Brett Barney - Remember Me.txt Read online

What are friends for?”

  “That’s a lot to ask of any friend,” uttered Amy sincerely.

  Margaret looked over at her friend lying in the sleeping bag next to her. From the

  moonlight coming through the window, Margaret saw that Amy had her eyes closed. A small

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  tear streamed down Amy’s cheek as she lay there. She suddenly felt so ashamed for thinking of

  herself when her friend needed some emotional support right now. This was a big moment for

  Amy, an answer to a question which always haunted her.

  Margaret smiled, knowing that their quest had filled a void which always troubled her

  friend. Perhaps it wasn’t such a bad thing that the two of them had done this evening. Amy had a

  legitimate reason to want to know who her father was. Margaret forgot about her own file and

  allowed her thoughts to wander to other times. It only took a moment for a tear to trickle down

  her own cheek.

  Margaret tried to imagine how it was for Amy’s mother raising her all alone. She knew

  that many kids raised in a single parent family were troubled, and had many problems. Amy had

  turned out really well, and her success centered around her mother’s determination and never

  ending support. Margaret couldn’t comprehend that this woman came here alone with a new

  baby. Amy’s mother was such a neat lady, and Margaret wondered what had happened to bring

  the woman to the small town of Deer Hollow.

  The sun shone brightly on the small practice field in Harrison during the gentle autumn

  afternoon. The school year had just begun for the class of 1975, and the football team showed

  promise for the new season which had started two weekends earlier. Small towns like Harrison

  took pride in the football season. The entire community rallied to support the local team as they

  defended their record and hoped for a state championship.

  Heather Alexander walked up to where her best friend, Laura Donovan, sat waiting on

  the bleachers. Laura had her head buried in her history book, paying little attention to her

  surroundings. Several football players were already on the field warming up. The rest of the team

  would join them momentarily for pre-practice exercises. Heather couldn’t see Todd's number

  among any of the jerseys. She knew he would arrive soon.

  “Hi Laura, what are you doing homework for?” Heather asked, surveying the field.

  “I'm just trying to get a jump on things. I have a lot of homework to do tonight,” Laura

  answered. She was a small girl with honey blond hair. Her warm blue eye's glistened under the

  bright afternoon sun. The day made studying hard, but she had little time for the inconveniences

  of the weather. She ignored it, blocking out the playful urge that accompanied such an afternoon.

  Her focus remained on the book, ignoring the warm rays of light which tempted the lazy side of

  her personality.

  Except for a few stragglers, the two girls sat alone on the bleachers. Some other students

  had scattered around the field, enjoying the afternoon and watching the practice, but Laura and

  Heather had this section of the stands to themselves. That made sense, the bleachers got much

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  warmer than the cool grass surrounding the field, but comfort would only impair her ability to

  refrain from relaxation.

  “You have all night to do your homework. There's more important things before you right

  now. Look at all those nice bodies wrapped in skin tight football uniforms.” Heather raised her

  voice so the players out on the field could hear her. “Nice form boys, put a little more hustle into

  it.”

  Laura buried her face in her lap from embarrassment. She expected something like this

  from her friend, but not so soon. Laura didn’t share in her friend’s forwardness, and generally

  felt nervous around guys. Heather just laughed at her bashful companion. She knew her friend

  well enough to predict the reaction she would receive from Laura.

  The group of players paid little attention to Heather’s teasing. They knew her well and

  were busy getting prepared for practice. The grass on the field had hardened and thinned since

  summer, and the ground no longer provided a soft cushion during falls. They would need to

  remain alert in order to avoid injuries.

  From the girls’ vantage point, the field had taken on a hint of yellow throughout its usual

  deep green hue. The smell of falling leaves and dried grass filled the air with the aroma of

  autumn. It was a smell of early season football, and a smell of high school days of glory. For

  students in their senior year, it was the perfect smell, and the perfect beginning to a great and

  final year of school.

  Laura removed the jacket she wore. The winds had shifted and the gusts died down. It felt

  cool when she first walked out, but the weather had changed suddenly. The warmth of the sun

  drove the temperature up and eliminated the need for the parka.

  “Come on, Laura, what are you afraid of, they don't bite,” coaxed Heather. “Well, at

  least, not unless you ask them to. I see Jeremy Harris is out there. You know you want to see

  what he’s hiding beneath his uniform. I'll go tell him to meet you behind the bleachers after

  practice, wait here.”

  Laura reached out and grabbed Heather before she could leave. Her face looked frozen

  with panic. She had known Heather long enough to know she would do anything to embarrass

  someone, and Laura didn’t trust her not to take the teasing to far.

  “Heather! Stop it, you're embarrassing me. I'm not going to play ‘you show me yours, I’ll

  show you mine’ with Jeremy Harris under the bleachers.”

