Undercover
She was waiting for him at the bottom of the steps again. Mina, with her red hair and rusty bicycle - a FIVE-MINUTE fiction
“William, it’s 4:30. Time to go home, kid! I have to lock up.”
“Yeah, okay, Mr. Greene, I’m going. Give me one minute, okay? I’ve just got to finish cleaning these brushes.”
“Let me see what you’re working on.”
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
“May I see? Whoa! William! This is … good stuff. It’s remarkable for someone your age. You’ve really got something going on here.”
“Nah, it’s nothing, it’s not finished,” he said again, shaking his head.
“It is not nothing. Listen to me - you have a real future, young man, if you keep this up. I hope you understand that.”
William mumbled, dabbed at his hands with a rag, and grabbed his backpack. “Thanks, old man. See you tomorrow.” Mr. Greene laughed at the epithet. He was a good guy, a teacher that paid attention.
Wiliam sprinted down the empty hallway, crashed into the bar on the double doors and stepped out into the late afternoon sun. And there she was, waiting for him at the bottom of the steps again. Mina, with her red hair, her overloaded book bag, and her rusty old bicycle. It was the third time this week. I don’t get it, he thought. What does she want?
“Willie Boy! Hey, you’ve got green stuff all over your face.”
“Yeah? It’s paint. I was in the art room.”
“You’re in the art room a lot.”
“How do you know where I am a lot, Mina?”
“I’ve been stalking you.”
“Well, yeah, I know that. I’ve been wondering ....”
“You want to go get ice cream or something?”
“Ice cream? Uh... no. I need to get home, check on my little brothers ...”
“Come on, Wills, walk with me. It’s on the way.”
She pushed her bicycle along the road, the front wheel squeaking like a strangled parrot with every revolution. “You need to fix that,” he said. “It’s irritating.” Her pack was so full of textbooks, it barely fit in the basket.
They didn’t know each other very well, not really. They were both seniors, and in the same Lit class. They lived in the same neighborhood. She was a total nerd... not in a bad way, just sort of a loner, like himself, except she was smart.
They sat on top of the picnic table in front of the Dairy-Queen, licking huge Peanut-Busters. The taste of chocolate mixed with the exhaust fumes from the constant traffic passing by was not ideal. A stray dog sat down next to them, scratching his fleas and keeping an eye out, hoping they’d offer him a slurp.
Mina couldn’t seem to stop talking, almost as if she were starved for an audience. She’s pretty funny, he thought, cute, sort of, if you like geek-weird. Her bent glasses kept slipping down her nose liked they were looking for somewhere else to live. She pushed them back up, and absent-mindedly pulled at strands of her curly hair. He noticed her jacket was buttoned unevenly, one hole skipped. It suited her.
“Okay, Mina ... hold it. Could you stop for a minute. What’s going on here?”
“What?”
“Why are you talking to me? We’ve been neighbors since third grade. Why are you hanging out with me all of a sudden? You never did before.”
“I’ve always liked you, William,” she teased.
“Yeah, right, but really.”
“Well, I figured you were never going to notice me, and time’s running out, so I just decided to make my move. I asked myself, ‘Mina what’s the worst thing that could happen?’ and then I thought, what the fuck? I don’t care. I just like you.”
“You don’t even know me, Mina. No one in this school knows me, really. I’m like — invisible. ‘William, the Invisible Student’. For over three years, I’ve shown up every day, turned in my work, and tried not to be noticed. That’s all.
“Well, sorry, but I noticed you.”
“You know, I sometimes feel like everything in that school is irrelevant, like a major waste of time. You ever feel like that?
“Of course I do, dick-head. We all do! It is irrelevant — when you’re seventeen, but it won’t be later. You gotta take a look at the big picture, Willie.”
“I swear, sometimes my head feels like it is about to explode. I mean, the only time I feel alive is in the art room. I’m in there after school every day until they kick me out.”
“Yeah, I know. Like I said, I’ve been stalking you.”
