Date: Fri, 17 Sep 2004 05:36:35 -0700 From: fritz@nehalemtel.net Subject: I Love Corey, Chapter Twenty-four Here we go again, chasing all you youngsters out. You know who I mean, those of you who are not old enough to be legally reading this. Yes, you. Leave now. The same goes for those of you who find descriptions of sex between males offensive. Likewise get your ass out of here. Moving right along that gets us down to those of you who live in an area in which reading stories of this type are forbidden. You have to leave also. Sorry about that but you'd hate to become a criminal wouldn't you? Since I'm claiming this story that means I get to tell you that you can read it for your own pleasure and for no other reason. No posting it on another site as if anyone would. Once again I need to thank Ernie for his editing. It would have only taken him one red pencil this time if we weren't doing this via cyberspace. Last, go ahead and write if you feel like it. You can complain, comment, ask questions, or offer suggestions. I try to answer all such emails. Remember; if you want me to get such an email be sure to put the story name in the subject line of said email. Otherwise I promise you it will be consigned to the graveyard of cyberspace. If you haven't received a reply after a few days you can assume it got lost. Address all such missives to fritz@nehalemtel.net Hope you enjoy the following. Fritz I Love Corey, Chapter Twenty-four Monday was another of those beautiful fall mornings. The sky was clear, the temperature cool, and dew made all the leaves sparkle in the sunlight, giving them a jewel like appearance. Just one of those mornings that make you glad to be alive. The antics that went on during the morning shower did nothing to diminish that feeling. In fact, we had so much fun that breakfast was a very hurried bowl of cereal. I don't know how a shower can take so long. I mean, all we did was help each other get clean. So, some places took extra attention to insure that they were clean. What do you expect? I do think it might go a little faster if I could get him to stop giggling. That makes it hard to do a good inspection of his appendages. A little sniffing and tasting to make sure they were clean seemed to take longer than it should. I do think it was time well spent. Corey was going to leave a note for his mother inviting her to dinner Wednesday evening as that was her birthday. We'd managed to get some pictures printed for the album and we were going to go through his sketches tonight as he had agreed, when I'd suggested it, adding some of them to the album. Between the sketches and the pictures I thought she would be pleased. If only she would straighten her life out so that she could be more of the loving parent that Corey wanted and needed. The morning meeting consisted of only those announcements that always seem to take place. By now, no one really needed to hear them but they were always a part of the meeting. Sometimes I think that we ought to eliminate the meetings but just about the time I feel like making such a suggestion, something comes up that demonstrates their necessity. In fact, that's about the way the first part of the week went. Things were moving forward like a well oiled machine. There didn't seem to be any problems with any of the students or any further problems with the school board's decision to no longer allow the Scouts to use the facilities. I suppose that lulled me into a false sense of complacency. Monday night Corey had picked up his mother's answer regarding her birthday dinner. He was on cloud nine. She was going to dine with us. That meant that the two most important people in his life would be together and he could enjoy both at the same time. He just bubbled over the rest of the evening. We picked out several sketches and a bunch of the prints we'd made and finished putting them in the album. Since there was still a lot of room, we looked over the pictures I'd taken and we then printed a few more. He'd have plenty of time tomorrow to put them in the album and still get it wrapped. He seemed to be enjoying this as much as if it were his own birthday. On Tuesday I stopped at Downie's and we picked out a nice standing rib roast. Corey had told me she liked roasts and I was sure that she would like this one as Downie's always has a good grade of meat. That's one of the reasons I shop there. It didn't even create too much of a problem when the family court called and asked if I could be arrange my schedule to attend and hear the ruling on our petition regarding Corey. We set up the appearance for Wednesday morning just before lunch. By scheduling it then, it would take place during one of my free periods and my lunch period. That way there would be no need of a substitute teacher. Things were going along great. Corey and I arrived at the courthouse and when the judge called the case, Mrs. Babcock was not in attendance. The judge seemed upset about that but decided to continue with the hearing as it was really only the announcement of his ruling. I really wonder about lawyers. Mr. Young had petitioned for something I didn't think he had a chance of getting. Guess that shows what I know. I guess the job of a good attorney is to know all the little places in the legal code that can be used to accomplish what the parties wanted. Not only did the judge grant the petition, he even commented on the fact that it would be a good idea if all single parents, that had no close relatives, did the same. He thought that would assure that the children involved would be better served. He also spent some time instructing me that, although under the terms of the ruling I had certain rights, he expected me to refrain from exercising those rights except in extreme situations. I was instructed that they were only to be used if