  “You're first time has to be somewhere. You don't want to do it in a car, and you don't

  want to do it under the bleachers. Where do you want to lose your virginity, in your parent’s

  house?”

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  “Even that would be more romantic than any of the places you choose to do it,” answered

  Laura. “I want my first time to be special, and not with the first guy you point out on the football

  field.”

  “You've wanted to go out with Jeremy Harris ever since you were in Junior High. You

  check him out every day. If you would just go and talk to him, you'd have him naked and

  begging for you in a week.”

  “Even if I did want Jeremy Harris, I wouldn't want him undressed in a week. I would

  want him to respect me. I would still want to respect myself,” answered Laura. “There would

  have to be a pretty good reason for me to jump in the sack with a guy I've never had a

  conversation with. I want a guy to get to know me, not my body.”

  Laura had grown up in a confusing time period, hitting her teens during the summer of

  love. It was hard living in a conservative home in 1975 while the sexual revolution still reigned

  strong. There were pressures everywhere, even from her best friend. She knew that she was the

  exception, rather than the rule, but she had maintained her innocence through it all.

  “You worry too much about how you're going to feel afterwards,” criticized Heather.

  “Live for the present, not the future, it’ll make life a lot more e
njoyable. I've slept with a dozen

  guys whom I hadn't known more than a week and it’s never affected my conscience. Todd and I

  have been doing it for more than three months. I still have the same self-respect that I had when I

  was twelve years old. Purity and virginity are just a state of mind, sex is living.”

  Laura set down the book she held. She gave her friend a warm smile and placed the book

  back inside her bag, realizing she wouldn’t get much more reading done. They were two

  different people, which kept their conversations interesting, but they were also good friends.

  Laura knew that Heather didn’t mean anything by her remarks. She stood up and threw he long

  hair over her shoulders and out of her eyes.

  The skirt she wore just covered her knees, but below that, her well tanned and strong legs

  were bare. A thin waistline and generous curves accented her petite form. Her flawless

  complexion reflected the sun’s bright rays, giving her a young glow.

  Heather stood taller than Laura by several inches. The tight jeans she wore made it

  obvious that she was proud of the impressive figure she worked so hard to maintain. The two

  girls moved down the bleachers for a closer look at the field. Heather led the way with her usual

  excited nature. Laura laughed at her careless and free spirited friend.

  “Heather, wait up,” urged Laura. “What’s your rush. They aren’t going anywhere.”

  “I just want to be close enough to see Todd. He looks so cute in his little uniform. It’s

  such a turn on. I make him wear it sometimes while we’re doing it. I love the smell of sweat

  mixed with mud.”

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  “I’ll never look at him on the field the same way again,” uttered Laura in disgust. “He

  hates it when you watch him, it makes him nervous. Why do you have to tease him so much? If

  you embarrass him all the time, you’ll crush his confidence.”

  “It’s all part of the game, Laura,” explained Heather as she sat down on the bleachers to

  wait. “One of these days, when you start doing it with a guy, you’ll learn how to make him

  nervous. When he’s nervous, you’re in control.”

  “Why do you want to be in control?”

  “Another fundamental part of the game,” Heather replied. “You see, Laura, that’s what it

  all is, just a game. If you learn how to play it right, you can’t lose. It’s not hard to beat a guy at

  the game, we have the one thing they want, and we have some self-control. We are the

  dominators of the game, they’re defenseless against us.”

  “You make it sound so uninviting,” remarked Laura. “A relationship should be a sharing

  experience, not a fight for control.”

  “You’re just old fashioned. Men don’t come and sweep you away on horseback anymore.

  If you don’t exercise some strength in the relationship, you’ll just get walked on. It isn’t about

  romance anymore, just foreplay.”

  “I miss the days of chivalry,” mumbled Laura, “when there was substance and romance.

  What ever happened to sending flowers and remaining faithful to your partner. I miss the

  comfort of long term relationships and men who would fight for your honor.”

  “You read to much of those dreamy ancient history books. What about the black plague

  and bathing in dirty water. Think about all those rats, it takes the romance right out of the days of

  chivalry. You’re living in an age of sexual freedom. If you keep your jeans zipped up this tight

  all your life, it’s just gonna pass you by.”

  “I won’t die if it all passes me by. Someday I’ll meet somebody who still knows the

  meaning of romance, somebody who loves poetry and long walks along the beach.”

  “You live in Iowa,” remarked Heather. “There aren’t any beaches in Iowa, just miles and

  miles of corn. Long walks through the cornfield aren’t extremely romantic. Of course, rolling

  around in the hayloft can be a lot of fun.”

