Chapter 6 - A Delightful Week

The three of us were sitting on the steps to the school, facing the gates, at 8.45 a.m., waiting for Jaden Geller. Nicky and Tumi wanted to meet him as well and show him around school.

Nicky looked happy and peaceful about getting the chance to go to the party. From what Tumi and I heard, it had been just grand. Tumi’s parents had decided to spend the week at their cottage by the Huron River, just to be alone and try solving their problems. They were to come back next Saturday morning. She confessed that she was glad that they had left.

At 9:00 a.m., Jaden appeared at the gates. We hurried to him.
"Good morning, Jaden. These are my friends. They wanted to meet you. This is Nick Robertson and Tumiana Montgomery."
"Hi, I am Jaden Geller. Ridgeway High has been my third school this year. My father keeps getting transferred from state to state. But, this time, thankfully, he’s got himself a permanent job. And, I must tell you, compared to the three schools I have seen this year, this one seems really nice."
"That’s great and you yet haven’t seen the whole school," I said, having a gut feeling that this person was going to become a good friend, not only to me but to Nicky and Tumi as well.
"So, what are the subjects you are taking?" Nicky asked, leading us to the Computer Lab.
"Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Computers and Music," Jaden answered, peeping through the glass into the Computer Lab.
"You seem to be taking a mix of the subjects we take. Dee loves Science whereas Nicky lives with computers. I, by the way, adore music," said Tumi, taking out her timetable.
"What instrument do you play?" asked Jaden, entering the Computer Lab behind Nicky.
"The piano and I am learning the guitar and the drums," replied Tumi, seating herself at a desk.
"I play the drums and I am learning the electric guitar and I love it so far."
"Jaden, come along. I will show you the scanner. It’s only three years old and was the latest and most expensive model then," said Nicky, showing Jaden around his favorite place in the school.

Next came the Biology, Physics and Chemistry Labs, the library and the cafeteria.
"Do you three love food?" Jaden asked, as if it was a forbidden question.
"Oh my God, the three of us can’t live without it. All we do is eat," I said, noticing that Jaden was at ease again. "Thank goodness, we have high metabolic rates. Otherwise, we’ll make the Guinness Book for the three most obese best friends!"
Jaden laughed. "I adore chow too. And, I have a high metabolic rate as well. My favorites are seafood, salads and lasagnas."
"Lasagnas and salads are our favorites too," said Nicky, triumphantly while Tumi checked today’s lunch.
"It’s pizza and mashed potatoes today," announced Tumi.
"Sounds good to me," said Jaden.
"Yeah, come on now, we kept the best for last," I said, leading the three of them out of the cafeteria.

I lead them to the back of the school. I pushed open two wide doors, revealing a deep blue pool.
"Wow," Jaden exclaimed, breathless. "This is magnificent."
"I know. It’s the pride of the school. But only after school hours," said Tumi admiring the pool.
"Come on," I said.
"There’s more?" Jaden questioned, disbelievingly.
"Aha," I said smiling mysteriously.
We passed the boys’ and girls’ shower rooms and exited the pool area through a gate and entered the gigantic football field.
"Oh my God," Jaden whispered, awe-struck.
"We have a great football team. They hold a match on the last Wednesday of each month. During football season, they play with Carrington High, Gateway International, Wycherly and many other schools. Last match was with Carrington. They won two to one with the victory goal two seconds before the finish," explained Nicky, a football fanatic.
Jaden seemed to be one too. "I hope I make the team. Football is my sport. I haven’t played this year. I enjoy basketball too."
"Speaking of basketball...," I said, opening a door into the gymnasium, which was also the basketball cum badminton court.
"This school is so... cool. That’s the only word I can come up with and I must admit it is the understatement of the century."
"I hope you enjoy it here," Tumi said, bouncing a basketball abandoned on the bleachers. The three of us loved shooting hoops at Nicky’s.

Our houses seemed to have an added facility that your standard house didn’t have. Nicky has a basket attached to the garage door, Tumi has a stone garden bench and a petite fountain with a statue of an angel which was always kept wet by sprays of water all year around except during the bitter cold winters (Tumi’s garden looks gorgeous when it rains) and I had my swing-bench on the veranda and the rose garden.

