer as he was finishing his shift.
"Hey Mac, how goes it?"
"Not sure. Did you by any chance see Joanna leave?"
"Sure did. In fact, she told me to give this to you." Carl handed him a very familiar white envelope.
MacGyver gingerly opened the envelope, not quite sure what he expected to find. He peered inside and saw it filled with bits of paper. What the..? He tipped the envelope upside down to allow the contents to fall on Carl's desk like pieces of confetti. "Oh no, she didn't!" he exclaimed, not realizing he had said the words out loud.
"Didn't what?" Carl asked, curiously looking over Mac's shoulder.
"That stubborn, insufferable, cold-hearted woman tore up the hockey tickets I gave her!" Frustration made his head pound as anger burned in his stomach. "That's it! I give up!" MacGyver threw his hands in the air. "Let her hide in her office and hate my guts! I don't care anymore! I'm done!" Mac turned on his heel and left the building.
Carl watched him go, grinning like the Cheshire Cat. "That poor boy's got it real bad," he chuckled to himself as he locked up the school for the night.
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Joanna sat behind her desk, rubbing her throbbing temples. It was finally Friday. What's more, it was a teacher work day which meant the students would be leaving at noon and the staff would follow shortly. Granted, the concept was to have the teachers stay and use the extra time to catch up or get ahead in their work, but most took the afternoon off. Officer Carl had asked if he could leave early to spend time with his kids and grandkids who were driving up from Chicago and Joanna had readily complied. Even Evelyn was leaving early. Joanna sighed. Maybe she should leave early as well. Who knew how exhausting avoiding one man could be? She hadn't even had the energy to get dressed up today. She looked down at her lightweight pull-over, jeans and athletic shoes. She put her head in her hands and sighed. This nonsense with MacGyver had to stop.
As the hustle and bustle of the morning grew, Joanna remained steadfastly locked behind her office door reflecting on the last couple weeks. She had behaved so badly. Her initial anger and shock had dissipated rather quickly, and she found herself wanting to reach out to Mac on several occasions, but she always managed to talk herself out of it. It became more difficult for her to stand her ground when he went on the offensive. How she longed to share another take-out meal with him, enjoy the fragrant flowers he had sent, or attend a hockey game with him by her side. She had shed a tear with every rip she had made in those precious tickets until the paper was damp. To others, she hoped she appeared to be standing up for her principles. But she knew the truth. She had taken advantage of this rift in their friendship to push MacGyver away before he walk out on his own. In a few short weeks, she had allowed herself to believe that this attractive, intelligent, caring man actually cared about her. How could she have been so foolish! Though she had lived a sheltered life, she wasn't naïve. MacGyver had traveled around the world and surely had left a trail of broken hearts in his wake, including Sam's mother. She was determined to not be one of them. Except, she probably already was.
Joanna knew she couldn't stay locked away forever, and to be honest, she missed spending time with the kids. Come Monday, she would resume her professional façade and treat MacGyver as she did the rest of the staff until his assignment was over and he went home to L.A. The dismissal bell startled her from her reverie. Evelyn poked her head in Joanna's office to say good-bye and wish her a happy weekend with orders to enjoy the warm spring weather that had finally arrived. Carl buzzed her phone to let her know he was leaving for the day. Joanna promised herself she would leave, as well, just as soon as she finished inputting some data into her computer.
Twenty minutes later there was frantic pounding on Joanna's office door followed by panicked calls of "Ms. Jo! Ms. Jo!"
With a surge of adrenaline, Joanna flew to her door and threw it open to find a tearful Jesse on the other side.
"Ms. Jo! You gotta help!" the girl wailed. "Something's wrong with Mr. K.!"
"Jesse, calm down and tell me what's happening," Joanna said calmly, taking the girl by the shoulders.
"I think he's dying! You have to come quick!" And with that Jesse took off running down the long corridor leaving Joanna no choice but to follow. All rational thought left her as they barreled through the stairway door, taking the steps two at a time. As they approached the science lab, Jesse hesitated, motioning for Joanna to go first. She stepped over the threshold and stopped, surveying the room and finding no one.
"Where is he?" she asked Jesse.
"Over there, on the floor behind his desk," she pointed, her hand shaking.
