| General Fiction posted January 10, 2024 | Chapters: |
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Solace from a friend
A chapter in the book What We See
What We See - Chapter 2
by Jim Wile
The author has placed a warning on this post for language.
| Background A high school teacher wrongly accused of sexual assault reinvents his life. |
Note: For those who read Chapter 1 the first day of its posting, I have since made a name change of the young girl from Carla to Tina.
Recap of Chapter 1: David Phelps, a high school science teacher, is called to the office at the end of the school day for a meeting with the principal, Earl Pinkham. Pinkham asks David if he’s ever met with a student, Tina Cassidy, outside of school. David tells him that Tina came to his house one night, ostensibly for help with schoolwork but really to try to seduce him. David rebuffed her, and she left.
Pinkham had gotten a different version from Tina and her mother, Suzie, who is his secretary. They claimed that David had invited Tina over to try to seduce her, and when Tina rebuffed him, he attacked her and put his hands around her neck. They said she escaped and told her mother about the incident. Two versions of the same story, and Pinkham doesn’t know whom to believe.
Chapter 2
Back in my room, I grabbed my coat and briefcase, turned off the lights, and headed quickly to the parking lot, where I got in my car. I sat there in shock, light-headed, and my heart was racing. This was nuts. It took me a long time to settle down—only slightly—and begin thinking about this rationally.
The girl was obviously injured, but why would she blame me? Just because I spurned her advances? I had often seen Tina smiling at me in class, but many of the girls do that. I’m six-two with a trim body and broad shoulders, and I work out with the team. I have dark hair, and I guess I’m not bad-looking. I generally wear a jacket and tie to school, but I often remove the jacket first thing. I’m 26 years old and have been teaching and coaching here at Grove Park High for four years now. It’s my first teaching job. I teach physics and natural science to all three grade levels at the school.
I kept running over that conversation with Pinkham as I sat there. “I love Tina?” Jesus, my old demon got me again. I meant to say I love teaching and that I would never jeopardize that or take advantage of a student, but it came out all wrong. That often happens when I’m nervous. I am mildly dyslexic, and I occasionally screw up my words. I usually catch myself right away, but Earl cut me off before I could clarify what I meant to say.
This is serious now. I don’t know what Earl is planning to do about it. I could get fired, or worse. I could be arrested and charged with assault. It would be her word against mine, and who knows how this would get decided? There’s no proof of my version of things, and there is that photo of her bruises to support her story. Granted, there’s nothing that says I caused those bruises, but it still doesn’t look good. God, what a mess!
Later that evening, I called my best friend, Bobby Harken, to talk to him about this. Bobby is my assistant coach for the baseball team and a teacher in the math department.
“Hey, Bobby. I need to talk to you about something that happened today.”
“I think I know what it is; word’s already gotten out about it.”
“Suzie.”
“Yeah. She’s been spreading it around, calling you a pervert for attacking her little angel.”
“You don’t believe this, do you? It’s totally fabricated. I don’t know what they’re playing at, but I didn’t do anything like what they’re saying.”
“So, did she come to your house or not?”
“I don’t know exactly what you’ve heard, but yes, she did. But I didn’t invite her; she came all on her own with the goal of trying to seduce me.” I then filled Bobby in on the story as I had related it to Earl Pinkham, including my slip at the end. “So, do you believe me?”
“Look, David, you’re about as mild-mannered and straight-arrow a guy as I know, and that girl, I’m guessing, is a little slut. Of course, I believe you, but others, who don’t know you very well, may not see it that way. And you know what a gossip Suzie is. I’m sure most of the faculty know of this by now. She’s saying that because of your recent breakup with Diane, you’re on the prowl for someone younger this time.”
“Oh, God. That’s such a crock. Diane’s and my problems had nothing to do with our age difference. She may have been six years older than me, but our differences were a lot more basic than that simple fact. She thought I wasn’t assertive or ambitious enough, and I thought she overdramatized everything and was too pushy. I just finally realized we weren’t right for each other and broke it off.”
“Well, I could have told you that if you’d ever asked me. I don’t know how you two lasted for a whole year.”
