High School Valentine

He came to the desserts. There was one piece of chocolate cake left. He reached for it. His hand collided with the blond's hand who also was reaching for it.

"Sorry." They said in unison. They looked each other in the face.

"You take it, Mandy," Ike offered.

"Thanks," she picked up the plate and then, said, "Why should I get it? Is it because I'm a girl? That's sexist. It's the last one. We could share."

She asked herself, "Why did I say that? He'll think I'm hitting on him or I'm some feminist bitch. Quick say something about a neutral subject."

She hurriedly added, "You were impressive in English class today. We could enjoy the cake and talk about Romeo & Juliet."

She cringed and thought, "Great move. Let's sit and talk about one of the world's most famous love stories. That's a safe, neutral topic."

He saw her face blush and a look of terror flashed across her blue eyes. He was amused and intrigued. He said, "Sure."

She led him to an empty table. She castigated herself for having worn a short skirt. "God! Why did I wear this skirt? It's short and tight across my bum. Damn it! I need to do my laundry more often. Maybe he won't notice.".

She turned her head and looked at Ike. He was following her and his eyes were on her ass. He looked up. His face turned red.

"Crap! He's looking," she said to herself.

The two red-faced, eighteen-year-olds sat, ate their lunch, and talked about the play they were studying in English class. Mandy nervously fiddling with her boyfriend's school ring which she wore on her left hand. The more they talked, the more comfortable each felt. They discussed Shakespeare and other English writers who they liked.

When there was a lull in the conversation, Ike asked, "Why did you give out Valentine's Day cards to everyone in homeroom?"

She gushed, "I love Valentine's Day! It's my favorite holiday. I'm a hopeless romantic. I know nowadays girls are supposed to be feminists. I believe in equal rights and equal pay, but come on! The world needs more kindness and more romance wouldn't be bad either.

"I believe that there's good inside all people. I think, when we have the chance, we should do things, little things that make the world a better place. It costs nothing to be polite, kind, and respectful."

Ike smiled and said, "You sound like my coaches."

He saw a look of surprise on her face and said, "I don't know if they are big fans of romantic poets, like of Shelley, Keats, and Byron, but they constantly preach the importance of doing the little things.

"They say winners pay attention to the small stuff like remembering the snap count, making the right read, and putting in the work to be ready to do your job. They also lecture us to be good teammates. Good teammates are virtuous. They are honest, kind, and civil. "

"I don't know what a 'snap' or a 'read' is," Mandy said. "I'm guessing they're sports terms and I don't know much about sports, but I get your point. We agree that small things matter. How you behave and interact with others matters."

She grabbed a knife and cut the chocolate cake. It wasn't a large portion. It yielded two small, bite-sized pieces. She picked one up and popped it into her mouth. Then, she grabbed the other one and held it out for him.

She looked into his kind, soft, brown eyes. He stared into her pale, blue eyes. Neither spoke. Both were nervous and had a funny, butterfly-in-the-stomach feeling.

She froze and wondered, "Why am I doing this? Sure he's handsome, smart and seems like a good guy, but this is an intimate move and I have a boyfriend."

An angry voice boomed behind her. Her boyfriend said, "What's going on?"

Ike reached up and took the bite of cake. He gave her an alibi saying, "Hey, Butch. Mandy was helping me with an assignment from our English class." He ate the cake and said, "The cake was my reward for being a good pupil."

Butch wasn't mollified. He said possessively, "THAT'S my girl." He added, "She is as smart as she is beautiful."

He moved to stand beside her. He leaned down, put a hand on her face, turned it in his direction, and went to kiss her on the lips.

Mandy allowed him a quick kiss and then, squawked, "Stop that!"

When Butch kissed her, the hand that had been on her face dropped. He grabbed and squeezed her boob. She was mortified. She slapped his hand away, got up, and hurried away.

Butch ignored her. He didn't even glance her way. Instead, he smiled at Ike and said, "That's my ring she's wearing. Those are my funbags." Then he turned on his heels and walked away.

^^^

After wrestling practice, Ike gave Keith a ride home. He said, "I had lunch with Mandy Grubb. We talked and shared a piece of cake. I enjoyed being with her. I think she liked it too."

"Good."

"Then Butch came over. He was upset she was sitting with me. I tried to play it off as no big deal. That we were discussing school stuff. That didn't calm him. He made a point of telling me she was his girl. Then, he kissed her and grabbed her boob!"