Joanna started to rush over to the area Jesse had indicated, but halfway there she heard the classroom door close with a loud bang and the unmistakable sound of the deadbolt engaging. Joanna whipped around to find Jesse leveling the barrel of a handgun at her chest.
Joanna automatically raised her hands in a 'don't shoot' gestured. Her mouth was dry, her legs weak, and her heart pounded rapidly, but she knew she had to remain calm.
"Where's Mr. K.?" she asked Jesse as non-threateningly as possible.
The teen shrugged nonchalantly "Got me, last time I saw him he was headed for the parking lot." Her voice was cold. Devoid of emotion.
Joanna locked gazes with Jesse. She had watched and read enough crime-dramas to know she had to keep the girl talking until she could find a chance to escape.
"Jesse, c'mon. Can't we talk about this?" she asked, praying she could somehow keep the girl from shooting her.
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MacGyver decided to head home early since almost everyone else was gone. As he was making his way back to his office he encountered Ms. Candy, the bubbly English teacher, teetering toward the exit in her stilettoes. He rolled his eyes. "Bye Candy!" he called to her.
She turned around at the sound of her name. "Oh, good-bye Mac! Is everything Okay with Joanna?"
Good grief. Had they become grist for the high school gossip mill? He decided to play dumb.
"What do you mean?" he ventured.
"I was just coming out of the teachers' lounge when I saw Joanna and Jesse running down the hall."
MacGyver's pulse kicked up a notch. "Where were they going?"
"Who knows? Maybe one of the lab rats got loose. Anyway, have a great weekend!" And with that she was gone.
MacGyver knew something was very wrong. He felt it in his gut. He had to find Joanna and Jesse, but how? As far as he knew there was no one else in the building, and if there was trouble, searching room by room would waste precious time. He then recalled the P.A. system in Evelyn's office. If his memories from his own high school days served him correctly, the speakers worked both ways allowing principals to listen in on classes from their offices.
MacGyver hurried to Evelyn's office and tried the doorknob. Locked as he expected. He dug in his pants pocket for his Swiss army knife. He had little use for it lately, but still carried it with him constantly. He found the appropriate tool and proceeded to pick the flimsy lock easily. He then made his way to the P.A. system, taking inventory of the controls. Each toggle was labeled by room. If Joanna or Jesse were talking, he should be able to locate them. He started flipping the switches one by one, beginning with the rooms on the lower level. Silence. He started on the second floor. When he turned on the switch for the science lab he heard female voices. He let out a sigh of relief that was incredibly short lived when he heard Joanna's voice.
"Jesse, put down the gun and we'll talk about whatever is bothering you."
Good girl, stay calm, keep her talking.
"No!" Jesse snapped. "You're not good enough for him! You make him sad!"
MacGyver listened anxiously, trying to get a better handle on the situation while at the same time trying to think of a way to diffuse it. Jesse was unstable. He had to be careful.
"Who Jesse?" came a steady voice. "Who do I make sad?"
"Mr. Mac, that's who!" Jesse spat at Joanna.
"Jesse, Mr. Mac and I—"
"Shut up!" The teen was in a rage now. "At first I was jealous, ya know? He was always walking you to your car or talking about going over to his place. But then you changed. You stopped talking to him and that made him sad. He doesn't need you! He needs me!"
MacGyver had heard enough. He had to get to the science lab and subdue Jesse, hopefully without hurting her. But how? From what Joanna said, she was being held at gun point. He'd have to figure out something on the way. He sprinted down the corridor and up the stairs, slowing when he neared the science room so Jesse wouldn't hear his approach. He scanned the hallway, looking for anything he could use as a weapon or diversion. Mac's eyes lit upon a fire extinguisher hanging on the wall. A plan began to form, but he had to get into the classroom first and surely Jesse had locked the door. He wondered how much longer Joanna could keep the delusional girl occupied. He pulled the extinguisher off the wall and decided to gamble and take the direct approach. He knocked loudly on the door.
"Jessica, it's Mac, let me in," he urged.
"No!" she shouted. "You just want to keep me from hurting Joanna!"
"That's not true, Jesse," he called through the door. "I don't care about Joanna, I care about you!" He winced at the lie he was forced to tell. "If you hurt Joanna you'll be taken away from me. Please don't let that happen! I can help you if you'll let me in," he promised.
