The Wrong Side

This one's pretty long so consider yourself warned.

I've used a character named Kelly in a number of stories. Yes, she is a real person, though none of the characters named after her are meant to represent her personally. She was simply the person I envisioned as I wrote.

Disclaimer: As you read this story, keep in mind that I try to include something for everyone, and some people are always looking for mistakes. So, if you find any errorss, please remember that they are there for a reason.

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THE WRONG SIDE

They were too different, weren't they?

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Kelly wheeled her Audi through the less savory part of town, having taken a wrong turn somewhere and having trouble finding her way back to where she needed to be. The damn GPS wouldn't pick up a signal and she kept making wrong turns. She was now in front of what looked like a string of abandoned businesses and she seemed to be getting deeper into this neighborhood.

Suddenly the car was sluggish and the control had changed. She pulled over and climbed out of the car and found that one of her tires had gone flat. Great! She pulled out her cell phone but couldn't seem to get a signal so she could call her daddy for help. As she considered her options she noticed 3 men that had been hanging out by one of the abandoned storefronts walking toward her. She was suddenly very nervous.

"Hey baby," said what looked like the leader. "Need some help there?"

"Well, uh, I have a flat tire. Is there someplace I can call for a tow truck or get it fixed?"

"Maybe my friends and I can get you back on the road; for a price, of course."

"I'd, um, be happy to pay you, but I only have credit cards on me. I could send it to you..."

"That's not the price I was thinking of." He looked her up and down.

"Oh?" She suddenly realized what he meant. "Oh! Uh, that's all right. I'll figure something else out."

"Whatsa matter, lady? Dontcha like me. I'll take it real easy."

"Please, just leave me alone!"

The gang was already pulling her against her will toward the door where they had previously sat. Kelly was struggling and protesting being pulled away from her car, but the men were far too strong for her. She called for help but there didn't seem to be anyone around. Suddenly, she heard a voice that didn't belong to any of the 3 men.

"Let her go, Bones."

They stopped moving and Kelly felt the hand release her arm and she took the opportunity to quickly get back into her car and lock the doors. She looked back and saw another man (actually, he didn't look much older than her 17 years) come out from behind another building. She lowered the window a bit so she could hear what was being said.

"Whatsa matter, Sparks? That your bitch or something."

"None of your damn business. Move on."

The thugs clearly wanted nothing to do with the new arrival, even though they outnumbered him 3 to 1. She was fascinated as the larger group moved away without even putting up a fight, but on another level, this made her even more scared as this new person came to her window and tapped on it.

"They're gone."

She was too scared to move. He tried again.

"I'm not gonna hurt you, Kelly. Let's fix your tire."

How the hell did this guy know her name? Was this some kind of trick? He moved toward the back of the car, and not feeling like she had much of a choice but to trust him, she took a chance and stepped out.

"You got a spare?" he asked.

"I...I should, yes."

"Keys."

She stood there still shocked that he knew her name. He spoke again.

"Can I have your keys so I can check your trunk for a spare?"

She managed to hand over the keys. She watched as he pulled the spare out of her trunk and had the tire changed in about 5 minutes.

"You're all set. You should really get one of daddy's servants to show you how to change a tire if you're gonna be driving in areas like this."

"Thank you so much. I really appreciate it."

"No sweat. And go west...that way..." he pointed, "a mile then turn left on Oak. That'll get you to the highway. And don't forget to get your spare fixed. Take it easy."

"Wait!" Kelly yelled, louder than she intended. He turned around. "How...how did you know my name? Have we met?"

He stared at her for second.

"Not exactly; used to go to your school, but I guess your kind wouldn't have noticed me."

"You, uh, used to go to my school? Did you graduate or something?"

"Or something: dropped out. Have a family to take care of."

"Oh, I didn't realize you had a baby."

There was that look again.

"Don't have a baby. Have a dad that's a cripple and a drunk, a mom that's bat-shit crazy, and a sister that's 12. That leaves me."

"I'm sorry. When you said family I assumed..."

"Yeah, I know. Scum of the earth only good at knocking girls up. It's cool. You're not the first, won't be the last."

"That wasn't what I meant. Look...uh, Sparks, was it?"

"My pop named me Henry. The streets named me Sparks. Call me what you want."

