Grover Girls Chapters 4-6

Chapter 4
         Four days after the ritual, Graham and I had only seen each other briefly, passing at the front door of the dorm and on our way to breakfast.  We shared very flirtatious glances and a few spark inducing touches, but neither of us had time to really spend with each other.  We were both busy with unpacking, meetings, and other pre-tenth grade kind of stuff.
         My alarm was set for 6:30 Monday morning, although I woke about about fifteen minutes before it went off.  My appointment with my advisor was at 8AM all the way across campus.  I turned off my alarm before it could wake Talia.  Her appointment wasn’t until 10, and we had stayed up late into the night, talking about school and some of the kids she had met so far.  Talia and I were becoming really close.  It’s great how sometimes you just click with people.  Especially people you have to live with for the next year!  I lay in bed for a few minutes, thinking about all that had happened the night of the ritual.  After “the touch”, Graham and I sat down at the table and chatted about the upcoming theatre auditions and our hopes for the next year.  I felt a strange connection with him, even though he was a lot different from the boys I usually had crushes on.  I saw this as a good thing.  He certainly was not athletic and he had a little bit of a James Dean rebel thing about him.  He was involved in school things, he just wasn’t “Mr. Spirit”.  Pete Ryan was Mr. Spirit.  Ugh…Pete and Lacey.  Images of them wrapped around each other at the observatory came flooding back to me.  I quickly turned my mind onto something else.  Owen Parkston, one of the most popular kids in the class, was flirting with Chloe quite a bit.  Chloe is a beautiful girl, so I wasn’t surprised about that.  What I was surprised at was that Owen, a boy who usually seemed so sure of himself, was getting tongue-tied and nervous around Chloe!  She flirted right back and I saw them holding hands on the way back to the dorm.  Since that day, Owen had been hanging around our common room during open visitation, and he and Chloe often had lunch together
         I quietly got out of bed and picked out some clothes to wear that day.  I dressed in my bathrobe and got my “shower shoes” on and headed for the bathroom.  I was happy to see that the bathroom was empty when I got in there.  I was still going over things in my head from the last few days with (or without) Graham and I wanted to be alone with my thoughts.  I showered quickly and started to dry my hair in the mirror and put a little makeup on.  I was lost in thought when the door opened behind me.  Ugh…it was Lacey Blume.
         “Oh hello, Alexis.” She gushed.  What a fake.  “I didn’t realize you were on my floor.  How fabulous”.  Duh…like we haven’t been sharing this floor for the past FOUR DAYS.  Plus the fact that her room was RIGHT next door to mine.
  She was very obvious about pulling her robe from her neck and revealing a great big purple hickey.  She rolled her eyes and mumbled “That Pete!” while dabbing makeup on it.  Flashbacks of the ritual came flooding back to me as I watched her primp in the mirror.  She and Pete connected at the lips, writhing around on the table in the observatory.  Kissing and making goo goo eyes at each other on the way back to the dorm.  The rest of us had gone up in the elevator and Lacey and Pete had said they were taking the stairs. We all speculated that she and Pete were going to spend the night together somewhere.  Maybe in the basement common room or something.  Ew.  Major gross out.
         I was still reeling a few minutes later when I got in the elevator and headed to the lobby.  I tried to push the yucky thought out of my head as I made my way across campus to the admissions building.  I focused on my yellow coursebook and thought about the questions I had for my advisor, Mr. Beasley.  He was a nice man.  Plump and balding and very short.  He had lots of pictures of his children on the wall in his office.  His son Michael was in the eleventh grade this year and his daughter Jessica was starting her first year at Northwoods.  He had another daughter named Dana who had graduated from Northwoods last year.  I heard that she had started her freshman year at Yale this year.  I made it across campus in record time and noticed that I was about fifteen minutes early for my appointment.  I sat down in a chair outside of Mr. Beasley’s office and opened my dog eared coursebook one last time.  I had made a list of the classes I wanted to take the night before while I was in the basement, and it looked like this:


Math:  Pre-Calculus 11
Science:  Geology  Astronomy
English:  Great Books 10
Foreign Language:  Latin 10
Social Studies:  US History 10
P.E. :  Synchronized Swimming
Electives:  Intermediate Voice, ???

