Pinball Wizardess

"We need gas to make it to our next stop on the circuit. We'll just see if it's enough. Hand it over."

"OK," Frank said, and swung his fist full of quarters right at the one guy. He spun, and snap kicked the other in the stomach. Good thing I kept up on my Tae Kwon Doe, he thought. He took the chance, and made a break for the nearest safe place, which was her house.

He ran out of the park, with the two men right behind him. "FREEZE!" came a loud voice, from behind a sudden pair of headlights. Frank stopped, and raised his hands. The two turned and ran back into the park. A police officer walked over to him, and pulled out a pair of handcuffs.

"No, officer," came a familiar feminine voice, "not him. He was protecting me. It was the two men who ran. They were the ones."

"Well, hopefully the car at the other entrance to the park will get them. I can't believe they were dumb enough to try it a second night in a row, at the same place."

"We'll need your statements."

"Yes sir."

"Frank, thanks." Kelly said, after the officers left. "You saved me. Do you want to... come in for some hot chocolate, and unwind, before you go home?"

"I'd like that."

They sat at her kitchen table, sipping hot chocolate. They talked about nothing important, for a while.

Finally, she opened the subject. "Frank. Listen. I'm impressed. I don't know if it was bravery or stupidity, but you took on two men, in the dark, just so I'd have a chance to get away clean. And I'm really glad the police already had the park staked out. I'm worried about what they would have done to you."

"I was more worried," Frank said seriously, "about what they would have done to you."

"I know. And, I don't know how to thank you." She paused. "Actually, I do." And she leaned over, pulled him close, and gave him a long, lingering, kiss.

"That was stupid," she said. "You're still my student. We can't..."

He didn't want to hear any sentence starting with those words right now. So he silenced her, gently, with a second kiss. And then a third. Then she kissed him again. Then they moved to her couch. And pretty soon he lost count of how many kisses there had been.

"Wow, Frank, what were you thinking?' said the student next to him, in his first class the next day.

"What?"

"Are you some kind of vigilante now? Cruising the park, looking to bust the chops of muggers?"

"I just happened to be there, that's all."

"Right. You just happened to be in the park after dark, with the youngest and prettiest professor in the whole school, who you just happen to be taking a class with. I'd say..."

Frank's glare finally penetrated. "OK, you just happened to be there, I'm good." Frank nodded, and turned away.

Frank's notoriety faded fairly quickly. Not everyone just happens to save his professor from being mugged, or worse, in the park. But he was very careful to maintain a strictly formal address to his professor when in class. He studiously avoided her office hours. He would not, he could not, get her fired for 'an inappropriate relationship with a student.'" He even avoided the arcade at the bar. But every time he went for a walk, he ended up going through the park, and staring in the direction of her house.

At the end of Friday's class, Professor Marshall handed him his homework back on his way out. "Oh, Mr. Pierce. Please look at my comments, and decide if you wish to revise your paper. You may have misunderstood an important point."

"Yes, Ma'am," he said. He looked at the paper, back in his room. It was an 'A-', with no major comments. But a sheet with feminine handwriting was stuck between the pages. "I really want to clarify the situation with you. I will be holding 'office hours' tonight; at the place you had the hot chocolate. You are welcome to come; however, this has nothing to do with your grade in the class."

He conscientiously finished his homework after supper, and then went for a walk. He entered the park at dusk. The porch light at the back of the house was on; there was a light on in the kitchen. He went in the back way. Before he even raised his hand to knock, the door was opened.

"Frank, I've tried, and I just can't do it. Get in here."

He went in. "What can't you do?"

"I can't think of you as just another student. This isn't about the class. "

"I know," he answered. "I know you'll give me the grade I deserve, and that you won't upgrade me or downgrade me."

"I promise," she answered. "I've already started grading papers without looking at the names. And, just to be safe, I asked a colleague to check a sample of the midterms. Your paper was in the sample." She smiled. "She actually gave you a grade higher than I gave you. WE both gave you an 'A'. So I know, in my heart, that you will be graded fairly."

"But, going back to a question you raised on the first day of class, I don't want the very good policies the campus has to prevent something, that I think is actually perfectly moral, if it is what we both want."

