A Loner Mentalist Pt. 04

She bit her lower lip excitedly. "So, is this our ride?"

"What, this?" Jack pointed a thumb over his shoulder. "Nah. This is just some random guy that pulled over when I stuck my thumb out. We're taking a cab to the prom." She giggled and smacked him on the chest with the back of her hand. "Come on! We're fashionably late as it is."

They got in and Mia's eyes went wide as she took in all the things that were installed in the back. "Yeah," Jack said, agreeing with her unspoken sentiment, "the only thing we're missing right now is a hot tub."

They were almost to the school when Tyrone lowered the partition. "Jack, I'm so, so sorry, man! I just got a call. There's a high roller gonna land at the airport in a little over an hour and I gotta go there and pick him up to take him to the Indian casino."

"Oh, well, that's ok," Jack said. Mia looked tense with worry.

"I'll take you guys to prom, we're just a few minutes out, but you'll have to get home on your own. With high rollers that come in unannounced, it's all hands on deck, all night long, ya know?"

Mia wilted with relief. Jack said, "No worries, Tyrone, I get it."

"Hey, listen! I gotta go pick up Henley before I go to the airport. We could swing by your house and drive your car to the school parking lot."

"I'd appreciate that," Jack said and dug his car keys out of his pocket. He had a habit of taking his car keys with him everywhere and he felt glad he had taken them tonight, as well. "Just leave the key on the front driver's side tire for me!" He scooted all the way forward and gave Tyrone the key.

"Front driver's side tire," Tyrone said. "You got it! Now, sit back and put on your best smiles. We're here. Wait for me to open the doors for you." Tyrone lifted the partition and Jack settled down to sit next to Mia.

She grabbed his hand and gave it a nervous squeeze. He gave her a reassuring smile.

Tyrone pulled the stretch Hummer up to the end of the red carpet the organizing committee had put out. It was lit with spotlights to give the impression of arriving at a movie premiere. Everyone's eyes were drawn to the vehicle as Tyrone came out. His jacket was unbuttoned and some picked up on the glint of chrome coming off his concealed carry in a shoulder holster. He buttoned his jacket and donned a driver's cap over his dreadlocks. He walked to the back door and opened it.

Jack got out first and was surprised to see a sea of faces turned his way. It seemed that half the school was gathered around the entrance and off to the sides of the red carpet. Many a smartphone was held aloft, with cameras pointed his way. Jack cleared his throat nervously and adjusted his tux. He held out a hand and Mia took it.

When she stepped out, Jack could hear the oohs and aahs coming from the girly part of the crowd. He faced them again, with Mia on his arm, and they started walking down the red carpet. His heart beat wildly from all the eyes that were on him. He had been the object of attention for a crowd before, but those times had been different.

Back in his old school, he had played on the basketball team, but they hardly ever had more than a hundred spectators per game and he was usually on the bench. Even when he was on the court, he'd be just one of ten guys playing. None of that could prepare him for the terrifying sensation of walking towards a crowd of over a hundred people, with all eyes locked onto him.

Well, they're mostly looking at Mia, he tried to comfort himself. It didn't work. He could see he was drawing almost as much interest as the gorgeous girl on his arm. Worse still, he could see that they were looking at him one moment and then leaning in to whisper with the person next to them in the very next instant. He swallowed against his dry throat and felt sweat trickle down the small of his back.

He wanted to break into a run and get away from them all. Only the sight of Mia stopped him. She was smiling blissfully and enjoying all the attention. He drew a deep breath, squared his shoulders and walked down the red carpet with her. They paused in the arch to get their official picture taken. He didn't want to ever see the picture, or the expression his face bore in it.

Once past the double doors to the gymnasium, the pressure abated only slightly. All eyes were still on them. Girls would come over and chat with Mia, expressing their admiration at the way she looked. While the womenfolk did their jabbering, their dates would stand to the side and exchange a few glances with Jack. Jack thought he could see envy in their eyes, mixed with the obvious bewilderment that he had wound up being the one to take her to prom.

Mia drew him to the dance floor and Jack was very glad he had taken them to a dance class as he was far too nervous to make moves up on the spot. They danced the way they had practiced and he managed at last to ignore all the people staring at him. When a song Mia deemed uncool came on, she led them to the punch bowl and they had a few cups each. Jack could tell it was spiked. He didn't mind.