After the ritual, I had decided that I wanted to take Astronomy instead of Geology to fulfill my science requirement.  I have always been an A student in math, and I was allowed to take a tenth grade Geometry class last year, which is why I decided to take an eleventh grade Pre Calculus class this year.  I am as far from athletic as you can get, and I figured Synchronized Swimming for one semester was a safe bet.  Dancing in the water…how tough can that be?  Better than basketball!  I was able to take “Beginning Voice” last year and I had the necessary signed paperwork that said I could take the intermediate level this semester.  I know I needed more electives, but I could not make up my mind which to choose.  There were so many options available to upper cluster students at Northwoods, I was overwhelmed.  I felt satisfied with my choices and was just about to check my watch when Mr. Beasley came bumbling up the hallway.
         “Hello Alexis!  Early as usual!  And me…late as usual.  Come in come in!” he said cheerfully. 
         I gathered my things and sat down in the leather armchair across from Mr. Beasley’s desk.  I took a few minutes to look at the pictures in his office while he organized his paperwork and my file.  There were pictures of Dana’s graduation and Jessica gymnastics meets and Michael in his baseball uniform.  I never noticed how handsome Michael was.  Sheesh, maybe I am as boy crazy as Chloe says!
         Mr. Beasley finally got organized and settled down into his desk chair.  He asked me about my summer and glanced through my file.  I showed him the courses I had picked and he said they looked “ambitious but definitely manageable for someone of your academic talent”. We discussed some options for electives and Mr. Beasley suggested I take an art history course.  We made up a schedule that fit my needs and he plugged in my electives.  When I stood up to leave, my schedule looked like this:

Frost, Alexis
Grover 301
Student Number:  5397846
Upper Cluster 10  Fall Semester

Subject                  Instructor                        Room                          Hour
Pre Calculus 11      B.  Innes                          Math 42                      M-F  8:15-9:00AM
Astronomy            L.  Bucksworth                Observatory                M-F  9:15-10:00AM
Astronomy Lab    L.  Bucksworth                Observatory                T      7:30PM
Latin 10                  P.  Guy                            Humanities 12            M-F  10:15 - 11:00AM
P.E.                          H.  Dickens                      Aquatics Center        M,W  12:15 - 1:00PM
Int. Voice              M. Paul                            Ctr. Perf. Arts                T, Th    12:15 - 1:00PM
Art History          N. Watkins                          Art 84                        F  12:15 - 1:00PM
US History 10        M. Dodson                    Social Science 25          M-F 1:15 - 2:00PM
Great Books 10    D. Avery                          Humanites 18                M - F 2:15 - 3:00PM

I was happy to have my advising session over with and I could look forward to the rest of my week.  It was only Monday morning and classes were not starting until Wednesday.  Just a day and a half left before the real work started!  It was nice to have a schedule worked out, too.  I planned on heading to the bookstore later with Talia after her advising session and buying everything I needed for the semester.  Our bookstore not only has books for classes offered at Northwoods, but also notebooks, pens, backpacks, and lots of other things needed for “back to school”.  I often wait until after my advising session to buy my school supplies.  My parents put money into an account at home for me that I can access with a debit card here at school.  I also put my “huge earnings” from the Northwoods Job Program into that account.
         I slowly made my way back to Grover, taking in the beauty of our school campus.  The leaves were just starting to change colors, and there was a little bit of a cool breeze in the early morning.  As I made my way past the bookstore, I decided to take a little short cut by the football field and through the woods back to Grover.  I saw a few people out walking, most on their way to advising sessions.  A few sixth graders were throwing a football around in the grass outside of Thayer, the sixth grade dorm.  It seemed like only yesterday I was starting the sixth grade at Northwoods, nervous and friendless.  It took some time for me to open up and make friends.  I hoped it would not be as difficult for Talia. 
