Mr. E. (Scaled Back)

Disclaimer: This story is intended for mature audiences. If you are under the appropriate age to view such material in your area, or are offended by stories containing sexual content, then please reframe from reading this submission.

Note from author: I had intended to finish this story much sooner, but my editors had a mild disagreement about its content. Khepri94447, who edited my last piece, felt that I went overboard in creating my main character. She suggested that a more scaled back version of this story might appeal to a wider audience. My second editor, Dawn, liked my original story arguing that most fiction tends to contain more dramatic content. Being able to see both sides of their dispute I decided to submit two different versions of this story. Mr. E. (over the top) is my original manuscript. This version presents circumstances that, although are highly unlikely to occur in real life, were fun to write, and hopefully even more enjoyable to read.

Mr. E. (Scaled back) is a modified version of the story which intends to attract readers who adhere to more conventional plots. Whether you're a free spirit with a wild imagination or a realist who prefers more believable content, I hope that at least one version of Mr. E. appeals to you. /

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Public image is that tiny portion of ourselves that we allow others to see while we try to mask those unsightly traits of our personality which we are too afraid, embarrassed, or shy, to have revealed. How well we truly know someone is often not an easy question to answer honestly, as everyone seems to have something that they would rather keep hidden from the world around them. On the surface Trent Hamilton appeared to be the average high school nerd. He was always reading, never bothering to socialize with anyone, participate in extracurricular activities, or even date. Trent was constantly being harassed by the parade of jocks that seemed to rule the school and everyone in it. Even the teachers would often look the other way while this badgering took place. It is not surprising that Trent hated high school. He hated everything about it, well almost everything. His school did have one redeeming quality to it, and her name was Becky.

Becky Watson was the captain of the girls cheerleading squad. She was a blond hair, blue eyes goddess that to Trent was the epitome in which all young ladies should be measured against. Unlike the other popular girls in school, Becky was always nice to him, but he knew that is as far as it would ever go. She was dating one of the jerks on the football team that was constantly harassing him, and Trent was sure that if they ever broke up she would have a line of guys waiting in the wing just itching to take his place. Knowing this, unfortunately, did nothing to squelch the huge crush Trent had on her, or the fact that he truly cared for her well being.

One day while he was in the library studying, Tent accidently overheard a conversation between Becky and Stacy Anderson.

"So Becky, how did the career day go for you," She asked?

"Not very well I'm afraid," Becky meekly replied.

"Why not, I thought you had your heart set on becoming a nurse," Stacy asked?

"I do, but the councilor said that it is very tough to earn a scholarship from cheerleading. My grades are good, but unfortunately not high enough to be considered for an academic scholarship either. My Mom just doesn't make enough money to help me out, and since my Dad left her before I was born, I guess that I am just on my own," Becky replied disheartened.

To Trent this news was heart wrenching. He attended several of Becky's classes, and knew that she was a very smart girl. It was not her fault that her family was not well off. She deserved a chance to succeed in life and he was now determined to see that she got it.

Trent started researching athletic scholarships and was discouraged to find that her councilor's assessment of them was pretty accurate. Digging a little deeper he learned that even though there was money available for cheerleaders, it usually only went to girls from well-known schools. The scouts seemed to travel in pairs, only visiting facilities with winning sports teams. He discovered that it was far more likely for Becky to be offered assistance if they had a prize winning football team.

Although not being a sports enthusiast himself, Trent was all too familiar with the game of football. Having been drug to the stadium on countless occasions by his dad and granddad on his father's side, who were not only avid fans of the game, but also ex-high school players, Trent from an early age had to endure many bone chilling afternoons perched upon a half frozen bleacher bench, even though he would have much rather been curled up in the warmth of his bedroom with a good book. Trent knew his personality favored his grandfather from his moms' side of the family. The man was a semi-retired country doctor. Trent had always wanted to follow in his grandfather's footsteps and study medicine. His dad, on the other hand thought that he needed some toughening up, and would often criticize the boy for everything from being too thin to spending all his time studying.