"I think you were smart to avoid the arcade, and to not show up at office hours. But that means I haven't seen you in a long time, except for in class. And I can't even look at you during class; I'm afraid my eyes would give me away. I've found that I miss you too much. So I thought, if you now and then came to my back door, through the park, we could visit, and still be totally discrete on campus."

"We'll have to stay totally discrete, at least through the rest of the semester, and probably until you graduate. But I don't think I could stand seeing you three times a week, and not be able to talk to you, or touch you, or anything. Are you OK with being my occasional visitor?"

Instead on answering, he opened his arms. She came eagerly into his embrace. They didn't talk much, that first night; mostly, they just snuggled on her couch. The next evening they spent together they chatted more like friends, but they still stayed very close to each other.

He was done his last final. He knew she would want to see him; he went to her house, and saw the light on in the kitchen. He tapped softly on her back door, and entered. She was wearing a soft looking robe. She waved him in. He heard the door click behind him, then a 'snick' like a deadbolt being thrown. He turned to face her, and found the beautiful woman he had been trying not to fall in love with throwing her arms around him, and squeezing tight. His pleasure at her embrace proved he had failed miserably at trying not to fall in love.

"I finished grading the finals."

He nodded. "I know. Promise me you'll give me the grade I deserve, that you won't upgrade me or downgrade me."

"Grades are done. A colleague cross checked some of my finals; you earned your 'A' fair and square."

"We'll have to stay discrete, maybe even until you graduate. But, as of right now, you are no longer my student, and there is no official prohibition on socializing with former students."

"Oh, yes, I like the way you're talking." he said. "For a minute there, I thought I had waited too long to 'check my grade'. In that robe, you look like you're all ready for bed."

She smiled at him. "I am" , she said. "All ready for bed." And she dropped her robe. Underneath, she was wearing a filmy, totally see through negligee, with no panties. "Would you like to tuck me in bed?"

"I can't believe I'm doing this", she whispered in his ear, as he romantically carried her to her bedroom. "Be gentle, you're my first."

"You're my first too," he said truthfully, "and I have no idea what I'm doing." He laid her gently on the bed. She had laid back the cover, there was a candle burning, and there were some interesting looking supplies on her bedside table. She had obviously done some preparations.

Somehow his clothes disappeared, and he was rubbing lotion all over her body. The negligee did absolutely nothing to prevent him from seeing, or touching, any part of her body. He liked caressing her all over her body very much. Then he began kissing her all over her body.

They were both completely inexperienced, but they were comfortable enough with each other, that they could take their time figuring out what they wanted to do, and the best way to do it. Afterwards, they just lay together, as physically close as was possible, and cuddled for a nice long time.

"Do you have any idea why I've asked you to come by my office, today?" asked the Dean.

"No, sir," answered Kelly. "I assume you are about to tell me." 'Please don't let it be about Frank' she thought. 'Please.'

"Miss Marshall, we have certain standards to uphold at this College. While we don't give a long and tedious listing of every way someone could set a bad example for students, we expect you to uphold certain standards. And upholding those standards is not compatible with being seen going into the 'Toolkit', the townie bar, several nights a week. What do you have to say for yourself?"

She barely stopped herself from giving a sigh of relief. "Sir, I do not go into the bar to drink. I go to play pinball. Is there a problem with playing pinball?"

"This is a dry campus. The problem isn't pinball, per se. The problem is a professor, being seen going from a dry campus into the townie bar multiple times per week. It's bad enough the students go there, but to have a professor go there so often, even though you SAY you don't go there to drink, it still gives the wrong impression."

"Sir, the only reason I go to the Toolkit, is to play pinball. It's the only place in town that HAS pinball machines."

"Then I suggest you either stop playing pinball, or find another town that has pinball machines, preferably not in a bar, and preferably not in a place that is known as a place with... undesirable influences for our students. Am I making myself quite clear?"

"Aye, Aye, sir. You have made yourself very clear, sir. Thank you, sir. Will there be anything else today, sir?" 'Captain Bligh doesn't like me playing pinball at the bar' she thought. 'And he can dismiss me for any reason or no reason. I've got to keep my temper.'

He nodded, apparently satisfied. "No, that is all I had for today. Your first semester teaching evaluations looked fine, especially for your Ethics section. I'm glad we got a chance to clear this other matter up. Feel free to come by if you need any help. My door is always open."