I thought about the Tuesday night auditions for The Sound of Music, the upper cluster musical.  This would be the first year I would be competing with the “big dogs” for a role in the play.  I was a little nervous, but excited to try out.  I was hoping for a part in the chorus.  I knew I was too young to get a leading role.  I wondered who would be chosen to be Maria, the female lead.  My best guess was Corinne Carson, a senior who had the lead in last year’s Camelot as Queen Guenevere.  She has an amazing voice and has already been accepted to NYU’s fine arts school.  I was so lost in thought that I didn’t even notice that I had made it back to my dorm.  I pushed the elevator button and waited.  I was surprised to see Chloe and Maya and Talia in the elevator when the doors opened. 
         “We were hoping we’d find you here!  We were going to wait outside and see if you wanted to go to breakfast with us.  Talia and I both have our advising sessions at 10.” Chloe said while she gave me a quick hug.
  I agreed quickly, I had some things I needed to ask Chloe. I wasn’t the only one who noticed how much Owen had been hanging around lately, and I was dying to ask Chloe if something serious was brewing, or if they were still just good friends.  Turns out, Maya asked for me.
         “What’s up with Owen, Chloe?  He seems to be hanging around a bit”, she asked cautiously.  Chloe can be private about certain things, and often won’t share “intimate details” unless prodded.
         “He’s a good guy.  I didn’t think he’d hang around for as long as he did.  I’ve decided to give it a try.  Jocks aren’t usually my type, but Owen’s different.  He’s smart, and quiet.  He’s not a typical football head.  I kind of like him.”  Chloe actually blushed!  I knew it had to be serious.
         Chloe has a big personality and often intimidates boys with her boisterous sense of humor and big laugh.  As a result, she has lots of boy friends, but hasn’t had many boyfriends.
         When we finished breakfast, we headed back towards the dorm.  Chloe and Talia were going to get their yellow course books and Maya wanted to bring her cello down to the Center for the Performing Arts to set up her music locker.  All of the music students are allowed to keep their instruments at the CPA.  Could you imagine little Maya lugging that giant cello all over campus?  She also said she wanted to practice a little bit before upper cluster auditions.  I was going to tag along with Chloe and Talia and wait outside for their advising sessions to be over.  Then we would all head to the bookstore together. 
         The other three ran in quickly while I waited in the morning sunshine.  I was sitting on the dorm steps when Graham walked out, on his way to his advising session. 
         “Lexi…it’s good to see you again,” Graham smiled and looked genuinely happy.
         “Hi Graham.  Long time no see.”  What a ridiculous thing to say, I scolded myself.
         Graham took it all in stride.  “Yeah, it was a pretty long week” he chuckled. 
         We both kind of looked at each other then, not quite sure what to say.  Great, I have just decided that I have a major crush on this guy and I can’t even think of something witty to say.  What a great way to start a relationship.  Once again, Graham saved me.
         “Are you going to audition for The Sound of Music tomorrow night?”  he asked hopefully.
         “I’ll be there.  I think I just want a part in the chorus.  I’m taking a pretty heavy load of classes this semester; I don’t want my grades to slip.” I admitted.
         “I’m going to take it easy this semester in classes.  I really would like the male lead this semester.  I’ll step it up in classes next semester.  I’m not too interested in the spring musical this year”.  I had no doubt in my mind that Graham had a great shot at being Captain Von Trapp.  He is a very talented singer and actor.  I made sure I told him so.
         “Thanks, Lex.  I need all the cheering section I can get!”.  He admitted shyly. “I’d better get going…its a long walk across campus.  Will I see you later?”  He sounded hopeful.
         “I’ll make it a priority” I flirted.  “I’m going to the bookstore with Chloe and Talia and then I’m going to read through the script for The Sound of Music in the basement, if you want to join me later.”  I answered boldly.
         His eyes lit up.  “Absolutely.  Wouldn’t miss it.  See you around 11:30?”  He asked.  I nodded and smiled warmly, and he headed for the bicycle rack. 
         I was surprised to see that my hands were shaking when Graham rode away on his blue mountain bike.  I had flirted, and I was bold, and now I was nervous!  Soon after, Chloe and Talia came out of Grover.  We made our way across campus slowly, savoring the last few days before classes were to start, and we would have to hustle across campus! 

