A Storybook Finish (11 page)

95

knew what many papers contained—meaningless sentences

filled with historical errors and grammatical mistakes. He

should get on Mrs. Coates to teach her classes better writing

skills. He flopped down, looked at the video in his hand and

inserted the tape into the VCR. To his surprise, Lindsay had

stopped the tape right at the scene where the hero and heroine

of the story confess their love. He watched the characters

in the soft moonlight, singing a love song to each other.

Maybe he needed to be like the hero and wait for the heroine

to return and find her future. Maybe he should wait for

Lindsay to discover if her future included him, without trying

to push and shove his way into her life. He already had an

inkling she belonged in his.

Jeff stared at the calendar book placed prominently on his

desk, wishing it were Thursday. He met with the art teacher

running the new fundraising program and offered his assistance

on that day if the teacher needed it. Inwardly, his real

motive in helping was to be with Lindsay again. Every day

since the pizza gathering he’d thought of her with her head

turned upward, singing the song from the movie State Fair.

He rented that film also and could see why a woman would

like it, with a brother and sister who each find their true love

in unexpected ways. It held nothing of historical significance

that whetted his appetite, but he told himself that whatever

interested Lindsay should also interest him.

The students filed in for another day of class in which he

would begin a discussion of the Lewis and Clark expedition.

To his surprise, he noticed Jewel and Troy sitting on opposite

sides of the classroom. He had never seen them sit apart before

and wondered what spawned the distance. Troy seemed

96 to have his head in the clouds, gazing at times out the window

to the sports fields beyond. Several physical education

classes were taking advantage of the warm fall day to kick a

soccer ball around. Jewel sat on the other side of the room,

doodling in her notebook or chewing on an eraser tip. They

seemed as far as east was to west. When Jeff posed a question

to the class, hoping for Troy to throw up his hand or shout

the answer, he remained quiet and distant.

When the bell sounded and the students began leaving, Jeff

stopped Troy, who was about to scoot out the door. “Hey,

what’s up?”

“Nothing.”

“Nothing? I find that a little hard to believe. I’m expecting

my straight A student to know the answer to every question.

You look as if you’re on Mount Everest. Anything you want

to talk about?”

“No.” Troy began edging his way to the door.

“You sure? We’ve had some good talks in the past.”

“Look—I really don’t need you hanging on me, okay? I can

take care of myself. And I’m not your straight A student. I’m

just like everyone else.”

“Of course you’re an A student. You have a great mind. I

can see you as a scholar or a history professor one day. I want

you to keep going. I’m thinking of having an advanced placement

history class next semester, and I’d like you to take it.”

“I’m not going to be a history major, okay? I changed my

mind. And look—I’m not your prized student or anything

else. I gotta go, or I’ll be late for my next class.”

Jeff said no more. His throat closed over, watching the

young man shuffle off. Troy must be feeling pressure from the

other students and likely from one source. Robbie. Jeff shook

97 his head. He remembered his time in high school when fellow

students badgered him and called him The Worm. It

affected him greatly, more than he knew. Maybe he should

tell Troy about that time in his own life. He needed to get

past it and look to the future. Jeff shook his head. He doubted

Troy would listen to much of anything right now.

Jeff ran a hand through his hair, mulling over the situation,

when he heard a soft voice like a gentle breeze. He jerked his

head upright to find Lindsay entering the classroom. She

looked amazing, outfitted in a navy blue dress. He would

have stared more, were it not for the cloud of Troy marring

his thoughts.

“Hey, I just wanted to thank you for the great time the

other night,” she said. “I’m here to do a pre-start with Mrs.

Meyer, the art teacher.” She paused. “Is everything okay? You

don’t look so good.”

Jeff sat there, amazed by her perception. Lindsay was

beginning to see right through him. “It’s Troy. I think some of

the students are pestering him for being the hotshot of the

history class. He’s starting to lay low. He won’t answer questions

in class or even talk to me.”

Lindsay set her briefcase down on the floor and sat in a

nearby desk. “Do you think Robbie’s in on it?”

“More than likely. I don’t know what to do. I can’t let Troy

slip away. All the gifts inside him will be lost. He’ll never

reach the potential God has for him.”

“He won’t reach it anyway without God.”

“That’s true. I was making headway with him. But ever since

the field trip to D.C., our relationship has soured.” Jeff sensed

his frustration building. “I thought it would be a great trip

where the students could discover a real God in American

98 history. Instead, they seem to be slipping further away.”

“Jeff, don’t read too much into it. Just remember it’s up to

the students to decide for themselves what they’re going to do

with the knowledge you give them. You can’t keep them from

sliding down the slippery slope if that’s where they want to

go. You can try to keep them from going astray by talking to.

them. You can pray for them. That’s about it. God gives each

of us a free will.”

“I guess.” He blew out a sigh of disappointment. “You

know, at first I was hoping the money from the fundraiser

would get me where I need to go with my teaching career.

Teaching is great, but there’s so much more to it. What I

really want to see is these young people change for the better.

Money isn’t going to do it. Maybe new programs won’t either.

It’s working with them, taking time to listen, showing them

that God loves them and cares about them.”

“Maybe I could talk to Jewel again and find out what’s happening

among the trio,” Lindsay suggested. “She and I hit it

off pretty well the first time. Even if I have to eat at that

greasy spoon again.”

“Greasy spoon?”

“You know, the Hickory Diner. Mom always called it a

greasy spoon. I went there not too long ago with Jewel. They

pile your plate to the ceiling with the greasiest French fries

you’ve ever seen.”

