Chapter 4: keep an eye on him
"WHERE DID YOU FIND THAT WOMAN!" Missy growled once again
"Missy you are being ridiculous" Mary enforced
"You didn't see how she was acting, she had her hands all over Sheldon" Missy described desperate to make them see what she knew
"Missy come on, you don't think it's more likely you just didn't know what you saw" George said more understanding
"What is wrong with you" Missy said irritated beyond compare
"Missy I have know Stephanie for a few weeks now, she is my friend and would never even think of doing something like that" Mary confidently said
"Really" Missy said before turning towards George "so if you only knew, say.. Wayne..or Pastor Jeff for a couple weeks then you'd trust him alone in a room with me?"
"Come on I'm pretty sure that's different" George stated
"UGH!" Missy groaned as she left the room
Missy grabbed her bookbag and lunch before she took an annoyed look at the bars her parents put on her window several weeks ago after the party. She went outside to get to school
"I'll see you two in a few days" their neighbor Pastor Jeff said bye to his wife and baby as he left for his trip
Missy got inside Georgie's car to get a ride. Georgie got in the car a couple minutes later "sorry I'm running late, Cece spit up some milk on the coach and Mandy was already up all night so guess I had to take care of it". As Georgie started the engine Sheldon got in the backseat "What are you doing here?" Georgie asked
"Principal Peterson said I can start working as a grader at the lower school, of course he also mentioned he wanted to torture the vice principal stationed there but beggars can't be choosers" Sheldon explained
"But you're a kid"
"Who graduated when he was eleven" Sheldon specified "wouldn't you do the same thing?"
"And yet you can't be useful and print us money" Missy shot at him
"Hey counterfeit is a crime"
"A profitable crime" Georgie said before he turned toward Missy "well sorry he's back at your scho-"
"No no, it's cool, not that big a deal" Missy cut him off. For once she was actually happy Sheldon would be close by, if their parents wouldn't do anything to keep him safe she could at least keep an eye on him. If she could manipulate him with little to no effort what chance did he have against that woman.
After Billy waved at them and Bobie Sue flipped them off, Georgie drove them to school, Sheldon was actually pretty quiet as he looked over some finished tests he already got for a class. Luckily he was preoccupied otherwise he would have definitely complained about all the tools and supplies Georgie had stuffed in his van. As Georgie dropped them both off Missy decided to pry a little and see if she could somehow convince Sheldon of what she saw
"So… have you talked to Stephanie since the weekend?" Missy pried
"No, I've been laser focused on my presentation on the possibility of slow light" Sheldon said clearly excited
Missy bite her lip as Georgie started to drive away "...did you feel uncomfortable, you know with the way she was acting that night"
"Well, she wasn't acting any differently than anyone else" Sheldon said undiscerning as they were nearing the curb
"I don't know I feel like-"
HOOONNNNKKKKKKK
A loud horn barreled toward them. Sheldon tackled Missy out of the way before the Chevrolet could run them over. Before either of them could figure out what happened a plastic cup full of juice was flung at them.
"STAY THE FUCK OUTTA MY TOWN LOSERS" Marcas Tailor and his asshole friends laughed right before they drove off
Georgie's truck apparently did a complete U turn, ran over the lane separator, and pulled up right in front of them. Georgie burst out with a maple wood baseball bat "YOU STAY AWAY FROM THEM" he said as he threw the baseball bat breaking the rear window "THAT'S RIGHT YOU KEEP RUNNING". Georgie rushed over and helped them up "You alright?"
"Yeah, fine now" Missy said seeing the massive juice stains on her and Sheldon "wonderful"
"Those delinquents are still hanging around here?" Sheldon said shocked
"Pfft yeah, they'll be terrorizing this school till they're dead" Missy said as they walked inside
Missy walked to her first class, she would only be able to look after Sheldon in between classes. Yes Stephanie might not come after him during school hours but she didn't strike her as someone who'd respect school grounds…. or anything really.
She took her seat next to Billy in Mrs. Wilkin's (or whatever her name is now) math class and got out her notebook that was mostly sketches of the 90102 guys and water bottle that secretly had coffee in it. And she sat to see…
"Hello class, I'm Mr. Cooper and I will be observing your class today" Sheldon announced to the class
"Sheldon's our teacher, that's awesome" Billy naively said as Missy rolled her eyes, helping Sheldon would be easier than she thought
"Oh despite my qualifications I'm not your teacher" Sheldon said taking a seat to the side
Mrs. Wilkins (or maybe it's Davenport now, who cares) came in and sighed at Sheldon's presence "alright open your textbooks to page 175" she instructed and maybe three students actually did it
"You will notice a typo in problems 160 and 161 where they repeat the same problem twice, you must solve both problems with different strategies" Sheldon unnecessarily instructed
"Sheldon, I'm instructing the class, and you only have to solve one" Mrs…. Whatever told the class
Missy rolled her eyes and instead looked through her desk remembering that copy of Select magazine she stashed in here. She found it but something was off about it, there was a page marked that she didn't set up. Under the protective cover of a desk top she opened to that page and found a piece of paper with what looked like a six year olds doodle of her and some other guy. It was in the format of an article and was 'Virgin Melissa Cooper turned down by every guy in school'. She turned to see Heather M chuckling at her.