Trent's dad tried numerous times to get his son involved in the sport, but to no avail. At the insistence of his father, Trent tried out for the team on several occasions, but he was rejected each time. If truth be known, Trent really didn't try all that hard. He only went out for auditions to appease his father. Trent did; however, manage to learn the game of football quite well. Since he was able to actively talk about sports, Trent's father took this as a sign his son was trying to abide by his wishes. This managed to keep Trent's dad off his back, at least to a degree that is.

Being unable to come up with any other possible solution to Becky's problem, Trent decided that his best course of action was to help insure that not only Becky and her other teammates became the absolute best cheerleaders that any high school has ever seen, but he would also have to try and help the jocks he had come to despise, become state champions. This was not going to be an easy task, as Trent had watched them play on numerous occasions with his father. He thought that although a few of the players had the potential to be stars, they would never achieve that goal while following the advice of their present coach. Realizing that they would never take direction from him, regardless of how good it was, Trent resolved to use a little play on words and in doing so the infamous Mr. E. was born.

Setting out to learn everything he could about football and cheerleading, Trent started to formulate plays and choreograph cheers. He would always print them out, and then made sure that the respective coaches would find his little gifts, which were always addressed "Mr. E.".

At first his suggestions were just dismissed as someone's elaborate prank, but it wasn't long before the coaches started to notice the sheer genius in his methods. When they began to use his plays, and subsequently started to win most of their games, the school began to buzz about their mysterious benefactor. When the cheerleading squad added his detailed chorography to their tumbling acts it created a style that was, quite frankly, unsurpassed by any other team.

Word eventually leaked to the press about the unidentified stranger who kept providing the unique strategies; soon the hype was creating quite a stir. Coaches and scouts were beginning to take notice as fans started packing the stands for every game. Trent had to become very creative, in not only developing his plays and cheers, but also in the methods he used to deliver them. The last thing he wanted was to be found out and exposed as Mr. E.

Everything seemed to be going quite well. With the new direction in coaching, the jocks started to gain confidence in their abilities. For her part, Becky and her teammates were beginning to step up their cheer routines which were now starting to garner the attention of visiting scouts. It was just about this time that a minor disaster threatened to destroy everything. Greg Stevens, the team's star quarterback had managed to let his grade in geometry slip below the mandated C requirement to maintain eligibility for extracurricular activities. Greg's midterm test was in two weeks, and if he didn't manage to score at least a high B on it, he would be benched from the game the following Saturday. This created a real problem, as without Greg's help the team would likely lose and not be able to advance to the state championship playoffs.

Naturally having helped many students in the past, Trent's name was among the first to be suggested by Greg's teacher Mr. Jenkins, as a possible tutor. Neither of the boys were real receptive to the idea of working together at first, but they both knew that this was Greg's best chance for passing his test and they each had their own agendas for wanting that to happen.

So it was settled, the two would meet at Trent's house at about 5:30 or 6:00 after Greg finished with football practice. At around 4:30, Trent was just returning from the rest room when he noticed the quarterback standing there waiting for him.

"Um the coach said that passing this test was more important than practice, so he let me go early. Your parents said to just go on up to your room," Greg explained.

"OK. That's fine," Trent cringed knowing that he had left his computer screen on.

"So would you like to explain that," Greg asked pointing towards the monitor?

"I think that it is pretty self-explanatory, don't you," He asked?

"I don't believe it! You're Mr. E.," Greg asked?

"It would appear so," Trent replied.

"I don't understand. Why would someone like you want to help us out," Greg asked bewildered?

"I have my reasons," Trent replied.

"That is not good enough," Greg said.

"Look, if you want my help studying then you will keep my secret," Trent said a bit heated.

"It won't matter anyway, because until I find out what your motives are for helping us; I won't be able to concentrate on anything else," Greg stated.

Knowing the quarterback was probably telling the truth, Trent decided to bite the bullet and give in.

"Alright, but if I share this with you I need to be assured that it stays strictly between the two of us," Trent demanded.

