Disclaimer: This story is intended for mature audiences. If you are under the appropriate age to view such material in your area, or are offended by stories containing sexual content, then please reframe from reading this submission.
Note from author: I had intended to finish this story much sooner, but my editors had a mild disagreement about its content. Khepri94447, who edited my last piece, felt that I went overboard in creating my main character. She suggested that a more scaled back version of this story might appeal to a wider audience. My second editor, Dawn, liked my original story arguing that most fiction tends to contain more dramatic content. Being able to see both sides of their dispute I decided to submit two different versions of this story. Mr. E. (over the top) is my original manuscript. This version presents circumstances that, although are highly unlikely to occur in real life, were fun to write, and hopefully even more enjoyable to read.
Mr. E. (Scaled back) is a modified version of the story which intends to attract readers who adhere to more conventional plots. Whether you're a free spirit with a wild imagination or a realist who prefers more believable content, I hope that at least one version of Mr. E. appeals to you. /
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Public image is that tiny portion of ourselves that we allow others to see while we try to mask those unsightly traits of our personality which we are too afraid, embarrassed, or shy, to have revealed. How well we truly know someone is often not an easy question to answer honestly, as everyone seems to have something that they would rather keep hidden from the world around them. On the surface Trent Hamilton appeared to be the average high school nerd. He was always reading, never bothering to socialize with anyone, participate in extracurricular activities, or even date. Trent was constantly being harassed by the parade of jocks that seemed to rule the school and everyone in it. Even the teachers would often look the other way while this badgering took place. It is not surprising that Trent hated high school. He hated everything about it, well almost everything. His school did have one redeeming quality to it, and her name was Becky.
Becky Watson was the captain of the girls cheerleading squad. She was a blond hair, blue eyes goddess that to Trent was the epitome in which all young ladies should be measured against. Unlike the other popular girls in school, Becky was always nice to him, but he knew that is as far as it would ever go. She was dating one of the jerks on the football team that was constantly harassing him, and Trent was sure that if they ever broke up she would have a line of guys waiting in the wing just itching to take his place. Knowing this, unfortunately, did nothing to squelch the huge crush Trent had on her, or the fact that he truly cared for her well being.
One day while he was in the library studying, Tent accidently overheard a conversation between Becky and Stacy Anderson.
"So Becky, how did the career day go for you," She asked?
"Not very well I'm afraid," Becky meekly replied.
"Why not, I thought you had your heart set on becoming a nurse," Stacy asked?
"I do, but the councilor said that it is very tough to earn a scholarship from cheerleading. My grades are good, but unfortunately not high enough to be considered for an academic scholarship either. My Mom just doesn't make enough money to help me out, and since my Dad left her before I was born, I guess that I am just on my own," Becky replied disheartened.
To Trent this news was heart wrenching. He attended several of Becky's classes, and knew that she was a very smart girl. It was not her fault that her family was not well off. She deserved a chance to succeed in life and he was now determined to see that she got it.
Trent started researching athletic scholarships and was discouraged to find that her councilor's assessment of them was pretty accurate. Digging a little deeper he learned that even though there was money available for cheerleaders, it usually only went to girls from well-known schools. The scouts seemed to travel in pairs, only visiting facilities with winning sports teams. He discovered that it was far more likely for Becky to be offered assistance if they had a prize winning football team.
Although not being a sports enthusiast himself, Trent was all too familiar with the game of football. Having been drug to the stadium on countless occasions by his dad and granddad on his father's side, who were not only avid fans of the game, but also ex-high school players, Trent from an early age had to endure many bone chilling afternoons perched upon a half frozen bleacher bench, even though he would have much rather been curled up in the warmth of his bedroom with a good book. Trent knew his personality favored his grandfather from his moms' side of the family. The man was a semi-retired country doctor. Trent had always wanted to follow in his grandfather's footsteps and study medicine. His dad, on the other hand thought that he needed some toughening up, and would often criticize the boy for everything from being too thin to spending all his time studying.
Trent's dad tried numerous times to get his son involved in the sport, but to no avail. At the insistence of his father, Trent tried out for the team on several occasions, but he was rejected each time. If truth be known, Trent really didn't try all that hard. He only went out for auditions to appease his father. Trent did; however, manage to learn the game of football quite well. Since he was able to actively talk about sports, Trent's father took this as a sign his son was trying to abide by his wishes. This managed to keep Trent's dad off his back, at least to a degree that is.
Being unable to come up with any other possible solution to Becky's problem, Trent decided that his best course of action was to help insure that not only Becky and her other teammates became the absolute best cheerleaders that any high school has ever seen, but he would also have to try and help the jocks he had come to despise, become state champions. This was not going to be an easy task, as Trent had watched them play on numerous occasions with his father. He thought that although a few of the players had the potential to be stars, they would never achieve that goal while following the advice of their present coach. Realizing that they would never take direction from him, regardless of how good it was, Trent resolved to use a little play on words and in doing so the infamous Mr. E. was born.
Setting out to learn everything he could about football and cheerleading, Trent started to formulate plays and choreograph cheers. He would always print them out, and then made sure that the respective coaches would find his little gifts, which were always addressed "Mr. E.".
At first his suggestions were just dismissed as someone's elaborate prank, but it wasn't long before the coaches started to notice the sheer genius in his methods. When they began to use his plays, and subsequently started to win most of their games, the school began to buzz about their mysterious benefactor. When the cheerleading squad added his detailed chorography to their tumbling acts it created a style that was, quite frankly, unsurpassed by any other team.
Word eventually leaked to the press about the unidentified stranger who kept providing the unique strategies; soon the hype was creating quite a stir. Coaches and scouts were beginning to take notice as fans started packing the stands for every game. Trent had to become very creative, in not only developing his plays and cheers, but also in the methods he used to deliver them. The last thing he wanted was to be found out and exposed as Mr. E.
Everything seemed to be going quite well. With the new direction in coaching, the jocks started to gain confidence in their abilities. For her part, Becky and her teammates were beginning to step up their cheer routines which were now starting to garner the attention of visiting scouts. It was just about this time that a minor disaster threatened to destroy everything. Greg Stevens, the team's star quarterback had managed to let his grade in geometry slip below the mandated C requirement to maintain eligibility for extracurricular activities. Greg's midterm test was in two weeks, and if he didn't manage to score at least a high B on it, he would be benched from the game the following Saturday. This created a real problem, as without Greg's help the team would likely lose and not be able to advance to the state championship playoffs.
Naturally having helped many students in the past, Trent's name was among the first to be suggested by Greg's teacher Mr. Jenkins, as a possible tutor. Neither of the boys were real receptive to the idea of working together at first, but they both knew that this was Greg's best chance for passing his test and they each had their own agendas for wanting that to happen.
So it was settled, the two would meet at Trent's house at about 5:30 or 6:00 after Greg finished with football practice. At around 4:30, Trent was just returning from the rest room when he noticed the quarterback standing there waiting for him.
"Um the coach said that passing this test was more important than practice, so he let me go early. Your parents said to just go on up to your room," Greg explained.
"OK. That's fine," Trent cringed knowing that he had left his computer screen on.
"So would you like to explain that," Greg asked pointing towards the monitor?
"I think that it is pretty self-explanatory, don't you," He asked?
"I don't believe it! You're Mr. E.," Greg asked?
"It would appear so," Trent replied.
"I don't understand. Why would someone like you want to help us out," Greg asked bewildered?