Secret Agent Man

Sandra was in his third period and before leaving, she asked him if she could help take care of the animals in the lab. He was glad for the help, realizing that he had gotten quite a few more specimens than he had thought.

After school, he showed her what needed to be done and started to correct the quizzes, happy that most students did well. The last question had no right or wrong answer, just something to give him an idea of where their thinking was.

At 3:30, Jim escorted Sandra to the library where her mother was locking up. Giving Mary the box of chocolates, he once again thanked her for the invitation and asked if she was going to the football game Friday.

"Yes, we are. It's the cross-town rivalry with the city school. They're looking for revenge after last year's loss."

"Can I pick you up? You're just a few streets over from me."

"Thank you, that would be very nice."

Jim said goodbye and left the mother and daughter, heading toward his car after checking his faculty mailbox. He ran into John there, going through his own mail. "Hey, John. When's the big launch?"

"In a couple of weeks... got to teach them how to use the scientific calculators and the class laptops first and a couple of simple experiments about "Force" and "Acceleration". I waited until late yesterday to test fire it here, just to make sure it would work correctly."

"Sounds like fun. I spent the day talking about how bacteria can kill you seven ways to Sunday. I'll see you tomorrow."

He drove over to the nearby pizza place and soon was eating from the buffet, realizing that he would have to spend an hour in his home gym working off the calories. Can't do this everyday, he thought, or I'll look like the Goodyear blimp.

That night, he previewed the NOVA video about Legionnaire's Disease that crippled Philadelphia in 1976. Next week, he would show the one on HIV.

*****

Passing back the quizzes, he quickly went over the correct answers, explaining the nuances that he was looking for. The next test, he knew, would be using a multiple-choice Scantron, for it had taken him six hours to grade all the papers.

He thought about having lunch with Mary but then remembered she kept the library open during the lunch period. There was a rap on the door and it was John. "You said you had some NASA videos I could borrow?"

"Sure, I can bring them in tomorrow. One is a history of the space race and is pretty good. Another is about the first flight of the shuttle."

"Thanks. I appreciate it. You going to eat here?"

"Yeah, I brought a sandwich. Nothing special," Jim replied.

"When things get more settled, the faculty members that want to, set up a round-robin lunch, so they only have to fix lunch once every couple of weeks or so. You might want to get in on that."

The two talked about different teaching methods until the bell rang, ushering in a new group of students.

*****

"I'm here, Mr. Cravens," said Sandra, dropping her books onto a desk. "That was a pretty scary film you showed us, all those people dead just from walking into the hotel."

"It shows you how dangerous biology can be, doesn't it? I bought a lobster from the pier over the weekend. I think you'll like him. You can name him, if you want."

He locked up the classroom and walked Sandra across the hallway to the lab, turning on the lights. "When do you think we'll be in the lab?" she asked, going to the see the latest addition to the growing menagerie.

"Next week, we'll use the microscopes as soon as the specimens I ordered arrive. It'll be kinda neat, I think, to see what exists and we can't even see them without help."

Sandra set about feeding the animals in the tanks. "You're picking us up for the game?"

"Yes, I wanted to thank your mother for dinner."

"The chocolates were thanks enough. They were delicious... and all gone, I'm afraid. We don't get them too often, ever since Daddy died."

"I'm sorry about that."

"Thank you... so, to answer my question from the other night, did you kill anyone?"

"Are you sure you want to talk about something like that? It's not very nice."

"I'm trying to make up my mind what I want to do with my life. My mother wants me to be a doctor but I don't know, seems like a long time until you get to be one and I've watched "Grey's Anatomy" and I wouldn't want to be in that hospital, you know."

"Well, the FBI isn't easy, either, you know. There's college and then if you get it, there's Quantico and you get posted where they need you, not necessarily where you want to be. I was in Seattle for several years before getting transferred back to Los Angeles."

"And now, you're teaching. That's quite a difference. What happened?"

"I stopped a robbery and it didn't go well."

"Did you?" she asked.

"Yes, there were two of them," he replied, wondering if Mary was going to be upset he was talking about it with her daughter.

"Were you hurt?"

