General Fiction posted January 14, 2024

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The ex-girlfriend calls

A chapter in the book What We See

What We See - Chapter 3A

by Jim Wile

Background
A high school teacher wrongly accused of sexual assault reinvents his life.

Recap of Chapter 2: David leaves in a state of shock, having been blamed for the assault on his student Tina Cassidy. He especially laments his slip of the tongue in which he says he loves Tina. We learn that he has mild dyslexia and meant to say he loves teaching. That evening, he calls his friend, Bobby Harken, who tells him it’s all over the school now. Bobby believes David is innocent but tells him he should begin thinking about another job. He also tells David that Tina’s mother, Suzie, is messing around with Principal Pinkham and that Pinkham is running for school superintendent, which may doom David’s chances.

Chapter 3A

I petted Archie until he’d had enough and started biting my fingers. He jumped down then and headed into the living room, where he would likely stake out a position on the sofa and groom himself for the next 20 minutes. I grabbed a beer from the refrigerator, followed him in there, and sat down on my recliner to think.

I live alone in a house on Vernon Street in a quiet, well-kept neighborhood in Grantham—a mid-size town of about 25,000 in northern Indiana. Mature oaks and maples line portions of Vernon Street on both sides, not quite making a solid canopy overhead. Most of the houses are two-story Cape Cods mixed in with craftsman-style houses. The street has curbs on both sides and well-kept lawns for the most part. My house used to belong to my mother and stepfather before they died together in an automobile accident as they were heading south for a vacation. This was during my senior year at IU in 1980. The house was bequeathed to me, which influenced my decision to apply to Grove Park High as a science teacher. When I got the job, I moved into the house.

I sat there, drinking my beer, and thinking about what Bobby had told me. I hadn’t known Pinkham was going for the superintendent’s job; I didn’t even know the job was open. This did not bode well for me because it was Pinkham who had hired me, and he wouldn’t want this incident to get out because of the possible blowback to him. How would it look for him if people knew he’d hired a pervert who fools around with his students? Wouldn’t that impugn his judgment?

And if he and Suzie really are a thing, wouldn’t she insist that he get rid of me? From the few times I’ve seen Suzie and Tina together, they appear to have a good relationship. Most certainly, she would believe her daughter over me. She’s already called me a pervert.

I am so screwed. Is there anything that would sway Pinkham into believing my version over Tina and Suzie’s? Perhaps it would be to my advantage if the police were to get involved. Maybe a thorough investigation would reveal something I haven’t thought of, or maybe, under intense questioning, Tina would fold. More likely, I would blither something stupid like that “I love Tina” remark.

I glanced over at Archie, who had finished his grooming and was now curled up on the couch, sleeping. What a simple life he leads without any of the worries of a reputation to uphold. This could ruin me if it doesn’t go my way. Even if it does, there will always be suspicion planted in people’s minds about who’s telling the truth. How do you come out of a situation like this intact when it’s one person’s word against another and there’s no evidence to support you? And how do you prove you didn’t do something? Proving a negative is much more difficult than proving a positive. You can only hope that people who know you will believe you and won’t believe your accuser.

I don’t know what most people really think about Tina. There’s no doubt she’s hot, with a body to rival a swimsuit model, which she shows off by wearing the tightest jeans or the shortest skirts. She has long, wavy blond hair and a pouty, sexy face, but she strikes me as an unkind, sarcastic bully of a kid. I’ve heard her make fun of girls who weren’t in her circle of friends. She reminds me of the kids who used to tease me in school because I had trouble reading and expressing myself without fumbling my words from time to time.

She’s one of the “cool kids” at the center of her circle of friends. They all seem to love her and suck up to her—big time—hoping they will be seen as cool if they are friends with her. She’s never been one of my favorites, but I’ve never said anything negative toward her. Why would she do this to me? Is she that mean and spiteful that she’d be willing to destroy my reputation and possibly get me arrested just because I rejected her advances? She could get any boy she wanted. Why did she choose me to go after? I don’t think I come across as a player, and I’ve never flirted with her, as she pointed out to me that night. I don’t get it.

As I sat there mulling this over and over, the phone rang. It was Diane, my ex-girlfriend, who I’d broken up with last month. She was an art teacher at Grove Park High.

“David, what’s this I’m hearing about you and Tina Cassidy? The rumor mill is at full churn.”

“I don’t know what you’ve heard, Diane, but I haven’t done anything wrong. Tina is spreading lies about me, and I don’t know why.”

“Did you invite her to your house?”

“No! She came here on her own—under false premises… pretenses.”

“She’s saying you tried to get her stoned and seduce her.”

“That’s all bullshit, Diane. It was nothing like that. One, you know I don’t smoke pot. Two, you know I’m shy. Remember, it was you who first pursued me? And three, she tried to seduce me, not the other way around. I refused her, and she left in a huff.”

“How did she get the bruises around her neck, David?”

“It wasn’t from me. I don’t know how she got them. Look, you know me. Do you think I would do something like what she’s accusing me of?”

She hesitated for a moment before saying, “No, of course not. But—”

“But what? And why the hesitation before you answered, Diane?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think you did it, but how can I be positive? You and I certainly had our differences, but toward the end, it didn’t seem like you were trying very hard, and you didn’t want to fool around anymore, and—”

“Okay, I think I see now. This is about you. I must have wanted some hot, young thing because I was tired of an older woman. It couldn’t be that our differences were just too great to overlook anymore. It had to be that I was horny for a 16-year-old.”

“That’s not what I’m saying, David.”

“Well, what are you saying?”

“I don’t know. It’s just… Look, what are you planning to do about this?”

“Do? What can I do now? I’ve got to wait to see what’s going to happen first. Earl said he would call me this weekend to tell me what he’s decided. I’ve got to see what he has to say first. Maybe Tina will recant.”

“Not likely. You know Suzie is going to put pressure on Earl to fire you. You know they’re sleeping together, don’t you?”

“So I’ve been told.”

“Well, you’ve got to stand up for yourself. Figure something out. Don’t let him railroad you over this if you didn’t do it.”

“If I didn’t do it?” This was starting to piss me off now. I would hope she knew me well enough to know I didn’t do it. “Why did you call, Diane? Just to rub it in for breaking up with you?”

“David, I’m not that petty. I still like you, and I thought you might need a friend to talk to. You could probably use a few friends now. People tend to believe the worst.”

“Yes, they do, but I think I’m done talking about it for now. Thanks for calling. I’ll see you.” and I hung up.

Jeez! That was really helpful. That was so typical of us at the end. “What are you going to do about it?” “Stand up for yourself!” Thanks, Diane. Real easy to say. Not so easy to do with something like this. All I can do is present my side and hope folks have enough trust in me to believe me.

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Recognized

Chapter 3 is almost 2,400 words long, so I broke it up into 3A and 3B, which will be posted on Wednesday.

CHARACTERS

David Phelps: The narrator of the story. He is a 26-year-old high school physics and natural science teacher in Grantham, Indiana in 1985.

Earl Pinkham: The principal of Grove Park High School where David teaches

Susanna (Suzie) Cassidy: The school secretary and mother of Tina Cassidy

Tina Cassidy: A 16-year-old high school sophomore in David Phelps's class

Bobby Harken: David's friend and fellow teacher

Archie: David's orange tabby cat

Diane Delaney: David's ex-girlfriend

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The ex-girlfriend calls

A chapter in the book What We See

What We See - Chapter 3A

by Jim Wile

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