"Okay Henry. Would you...like to get some coffee?"

He shook his head. "Don't like coffee."

"How about something to eat? I mean, you ran those guys off and fixed my tire. I'd like to show my appreciation."

He looked at her suspiciously, saying, "I was just headed to lunch."

They climbed into her car and he directed her to a local diner. Kelly wondered just when the place was last cleaned and how on earth it passed any health inspections, but it was busy and the food looked good, even if it wasn't her taste. Henry seemed to be well known and popular among the patrons, with several of them greeting him by name. The sullen demeanor from before was replaced by one that bordered on happy. He was in his element. They found a table in the back. As they made their way through the crowd Kelly could feel the eyes on her, and not in a good way.

"Try the Monte Cristo. It's the best thing here," he offered.

"Actually, I'm a vegetarian."

Henry smirked. "Of course you are. Salads on the lower left of page 2."

Kelly selected a small salad and Henry did, in fact, order the Monte Cristo, along with some fries and cole slaw.

"Look Henry. I see how you're looking at me and you think I'm making assumptions about you, but you're doing the same thing to me. I'm sorry that my family has money and that yours is struggling, but that doesn't make me a bad person, any more than your situation makes you one."

"My...situation?"

"Not having much money, having to drop out of school to work, living in a rougher area: your situation. But you're obviously a nice guy. You wouldn't let those boys hurt me and you changed my tire without expecting anything, even money. I know you're a good person."

"Not as good as you might hope. There's a reason those guys didn't mess with me even though they had me 3 to 1."

"Actually, I wondered about that."

"I'd rather not get into it, okay. Suffice it to say I have something of a temper and I've put a few guys in the hospital for doin' things I didn't like. And I don't like it when guys treat women badly. My dad did it to my mom. It's one of the reasons my mom is how she is and why my pops is a cripple."

"Do you mean that you...you beat up your own father?"

"Yep. For hurtin' my mom. So, like I said, not as good as you might hope. I don't look to start fights, all right, but I don't like people pickin' on the weak, like Bones and the boys were tryin' to do to you."

"Thank you again for that. I was scared."

"Look Kelly, you seem like a decent person, not like the other richies at your snob school. You're right. I assumed you were lookin' down on me and my friends here." He gestured around the diner. "I'm sorry about that."

"It's okay. I guess we're all guilty of some prejudices. Would it be terribly nosy if I asked how you came to be at Hampton Academy? I mean, it's fairly pricey and..."

"How did I afford it?" She nodded. "Yes, it would be terribly nosy." She blushed. "But I'll tell you anyway. There're always some politicians tryin' to close that gap between the rich and the poor. They have some programs to get us poor saps into nicer schools, on a limited basis. I was smart so I got a chance. Too bad it didn't work out."

"So, you have a job, you said. What do you do?"

"Fix stuff. I work for my pop's buddy fixing cars in his shop, and I fix things for folks around the neighborhood. When I turn 18 in a couple months I'm gonna be an electrician."

"Sounds like you have a good plan in place." She glanced at her watch. "I guess I should probably get going."

She paid the tab and they walked out to her car. He opened her door and let her in. For reasons she couldn't entirely explain she found herself wanting to stay in touch with him.

"Do you have a phone number, Henry?"

"Sure. Got a phone in the house; need some way for the bill collectors to get in touch. Why?"

"Would you mind if I had it? In case I need something fixed, or maybe just to talk sometime."

He looked at her funny, like he wondered what she was up to. Then he gave her the number. She programmed it into her phone.

"Can I ask you one more question, Henry?"

"Sure."

"Why are you called Sparks?"

He gave her a smile. "I had a habit of lighting things on fire when I was younger. Like I said, not as good as you might hope."

"When you were younger, but not anymore?"

"No, not anymore."

"Thank you again for helping me today. I really enjoyed your company as well. I hope this isn't the last time I see you."

She pulled away and followed his directions. She saw him in her rearview mirror, watching her drive away until he was too small in the background.

