A Not-So-Simple Life: Part 2

Turns out I was wrong…again. Work was no longer a sanctuary for me, and I knew that the instant I arrived and walked into the locker room to find Missy K tapping her foot in furious anticipation.

“Tucker James Kingly,” her nostrils were flaring. Now, I knew that Missy K was mad whenever she used my full name, although there was one problem with her opening declaration.

“James? My middle name isn’t James its Nolan.”

“That doesn’t matter! Did you take a customer home Sunday night?!”

My eyes widened immediately when I realized just how much shit I was now in, “Well, uh, I may-”

“It’s a yes or no question Tucker.”

“Yes,” I mumbled.

“And was she intoxicated?”

“S-She was.”

“And did you have sexual intercourse with them?”

“Y-Yeah.”

The livid expression on her face could’ve scared the skin off of the toughest of criminals, and I backed up against the wall as if that would somehow save me from the five ‘four hundred ten pound incarnation of anger that was less then two yards away. I could tell that the anger inside of her was getting close to climaxing, and when it finally did I was helpless to stop it.

“That has got to be the most irresponsible, self centered, moronic, and perverted thing you’ve ever done! Not only did you take home a complete stranger, but you also took advantage of her when she was drunk! I can’t believe that you’d do something like that! And to think, I let Leo talk me into letting you work behind the bar. Ha! I should’ve known better then to let something like that happen. Never again Tucker, do you hear me! Never! Again!”

“Awe, come on Missy K! I like working behind the bar!” I argued.

“Don’t even start Tucker! I’ve looked after you as if you were my own son for the last two years and then you do something as despicable as this? You have no idea how mad I am right now!”

“Ok, I made a mistake, I’m sorry.”

“Sorry for what?”

“Sleeping with her, especially when she was drunk.”

“And?”

“And what?” I raised my eyebrow. “What else is there to be sorry about?”

“How about the fact that you took a complete stranger home with you! She could’ve been a rapist, or some kind of murderer! You have no idea how irresponsible it was for you to take home this woman that you knew nothing about!”

“I’m not going to apologize for that.”

“Excuse me?”

I could hear the shock in her voice, but she didn’t understand the whole situation, “I’m not going to apologize for giving her a place to stay when she had none.”

“Who cares if she didn’t have a place to stay!”

“I do!” I shouted back unconsciously. “I had a legitimate reason for letting her stay at my place for one night and I’m not apologizing for that.”

“Oh, please!” she threw her hands up in the air, “Tell me what on earth could possibly justify what you did?”

I took a deep breath, and in a calm and quiet tone, said, “She was being used by her boyfriend, and once all the money was gone, he kicked her out of the apartment they were living in. She had no money, no place to stay, no clothes, and no other options left. She was…abandoned.”

Missy K dragged her hand down her face sighing loudly. I could tell that she was trying to stay mad but after I said that she knew that she had already lost. The pissed off look on her face finally disappeared as she walked up and gave me a hug, whispering “Just, don’t do it again. Please. I still worry about you.”

She knew how touchy the subject was now, which is why I didn’t blame her for holding me closely for the next minute. I thought I might’ve heard a sniffle escape from her, but she quickly covered it up as she cleared her throat and headed for the door.

“You’re waiting tables today,” she ordered, opening the door and disappearing through the door.

It took me a minute to gather myself before I changed and headed out to work my shift. After a conversation like that it was hard to put on a smiling face and take orders from idiots who couldn’t read a menu to save their lives, but I had grown used to it so I did just fine.

The rest of the week as well as the next, my bad luck had finally subsided allowing me to breathe easily as I walked back from the cafeteria on a perfectly normal Wednesday afternoon. Jason and Shawn were by my side as we bullshitted all the way back to the classroom, the main topic of discussion was how the rumors of me being a pervert had finally subsided.

“It’s been two weeks and it was an accident to begin with,” I began, “It shouldn’t have blown up like it did.”

“This is Heartbreak Hailey we’re talking about,” Shawn said. “If the girl get’s a new haircut it’s the topic of conversation for the next month. All the attention she gets is completely ridiculous anyways.”

“And yet, she’s all you ever want to talk about,” Jason rolled his eyes. “Admit it already man, you still want her.”

“I’m not going to admit it because it’s not true!”

“Denial. Tell him Tucker.”

I shrugged, not really focusing on Shawn’s strange obsession, “I’m just glad that my fifteen minutes of bad publicity are over.”

“Not into living the popular kids’ life?”

“A life where every time I trip it makes headline news at School? Pass.”

