Kevin O'Brien - Disturbed

It seemed to come to a head one night the week after Thanksgiving, when Jeff was out of town. Molly had been holding dinner for Chris, who still hadn’t come home from school. He hadn’t answered his cell phone, either. She finally fed Erin at eight-fifteen. Chris crept in at a quarter to nine, while she and Erin were washing the dishes. Erin wanted him to guess what she drew in art class. Molly asked where he’d been and why he hadn’t called.

“Could you both just leave me alone?” he muttered, retreating upstairs to his room.

After tucking Erin in bed, Molly went to his door and gently knocked. “Chris, can I come in?”

“I don’t feel like company, okay?” he replied from the other side of the door.

“Well, I didn’t feel like worrying about you for the last four hours, but I did,” she replied. “You owe me an explanation. I’m coming in.” She opened the door and found him on top of the bed with his hands clasped behind his head, staring up at the ceiling.

“I know you’re having a tough time lately,” she said, standing in the doorway with her arms folded. “What happened today? Why didn’t you call? You were very curt with Erin when you came in. That’s not like you. Her feelings were hurt.”

“I’m sorry,” he said, rolling over on his side. His back was to her.

“Did something happen with Courtney?”

“No. It’s got nothing to do with her,” he murmured.

“But something happened,” she said.

His voice was strained when he finally answered. “I–I can’t talk to you about it, Molly.”

She sat on the edge of his desk. “Well, if this is as serious as it sounds, maybe you should talk to your dad.”

“He’s too busy,” Chris grunted.

“He’s never too busy for you, Chris. You know that. You should call him.”

“It’s almost midnight in D.C. He’s probably asleep. It is D.C. where he’s at this week, right?”

Molly didn’t respond right away. He sounded so bitter. “Well, it’s not too late to call your mother.”

“She can’t be bothered right now. She’s in love.”

“What about Mr. Corson? Do you have his number? You trust him.”

“Not anymore,” he muttered.

“Why? Did something happen with Mr. Corson?” Molly remembered what Jeff had said a while back: “I’m not sure I like Chris going on these late afternoon runs with this guy — just the two of them. It’s just weird.”

She walked around the bed so she was facing him. “Chris, did something happen with Mr. Corson?”

He rubbed his eyes. “Damn it, you’d think I’d learn. People always let you down. What a disappointment — first, my mom and dad, and then Courtney, and now, Mr. C. . ”

Molly sat on the edge of his bed. “Chris, what did Mr. Corson do to you?”

With a sigh, Chris half sat up. He pushed his pillow up against the headboard and leaned back on it. “He didn’t do anything to me. It’s just. . I needed to talk with him. I’ve missed him on the track the last couple of days — and I’ve had a lot of stuff on my mind.”

Molly nodded. “I know you have.”

He picked at a loose thread on his bedspread. “I’m not sure whether or not I told you about Ian Scholl.”

“Isn’t he the boy everyone picks on?” Molly asked. “He snapped at you when you tried to help him pick up his books. . ”

Chris nodded. “Mr. Corson asked me to be nice to him — and be his pal. I wasn’t so gung ho about the idea. I mean, I tried to be nice to him before, and look how he reacted.” Chris shifted on the bed, and the springs squeaked. “Anyway, I went looking for Mr. Corson this afternoon. It was kind of late, and he wasn’t at the track. He sometimes takes a shower in the varsity locker room after his run. So I went looking for him in there. At first, I thought the place was empty. But then I heard this strange, moaning sound a few locker rows down from where I was. I went to check it out and. .” Frowning, he took a deep breath. “Well, Mr. Corson was standing there hugging Ian Scholl. No one else was in the place. Mr. Corson had his shirt off, and it wasn’t buddybuddy hugging, y’know? I mean, it looked like he was kissing the top of Ian’s head. . ”

“Go on,” Molly said somberly.

He shrugged. “Ian suddenly saw me, and he just freaked. He practically knocked me down running out of there. I couldn’t believe it. I just stared at Mr. Corson, and I think he started to say something. But I didn’t stick around. I bolted. I heard Mr. Corson call to me, but I just kept running. A few minutes later, he phoned my cell twice, but I didn’t pick up. I finally switched it off.” Chris shook his head. “It really disgusted me, and I’m not sure why. I don’t think I’m homophobic or anything like that. I just—”

“What if you found him with a female student, doing the exact same thing? How would you have felt?”

He sighed. “Just as disgusted, I guess. I didn’t think of Mr. Corson as the type of guy who would make a move on a student — any student.”

Molly patted his leg. “You’re not homophobic, Chris. You’re just very disappointed in Mr. Corson. So am I — if that hug is what you say it was. Are you sure it was sexual? I mean, don’t guys sometimes hug in the locker room after a game?”

“Not when one of them is half naked, and no one else is around — and there’s no game,” he muttered. “It looked pretty sexual. So now, I’m wondering why he wanted me to be friends with that creepy Ian, and why he’s been so nice to me. I think back to all the times we were alone, and — shit.” Chris shook his head. “How come I feel so pissed off and disgusted about this? I mean, why should I care if they want to get it on?”

“Because you looked up to Mr. Corson, you trusted him,” Molly said. “And then you found him doing this — this wildly inappropriate thing. Ian’s a student — and a minor. It’s not just inappropriate, it’s against the law. What Mr. Corson was doing was wrong.”

Chris turned away and rubbed his eyes.

“You said he tried to call you?” Molly asked quietly. “Did he leave a message?”

Chris frowned. “No, I checked. I was hoping he could explain. . ”

Biting her lip, Molly realized she was out of her element here. This was a matter Jeff needed to handle. The new stepmom had no business trying to resolve it.

So she heated up leftovers from that night’s ham-and-mac dinner for him. Though Chris had claimed he wasn’t hungry, he wolfed it down — alone in his room. Molly retreated downstairs to the kitchen and phoned Jeff at the Hilton in Washington, D.C. Jeff had been sleeping. He sounded groggy at first, but after Molly explained why she was calling, he became wide awake — and angry.

“I knew that guy was bad news!” he declared. “What have I been telling you? There’s something basically wrong with a teacher spending so much time alone after school with a student. Damn it, I should have nipped this in the bud months ago. Jesus, it’s a good thing I’m not there right now. I’d kick the crap out of that SOB.”

“Well, then I’m glad you’re not here,” she said. “Jeff, we can’t be one hundred percent positive about what Chris saw. We should at least listen to what Mr. Corson has to say, maybe get him together with Chris—”

“What? Are you nuts? He’s not getting near Chris again. Listen, listen — put Chris on, honey. I need to talk with him, make sure he’s okay. . ”

She let Chris talk to his father in private for a few minutes. When Molly got back on the line, Jeff explained that Chris had agreed to tell his story to the school principal in the morning. Could she set up the appointment? Could she go with him to see the principal?

They met with the principal during lunch hour the next day. Molly’s heart ached for Chris, who sat across from her in Principal Carney’s office. His foot shook nervously, and he kept glancing down at the ugly gray carpeted floor — unable to look anyone in the eye. Molly’s chair was hard and uncomfortable, and she figured his was, too. They were probably that way on purpose for students being disciplined in there.