"In the lunchroom? In front of everyone?"

"We were off to the side and Mandy had her back to most people. I don't think anyone saw it. I think it was a message to her that she's his girlfriend and to me to back off."

"What a dick move, but I'm not surprised. Butch is a tool. I overheard him and his friends talking two weeks ago. Someone asked if he'd screwed Mandy. He said, 'No, but I've been to the mountains! And the view is magnificent!' He brought his hands to his chest and mimed squeezing a girl's boobs. His buddies laughed.

"Then he held up his phone and played a video. I heard a girl moaning, 'Oh. Oh.' The lighting was bad, but I saw a big chested girl lying on her back. It didn't show her face. Her shirt was open. Her bra was around her neck. Some guy was sucking on her tits. The guy pulled off and smiled at the phone. It was Butch. I'm guessing the tits belong to Mandy."

"He taped her and shared it with his friends? Unbelievable!"

"One of they said, 'So you've been to the mountains, have you made it to the valley yet?' Butch said they hadn't fucked and she wouldn't let him feel her up. Then he told this story, 'She's holding out. It's annoying as hell. You know what I did last weekend? I fucked that slut, Barb Niedermeyer, Saturday afternoon. That night I had a date with Mandy. We went to a movie and then I took her to my house. My parents were out. I bugged and bugged her 'til she agreed to give me a bj. She goes down on me and pulls off and said, 'You taste different'. She shrugged and returned to sucking me off. I almost broke out laughing seeing her sucking the combination of my jism and Barb's goo off my dick!'"

"That bastard. He doesn't deserve her," Ike said.

"No girl should be treated that way," Keith agreed.

^^^

That night, Ike lay in bed and thought about Mandy. "For the first time since my breakup with Jan, I've found someone who interests me. She's smart, she's nice, and she's easy to talk to.

"She's also pretty. What's not to like? Blond hair. Blue eyes. Big boobs. Her butt looked great in the tight skirt and her legs aren't bad either. I enjoyed having lunch with her. I think she's a woman of substance. She cares about important things. She's not fixated on her hair or clothes. She doesn't drone on and on about some reality TV personality.

"What does she see in her boyfriend? Butch doesn't care about her. I can't believe he disrespected her by groping her in the lunchroom. The others may not have seen, but he made sure I saw him grab her breast. And that thing with Barb and showing his friends a video of him sucking on Mandy's tits! Damn it! That's no way to treat a girl.

"Maybe she thinks she can't do better or maybe she hasn't had a better offer."

He smiled as a plan formed in his mind. "If she needs an infusion of courage and self-esteem, I can help. And if she needs to know she has options, I'll give her one."

He got out of bed, did some research online, and made a card for her.

^^^

The next morning, Ike drove to school, parked and entered his homeroom. Mandy was sitting at a desk waiting for the morning announcements and for attendance to be taken. He walked by her, dropped a card on her desk, gave her a smile, and without breaking stride, went to his usual desk.

Mandy opened the envelope. The front cover showed an empty bird cage with the door open. Superimposed on the picture were the words, "I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will." Charlotte Bronte "Jane Eyre"

She opened the card and saw other Bronte quotes. The quotes were typed. After them, Ike had handwritten some comments.

"You are human and fallible." Charlotte Bronte "Jane Eyre" Mandy, we all are scared at times and hesitate to make changes, even when the situation we find ourselves in is not good. Be brave. Be bold. Live the life you deserve.

"Honest people don't hide their deed." Emily Bronte "Wuthering Heights" What Butch did in the lunchroom was wrong and disrespectful.

"Your will shall decide your destiny." Charlotte Bronte You deserve a boyfriend who treats you better.

An "Increase of love brings {an} increase of happiness, when it is mutual, and pure..." Anne Bronte "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall" I cannot guarantee that I will be Edward Rochester to your, Jane Eyre, but we'll never know if we don't try.

Years from now, I hope I hear you say Jane Eyre's words, "He was the first to recognize me, and to love what he saw."

I liked the Mandy I had lunch with. She was kind, confident, smart and beautiful. Let's have dinner on Saturday. We can discuss the wisdom of the Bronte sisters. Ike

Mandy looked up after reading the note. She saw Ike smiling at her. The bell rang. Everyone stood, grabbed their things, and headed off to their first class.