Chapter 5

         Chloe and Talia’s visit to the admissions building was uneventful.  I stayed outside in the grass, the “quad” as it is called, across from the bookstore and behind the gym.  I looked through my class schedule again and estimated the cost of the books and supplies I was going to have to buy.  It was a beautiful early fall day, and lots of kids were out riding bikes or rollerblading.  A few seniors were playing frisbee on the quad, so I wasn’t at a loss for people to watch. 
         Our trip to the bookstore was pretty dull, too.  We each were weighed down with seven or eight textbooks apiece plus notebooks and pens and highlighters and backpacks and other supplies.  It was definitely a slow and difficult walk back to Grover after our shopping extravaganza.  Chloe and I compared schedules and saw that we were taking two classes together, which excited us both.  We had US History and Latin together.  Talia and I had Great Books together.  It is always nice to have a friend in class to sit with and share notes.           
         I was sitting in the basement waiting for Graham and trying to look nonchalant.  I had one eye on the elevator and I couldn’t concentrate at all on my script.  I had decided that I was going to sing Leisel’s part in “Sixteen Going on Seventeen” for the audition on Tuesday.  I was trying to memorize the words so I didn’t have to use the music for the audition.  That always impressed the directors.  Showed you were a hard worker and willing to make an effort to study the script.  Finally, I noticed the little green numbers above the elevator were lit up on “3”.  I held my breath as the numbers slowly ticked down, 3, 2, 1, and finally B.  The elevator doors opened, and there was Graham, looking very handsome.  His cheeks were flushed from riding his bike outside, and his hair was a bit windswept.  He was wearing a gray wool sweater and a pair of well worn jeans.  The sweater made his eyes look very dark blue, the color of the ocean.  My heart did a little dance when he smiled at me.  Every time I saw him, I decided I liked him more and more. 
         Instead of just jumping right into the script, we talked a bit first.  It was amazing how little I knew about him even though we had been in the same classes for three years.  He is from Columbus, Ohio, and he and his older brother Anthony both go to Northwoods.  He has a younger sister named Rachel who is just in the fifth grade.  She will be starting school here next year, as a legacy, she had already been accepted.  I told him about my family in New York, and that I am an only child.  He looked amazed, and asked if I was lonely.  I had to answer truthfully and tell him not really, because I had lots and lots of cousins around, and we spent lots of time together.  It was like having thirteen brothers and sisters!  After chatting for a bit, we decided we had better hit the script, or neither one of us would be in the show this semester!
         Graham had decided to perform Captain Von Trapp’s monologue when he first meets Maria in his home.  He stood up and performed just as if he were on stage.  I was so swept away, I wasn’t even looking at the script to see if he had the lines right.  All I could do was stare at him.
         “How’d I do with the lines?”  he asked when he was finished.
         I was all flustered.  “Oh..uh…yeah.  Um….yeah.  You got them all.  Yeah”  I lied, I really hadn’t noticed.  I was too busy falling in love.
         He flopped down on the couch next to me, “Your turn!” he said brightly.
         “I’m not going to read” I admitted.  “I’m just going to sing Leisl’s part for my audition.  Can you play the piece on the piano for me?”  I knew Graham could play, and we headed to the old upright in the corner by the soda machine.
         I sang very quietly at first.  Graham noticed this, and started to play the notes a little louder, forcing me to sing out.
         “That was great”, he critiqued when I was finished.  “If you just sing out tomorrow, I think you’ll be just fine”, he smiled.  “How about we take a break.  Do you have time to have lunch together?”  he flashed his beautiful smile at me again. Like any girl could say no to that smile.
         Lunch with Graham was nothing short of spectacular.  We laughed and joked about all kinds of things.  We chatted a lot about the theater and he was interested in what shows I had seen over the summer.  Living in New York City, I have the chance to see live theater often.  And I take full advantage of that.  The more we chatted and laughed, the more attracted to him I was.  It was all I could do to not grab him and kiss him as we headed back to the dorm together.  He put his arm around me playfully and I am sure I turned three or four shades of red. 