A part of Missy said that it was cheesy, but the rest told her how much of a bitch Heather was…. It also told her to toss the magazine on the ground.
"Missy what was that?" Mrs…Teacher asked in an accusatorial and spiteful way
Sheldon got up before the teacher could and picked up the magazine. Missy had her eyes closed and braced herself for embarrassment.
Sheldon looked toward Heather M "this is your first time being a bully you'll get better"
Everyone laughed toward Heather M "what no, your… your sisters just easy to make fun of" Heather M said desperate to avoid humiliation
"Oh it's not your first time, I take it back some people are beyond an education" Sheldon said as the entire class laughed again "ooh your answer to problem 154 supports that" Sheldon said confused as to why everyone was laughing, even Missy got a chuckle out.
Missy leaned back satisfied at Heather's misery. Sheldon was a complete pain in the ass but he had his moments. And then that moment ended. Missy saw a gray Acura parked outside, that was Stephanie's car wasn't it…. or was it green.
Either way she couldn't make a scene, that wouldn't get her anywhere. She was being ridiculous, Stephanie was not stalking Sheldon, there was no threat at the moment.
Georgie took a nice look at the school, so many memories, so many really boring memories. He still had a job to do and a shit-ton of cash to earn. He opened the trunk and took out a crate full of vegetables and what the vendor claimed was fresh pork. Meemaw had her heart set on some new Pai Gow Poker tables for the gambling rooms and of course that meant sending him on a hundred or so jobs to get the funds for them.
"Thanks again for helping" Georgie politely said
'THUD' the trunk door was slammed shut "of course" Stephanie said "I lost sixty dollars there the other day, hoping to win it back with that new gear"
"Well as your friend's son I should tell you not to, but as someone who works there you keep on trying" Georgie quipped
They both carried them through the school, all the way to the cafeteria. They gave them the food, Georgie got paid, and Steph snatched them some cheesy dippers on the way out.
"Stephanie King?" the vice principal said as he approached them, seriously how much longer before he can afford hair plugs
" is that you" she said shaking his hand
"Haven't seen you since college, he was one of my professors" she explained to Georgie
"College professor to middle school vice principal, what happened" Georgie naively chuckled at his expense
"I don't like talking about it, are you here to see that grader you arranged for us, he's with his sister right now" Rice asked in his Mexican accent
"No I'm just helping my friend's son out" she said making sure Georgie heard her "but may as well see how he's doing" she said walking with Mr. Rice as Georgie went off to fix the gym's bleachers.
Missy grabbed her bag as the bell rang, satisfied with all the taunting looks the others were giving Heather M. Sheldon however was taking his time putting his stuff away. Any other day she wouldn't hesitate to leave without him but the car outside had her on full alert. She approached him "so who are you 'observing' next"
"Mr. Hadrix, you know him?". Great she didn't have Hadrix until the end of day, Sheldon would be on his own. "Apparently he has five classrooms used for his class, do you know which ones used for second period"
"Yeah Darla takes it, come on" Missy offered as they left the class
"Anyways you'll be pleased to know you received an astounding 52 out of 80 on your math exam" Sheldon proudly told her
"52!" Missy angrily said as she snatched it
"As in you got 28 questions wrong" Sheldon clarified "I thought you'd be happy it's better than your average"
"It's not good Sheldon" Missy stated before having a realization "you know if you're a grader you could maybe fix-"
"No" Sheldon simply said as he put the test back in his backpack
"Come on" Missy whined "if I get an A now I get to slack off on the final"
"Missy my position requires a strict code of honor to be foll-"
The entire world went silent.
She was right, Stephanie was over there with the vice principal. She grabbed Sheldon and forced him into the next classroom and quickly turned off the lights. As Sheldon mumbled she watched Stephanie inspect the classroom. She went inside for a bit, Missy counting every second she spent in that room. It was only maybe a half a minute but it felt like hours. She finally came out and went down the hall.
Missy let out a sigh of relief before noticing Sheldon trying to swat her hand away. Missy removed her hand to see his angered expression "What are you doing"
"Sheldon I- ….Stephanie was just outside" Missy stuttered
"And that's bad, why?"
