JiMC - Title - Lucky Stiff

Sherry was silent, but I knew that she still had feelings about this.

“You see, Sherry, there are two sides to every story.”

“Maybe,” Sherry said, still not sounding convinced.

Camille came over and found the two of us at the bench. “Are you guys ready to roll?”

“Sure,” the two of us answered together.

Sherry and I followed Camille into Camille’s red Toyota station wagon. I intentionally maneuvered so that I was sitting in the back seat of the car. I was still curious as to what Camille’s ideas were for Sherry.

Camille started the engine, and asked Sherry where she lived.

“I live on Rogers Street,” Sherry said.

“Near the park?” Camille asked.

“Yeah.”

“Cool. You’re right, only five minutes away, and it’s in my neighborhood!”

Sherry smiled.

I remembered Camille’s suggestion from lunch period. “Cammy, Sherry is on the gymnastics team.”

“Really?” asked Camille.

Sherry turned beet red and nodded. “You knew that?” she asked me.

“See,” I said, smiling. “I do know some things about you.”

Sherry smiled a bit nervously, and she nodded her head again.

Camille took the cue. “You know, Sherry, the cheerleaders are having mid-season tryouts pretty soon. If you need a sponsor, I’d be happy to put in a good word for a gymnast.”

Sherry laughed. “Me? Do you really think I could be a cheerleader on the varsity squad?”

“Jim says you are on the gym team, right?”

Sherry gave me a glare. “Well, yeah.”

Camille continued, “You’ve got the build, you know the basic moves, and you know how to memorize routines. You are also used to wearing uniforms that don’t hide much. You could be a perfect cheerleader.”

“You really think so?” Sherry asked.

“I know so. I’ll talk with Lynette Robbins tomorrow.”

“Groovy,” I said. “Now I’ll have two cheerleaders for friends.”

Sherry turned toward me and playfully punched my in the shoulder. “You pig!”

“You know what they say about cheerleaders?” I said, flashing Sherry a big smile.

“No, Jimmy,” Camille said, emphasizing that nickname I disliked to let me know that I may not have said the right thing. “They just say that about me.”

That broke the three of us up, but I got the message from Camille to be careful about what I said.

Sherry pointed out her house on Rogers Street, and Camille pulled into the driveway.

“Thank you for the offer, Camille,” Sherry said. “Let me think about it tonight.”

“All right. When do you have lunch?”

“That would be fourth period.”

“Cool. Jim does, too. Tell Jim your decision tomorrow, and he knows how to get in touch with me or one of my friends.”

“Thanks again,” Sherry said, getting out of the car. “And thank you, Jim.”

“For what?” I asked.

“For wanting to be a friend,” Sherry smiled.

I watched Sherry enter her house. I felt that Camille and I had successfully averted disaster with Sherry.

“You’re serious about the offer?” I asked.

“I’m totally serious about cheerleading, Jim,” Camille said. “I wasn’t kidding. A gymnast like her would be more qualified than most of the untalented bimbos that we normally have as candidates. That’s why we require sponsors.”

“All right. I just don’t want her to get hurt.”

“I know, Jim. I know how much you care about people. It didn’t take Patty to convince me of that, you know.”

For some reason that I could not describe, I really felt great hearing that from Camille. I was silent as Camille drove me to my home.

Immediately, my mother noticed something out of the ordinary. “Where’s Kristen?” she asked.

It struck me that Kristen and I had developed a schedule of the two of us having dinner at her house once a week, and at my house once a week, on weekdays. Other weekdays, we’d eat at our respective homes alone. On Friday and Saturday nights, Kristen and I would usually go out for dinner (mostly Vaughn’s with Kristen paying), and then spend the night at her house together.

Today was supposed to be the night that Kristen ate at my house.

“Camille dropped me off,” I said. “Kristen was upset about somebody at school, and she went home with Patty.”

“Did you two have a fight?” my mother asked. “I don’t mean to pry…”

“No, mom. It’s nothing like that.”

“So, is she coming over?” my mother repeated.

“Let me call her.”

I went into my father’s study and picked up the phone. I was confused, and really hoped that Kristen wasn’t still angry with Sherry.

Edgar picked up the phone on the second ring. When he heard my voice, he didn’t wait for me to introduce myself, but simply said that he would put Kristen on the line.

About half a minute later, I heard a click as Kristen picked up the phone.

“Jim?”

There was another click as Edgar disconnected his extension.

“Yeah, Kris. I was wondering how you were feeling.”

“I’m much better now. Patty is here with me, and she’ll probably spend the night.”

“My mom wanted to know if you’re coming over for dinner tonight.”

There was a pause and then I heard Kristen curse. “Shit! I forgot all about that.”

“OK. I’ll let my mom…”

“Wait, Jim. Can you hold a second?”

“Sure.”

I waited as I heard muffled voices over the phone. Apparently, Kristen had her palm covering the handset.

“What’s your mother making for supper?” Kristen asked as she came back on.

“Why?” I asked, smiling. “Have a better offer from somebody else?”

“Please, Jim!” Kristen pleaded.

It was easy to tell what Mom was making. You could smell it all through the house. “Spaghetti and meat balls,” I answered.

“Think there would be enough for Patty, too?”

My mom usually made enough for leftovers for a few nights. “That shouldn’t be a problem, but let me ask my mom.”

“Sure thing.”

I put the handset down, and bounded into the kitchen. “Mom, Kristen wanted to know if Patty could have dinner here, too.”

“We’ll have to get the leaf out for the dining room table,” Mom answered.

“No problem. I’ll have Merry help me with that, and we’ll put on the big tablecloth.”

My mother continued to be amazed at the transformation that I had undergone in just a month or so. “That’s thoughtful of you, Jim.”

“I’ll let Kristen know.”

I ran back into the study, and found that my step-sister had picked up the phone and was talking to Kristen.

“Hey, Shortcake! I was using that!”

“Don’t worry. Your Goddess is still on the other end.”

Goddess? When did Merry ever hear me refer to Kristen that way?

Merry laughed when she saw my reaction, and handed me the phone.

Kristen was still on the line. I told her that it was all right if Patty came, too.

“We’ll be there at five thirty,” Kristen said.

“Thank you, Goddess!” I emphasized the last word as I hung up the phone. At the same time, I tried to burn a gaze at my cute and adorable step-sister, the Mata Hari in training.

Merry blushed at that, and started to leave. “Wait, Merry.”

“What?”

“We’ll need to put the leaf in the dining room table. Could you please help me?”