Caught! Pt. 11

The Dentist of Delta Delta Delta

Jon was a different person when he returned to campus - he was so different that his parents were alarmed. He'd flown to visit Noelle in the hospital. At first his parents suggested he delay his trip until after the holidays with his grandparents, and this triggered an explosive outburst of profanity. In French. For some reason, Jon lost the ability to speak English for several hours. His father spoke French well enough to communicate with people who spoke slowly and clearly, but the only thing he understood about Jon's rant was that his stable, reliable, dependable son was in the middle of a crisis that no one in the family understood. The only thing that was clear was that it involved a lovely young woman in a photograph he'd brought home.

Jon's father volunteered to fly with him to see Noelle, but his mother vetoed that idea. Jon's brother was harder to handle every day, and the only person who could control him at all was his father. She would go with Jon. They'd planned for Jon's family to visit his grandparents in Quebec over the holidays. They would figure that out when Jon and his mother got back.

Jon's mother was present when they met Noelle in the psychiatric ward. She burst into tears as Jon took her into his arms. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry," Noelle said. In French. Jon's mother was not prepared for the notion that her son was obviously in love. As the story of Noelle's ordeal emerged, Jon's mother recognized that she'd been so violated that Jon's heart was breaking in ways that would never heal. She slowly recognized that part of the nightmare was that Noelle had apparently made some bad decisions that amounted to a betrayal of Jon. It broke her heart to see her loyal, dependable, generous son hurt in ways that would devastate any adult. At one point, while Noelle was sitting in Jon's lap and crying, his mother went to the ladies room and threw up violently.

Nobody went anywhere for the holidays. There were no holidays that year.

Jon spent a lot of time alone in his room with the door closed. Everyone, including his goofball brother, tiptoed around him for the next two weeks. At one point Jon went to the refrigerator, put ice cubes in a glass, poured himself several shots of his father's bourbon, then went back to his room and closed the door again. No one said a word.

After several days Jon's father William got his son to tell him the whole story. Father and son loved and respected each other. They needed to discuss what had happened at college, and what Jon would do about it. Relating the story to his father helped Jon organize thoughts that had been very jumbled.

William helped by outlining Jon's options. If Jon wanted to skip the next semester, he could do that. If he wanted to find another college, he could do that. He could drop out of the fraternity. If he wanted, he could spend a year in France, something he'd planned to do after graduation anyway.

Noelle and her parents let Jon know that she couldn't resume their relationship and that she would not return to college.

William said he would support any decision Jon made, saying that he was proud that Jon had always been smart, reliable and disciplined. These qualities would sustain him during the difficulties ahead - whatever they were.

Jon thought about it. He finally told his father that he'd picked that college, and that fraternity, for good reasons. He would not let one asshole take that away. He went back, telling his father he'd get in touch if he changed his mind. William didn't know what would happen, feeling powerless to help his son navigate such an awful situation. It was a strange feeling for a billionaire.

The other members of the fraternity avoided Jon, looking in the other direction when he passed by. They didn't know the whole story, but they knew enough to realize that Noelle had acted in a way that humiliated the man who was supposed to be her boyfriend. Like all stupid adolescent boys, they tended to put too much blame on Noelle and not enough on Andrew Lodge. When in doubt, blame the girl.

Jon stayed away from the fraternity. He spent a lot of time studying in the library. There were long work-out sessions in the gym. He'd spent lots of time lifting weights under the direction of his boxing coaches in high school, but he started lifting heavier weights than ever before. He found it motivating to imagine that doing just one more rep would smash the face of Lodge. He ached at the end of these sessions, but it was a good ache.

As always, the fraternity sponsored a party on the first Friday of the semester. There was free beer, so lots of people came, and lots of them got very drunk very quickly. Jon poured himself a beer that he couldn't bring himself to drink, so he sat on a couch in the middle of the front room and watched the action around him. A sweet young lady who had no idea what Jon had experienced tried to start a conversation with him, and she was surprised that he was so absent and tongue tied. She moved on and chatted up one of the other frat boys.

At length, Jon noticed that a particularly pretty girl who belonged to the same sorority as Noelle was getting drunk. Like Noelle, she was a freshman. Jon didn't remember her name, but he remembered that she'd gotten way too drunk at campus parties in the past.