Ike exited the room and lingered by the door to talk to her. She can out the room, walked up to him and said, "Who the Hell are you? We've been in the same homeroom for six months. You've never spoken to me and now you're telling me how to live my life and that we should date!"

Her face showed all the signs of being angry. She had a lowered brow, her chin was pushed up and out, and she snarled. Her lips were thin and she bared her teeth as she said, "Did you expect me to get wet, quiver and be thankful that a guy googled some quotes, jotted down a few words, and made me a card? Typical!"

"Typical?" Ike repeated.

"Typical behavior of a cocky, arrogant, womanizing football player. You're big and strong. You're used to having girls throw themselves at you or get weak in the knees when you show them some attention. I'm onto you! I've been there, done that. I'm not making that mistake again."

She huffed, turned on her heels and strode away. Ike stared at her as she marched away and said, "That didn't go as I planned."

^^^

On Saturday, Ike and Julie were up early. They dressed in old clothes and ate breakfast. Ike looked at the clock on the microwave and asked, "Ready to go and do some painting at the Habitat for Humanity house?"

Julie said, "Give me a second. I'm going to use our bathroom one last time, in case they're working on the plumbing. I hate using a Porta Potty."

When she returned, they donned their coats, got in the car and drove to the work site. Ike did carpentry. Julie painted. They were there with 40-50 other people from various churches and community groups rehabbing an old house for a family that needed a home.

Ike walked into a bedroom to get the measurements for the baseboard he was going to install. An unfriendly voice called out, "You! What are you doing here?" It was Mandy Grubb.

There were six women in the room painting. All eyes looked to see who was being castigated. Mandy stood to confront Ike and asked in a loud voice, "Are you stalking me?"

Ike said, "I'm not stalking anyone." He held up his tape measure and said, "I'm here to get some measurements. I didn't know you were in here."

Father Brown entered the room. He was responding to the sound of raised voices. He asked, "Is everything okay?"

"Father," Ike asked, "how long have I and our church's youth group been volunteering for Habitat?"

"Six years. Ever since you and your sister suggested it."

"Thanks," Ike said. "This is a classmate from my school, Mandy Grubb." He gestured to the short, busty girl with the dirty blond hair and said, "Mandy, this is Father Brown, a priest from Holy Redeemer."

The two shook hands and traded "Hello's". Ike said, "She was surprised to see me and mistakenly thought I was here for reasons other than to help a needy family."

He succeeded in embarrassing Mandy. Her face was red. She said, "I'm sorry I made a scene. It's nice to meet you, father." She went back to her painting. The others returned to their tasks. Ike measured the walls and left the room.

Julie was one of the painters in the room. She went to Mandy and asked, "Have you had a bad experience with that guy?"

"Yes. No. I mean he asked me out. I said no because I don't know if I could trust him."

Julie could see the girl was wound up. She said, "Why don't we take a break, get some water, and talk? I'm Julie."

"Thanks. Thoughts are swirling in my head. I'm Mandy but you know that. You saw me being introduced to the priest. God! That was embarrassing."

"Come on," Julie said. She led the young woman out of the room, they got a cup of water, and found a quiet place where they could sit on the floor and talk.

When they were settled, Julie asked, "You said you don't know if you can trust him. Why is that?"

Mandy confessed, "Lots of reasons. For one, the guy I'm dating now isn't treating me great. It's causing me to doubt myself and my ability to judge character."

"I get it. You got it wrong last time why would you do better this round."

"Exactly," Mandy said. "Another reason is I've asked my girlfriends about him and no one can tell me much. He's a mystery. He doesn't go to our parties. He hasn't dated anyone I know so I can't get any info on him."

"I see."

"He's into sports. He was a captain on the football team, but that's hardly a good reference."

"What do you mean?"

"You know how football players are. I dated one. They're full of themselves. A bunch of arrogant bastards. They think they're God's gift to women. They lie. They cheat on you. They live for the next game, the next party, and the next girl they can get in their bed!"

"Wow!" Julie said. "It sounds like you had a terrible experience."

"Yes. The football player I dated, pulled my top down at a party and laughed while all his friends saw my boobs." Mandy teared up recalling that horrible day.

Julie hugged the sobbing teenager and held her until she stopped crying.

"Thanks," Mandy said softly.

When she pulled away, there was paint on her shirt. Julie saw it and said,"Oh. Sorry. Some of the paint I had on my shirt has been transferred to yours."

