The Bonding Chronicles Ch. 01

Dr. Blake looked at Andrew. "You know what, Andrew? It was my pleasure."

"I am still confused about the wind resistance, though. If the car is accelerating into the wind and that is why it constantly has to accelerate, why is it a problem on days when there is no wind?"

Andrew finished his question and watched as Dr. Blake dropped his pen on his desk and exclaimed, "Seriously?" Standing up, the teacher walked quickly to the whiteboard and began erasing the diagrams and formulas from the previous class.

Andrew watched him patiently and smiled in satisfaction as the teacher cleared the board in complete frustration. "I mean seriously, why do I even try?" Dr. Blake said before turning back to Andrew who again had an innocent and questioning look on his face.

Andrew managed to keep Dr. Blake going until there was only one minute until the next class was supposed to start. In pure exasperation Dr Blake flung the whiteboard marker in the air and said "Seriously, 'Andrew', if you still don't get this it's not my fault. Now I have a class to teach. Get out!"

Andrew hung his head down and walked out of the room. By now, the room was filled with juniors who were watching him and snickering. Once in the hallway, the door slammed closed behind him and he laughed quietly the entire way to Ms. Anderson's class.

***** Historical Resolution *****

He arrived a couple of minutes late to class. Bruce and Zack were seated in the middle of the room. Zack's jaw was clenched and he was staring intensely at Andrew. Making his way to the back of the room, Andrew said, "Sorry for being late again, Ms. Anderson." He took his seat and tried his best not to look at Zack, who had not stopped watching him.

"Well, Andrew, at least you are consistent," she responded while looking questioningly between Andrew and Zack.

Bruce's attempt to distract Zack was completely failing. The cheerleader from his last class kissed Zack on the cheek. Resting her hand on Zack's leg, Zack looked at her and they started to talk in quiet whispers. For the moment Zack seemed to have lost interest in Andrew, who sighed in relief.

Karen performed roll call until she eventually looked around the room and then wrote onto the clipboard while saying to herself, "Sara Mitchel, Absent."

One of the girls raised her hand. "Actually, I saw Sara in the cafeteria at lunch."

Many of the students looked at Andrew who blushed, but Zack was watching the girl intently.

"Hmmm, that's strange. Was everything OK Chris? Do you know why Sara would not be in class?"

Chris looked at Andrew before looking back at the teacher. "She seemed fine to me, ma'am. She was eating lunch with Andrew last I saw her."

Every eye in the room was now on Andrew. Zack was furious, Bruce seemed shocked, and almost everyone else looked surprised.

"Andrew? Do you know why Sara would not be in class today?"

Looking down Andrew blushed and haltingly said, "Well, I don't think she believes in going to school on the first day."

Many of the students laughed and Karen smiled widely while shaking her head. "Well that certainly sounds like Sara."

Karen looked at Zack for a moment before she completed roll call and began her lesson. Andrew was quickly pulled into a great European narrative as Karen wove a vivid engaging story that seemed to entrance all of the students. Periodically, Zack looked back and glowered. A few times Andrew thought he saw a hint of resentment on Zack's face. When the bell rang, Andrew slowly packed his bag, preparing to leave, when he realized that Zack was holding his bag in his lap as he watched Andrew, obviously waiting.

"Andrew, if you wouldn't mind, could I have a word with you?" Karen asked from behind her desk.

Studying Zack's face, for the first time Andrew could not see any hint of emotion, just calm patience.

"Yeah, sure thing Ms. Anderson," Andrew responded as he slowly stood and walked around the outer edge of the room, as far from Zach as he could manage.

Bruce and the cheerleader were trying to get Zack to leave when Karen said, "Bruce, Zack and Elizabeth, if you wouldn't mind shutting the door behind you, I would like to have a private talk with Andrew."

Bruce and Elizabeth looked at the teacher gratefully before chasing after Zack who stormed out of the room.

"Andrew, have I done something to offend you?"

The relief that Andrew felt knowing that he had escaped Zack one more time was quickly replaced by surprise. Looking at Karen he narrowed his eyes studying her for a second before smiling fakely. "No, ma'am. Have I done something to make you think I am offended?"

Karen closed her book and looked at him closely. "That's the thing, Andrew. You are just a touch too polite, and there is a reason you refuse to call me Karen which you know I prefer." Taking off her glasses, she set them down on the book. "You are obviously a smart young man, and while I appreciate you making my first day at work so 'interesting' would you at least do me the courtesy of being honest?"