"No, I was lucky. Say, let's talk about something else, OK? I've tried to close the door on that." He thought back to that day in Morro Bay, knowing luck had nothing to do with it, but there wasn't anything he could have done, in his own mind, other than what he had done. "So, you like See's Candies, huh? Can't eat too many of those," he laughed. "Say, would you like to go on a whale watch, sometime, with your mother, I mean?"

"Oh, that would be so cool. I hope that Mom says OK. Can I go and ask her?"

"Sure, I'll close up here and meet you in the library."

A few minutes later, he was explaining himself to Mary, who seemed hesitant on saying yes to the trip. "It'll leave from Newport Beach and last a couple of hours, just past the harbor. It'll be fun."

"All right," she said, still with some misgivings in her voice. "I can't swim."

"That's OK, the boat better stay afloat. Is this Saturday good? I need to make reservations, and then we can have lunch afterward in Newport Beach."

"Thank you. You're very kind."

"I enjoyed being with you the other night and Sandra will like the cruise. What time should I pick you up Friday?"

"How does 6:30 sound? That should give us plenty of time. Sandra has to be there early before the game."

"Great, I'll see you then." Jim said goodbye to the two and left to go home to make reservations. He tuned into an oldies station and sang along with the Beach Boys as he headed toward his house. His syllabus allowed him some free time during the week as he showed a film, putting grades into the computer while the students were busy watching whatever was scheduled.

*****

Friday late afternoon finally arrived and with it, a nervousness that was unexpected as he drove to Mary and Sandra's house. He wore his dark blue Letterman's sweater as he rang the bell.

The door opened and Sandra invited him in, wearing her cheerleader uniform and telling him that her mother was just finishing with the dishes. A moment later, Mary came into the living room. "It's going to be warm tonight. Are you sure you want to wear that sweater?" she asked.

"I hadn't thought about that," he replied, "let's see what happens."

The drive to the school only took fifteen minutes and he pulled his Malibu into the parking lot, finding a good spot beneath a bank of lights.

"I'll see you later," said Sandra, as she ran to join her friends, leaving Jim and Mary alone. He instinctively took her hand and walked her through the gate and toward the bleachers.

The game turned out to be a nail-biter, as the home team had a 22-9 lead at half-time that slowly was whittled away by their cross-town rivals until with twenty seconds left, an interception gave them the game, 34-31.

"Wow! That was really something. They had me worried there for a while." Jim stood for the Alma Mater, his fist reaching for the sky, swaying with the fifty-year old tune. "Aha, you're going to have to learn that," he said to Mary as they stood waving hello to students who walked by. "Now, where's Sandra?"

A few minutes later, Mary's daughter arrived, holding the hand of the team quarterback, Joe Smith, who already was offered a full ride to USC. "Mom, Joe wants to take me for ice cream... is that all right?"

"OK, but I want you home by midnight, we have that whale watch tomorrow, remember?"

"That's right, don't worry, I'll be home." Sandra and Joe walked away toward the parking lot, the look of young love in their eyes.

"What do you say to a late meal? There's a restaurant on Marine that is near our houses, we could get some nachos or ice cream or whatever..." Jim looked at Mary, hoping that she would say "yes".

"That would be wonderful, thank you. I'd like that."

*****

"Table for two?" asked the hostess, reaching for two menus.

"Yes, thank you." Jim stood back and let Mary go forward after the hostess to a window booth. "I'll have ice tea, please," he said, looking at his date.

"Yes, I'll have ice tea, also." Mary looked at the menu, wondering what to get, not wanting to order something expensive, although the restaurant was a local favorite and didn't really have anything too pricey. "What looks good?" she asked.

"Get whatever you want, I'm good," Jim replied with a smile. "I'm going to have the nachos."

"OK, that sounds good for me, too."

When the waitress brought the ice teas, they gave her their orders. Collecting the menus, the young woman left them alone, the restaurant filling up with late Friday night customers.

"So," Jim inquired, "what brought you to the school?"

"Well, since my husband died, things have been a little tight and with Sandra at the school, I thought this would give me a chance to keep an eye on her... you know, killing two birds with one stone. It was an IED that killed over fifty people in Kabul. It was ISIS that said they did it and I keep being reminded of it every time I drive on that street."

