Swing Low: Chapter 19

Chapter 19:

We're over halfway through this book now. The book will not be published at the first part of April like we planned. I'm just a little swamped. But I'm still moving along. I'll get this finished soon.

If you're new to this, start atThe Beginning. And thanks for sharing my stories with all your friends.
Installment #20 of:Sing Low: The Hangman of the WoodsBy B.C. Crow (Chapter 19Good times often breed complacency. We relish these breaks from turmoils we’ve lived through and squalls that are sure to come. But all too often, we nap in the glory of our ease. Then when we're in trouble, we can't see beyond our misery. In truth, looking beyond ourselves is impossible at any time unless we consciously make the effort today, regardless of where life has placed us.“Hey Iddo.” Krystal punched me in the arm as I entered to turn in my latest two articles. Yeah, she was just being friendly, but she still packed a punch meant for a tough guy, not me.I rubbed my bicep. “As always, it’s nice to see you, too.” Why was she wearing such a conniving smirk?I soon found out.I could always e-mail my articles rather than delivering them in person. But I couldn’t pick up my pay via e-mail. So, I hand delivered most of my stories. Besides, I’d found that I had better commission leverage if I stopped by in person. For some reason my boss always felt it easier to cheapen my articles if he was communicating across the Internet. As I stepped into my boss’s office, he took my articles. After one quick glance, barely enough to read the title, he handed them back to me.I eyed him suspiciously, sensing he had something else on his mind today. “Iddo, I’ve been thinking. I’ve got this really good intern who needs a little more responsibility.” He waved a hand toward the door. “Have you met Krystal yet? She’s been with us for about a month.”I shook my head. I guess I should have nodded to his question, but my mind kept saying, Oh no!Krystal strolled in with a professional smile on her face. She always looked good. Today she looked like an elite businesswoman. Her doll-like face seemed more mature. Her normally self-absorbed air was replaced by a confident stature. Even her fruity lotions had been replaced by a subtle perfume. Had I not known her before, I might have found her attractive.“You could say that we’ve met,” I ventured carefully. I didn’t want to insinuate that we’d grown up together, just in case he knew about Krystal’s pompous layer beneath this radiant facade. I didn’t want him to associate her character flaws with me. The last thing I needed was to be stained by association.“Good, because you two are going to be working closely together from here on out.” My jaw dropped. I snapped my mouth shut, hoping he hadn’t noticed. Could he hear my teeth clicking together as audibly as I could?From his swivel chair, he raised an eyebrow. A mischievous smirk touched the edge of his lip. I couldn’t believe it. He was amused. Not by partnering me with this girl I’d grown to like and loathe at the same time. No, he was delighted to see how a fat nobody like me would react to being paired with such an attractive American girl.I had to admit to myself that if I hadn’t grown up around her, I might have been a gushy pile of boiled cabbage in this situation. But as it was, I was easily able to regain my composure.Somewhat disappointed in my reaction, he continued. “Krystal is going to be editing all your articles from now on. Don’t think you can slacken your quality, you hear me? She’s a bright one, and she’ll catch you on it.”I had no doubt about that. If there was one thing I remembered clearly, it was Krystal’s undeviating ambition to further her own self-interest. “Thank you,” I said, only because I didn’t know what else to say. I turned and handed her my articles. “One is about the upcoming school pride dance. The other is a biographical interview with the dean of the medical school.”She took my papers and gave me a wink that only I could see.I gave my best congenial smile back. She waited until I left the room before discussing something more with my boss. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad reporting to Krystal. I was still employed, but no longer under the constant scrutiny of the chief editor. I imagined the move was in part to give Krystal the experience she needed, but I like to think I was chosen because he’d come to trust my work enough that he didn’t need to personally keep tabs on me the whole time.It could also have something to do with the fact that campus news wasn’t as big a part of the publication as some of his other sections. Most of those sections dealt with the world outside this community and many articles couldn’t have been written by any of our reporters.Still, for many people, especially students, the college section was the most read part. Not a big deal. As long as I could keep my job for two more years, I’d be able to get a paid internship in a hospital while I started my fifth year of school.I had it all planned out. Money would be tight, but in the past week I’d been visiting different apartments. If I budgeted very carefully, and submitted a third article occasionally for the news, I could afford my own apartment with Midnight. It could work. I would make it work. After all, I was used to being poor and knew how to get by on very little.Midnight was used to getting by without any money at all. Of course, this would be a different environment for her. But I felt confident that she could adjust.October was nearing an end. Duy found me at our deeply gouged writing desk, also known as our kitchen table and occasionally as a downhill grass sled. When you’re strapped for cash, fun can come in many shapes.