Saturday Night School Ch. 13

"You got rid of that other stuff already?" Ronni asked as they attached the camera to the computer in the editing bay and started to upload the footage. "The stuff you filmed at the end?"

"Yeah, it's been deleted."

"Good." Ronni crossed her arms. "This hard drive already has too much secret porn on it."

Charlie chuckled. They watched the data start to copy over. "Hey," he said, "do you want to go to a party this weekend?"

"Glenn Mack's party?"

"Yeah."

Ronni smiled slightly. "I was wondering if you would invite me. Actually, Michelle already asked if I wanted to go. She told me about it two days ago."

"Oh. She did?"

"I told her I can't go. My family is driving to Sacramento for the weekend."

"Oh. All right." Charlie leaned back in his chair. Michelle had already invited Ronni to the party. Did Michelle invite her for a specific reason? Maybe to keep Charlie company while Michelle was with Glenn? Or did Michelle just invite Ronni because Michelle and Ronni now seemed to be best friends who planned to do things together?

Charlie didn't want to go to the party alone, but he couldn't see any other option. His intent was to find a way to steal Michelle away from the party, and he couldn't do that if he brought other people with him. Ronni might have helped him, she was the only one who knew about his secret affair with Michelle. But Ronni was going to be in Sacramento.

So he would go to the party alone. He would arrive alone, and later on, he would leave with Michelle. That was the plan and the goal. Slip into Glenn Mack's party, even though Glenn hadn't invited him. Locate Michelle, where she undoubtedly would be, sitting with all of her friends, probably even sitting with Glenn Mack himself. Whisk her away without anyone noticing, even though Michelle was supposedly the whole reason for Glenn Mack throwing the party. Charlie's mission if he chose to accept it, a mission impossible.

Or he could fail. He could chicken out. If that happened, he would once again be the bearded man at the back of the movie theater. Sitting and watching Michelle from a distance, helpless to make any moves that would win her to his side. If that was the case, then better to not go at all. He could stay home, watch TV, maybe tell himself he didn't go to the party because he trusted Michelle to stay true to him.

No, he wouldn't stay home. He did trust Michelle. It was Glenn Mack he didn't trust.

Saturday came. Charlie picked his clothes carefully. He intended to dress like a spy, someone who would blend in, someone who wouldn't be noticed. Black shirt, black jeans, a baggy black jacket. Looking at himself in the mirror, he thought he looked less like a spy, more like a cat burglar. "I'm the bad guy in this movie," he told his reflection. "The party crasher that's going to ruin the party."

Actually, he wasn't technically a party crasher. Michelle had invited him; she had even texted him the address. Vampire Vanessa had invited him as well, that day in the hall. "You should come," she had said. So there was that.

He went to the party an hour and a half after it supposedly started, half an hour after the time when Michelle said she would be there. The party wasn't hard to find; he didn't need to check the house numbers. The noise and the mass of cars on the street made it clear which house was having the party.

Glenn's house was only a mile away from the juice bar where Charlie had dropped Michelle off after their brunch date. Maybe Michelle's house was in the same neighborhood. Maybe it was within a few blocks. Michelle's mother was friends with Glenn's mother, after all.

It was a nice house. Bigger than Charlie's, maybe even twice as big. The front door was open and a group of teenagers sat around the front porch, talking and laughing. Charlie didn't recognize any of them. He also noticed some people walking around the left side of the house, where a gate stood open and a walkway seemed to lead to the backyard. He could see lights glowing in the backyard, and decided to take that path instead. Maybe he could slip into the house through the back door and attract less attention.

No one noticed him as he walked through the gate and followed the path towards the back of the house. He could hear music playing from outdoor speakers, not obnoxiously loud but loud enough to be heard several houses away. Some male singer strumming on a guitar and singing about love. Maybe the neighbors would be happy it wasn't rap or electronic dance music.

Halfway along the path, he noticed something attached to the house that looked familiar. He crouched down and let the light of his phone flash over the object, confirming that it was what he thought it was. Charlie glanced towards the back yard, but no one was headed in his direction. He was alone.

He had come to the party with a plan to get Michelle away from Glenn. Now, he had an idea for a phase two of his plan. He leaned over the object, his hands moving quickly. Three minutes later, during which thankfully he wasn't discovered, Charlie rose from his crouch and continued to the backyard.