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Kelly kept thinking about Henry as the next few days passed. He was a good-looking guy, but more than that he had that undefinable thing they call charisma. She was drawn to him in a way she had never been with any of the guys she had dated; not even Scott, her most recent boyfriend, whom she had broken up with just before he left for USC last year. Of course, daddy would have a fit if she were to date someone from Oaktown. But she really liked him. He seemed like a person out of place. He had honor and morals. Sure, he did some bad things to survive, but she couldn't judge him from where she stood. She wanted to see him again. She called the number he had given her but it rang 7, 8, 9 times. She wondered why the voice mail didn't pick up, and then literally smacked herself so being so...elitist. Like everyone has voice mail. She disconnected the call. She'd try again later.

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Henry was tired when he got home from the shop. His pop was parked in front of the TV with beer cans strewn about him, as usual, and his mom was in the corner on her chair trying to knit, and having no more success than normal.

"Pop, you guys eat anything today, or did you just drink dinner again?"

"Go to hell, boy. It's still your fault I'm stuck here so don't judge me."

Henry just shook his head as he heated up some soup for him and his sister. Abby was the bright spot in his life. She was very smart and he was going to make sure she went places, even if it was just the heck out of Oaktown. He had given up much hope for himself, but she was a different story. He took the warmed soup into her room along with a package of crackers and set it up on her tray table.

"Thanks bro," she said. "How was work?"

"Same as always. Is your summer school work done?"

Abby was in an advanced program at school, so took a class during the summer and always had extra work and projects to do before school started in the fall.

"Almost. Finishing up my book report now. The phone rang today but I got to it too late. Sorry."

"It's cool; probably just someone looking for money. I'm sure they'll call back."

As if on cue the bell of the phone clanged again. Henry took his time getting to it. "Yeah?"

"Is...is this Henry?"

"Yeah. Who's this?"

The voice brightened. "It's Kelly."

Shit. She actually called. What was going on with this one?

"Hey. I guess you made it home okay."

"Thanks to you, I did." It was quiet for a several seconds and Henry just waited. She had called him, after all. "Look, I've never done this before, so I feel kind of awkward."

"Done what? Talked on the phone?" he quipped. "I find that hard to believe."

She laughed. "No, asked a guy out."

"You're...asking me out?"

"Oh, I guess I kind of skipped that part. Like I said: awkward. Yes, I was wondering, would you like to go out some time?"

"Why?"

"What do you mean, why?

"Look Kelly, I'm confused so I'm just gonna spell it out. You're rich, I'm not. You could have any guy at Hampton or probably any guy at all if you wanted. You're smart, beautiful, charming, all those things. I'm just a grease monkey from the wrong part of town that changed a tire for you and never expected to hear from you again. I guess I'm suspicious. People like you avoid people like me. They don't call them up for dates, so I'm wondering what the angle is."

"There's no angle, Henry. I like you. You're different than any other guy I know. No one I know would have taken on 3 guys for any reason. I'd like to get to know you better, and since we're not at the same school anymore, this is the only way I can think of. So, what do you say?"

"Fine, okay. What did you have in mind?"

"I thought maybe we could have dinner Friday night. I can give you my address if you'll pick me up."

"That'll work."

She gave Henry her address and he knew where it was. Nothing in that neighborhood cost less than a million bucks. What was he getting himself into?

"Great. I'll see you Friday about 7:00 then?

"Yeah, sure." He hung up the phone and Abby was standing behind him.

"Was that a girl?" She gave him a big smile.

"Yes, dork, it was. I'm going out Friday so you'll be on parent patrol, but I'll make you dinner before I go."

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Henry had a 1964 Pontiac GTO Coupe he was in the process of restoring but parts were hard to find and expensive. It ran well and was clean inside. The back seat and trunk were in bad shape, as was the floor throughout. The exterior needed quite a bit of work but stock parts were few and far between. But it was his and that was what mattered.

He felt very self-conscious and distinctly out of place as he pulled into Kelly's neighborhood. Every driveway held a car that cost at least $50,000 and he even spied some Bentleys and Ferraris. He sure would like to get a look under those hoods sometime, but knew his future would continue to consist of Hondas, Toyotas, and Chevys.

He pulled up in front of the address Kelly had given him and was blown away. He nearly just drove away. He was sure this was a bad idea. There was no way in hell this could work or that she was serious about him. He felt like a charity project, like My Fair Lady (My Fair Henry?) that some rich girl thought would look good on a college application. He had hoped she would meet him outside, like the other girls he took out from his neighborhood, but knew she was too much of a lady to do that. He'd be expected to go to the door, and probably to meet her parents. With a deep breath, he made his way up the entirely-too-long walkway and knocked on the door. It was 6:58. Right on time.

