Starburst (3 page)

“I assure
you, I don’t know sir. She must have had them from before. She has been
nowhere.”

“Could
you go get her and keep her out of trouble, please,” he begged. “I’m in Fiji in
the middle of a take, and I do not want another call that has anything to do
with my daughter getting in trouble. Am I clear Trevas?” He asked, before
hanging up.

“Yes
sir, I’m on my way there now.”

“Son
of a bitch,” he yelled, grabbing the towel and heading back inside. He threw on
the black attire and pulled up to the front door thirty minutes later. He had
to go in and talk to the nun principle, and listen to her talk to him as though
he was her father. She told him that she had a term paper due on Wednesday and
that they were going to allow her to do it, and she could email it to her
teacher. She told him that she could come back to school on Friday and that she
still had one more English final to complete. Alley sat slumped in a chair
beside of him with one leg perched over the other while her foot moved rapidly
up and down.

Trevas
walked out in front of her, not security protocol at all, but he didn’t care.
He was pissed, and she knew it as she followed him out. He opened the front
passenger door for her, and they stared at each other briefly, both with angry
expressions. She didn’t protest the front seat and got in. She pulled the MP3
player from her bag, and he grabbed it away from her. She narrowed her eyes
with an malicious look but didn’t speak.

“Where
are the cigarettes?” He asked, with an angry tone.

“I don’t
have any. I got one from someone else,” she insisted.

He
grabbed the army green bag and opened it up. He pulled the green pack of
menthol cigarettes out, crushed them in his hand and tossed them to the street while
she glared at him.

“What
the hell Alley?” He asked as he pulled out into the traffic. “You may be a
spoiled little rich kid, but I need my job. Some of us have to work for a
living, besides you are way to pretty to have those things hanging out of your mouth.”

The
last part surprised her. “Can I have my MP3 player back now?” She asked with
her attitude tone.

He
took it from between his legs and handed it to her, and they rode home in
silence as she stared vacantly out the window.

Alley
of course went straight upstairs to her room, Trevas mixed a drink and went to
the pool. He sat on the end of lounge chair and ran his fingers through his
hair, dreading the next six or eight weeks and prayed that it was six and not
eight.

“You
look like an idiot dressed like that by a pool,” he heard her say, and looked
up to see her perched with her elbows on the side of her balcony.

“I
was in the pool before I had to come and bail you dumb ass out,” he rebuked.

“My
dad would fire you if he heard you talk to me like that.”

“Oh,
what a pity that would be,” he said, in a smart tone, looking up to her.
“Somebody needs to take a belt and beat your little ass,” he added.

“Whatever,”
she said, flipped him her middle finger, turned and went back inside.

Trevas
lost himself, and the stress in a well prepared meal. He used his laptop and
watched a cooking video and made a beautiful orange glazed salmon, green beans
with pancetta and shallots with a spicy Napa cabbage noodle dish that he
twisted into a circle on each of their plates. The meal looked like something
that would have been served in a five star restaurant, and he proudly took a
picture of the two well-dressed plates with his cellphone.

He
went up and knocked on her door, letting her know that he had supper ready, and
of course he ended up wrapping hers in saran wrap because she was fine and wouldn’t
come down.

“I’m
fine,” he mocked in a whiny voice as he placed hers on the shelf in the
refrigerator. He ate his, and his taste buds loved him for it. It was delicious
and once he was done he wrote the recipe down in a notebook that he carried in
his bag.

Trevas
watched TV in the living room and never saw Alley again, since their encounter
by the pool. He felt bad for what he had said to her, but after thinking about
it more, he decided that he didn’t feel bad at all, and somebody did need to put
the spoiled little brat in her place.

Trevas
woke up around midnight when he heard her warming up food. He pulled on a
t-shirt and his jeans and went out. He sat at one of the stools on the other
side of the island, and she looked at him cautiously.

The
microwave dinged, and he knew it was a matter of time before she took her plate
and stormed back upstairs, but she didn’t and he was surprised.

“This
looks amazing,” she told him and bent to take a fork from the dishwasher.

“I’m
sure it was better when it was fresh,” he assured her.

“Hmmm,
I don’t know about that,” she stated as her taste buds discovered the exquisite
taste.

“You
can sit down,” he told her nodding to the stool beside him and wondered what
the terrified expression was about that had flashed across her face, briefly.

“I’m
fine,” she stated again, and he snickered.