Glenn Mack had a swimming pool, but no one was swimming. A few groups sat outside on deck chairs drinking from red cups and talking. One group of teenagers smoked by the diving board.

Kim Mink was in one of the groups, along with several other theater kids Charlie recognized. Kim had a large travel mug that she was sipping from, undoubtedly filled with strong coffee. "Charlie," she called out to him when she saw him, and he felt obligated to stop by and say hello.

"What's up, Charlie," said Toki Cho, a tall, slim Korean boy. "Heard you got into the Apex program at Jefferson. Congrats." Toki was a junior; he was in Charlie's Theater Tech class. His real name was Paul, but everyone called him Toki Doki because of his alleged drug use. He reeked of marijuana.

"Thanks," Charlie said.

A long-haired blonde girl named Rachel asked, "When do we get to see the film you've been working on? Are you going to show it at school?" Rachel was one of Kim's friends. Probably Kim had mentioned that she was one of the actors in the film.

"Yeah," Charlie said. "I'll see if I can do a premiere in one of the rooms."

No one asked him about Michelle, and Charlie guessed that Kim hadn't mentioned Michelle's impromptu nude scene to anyone. Kim Mink always seemed to have a unique perspective on things and she might not have even considered Michelle's nudity to be an interesting topic of conversation.

After a few minutes, Charlie excused himself, telling the group that he wanted to go inside and get something to drink. He entered the house through the back door, which led directly into the kitchen. It was a large kitchen with dark granite countertops and a middle island. The island was covered with half-empty bottles of alcohol and red cups. Two tall girls were in the process of pouring themselves drinks; they didn't even look at him as he passed. Charlie didn't really want a drink. He wanted to find Michelle.

The front room was large, brightly lit and filled with people, maybe fifteen in total. Charlie scanned the faces and recognized some of them, fellow seniors from Pine Hills. He didn't see Michelle or any of her friends. One of the walls had family pictures on it: pictures of little-boy Glenn; teenage Glenn; Glenn's parents; Glenn with another boy who was probably his younger brother. Glenn had the same confident smile in all of the pictures.

Charlie went through a doorway into a darker part of the house. He saw a line of women waiting at a door that was probably the bathroom. Through another doorway and he stood in the first of a series of three dimly-lit rooms that were all open to each other, effectively creating one long room. The room Charlie stood in was the dining room. The dining room table remained, but the chairs had all been taken away. Charlie could see the room at the far end held a pool table and a piano. Two men were playing pool, while another two watched. The large room in the middle was the entertainment room, filled with couches and a large flat-screen television that was mounted on one of the walls. This was the room where Charlie finally saw Michelle.

She was talking to another cheerleader, illuminated by the glow of whatever was playing on the TV. She hadn't noticed Charlie's arrival. Glenn stood nearby, less than five feet away. The groups were segregated by gender, Michelle sitting with a group of five girls, and Glenn standing with three other boys. Cody was one of them.

Michelle wore a black tank top that showed off her flat midriff. A dark skirt flared over her legs, and she wore gleaming black boots. Charlie gazed at her and once again marveled that he had become so close to the woman that he considered to be the prettiest at Pine Hills High.

Glenn turned towards the group of girls and said something, smiling that same confident smile. The girls laughed at his joke. Michelle laughed, too.

"Asshole," Charlie muttered, scowling.

"Ah," said a sultry voice behind him. "Charlie. You've finally arrived."

He should have already known who he would see when he turned to look, but still he had a moment of wondering who could be expecting him. Vampire Vanessa was dressed in tight, black jeans and a long-sleeve black shirt that was also very tight. Her long, black hair was down and she wore bright red lipstick. Pendant earrings looked like wind chimes dangling from her ears.

She didn't enter the room but beckoned him to join her in the hall. Charlie wanted to glance towards Michelle, to check if she had noticed him, but Vanessa's eyes were on him and he knew she wouldn't miss such a glance. He stepped into the hall.

"Hey, Vanessa," he greeted her.

Vanessa gazed at him critically. "You came here by yourself?"

"Yes," Charlie answered, wondering why it mattered. Then he noticed that Vanessa wasn't alone. A slim brown-haired girl stood next to her. She was slightly taller than Vanessa and wore faded blue jeans and a tight gray t-shirt with the Powerpuff Girls on it.

"This is Talia," Vanessa introduced her. "Talia, meet Charlie."