He jumped off the table. “Let’s get out of here. And don’t call me Willie.”
They turned off the road through a small gate, to take the short cut home along the creek. “Hold my bike a sec,” she said, and bent to tie her shoe. He watched her, amused. One of her socks was yellow, the other one red.
They walked the grassy path single file for a few minutes, not saying anything. The air smelled like cow dung, the squabbling of territorial crows and blue jays scraped against the sky like fingernails on slate. William watched her ahead of him, rolling her decrepit bike through the weeds. She looked back and made a face at him. Then she turned off the path, threw her bike down in the wild mustard, and stepped down toward the creek. She took off her shoes and socks and rolled up her jeans.
They waded around in the cold water, the rounded flat stones smooth and slippery under their feet. Their toes turned a little blue.
“Tell me,” he asked, “exactly why are we doing this?”
“Dude! You need a reason?” She threw her hands into the air and shouted, “It’s revivifying!”
“It’s what?”
“Revivifying! Google it, fuzz-brain.” She left the creek and dried her feet on her jacket.
“So … graduation in eight months,” he said. “What are you doing next year? Going to school or what?”
“Yeah. I got into Cal Tech. Pasadena. Big woo...”
“Why there?”
She shrugged. “Good physics department.”
“Physics. I’m impressed. But … that’s got to be pretty expensive, right.”
“You bet! But I have scholarships. Almost a free ride – no loans. I can’t believe it.”
“How’d you swing that?”
“I sent in seventeen applications for grants and stuff, and I won five. It adds up.
“Holy crap! Ah, well, you’re so smart, I’m not surprised.”
“William? Seriously? The money is out there. There are tons of scholarships offered every year that kids don’t even bother to apply for, so many people just trying to give you money so you can go to school. All you have to do is spend a serious couple of weeks finding ones that are a good match, and then do a mountain of paper work. It is amazing how much help I found.”
“Yeah?”
“I’m telling you — it’s not that hard. In the school library, there are three fat binders of current scholarship and grant offers. I’ll help you if you want, it’d be fun. I mean – really! If you want to be a graphic artist, you have to get out of this town. And you’ll need to get on it soon or you’re gonna be left behind here in Placer county forever.
“Mina! Come in, sit down. She handed Mr. Greene an apple with a grin, and sat on a paint-spattered stool.
“So? Tell me how your William Project’s going? You making any headway?
“It’s all good, Mr. Greene. I’ve been working with him every afternoon in the library, helping him get his applications ready to send out. We found some really strong possibilities — a few groups that want to fund artists, a couple wanting to help Native American kids and a couple more that are aimed at helping kids from single-parent homes. We also contacted the local Kiwanis and the Elks and the Rotary Club. And he’s applied for a Pell Grant, and the best thing of all: if he wins any of this financial aid, none of it has to be paid back. No loans - just scholarships.
“That’s a lot of searching and organizing of paperwork! I’m proud of you both. And what about schools?”
“He’s applied to four different colleges in California, but he’s hoping for CCA in San Francisco. They are looking at his work even as we speak! I think he’s pretty excited, but it’s hard to tell with him. He’s pretty chill.
Mr. Greene shook his head. leaned back in his chair and propped his foot up on the open bottom drawer. She helped herself to jelly beans from the jar on his desk. “Mina, you know William’s a smart kid, and undeniably talented, but he never would have gotten this together on his own. You’re a good friend, spending all this time with him. I hope you know you’re making a difference in his life.”
“Well … I have ulterior motives, Mr Greene. Ulterior motives.”
“Oh, yes?”
“Yeah, you see, William’s going to marry me someday. I mean, he doesn’t know that yet, but he will. And I’m not going to marry a man who is unhappy with his life just because he never even tried to make his dream come true.”
Hi Sharron, What a great story. It brings back so many memories. I was 12 when I met Dan and he was always the one. I love your new picture.
Love stories like this. And you did a wonderful job with these young voices! Thank you for sharing. Nice to see your face today, too!