He
got up and slid a stool around to her, and understood why she hadn’t stormed
off to her room or why she wouldn’t sit on the stool next to him.

She
was standing on the other side wearing a short white tank-top and mint green
panties, barely covering her hairline. He turned his head quickly.

“Shit,
I’m sorry,” he said, and didn’t know whose face was more red, his or hers.

“If
you will just turn around for a second I will go to my room,” she offered.

“No…eat
your food, besides. I can’t take much more of keeping my own company. I’m not
used spending this much time with myself.”

Alley
flipped a switch under the island and an electronic checkerboard was revealed.

“Wow,
that’s pretty cool,” he laughed when he moved the black checker back and forth with
his finger, and it made a swooshing noise. “Are there any more games?” He
asked.

“You
don’t like checkers?”

“Yeah,
I was just curious,” he replied. “Do you want to play?”

“I don’t
care. It’s not like I have to get up for school or anything,” she answered.

“Yeah,
I kind of think that was the plan all along,” he told her and she ignored the statement.

“There
are more games. This was just the one that it was on when it was closed out
last. Who do you normally spend your time with?” She asked, getting back to his
previous statement.

“You
want to ask questions? Let’s ask questions,” he said, and she looked at him
with a careful look and narrowed eyes. “For every jump I get, I get to ask you
a question, and for every one you get, you get to ask me a question.”

She
pressed her lips together and twisted them slightly to the side.

“Ladies
first,” he added, not giving her time to say no, and she pulled the stool
closer and sat down. She moved a checker and took another bite of the salmon.

They
didn’t talk while they both planned their moves and tried to jump each other.
Alley continued to eat her food and then pushed it away once she had eaten
every bite. She pulled one leg up, and Trevas had to make himself turn away
when he noticed that he was staring at her bare leg, pulled to her chest.

Alley
got the first jump. “You can just answer my first question,” she stated.

“Who
do I usually spend my time with?” He repeated the question. “I work a lot, so I
spend my time with famous kids like you.”

“I
am not famous,” she stated, matter-of-factly.

“You
know what I mean,” he countered.

“What
do you do when you aren’t working?” She asked.

“That’s
two questions,” he replied and ignored the last one until she got the next jump
again.

“I
cook, sometimes go out to a club, workout,” Trevas had to smile when he noticed
the expression after saying that he worked out. She kind of nodded her head, and
raised her eyebrows, as if she was saying ‘obviously.’

“I’m
a pretty boring guy. I don’t do much, I guess.”

Trevas
finally got one of her checkers and studied her briefly. “Why are you so
recalcitrant?” He asked, and then thought maybe he should have used a different
word, thinking maybe she didn’t know what it meant as she twisted her lips and
thought for a minute.

“Recalcitrant
is a pretty broad word. Do you mean why do I get kicked out of school for
smoking? Or are you talking more about the promiscuous photos that I’m sure you
have seen?”

“All
of the above,” he answered.

“I
hate that school,” she said and looked up to see his reaction.

“Alley,
you have a week left,” he expressed.

“Do
you want to lecture me or would you like for me to answer the question?”

“I’m
sorry, yes please continue.”

“You
shouldn’t believe everything you read in the tabloids, five percent of it might
be true,” That was the end of her answer, and he moved a checker when he
realized that she wasn’t saying any more about it.

She
got the next jump and stared at him with her mouth slightly twisted to the
left.

“Why
would you want to be a body guard?” She asked.

“No,
Alley. That is not what you wanted to ask me. Ask me what was on your mind
first,” he insisted.

“What...
What are you talking about?” She asked with a frown.

“You
do this thing with your lips when you are trying not to say what you really
want to say, and you just did it again, so ask what you really wanted to ask,”
he demanded, and she was shocked. She knew that she did exactly what he said,
but no one had ever put it together with what the real purpose was. She had
learned her little trick when she was just a little girl, and her parents would
tell her that she couldn’t say what was on her mind because of who her parents
were.

She
sighed. “You didn’t want to stay here did you?” She asked, what she had wanted
to the first time.

“No,
I didn’t,” Trevas said honestly and quietly, “But I’m sure you can understand
why?” He added.

“Why?”
She asked, and he snickered and wondered how in the hell he was supposed to
answer that.

“Because
I’m a man and you are a beautiful, very young, attractive girl and I had no
clue what to do with a teenage girl alone for this many weeks,” he answered as
honest as he could and his answer took her by surprise.

“How
old are you?” She asked.