"Uggghhh look I saw her and you in the garage on that night and…. ugh…. I think she likes you" she mumbled uncomfortable saying the words
"Of course, I'm delightful"
Missy scrunched her face in impatience "I think she REALLY likes you"
"Yo….." Sheldon lost all words as he put together what she meant "but.. But she's an adult" he got out only for Missy to make the most blatant 'DUH' face someone could make, even he could see it. "I… I appreciate the concern but that's crazy" Sheldon said trying to focus on the lack of evidence "according a national study if she was 'that' she would display traits like pushing physical boundaries-"
"Like say putting her hands on you" Missy asserted
Sheldon pondered this before going on "ugh… using manipulative language-"
"Like saying you owe her" Missy snapped worrying Sheldon further
"a..aa.a and creating dependency…. With gifts… like giving me this position… or a meeting with university heads" Sheldon said getting more and more worried "a..a..a. And expressing jealousy or controlling behavior which she hasn't" he said looking for any reason to not assume the worst
The second late bell rang "ah damn" Missy sighed "look I'm not telling you to believe me but…. But just be careful" she said
KNOCK KNOCK
They both froze. Not even taking the risk of breathing. Sheldon's shaking hand moved toward the handle, no reason to not open the-
The door burst open.
"AHHH" Missy let out a tiny scream
It wasn't Stephanie, it was just Mrs…. formerly Wilkins "what are you doing, get to class Now"
Missy left Sheldon with a look of concern before they split up. Sheldon stood there for another minute taking in their conversation. He eventually left the empty classroom and went up to 's classrooms until he found one with him in it, right at the end of the second floor by the window. Before he stepped inside he looked out the window and there she was.
Missy was right about something. Stephanie was here, she apparently hitched a ride with Georgie. Yes, Missy had lied to him many times before and he trusted his mother's judgment more than anyone's. But as a man of science, and as a fan of star trek, he knew he had to look at some things logically, and he could not comprehend any logical reason why she would do all this for him, or even why she'd be here. Did he hope he was wrong? a hundred percent. Did he know it was a real possibility? Yes.
Sheldon entered the class determined to finish his job for the day.
Georgie locked all the money in his money bin as Stephanie dug through her purse for her keys. There was suddenly a tiny noise beeping somewhere around them "what's that"
"My pager,"Georgie said as he looked at the number and didn't recognize it.
"You have one of those?"
"Yeah, lots of businessmen have them"
"No no I've actually got a bunch of friends who use them" she said as Georgie nodded proudly "course they're all drug dealers and child traffickers" she said confusing him "I'm messing with you" Georgie chuckled after hearing that
"Anyways you think you've got enough for that pai gow poker" Stephanie said out of curiosity
"Nah I've still gotta a few more jobs to-" Georgie froze in his tracks as a chevrolet pulled up "great" he said as he put the money bin in the car and locked the door
Marcas Tailor and his merry band of creeps exited the car, his background dancers equipped with their hockey sticks. "He Hey Cooper" he said with his daggum raspy voice "you broke my back window earlier, you know that"
"Yeah I remember, but I guess that's the risk when you try to run over children" Georgie threw in his face
"Guys guys violence only makes things worse" Stephanie said starting to slouch, her hands starting to shake
Marcas pulled out a gun.
Georgie and Stephanie both paused in fear before reacting, dropping her purse in the process. "Woah woah, I got a kid waiting for me" Georgie said regretting that sick comeback
"Come on I don't want to hurt anyone, but that windows gonna cost a lot and I think you could possibly have enough in that money bin of yours" Marcas smuggly said waving his gun around.
Georgie groaned in sorrow and reluctance as he made his way to get the money bin.
"Sir please, I have two daughters, this isn't how my life was supposed to go" Stephanie pleaded, tears running down her face as she subtly took two small steps forward
"You know you're not half bad lookin, if you were just ten years younger I'd let you make me a sandwich" he said finally at arm length
Stephanie swung her left arm at him flattening his Adams apple and ripped the gun out his hand with her right. She took a few steps back pointing it at his gang, they dropped their hockey sticks in fear as Marcas got up "Make your own fuckin sandwich"
"Give it back" Marcas said walking toward her without fear
'SNAP' Stephanie flipped the safety off freezing Marcas in his tracks "get the fuck out of here"
Marcas and his gang got back in the car and drove away in fear.
Georgie slapped her on the arm "THAT WAS AWESOME" he said before shaking her hand "I owe you big time"
"Nah you don't owe me" she said pretending to throw the gun away….. Before shoving it in the back of her pants.
Georgie helped her pick up the contents of her purse and returned them to her. "Hey what's are these" he curiously said holding a pill container labeled 'sildenafil'
"Oh I've been having some really bad anxiety problems, I've been taking meds for about a year now" she said nonchalantly before putting it back in her bag. "So you drove Sheldon here this morning?"
"Yeah" Georgie said as he grabbed his lunch
"Cause he wasn't in the class they assigned him"
"Weird" Georgie said with a mouth full of sandwich "why do you care?"
"Just curious," she said before heading to her car and crossed out another day on her day planner. Sheldon might be as smart as they made him out to be. She was running out of time.
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