"Isn't this a surprise," Lisa said as she walked up to them. She was dressed in a slinky, burgundy, off the shoulder dress that hugged her trim body tightly. Jack's eyes ran up and down her body and he blushed realizing that he knew exactly what she looked like underneath that thin fabric. "Bitch, you look hawt."

"Thanks, Lisa. You look good, too." The two cheerleaders exchanged air kisses and smiles that seemed phony to Jack.

Lisa pointedly gave Jack a once over. "Oh. I can see why you kept your date a secret." Jack's brow drew down. He didn't like her tone of voice. "You're very brave to show up on Dog Boy's arm."

"Jack was my first choice of dates," Mia said, in the same, sickly sweet tone of voice Lisa used. "And is this your first choice?"

Lisa's smug smile faded. "Daniel couldn't be here tonight."

"Yes," Mia drawled. "I'm sure he couldn't." She turned to the football player next to Lisa. "Shawn, how does it feel to be second string?" The brawny, beefy guy looked confused by the question.

Lisa's brow drew down and she grabbed Shawn's hand. "Come on, Shawn!" Shawn looked to be on the verge of formulating an answer, but Lisa tugged insistently on his arm and he followed her instead.

"What was that all about? I thought you two were besties?"

Mia looked at Jack with mild confusion. "We are."

Jack stared at her for a moment and then shook it off. He poured himself another cup of punch. The DJ played "Who Let the Dogs Out". Jack looked over to the DJ's table and saw Lisa leaving it to make her way back across the dance floor. She was still leading Shawn by the arm. They stopped right in front of Mia and Jack and started dancing. Shawn was mostly just standing there like a statue, while Lisa danced lewdly, bending over and rubbing her ass up against him. She was doing all that she could to draw attention to herself.

Jack could feel the eyes landing on him. With the song reminding everyone of his nickname, he wanted to get away from the gyrating blonde. Mia grabbed him by the crook of the arm and smiled. "Stay," she mouthed up at him. He wanted to go, but something about her smile made him think she had a rejoinder to Lisa's provocation. He held his ground and did his best to ignore the stares and the smiles of derision. If they start to point and laugh at me, I will fuck somebody up!

The song ended none too soon for Jack's taste and Lisa stood before them, grinning happily. "Oh, yeah, I meant to ask earlier. Why did you give up on running for prom queen? I thought you were dead set on that, and then you just up and studied your ass off instead of campaigning? What's up with that?"

Mia smiled another phony smile. "It's a little something called personal growth, Lisa." Mia glanced up at the stage and her smile turned sincere. "Stay right here and you'll learn a thing or two about that!"

Kevin Mitchell, the class president, went to the microphone and greeted the class. He urged everyone to give themselves a hand for making it to the prom and they did. He thanked the organizing committee for throwing together this bash and everyone applauded again. A spotlight shone on a small group of girls and boys and they awkwardly basked in the attention.

"There's someone else here tonight that deserves our most heartfelt thanks and admiration! I'll let those who know him better do the introduction." The lights dimmed and the video wall came alive. Jack hardly noticed, pouring himself another cup of punch.

"Jack Watts is the finest young man I've ever had the privilege of knowing," said the marine sergeant who had first turned Jack onto training assistance dogs. Jack spun around, dropping his cup and ladle into the bowl. The sergeant was on the video screen, talking about Jack's work.

Jack's legs threatened to give out. He looked at Mia, who was beaming a radiant smile at him. "As soon as I called the base you told me he was serving at, they connected me to him and he was so glad to help me with this."

"What is this?" Jack asked.

"I told Kevin about your work and he immediately agreed to give you a special award on behalf of the class. You know, as a sorry-for-ignoring-you kind of thing. He has a disabled cousin, did you know that?"

A steady stream of some of the recipients of Jack's dogs played on the screen. Each person identified themselves and then briefly, but emotionally, told of how the dog Jack trained for them had changed their lives for the better.

Mia bumped Jack's shoulder with her own and said, "I charmed the AV nerds into making the video tribute. It was all very last minute. Do you like it?"

Jack was at a loss for words. He saw Lisa staring at him in bewilderment. Her big, brown eyes were flicking between the screen and him. She looked like she was doubting her own sanity. He looked around and saw amazement on everyone else's faces. Some of the girls held handkerchiefs to their eyes as they started crying. A few of the people that were near him looked over with expressions of disbelief.