  Laura stood up and grabbed her friend’s hand. She pulled Heather to her feet and began

  dragging her up the aisle towards the practice field.

  “Come on Heather,” pleaded Laura. “We need to practice our drills. These guys aren’t

  the only people who have to perform in front of the crowd Friday night.”

  Heather stared out at the well-lit football field. Her stomach rolled inside her as

  butterflies seemed to beat their wings against her ribs. She reached down and adjusted her

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  bloomers, which had ridden up on her. The young cheerleader could hardly wait for the game to

  begin. The crowd was cheering this year’s senior class from behind her.

  Heather had imagined this moment all her life. Her senior year seemed so far away until

  now. Yet here it was, staring her in the face. Her first seventeen years flashed before her as the

  crowd chanted “seventy-five,” cheering the seniors.

  “This is so great. It feels like a dream,” screamed Heather over the noise of the crowd as

  she turned around to look up at the stands.

  “I know,” agreed Laura, who stood next to her with her pompoms at her side. “It seems

  so unreal to think this is our own homecoming game. I thought this day would never come.”

  Laura and Heather stood staring up at the huge crowd gathered for the game. In the dark

  night, the bright lights illuminated the field with a fluorescent mist and excitement flooded the

  air as they looked up a what seemed like the entire county surrounding the small high school

  field. The bitter chill of the mid-autumn night and the smell of cheap food from the snack bar

  was the only reminder that everything was real.

  The group of girls had little protection from the elements in the small outfits that they

  wore. They looked almost identical in appearance, with their hair drawn up in French braids so it

  wouldn’t get in the way of their cheering. The blue and white uniforms they wore had a large

  “H” printed on the front, and they executed their drills with precision.

  Heather threw up her pompoms and kicked one leg up into the air, regretting the action as

  she reached down a second time to adjust her bloomers. She stood next to Laura in the

  formation. Heather led the cheers as head cheerleader. She moved closer to Laura so she could

  scream more secretly over the rumble of the crowd.

  “I have a special night planned with Todd after the game,” began Heather

  enthusiastically.

  “Oh yeah, are you doing something romantic?” questioned Laura.

  “Of course,” exclaimed Heather. “I’m having sex with the hero of tonight’s game. I

  borrowed the keys to my grandma's house. She's out of town for the weekend. My parents are

  supposed to check the house tomorrow. By then we will have christened every room in the

  house.”

  “That's terrible, Heather. How can you do it in your grandmother's house. That would

  give me the creeps,” answered Laura in surprise.

  “It's the excitement of doing it in a dangerous place where you know you shouldn't that

  makes it so great. If you only knew the places where Todd and I have done it. It really gets the

  guy excited. Someday you'll know what I'm talking about.”

  “I don't know,” replied Laura unenthusiastically. “My grandma's hous
e smells like

  mothballs and menthol. I can't imagine that exciting anybody.”

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  “I told Todd to make a touchdown for me. I added a special incentive to the evening if he

  could do it,” boasted Heather.

  “What more can you give him? He already knows every nook and cranny on your body

  by heart. He could find his way blindfolded!”

  “Laura, you have a lot to learn.”

  The marching band played the school song and the crowd stood up to sing the chorus.

  The two girls watched anxiously minutes later as the Star Spangled Banner began to play. The

  opposing team stood on the sidelines across the field from the bleachers. Laura could see some

  of the players out of the corner of her eye.

  “You know, Laura, you could sneak off with one of Jefferson's players tonight and you'd

  never see him again. It would be the perfect opportunity to experience all the pleasure you’re so

  afraid to unlock,” suggested Heather as the anthem played on.

  “I'm not dropping my pants for anyone on Jefferson's football team,” Heather whispered

  as the crowd settled down with respect. “I'm not dropping my pants for anyone at all. When I do

  drop my pants will be after I'm married and alone with my husband. You can bet every ounce of

  indecency in your body that I'm not going to drop my pants tonight.” Laura spoke firmly. She

  had grown accustomed to the constant pressure by her best friend and had learned to enjoy the

  meaningless teasing. She had never allowed it to bother her.

  “That's what you say now,” replied Heather. “The night is far from over, my friend.”

  Heather picked up the banner which lay rolled up on the ground behind the cheerleader’s

  bench. She led the group of girls out on the field and they split up and opened it facing the

  hometown crowd. Harrison’s football team still hadn’t entered the field. They sat just beyond

  their end zone in a silent prayer for a few minutes before they stood up to face the field.

  The coach screamed out a rally call and Harrison High School's football team ran onto

  the field as the crowd roared to life. Todd was the fastest on the team and the first to break

  through the banner. Heather winked at him as he ran by her.

  Todd turned his head to wink back at her and accidentally tripped over his feet. He rolled