"I understand what you mean. Kind of a bad coincidence, that street being named Isis, who would have thought?"

"Tell me more about your time with the FBI... that must have been exciting work."

Just then the waitress brought out their food and Jim used the interruption to think how he was going to answer her curiosity.

"I was mostly in counter-terrorism, you know, chasing down the bad guys before they could do something. Success meant that no one would know that we did something." He ate some of his nachos, looking at her face, wondering if he should say something about the several brushes with death that his team had had over the years.

"I can imagine. Sandra was very interested in what you had done. I'm sorry if her questions made you uncomfortable."

"No, that's all right. She was just curious, that's all. But, I've put that behind me, now. I'm a science teacher and that works for me... teaching young minds before they turn to mush..." He laughed, wanting to brighten the conversation away from the talk of death.

"Sandra mentioned that you had killed some people before leaving the FBI. Is that true?"

Jim hesitated, wishing they could talk about anything else but that but decided to get it out of the way. "Yes, there were two robbers in a diner and they tried to kill me so I had no choice." He took a long drink of tea. "How's the library going?"

"It's all right. I just have to get into their heads that overdue books are overdue, you know?"

"You probably have to send some notices around during homeroom; charge them twenty-five cents a day or something like that. Tomorrow should be a lot of fun, I think. I'll pick you up at eight. Do we need to get Dramamine? We can go over to the grocery store and get some."

"Thanks, but I bought some already when you offered to take us."

"Do you want some ice cream or anything," he asked, glancing at his watch.

"Yes," she laughingly said, "but I told Sandra to be home right about now and I want to be home and make sure that she is."

"OK, I'll just pay the bill and we'll get out of here. I enjoyed being with you," he said, reaching for his wallet and leaving a twenty on the table with the check.

Driving home, they were quiet, as if they were all talked out. Walking her up to the door, he leaned in to kiss her goodnight and she put her arms around him, making him feel good. "Tomorrow," they both said together.

Mary sat on her bed that night, thinking about her evening with Jim and her lost husband, the emptiness in her heart still bringing such grief when it came to the forefront.

*****

Early the next morning Jim drove over to Mary's house and picked the two of them up, hoping that traffic would be light as he then drove to Newport Beach and the whale watch location.

As the boat left the pier, Sandra went to the bow of the ship, the ocean breeze blowing her hair back. Soon, they were out into the ocean and the boat began to bob slightly up and down as it moved through the waves toward Dana Point. Sandra looked back at her mother, a huge smile on her face.

"Looks like she's having fun," Jim said, holding Mary's hand as he spoke. "Maybe she'll be the next Jacques Cousteau."

Mary had her eyes closed, fighting the beginnings of seasickness. "I'm going to the bathroom," she quickly said as she got up and slowly made her way into the interior of the boat. Jim waited until she was gone before smiling. Not too good, he thought, hoping that she wasn't too sick, wanting the day to be enjoyable.

The boat's announcer told everyone to look to the port side, as several dolphins breached the water and followed alongside, eating fish that had been thrown in their direction.

A half-hour later, Mary returned just in time to see some different dolphins jumping up. Jim could tell she wanted to leave the boat as soon as possible but there was nothing he could do. "Are you all right?" he asked.

"I am now, thank you. I guess I should have taken more Dramamine than I did. What did I miss?"

"There were some dolphins but no whales." Just then, the boat stopped moving as two gray whales came to the surface alongside. "Look!" Jim exclaimed, as the whales exhaled into the morning air, the sound quite loud above the movement of the waves, the air filled with misty breath.

Mary stood up and went to the side of the boat, watching the whales as they moved near. "Oh, my," she said, taking her phone out and taking several pictures. She quickly put it back in her jean's pocket, not wanting to drop it over the side.

Before they knew it, they were headed back to port and lunch. Sandra came to her mother, "Did you see the whales? That was so cool!"

"I've made reservations at the Balboa Bay Resort. Are you feeling better?"

"Yes, I'm fine, now, sorry."

"That's OK, just as long as you are better, now. Sometimes these boats get too bouncy on the water."

They went to the restaurant, but Mary had some misgivings after looking at the menu. "It's very expensive, Jim, are you sure you want to eat here?"