Some looked down in shame, doubtlessly remembering the times when it had been funny to bark at him. His fists clenched up as he grit his teeth when he saw that some were shooting admiring glances his way. Every time they stared at him, shocked to learn of his selfless work, he felt a punch to the gut.

He could have been a role model for the other kids. He could see it in their eyes, in the frank admiration, hidden beneath a thick layer of shocked surprise. If only he had not trusted Steve, John and Rob, he would not have practically wasted two years of his life in solitude.

The video finally ended, but Jack hardly noticed. He was trembling from head to toe.

"Where is the man of the hour?" Kevin asked from the stage. A spotlight swept across the crowd until it settled on Jack, nearly blinding him and snapping him out of his bout of self-hatred. "There he is! Jack Watts, please come up on stage and accept The Special Humanitarian Award that the class of 2015 wants to give you!"

A roar of applause slammed into him like a tidal wave. His breath came up short and his hearing all but failed. Mia stood up on tiptoes, yelled something in his ear and kissed his cheek. He let himself be blindly led by Mia's hand on his elbow. A few hands reached out as he passed and gave him a clap on the back.

Mia pulled him up the stairs to the stage and he nearly stumbled. She led him over to Kevin, who grabbed his hand with both of his and pumped it repeatedly before sticking something into it. Jack looked at the award. It was a pedestal with a piece of crystal on top of it. Engraved into the crystal were the words: "Springfield High Class of 2015 Special Humanitarian Award".

Mia and Kevin turned him to face the crowd and he nearly choked on his own tongue. Literally everyone in the gym was staring up at him as they applauded. He froze, even though his heart beat faster than ever before in his life.

Mia stood next to him and waved to the crowd. Jack could barely make out Kevin speaking again. He looked over at the man on reflex when he noted something in the inflection of his voice. Did he just ask me a question? Kevin thrust the microphone into Jack's free hand and gestured at the crowd before them.

Jack didn't know how he managed to stay upright as he looked out at the sea of upturned faces staring at him. No applause was heard. There was no music in the room. Not a sound except for Jack's heart thundering in his ears.

He was about to keel over when his drooping eyes fell on Lisa. She was standing right in front of the stage, dead center. Her brow was drawn down in a scowl and her full lips were pressed tight in displeasure.

Screw you, bitch!

He straightened up and raised the microphone to his mouth. "Uh, hi there. Um, should I be given this award?" He shrugged. "I don't know. I don't feel like a hero, or anything." He cleared his throat. "Right now, I feel like someone that stumbled into unknown territory. Everything around me is new and strange. I feel hope that things will turn out for the best, but I feel fear at the same time. Fear that things will turn out badly."

He looked out at the crowd. "I see some of you nodding along. You're seniors, you know the feeling. You're feeling the exact same way about the future that awaits you beyond these walls, don't you?" He heard some exclamations of agreement come from the crowd.

"You know, I'm reminded of the last time I felt like that. It was during my first week here. I was the new kid in school, surrounded by people I didn't know and I had such hopes for the future." He looked down and shook his head. "What a naive jackass I was back then. But, look at me now! I'm on stage with an award in my hand and a gorgeous girl on my arm. And I'm giving a speech.

"I would like to give some thanks, right now. I'd like to thank all of you." He held out his hand over the crowd, which began cheering. He continued when they stopped. "I'd like to thank you, one and all, for taking the time and effort, way back when, to approach me and to get to know me. I'd also like to thank the girls that mocked my efforts in training a seeing eye dog during my first week in this town." He put his hand with the award across his chest. "You touched me right here with your mockery."

"I'd also like to thank all of you, once again, for laughing at those photos and calling me Dog Boy, both behind my back and to my face. That was really swell of you." Mia and Kevin awkwardly tried to intervene, but he stepped forward, out of the reach of their hands. He glared at the crowd. "I bet half of you had no clue who this Jack Watts character was until you saw me climb the stage just now. Did you? All I ever was to you was 'Dog Boy', nothing more.

