Doing it my way

Rita. "Any particular reason?"

     "Yeah, because it starts in about two minutes, and I don't feel like waiting around." Actually, he sensed that Sheila wasn’t exactly thrilled with the situation. He was genuinely worried that if he didn't hustle the four of them into the theatre as quickly as possible, she just might run away, like Steven had predicted.

     The movie turned out to be o.k, but not great. Ian and Rita held hands and shared a bucket of popcorn, while Steven and Sheila just stared at the screen. Steven's eyes would occasionally drift towards her, but she never returned any glances.

  5:30 pm

     When it ended, the four of them regrouped at the same table they were sitting at before going inside.

     "That was alright, but I'm probably not going to remember it in a week," said Ian.

     Rita turned to Sheila. "That girl who played the accountant's niece sort of reminded me of you."

     Sheila just sort of stared at all three of them simultaneously, and literally spoke for the first time since she and Rita arrived at the mall. "I enjoyed it. Thanks for inviting me, but I'm not feeling too well. I'll see you guys at school tomorrow." With that, she got up and left.

     As soon as she disappeared down the escalator, Steven stood up and leaned over the table. "You two are the best. I'll see you in class tomorrow."

     "Steven, you can hang with us if you like..." Rita started.

     "Thanks Rita, but I'd feel like a third leg. You guys have already done enough for me." With that, He got up and left.

     Ian looked at Rita and sighed. "Well, we tried." There was a five second pause. "Just out of curiosity, can you picture Betty or Trish with Steven?"

     "No," Rita sounded certain. "Believe it or not Ian, I'm not giving up on Sheila just yet."

     "You've got to be kidding. She didn't even acknowledge his presence once over the last two hours."

     She looked at Ian and smiled. "How soon you forget that there was once a time when I treated you like that."

     "Yeah, but not when there were two mutual friends present."

     "I'll try talking to her tomorrow. You know, my guess is that this probably has nothing to do with Steven. She might just simply not be into guys yet. Not everyone is at our age."

     "Either that or she already has a boyfriend."

     "No, I don’t think so. If that was the case, she would've insisted on bringing him along." Rita looked at the big clock in the center of the mall. "It's 5:30 and dark outside. I'll call my mom and see if she'll give us a lift."

     "But I've got my bike."

     "Our car has a rack."

  6:03 pm

     Rita's mom picked them both up at the mall, and dropped Ian off at his house. Little did the two of them know that this was only the beginning of what would turn out to be a long, tumultuous evening.

  7:30 pm

     Phoebe's mother was obviously impressed as she drove up to the guard booth of the Alveira Heights gated community.

     "Name?" asked the guard.

     "Shan," she answered.

     Phoebe spoke up from the passenger seat. "The Allan’s residence is expecting us."

     The guard turned a couple of pages on his clip-board, wrote something down, and then the crossing gate lifted. Mrs. Shan's eyes were nearly popping out of her head as she slowly made her way through the well kept streets full of gigantic stately homes. The sun had gone down a couple of hours earlier, and the mansions all seemed to look even more impressive in the soft moonlight. She was in heaven. These were the sort of residences she fantasized about in her dreams.

     "So what class is this boy in with you?"

     "Huh?" Phoebe was caught a little off guard.

     "You said that you and he are going to be studying together."

     Of course that wasn't the case. Even if Felix hadn't been expelled, he was in the 9th grade, and the two of them weren't in any classes together. That was just an excuse she used to get her mom to drive her to his home.

     "Um..." Phoebe wasn't sure how to answer this.

     "Well, it doesn't matter, Phoebe. I'm just glad you're making friends with the right people."

     Whether or not Felix was a straight-A student or an axe murderer was meaningless in the warped mind of Phoebe's mother. To her, anybody who lived in a cozy neighborhood like this fell under the category of 'the right people.'

     Phoebe glanced at the road map. "Turn left up ahead. It should be just around the corner."

     As the car rounded the bend, the Allan estate came into view. Mrs. Shan was beside herself. She parked the car in front of what had to be the longest walkway either of them had ever seen.