"Ok I promise I won't tell a sole. Now why did you become this Mr. E.," Greg asked?

"Well I guess the truth of the matter is that I just couldn't help who I fell in love with," Trent replied.

Backing away from the young man, Greg asked in horror, "You're in love, with one of us?"

"Not one of the guy on your team, you idiot, I am in love with Becky," Trent admitted out loud for the first time ever.

"Becky, Becky Watson," Greg asked in astonishment?

"Do you know of another, of course I mean Becky Watson," Trent said a bit annoyed.

"Ok, I can't fault you for bad taste, but how did you go from loving Becky, to helping out the guys on our team," Greg asked still confused?

"Well one day I accidentally overheard Becky tell Stacy that she probably wouldn't be able to go to nursing school, because the councilor said that it would be nearly impossible to earn a scholarship for cheerleading. Her grades were decent, but not quite good enough to get her there academically, and her mother just couldn't afford to help out. I decided to take it upon myself to try and find her a scholarship or grant that the councilor may have overlooked, but I ran into the same difficulties that he did. Determined not to fail, I learned everything there was to know about cheerleading, which turned out to be a lot more fun than I originally conceived it would be, if you know what I mean. I came up with cheers that not only featured Becky, but were far beyond anything that the other high schools were attempting at the time. My next big hurdle came when I discovered that because of limited budgets, the few cheerleading scouts that were out there almost always car pooled with other coaches. Since our basketball team pretty much sucks, my only choice was to focus on you football jocks," Trent explained.

"So let me get this straight. You started feeding us plays in order to make us good enough to attract college scouts, in hopes of earning Becky a cheerleading scholarship," Greg asked totally stunned?

"Yes, that was pretty much my plan," Trent replied.

"How did you come up with Mr. E," He asked?

"Well I thought it was a cool play on words. If I would have just given you guys the plays, you would have probably ripped them up in my face without taking into account their possible potential. Even your coach treats me like shit. I figured if they were left anonymously, you guys might at least give them some consideration," He said.

"You are probably right. Looking back, I must admit that is exactly what any of us would have done. How did you manage to come up with such great plays anyway," Greg wanted to know?

I already knew quite a bit about football from the years that my dad had forced me to go with him to every possible game he could get tickets to. Basic physics states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. I began to plug in that theory whenever I was studying a play. I went back and researched some of what was deemed as the greatest games of all time. After sorting through all of that knowledge, I was able to come up with plays that, quite frankly, were well beyond what most average high school coaches were teaching. Your practice and skill level took care of the rest," Trent explained.

"Is that why you decided to help me study, so that I can attract scouts for Becky," Greg asked?

"Pretty much, if you make it to the state playoffs there will be a lot of scouts watching that game. Becky will almost be assured of receiving a scholarship if you win," Trent pointed out.

"I guess that you are just using me then," Greg asked?

"So what if I am? You're getting what you want out of the deal. Does it really matter that we each have our own individual agendas for wanting you to succeed? Let's not kid ourselves and pretend that you came over here today for any other reason than to receive my help cramming for your test," Trent said.

Following their talk, Trent decided to give the quarterback a few test questions, to help determine where Greg's main problem areas lied. After explaining where he went wrong, the young man really started to comprehend the new material.

"I think with a few more of these study sessions you will be able to go in and ace that test," Trent said confidently.

"Dude, I feel like I am really starting to understand this stuff! Man, I just don't know how to thank you," Greg exclaimed!

"Just promise that you will keep my secret," Trent asked?

"You have my word on it," Greg replied.

With that being said, the two bade each other farewell for the evening with plans to meet a few more times before the test. Trent was of mixed emotions with what happened tonight. He may show up tomorrow the laughing stock of the entire school. Trent was always taught to trust his instincts, and for whatever reason he actually believed that Greg would not betray him.

The next day passed as it normally would without Trent being able to detect any unusual snickers or stares. The one unexpected thing that did occur was that the football coach came up and personally thanked Trent for helping Greg. The guy was still an asshole, but at least he was making an effort, and so Trent graciously accepted his gratitude.