The door was opened by a small Hispanic woman in a maid's uniform (what a cliché, he thought to himself) and he was invited into the entryway. Crap, this one room was bigger that his entire apartment, or pretty close anyway. He was approached by a blonde that looked about Kelly's age. She extended her hand and they shook.

"Hi, I'm Katie, Kelly's sister. You must be Henry. Come on in. She's almost ready.

Working straight from the Popular Girls Handbook: Always keep the guy waiting and make an entrance, Henry thought to himself as he followed Katie from the entryway into the living room. At least that's what he would call it. He wasn't sure about them.

"Henry, this is my father, Randall, and my mother, Julie. Mom, dad, this is Henry."

Henry shook hands with both; Kelly's father looked like he wanted to wash his hands afterwards.

"It's nice to meet you," Henry said.

"Have a seat young man," the father said.

They all sat down and Henry steeled himself for the impending third degree. It was mom who spoke first.

"Kelly tells us you used to attend Hampton."

"Yes ma'am. But I had a family situation that required my attention so I had to leave." Henry wasn't sure how much Kelly had told them about his educational status so tried to keep things as generic as possible.

"Yes, I understand you're having to support your family, and at such a young age. That must be difficult to do while keeping grades up at your new school." That answered that question.

"Well, yes ma'am. It's a lot of work but that's just the way things are right now. Nothing I can't handle, though."

Henry heard steps and turned to see Kelly walking into the room. He thought she looked good the other day, but she looked average then compared to the beauty before him now. She wore a form-fitting maroon dress that stopped right at her knees and was just low-cut enough to expose a little cleavage. Her hair was straightened (It had been wavy the other day) and she wore a thick fabric headband that matched her dress.

"How do I look?" she asked.

Henry was almost speechless. "There...aren't really words. You look just beautiful."

The compliment elicited a wide smile from Kelly. She came over and took his hand and led him toward the door.

"Midnight, young lady. Not a minute later," her father said.

"Yes daddy."

Henry opened the car door for her and shut it as she got settled, then climbed in himself.

"Where we headed?" he asked.

"Have you ever been to Devereaux's?" she asked without a hint of irony.

"Kelly, that place costs more than my rent. I can't even afford to drive past it."

"Well, since this is my treat the cost doesn't matter. Let's go there."

Henry sat back without starting the car.

"I'm not really comfortable with the idea of a girl paying my way."

"Henry, I asked you out. That makes it my responsibility to pay. When we go out next time you can pick the place and pay. But tonight is mine."

"You really think there's gonna be a next time?"

"Unless you don't like me, Henry. But I like you and I hope to keep going out with you."

Henry fired up the car and carefully pulled away from the house, aware of the likelihood that there were probably sets of eyes watching from the safety of the mansion making sure he didn't do anything inappropriate. Kelly seemed to know what he was up to because she waited until they were out of the neighborhood and out onto the main highway.

"So, now are you gonna show me what this thing can do?"

Henry grinned then hit the gas. The car responded immediately with a throaty growl and they were gunning down the road in no time. He went a couple miles before pulling it back to the speed limit. He knew the badges rarely sat in patrol around these neighborhoods. What's the use writing a ticket to someone that knows someone else that can get it 'taken care of'?

Henry pulled up to the valet desk at the restaurant. Henry didn't care for the idea of someone else parking his car, but there was really no choice here, unless you wanted to walk about a mile. At least it was free. There was about a 30-minute wait for a table. Henry looked around. Kelly was clearly perfectly comfortable in this place, but he was overwhelmed by what he saw as waste. The tablecloths alone probably cost more than his electric bill. It's not that he begrudged the rich folks their due, but he saw the effects of poverty every day and he felt almost guilty for even being here.

They talked a little about her family. Her dad was a lawyer (no surprise there) and her mom did interior design work and volunteered for a variety of charities, the American Cancer Society chief among them. Her mom, Kelly's grandmother, had died of cervical cancer 5 years ago. Henry expressed his condolences. Katie was 2 years older than Kelly and was home for the summer from Stanford. She planned to become a doctor.