“Ah c’mon don’t cha-”

His sentence was cut off as a kid barreled in between Jason and I, grazing against both of our shoulders as he sped off down the hall in the opposite direction, yelling back “Sorry!”

“Couldn’t just walk around?” I shouted, walking backwards and throwing up my hands in confusion as he disappeared around the corner.

“I guess he was in a hurry,” Shawn said.

“Yeah guess so.”

It wasn’t that big of a deal so I turned back around as a nearby door opened and I found myself in an almost identical situation. Without warning, I collided with someone and toppled to the ground on top of them, my head ramming into theirs and leaving me slightly dazed. After a quick shake of my head, I pushed myself up only to hear a soft moan escape someone’s lips. My eyes shot open to discover that my hand was pressed up against a girl’s boob. Not just any girl’s boob either. It was Heartbreak Hailey’s alluring boob, and I was now violating it in front of almost a dozen people.

She let out a shriek and shoved me off immediately.

“I’m sorry,” I stammered, “It was an accident, I didn’t see you there I swear! Please don’t-”

“You!” she interrupted me as her friends lifted her to her feet. “You pulled the same stunt on the second day of school!”

“No! Well, yes that was me, but that was an accident too I swear!”

“Shut up! I can’t believe I actually believed you last time, but now I know better. Tucker Kingly, you are a pervert and I hope you die!”

Déjà vu occurred as she stormed off down the hall with her friends following close behind all the while I sat there stunned and confused on the ground.

“Did she just tell me…to go die?” I asked.

“Yep.”

“That’s a little excessive, don’t ya think?”

“Probably, but look on the bright side.” I looked towards Jason with a puzzled look on my face, “You got to cop a feel on Heartbreak Hailey’s legendary tits.”

“Not to mention the fact that she actually knows your name,” Shawn added. “Which, is actually pretty impressive considering that she still doesn’t know mine after rejecting me…ten times.”

“Jealous?” I asked jokingly.

“She’s a lesbian!”

“Yeah…you’re totally jealous.”

Jason laughed and helped me up as we returned to class. Of course the whispers and suspicious glances plagued me the rest of the way, but I tried my best to ignore them. Things calmed down once I was safely in my seat in the back of the classroom, and soon I was able to peacefully continue the day without a hitch.

It did astound me how bad the situation at school was getting however, and this rumor was only going to make it explode in a giant ball of perverted fire. With my mind more occupied on my social status, I successfully managed to not pay attention to anything Melissa was saying until the bell to let the school out rang.

“Mr. Kingly, I’d like to speak to you after class,” she announced as the entire class did a quick double take my direction. I stopped mid stand, looked around cautiously before ultimately sitting back down. The rest of the class was slow to file out of the room but eventually it emptied out, leaving me alone in the classroom with Melissa, a familiar start to the dozens of fantasies I had with her.

I got up and started walking towards the front of the class, my palms sweaty with anticipation as my nerves melted into a heap of hormones. No doubt about it, if this went anything like my fantasies then I was going to leave this room a very happy person.

“So what’s up Melissa?” I asked after reaching her desk.

“Ms. Benson,” she corrected, her fingers clacking away at her keyboard. “Not Melissa.”

Shut down! Trying to keep my dignity intact, I cleared my throat and rephrased myself, “Sorry Ms. Benson, did you need something?”

Her hands froze in an instant, hovering over the keys but refusing to press down on them anymore as she slowly rose to her feet. The atmosphere took a complete hundred and eighty degree turn from being the hot beginning to one of my fantasies, to a strangely serious tension that made me worry.

“Is everything ok?”

“Mr. Kingly…I don’t how to say this but I’m,” she winced. “I’m…late.”

“Late? Late for what?”

“Y’know, my time of the month,” she had her eyes glued to the floor.

My backpack slowly slid off my shoulder as reality started to sink in, “So you think that you’re…”

“Yeah.”

“And you think that I’m the…”

“Yep.”

“C-C’mon Ms. Benson stop messing around,” I laughed awkwardly.

“This isn’t a joke Tucker,” she exploded in a fit of rage.

“B-But I didn’t even cum inside of you Ms. Benson. How is that possible? Are you sure it isn’t your ex boyfriend’s?” I was trying to keep my cool now, running through all the options I’ve heard of from movies and bad reality TV shows with this kinda crap in it, but all that went out the window when Melissa collapsed on the ground bawling her eyes out.

“We always used condoms!” she whined, “I can’t believe this is happening to me. I’m going to have my student’s baby! How can this get any worse?”