“Uh-uh,
it’s not your turn,” he replied, and she laughed. Trevas wasn’t sure up until
that moment that the girl even had teeth because he had never seen her smile.
He moved his checker and set it right up for her to jump him again.

“How
old are you?” She smirked.

“Twenty
five,” he answered and jumped her. “How old are you?”

“Seventeen,”
she answered.

“When
will you be eighteen?” He asked and wasn’t sure why and instantly wished that
he could take it back.

“November
16th. Why? And that is two questions,” she reminded him.

Trevas
shrugged his shoulders. “Curious,” he replied.

Alley
jumped him again. “Do you have a girlfriend?”

Trevas
knew this conversation had to end, and it was not going anywhere good. It was
getting way to personal, and he was done.

Alley
sensed the uneasiness. “Answer my last question and we will quit,” she wagered.

“No…
I do not have a girlfriend,” he answered, and she smiled.

Alley
flipped off the game. “I can’t rinse my plate because the sink is over there,”
she nodded. “And you have to turn around so that I can go upstairs.”

Trevas
smiled at her. “I will get your plate,” he told her and turned to face the pool
outside.

“Don’t
turn around, don’t turn around, he repeated over and over in his head, knowing
that she was scarcely wearing clothes.

“Trevas,”
she called down from halfway up the stairs.

“Yeah,”
he called back, still willing himself not to look at her.

“Your
supper was very good,” she told him and continued upstairs.

“Thank
you,” he replied and got up to rinse her plate. He stared up to the empty steps
and shook his head trying to stop the forbidden thoughts that wanted to embed
his mind.

The
next day was back to normal, and Alley stayed in her room most of the day and
ignored Trevas altogether. She came down in the morning to get her habitual
granola bar and bottle of water, and he didn’t see her again until around two.
She did come down in the afternoon and went to the pool. He turned to lookout
as she removed the white terrycloth cover and tossed it over the back of the
lounge chair. She was wearing a white bikini and the bottoms tied with one thin
string on her hips.

“Holly
shit,” he said out loud and got up to go to the kitchen, so that he didn’t have
to look at her.

He
made two turkey sandwiches on croissants with lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise
and opened a fresh bag of plain potato chips, completing it with a deal pickle
spear on the side.

“Come
in and eat lunch with me,” he called out to her and for a split second she shot
him a dirty look, but controlled it almost immediately. She got up and sat at
the table with him. He put his head down and rubbed his eyes with a deep sigh.

“Do
you make all of your food look like art?” She asked, looking down with the food
meticulously placed on the plate.

“Alley,
you have to put your cover on or some clothes or something,” he told her not
answering her question and not looking at her, trying his damnedest to keep his
eyes from traveling to her breast.

“Does
this bother you?” She asked, with a smirk, looking down at her clothed less
body.

“Yes,
it does,” he admitted, and then couldn’t help but watch her walk to the laundry
room. Both of her butt cheeks peeked out, and he had to shake his head, to pull
himself away from the wicked thoughts that wanted to implant his mind. She pulled
on a white tank-top that didn’t help much but at least it covered her breast.

“Better?”
She asked.

“A
little,” he answered, and she laughed.

Lunch
was rather awkward, and neither of them knew quite what to say to each other,
but he was happy for the company and glad that she had joined him.

“You
never answered my question,” she said, breaking the silence.

“I
think food is an art,” he stated, and she raised her eyebrows.

“I
don’t know about it being an art, but it sure is good.”

“Thank
you. How’s the Socrates paper coming?” He asked and then realized that the only
way he could have known about that was by snooping through her computer. He
looked up waiting for the explosion and was surprised when he didn’t get one.

“It’s
done, computer hacker,” she said light heartily, and he breathed a sigh of
relief.

“Sorry
about that,” he apologized.

“It’s
okay. They all do it, but at least you fixed it for me. Thanks for that. It’s a
lot better now.”

“Well…
if it is any consolation, I’m pleased to say that I found nothing that would
cause any concern.”

“I
knew you wouldn’t, why do you think I don’t have it password protected?”

Trevas
smiled at her. “It wouldn’t matter if you did. I’m trained to get around that.”

She
smiled a crooked smile.

“Socrates?
Did you pick that subject, or was it given to you?” He asked, getting back to
the paper.

“I
had four philosophers to choose from. I don’t know why I chose Socrates. I
guess because he was the only one that I had heard of from the list.”