Suddenly, Lodge closed in on the drunk little co-ed. Jon couldn't tell what Lodge said, but the girl was smiling and giggling. He recognized that Lodge offered her a cocktail - which was the last thing she needed - and he got so angry he decided to insert himself into their conversation.

"Hi there," Jon said to the girl as Lodge watched in confusion. "He's going to get you as drunk as he can. Then he's going to offer to give you cocaine if you go up to his room. Then he's going to rape you. If you don't want that to happen, you need to stop drinking right fucking now."

Lodge was speechless with rage. The girl looked startled, then began to cry. She was shaky on her feet, so she grabbed Jon's arm to steady herself. "Would you take me home please?" she asked.

"Let's go," Jon said, leading her to the door. Lodge was shocked that a little twerp like Jon Major had treated a senior fraternity brother this way, and he tried to think of how he would get even.

"I'm Leah," the girl said as they walked back to her sorority. "I'm Jon," he said, imagining that she wouldn't remember his name - or much else - the next morning. He guided her to the steps of the sorority house and patiently helped her navigate the stairs. It took a long time.

"I am so stupid," Leah said.

"You aren't stupid. You're just drunk," Jon said.

Leah finally got to the top of the stairs - then vomited all over the porch. Jon guided her to the railing, helped her lean over, then held her hair out of the way as she vomited again. And again. And again. She was so loud that some of her sorority sisters came to investigate.

"Don't step in the puke," Jon said. They looked at Leah, looked at Jon, and had a pretty good idea of what had happened. Jon provided the details.

Soon they realized that Andrew Lodge had come within a nanosecond of preying upon Leah the same way he'd preyed on Noelle. This meant that Jon had gone out of his way to rescue a girl he didn't even know. One of the sisters, Margeaux Laurent, took a long look at Jon and wondered what Lodge would do to him when he returned to the fraternity. Lodge was a lot bigger. Another girl whispered to Margeaux that Jon was Noelle's boyfriend. Or had been. Oh God.

Leah kept trying to vomit, but there was no beer left in her stomach. One of the girls fetched some paper towels and used them to wipe Leah's mouth. "You're alright," she told Leah. "Come and sit down." Everyone but Margeaux went inside.

"So," Margeaux said. "I hear that the guys in your frat are worthless pieces of shit. Is that about right?"

"Right now I can't tell you the name of a single one who is worth a damn. I want you to know that I played no role in the election of Andrew Asshole Lodge. That was before my time."

"So . . . why was he elected?" Margeaux said.

"He's a tall, handsome, rich, bully. He'll be a senator before he's 40, unless someone kills him first."

"We can dream," she said. "I'm Margeaux, by the way."

"I'm Jon."

"I know who you are. When Leah sobers up I'll be sure to let her know that when she was a damsel in distress, you were her knight in shining armor."

"I'd rather that you educated her on the risks of getting black-out drunk in a house full of predatory assholes."

"Why not both?"

"OK. Good call."

They were quiet for a moment. Margeaux thought that Jon was a strange kind of boy. He was simultaneously angry, full of gallows humor, and able to function despite being humiliated and surrounded by older students who weren't likely to approve of his interference with another boy's efforts to get laid. "What's going to happen when you go back there?"

"Oh, I'm sure it will be a barrel of monkeys. They'll write songs about it someday."

"I'm serious."

"I don't know, and I'm having a hard time caring. At this moment, I don't even know why I'm still a member of that fucking frat. Maybe it will come to me later."

Margeaux was quiet. "It seems like you're there to rescue damsels in distress."

"Yeah. Sure. That's it. That, and the free beer. Did I mention the beer is free tonight? Be sure to tell Leah that you don't have to drink beer just because it's free."

Margeaux laughed, which got Jon laughing, which felt pretty good after the events of the last 20 minutes. "I have one advantage right now," Jon said. "When I get back to that frat house, I'll be the only sober guy in the room."

"Good to know."

"Good meeting you, Margeaux. I think I'll go get my butt kicked now."

"Good meeting you, Jon. You can sleep on our sofa anytime you want."

Jon got angrier and angrier as he walked back to the fraternity. He tended to make jokes when he was upset, but this wasn't funny. He clenched and unclenched his fists, thinking that it would be nice to spar for a couple of rounds. Boxing always cleared his head. But there were no boxing rings open at that time of night, so he just walked through the door and hoped he could get to his room without an argument.