“Look, Bobby, what am I going to do about this? Everybody loves Suzie, and not that many people outside the science department know me all that well. Don’t you think people are going to believe her? I’m sure Tina will be spreading this around with her friends too. I think I’m in deep shit.”
“Well, you could be right. I don’t know what to tell you, pal. I’m not sure what I’d do about it if it was me. Tina’s not the most likeable kid. Yeah, she’s hot, but she’s also a little bitch. Thinks she’s the queen bee, and all the guys want her. You know how she dresses. I think a lot of the girls who aren’t in her circle probably hate her, so maybe it won’t be as bad as it seems. I dunno.”
“You’re a lotta help.”
“Maybe she’ll do or say something to indicate she’s lying. Do you have any idea where those bruises around her neck came from? Does she have a boyfriend?”
“I don’t really know. I’ve seen her hanging around with Tony Armand, but I don’t know if they’re a couple.”
“Maybe he did that to her if he found out she’d gone over to your house to try to seduce you.”
“Why wouldn’t she just blame him then? Why does she say I did it?”
“I dunno. There could be a million reasons. These kids are screwed up. Who knows what goes on in their conniving little brains?”
“You’re kind of jaded, aren’t you?”
“Well, aren’t you? Especially after what’s going down now? Look, David, I’ve always viewed this as just a temporary job until something better comes along. I’m not a natural-born teacher. This is just a stopgap for me. Maybe you ought to start thinking about another line of work too. I got a bad feeling about this.”
“Sure glad I called you.”
“Just keeping it real, my man.”
“Yeah, I guess. Any parting thoughts?”
“If they’re going to fire you without a full investigation, make sure they let you resign instead.”
“Wait, what are you talking about? Do you know something you’re not telling me?”
“No, nothing definite. It’s just a suspicion.”
“What is it?”
“I’ve heard that Pinkham has applied for the school superintendent’s job. The current one is retiring next month. I also tend to think he and Suzie are fooling around based on a few things I’ve heard. I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s pushing him to fire you. And he doesn’t want this to reflect badly on his school and him in particular, which might spoil his chances. I dunno; just a thought.”
“Oh, Jesus.”
“Yeah, look, I could be totally wrong about that. But it wouldn’t really surprise me if it was something like it.”
“Alright. You’ve given me a lot to think about. I really appreciate it, Bobby, and I appreciate the fact that you believe me.”
“Course I do. I know you. I know you wouldn’t get involved in something so stupid. Me, maybe, but I know you wouldn’t. I just hope others will see it that way too.”
“Well, thanks, pal. I’ll talk to you again soon, alright?”
“Any time.”
I heard a “meow” and Archie popped through his cat door. He’s my 4-year-old orange tabby.
“Hey, Arch. How are you doing? Come in for a bite to eat, have you?”
He came over to where I was sitting at the kitchen table and rubbed around my legs for a while. He meowed a few more times, indicating that I should get a move on and get him his dinner, which I proceeded to do.
After he finished his dinner and spent the next few minutes licking his mouth, he came over and jumped into my lap. After a couple of headbutts, he circled around and laid down for me to pet him while he purred. Nothing like a purring cat to help ease your tensions, and I just tried to enjoy the moment and forget about things for a while.
 Recognized |
#21 January 2024 |
CHARACTERS
David Phelps: The narrator of the story. He is a 26-year-old high school physics and natural science teacher in Plymouth, Indiana in 1985.
Earl Pinkham: The principal of Grove Park High School where David teaches
Susanna (Suzie) Cassidy: The school secretary and mother of Tina Cassidy
Tina Cassidy: A 16-year-old high school sophomore in David Phelps's class
Bobby Harken: David's friend and fellow teacher
Archie: David's orange tabby cat
Diane Delaney: David's ex-girlfriend
Pays
one point
and 2 member cents. David Phelps: The narrator of the story. He is a 26-year-old high school physics and natural science teacher in Plymouth, Indiana in 1985.
Earl Pinkham: The principal of Grove Park High School where David teaches
Susanna (Suzie) Cassidy: The school secretary and mother of Tina Cassidy
Tina Cassidy: A 16-year-old high school sophomore in David Phelps's class
Bobby Harken: David's friend and fellow teacher
Archie: David's orange tabby cat
Diane Delaney: David's ex-girlfriend
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