Chapter Eleven

Maggie

The next day I go to school with my hair down and straightened. I’m thinking of washing the dye out and giving up being a blackhead. I’m not trying to conform or anything, I’m just tired of black. Also, I need to make a good impression with teachers if I want to make something happen with college.

To put a smile on Jane’s face, I wear a pair of jeans she bought me. Even Wes, who’s usually pretty clueless, noticed the change, telling me I looked just like the all-American girl now. He drops me off at school that morning so he can take my van to get new tires.

“Go get ‘em tiger,” he yells through the open window before pulling away.

Some of the girls at school don’t approve of my new look. Tough girls who threatened to mix it up with me a time or two before, sneer, and one gives me a shove after first period. Fuck them. I don’t care. I’m playing a game. I need my teachers to give me letters of recommendations if I want a scholarship.

Just before lunch I get called down to the office.

“What did you do now?” one of the football players asks.

His friends snicker and mutter under their breath. I smile as I pass. It’s a fake, icy smile, but the jock’s eyes widen and he gives me a dopey look. “Hey.”

I step out of the classroom, swing my backpack to my shoulder and when I round the corner, I crash into Kyle.

“Shit, I’m sorry, Kyle.”

He looks at me in disbelief, shaking his head. “I’m sorry, do I know you?”

“Very funny.”

Grasping a strand of my hair, he rubs the ends between his thumb and forefinger. “I can’t believe you didn’t warn me. Did Jane give you a make-over?”

“No. I did it myself. Quit being a dork and walk me to Mr. Hendrick’s office.”

He falls into step beside me. “I heard you were leaving. I figured it was just a rumor.”

My heart seizes in my chest. Leaving? Kyle doesn’t say anything more, just shrugging. Frantically I go over the events of the past few weeks. Nothing happened at school. I haven’t been in trouble since September. Nothing happened at home. I’ve been super-helpful, running errands for her and cooking dinner every night.

My throat tightens with a familiar panic. I’m moving. Again. Jane and Wes just pretended to care for me. I’ll have to finish my senior year at yet another high school.

“What did you hear?” I manage, my voice cracking.

“Don’t freak out, Maggie. I heard him talking to his aide when I was there this morning to reschedule taking my SAT. Mom’s making me try again. Anyway, he sounded pleased.”

“Pleased? Fuck. My. Life.”

“Look. Relax. I probably heard wrong.”

I stop outside Hendrick’s door. A ball of anger rolls around my chest, like a giant sphere of shit. A shit ball. That’s what I’ve been handed. Why wouldn’t Jane say something, anything? Why would she let me find this out from someone at school?

“Call me this afternoon,” Kyle says. “Give me the scoop.”

He keeps walking and I watch him till he disappears around the corner. He has no idea what I’m going through right now. Sometimes I think he resents me and how easy school is for me. His mother told him that if a foster kid can get straight A’s, there’s no reason he can’t do better. Right now, I hate her too.

I yank the door open. The waiting area is empty and the secretary talks on the phone. Dropping my back pack to the ground, I resist the urge to kick the chair. The secretary smiles at me and motions to the chair. Sinking to the seat, I grit my teeth. I fucking hate uncertainty.

Mr. Hendricks talks to someone in his office. Why the hell did he call me down if he had someone else in his office? He blathers on about some wide-receiver who caught a game-winning pass. The door is cracked and I can see the work boots that belong to the other person. Black oil streaks on tanned leather, worn out brass eyelets for the shoe strings, frayed edges on the jeans.

A strange feeling comes over me. The stranger crosses his legs at the ankles and when he begins speaking, I realize it’s Trig. Without thinking, I jerk to my feet. What in the actual fuck is going on?

I shove the door open and glare at him. He’s unshaven, his normally mussed hair is almost flat, with the ends curling a little like he’s been wearing a baseball cap all day, or a winter hat. Dressed in a work coat, he must have just come from the garage.

“What the hell are you doing here?” I demand.

“Hey.” His brow lifts as he surveys the details of the new me, starting with my straight hair and going all the way down to my too-white sneakers.

“Why look at you!” Mr. Hendrick’s voice booms, startling me. “Don’t you look cute as a button.”

“Why are you here, Trig?”

“Jane had to take Thomas somewhere. She asked me to come in her place.”

Mr. Hendricks looks over the top of his glasses. “Have a seat, Maggie. It doesn’t matter who I talk to, either Jane or Trig. Just need to give you and your sponsor some information.”

“He’s not my sponsor,” I snap.

“What’s got into you?” Trig asks.

