Pursuit Of The Cygnus Thief

Chapter 22 - Sullied Water

Chapter 22

"Sullied Water"

Friday, May 25,1956

Ron Blay ignored the bus drivers' warning to remain seated, he slid into the empty seat behind me and leaned forward then braced himself against the lurch of the school bus as our journey from Gerald J. McKee High School to the Big Road exit off the freeway began.

"Where is she?" Ron asked. I looked up and turned around, Ron was more hurt than usual, Galina had cut school.

"Is she getting ready for the photo-shoot?" Ron asked, he'd guessed the truth already, but Ron needed to hear something different as much as he craved confirmation of his assumptions. Galina had carelessly cut Ron, her chief admirer, into shreds with her incessant admiration of John Woodstock. Without a word of protest, Ron had endured it all, continued his duties as Galina's book bearer and homework supplier, trailed behind her just enough to step forward and open doors for her, get her lunch, see her off at the curb as she left him behind to eat exhaust from her mothers'car without even a wave. People had laughed at him, some had told him to grow a little pride but Ron had only held tighter, suffered more, in the belief that Galina would suddenly snap out of it.

"I suppose." I offered. Ron's eyes slid away from mine as usual, one of his friends in a seat at the back of the bus called for his attention. Suddenly, the bus swerved from the school lot onto a narrow lane that ran perpendicular to the freeway and Ron was forced to readjust his grip on my seat back. He caught a part of my braid for a moment and I slapped his hand away much harder than I'd meant. Matilda and Mr. Abel flooded into my mind, I was grateful when Rons' apology interrupted the haunting.

"Come on Amelia. Just tell me the truth." Ron said. Ron sucked in a deep breath, forced himself to look at me squarely. I wondered how much more humiliation he could take, Ron waited.

"Please..."he begged, reddened, his eyelids fluttered, he probably hoped that his two buddies at the rear of the bus couldn't detect his desperation. Luckily, the other students on board were too busy bickering amongst themselves to notice our conversation and Rons' nearly tearful state.

"Galina is getting ready for the photo shoot. Ron, she said something about spending time-"I began but Ron knew the rest.

"-With that cat John. Right? I've heard plenty." Ron said, I shrugged again.

"Is it true?" Ron asked, the buses engine roared as the driver picked up speed, I had to shout in order to be heard.

"Ron, I'm sorry we can't talk about this."I said.

"I get it, she's your friend and you keep her secrets and I'm not exactly a part of the in-crowd." Ron said. It was all true but I hadn't the heart to let it be spoken without alteration. I was nowhere near the in-crowd myself, I hadn't the clothes, the hair-do, the care, in fact; I'd seemed to have leaked key friendships during the past year.

"You can forget that last part, the rest is true though." I said but Ron didn't seem to hear me.

"Nobody knows anything about him and she's alone with him. What would her folks do if they found out? Geez, Galina's really gone goofy over this guy." Ron relinquished his hold of my seat back and sank down behind me. I turned around, dug my knees into the seat, held on tight as the bus passed through every inch of a pothole that was nothing less than a crater. The other students yelped in mock surprise as the bus rattled, rocked, bounced boomed and threw nearly everyone out of their seat for a few seconds. When we reached smooth road again, I spoke.

"She's not in any danger. John isn't the type and they're probably not alone. Mary Blodgett, well really, all of them, are definitely there too." John had gathered an entourage composed of women who wore their Sundays' best and delivered basket lunches, baked goods and bottle drinks to his shed stoop. Galina was appalled by the concept, it was men in her mind who gave to women; she felt that it was best to intervene before John Woodstock could be spoiled by such tasteless feminine desperation.