Chapter 5: I Didn’t Kiss Him

As Crystal headed to her next class, she happened to run into her friend Serenity, who was sitting on the floor beside her locker. When Serenity saw that Crystal was in a hurry, she asked what her rush was all about. Before Crystal could reply, Serenity noticed that her face was red and that her clothes were disheveled. “Are you okay?” she asked. “Your lip is swollen.”

Crystal scrambles for an answer, and when she begins to stammer, Serenity knew with certainty that something was up with her, and she suspected that she knew what it was. “What is the matter with you?” she asked reproachfully. “Does it have something to do with You Know Who?”

“No!” Crystal replied argumentatively. She bit her lips nervously and said, “Maybe I got attacked by a cockroach! Did you think of that?”

“It’s Professor Davis, isn’t it?” Serenity said. After a moment, she lowered her voice and said, “It was! You kissed Professor Davis.” She giggled. “What a tramp!” Serenity didn’t mean this literally. It was just a joke between two friends.

“I didn’t KISS him!” Crystal said, and she touched her lips thoughtfully. I wonder what it would be like to kiss Nathan? - she wondered - and would I let him kiss me if he tried? Didn’t know... She didn’t know...

“Well, if you two didn’t KISS, what did you do?” Serenity squeaked, her voice rising several octaves. Just now, she was guessing that there had been some foreplay that maybe included heavy petting or under the shirt but over the bra action, but her imagination didn’t take her anywhere near what had actually happened. Crystal’s face turned red when she heard Serenity’s question, so Serenity knew she was on the right track, but she would have never guessed the full extent of the liberties her professor had taken with her friend. “Well,” she said, “if you can get him to be infatuated with you, you may find a chance to get your mother’s inheritance back.”

“Jesus, Serenity!” Crystal hissed. “Did you take the class for nothing?”

“No way,” Serenity replied. “I am listening very carefully. Look at yourself, though; you’re one to talk! You’ve been daydreaming all semester.”

Crystal laughed, and Serenity laughed along with her. “Fine,” she admitted. “I haven’t been concentrating, but you watch: I’ll concentrate next time.”

Serenity got up, and the two girls walked to their next class together, which was philosophy, and they took their seats as the teacher walked to the podium. Serenity opened her book while Crystal twirled her pen out of boredom. I didn’t even want to be here today - she told herself - so why should I bother paying attention!

Furthermore, although the teacher worked hard to make the lessons easy for the students to understand, Crystal remained absent-minded, and the fact that she was two years younger

than the other students was a constant disadvantage to her. Crystal managed to endure until class was over, though, and as she gathered up her books, she and Serenity discussed what to have for lunch.

Unfortunately, before they could make any headway, there was a sudden cry at the door: “Crystal, the president wants you to go to his office!”

Crystal’s mind went blank, and she had to ask Serenity, “What did he say?”

Serenity looked at her friend curiously and said, “Where is your mind today?!?!? He said that the president wants to see you. You’d better go quickly! Maybe it is about another scholarship.” If it were, it wouldn’t be the first time that Crystal had won a scholarship. She had never received one from the president before, though, so she didn’t think that that was what this was about.

“My mind was elsewhere, that’s all,” Crystal explained. She handed her books to Serenity and said, “Can you take these for me? I’ll meet you in the cafeteria after this meeting.”

Without waiting for a reply, Crystal left the room, and since she was in a hurry, she rushed down the hallway towards the office. And when she entered the office, the secretary looked up from her desk and said, “You can go right in, the president is waiting for you.”

When Crystal entered the office, she said hello to the president. He said hello back, and he told her to close the door, which she did. There were two seats in front of the president’s desk. One was empty, and the other was taken by Ms. Ford. The president pointed toward the empty chair and told Crystal to take a seat, which she did. And as she did, she noticed the name tag on the president’s desk and gasped. His name was Mr. Ford! He was Ms. Ford’s Father!

What the fuck is going on?- her thoughts began to spin out of control - This must have something to do with Nathan!

Am I in some kind of trouble? “Mr. Ford,” she said nervously. “What can I do for you?”

“You’re Crystal, aren’t you?” he said. It wasn’t a question, but she nodded her head as if it had been. “You are the first student to be recommended for admission to our school through the Advanced Program for High School Students, and your scholastic record is outstanding. Although there is not much schoolwork to do right now, it will increase, and I hope you will give full priority to your study. You are still young, and I hope you don’t ruin your future unnecessarily.”

Is that a threat? Crystal asked herself. His tone was flat, and his face lacked expression, so she had no way of knowing if this was anything more than friendly encouragement.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Ford, but could you be more specific?” What unnecessary things are you talking about? I don’t quite understand.”

Ms. Ford turned to Crystal and scowled. “What my Father - Um... What Mr. Ford said,” she hissed, “was about you and Professor Davis. I told him all about your little ‘relationship’ with him, and that is not the kind of thing a young student like yourself should have time for!”

Actually - Crystal wanted to say the RELATIONSHIP takes up very little time, thank you very much! - but she remained silent, obeying the more reasonable voice in her head that was saying - Let the adults talk, and then you can go on your way, living your life in whatever manner you please. After all, you aren’t beholden to this dysfunctional woman or her father in any way!