“You’ve
never heard of Judith Baudrillard?” He asked.

“Yes,
but she wasn’t on the list,” she answered with a sarcastic tone that made him
laugh.

They
small talked about unimportant topics, and Trevas had to look out to the pool
again when she got up to take her plate to the kitchen, and he was forced to
look at her butt, hips and midsection as she walked away.

“I’m
going back to the pool. You can come and swim if you want,” she added.

“I can’t
get in the pool with you Alley,” he claimed.

“Why?
Nobody comes around here unless they are fishing for a story, and as far as I
know, nothing is going on right now for a story.”

“I
have seen pictures of you, right out there by that pool” he explained.

“Whatever,”
she stated with her attitude back as she walked out. He watched her pull the
shirt over her head, put the lounge chair down and lay on her stomach. She took
her e-reader and got lost in a book.

She
never talked to him again for the rest of the day, and when he called her to
come down for spaghetti she declined, telling him that she was fine.

He
came out of his room again around midnight to her warming up her plate that he
had left for her wrapped in saran wrap in the refrigerator.

“What,
do you have like bionic ears or something?” She asked, standing behind the
island.

“I
kind of do, it comes from being eighteen, scared shitless in Afghanistan for
twelve months,” he answered and pulled the stool out to sit down.

She
rolled her eyes and took the plate out when the microwave dinged.

“Why
do you wait until you think I’m asleep before you come down to eat?

She
shrugged her shoulders. “I have always done this, but you are the only one that
has ever given a shit.”

“I’m
sure your parents care.”

“My
parents care about me staying out of the press and not ruining their precious
reputations.”

“I’m
sure that is not true,” he said, defending her parents. “Are you dressed?” He
asked.

“Not
really, and if you will turn around I will go to my room,” she requested.

Trevas
looked at her briefly and decided that it was best that she went to her room.
“We are leaving here around nine in the morning,” he told her and turned
around.

“To
go where?” She wanted to know, and he turned back to her.

“I
have a few things that I have to do tomorrow.”

“I’m
fine here. I don’t need to go,” she tried, even though she was sure it wouldn’t
work. The last lady that stayed with her even made her go to a gynecology appointment
with her. She hated sitting in the waiting room with all of the pregnant women.
She also knew that it was ordered from her dad that, she go with him.

“You
are going with me. I have orders from your dad.”

“Of
course you do,” she said smartly. “Turn around.”

Trevas
turned, and she left.

*****

Trevas
had to go up and knock on her door the following morning. “Let’s go Alley,” he
called.

She
opened the door with more force than necessary. “I told you. I don’t need to go
with you,” she said through gritted teeth, and of course she had to be half
naked, standing in front of him in skimpy panties, and the usual white
tank-top.

“Get
dressed, we are leaving in twenty minutes,” he told her and turned to leave,
hoping that she would come, and he didn’t have to go back up.

Twenty
minutes later she emerged, wearing short jean shorts that were too short but at
least her black t-shirt covered her midsection. She messed with the MP3 player,
and before she could insert the ear-buds he took it out of her hand and laid it
on the island.

“Leave
that here today,” he beckoned with a soft look, and as much as she wanted to snap
at him, she didn’t, and walked toward the garage. He stopped her before she got
to the car door and opened the passenger door for her. “Sit up front with me,”
he requested.

“Why?”
She asked annoyed.

“Because
I want you to,” he stated and gestured for her to get in.

“Where
are we going?” She wanted to know before they were out of the long drive.

“Arvin,”
he replied.

“Arvin?”
She asked.

“Yes
Arvin.”

“Where
is that and why are we going there?”

“It
is about an hour and a half from here, and I told you, I have something I have
to do today. You wouldn’t have had to come if you were in school today,” he
told her, letting her know that it was her fault that she had to come along.

“An
hour and a half and you wouldn’t let me bring my MP3 player?”

“You
can turn on the radio,” he suggested.

Alley
rolled her eyes, leaned over and turned on the radio. He wasn’t surprised by
her choice of music when she stopped on a song by Cristina Aguilera. She stared
out the window, and they never spoke the entire trip. Trevas noticed that she
perked up a little and was looking out the window at the different stores and shops
as they came into town.  Arvin was a lot smaller than what she was used to. He
noticed her turn her head back as they passed a store called ‘Arvin Thrift and
Junk-Shun.’

“We
can stop there on the way back if you want,” he offered.