He heard movement and held his breath, holding the fire extinguisher behind his back. He heard the locks click open. Progress. He reached out with one hand and turned the knob slowly. He gingerly inched the door open knowing he might only have mere seconds to assess the situation and take action. He entered the room to find Jesse and Joanna facing off against each other several feet apart. Jesse's hand trembled as she tightened her grip on the gun and Joanna continued to stare down her assailant. MacGyver used this opportunity to gently pull the pin from the extinguisher and slip it into his back pocket.
"Put down the gun, Jessica," Mac said evenly.
"No! She has to die!"
MacGyver chanced a glance at Joanna. Her jaw was set, and her eyes conveyed determination. She wouldn't go down without a fight.
"No one has to die," MacGyver tried to convince Jesse. "I already told you, I don't care about Joanna. Let her go so we can be together."
The gun Jesse was holding wavered slightly, and Mac knew he had to act now if everyone was going to get out of here unharmed. In one swift movement, he swung the fire extinguisher from behind his back, aimed the nozzle between the two females, and squeezed the discharge lever slowly, creating a cloud of CO2. Jesse began to cough and he bolted toward her, aware of Joanna running past him toward the door. He quickly approached Jesse from behind. Reaching out to grab her wrist, he increased the pressure until she dropped the weapon. He then wrapped his arms around her, pinning her own arms to her side. She screamed and kicked and fought against his hold until she had no more fight left in her. She began to cry and sank to the floor, taking MacGyver with her, now nothing more than a puddle of teenage angst.
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As soon as Joanna was sure Jesse's vision had been obscured by MacGyver's smoke screen, she bolted for the door and ran to her office. She lunged for the phone and dialed 911. It seemed like hours until her call was answered, but in reality it was only a few seconds. Joanna explained the situation to the dispatcher as calmly and succinctly as possible and then stayed on the line as directed. She could only hope that MacGyver had been able to disarm Jesse before either of them got hurt.
A long while later, Joanna sat on the back step of an ambulance. An EMT checked her vitals. When the police had arrived on scene, Joanna had led them to the classroom where they found MacGyver looking up at them as he comforted the broken girl. Joanna willed her eyes to make contact with his and her breath caught at what she saw there. Remnants of fear lingered, but an astounding gentleness dominated accompanied with a gentle smile. Before she could respond, an officer moved in to secure Jesse and lead her away as two other officers swept in and took Joanna and MacGyver in separate directions to give their statements and answer questions about the incident.
Joanna was arguing with the EMT's about her condition when MacGyver approached.
"I am absolutely fine!" Joanna's voice rang out clearly. "I do not need to go to the hospital!"
MacGyver smiled at the beleaguered technicians and motioned for them to give her some space. When they were out of sight, Mac settled himself next to Joanna.
"I'm fine," she replied before he could ask. "I'm just a little shook up."
"That was quite an ordeal you went through. You stayed calm and did all the right things," he told her, wondering if his pride for her was evident on his face.
"Thanks," she said quietly.
MacGyver noticed her limbs begin to tremble. He reached for a blanket the EMT's had offered her earlier which she had quickly discarded.
"Here, put this around you. You're going into shock," he explained matter-of-factly. He expected Joanna to fight him, but when she didn't, he helped her tuck the blanket around her and then held her close to his chest, pleased when she didn't pull away.
"We need to talk," she informed him weakly.
"Yeah, but not now. You need to go home and get some rest."
Joanna moved her head so she was looking up at him, but she remained in his embrace.
"There's a park a few blocks from here. Meet me there tomorrow? 2 o'clock by the boathouse?" she asked tentatively.
"I'll be there," he promised, as a female police officer approached.
"Ma'am," she addressed Joanna, "do you have a way to get home?"
"She most certainly does," came Evelyn's authoritative reply.
The officer silently slipped away as Evelyn approached the duo.
"The police called me," she explained before either of them could ask. "You both Okay?"
"Yes ma'am," they replied in unison.
"I fear this situation is far from resolved, but we'll deal with that later. Right now let's all go home and try to forget about it for a while," Evelyn commanded.
Joanna nodded and slowly stood up, the blanket she had snuggled in dropped to the ground. She tested her legs, making sure they would support her before she walked with Evelyn to her car. Before sliding into the driver's seat, the short woman turned to MacGyver who had followed a few paces behind them in case Joanna needed his support.
"Well done, Mr. MacGyver," the spunky administrator praised. "Well done."