Andrew looked down and fidgeted a little. "That is definitely fair. It's just... I know the reason is stupid, and I honestly don't know why it bothers me so much..." He paused and she waited patiently while Andrew considered how to continue. "I didn't appreciate earlier today when you made fun of Sara. I really think it's less about what you said, but the fact that you said it in front of the other students and that many of them laughed at her."

Karen put her hands behind her head as she leaned back in her chair. She seemed confused for a second before looking at Andrew. "I guess since you are new to town you don't really know Sara Mitchel like the rest of us do. She is a bit of a free spirit. Most of the classes she attends I don't even know if she is paying attention or just napping in the back of the room, yet she is often there with a witty comment full of humor and insight. I can see how from an outside perspective what I said may have seemed callous, but for those of us who have known her a little longer it was more like a playful jest of a dear friend."

Andrew thought about everything she said before responding, "OK, Karen, I guess that makes sense. Sorry if I was rude, I guess I am just kind of protective of Sara."

Karen stood and grabbed Andrew by the shoulder. Guiding him towards the door she said, "According to Mr. Spencer, Sara is the same way about you."

Opening the door the teacher looked around the hall. Before letting him go she looked him in the eyes. "Good luck, Andrew, and give Sara my best."

Andrew looked at the warm, genuine smile on the teacher's face. "Thanks for everything today, Karen."

Leaving the room Andrew headed towards his last class. Idly, he considered everything that had happened today and came to the realization that this was probably the strangest day of his young life.

As Andrew looked around at the many students who were busying themselves between classes, he realized Zack could be anywhere. His heart raced as he forced his tired legs into a fast walk, his reflective mood replaced with cautious suspicion as he looked around the halls.

***** "Art" *****

Darting between groups Andrew moved quickly and with purpose towards the Arts Department, where he knew he would be safe. He could still see Zack's cold calm stare in the back of his mind. The fear that Zack was patiently waiting around every corner followed Andrew like a specter. Every movement out of the corner of his eye startled him and drove him to move faster. Ducking into the room he struggled to settle his nerves, still thinking that Zack was about to grab him and drag him off as easily as Bruce had earlier.

Drops of sweat beaded on his forehead as Andrew leaned against the wall just inside the room. Resting his hands on his knees he breathed heavily while he finally started to relax. A half dozen students looked at him in confusion, multiple questions percolating behind their eyes. The bell rang, breaking the mood before anyone could say anything and Andrew moved quickly to find a seat in the back of the room.

The Art Department was a surprisingly large room filled with various art supplies, tools, buffing wheels, and other devices that Andrew recognized but could not place. The students were standing in pairs at four large bar height tables that dominated the half of the room closest to the door. The face of each table showed signs of years of unforgiving use. Running his hand over the table, Andrew felt the many cuts, chips and what he thought were a few spots that had been melted by a torch.

The teacher was at the front of the class painting. She was about 5'4", skinny, with short black hair and thin trendy glasses. Studying her, Andrew guessed she was probably in her early 30's. As he wondered when she was going to start class, the room filled with the sounds of students moving around the room, gathering supplies and starting their various projects.

"Hi, Andrew, I'm Seth. I think we have Dr. Blake and PE together."

Andrew looked to his side. An average looking young man with red hair, freckles, and an honest smile stood there. "Yeah, umm..." Andrew's eyes took in the activity around him as a confused expression crossed his face. "I'm sorry, Seth, it's actually really nice to meet you, but did Mrs. Rose hand out assignments before I got to class?"

Seth laughed before opening his backpack and fishing out a binder. As he opened the binder and started flipping through the carefully arranged pages, Seth said, "Guess you didn't read the course description, did you?" Finally stopping on a page, he slammed his finger near the bottom with a large smile and stated triumphantly, "Take a gander at that."

The heading of the section read, "Art 401" with a description.

"In this class students will focus on self-guided expression through whatever mediums they choose. Students will be graded based on standard artistic principles as well as artistic expression and effective use of their chosen medium."

By the time Andrew finished the last sentence, his face was white. Seth chuckled. "To think, after PE you are going to be done in by Art."

Andrew looked at the large merry smile on Seth's face and then shook his head and said, "Fucking art," which sent Andrew into hysterics.

All of the stress about Zack melted away as Andrew laughed until he was leaning against the table holding his side. Seth was initially confused by Andrew's laughter, but was quickly caught up and consumed by it. As the laughter subsided, Andrew exhaled loudly saying, "Ohhh God, I needed that."

Seth rubbed tears from his eyes. "What did you think you were signing up for?"

Again Andrew shook his head. "The sheet I got just said 'Art.'"

Taking his hands he blocked out everything in the course description except for the bold word "Art" at the top and said, "Yeah, that seems like enough information to me." They both started laughing again.