She neglected to mention that his door was closed currently. "Then I need to get back to my office. See you at Faculty meeting." And she made good her escape.

"Card, please," said Mike. "Frank, haven't seen you as much recently. And is um, Professor Marshall, um, OK? It's not like her to be gone so long."

Frank glanced around; no one else was coming in. "Off the record?"

"Sure", said Mike.

"The Dean hinted that faculty coming to the Toolkit is a bad example for the students."

Mike snorted, unusual for his normal deadpan expression. "I hope the Dean doesn't know how many faculty and students are regulars here, and not just to play pinball. It could get bad for business. Listen, you need to know. The Boss says, he's tired of high school kids trying to sneak in to the Arcade. He's getting rid of the old Pinball machines. He'll probably keep the other stuff, but you two were the only regulars for pinball. Sorry, Frank."

Frank looked thoughtful for a minute. "So, what happens to the machines?'

Mike shrugged. "I don't know if he'll try to sell them, or just junk them."

"Listen, Mike, I have an idea..."

"Come on Josh, it's a GREAT prank. I just can't do it on my own."

"Yeah, Frank, but the guys on the team who've had her, think she's pretty cool, for a prof. Maybe they won't want to make her mad."

"She won't be mad, I promise. She'll laugh."

"Well, maybe. I'll talk to the guys. If you're sure she'll think it's funny..."

'I'm going into pinball withdrawal', Kelly thought sleepily. ' I swear I heard a pinball 'ding' just now. Makes me want to blow a few quarters, but I can't risk it. Besides, the bar is closed, this late.' She drifted back to sleep, and slept through a few more muffled thuds.

In the morning, she saw something sticking through the mail slot in her front door. It was in perfect format for a student paper in Ethics. The title was 'Ethical Ramifications of Pinball Decision making'. The author was listed as 'A. Student'. It was too short to be a serious paper; half the text seemed to consist of 'See Exhibit A' and 'See Exhibit B'. Very strange, she thought. On a hunch she opened her front door. On her screened in front porch were the two pinball machines from 'The Toolkit'. One was prominently labeled 'Exhibit A'. The other was labeled 'Exhibit B'. She touched each one, to make sure they were both real. "How did he? .... That little rascal."

Students in her first class were surprised at what a good mood she was in that day. On her way home, she bought two heavy duty extension cords from the hardware store. She didn't think it was just coincidence that Frank came in by the front way (instead of the back door) that day. She tried to glare at him, but the grin shone through anyway. She laid off trying to attach the extension cords, and took him into the house without a word. She spent the rest of the evening trying to show, mostly by pantomime, exactly how happy she was with his surprise gifts. It took the neighbors several days to figure out where the bells were coming from in the evenings.

Frank quietly entered her back door. She had told him he no longer needed to knock, when he was expected. "Kelly, guess what?"

She looked up from her spot grading papers at the table. "I don't know, but I guess it's good news. Tell me."

"The computer center got authorization to hire an assistant programmer. I applied, and they actually hired me! They'll pay for some training, but I got the job."

"Wow," she said, stunned.

"That means, next year, I won't be a student. I'll be staff."

"I was so focused on getting through my first year, I hadn't thought about beyond," she said. There was silence.

"Um, Kelly? I kind of thought you would think it was GOOD news. Is something wrong?"

"No, no, nothing's wrong. It's great news, you have a job. I'm sure you're thrilled. It just, your good news just, caught me by surprise, I guess."

Frank frowned. This was not the reaction he had expected. "Well, I just stopped by to share my news. Those papers you're grading remind me I have a research paper to do, so, I'll get going. Is tomorrow good for you?"

"Yeah, Frank, tomorrow. Frank, you seemed so happy, and now you look sad. Am I missing something?"

He shrugged. "No big deal. I'll see you tomorrow." And he left, quietly, back out the door and through the park.

She was still puzzled, but she really had a lot of papers to grade. She was still awake, grading, when the front doorbell rang late in the evening.

She peeked out the window, and saw Mike, the bouncer from the Toolkit, which she hadn't been to in months. She opened the door.

"Mike? What a surprise. Aren't you working? Why are you here?"