“And why don’t you go straight to Hades?”

“Temper, temper.” Mr. Hendricks shakes his head and sorts through a stack of papers. “Just cool your jets there, Miss Maggs. I got some great news. After calling in a ton of favors here at school and sweet-talking the registrar at Stowe College, I got you a shot at early admission. Starting in January, if you like. How ‘bout that?”

I sink into the chair. This meeting is about college. In January! I can’t believe the relief. I rub my forehead. I’d already mentally packed my bags a dozen times in the past five minutes. I was completely wrong. Not only was I going to stay with Wes and Jane, but Hendricks is talking about college.

My thoughts reel. Early admission. A moment ago, I pictured myself registering in yet another high school. I figured I was being uprooted again. And maybe I am being uprooted again, but in the best possible way.

College. Holy shit.

Mr. Hendricks shoves the stack of papers into a manila envelope. “Guess you have some homework over the Christmas break. Good thing you didn’t get a job.”

That remark makes me jerk my head to look at Trig.

He’s even more scruffy than usual. His jacket is unbuttoned at the top and reveals a red flannel shirt. A pair of worn leather gloves rest on his thigh.

He’s bemused, his lips tilting into a smile and he mouths, “No Las Vegas for you.”

The gleam in his eye tells me just how pleased he is and how much he’ll tease me about thwarting my plans to run away. He picks up his gloves and smacks them against his thigh, chuckling softly. Mr. Hendricks is muttering about checking out of school and necessary forms.

“How am I going to pay for college?” I ask, softly.

Hendricks waves my concerns off with the wave of a hand. “There’s money out there. We’ll figure it out. Tell ya what. You fill out all those applications and I’ll see what kind of grants and scholarships I can scare up. Deal?”

“Deal,” I say softly, too stunned to say much else.

He waves me away. “School’s done in a couple of hours and the kids will be out for Christmas break. I’ll have one of the kids get your books out of your locker. Go home. Enjoy this Maggie. This is a big deal and I’m mighty proud.”

I’m too stunned to move. Trig nudges my arm. We say good bye to Mr. Hendricks and walk out of school. He holds the door open and I step out into the cool winter air. In a moment, the bell will ring for lunch. At lunch the campus is a madhouse. Everyone throngs to the cafeteria to jockey for position in the lunch line.

But I won’t be one of them.

I’m no longer enrolled. I’m free. All I need to do is fill out application that must weigh five pounds and I can start school next month. Real school. I have no idea how I’ll pay for it, but I’ll work something out. I can’t imagine how ecstatic Jane will be about this.

And Trig’s happy too. With a grin a mile wide, he’s taking credit for my success. Since Wes took my car to get new tires, I get a ride home with him. All the way back to the house, I get to listen to him gloat. I’m so stunned by everything I forget to tell him to eff off.

But the way he acts like he’s just won the lottery makes my heart warm. I never asked him to be in my corner and I’m not sure how I feel about him obstinately refusing to leave. He wants to take credit for the turn of events and maybe I’ll let him. I always feel him nearby, even when he’s not, so maybe he does have something to do with my success.

That night I dream of him and it’s the dirtiest thing I’ve ever imagined so far. It’s the first day of classes and Trig’s the professor, but I’m the only one in the class. He’s gorgeous, dressed in a suit and tie and sitting at a big desk. I’m in a skirt and blouse.

He loosens his tie and explains I need to sit on the desk in front of him. First, I need to take off my panties and that if I want to earn extra credit, in his class, I need to come to class every time wearing a skirt but no panties.

I do as I’m told. He sets me on his desk and I let him coax me back so I’m lying down. He tugs my skirt up around my hips. I’m burning for his touch, trying not to writhe. For a long time, he just looks at me, smiling, letting his gaze wander. It’s the most exquisite torture.

Finally, he touches me. As he strokes my drenched core, he says the first lesson is called Letting Trig Taste Maggie’s Pussy. I’m shaking I’m so aroused.

He tells me the second lesson will be How to Suck Trig’s Cock. He’s leaning over me. Looming. A big sexy beast. His eyes dark with lust. Gripping each thigh, he pulls my legs apart, but just as he lowers his head to lick me, I wake up with a start.

I’m drenched in sweat and stunned by the erotic images turning in my mind. I can’t resist reaching down to touch myself. My pussy is slick with arousal. Swollen. Almost instantly, I come with a blinding orgasm. I lie in bed, struggling to catch my breath. I’m cringing, but I’m furious too. Furious that I woke up before he could teach me my first lesson.