The Beginning of Something Special?

Welcome to the Spot Writers. The prompt for this cycle is to use these words in a writing: jeep, marathon, pizza, wealthy, bedroom. Phil Yeats wrote this week’s story.

In April, 2024, he published The Body on Karli’s Beach, the third book in his Barrettsport Mysteries, a series of soft-boiled mysteries set in a fictional South Shore Nova Scotia town. For information about these books, and The Road to Environmental Armageddon, his trilogy about the hazards of ignoring human-induced climate change, visit his website: https://alankemisterauthor.wordpress.com/

 

The Beginning of Something Special?

by Phil Yeats

 

She was wealthy, but he wasn’t. He was smart, but she wasn’t. They say opposites attract, but in this case, it seemed unlikely.

They met in high school, but they didn’t attend the same high school. Hers was an exclusive private boarding school where students from all over the country and many from abroad lived in luxury on a large estate near to, but separate from, a moderate-sized town. He lived twenty kilometres away and took a school bus to the rural high school on the other side of town. 

Jessica’s workaholic father imagined the day she would join his law firm as a junior partner, but that wasn’t likely to happen. She was a mediocre student and far more interested in sports than in academic subjects. She favoured athletics, especially the longer events, but also played basketball and volleyball.

Zac’s alcoholic father worked whenever he could at whatever jobs he could land, but none ever lasted very long. Money was always tight and any thoughts of his family helping pay for our hero’s university education… No way that was happening, but schoolwork was all he was good at, and he was determined to go.

Scholarships and student loans were the only way he’d generate the money he needed for college. He didn’t relish the idea of a massive student debt, so he started saving for university with a part-time job in the town’s pizzeria at the tender age of fourteen. He bussed tables and washed dishes; and when he could, he helped prepare the pizzas. The pay was lousy, but it all went into his college education account.

Things improved after he came second in a national mathematics contest for grade nine students. He started earning a few dollars tutoring other kids in his school. Business grew in September of his grade ten year after his boss at the pizzeria suggested he put up notices offering his math tutoring services in the restaurant and elsewhere around town. 

The first to respond was a grade nine student from the Academy. He agreed to meet her in the town library after school on the next day.

“Awesome,” she called out when she spotted him at a table in the town library with a copy of the grade nine math text in front of him. It was the one they used at the Academy, not the one from the public school. “You work in the pizzeria, right?” When he nodded, she continued. “Effing crazy. High school math prodigy working in a grungy pizza place. You should have a scholarship to some cool math academy.”

“Nothing like that’s happening, and I couldn’t afford to live away from home. So, why are you here anyway?”

“Almost failed math last year, and we’re only a month into the new year and I’m already so effing lost…” 

“I thought the Academy had the smallest classes, best teachers, most resources. Everything we don’t have in the regular schools?”

She stared at the ceiling. “Yeah, like, really…”

“Okay. This is how it works. I have ninety minutes after school before I have to head home. You tell me how often and what days you prefer, and I’ll see what works for me. Fifteen bucks a session.”

She handed him a two bank notes, folded into a tiny square. “Let’s start. See if the math genius can do better than my stupid teachers.”

And that’s how it began. They met most Tuesday afternoons through that school year and the next. By the time he graduated and moved away to attend university, she understood the curriculum well to enough to pass grade twelve math on her own.

Fast-forward five years and we find him graduated with his Bachelor of Mathematics from the University of Waterloo and working in the information technology sector in Boston. She has recently graduated from the University of Delaware, where she studied psychology. Her primary interest, however, was in track where she excelled at long distance events. She was in Boston for the famed Boston Marathon.

On Patriot’s Day at 11 a.m., Zac joined the throng near the finish line, wondering if Jessica Lane from the University of Delaware listed in the elite athletes’ group could be the girl he tutored during his high school years. He found a suitable vantage point and settled down for what might be a long wait. The fastest runners were due in about an hour, but he didn’t know how fast she would be. He had food and water. He wouldn’t suffer as he waited.

The first runner ran past his vantage point at 11:45, a good time according to an apparently well-in-formed spectator who said they were about two minutes from the finish line. The first woman ran by at 12:07 and he started counting. He recognized Jessica as she ran by in a group whose time would be about around two hours and twenty-six minutes. That would be close to and hopefully under the qualifying time for the upcoming summer Olympics. He rushed to the finish line area and waited by the entrance to the restricted zone. After about twenty minutes, she emerged, accompanied by another young woman. She was still wearing her running gear.

She turned and stared, but just for a moment. “I knew you were living in Boston. I’m so glad you came out to watch.” She stepped forward and gave him a big hug before turning to her companion. “Tell me again what’s the story with that damned jeep? I was too overwhelmed by my time when you tried to explain.”

Leah, the companion, sighed. “Jordan’s text says they have the part; will install it first thing tomorrow morning; should be ready to go by noon.”

Jessica pointed at an open space that was outside the restricted area. “Great. I’ll continue my cooldown by walking around over there with lots of stretches. You’ll return to the rental car and get my kitbag while Zac and I catch up on old times. When you get back, we’ll find a-foodery restroom where I can get changed. Later, we’ll find somewhere for a high carb meal. A shower would be nice, but I guess that’s not on.”

Our hero joined the conversation. “My apartment’s only a fifteen-minute walk from here. You could have your shower and we could either organize that high carb meal at my place or find a restaurant that meets your requirements.”

Zac and Jessica strolled along the Commonwealth Avenue Mall with Jessica stopping frequently for an obviously well-established stretching routine. Between stretching stops, Jessica described her father’s continuing opposition to her athletic activities. Then suddenly, after she graduated from Delaware, he presented her with the keys to an SUV and a two-person support team. The support staff was great, but the huge Jeep Wagoneer SUV was a disaster. She’d only had it for a month and it had broken down twice. This last time almost scuppered her participation in the one event where she needed a great time to force her way onto the Canadian Olympic team.

“But you must be happy with your time,” Zac said. “You were close to the winners, and I heard several spectators comment on how well you did.”

“I am. Knocked more that a minute off my best time. I was pissed when the SUV broke down in Albany, but Sylvie kept me focused while she looked after details like renting a car and finding us accommodation near the start line. Reminded me of someone who got me on track when I couldn’t do math in high school.”

Leah was waiting outside Zac’s low-rise building when they sauntered up. He described his one-bedroom apartment with the bathroom only accessible through the bedroom as they climbed the stairs.

 

*****

The Spot Writers—Our Members:

Val Muller: http://valmuller.com/blog/

Catherine A. MacKenzie: https://writingwicket.wordpress.com/wicker-chitter/

Phil Yeats: https://alankemisterauthor.wordpress.com/

Chiara De Giorgi: https://chiaradegiorgi.blogspot.com/