"Class starts in five minutes. Jaden, what’s your first class?" I asked, taking out my timetable.
"We all have Math," Tumi said.
"Good. Then lets get our books and get to class," said Nicky.
"Have you got your locker combination?" I asked Jaden, while we all exited the gym into the hallways, which were swarming with students, hurrying to get their books and get to class. The bell was to ring any moment.
"Yeah, Mr. Haskins gave it to me yesterday. It’s locker number 15 C."
"Great, mine is locker number 16 C," I said, making my way to my locker.
"Ours is upstairs. Meet you both in five," said Nicky and Tumi making their way upstairs.

We opened our lockers. Jaden took out a lot of stuff from his backpack and arranged it neatly in his locker. He then took out a glass frame and showed it to me.
"This is my girlfriend, Tia Lucas. She was new at my first school. I was appointed to show her around. We became fast friends. By the beginning of the summer vacation, I was head over heels with her," he said, beaming.
"She’s pretty," I said noticing how at peace he looked. His face showed that he was overflowing with love for her. I don’t know how, but I knew that this subject was something very personal to him.
"You think so? I think so too," he said, looking like a child admiring a puppy.
"You must miss her," I said softly, taking out my Math textbook.
"Yeah, I miss her terribly," Jaden said, with his Math books in hand. "But I get to call her every weekend. That kind of helps."

I wanted to ask how he could expect her not to find another boy and he another girl but then I thought it was a depressing question. Then as though he read my thoughts, he said, "I don’t expect her to find another guy. But we told ourselves that if we do find other people, we’d tell each other immediately and continue being best friends."
"That’s great. It’s so mature and does not restrict the both of you," I said, glad that had already been covered. But I knew that if such a thing did happen, they both will be hurt, one feeling very sorry to hurt the other.

What I was surprised about was the fact that he opened up to me so quickly and confided in me.
"Why did you tell me all this stuff? I have a feeling it’s a very personal subject," I queried, shutting my locker.
"Yes, it is personal. I don’t know. I just felt like telling my innermost thing to you," he said, sounding surprised himself. "You know, I have never done that before."
And, I knew, without Jaden telling me so, I was to keep this bit of information to myself.
Triiiiiing!!! The school bell rang signaling the beginning of classes for the day.
"Come on, let’s go. Otherwise, we’ll be in for it," said Tumi, who would die before being late for class.

School went on as usual. Lunch was fun. The four of us sat at our table gobbling mashed potatoes and talking about our classes so far. Jaden found all classes nice and didn’t have any qualms about the teachers. We met in study hall and decided to do the Math homework we were given in the park.

After picking up a large pizza at Exotica, we settled down on a park table and opened our books to do our homework. There were some questions about birthdays and ages, so I asked Jaden when his birthday was.
"August 18th," he replied, taking a huge bite of his slice of pizza.
"Oh my God, that’s my birthday too."
"That’s great," Jaden said happily, jumping excitedly on his bench in a childishly excited manner. "So when are your birthdays?" he asked Tumi and Nicky who were furiously punching the buttons of their calculators.
"Mine’s on the 30th of October whereas Tumi’s is on the 20th of June," said Nicky, letting his calculator take a break.
"That’s around the time summer vacations start and so we have a big bash celebrating my birthday and the start of the hols," added Tumi, looking up but her fingers yet punching her calculator.

So that was the second day of school. Interesting and fun. I was pleased we met Jaden. I knew deep down that we’d no longer be three but four really good friends. The three of us found Jaden to be a gregarious, jovial and laid-back person. But most of all, I was glad and flabbergasted to have made a new friend. Amazed to realize that you could feel like you have known a person for your entire life but in reality, only known the person for a mere day.

* * * * *

The week just passed us by and all of a sudden, the weekend was already here. The school was in a hullabaloo. After all, it was the first weekend after school had commenced.

The four of us walked home grumbling about the tons of assignments we had to complete. Also, we had a Math quiz coming up on Saturday.

Jaden lived at the beginning of the Horrowitz Housing Complex while the three of us resided in the middle. So the three of us walked the rest of the distance talking about Jaden and the plans for the weekend. Nicky was going to his father’s as usual. Tumi and I didn’t have any plans. So the both of us decided to finish our homework by Thursday evening, so that the four of us could hang out in the evening and then get together on Friday evening for a Math discussion.