         “Want to come up and borrow that soundtrack?”  he asked innocently.  He had offered to let me borrow his CD of The Sound of Music to practice with.  I nodded and stepped into the elevator, with plans to wait in the lobby for Graham to grab the soundtrack.  When we got to the third floor, it was completely deserted, Graham opened the card key door and held it open for me.  Knowing full well that I could have been in LOADS of trouble for being in a boy’s suite outside of open visitation, I followed Graham anyway.  Love is blind, and apparently, it is stupid and rule breaking, too.  Graham shared room 308 with Drew Masterson, a boy who, like Maya, started at Northwoods last year.  I did not know much about Drew except that he and Graham shared a room last year, too.  I stood outside the door, not knowing what to do with myself while Graham went in to get the CD. 
         “C’mon in, there’s no one here” Graham offered.
With my heart in my throat, I went in.  I had never been in a boy’s room before.  Graham’s bed was in the corner, and it was neatly made with a navy blue comforter.  His books were lined up on a shelf over the bed.  I noticed a few posters hung on his side, too.  Show posters from the past four years at Northwoods, and a huge Jessica Simpson poster behind the bed.  I had to roll my eyes at that one.  He had a bulletin board over his desk with pictures of his family and friends from home.  I was bent over looking at it when I felt Graham’s breath on my neck behind me.  I turned around slowly and smiled.  He didn’t back up.  He smiled back at me and said “hi” almost inaudibly.  I smiled again.  He took my chin in his hands and slowly kissed me on the lips.  I was so nervous, I didn’t know what to do with my hands.  Before I knew it, the kiss was over and Graham was looking sweetly down at me.  My heart was beating out of my chest.  Graham smiled and said “That was nice” and looked hopefully at me.
         Still not able to speak, I mumbled “Mmhmm”, and wrapped my arms around his waist.  Graham didn’t hesitate this time.  He kissed me again and we made our way towards the door, still kissing.  He shut the door and I leaned up against it, and we stayed pressed together, kissing and hugging.  I must admit that I did have thoughts about his player reputation as we were standing there kissing.  I quickly dismissed them, though.  He was holding me tenderly and kissing me so sweetly, that must mean that he really liked me, right?      We must have been there for a few minutes, because there was a loud bang on the door and we both jumped out of our skin. 
         “Yo..Peale!  Floor meeting in the basement in five minutes!”  It was Pete Ryan.
         “’Kay.  Be right there, Pete”, Graham answered, and we both laughed quietly, embarrassed about being “caught”.  I quietly left Graham’s room once I was sure that Pete was headed to the basement.  I made it back to my room in one piece, but I was still a bundle of nerves.  I love love loved kissing Graham, but was that what I was really about?  Before Pete, I hadn’t ever even kissed a guy.  Things with Graham seemed to be headed in a direction that was pretty foreign to me.  Is that what I wanted?
  Luckily, Talia and Chloe were in my room, discussing orchestra auditions.  They noticed that I looked distraught, so I told them what happened.
“Whoa”, Chloe said.  “What if you had been caught by Bracken or an RA or something?  You know we’re not supposed to be in the boy’s suites outside of visitation.”  Chloe reminded me.
I was pacing the room, wringing my hands.  What would have happened if Pete hadn’t interrupted us?  I was so wrapped up in the moment, I almost forgot myself.  I was no prude, but maybe Graham wanted a more physical relationship than I was ready for. 
Talia, Chloe, and I agreed that I had to say something to Graham the next day.  I liked him and liked the idea of maybe being his girlfriend but all this sneaking into his room was too much for me.  Who knows if I would be able to stop myself next time?  What if I couldn’t?  The kissing was nice…NO NO NO NONONONO. We needed to cool it.  We needed to take it down a few notches.  And that was exactly what I decided I wanted to say to him.  If only it were going to be as easy as talking to the girls about it.

Chapter 6 

         Tuesday morning arrived overcast and drizzling.  It fit my mood.  I slept fitfully, kept awake by thoughts of Graham and our encounter in his room.  I hoped I was making the right decision in telling him I wanted to slow things down.  The only thing I was sure about was that I needed to talk to him right away before I lost my nerve.  I waited until Talia went to shower and I dialed his room number on my phone.  Drew answered.
         “’lo?”  Drew sounded half asleep.
         “This is Lexi.  Can I speak to Graham please?”  I managed to say.
         “Yo G, it’s Lex”, there was some shuffling as Drew handed the phone to Graham.