“Yeah
right, that’s all I need, to have my picture taken in a place like that. I can
see it now,” she said putting both hands up, forming headlines in the air.
“Alley Fletcher, daughter of Peyton Paxton and Nicholas Fletcher forced to shop
in thrift stores after parents give up on her and throw her to the streets.”

Trevas
laughed. “Nobody is going to take your picture here.”

“Do
you really think it would be okay?” She asked, intrigued by what she might find.

“I
think it would be perfectly okay. We’ll stop on the way back.”

Trevas
pulled into a parking lot a few minutes later, and she wanted to know where
they were going when she saw the square brick building.

“My
grandparents live here,” he explained as he parked and scoped the area.

“What
are you doing? I thought you said nobody would take my picture here.”

“Sorry,
they won’t. It’s a habit, and I still have to do my job.”

They
entered the building, and a nurse behind the desk said hi to him and called him
by his first name.

“Hi,
Julie,” he said back. “How are they today?”

“It
is a good day,” she told him with a smile, pushing a button. The door buzzed,
letting them in through the double doors.

They
walked down the long hallway, and Alley was a little nervous at the site of the
elders. She looked in the doors as they passed. Some were in bed, some were watching
TV, some were in the hall, and some of the beds were empty.

“Right
here,” he pointed to the door on the left.

“I’m
not going first,” she stated, and he laughed and they both turned away quickly
when their eyes locked.

“Hi
grandma,” he said kissing the little old lady, sitting in a rocking chair with
her husband reclined beside of her sleeping.

“Jack,”
she called, shaking him. “Get up, Trevas is here.”

“This
is my friend Alley, grandma.” He said, and she was surprised that he called her
his friend.

“This
is my grandma May,” he told Alley.

She
took her hand, and Alley felt a little uncomfortable when she didn’t shake it
and let it go. She held onto her hand, rubbing the top of it. Alley looked down
at her frail, wrinkled, soft and arthritic hands. His grandpa Jack sat up, and
that too made her nervous.

“Is
this the doctor?” He asked, looking at Trevas.

“No
grandpa, it’s me, Trevas, and this is my friend Alley,” he talked louder to him
than he did to his grandmother.

“He’s
confused, give him a minute to wake up,” his grandma said smiling.

“Hi
Trevas,” his grandfather said, realizing all of a sudden who he was. “Is this
the same wife that you had last week?” He asked.

“No
grandpa, I don’t have a wife. This is my friend Alley,” Trevas replied almost
yelling.

“Are
you going to marry this one? She sure is a pretty little thing,” he added, and
Alley blushed.

“No
grandpa, we’re not getting married,” he laughed and glanced at Alley’s rosy
cheeks.

Alley
sat on a vinyl chair by the door, and Trevas sat on one of the twin sized beds.
His grandparents talked to him about his sister and his mother. They also
included Alley, telling her stories of Trevas, when he was a little boy, and
before she knew it, she was laughing so hard her stomach muscles hurt.

 Her
grandpa told her about a time when he was a little boy, about three, and they
took him to an art museum, and he saw a peeing statue. His grandmother turned
around to find him standing on the ledge peeing into the water. He told her
about taking him to church, and he thought he was sitting beside of him and
looked up to find him on the stage behind the preacher, waving his arms around
and stomping like the preacher had been doing.

The
time past quickly with his grandparents and Alley was surprised at how much she
liked them. She never really had grandparents. Her mom’s dad lived in Florida
but she only saw him a few times in her life and his wife had passed when Alley
was just little. She didn’t remember her grandma at all. Her dad’s parents came
around once or twice a year, but she was never close with either of them. A
nurse came in and told them that it was time for them to go to the dining room
for lunch. She asked Trevas and Alley if they would like to have lunch with
them.

Trevas
looked to Alley for the answer, and she shrugged both her shoulders. “It’s okay
with me,” she offered.

They
ate creamed turkey over biscuits, and it was not the best food in the world,
neither of them finished their plates.

Alley
was confused again by her grandpa when he leaned over and asked her if she was
the new nurse.

“No,
grandpa, this is my friend Alley,” Trevas explained to him again.

Trevas
and Alley left after lunch and met his sister Anna at the door, coming to visit.

“How
are they today?” She asked.

“Good,
grandpa is a little confused today but not too bad. They are both in pretty
good spirits.

Anna
this is my friend Alley,” he said, introducing her to his sister.

“Hello
Alley,” Anna said looking at her in a peculiar manner.

Alley
smiled and nodded.