That was not going to happen.

"Major! Who the hell do you think you are!"

Jon walked slowly and deliberately up to Lodge. "My name is Jon. And you are a worthless piece of shit."

Silence. There were more than two dozen students still at the party. They tried to pretend they were invisible as Lodge and Jon faced off. One of them pulled out his cellphone and began recording a video of the exchange.

"Listen, I didn't make that up," Jon said. "I just heard one of Leah's sorority sisters call you a worthless piece of shit. If you don't already have a nickname, that sounds like a good one. President Worthless Piece of Shit. It's got a nice ring to it, don't you think?"

Lodge barely knew what to say. "I ought to kick your ass," he said finally.

"You've got the talking part done," Jon said, not moving.

Enraged, Lodge decided to teach this little freshman a lesson. Lodge was six inches taller than Jon, 20 pounds heavier, and in terrific condition from his years on the college rowing team. He swung at Jon, who moved back enough to make the punch glance off his chin. Jon hit back, and when Lodge tried to duck it caused Jon's fist to hit him in the center of the forehead. Lodge went down.

Jon was quiet for a moment. "Are you done kicking my ass, or can I go now?" he asked. Lodge was so angry that he got to his feet and lunged. He thought Jon's punch must have been pure luck. Jon braced himself in the stance he'd learned on the boxing team. Lodge swung wildly; Jon ducked so the punch wiffed harmlessly over his head. He hit Lodge hard in the abdomen, knocking the wind out of him. Lodge doubled over, unable to stand up straight as he gasped for his breath.

Jon raised his fist to hit him again. He held back nothing, smacking Lodge squarely in the face. Lodge went down again, blood gushing from his nose and mouth. He coughed over and over, spitting two bloody teeth on the carpet.

"Listen, anytime you want to kick my ass, you can find me in room 14," Jon said. "Good talk." Jon stepped over Lodge's body to head upstairs. He saw the bloody teeth on the carpet. For a reason he didn't understand himself, Jon bent over, picked up the teeth, then put them in his pocket as he walked slowly up the stairs.

Dead silence. The only sound was gurgling moaning coming from Lodge. The boy making the video couldn't believe how lucky he was to get the whole episode on video. His social media account would get a lot of new followers the next day.

Jon had been in dozens of boxing matches, and spent countless hours sparring with other students. But he'd never been in an actual fight before. As soon as he locked his door behind him, Jon began shaking uncontrollably. What had happened was awful. Yes, it was wonderful, but it was also awful, and Jon couldn't believe he'd hurt someone so badly. The fact that Lodge deserved it - that he had attacked Jon, who'd acted in self-defense - was something a rational person would appreciate. Nothing about this felt remotely rational to Jon.

He sat down at the small desk in his little room, trying to calm himself. He thought deep breathing would help. It didn't. But the trembling slowed as the minutes ticked past. At some point Jon realized that his hand hurt - it hurt a lot. He hadn't done any permanent damage to his fist, and he'd be fine in a day or so, but this was the first time Jon had punched anyone without wearing gloves or headgear.

Jon stared at the wall in front of him. More minutes came and went, and finally there was a soft knock on his door. It startled Jon, who had no idea who could be knocking.

It was Frank Stedman, vice president of the frat. "Jon, we're taking Lodge down to the hospital. They can probably put his teeth back if we get there soon enough."

"Whatever," Jon said.

Stedman waited a moment. "Uh . . . we need his teeth, Jon. Where'd you put them?"

Jon looked at him blankly. He'd forgotten about the teeth. "Oh! Right. They were all bloody and gross. I threw them away."

Stedman rolled his eyes, picked up Jon's wastebasket, and looked inside. "I don't see them."

"Not there. I flushed them. I thought they were probably covered in cooties, and the safest thing was to send them to the sewer."

"Jon! What the actual fuck! What is he supposed to do now?"

Jon was quiet for a moment. "If you're trying to get me to feel sorry for that asshole, it ain't working."

Stedman just stood there. "Jon, I voted to admit you to this fraternity."

"Well thanks a whole fucking bunch. I guess I have you to thank for all the bullshit that's gone down since then."

Stedman realized that Jon had a point. If he hadn't joined the frat, his girlfriend wouldn't have attended the party, Lodge wouldn't have abused her, Jon wouldn't have knocked Lodge's teeth out, and the frat wouldn't be in turmoil.

