High School Honey

by Bill Bowler

Chapter 2: Shirley

Honey woke up the next morning feeling refreshed. She pulled open the curtains, letting the bright May sunlight fill the room. She kicked her school books away from the closet door and stretched out in front of the full-length mirror. Sixteen years old, she was tall and athletic, with a slender waist and long shapely legs. Her honey blond hair cascaded down to her shoulders.

She washed and dressed, and tiptoed down the stairs, but a step creaked.

“Honey? You still here?” her mother’s sleepy voice called from the bedroom.

“I’m just leaving, mom.”

She gulped down a quick glass of juice, ate a piece of bread, picked up her books and stepped out into the May morning. It was one of those clear, pristine, absolutely cloudless spring days when the sky seems an infinite blue. The first good weather for sunbathing. A sweet fragrance drifted in the air from the magnolia tree in full bloom in the neighbor’s front yard.

On Brookbank Ave., Honey stopped by to pick up her best friend Shirley and the two girls walked to school together.

“I tried to call you last night. Your line was busy for hours!”

“I took my phone off the hook.”

“What for?”

“Nick called me again last night.”

“You’re kidding.”

“Nope. He just kept calling and calling. I couldn’t get rid of him.”

“I don’t believe what I’m hearing.”

“Believe it.”

“That’s harassment.”

“Definitely.”

“But what did he say? You have to tell me!”

“No I don’t,” said Honey. “I’ve already told you too much. And you’re the only one who knows. If you said a word to anyone, I’d never speak to you again.”

“I can keep a secret. What did he say?”

“He’s in love with me and can’t live without me and can’t bear the thought of me with anyone else. He wants to see me and explain everything and get back together.”

“Wow. Are you going to?”

“Are you out of your mind?! I told him to forget it, I wasn’t interested, and then he got mad. He started yelling and cursing at me and called me a stupid bitch and I started crying and hung up on him.”

“Oh. That’s not good.”

“No. And he kept calling me back, so I took the phone off the hook. I was afraid he’d come over to the house.”

“Well, you had quite an exciting evening,” said Shirley.

“Can we change the subject?”

“Good idea.”

“We’re going to the dance tonight.”

“Yes.”

“What are you wearing?”

“I don’t know. I have nothing to wear.”

“Neither do I.”

“We have to go shopping.”

“We do.”

When they reached the school grounds and entered the building, kids were pulling books from their lockers and milling about the halls on their way to homeroom. Nothing was out of the ordinary, but Honey’s mood fell. Shirley saw the look on her best friend’s face.

“C’mon, don’t let that creep get to you. What can he do?”

“Nothing,” said Honey. “I just can’t shake this weird feeling.”

Shirley saw Nick lurking at the far end of the hall, by the teachers’ lounge. He was watching. Shirley said nothing.

The two girls reached homeroom and sat down. Honey took a breath and began to relax.

Proceed to Chapter 3...