"Special thanks go out to John Barnes, Steve Cooper and Rob Torrance for maligning my good name behind my back and acting like they were doing the exact opposite when they were with me. The three of them are rotten serpents and I'd like to go on record to say that the shitty way you treated them for years is, in hindsight, completely justified. Or, maybe, they acted the way they did because you lot treated them like piles of garbage for most of their lives. Who knows? All I know is that I would like to thank you all, yet again, for never doing anything about all those things they told you about me. Give yourselves a hand." He put the award under his armpit and snapped the fingers of his free hand to simulate the sound of clapping. "No, really, give yourselves a hand. You all believed I was a dangerous lunatic and not a single one of you lifted a finger about it for two years. You folks deserve an award, not I."

Mia tried to take him by the arm and lead him off the stage, but he took a resolute step away from her. "Uh-oh, they're signaling me to get off the stage, so I'll wrap this up real quick. I'll admit that I'm not without fault in all this. I should have done things differently. I should have stood up for myself. I should have tried harder to overcome the mockery and make friends, but you know what? It does take two to tango. I'm rightly angry with all of you, because you assholes should have met me half way. But not a single one of you did." He stared out at the silent crowd. He looked down at Lisa. Her pretty face was inscrutable, but he thought she looked uncomfortable.

"In conclusion, I'd like to say fuck you." He raised the award. "Fuck you for this. Fuck you all very much." He let the award drop from his hand and shatter on the stage. He dropped the microphone and stormed off.

Kevin picked up the microphone and ordered music to be played, but the DJ was slow to respond. As Jack left the gym, he could hear the crowd begin to murmur and talk. He couldn't care less. He threw the double doors open and strode through them.

"Jack! Jack, wait!" Mia ran after him and managed to catch up to him in the hallway. "What the hell was that?!"

He didn't stop as he said, "Funny, I might ask you the same question."

"Why on Earth would you make that speech?! I went to all that trouble to arrange all this for you and you just ruined it! Why are you so happy with being an outcast?"

"Did I sound happy just now?" He barged out of the main doors and into the sultry night.

Mia followed him. "No, you sounded like a pissy little shit that can't thank anyone for anything. I-"

Jack suddenly stopped and rounded on her with a glare. "Thank?! You seriously expect me to thank you for that?! Are you kidding me?!" Mia looked uncertain. "You just put me on the spot. Did you honestly think I'd like being glared at by a spotlight? That I'd enjoy everyone staring at me? Do you honestly think it's a good thing to stick a microphone into someone's hand and shove them out in front of a crowd with no warning?"

Mia opened her mouth to retort, but blushed instead.

"Oh, and let's not pretend you did any of that for me! You did it for yourself, plain and simple. You did all that, sent the AV geeks to bother all those people in their homes, just so you could stand on stage and get prom queen votes!"

"No!" Mia sounded half horrified and half insulted by his accusation.

"Oh, give me a break, Mia! At least have the decency to own up to what you did!"

"I did it for you!"

"Like hell you did! You did it to win a stupid crown!"

Mia teared up and shook her head. "No! That's not true!"

"Yes it is! The more you deny it, the more you insult me! You did all that because you wanted to show up Lisa, for some reason, and you didn't care in the slightest about how I'd feel. Or how anyone else would feel, for that matter."

"No! I did it for you! I did it because I love you!"

They both froze at hearing her words. She blushed even redder as she looked down at the ground. "I, I didn't say love, I said owe. I owe you. I owe you for... everything and that's why I did all that."

Jack didn't know what came over him at that moment, but he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her into a hug. She didn't resist as he lowered his lips towards her. Her face turned slightly upwards, as if to meet him half way. Stop, the little voice yelled out. You're making an ass out of yourself! You're committing sexual assault! She'll report you to the police! Stop! Pull up! You'll crash and burn! Pull up!

He paused an inch above her upturned lips and stared into her wide eyes. His heart was throbbing in his ears again. She stared right back into his eyes. He thought he could feel her heart beating wildly against his hands on her back. Her breasts were pressed against his chest. Her breath was warm against his chin. She closed the distance between their lips and they kissed. Their eyes shut as they gave in to the kiss.

Her lips were soft against his and they tasted like bubblegum. He drew her breath into himself and felt his knees grow weak, even as his arms suddenly seemed to gain strength. No one could pull her out of his embrace at that moment. She was his. His tongue slid out of his lips to penetrate hers. She gave a small gasp of surprise, but parted her lips to let it in.