“Put your pencil down, Iddo! It’s time to par-tay.”I sighed. “Do I really have to? Can’t I just go by myself? I’m a much better reporter when I’m alone and able to focus on observing.” That wasn’t the real reason I preferred to go by myself. When Duy had returned from his family, he’d gotten some of that Believer zeal back into his life. But it was already eroding again. I didn’t trust his judgment in friends right now.“You’re not getting out of a good time that easily. Plus, you work too much.”"Oh-kay." If I had to go anyway, maybe it would be better to go with people I knew.I stood and followed him out the door. Thing Two was already waiting for us outside. We took an energetic walk about a kilometer down the road before detouring into another apartment block. These were high-ticket apartments, the type that Jhon and Charles would have been more apt to attend; that is, they would if this wasn’t also considered the party block. Duy and Thing Two rushed into the second building on the right. I trailed a little less enthusiastically.“Come on, Iddo, don’t be such a stiff,” Duy chided. “Thing Two said you’d be a lot of fun tonight.”Thing Two? Why would he want me here? The guy was just as incorrigible as Duy, if not a little crankier. While Duy knocked on the girls’ apartment door, Thing Two fell back to talk to me.“Yeah, I told him I wanted you here. Duy is a good guy, you know that. But I need help tonight keeping him out of trouble. I’m worried about the company he’s found to take to the dance. Girls and drugs. You know. All the stuff that trips up a good Believer. He respects you, you know?”I stared at Thing Two for a moment. “Since when do you care about Duy forsaking his beliefs?”He gave me a hurt look. “What are you suggesting, that I like his new lifestyle? I run with this crowd so I can keep a good eye on Duy. I don’t want to see him trip up his life the way I’ve done.”“Okay,” I said with some trepidation. What I meant, but didn’t dare say, was that you can’t lead from behind. That’s called pushing. It’s the whole principle of you have to stand on higher ground if you’re going to raise anyone else up. But Thing Two had a temper, which I’ve been known to set off, so I kept my thoughts to myself.The girls who answered the door were gorgeous. Not just good-lookers, these were unrealistically attractive. How in the world had Duy befriended them? I don’t mean to be mean, but while Duy wasn’t necessarily unattractive, neither was he up to their standard of beauty. In total, there were five girls. Two of them already had guys hanging on their arms. One latched on to Duy and another to Thing Two. The last girl eyed me warily. She was a cat who’d just found out that she was going to be stuck with a fat forest mouse for the evening. A mischievous quirk of the lip told me that she was going to have fun toying with me before carving out my kidneys. That’s just what I needed tonight. What I really wanted was to find a way out of this.“Hi, I’m Iddo.” I extended my hand.Her grin grew wicked and she grabbed my hand, yanked me in close, and nearly sucked my tonsils out of my throat. She let go, and I staggered backward, tripped on the threshold. I came down hard on my butt.Laughter erupted all around me. Oh boy, here we go. This is going to be a very long night.She told me her name. It could have been Lien, Lainey, or even Wilber. It was hard to concentrate on introductions with the hurricane of mirth that everyone was having at my expense. I was the only one who wasn’t about to roll on the ground from laughing so hard. This coming from me, the only guy who seconds ago actually was rolling on the ground. How on earth was I going to make it through the night?I should have just walked away right then and there. I didn't fit in. I didn't want to fit in, not with this crowd at least. I could have endured Thing Two's chastisement later. I tried to tell myself that my article took precedence over my embarrassment. Even then I knew it was a stretch. I think, if I was even thinking at all, that deep down I wanted to prove my maturity. If I was going to marry in under a year, but couldn’t handle one stupid dance, how was I ever going to handle raising a family? If I'd truly been thinking, which the fog