"It's fine. Don't worry about it. I'm going to have the halibut, I recommend it."

"All right, if you insist... halibut it is."

"I'll have the fish and chips, if that's all right," said Sandra, putting her menu down. "Thank you."

After giving their choices to the server, Jim listened to Sandra tell her mother about standing in the bow of the boat and watching the dolphins swim by. "I'm never going to forget today, Mr. Cravens, thank you so much."

Light conversation followed. Jim asked Mary how the library was coming along, Sandra how her other classes were doing, and he spoke a little about his time in the FBI, emphasizing the time he spent in counter-terrorism, stopping several attempts to attack LAX. Both of his guests were entranced in what he was saying.

"Don't you find school a little quiet after all that?" Sandra asked.

"Don't complain about having some quiet time. I've had my fill of excitement, I think."

The food came and it was delicious, well worth the high cost. He had decided, long ago, to enjoy life as it came. The loss of his parents and the dangers of his FBI position made life too dear to eat at McDonald's.

Too soon, they were finished, and after paying for the meal, Jim escorted the two out to the car. Traffic had picked up and it took twice as long to return to Hawthorne north on the San Diego Freeway.

Sandra said goodbye and ran into the house. Mary quietly waited on the parkway, and then kissed him, thanking him for a wonderful time and his generosity.

*****

The next week, they covered in class the Protista, the single-celled organisms that lived in the water, amoebas and the like, with microscope labs. He compared them to the cells that made up the higher organisms, including humans. Day after day, he taught them how to diagram what they were seeing on the slides, showing them how to be careful that they didn't break the thin glass and to be aware that there were living creatures they were looking at.

Monday brought with it a new topic, Fungi, and with it the chance to bake bread, learn about fermentation and molds and mushrooms.

"Now, you see, fungi break down just about everything and produce poisons. We are going to bake bread this coming weekend, to bring in next Monday, and are going to have another microscope lab, looking at bread molds." He passed out notes on fermentation and began to talk about its history, going back to the ancient Egyptians, the bread molds that gave rise to the Salem witch accusations, LSD and penicillin and mushrooms. "Tomorrow, we'll see a film about penicillin, Wednesday we'll have lab, Thursday a vocabulary quiz and then Friday, an introduction to baking your bread over the weekend. I think you'll like it."

The bell rang just then and as the students filed out, he stood in the doorway, waiting for the next class to arrive. This group had a lot of football players in it and they tended to be rowdier than the others. He didn't want to bring the hammer down but the material needed to be covered and detentions would be handed out if necessary. "Mr. Jones, you are late again. See me after class."

Fifty minutes later, he was keeping the wide-receiver after class. "I don't want to make your life miserable but you have to be on time, with your materials, ready to study. Otherwise, I'll have a talk with the head coach."

"What do you know about it?" the student replied. "The coach ain't going to do anything about it."

"Well, fine, let's start with a detention notice, how about that?" Jim wrote out the notice on his laptop and sent it to the dean. The student grabbed his books and bolted out of the room, heading to the cafeteria, looking back over his shoulder at the room.

There were times when Jim wished he could use his gun on somebody but then calmed down and realized that it was just a teenager without proper guidance.

The next day, while the class was watching the film about penicillin, he wrote a long and detailed letter to the student's parents, making a copy for the coach and the dean. He was polite but firm, emphasizing his displeasure at the situation and the student's disrespect toward him.

Later, after school, he went to the library to see Mary. "Hi," he said, almost shyly like a schoolboy himself.

"Oh, hi... there you are. I was wondering where you had gone to." She set down the books she had been carrying.

"Just had some paperwork to take care of. Some of these athletes are getting too big for their britches. Friday's an away game up to Ventura. Would you like to go to dinner?"

"OK, but not too one of those expensive places like Newport. I don't feel comfortable having you spend so much money on me."

Jim had never explained that he was financially secure and that he was only teaching because he wanted to. "OK," he said, "we can go to Islands in Manhattan Beach. They make good burgers."

"Great, I'd like that. Thank you. Did you see the new books I got in? I am writing a grant proposal to expand the fiction section. If they're reading, they're learning."