I went home looking forward to a cold, refreshing shower and a night alone at home for my parents were going to an inauguration in Maytown which was a two hour drive away. I love nights alone with myself. But first, I had to call Jaden and tell him about our plans.
"Hello, please may I speak to Jaden?"
"Yes, may I know who’s speaking?" questioned a woman’s voice.
"I am Diane Constantine, one of Jaden’s friends from school. Is this Mrs. Geller?"
"Yes, dear. So you are Dee, the girl Jaden has been talking about the whole week. I am glad he’s made a new friend. With all the moving around, he finds it difficult to make friends. By the way, did he tell you about Tia, his girlfriend?"
"Yes, Mrs. Geller, he did."
"I must say I am surprised, he usually keeps that a well-guarded secret. He only confides in people he trusts. He told me he told you on his first day of school. He was surprised himself."
"Yes, I was surprised too. I have never had people opening up to me so quickly."
"As you already know, Dee, Jaden is the only child we have. I can’t have any more babies."
"I am an only child too, Mrs. Geller. My mother can’t have any more children either."
"I guess the fact that I had three miscarriages before Jaden makes me very protective of him. Could I ask you a favor, Dee?"
"Yes, Mrs. Geller. Anything I can do."
"Could you watch out for him in school? He tells me everything but now he’s at an age where he’ll confide more in his friends instead of his parents. Diane, you seem to be a mature girl with a good head on your shoulders. Could you please see that he doesn’t do anything stupid and could you keep him out of hot water?"
"Sure, Mrs. Geller. I’ll do that. You can trust me."
"I know, Dee. Thanks a lot. I feel much better now. Hang on. I’ll call Jaden."

Wow. That was one hell of a conversation. Three miscarriages! She’s one hell of a strong woman. No wonder she’s so protective of Jaden. I just hope nothing like this happens to Aunt Cathy. No, it won’t. The doctor said that there are no problems.
"Hi!" said Jaden.
"Hi, Jaden," I said.
"Talked to my Mom for quite a long time, didn’t you?"
"Yeah, it was nice. I called to tell you our plans for the next two days. That is if you have no other plans. Nicky is going to his father’s and will be back tomorrow morning. Tumi and I planned to finish our homework by tomorrow evening so that we can hang out somewhere. On Friday evening, we are planning to have a Math discussion. We haven’t decided the venues yet, though."
"That sounds great. I’ll be there, Dee. By the way, I am going to call Tee at 9:30. Is it okay if I call you later?"
"No problem. You can call me anytime. My parents have been given instructions to give me the phone at anytime if it’s any of my friends calling. But I am warning you, you have no right to wake me up early, especially on weekends, except in case of emergencies."
"Don’t worry, Dee," Jaden chuckled. "I guess I’ll call you later then."
"All right. Bye."

I hung up, feeling blissful.
Ding Dong! The doorbell rang.
"Who could it be now?" I ran down the stairs, peeped through the peephole and saw Nicky. I flung open the door.
"I am off!" said Nicky, hugging me tightly.
"Why all the love all of a sudden? Do you want anything?" I asked in mock suspicion.
" No, I am just happy. And, yeah, I do love you and Tumi. So what?" Nicky declared with a look of mock annoyance on his visage.
"Oh, how cute! Nicky loves me," I said, hugging him and landing a kiss on his cheek.
"Women! You say something nice to them and you end up getting all wet!" Nicky said, feigning disgust.
I laughed. "All right, then. You go along now, your Mom’s waiting. Have fun and take care of yourself. Also, don’t do anything crazy."
"Okay, don’t worry. Bye and take care," Nicky said running off to his mother’s car.
I closed the door and went upstairs for a shower. I walked into the kitchen, afterwards to find a note on the refrigerator.

Dee, gone to inauguration in Maytown. Heat up the fried rice. You can only go out to get a movie. Nowhere else. Keep the doors locked. Will be late. So don’t worry.

"They gave me permission to go to Movie Mania, at least. Thank goodness, I made no other plans today." So I got myself a movie named ‘Fools Rush In’ starring Salma Hayek and Mathew Perry and settled down on the couch with fried rice, chicken and iced tea.