"This is not cool," Stedman said, leaving Jon's room.

Jon locked the door before removing Lodge's bloody teeth from his pocket. Jon thought he might figure out a creative use for them.

XXXXXXX

The story of Jon, who would henceforth be known as the Dentist of Delta Delta Delta, was told through the campus fraternities and sororities all the next day. The video appeared online in the early morning. It seemed that a lot of students knew about Lodge's predatory behavior, and this elevated Jon to heroic status by afternoon. Some of his fraternity brothers stopped avoiding his glance, giving Jon big smiles and thumbs-up as they passed by. When Lodge reappeared, his two missing front teeth had been temporarily replaced with plastic substitutes that weren't the same color or size as the rest of his teeth. Students kept trying to take his picture. Lodge did his best to keep his mouth shut firmly, but he'd forget, then hear the click of a camera. There were some very interesting images circulating on social media that evening. And, of course, that video.

Nobody was happier than the girls of Sigma Rho. To them, Jon was the Defender of Women. This was especially true of Leah, who got the news that the boy who'd rescued her was the same one who'd been practicing dentistry without a license.

She got Jon's number and called him. Jon didn't recognize the number, but he answered anyway, and heard Leah ask "Is this Jon?"

He didn't recognize the voice. "That's me," he said.

"Can I talk to you?" she asked.

"Who is this?"

"I'm Leah. We met last night. I don't remember it very well, but everybody else here says you were the person who got me home."

"Right. How are you today, Leah?"

"It was pretty rough this morning, but I'm OK now."

"Good. I'm glad."

"Can we talk?"

"Sure. I'm in room 14. Come on over."

"Could you come here? I'm not comfortable going there."

"Oh. Right. Of course. See you in five."

When Jon walked into the sorority three girls began screaming like he was some rock star. "It's Jon! It's Jon! Jon's here!!!"

"I like this place a lot better than the frat I joined," Jon said. "Can I be a member here?" More squeals. This felt a lot like being in junior high again. But not in a bad way.

Leah poked her head around the corner, looking sheepish. "Hi Jon."

"Hi Leah. You look a lot better than last night."

She blushed. Leah did that a lot. She had skin so pale it was almost white, with freckles carpeting every inch of her body. When Leah blushed, it wasn't just her cheeks that turned red. Her entire face and neck blushed, and pink continued as far as could be seen down her chest. It was adorable.

Jon followed Leah to her room. Jon sat in the chair and Leah sat on her bed. "I heard that you got into a fight last night."

"I can confirm that."

"I hope you didn't get hurt."

"I'm fine. My fist hurt for a while, but it's good as new today."

"That's good. I would hate it if you got hurt because of me."

"No worries. The only guy who got hurt really needed to get hurt."

"You aren't going to fight him again, are you?"

"I don't know. He's got plenty of teeth left to knock out."

It took a few seconds, then Leah started laughing, and laughing, and it sounded so sweet that Jon laughed too.

"You're a trip," she said.

After they stopped laughing, Leah began saying what she'd wanted to say from the beginning. "From the time I was in high school, I've been warned about people like Andrew Lodge. I've been warned about drinking too much. I've been warned about avoiding the kind of situation I got myself into last night. I feel very stupid."

"You said the same thing to me yesterday. You probably don't remember what I said at the time. You weren't stupid. You were drunk. Period. Andrew Lodge is a practiced, experienced predator. You aren't the first girl to be fooled by his bullshit. I'm just glad I was able to get you out of there," Jon said. "And I'm actually pretty happy about what happened after he punched me. So there's that."

Leah laughed nervously. "I want to tell you something that's kind of embarrassing. I don't know if this makes any difference to you, but it does to me. I'm a virgin. I'm really glad I'm still a virgin this morning. I'm grateful to you."

Wow. Jon thought this was too much information. "Well, I'm glad if you're glad."

"Are you a virgin?"

What the hell kind of question was that? "No. My high school girlfriend and I were deeply in love. I gave up my virginity in the most wonderful way possible. I'm very lucky."

"Are you still together?"

"No. Long story, but we are just friends now. I miss her."

"I never met a boy I felt was someone I wanted to have sex with for the first time." After a moment, she asked, "Do you have a girlfriend?"