Parker - Stacy’s senior year

Stacy reached into her pocket and pulled out the cash. Silently, she handed it over to him. Just to make her angry, he slowly and noisily counted the money, making a production of it. "It’s all there," she said angrily, "You don’t have to worry about that; now or in the future."

"Fine," he answered, handing over the exam questions, "It’s all yours."

In a hurry to leave, Stacy snatched the paper and quickly scanned the contents. As promised, the paper contained the four questions which would form the basis of next Monday’s English class examination.

"Thanks," she said shortly, all business, and turned to walk away.

"Good luck with the test," he called after her, but she ignored him and left the room.

The room fell silent for a few second, and then Gary popped up from behind the wood. "Looked good from here," he announced, "I think I got some good shots." He began climbing down the ladder as Neil walked over to the cupboard where Sharon was hiding. He opened the door and helped her out from behind the camera tripod.

"That was great," she chortled, "I got everything."

Neil reached into his jacket and pulled out the small radio-microphone. He handed it over to Sharon who clipped it back onto the video camera.

"Well guys," Gary stated, "A little bit of editing, and I think we have her."

Neil began to get hard again, just thinking about what that meant…

They waited almost two weeks before lowering the boom. By that time, the English exam had come and gone, and Miss Frankel had read out the marks in class. Stacy had received the highest mark ever given out in Miss Frankel’s English class, a fact commented upon several times by the impressed teacher. Neil, on the other hand, had barely passed. When his mark was announced, Stacy gave him a startled glance, but then quickly looked away. If he was so stupid that he could barely pass with advance notice of the questions, that was his problem.

By that time, Gary and Sharon had suitably edited the video and audio evidence, and Gary had developed a large number of prints from his still pictures of the event. Gary still hoped that the audio tape would be enough on its own (he didn’t want Stacy to realise the extent of the plot against her), but if not, the additional evidence was very convincing. Everything had turned out perfect: Stacy’s actions and words were crystal clear, while Neil was unrecognizable. Between his disguised voice and positioning during the filming, there was no way to prove the identity of the person from whom Stacy bought the stolen exam paper. Gary thought that this, along with the fact that Stacy had done so well and Neil so poorly on the test, should serve to protect Neil from expulsion if they were forced to use the evidence. As well, Gary and Sharon were willing to give Neil an alibi. At best, it would be Stacy’s word against their’s, and, if it came to that, Stacy’s word would not be worth much by then.

So, it seemed that everything was in order. All that remained was to determine the method of delivery…

The small package arrived in the mail at the Richard household on the Friday almost two weeks after the English exam. It was addressed to Stacy. When it was opened, a cassette tape fell out along with a small piece of note paper. She picked it up and read it: 'SAT. MORNING: 10:00 AM STEWART PARK FOUNTAIN. It was written in clumsy block letters.

Puzzled, she took the tape up to her room, slipped it into her walkman, put on the head-phones and hit the play button. Almost at once, her head was filled with the sound of her own voice:

"I heard you have a copy of next week’s English exam. Is that true?"

"Why do you want to know?" That was Neil! What was going on here? There was a brief hissing, then the tape continued, relentlessly. Stacy listened in panicked disbelief.

"I want a copy of that exam. I need it for this weekend."

"Stacy, you mean you want a copy of a stolen exam paper so you can cheat on next Monday’s English test."

"Yes. I need it to pass the exam… I’ll pay money. How about $100? Please?"

"Alright, I’ll sell you the stolen exam paper for $100. Will that be all, Stacy, or do you want any more exams? I can probably get whatever you want."

"That sounds great. I’ll buy whatever you can get for the classes I’m in. $100 a paper."

"It’s a deal. Meet me tomorrow after school in the woodworking shop. It should be deserted on Friday afternoon… Don’t forget the money."

The hissing stopped for a second as the tape fell silent, but before Stacy hit the stop button, it started up again, this time with a small humming sound in the background. The fans, Stacy realised, fighting down panic, the fans in the woodworking shop. Trembling, she listened as the voices began once again:

"Well," her voice again, "Do you have it?"

"I’ve got it. One stolen English exam paper for Stacy Richards. And my money?"

There was a brief moment of silence, and they the sound of paper being crinkled.

"It’s all there; you don’t have to worry about that… now or in the future."

"Fine, It’s all yours."

"Thanks."

The voices fell silent, and she heard a door slam: the shop door slamming when she left the room. The hiss slowly faded as the recording came to halt.

Hands trembling, she pulled the ear-phones off her head and sat still in stunned disbelief. This couldn’t be happening to her! Her eyes brimmed over with tears as she picked up the note and re-read it. The writing blurred through the tears as she realised that she had no choice: she would have to go to the meeting tomorrow and see what he wanted.

Neil checked his watch for the tenth time in as many minutes: still five minutes to go before the 10:00 meeting with Stacy. He paced back and forth on the path before the fountain, pausing only to push back his stringy, brown hair and survey the surrounding area for any sign of her approach. The park was empty, however, with the exception of a few joggers and the odd person out walking their dog. (At least, Neil thought they were odd; he hated dogs.) The area around the fountain was pretty much deserted, which made it perfect for the upcoming meeting. If, of course, that meeting ever took place. Despite Gary’s repeated assurances, Neil was still not certain that Stacy would show up. He half-expected to see a police car pull into the parking lot or something like that. Gary, however, had been sure of their plan. He argued that for someone like Stacy, social standing and reputation were all; she wouldn’t put either at risk by taking any chances that the evidence of her cheating would get out. Sharon had agreed with him, but Neil was not so sure; it wasn’t Sharon’s or Gary’s ass on the line out here in the park. Still, he thought, it was worth a try, particularly considering the potential prize at the end of the day! He checked his watch again: still a few minutes to go. Neil looked up and scanned the park - if she didn’t appear soon…

There she was: large as life and twice as beautiful! Stacy was approaching slowly along the jogging path which led into the park from the beach; she must have parked her car in the beach parking lot, where it was much less likely to be seen. That made sense. As far as Neil could tell, she was alone, which eased his anxiety considerably. Maybe this would work after all. He stopped pacing and watched as she walked towards him.

As she drew closer, he saw that her eyes were red and puffy, as though she had been recently crying, or hadn’t slept much. Maybe both. She looked scared. If anything, though, Neil thought it made her even more gorgeous. This is really going to work, Neil thought to himself, his heart picking up speed.

Finally, she reached the circular path before the fountain and, after hesitating briefly, she walked up to him.