"Trouble in paradise?" Pauline asked when we got outside.
"You could say that."
"How much trouble? Enough to free you up? I meant what I said sweetie."
"What you said?"
"The night you took me home after my meeting Natasha. I told you that if things didn't work out to give me a call."
"Well I guess that things haven't worked out."
"You have anything planned for this weekend?"
"Not a thing."
"How about we go to the game on Friday and then maybe we can think of a way to fill the rest of the weekend."
"I'd like that."
Pauline was driving her parent's car so I told her that I would see her in school the next day and I went on home. I hadn't been there twenty minutes when I got a call from Tom.
"You really upset Nat when you got up and joined Pauline and then left with her."
"Tough shit bud; she's the one responsible. It will probably wind her watch even more when she finds out that I'm dating Pauline this weekend and probably beyond."
"Nat is in the mood right now that with a smidgen of effort you could fix things up with her."
"I don't think so. Did you not hear the venomous "fuck you" tone in her voice when she told me she was dating Eddie? She can just keep on dating the asshole for all I care."
"We still on for our regular Saturday morning?"
"Wouldn't miss it."
"I'll let mom know."
Thursday at school I had to work extra hard at avoiding Natasha because she had gone from avoiding me to trying to get to me. I was sitting at a table in the cafeteria during lunch period and she came up and asked if she could sit there. I told her to go ahead and when she sat down I got up and left.
When class ended I headed for the student parking lot and saw Natasha standing outside on the steps. She was talking to Eddie Wooters and I debated turning and going out the west entrance, but decided not to. As I walked out Natasha left Eddie and headed my way.
"We need to talk Bobby."
"Didn't any one ever tell you it wasn't polite to walk away from your main man to talk to another guy?"
"He isn't my main man."
"Now isn't that a coincidence. I'm not either" and I walked away from her.
I'd gone maybe five steps when I heard "Hey!" I turned and saw Wooters coming toward me. I had no idea what he wanted and I didn't care. I owed the asshole, but I wasn't stupid. He had me by four or five inches and at least sixty pounds so a fair fight was out of the question. When he got close he said:
"Where the fuck do you ge...ooof!!"
The last thing that he expected was that I would attack so when I drop kicked him in the nuts it came as a total surprise. While he was still stunned I kicked him again and he screamed and went to his knees. I kicked him a third time as Natasha came running over.
"Stop it Bobby; you're going to hurt him."
"That's what I'm trying to do you stupid bitch."
I kicked him a fourth time and then I grabbed a handful of his hair and jerked his face up to within inches of mine.
"You are bigger than me fuck face so I'm never going to fight fair with you. I owed you this for what you did to me and Natasha. You can accept it as your due or you can come looking for payback, but if you do know this. You will need to grow eyes in the back of your head because one day I will creep on you from behind and I'll open up your head with a baseball bat, a crowbar or a two by four and I'll keep doing it until you get the message."
While that was going on Natasha was trying to pull me away from him. I stood up and pushed her away.
"Remember what you said to me that day in the cafeteria? Well back attcha; get the fuck away from me!"
I got lucky. Apparently no teachers or other school officials noticed what had just happened and I walked away, got in my car and left.
I was helping my mom do the dishes when I got a call from Tom.
"You could very well end up being the least popular guy in school."
"Why?"
"You know why. What you did to Wooters."
"How does that make me unpopular?"
"We play the Braves tomorrow and if we don't beat them we don't go to the State finals."
"So?"
"What you did to Eddie caused him to miss practice and that means he will be benched for the game."
"Tough titty bud. I owed him for the shit he pulled on Natasha and me. I'm not the least bit sorry and if the rest of the school is upset about it fuck 'em. Besides, Reynolds may let him slide since he had a valid reason for missing practice."
"Can you get loose for a bit? Gail and I have some place to go and mom is alone. She can use some company."
"I'll see what I can do."
When the dishes were done I told mom that I was going over to Tom's to study.
"Say hi to his mom for me. I haven't talked with her in quite a while. Not since she kicked her husband out."