     "Listen Phoebe, the meeting at the school is going to last about two hours, and it's going to take me at least a half hour to get there and back. Three hours should be more than enough time to get whatever studying you need done. I hope you also take some time to get to know this boy and his family a little better."

     "Mom, you haven't even met him yet. Let me introduce you..."

     "Phoebe dear, I'm going to be late for the meeting. I'm sure he's a nice kid. Just go knock on the door, and when he answers, I'll wave to the two of you."

     Phoebe got out of the car and scurried up the walkway. She rang the bell and it didn't take long for Felix to open the door.

     "Hello babe." Getting expelled from school had done nothing to mute Felix's usual narcissistic demeanor.

     "Hi Felix...Wave to my mom." Phoebe turned around and waved, and Felix did likewise. 

     Neither of them could actually see her mother in the darkness. Her mother could barely see them as well. The porch was dimly lit, and at least twenty yards from the curb. She could just make out two small silhouettes waving their hands. She was satisfied that someone was home, and drove off.

     "Come on in." Felix led her through a cavernous foyer. As they walked, their footsteps echoed loudly. The place was not well lit, and a bit like a museum after hours. Phoebe did her best to ignore the sheer creepiness of the whole situation. Soon they arrived at a room in the back with a huge high definition widescreen television covering up most of the wall. "Have a seat." He motioned towards the couch that was facing the TV.

     Phoebe was understandably a little curious that no one appeared to be in this giant sized estate besides him. She thought she would be meeting his family. "So are your folks going to the P.T.A. meeting too?"

     "Nope, they're not here." He sat down next to her. "They're at our other home near the coast."

     A lot of thoughts were now racing through Phoebe’s head. Just how rich are these people? How did they acquire all this wealth. What on earth is Felix doing in a public school in the first place? Don't people this rich, usually send their kids to private schools?

     "Do you have any brothers or sisters?" It was just starting to occur to Phoebe how little she really knew about him.    "I have an older brother. He's off at college."

     "Usually places this size come with butlers and maids."

     "The help doesn't live on the premises. The maids arrive at eight and leave at five." The conversation wasn't going the way he wanted it to. "So is there any movie in particular that you'd like to see? We've got a big collection."

     He pointed towards a large bookcase that was filled with DVDs. She got up to examine them. Unlike Rita's father's library, this one full of movies of a more recent vintage. She was a little disturbed by the staggering amount of horror films there were in the collection.

     "Well what haven't you seen yet?" She asked.

     "I've seen all of them Phoebe, but I wouldn't mind seeing any of them again. It's always different when you watch it with someone else."

     Felix had it all planned. Like most guys, he knew that a good scary movie might cause a girl to suddenly grab on to whoever is sitting n
ext to her for protection. The oldest trick in the book. Phoebe actually assumed that she would be snuggling up next to him on the sofa, but not while watching something like that. She was thinking more along the lines of a romantic film for a romantic evening.

     "I've got a better idea," she sat back down on the couch. "Why don't we just see what's on TV?"

     Felix tossed her the remote control. "Knock yourself out. There's a big satellite dish outside. We've got every channel on the planet, and whatever you want to watch is fine with me."

     She picked up the remote, and started to flip through the channels. Her female instincts kicked in when she stumbled upon a romantic scene between two people in an opulent restaurant. It didn't matter that she didn't see the beginning, or really know what it was about yet. This was obviously a recent chick-flick, and girls are just naturally hardwired to zoom in on this sort of material.

     "Let's see what this is."

     "Alright." Felix sat down next to her and put his arm around her shoulders.

     Phoebe leaned into him, and they both settled into watching the film. For the next half hour or so, they would remain in this position, with Felix occasionally kissing the top of her head. This would eventually change.

  8:15 pm, Alamanda Middle School

     The parents and teachers had gone through all the requisite greetings and handshakes. Eventually they all filed into the school auditorium and found their seats.

     Principal Raoul stepped up to the lectern stage left, and addressed the crowd. "Greetings, parents and