         “Lexi?  What’s up?”  Graham sounded awake and alert.
         “I need you to meet me in the basement in fifteen minutes.  I can’t explain over the phone, but I need you there.  Please?”  I sounded like I was begging.
         “Yeah, sure.  I’ll be there.  Promise.”  Graham sounded worried.
         I hung up, happy that I had made the call, but worried about what I was going to say to Graham.  I tried to remember why I was doing this. Oh yeah, I did not want to do something I would regret.  I just had to remember that when I saw Graham’s blue eyes.  Not an easy task.  I was going to get him alone in the basement and try to explain why I was upset.  I was confident that I could do it.  Kind of.
         I made it downstairs in record time, and I paced the floor in the corner by the piano until I saw the elevator numbers slowly make their way from “3” to “B”.  Graham stepped out, looking as handsome as ever in khaki pants and a blue t-shirt.  I almost lost my nerve, he looked so nice.  I scolded myself silently as he made his way over to me.  He immediately grabbed me around the waist and started kissing me.  I was enjoying the kiss so much, my head was arguing with me.  Maybe sneaking into his room for a few hours of this kissing stuff wasn’t so bad?  Common sense?  What’s that?  But, finally, my inner voice took over and shouted at me…NO!  MAKE HIM STOP!  THIS IS NOT WHAT YOU WANT!  It took all I had to push him off of me and say sternly, “No.”  Graham made a strange face at me and backed up a step or two.
         “I’m sorry I called you so early,” I began.  “This is really important, though.  Yesterday afternoon was really nice, you know,” Graham blushed and lowered his head.  “But I don’t think I can do that anymore.  I am not comfortable sneaking up into your room and stuff like that.  It’s just not my style.  I would love to get to know you better and maybe go out or even be your girlfriend….” I was babbling.
         Graham’s smile faded.  He looked at me for a few seconds, seeming to absorb what I was saying.  It was killing me…what was he thinking?
“Whoa….Slow down, Lex.  Girlfriend?  I just thought we were having fun…messing around and stuff.  I never said I wanted a girlfriend.”  Graham put his hands up in front of him.
         “Oh…uh.  Yeah, of course.  Just messing around.  Um.  Yeah.”  I stammered.
         “I guess you’re not ready for that kind of thing, though, huh?  That’s cool.  It was fun while it lasted, right?  See you tonight at auditions.”  He turned quickly on his heel and headed back up the stairs.
         How could someone who seemed to have such an intense connection with me yesterday change his position so quickly?  I guess I was disappointed that he wasn’t disappointed.  That he didn’t automatically say “Of course we can slow things down.  I really like you, Lexi.  I’ll do anything just to keep you as my girlfriend.”  In my private thoughts, this is what I believed was going to happen.  Never in my thoughts did I see the conversation taking the turn that it did.   
         I stood there by myself for a minute, stunned.  I felt so so so stupid.  Instead of feeling sad that Graham did not want me as a girlfriend, I was embarrassed that a player had played me.  What embarrassed me even more was the realization that he flirted with me on our first night back at school with every intention of trying to “score”.  And I had fallen for it.  The whole thought made me sick to my stomach.  Did I give off the vibe of being “that kind of girl”?  The kind of girl I absolutely despised, like Lacey Blume?  Everyone knew that Lacey was a wild child.  The kind of girl that was always a “sure thing”.  Was I going to get that kind of reputation?  Why would Graham ever think that of me?  My one and only boyfriend at Northwoods was Pete Ryan.  And he and I shared a very innocent kiss at the end of last year.  My first and only kiss.  Ever.  If someone had spread rumors about me and turned me into some kind of scarlet woman, was it possible that the stories about Lacey were just that…stories?  Rumors?  Horrible, fabricated yarns to make Lacey look like a sleeze?  Probably started by some jealous ex-boyfriend?  All of these things came to me as I stood open-mouthed in front of the elevator in the basement.  All I could do was close my eyes and shake it off.  Tenth grade was starting off terribly.  I wished I were back in the sixth grade when things were simpler.  “Boyfriend” was a word whispered with your girlfriends that evoked giggles and red cheeks.  Things were getting complicated.  And I didn’t like it one bit.