“I have to get home,” he said. “But I can pick him up tomorrow?”

“I suppose,” Dr. Baker said. “Could you please bring the number of his parents’ hotel with you? Or better yet, phone it in tonight?”

“Absolutely,” Ben lied.

“Wait, you’re taking my car?” Tim sounded panicked.

“It’s not like you can use it,” Ben said, happily patting the pocket that held the keys. “See you tomorrow, tiger.”

A few minutes later Ben was sitting in the something-or-other 3000GT with a big smile on his face. The next few weeks were going to be very interesting indeed.

__________

Chapter 5

“Oh. My. God.” Allison stood slack-jawed in the middle of her driveway.

Ben leaned over to get a better look at her out the passenger side window. The movement of a curtain caught his eye, just as he was about to say something smart. Allison’s father stood in the living room window, immaculately dressed in the type of conservative business suit he always wore. Ben had never seen him wear anything different. He wondered if the man slept in a suit as well. It was hard to imagine him in something as casual as pajamas and impossible to believe that he would sleep in his skivvies.

Mr. Cross gave a smoldering glare that sent chills up his spine.

“Just get in,” Ben said impatiently.

Once his passenger had boarded and they were a block away, he felt free to resume his jovial mood.

“When you said you were going to pick me up for school, I thought maybe you had your parents’ car or something!”

Ben shrugged, enjoying keeping Allison in suspense. This didn’t dissuade her from finding out the truth. She popped the glove box and pulled out the only contents--the insurance card.

“Tim Wyman?” Once again her jaw lost the ability to hold her mouth shut. “You have got to be kidding me! Does he know you have it?”

Ben was offended. “What, you think I stole his car or something? I’m not that sick.”

“Well, how then?”

“I put him in the hospital.” Ben laughed. “That’s how.”

Allison didn’t find this statement amusing until he told her the complete story.

“That’s the most depraved thing I’ve ever heard,” she said once he had finished. “You realize that you need help?”

“Say what you like,” Ben said as he waved a hand dismissively. “My methods get results. If things aren’t going so hot with Ronnie, cripple him. Guys are crazy about it, trust me.”

“So what’s next?” Allison asked as she reached over to gently take the wheel. She turned it slightly, just enough to stop the car from barreling into a trash can on the side of the road.

“Oh, thanks. Next is complicated. I’m supposed to pick him up, which I figured I could do during lunch, but I don’t really want to come back afterwards.” Ben pulled into the school parking lot and swung into the nearest empty spot. He killed the engine and turned to his best friend. “I need you to cover for me in choir. Say I started hurling during lunch or something.”

“Will do.”

“I don’t know what to do about the other classes. I guess my parents will be getting a call tonight.”

Allison shook her head. “You should be fine. Have you ever noticed that they only take attendance in second period?”

He hadn’t, but now that she mentioned it, that’s how it always had been. The first week of school every teacher did a roll call, but after that only his English teacher still did so.

“The office would go mad trying to compare every attendance record,” Allison continued, “so they just go by the one from second period. Mindy Scott was an office assistant last year and told me how it works.”

“So as long as I’m there during English I can skip the rest? Awesome!”

“Well, within reason. If you don’t show up for a week, a teacher will probably ask the office if you keeled over or something.”

This was still good news and made his future plans much easier to execute. “Can you find a ride home?” Ben asked as he unbuckled his seatbelt and stepped out of the car.

“I’m sure Ronnie wouldn’t mind bringing me,” Allison said with a smile.

“Yeah, well, just make sure he’s out of the house before your dad gets back.”

“Like you need to tell me that.”

Ben was resiliently happy during his morning classes. In P.E. a baseball hit him in the shoulder, giving him good cause to swear loudly and be sent on another jog around the school. He felt twice as daring as usual and made sure to stand out of sight until he heard the coach call everyone back in.

English was pleasant and the usual teacher was back in Spanish class. When Ben was called to the front for an exercise, a number of students made sure to try their new word, but mariposa failed to cause a reaction in the teacher. Maybe the substitute hadn’t given them the right word, or maybe Mrs. Vega chose not to hear. Ben didn’t know how aware the teachers were of his sexuality, but surely the faculty gossiped just as much as the students did. The name calling irritated him, but he was so close to escaping school for the day that he tried not to dwell on it.

When lunch break finally came, he had a hurried meal with Allison, his stomach bubbling with nervousness the whole time. Then he made a break for it. Ben had never skipped school before, at least not like this. He had previously feigned illnesses and had his mom call it in; who hadn’t? But this was different. He had imagined running into teachers or security guards on the way to the car and had a selection of excuses prepared. His best was to claim that he had forgotten some books in his car. That seemed reasonable enough. Once he was in the car he would simply drive away, or maybe he would retreat and try again between classes.

As it was, he had nothing to worry about. There were plenty of seniors who worked jobs the second half of the day, so he wasn’t alone in his excursion across the parking lot. He made it to the 3000GT, cautiously pulled out of the parking lot, and then went the exact speed limit all the way to the hospital. No sense in getting pulled over at this point in the game.

Ben entered through the emergency entrance, which was impractical in retrospect since it was no longer an emergency. A different receptionist, one even less friendly than the night before, gave him a vague idea of which direction he should head. He wandered the hospital halls for what felt like an eternity, wrinkling his nose at the sterile smell and trying not to stare at patients through the doors. After asking twice more and travelling two floors up, he finally reached Tim’s room.

The victim of his affections was stretched out on the bed, an ivory-white cast now covering his foot and lower leg. Currently an attractive young nurse was taking Tim’s blood pressure. At least, that’s what she was supposed to be doing. The cuff was still on his arm but so was her hand as she giggled at something Tim had just said. She sat down on the edge of the bed just as Ben cleared his throat, causing her to jump back up again.

“Benjamin!” Tim exclaimed happily. “And here I thought you had stolen my car and hightailed it to Mexico.”

“That’s the plan--” Ben smiled “--but I thought I’d bring you along. We’re checking out,” he said to the nurse.

“I’ll let the doctor know,” the nurse said as she left.

“Feeling better?” Ben suddenly wished he had brought flowers or a teddy bear or something. Wasn’t that what you were supposed to do in such situations?

“A little, yeah. Did you call my parents?”

“No. Yes! Sorry, yes,” Ben backtracked once Dr. Baker’s shadow filled the doorway. “They don’t think they can change their flight, but they’ve arranged for a nurse to take care of you and everything.”

“They’re probably pissed, huh?”

Ben found this comment surprising. Why would they be angry at their son for getting hurt? “Not at all,” he replied. “Don’t worry about it.”