* * * * *

I was in bed, reading Shakespeare for English, when the phone rings.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Dee. It’s me, Jaden."
"Hi, so how’s Tia?"
"Oh, she’s fine. She has her exams coming up next month. I told her all about you. She said that she’d like to talk to you. Maybe we’ll do that next weekend?"
"No problem, Jaden."
"So what have you been doing?"
"I watched a movie, had dinner, did Bio and Chemistry homework and am now reading Shakespeare in bed."
"What’s the movie you watched?"
"Fools Rush In."
"Oh, I’ll never forget that movie. Starring Salma Hayek and Mathew Perry, right?"
"Yeah, how come it’s so unforgettable?"
"I took Tia to watch it on Valentine’s Day last year."
"That’s so romantic. It sure is a great movie."
"Yeah, she loved it, especially the song at the end. It’s my favorite too."
" ‘Can’t help falling in love with you’ by Elvis Presley?"
"Yeah, it’s a beautiful song."
"I totally agree. I am in love with it too."
"I danced my first dance with Tia to that song," said Jaden, sounding very far away.
"Wow, you both seem to have a great history together," I said, feeling very happy for Jaden.
"Yeah, we do. I miss her terribly but the three of you help me forget temporarily. Especially you, Dee."
"Thanks, I am glad I can be of any help."
"Well, I guess it’s kind of late. It’s 12:30. You sure your parents have no problem?"
"Right now, they are not at home. But if they were here, I am sure they won’t mind, especially since it is the weekend. I guess those are the perks you can take advantage of when you are an only child."
"Yeah, that’s true. I have my own phone as well as my own computer. But, they can be so protective sometimes."
"Yeah, I gleaned that much from the conversation with your mother. My parents can be so protective too, but they trust my friends to take care of me and they kind of know that at this age, they must give me a little bit of privacy and independence."
"Yes, I am glad for that. Well, I better hang up now. Nice talking to you and thanks for everything, Dee. Good night."
"It was enjoyable talking to you too. Good night."

After I hung up, I lay in bed thinking of the great life I live with adoring parents and friends.
"Dee, what more could you ask for?" I asked myself, switching off my bedside lamp.

* * * * *

The next day was spent doing homework. In the evening, we met at Jaden’s and then went to the Shopper’s Promenade to hang around at Virgin Records and there was also a Harley Davidson display. The bikes enthralled the boys.
Tumi and I just hung around listening to Jaden and Nicky having a heated discussion about a bike named Night Train and about its lean angles, compression ratios, fuel systems, primary drive and other boring stuff. After spending two hours at the mall, we took the subway to Exotica where we ordered lasagnas and salads for dinner.
"People, I have great news," said Nicky looking very animated.
"Spill it, Nicky," I said impatiently.
"Vincent took the money," Nicky declared.
"Oh my God, how did you find out?" Jaden asked, eager to know the details.

Jaden knew all about our families and our latest problems.
"Vincent, as stupid as he is, took some money from his father’s wallet this morning before I got home. George found out and realized that it had been Vincent all along and not me, for I was never in the house. George apologized to me and Vincent is grounded. You know, George’s grounding, there is no definite end date."
"He’s stupid, all right," said Tumi gleefully.
"Great, that’s over," I said relieved. But I knew that Tumi’s problem was far from being resolved. However, she never talked about it anymore and the three of us were careful not to mention it or ask her.

* * * * *

The next evening was spent at my place, discussing Math and working out problems in preparation for the upcoming Math quiz. Jaden’s Mom came to drop him on her way to the mall and met my Mom.
"Hi, you used to be in my batch in college, right?" my Mom asked, working on a hunch.
"Yeah, I remember you too. You were good friends with Daryl Constantine," Mrs. Geller said, trying her best to remember my Mom’s name.
"That’s right, now I know you. Carole Ferguson, right?" My mother had a knack for remembering names of people. One meeting’s enough for her.
"Yes, and you are Doris Connors," Mrs. Geller said, putting her hand out.
"So you married Harry Geller?" my Mom asked in an almost teasing tone.
"Yes," said Mrs. Geller shyly. "And you married Daryl Constantine."
"Aha," said my Mom laughing.
"So you both married your college boyfriends?" Nicky asked in astonishment.
"Yes," said Mrs. Geller and my Mom in unison.
"Cool," said Tumi in awe.

My mom and Mrs. Geller then went together to the mall, chatting animatedly not unlike teenagers, about their times in college and their lives ever since then. We commenced our Math quiz preparation while munching on buttery popcorn. I noticed Tumi was extremely quiet but she didn’t say anything, so I didn’t pursue it either.