“If you think it will help—talking to Jewel, that is. I’d like

to know what’s going on myself.”

“I can do that.” Lindsay rose to her feet.

Jeff watched the dress she wore caress her legs as she moved.

He found himself jumping to his feet as well. “He would need to do

some scouting the weekend after next. Want to come along?”

99 She crinkled her nose in such a way that he nearly chuckled.

She looked like a petulant child when a plate of brussels

sprouts was placed before her nose. “Scouting? Like Boy

Scouts?”

He allowed his pent-up anxiety to escape in a rumble of

laughter. “No, no. Scouting as in searching out a historic site.

Baltimore to be exact.”

“Baltimore! That’s a long way from here.”

“Only about two and a half hours, if the beltway traffic isn’t

too bad. We’ll soon be starting the War of 1812 in class.

want to scout out Fort McHenry, learn a few things, get

patriotic. It’s where the original Star-Spangled Banner flew,

you know, and where our national anthem was born.”

She hesitated for a moment. “Okay. I went to Baltimore

once when I was a kid. I guess I haven’t been much of anywhere

since I was a kid. And when you’re a kid, you never

remember where you’ve been.”

“Great. And this time we’re on our own. No students.”

“Sounds good.” The smile she gave before exiting the classroom

carried him through the remainder of his afternoon

classes and well into the evening. He envisioned her singing

songs to him, with the navy blue dress sweeping her petite

form. Maybe on the way to Baltimore, she would sing more

Songs from her favorite movies. The thought helped to ease

the anxiety he felt over Troy.

100 The overwhelming stench of fried food assaulted her nostrils

while Lindsay sat in the booth, playing with a spoon inside a

cup of coffee. Jewel was already fifteen minutes late. She

wondered if it had been a mistake to get involved with the

students like this. Yet seeing Jeff’s disappointment over both

Troy and Jewel, Lindsay knew she needed to do something.

She didn’t know why Jeff’s reactions affected her so much.

Perhaps she really was developing an affinity for him. Did

this signal the start of something new in their relationship?

She nearly laughed when she considered their rocky beginnings

and the looks of disapproval that had once radiated from

those deep blue eyes of his. Now she found herself becoming

even more involved with him, to the point of accepting a trip

to Baltimore. How could this be the innocent fundraiser

suddenly hooked up with the grouch of Western High? Only

God could help arrange such an unlikely relationship. There

was wisdom in allowing Him to find her the perfect husband

and in the most imperfect of circumstances. At the outset,

Ron seemed a fitting candidate. He was successful, rich, good

looking, and he wanted her, or at least she thought he did. But

the night he came, asking for a date, she saw something different.

He was not the match for her. She would rely on God’s

peace to guide her and not her mixed emotions.

At that moment, the door to the diner opened, and several

young people walked in. She saw the top of Jewel’s curly

101 head and then Robbie wearing a sleeveless shirt that displayed

his bulging muscles. Terrific. Why did she have to

bring him along?

“Hi,” Jewel said rather shyly, slipping into the booth opposite

Lindsay. Robbie took a seat on a nearby stool and ordered

a soda.

“Does he have to be here?” Lindsay whispered.

“Why not? Robbie hasn’t done anything wrong. In fact, I

think he’s been great–showing me how much Troy was trying

to control me.”

Lindsay shook her head in confusion. “I thought that’s

what you wanted. You were literally begging Troy to

announce his undying love for you. That’s why you wanted

the Goofy phone.”

“I used to think so.” She shook her head at the waitress who

came with plastic coated menus, stained with dried ketchup.

“When Robbie told me how a lot of the students are mad that

Mr. Wheeler is giving Troy better grades on his essays and

tests, it got me thinking. Maybe it isn’t such a good idea hanging

around him. I mean, I work just as hard as he does. Why

should he get special favors just because he likes history?”

Lindsay gaped at the accusation before glancing at Robbie’s

back. He slurped away on his soda while talking to a friend

occupying a neighboring barstool. “Jewel, none of that is true.

The only reason Jeff, that is, Mr. Wheeler, took Troy under

his wing was because he saw a great potential in him. He

cares about all his students.”

“I don’t know. He sure doesn’t act like it. It’s like Troy is the

model student, and the rest of us are nothing.”

Lindsay could see the war Jewel faced—loving a guy one

moment, hating him the next. Her mother often said when

102 she was young that teenagers were kids and adults mixed up

in one body. Yet, as she stared at Jewel’s innocent face, she

only wanted to help her. How could she keep this young

woman from making the biggest mistake of her life? Not that

Lindsay wanted her going out with Troy instead. Rather she

wanted Jewel to look beyond relationships to the One who

created relationships in His own timing. She wanted to convince

Jewel that she didn’t have to search for acceptance in

people but could find acceptance and importance with God.

“Hey, it’s getting kind of hot in here. Wanna take a walk|

with me in the park?”

“I don’t know.”

Jewel cast a questioning glance at Robbie. The look grated

on Lindsay’s nerves. Now who was controlling whom? When

Jewel announced she was going for a walk, Robbie shrugged,

to Lindsay’s amazement. She thanked God for the window of

opportunity.

Lindsay and Jewel meandered out of the restaurant. Orange

rays of sunlight gleamed behind the brick buildings that comprised

Main Street. She used to know every inch of this place,

but over the years the town had changed and the people with

it. She thought of herself and Ron and how different they had

become since they walked these sidewalks and drove the

familiar streets.

They walked along until they came to the park. A sprinkling

of fall leaves covered the grass. A small fountain, raised