I walked over to her side and knelt down, rubbing her back gently. “Just calm down Ms. Benson. Try not to overreact. Have you been to a clinic yet?”

“N-No,” she wiped away a tear, “I missed my period so I took a pregnancy test yesterday and it showed positive.”

“If it’s all the same to you Ms. Benson, I want you to go to a clinic and make sure that its for real,” I stood up, “I don’t have work on Friday, so we can go then. There’s one downtown about ten to fifteen minutes by bus. We’ll go right after school if that’s cool?” She weakly nodded, grabbing my hand so I could help her up. “Until then try and calm down ok?”

“I’ll try.”

With a defeated look on her face, I could only imagine how she felt right now. Although I was probably pushing my luck, I wrapped my arms around her and held her tight. It was one of those moments where when you look at someone you think to yourself, they need a hug, and Melissa definitely needed that hug. She welcomed my hug, burying her face into my shoulder as the tears slowly started to die out.

Once the water works were done I gave her a pat on the back and grabbed my backpack, heading for the door. I stopped at the door and turned to look at her, “Friday Ms. Benson. I’ll talk to you then.”

My insides where about as stable as a bear on a unicycle during that hole mess, and as I walked out of the classroom and headed for work, I was counting my blessings that I didn’t flip out. This is big news after all, on Friday I might learn that I’m a father. A dad! Holy shit my life could spiral out of control even more then it already has if it’s true. I’m still clinging to the fact that the test was faulty, but whatever happens Friday, I’ll live with it.

Turns out then when you’re future is at stake, time flies by like it’s running from the cops and before I knew it, we were both sitting on the bus heading towards the clinic.

“Why are you so calm?” she whispered, nudging my side. “This is serious business and you look like you might fall asleep on the bus ride there? Are you happy about this or-”

“What good will it do to have two people freaking out?” I interrupted, opening my eyes and looking at her. “Figured I’d let you do all the worrying while I kept a level head.”

“But this is serious.”

“I know it’s serious but I’d rather deal with it after the test results Ms. Benson. Look, lean on my shoulder, close your eyes and take deep breaths. We’ll be there in a little while ok?”

She pouted but reluctantly did what I said, leaning up against my shoulder and closing her eyes as I caught the sweet smell if peaches oozing out of her hair. It calmed her down, if only just for show as we drew nearer to the clinic. I did find it funny how she was acting like a kid about all this, pouting and fidgeting in public as if trying to draw attention. If I had to be honest, I had things for girls who had cute little moments like this, and it only made the moment sweeter for me because Melissa was older.

My happiness was short lived however when we got to our stop and headed towards the clinic. We walked through the automatic doors and headed for the front desk where an overweight woman with puffy blonde hair was waiting to greet us.

She popped her bubblegum obnoxiously, “What can I do for you two?”

“I-I-I-” Melissa stammered.

“She wants to get tested for pregnancy,” I put on a fake smile, interrupting her.

“Name and age please.”

“Melissa Benson, age twenty eight.”

“And will the talkative Young man being joining her in the exam room?”

“Yep.”

“And your association with Ms. Benson is?”

“I’m her nephew,” I lied seamlessly, “Tucker Benson, age sixteen.”

“Well do you mind answering why you’re here then Mr. Benson?” She eyed me suspiciously, “I think she’s old enough to get tested on her own, don’t you?”

“She asked me to tag along and I had nothing better to do. That a problem?”

She shrugged, writing Melissa’s name down on a sheet of paper, “Take a seat and we’ll call you soon.”

I grabbed onto the now stunned Melissa and took her to one of the seats, casually grabbing a magazine about healthy food. After a couple pages in, she finally snapped out of whatever trance she fell in and looked over at me.

“What was that?”

“What was what?”

“That whole thing back there! You lied to the receptionist.”

“And? Did you want me to tell her that you had drunken sex with a minor and might be pregnant because of it? It’s easier for everyone this way Melissa.”

“But…but you did it so easily.”

“So? I can think on my feet, something wrong with that?”

She let out a loud sigh before burying her hand in her hands, “Look at me? Am I really getting mad at you for trying to protect my image? You must hate me by now after all the bitching I’ve been doing.”

“It takes a lot more then bitching to get on my nerves Ms. Benson, you’re fine.”

“Melissa,” she sighed, “Just call me Melissa when we’re outside of school. Plus, you’re supposed to be my nephew here so it’ll be weird if you call me by my last name.”

“Melissa, we’re ready for you,” the overweight receptionist announced.