"Hey, Charlie," Talia said.

"Hi."

"Talia is my cousin from Linterna," Vanessa said. "She's going to be your friend while you're here at this party. All right?"

"My friend?" Charlie was confused.

"I'll be over with Michelle," Vanessa said, touching Charlie's arm. "Maybe I'll see you over there." And she walked away. Charlie was too surprised by her sudden departure to say anything, and before he knew it, he was alone with Talia in the hallway.

He looked at Talia. "Uh... so what is she talking about?"

Talia shrugged. "Vanessa asked me to stay with you and keep an eye on you. She said you might get into trouble."

"Trouble? What does that mean? What kind of trouble?"

"Well, I don't know exactly," Talia admitted. "Vanessa was a little mysterious about it. I got the impression that some of the guys here don't like you very much, and might not be happy to see you. But if they think you're here with someone, they'll leave you alone." She hastily added, "Not that this is a date. I'm just doing this as a favor for Vanessa."

"Let me get this straight," Charlie said. "If Glenn and Cody see me here alone, they're coming after me? And Vanessa is trying to protect me by making it seem like I'm here with you?"

"I guess," Talia said. "Vanessa didn't tell me specific names. Why don't they like you?"

Charlie hesitated, reminding himself where the line lay between what was well known and what was secret. "They think I'm chasing Michelle," he told Talia.

"Vanessa's friend Michelle? Is she here?" Talia asked. "I know her name but I'm not sure what she looks like."

"She's in the next room, by the TV. Vanessa's probably with her. Michelle's in the black top, black skirt and boots. Dark hair like Vanessa's, but wavier."

Talia peeked into that room. "I think I see the one you mean. Wow, she's beautiful."

"Out of my league, huh?"

Talia chuckled. "Yeah. No offense." Talia stepped back into the hallway. "So are you really chasing after her?"

"No," Charlie lied. "I know she's out of my league. And she just sees me as a friend. Everyone knows it. She's made it pretty clear." Maybe if he convinced Talia she had no real reason to stay with him, then she'd leave him alone.

"Just a friend, huh? That's rough." Talia nodded towards the kitchen. "Hey, do you want to get something to drink?"

"I can't," he said. "I drove here."

"Doesn't have to be alcohol. Let's see what they have." Talia caught his arm and tugged him towards the kitchen. "Come on."

Charlie didn't have a better idea. He followed her to the kitchen, where they found a cooler filled with soft drinks and bottles of Gatorade. Charlie grabbed a Sprite, and Talia poured herself a lemonade with a splash of vodka.

"So, you say she just sees you as a friend." Talia continued the conversation right where they left off. "And you're not chasing after her. But some people still have doubts about you, huh? Glenn and Cody, because they don't want you here. Are Glenn and Michelle dating? Because I know Vanessa is dating Cody."

"Why don't you ask Vanessa for all the details?" Charlie muttered.

"She wouldn't tell me very much. I think she thought you would be the one who would tell me everything." Talia paused to think. "Vanessa must be on your side. Right? Why else would she want to protect you like this?"

"I have no idea why Vanessa wants to protect me," Charlie said. "Although, Vanessa was the one who invited me here."

"Seriously?" Talia seemed impressed by this. "Hey, let's go back over there."

"You want to find Vanessa?"

"No. Not yet. I was thinking we would just hang out by the dining room table until Glenn and Cody see you. To find out if they're cool with you being here. What do you think?"

And Michelle would see him, too. Charlie checked his phone. He still had time before phase one of his plan kicked off. "Okay," he said. "Let's go."

***

"I'm going to school in Linterna next year," Charlie told Talia. "Jefferson U."

"Oh, really? It's a beautiful campus. Are you going to move there?"

"I don't think so. I'm not sure. I might commute."

"I'm taking classes at LCC right now," Talia said. "Linterna Community College. It's on the west side of Linterna." Her eyes peeked to the side. "Ah. They see you."

"Who?"

"Cody. He took a long look at you. Now he's saying something to Vanessa."

He wanted to ask, what about Michelle? Did Michelle see him? Was she looking at him? It took all his will to keep from looking in that direction. "What do you think?" he muttered. "Are they going to be cool?"

"I think so. Vanessa's talking to him. Probably telling him you're here with me. After that, it should be no big deal." Talia tapped her cup with her fingernails. Her nails were painted purple. "Let's just keep talking. I'll let you know when I think it's safe."