The bright yellow paint was on her boobs. Mandy looked at it and said, "Don't worry about it. This is an old shirt."

"I guess for a girl like you, with boobs that big, it's inevitable that something lands on them. Paint, food, airplanes."

Mandy was surprised by her words and burst out laughing. Julie joined in. It was cathartic for Mandy. Afterward, she said, "You're funny. I needed a good laugh and you're right. I bump into a lot of things and often end up wearing my meal on my catch-everything chest. No airplanes yet."

The teenagers shared a smile and felt closer to one another.

Julie said, "Many guys are bastards, but many aren't. It has to count as a positive thing that he does charity work. Bad guys don't care about the plight of others."

"Yes."

"Do you know anything about him?"

"He's in one of my classes. He's smart."

"That's good. Anything else?"

"Supposedly he dated a girl at another school for two years."

"That's good too. He's probably a decent guy. If he was a hard-drinking, hard-partying, womanizing jerk, she'd never have dated him that long."

"You're probably right."

"He's not bad-looking and he fills out his shirt and the back of his jeans nicely."

"Well, yes," Mandy answered and then giggled.

"If you want my opinion, I'd say give him a chance. It doesn't sound like the guy you have now is any prize. I'm not saying you should sleep with him, but what's the harm with a couple of dates? Mind you, I am biased. He's my brother."

Mandy was stunned and sat there with her mouth open. Julie smiled and said, "He doesn't smoke anything because he's a serious athlete. Unlike most teenagers, he doesn't drink beer. Not for any moral or health reasons. Carbonated beverages like beer, champagne, and even sodas cause him to hiccup and he can't stop. It embarrasses him so he avoids them.

"He's not a wild and crazy, party-all-the-time guy like a stereotypical jock. It's just not his scene. And he doesn't use and abuse women. He was loyal and faithful to his last girlfriend for two years. She broke up with him because he was the only guy she'd dated. She is young, curious and wants to know what other boys are like.

"If you two date, he won't treat you bad, make you flash his mates, or break your heart."

"Sounds like I misjudged him," Mandy said.

Julie stood, gave her a friendly smile and walked away.

^^^

Saturday around 4 o'clock, Keith came to Ike's house. They grabbed a basketball and talked as they shot hoops in the driveway.

"Ike, a group of us are going ice skating at the Weavers' pond. You should come. Maybe Mandy will be there."

"I'll go, but I'm not interested in seeing her."

"Oh?"

"Thursday we had lunch together and I thought we both enjoyed it. On Friday, I made her a nice card and asked her out. She said 'No.' I was okay with that. It's her decision. This morning, Julie and I went to our Habitat event. Mandy was there and she accused me of stalking her in front of everyone."

"That's harsh," Keith said.

"I didn't know she was going to be there. I was there to help out. She freaked out and called me a stalker. I don't need crazy in my life."

Keith went home. Ike had dinner by himself. His parents had gone out for dinner and a play. His sister was with her friends. Around 9 o'clock he arrived at the Weavers' place. He parked, grabbed his skates and went looking for his friends.

He found Keith and Bunny. The talked and then skated. His friends went to get a beer and he went his own way. He saw Mandy skating with some girlfriends. She looked cute in her white outfit and bright red scarf. He stopped and watched her skate because she was very good. She was one of the few people who was doing jumps. She effortlessly bounded into the air and did a waltz jump, a salchow and then, she skated backward and executed a toe loop.

Ike turned away and walked through the crowd looking for people he knew. He heard Butch's voice and glanced his way. He and his friends were snickering, laughing, and looking at some things on their cell phones. Occasionally, one would say, "Nice!" or "She's hot" or "If she knew, she'd be so pissed!"

Ike bumped into Kenny. The tall, lanky guy said, "Hey. What's up?"

"Nothing much," Ike replied. He gestured with his thumb at Butch and his friends and asked, "Any idea what they are looking at?"

"Those guys and other assholes have made an online file storage site on Dropbox where douchebags can post and share topless and naked photos of girls. Many are girls from our school."

"Really? Why would any girl let that happen?"

"They don't know. Sometimes the guy snaps a picture without them knowing or when they're drunk. Or he begs for a naked selfie, promising never to show it to anyone, and then, he posts it online."

"That has to be illegal. How do they get away with it?"

"These aren't like other pictures on the internet. The only people who can see them are the people in the group. You need to know where to look and you must have the password."