of humiliation clouded, then the true test of my confidence would have been to leave.Somehow we all found our way to the dance. My mind was drowning in a bath full of embarrassment the whole time. Time itself became an abstract. One minute I was getting a tongue hickey, the next I was her puppet at the dance, even while my mind was still stuck on the short walk to the Student Union building. It’s hard to concentrate when the most gorgeous woman you’ve ever met is dressed in skintight clubbing silks and won’t let go of your arm. I’m sure I inhaled more panicked perfume laced breaths in that ten-minute walk than in all my activities for the past decade or more.At the dance, I could feel every eye on me. This girl was attractive enough to have any man in the room. Her confidence extended beyond her need to be with an equal. Tonight, she was just having fun and I was her pathetic little toy. She wasn’t shy about it in the least. She made sure everyone saw us together. The more smiles and laughs she produced, the more of a show she made at my expense. I had to get away.“I need to go get a drink. I’ll be right back.”“You know something?” she said soothingly. “I could use something to moisten my lips, too.” She then ran a finger up my chest to my chin.I gulped and spun around, making for a quick walk to the refreshment table. She kept stride. Not a hard thing when keeping up with someone as short and round as me. Even while in hard retreat, she glided effortlessly alongside.After choking down a cup of water, I turned my face away from hers. She never took her eyes off me, unless she was accepting someone else’s humored giggles. “I need to visit the bathroom.” Really I did. I needed to visit any place, alone, that would let me catch my breath and settle down. This girl was going to give me a stroke before the night was over.She put her arms around my waist. “You’re too clever. Okay. I’ll come along with you,” she said with a seductive wink. Then she started leading me toward the bathroom.This girl was crazy. She was acting like she would follow me into the bathroom.I flashed my head from side to side, looking for any excuse to escape her. “Where’s Duy? Maybe we should join back up with them.”She feigned a hurt look. I wanted to scream. Just then a light-skinned finger tapped her shoulder. She turned around and met my saving angel. “Mind if I cut in for a dance or two?”Lien gave me the largest fake frown I’d ever seen. She was probably grateful for the break, herself. Only I knew that once she had a moment with her friends, she would come back more vicious than ever. Thankfully, though, she did release me to this new American girl.“Thank you,” I nearly cried.“Please,” Krystal said pathetically. “Do you really think I’d let that girl just keep on humiliating you like that? Why don’t you stand up for yourself? Even if you just tried to make a move or two on her, you’d probably scare her into quitting.”“Listen, I just have to get out of here.”“Okay, okay. Let’s just dance for a minute, and we’ll slowly make our way toward the exit.”Krystal was true to her word. It took about a song and a half, but we made it out of the dance hall before Lien had a chance to track me down.“Mind if I walk you home?” Krystal asked.“Just like going home from school, like we used to do,” I reminisced.She laughed. So did I. For minute, I forgot my disgrace. I was glad, for once, that Krystal could carry on such a good one-sided conversation. It took all the pressure off me. There was something else to her, also. Either I hadn’t noticed it before or maybe her personality had matured a little, but she was pleasant to be around. I even enjoyed our slow walk. We got to my place and then we just lingered outside for almost an hour. Talk was easy. We both exchanged genuine smiles.“Krystal,” I said, just as she was about to leave.Her eyes looked openly to me, inviting me to continue.“I’ve been wanting to apologize for how I treated you when we were still at school together. You always were trying to make me happy and I don’t think I ever gave you any credit for it. I think I even spurned you on more than one occasion. I’ve felt really bad for it.”She leaned over and gave me a gentle kiss on the cheek. “You’re sweet, Iddo. Stay away from trouble, okay?”“If by trouble you mean Lien, trust me, that’s the last thing I ever want to get close to.”Krystal smiled. Her eyes lingered a moment too long on mine before she walked away. I stayed outside for a few minutes till she turned out of sight. Those eyes seemed to be telling me something but didn’t want my ears to actually hear. Whatever it was, maybe we might be good friends after all.Click here to read Chapter 20Copyright 2017: While I encourage you to share this link with your friends and family, please keep in mind that this is copyrighted material. Under no circumstances do you have the right to re-publish any or part of this content without specific written permission from BC Crow and Blue House Publishing.