"Professor Marshall, I got the manager to cover for me while I took an inebriated customer home. I think you need to hear what I have to say. May I come in for a minute?"

As big as Mike was, she knew him to be gentle, so she had no hesitation letting him in. "Thanks for your part," she waved at the pinball machines, "whatever your part was."

"You are most welcome, lovely lady. It was a pleasure to do a favor for Frank."

"So you wanted to say?"

"Excuse me for being short and direct; I don't want to lose my job, any more than you would want to lose yours. In all the time Frank has been visiting the Toolkit, tonight was the first night Frank ever had a drink other than soda."

"Go on."

"He SAID he was celebrating getting a job. But Frank had too many to drink. And after he got a little wobbly, he kept pulling a little box out of his pocket, and sniffling. He said things like, 'She's too good for me'; 'I'm not anywhere near her level'; 'I thought she was the one.'"

"Now, even though he usually only gets sodas, I consider Frank to be a regular. And so I got the manager to cover for me, and I drove Frank back to his room, and made him lie down. The manager doesn't want any trouble with the campus, so he covers for me when I say it needs to be done."

"So I'm telling you about it."

"Um, thanks, but why do you think I need to know? Just curious."

He fixed her with the stare that had sent freshmen with badly faked IDs running for years. "Did you see him earlier tonight?"

She blushed. "yes," she admitted.

"Was he happy when he first saw you?"

"Yes," she nodded.

"Did he seem sad when he left you?"

"Yes," she said, thinking.

"Professor Marshall, I spent many years at the bar. And when a guy carrying a little box like that starts drinking too much and bawling in that particular manner, it almost always has to do with the lady he has just seen, before arriving at the bar. So use your professorial brain, and see if you can figure out what made him sad between when he arrived to see you and when he left."

"Um, maybe it's too late at night for my professorial brain to be working, but what is this about a little box?"

Mike's deadpan look gave way to a faint hint of pity. "Your professorial brain needs a hint?" She nodded. "So maybe you never even saw the box. It was an itty bitty box, like you get from a jewelry store, where they sell earrings, necklaces, and rings. Have you ever seen Frank wear an earring or a necklace?" She shook her head. "Neither have I. Now I hope that's enough of a hint, because I got to get back to work. The manager needs me back doing my job. I don't know what the right thing is for you to do, but you're smart; you'll figure out the right thing to do, whatever that is, and do it. Good night. Glad you enjoyed your presents," he said, waving at the pinball machines. "I think Frank had one more present he wanted to give you, but something made him change his mind. Good night." With that, he actually bowed, and walked out the door. After a minute, she heard a car start up, and drive off.

'He was SO happy about his job offer,' she thought, 'and he expected me to be just as happy. Then he suddenly turned sad, because I wasn't happy. But wasn't Mike hinting that Frank was going to give me a gift? Why would Mike give ME a gift because HE got a job? I don't need anymore earrings, I don't wear necklaces often, .... OH. He got a job that would let him STAY IN TOWN and he got me a ... ring? OH, A RING. Oh, my GOODNESS.'

She knew exactly where he lived, and that, as a senior, he had a single room. She had never been to visit him; the Dean would have had a fit. But she knew what she had to do.

There was enough movement in and out of his house that she did not worry about getting in, even in the middle of the night on a Friday night. She was there barely a minute when a young lady came quietly out the back door. Her blouse was not quite buttoned right. Kelly caught the door, and pulled it back open. A young man standing there looked at her wide eyed. "Um, excuse, me, but visiting hours are over."

She gave him her best glare, and said, "no, they MUST still be on, otherwise your... friend, that I just saw leaving, would have been long gone. RIGHT?"

"Um, right. What was I thinking. Of course, it must still be visiting hours. Yes, Ma'am."

"Of course, it doesn't really matter," she said sweetly. "I'm not visiting, anyway."

"Of course not," he agreed, with a puzzled look on his face. She disappeared up the stairwell before he came up with anything else to say. She hoped he hadn't recognized her, but he'd probably not say anything, anyway.

As she suspected, neither Mike nor Frank had thought to lock Mike's room. She slipped in. He was sound asleep. She almost left him to sleep it out, but the opportunity was too good to pass up. She turned on the light. She picked his discarded jeans off the floor. Sure enough, there was a little box in the pocket.