Greg visited a few more times, and when it came time to take the test he aced it as Trent had predicted he would. His teacher became leery of the quarterback's sudden improvement, but the young man was easily able to prove he did not cheat, by answering a few separate questions on the blackboard that were not on his test paper. Mr. Jenkins was forced to give Greg extra credit points for the questions that he answered correctly on the board. This helped bring up his previous test score that he had done so poorly on.

"Dude, that was a hell of a game," Trent said as he caught the quarterback coming out of the gymnasium.

"I can't believe you showed up," Greg replied.

"Well believe it or not, I am really starting to get hooked on football," Trent said much to his own amazement.

"By the way congratulations on acing your test," Trent said.

"Man you should have seen the look on Jenkins face when I completed those extra questions right in front of him. The dude looked like he wanted to crawl under his desk," Greg exclaimed!

"Hey man, why don't you come to my celebration party next Saturday," Greg asked?

"I don't know dude, I am not exactly the parting type, and besides the last thing I need to see is Tim hanging all over Becky," Trent answered.

"Becky won't even be there. She has to go out of town with her folks that weekend," Greg replied.

"I don't know," Trent started to say looking for a reason to decline the invitation.

"Come on man, we will have a great time. My parents won't allow any alcohol, so you don't have to worry about that. Bring your suit. We have a pool and hot tub. Good music and I have already told the guys that I am going to invite you. They know what you did to help me pass the test, and they promised not to bother you if you come," Greg said.

"Well, I guess; I could attend for a little while, but I don't know about the swim suit thing. Watching some of the girls in their sexy bikinis could prove most embarrassing," Trent answered.

"Yeah tell me about it," Greg said smiling.

And so it was settled. Trent was due to attend his first upper class high school party. He wondered as he drove home just how in the hell he kept managing to get himself into these predicaments.

"Hey man you made it," Greg said as he answered the door.

"I told you I would," Trent replied.

"Yeah, but this time I must admit I had my doubts. Well enough about that. The party's out back. There are burgers by the grill, sodas in the fridge, and snacks on the table. The bathroom is up stairs on the right, and my room is across from it on the left. You can change now, or just drop your bag in my room and go enjoy the view, if you know what I mean," Greg said as they headed towards the stairs.

"What's that nerd doing here," Tim asked as he came around the corner?

"Lay off Tim, I told you I invited him," Greg said.

"Yeah, but I never thought he'd be stupid enough to show up," Tim replied arrogantly.

"Trent is my guest tonight, and if you don't like it you don't have to stay," Greg hotly replied.

"Yeah whatever dude," Tim said walking away.

"I'm really sorry about that," Greg apologized.

"Man, it's not your fault that some people take longer to grow up than others. I really appreciate that you invited me, and I am not going to let one asshole spoil my good time," Trent said smiling.

"I still don't understand what a girl like Becky sees in someone like him," Greg said honestly.

"Neither do I, but then again I am not a teenage girl," Trent replied.

Many of the people there knew that he helped Greg pass his geometry exam, and a lot of them were grateful to him for doing so. The game that they had won last week was an important one, and it would have likely gone very different had their star quarterback not been able to play. For the most part, people treated the young man well, but there were a few, who although acted civil towards him, exuded the impression that "the nerd" was intruding where he didn't belong. Trent took it all in stride, realizing that he had in fact helped to create this wall between himself and his peers by hiding behind the nerd persona.

After having had enough to eat, Trent tried for the first time to mingle with his fellow classmates. Although, in the beginning, it seemed difficult for him to initiate a conversation with people he had spent years trying to avoid, Trent eventually discovered that he did in fact share many of the same interest as his peers. Though he was not exactly the life of the party, Trent had to admit that he was actually having a good time. That was until he strolled into the living room and managed to catch a glimpse of Tim Brown, Becky's longtime boyfriend walking up the stairs towards the bedrooms with his hand on the ass of the schools unofficial slut Dory Simmons. It was obvious by the way the two were leering at each other what was about to happen.