Class continued at a casual pace as Andrew inspected the tools, looked at the art supplies, and tried to find something to connect with. Grabbing a small block of putty, he took it to the table and stared at it while talking with Seth. He was surprised to find that he really enjoyed the conversation and appreciated how Seth never treated him differently.

As Andrew was re-wrapping the small block of unused putty, Seth asked him, "Hey, Andrew, can I ask you a personal question?"

Raising an eyebrow, Andrew looked up at him. "Sure, what's up?"

Talking quietly, Seth asked, "Well, I was just wondering...", he paused to look around and continued conspiratorially, "Is it true? Are you really dating Sara Mitchel?"

Andrew was surprised but then as he thought about the question a lot of his day started making a lot more sense. "Is that what people are saying?" Andrew asked quietly.

"Well, I overheard some kids talking about how she punched Mr. Spencer in the face, and I saw you both at lunch. You two seemed really close," Seth finished with overwhelming curiosity as he waited patiently for Andrew's response.

Shaking his head, Andrew grinned. "Do you think she would have been at lunch if she punched a teacher in the face?"

"Well, no, I guess not." Seth looked deflated.

Andrew continued. "Lunch was pretty great though. I honestly don't know what Sara and I are. I think we are friends but... Well, I really hope we are something more." Andrew blushed and Seth smiled, satisfied and genuinely appreciative.

"Thanks for trusting me. I won't spread what you told me around."

Recognizing the sincerity in Seth's words, Andrew responded, "Thanks," and then glancing at the clock realized that class was going to end in ten minutes.

"Would you mind putting this away?" Andrew patted the block of putty. "I kinda gotta get out of here before Zack gets out of class, just in case."

With a worried expression Seth said, "Sure thing, yeah. Zack seemed super pissed in the locker room after PE. You probably should get out of here."

Andrew slung his rucksack over his shoulder. "Thanks, man. Guess I will see you tomorrow," and Andrew rushed towards the door.

"Sorry Mrs. Rose, I just remembered. I have this thing, at a place and you know... Gotta go." He pushed open the door and disappeared into the empty hallway.

The sound of Mrs. Rose's voice carried into the hall indistinctly as the door closed behind him.

***** Safe, At Last *****

Andrew used the nearest door to exit the building and found his way to the parking lot where his parents were already parked and waiting. They were talking, but they both looked anxious and distracted. His mother saw him first and smiled as he entered the back seat of the car.

"How did it go today?" she asked as Andrew fastened his seatbelt and collapsed into the seat, feeling truly safe for the first time since lunch.

"Dad, can we stop off at the grocery store?" Andrew asked while looking at the ceiling of the car, his shoulders sagging as hours of stress melted away.

"Andrew? Is everything OK?" His mother's face was contorted with concern.

"Yeah, Mom, sorry, I'm OK." Stretching out his legs he felt the deep dull ache from PE. "Man, was this one hell of a crazy day," Andrew half said to himself as his parents looked at each other with unspoken questions written across their faces.

"So, what happened?" Dave prompted with frustration, and Andrew just laughed.

"Honestly, I don't know where to begin..." As he thought about what to tell them their frustration grew and just before his father said something, Andrew spoke up. "Would you mind if I invited a girl over for dinner tonight?"

All frustration evaporated as Dave and Michelle shared a surprised and puzzled look. Andrew had never shown interest in girls, and for a while they thought he might be interested in boys, but eventually they just stopped speculating.

Michelle beamed happily. "Of course not Andrew."

Smiling up at the ceiling, Andrew said, "Her name is Sara, and she should arrive around six," before looking at his mother with a huge smile.

Rotating his shoulder, Andrew said, "Dad?" as his muscles protested and started to ache more deeply.

Dave looked into the rearview mirror and watched as his son carefully stretched his arm and squeezed his bicep and shoulder in obvious discomfort. "What's going on, Andrew?" Dave asked.

"Yeah, I'm just getting really sore and I was wondering if you knew anything that might help?"

Dave narrowed his eyes. "Andrew, you've got to give us something more to go on here. We're worried about you, son."

Andrew studied his parent's faces. "I'll make you a deal. I will tell you all about my day right now if you agree not to ask Sara any embarrassing questions tonight... Deal?"

Dave considered his son's offer before looking at his wife, who was shaking her head at her husband. "We should be able to do something about that muscle pain when we get home," he concluded.

Michelle looked forward speculatively while Dave started whistling as he focused on driving to the store. Both of them were eager to meet Sara and finally learn more about this mysterious day.

Most of all, they were relieved to see that Andrew was safe, and in a better mood than they had seen him in since before the move to Washington.