"Oh. Right. Umm... so you're older than Vanessa? You're out of high school?"

"I graduated last year." She grinned. "I know. Everyone thinks Vanessa is older. But I'm actually a year ahead of her."

Charlie felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Someone had just sent him a text message. He slipped the phone out and glanced at the screen.

It read: "There you are." It was from Michelle.

Charlie looked at Talia to see if she had read the message, but Talia wasn't paying attention. She was still focused on Vanessa and the crowd in the adjoining room. Charlie couldn't stop himself; he glanced towards Michelle. She wasn't looking in his direction. If not for the message he had just received, he would have thought that she was still unaware he was at the party.

Charlie wanted to respond to her text, but he couldn't do it, not while Talia was standing right there. Talia wasn't just there to make him appear less threatening to Glenn and Cody. She was also there as Vanessa's spy. Undoubtedly, anything she learned about Charlie's secret relationship with Michelle would be relayed to Vanessa.

"... it's actually a really good price for the amount of food you get," Talia was saying. She was telling him good places to eat around Jefferson University. Charlie did his best to seem like he was listening, catching just enough details to hold up his end of the conversation.

His phone vibrated again. Another message. Fortunately, Talia received a message a second later, and checked her own phone. Charlie slipped his out and read the new message from Michelle.

It read: "Do you like my heart?"

Charlie looked over at Michelle. She was gazing right at him, a tiny smile on her lips. She had a small red heart drawn on her left cheek.

"Just a minute," Talia said. "Vanessa's texting me." She was distracted by her own phone, and Charlie took the opportunity to quickly write a message to Michelle.

"Yes," he typed. "I love it." He sent the message.

He did his best to avoid looking right at Michelle, but out of the corner of his eye, he could see her check her phone, then write something back. His phone vibrated.

Her new message: "I have five more hearts drawn on me. I wonder how many you can find?" He peeked at her. She had her eyes down, but she was smiling to herself. One heart on her cheek, five more hidden elsewhere. She had bare arms, bare shoulders, bare midriff. A stretch of bare leg between the bottom of her skirt and the top of her boots. No hearts visible anywhere.

Yes, this was a game he was happy to play.

He considered whether he should try to explain Talia's presence to Michelle. He didn't have time to write a long text message, and he couldn't figure out a concise way to express who Talia was. Talia, the spy? Talia, Vanessa's cousin? Talia, the stranger he had never met before today, who had attached herself to him? Before he could make a decision, Talia grabbed his arm. "Let's go over there," she said. "Vanessa says it's fine."

They walked into the middle room, and Talia walked right up to Vanessa and her friends to say hello. The reception was warm for Talia but noticeably colder for Charlie. Cody looked at him with outright disdain, and some of Michelle's cheerleader friends seemed puzzled by his presence, as if they didn't feel he belonged there.

Glenn played the confident and polite host. He shook Charlie's hand in a strong grip. "Glad you could make it," he said. "There's plenty to drink in the kitchen. Help yourself."

"Thanks," Talia answered before Charlie could. "We were just there." She held up her cup, which was now half full.

"Talia's my cousin," Vanessa said. "From Linterna."

"Oh, really?" Glenn said. "How do you know her, Charlie?"

Charlie glanced at Talia. "I met her through Vanessa. I'm going to Jefferson U. next year, I'll probably be in Linterna a lot. Vanessa thought it would be good for me to know someone there."

"Cool." Glenn nodded. He seemed satisfied with that answer. His next words were directed to a tall boy standing nearby, and Charlie had the feeling that he and Talia had just been dismissed.

Talia found a place for them to sit, on a couch about five feet away from where Michelle was leaning against a table. Close enough to hear her voice but not close enough to talk to her. The television was on in the room, playing a Nicholas Cage movie, one that Charlie hadn't seen before. No one seemed to be watching the movie; it just played in the background while people talked.

Talia already knew some of Vanessa's friends, and easily joined in on their conversation. Charlie glanced at Michelle, hoping to catch her eye, but either she didn't notice him or she was pretending she didn't notice him. Charlie wondered how he could get her alone. He wanted to tell her about Talia, and about the different phases of his plan. He wanted to find some of the hearts she had hidden on her body. They weren't visible on the skin she was showing, so that meant they were hidden underneath her clothes. And she didn't have a whole lot on.