• Tyler Wood's Journal Entry #15
    March 28, 2010


    tab "Hello?" I cringed at the secretary's calm, nothing-is-wrong tone in her voice, but forced the phone to my mouth anyway, and got out,
    tab "Is...Stacy Nickels there? She, uh, she left her lunch here. Could you call her down?"
    tab "May I ask who this is?"
    tab "Yes...This is Mr. Nickels."
    tab "All right," she said, probably nodding with approval. "I'll call her down." I could hear her make the announcment over the speaker,
    tab "Excuse me, is Stacy Nickels there? ...Yes, her dad says he has her lunch. ...All right. Thank you."
    tab "She should be down any minute," she said pleasently to me, probably with a grand smile on her face.
    tab "Wait," I quickly added. "Could you tell her...get on the phone?"
    tab "All right, I'll tell her to call you back."
    tab "No!" I objected suddenly. "Just...hold the line."
    tab "Um...All right." She said with suspicion apparant in her voice, though she tried not to show it.
    tab A couple minutes passed, until I finally heard Stacy's voice.
    tab Stacy's...unhappy voice.
    tab "You're not my dad." I recoiled a few inches, surprised at her unfriendly greeting.
    tab "So, what's going on? Why are you calling me?"
    tab "I-I-I..." She instantly recognized my voice.
    tab "Tyler Woods?!" she gasped. Then, probably through seething teeth, she hissed,
    tab "Where the hell are you calling me from?"
    tab "My--"
    tab "Look," she interrupted. "That doesn't even matter. What are you doing in the first place, calling me in the middle of class? Do you think this is funny?!"
    tab "No!" was my quick, obvious reply. "Just--just hear me out." A small pause. Then,
    tab "All right. I'm listening." I sighed in relief. That was the first step, getting her to listen. My mind raced, trying to think of the best way to say it.
    tab "Could you...could you meet me near the buses outside in twenty minutes?"
    tab "May I ask..."
    tab "No!" I told her up front. "You can't ask why."
    tab "And how am I supposed to convince to teachers I should go outside?" I shook my head.
    tab "You don't have to. Just...just walk out."
    tab "Oh my God...This is completely crazy."
    tab "Stacy..."
    tab "So, what? You want me to get out of class so you can tell me who-knows-what? What do you have to tell me that's so important? I mean, last time you said something like this and you told me..."
    tab "I told you that you'd die, I know," I finished for her, remorsefully playing the clip again in my head.
    tab "Why can't you..." she began, a loss of energy apparant in her voice. "Why can't you tell me what's so important now?"
    tab "What I want to show you can't be shown over the telephone."
    tab "You've made my life..." she muttered, "a living hell, you know that?" I didn't comment. I knew it was true.
    tab "All right," she finally said, with reluctance in her voice. "I'm going to regret this, but...all right..."
    tab "So...You're coming?"
    tab "I don't have anything to lose," she said, as I tried not to think of why that was. "I can withstand...a day or two in detention. And also...I'm a bit curious as to what's so important that makes you go through all this trouble."
    tab "Thank you!" I cried, unable contain my bursting enthusiasm, a glowing smile planted on my face. Happiness...Pure happiness...Or at least as "pure" as it can be, being I was a robot.
    tab "Hmph. We'll see." She paused again, and then reminded me,
    tab "Just remember, I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing this for myself. Just so long as we're clear..." I shrugged. I didn't care why she came, just so long as she did come.
    tab "So...see you in...twenty minutes."
    tab "I'm going to regret this..." she repeated again, this time slower.
    tab You probably will, I thought to myself, clicking the phone into the reciever. But...Not in the way you think.