Just Try It

Chapter 17- It's A Deal

Monday, February 13th 4:55pm

Lincoln School Tennis Courts

Moe caught up with her at the gate, and asked in concern, "How are you doing?  That looked like a brutal practice."

Sondra reassured him, "I'm doing better than most of the team.  Don't worry.  I'll still be able to help study and work on a project tonight." 

Moe made a face as he picked up Sondra's backpack and said, "I wasn't even thinking about that. I still don't know how to pay you back for all of your time."  He ran his hand through his hair in frustration and said, "I have to get better fast.  I know it will take a lot of work."

Sondra looked back at the court before slowly saying, "Time.  You can pay me with time."

"Time doing what?"  He knew it was too much to hope for, but he couldn't help hoping that she might want him to take her to the dance.  Starting a career of being a paid escort wouldn't be bad at all if his customer was Sondra.  Moe gave himself a mental slap and reminded himself that he hadn't improved enough yet. It was more likely that she was going to make up some work like rearranging all the furniture in her apartment.  He gave a mental shrug and decided that it didn't matter.  He owed her, and anything she came up with would probably let him spend more time with her. 

She looked at him seriously and said, "I need to get better fast too.  The only difference is that I need help with my tennis shots.  If I can't get more power or spin, I'll be running constantly."

It was much better than rearranging her furniture, but he couldn't help thinking that she was still making up a job for him, after all, her grandma was a great tennis coach.  Then, he remembered that Sondra had refused to join the lessons with her grandmother since they were little.  He had always wondered why, but after all of these years, he knew she wouldn't go to her now.  Instead, he would do his best to help her. "Deal,"  he agreed before wondering, "When do we practice?"

Sondra frowned and offered reluctantly, "We can wait to start my practices until after Thursday.  We will be done with your extra assignments and studying by then."

Moe shook his head as he protested, "You can't wait that long."  After a moment he suggested, "We can do a morning practice like Jamie and Korbin."

Sondra made a face, but agreed, "Fine," before she changing the topic to the extra credit projects.

After a few minutes of discussion, Moe decided to focus on the dust bowl for his first project.  He thought that he could easily find enough information to make a tri-fold display.

Sondra nodded and insisted that they swinging past her place to pick up supplies before going toward the dojo.

As they head up the stairs, Moe said, "Even if it isn't interesting I can put in enough detail to boost my grade."

Sondra frowned as she hurried up to her apartment.  Moe watched as she quickly gathered an old display that was already covered, and a thick stack of construction paper before loading the paper in Moe's backpack, and folding the board carefully.  Once they were on the way toward the dojo, she said, "You should just think of history as an interesting story."

Moe rolled his eyes and said, "History isn't interesting.  There are too many dates and names."

Sondra shoved the hair from her eyes and said, "They aren't just names.  They were people.  They lived, fought, and died."  When Moe just looked at her doubtfully, Sondra grinned and pointed out, "You can remember the plot details of every story you have ever read, and tons of movie quotes.  Just think of history as a story.  I'll show you."

For the rest of the trip Sondra spun a tale about a kid that lived on a farm in Texas before the dust bowl, and how his life changed when the dust storms hit.  In the story, she had his family accepting government assistance, his friends dying from dust pneumonia, and his family moving to California to look for work, only to find that there were ten people for every job.

Moe hung on her every word.  When they arrived at the dojo he asked, "Did all of that stuff really happen?"

Sondra nodded.  She glanced at Moe and said, "The papers on extra credit are in my bag.  You can look up the details you while I have my class.  While I'm working, we can do homework and see if we have time to put the board together later."

Moe nodded, and said, "I'll see if I can borrow a computer while I start supper.  Henry said he would clean up if I cooked.   I'll bring down a couple of plates when your shift starts and let you know how it went."

Sondra headed toward the group gathering for beginner lessons with a smile, but was waved down by Jamie's uncle, Sean.  She was glad that he had made it back, but wondered what was going on. 

She couldn't help but smile as she waited to see what he had to say.  As the most organized of Jamie's uncles, Sean planned things out.  In fact, he had been the one to offer her a job when he saw her skill with computers.  Her skills paled next to his though, and she lived in awe of how easily he plucked information from the internet.  He even had a growing following for his line of programs made to be extra user friendly.  With his lanky tall frame and shaggy blond hair it would be easy to think Sean was purely the brains.  However, Sondra had seen him spar against Jamie and even Bandit.  Eventually, he usually lost, but he lasted longer than many others.  It wasn't his strength or his speed, but his planning and awareness of things around him that helped him most.

Sondra liked that.  In fact, it was almost embarrassing how much she looked up to him.  Part of it was how he was usually so friendly and smiling.  Right now though, he was frowning.  He got right to the point as he said, "A lady called and asked for you, but didn't leave a message."

"It was probably my grandma," Sondra suggested calmly.  "I'll call her back after my lesson."

Sean just shook his head as Sondra darted off. 

Moe asked to borrow a laptop and Sean nodded absently.  He was still staring at Sondra with a worried expression, and Moe couldn't help asking, "What's wrong?  Was there something you didn't tell her?"

Sean nodded slowly before he admitted, "It wasn't her grandma.  The caller ID said that it was a call from the police station, and it didn't seem to be an officer."

Moe nodded and understood why Sean was concerned.  He headed toward the kitchen, and told himself that Korbin's dad, or another policeman had called about the advanced class that night, but even he couldn't think of why they would ask for Sondra. 

He shook his head and told himself to focus.  Sondra was expecting him to make a lot of progress in only a little time.  There was no way that he would let her down.  In fact, he was determined to impress her.  Getting his grades back on track would be the first step in getting his life together enough to be good enough for her.

Moe bounced back and forth as he started the meal and booted up the computer and started the right programs.  The meal was easy, and didn't require much thinking.  He had cooked the meatballs already, so he just started them simmering in the sauce, after starting the water for the spaghetti.  The garlic bread was quickly laid out and sat ready to pop into the oven.  Once he reached a point where he just had to wait, he set a timer in case he lost track on time, and settled in on the computer.  The strange phone call that asked for Sondra faded from his mind as he focused on the task in front of him. 

This chapter hits on the details a little more than some would like, but it lays the foundation.  Any guesses on who called?  Let me know what you think.  If you don't want to leave a comment but still liked the chapter please consider voting by hitting the little star.