Corey's mother was not available and a decision was of critical importance. At all other times I was to consult with her and yield to her wishes and judgment. I really didn't care as I only wanted the ability to act in case something came up that was critical and she wasn't available. The ruling would make no difference in the way we normally went about our business but gave me a sense of security in that I could act if it was needed. While I was happy with the ruling, Corey was ecstatic. I think it meant more to him because it assured him that I was responsible for him in some way. I guess the fact that I was willing to seek such a ruling assured him that I was there for the long haul. It gave him a sense of security. I wasn't sure Corey's teachers would be able to contain him in the classroom for the rest of the day. He acted like he was about ready to float off. Upon reflection I thought I understood why he was so happy. No one had ever expressed a sense of love for him except his mother and he didn't feel he could depend on her. The fact that she would sometimes disappear for several days at a time probably accounted for that feeling. Now he felt there was someone who would be there for him, to love and protect him when he needed it. His feelings made me think. After I had done so I was forced to admit that it really didn't take that much to make a child happy. For the most part all they really require is a sense of belonging, some encouragement, and a lot of love. If they have that, the material things that so many parents worry about providing for their children are unimportant. Yes, all kids whine about their friends having various things and they want them too. None the less, their real needs are different from their wants. There were students in my classes whose parents would never be described as affluent. Yet in many cases the children were happy and well adjusted. That just went to reinforce my belief that money is not that important. As long as one has enough food and shelter from the elements, one can be happy. Love makes up for a lot of money. In fact, there were a few well to do families whose children seemed unhappy and lost. I'd guess that those children's parents spent too much time worrying about money and not enough time paying attention to their children. Those thoughts made me wish I could make a difference in the lives of all the students that appeared to lack something they needed. I could not think of a case where money would do the job. The problem from my standpoint was that in most cases I had no way in which I could supply that which they lacked. I couldn't even approach their parents or parent and suggest what I thought was needed. Bummer. Here I was, expected to teach and help students grow up so they could become an useful part of society and I was hampered by customs and rules. By the time we left practice Corey had calmed down. He was happy but not longer acted like he had just won the lottery. Since it was the day before our game, we tapered off during practice. That meant that we managed to get done a few minutes early. We hurried home and I suggested to Corey that he try to get as much of homework done as he could. That way he would be free to enjoy the evening with his mother and help her celebrate her birthday. He headed for his room and I went to the kitchen. The roast was just as close to perfectly cooked as it was possible to achieve. I'd put it in the oven before leaving for school using the slow cook method. Now all I had to do was finish the rest of the meal. As I went about my preparations, I finally noticed it was past the time that Mrs. Babcock should have arrived. I couldn't call as she no longer had a phone. I called the bar where she worked and was told she hadn't come to work this evening. That left me no alternative. I finally asked Corey to check on his mother and get her over for dinner. He'd just finished his homework so we would have the rest of the evening free to eat and entertain her. He was back in a few minutes. What had been a happy bubbling child was now a sad depressed person. Neither his mother nor her car was there and there was no note explaining why. I felt sorry for him. Her absence and the lack of an explanation changed his whole mood. Somehow an excellent dinner no longer mattered to either of us. Neither Corey nor I seemed to be hungry or enjoy the meal. My heart felt like it was breaking because he was so sad. No matter what I tried or said, Corey was more than subdued the rest of the evening. At best his answers were monosyllables and sometimes not even that. He just kept getting quieter and sadder. Finally it was time for bed. We'd both showered after practice so all that we did was go to bed. Corey quickly assumed his usual position and things seemed normal except I could feel his tears drip onto my chest. He wasn't sobbing or anything like that. He was just lying there with tears slowly running down his face and slowly dripping on me. I had my arm wrapped around him and was gently rubbing his back. The holding of him in my arms and the rubbing of his back normally calmed him and brought him out of any sadness or depression he was feeling but tonight it didn't seem to work. The tears just kept coming. "Something must have come up. She'll probably be at the game tomorrow and we can give her the gifts then," I offered. "Why, why wouldn't she even come to her own birthday party?" he sobbed. I could feel him start to cry harder. "I don't know. Maybe something came up. I'm sure she'll be able to explain it." He continued crying and I continued to hold him. All of a sudden he rolled off of me and looking at me asked, "Doesn't she love me? She didn't even leave a note. She took her car but she couldn't leave me a note." I pulled him back against me and held him. "She loves you. Why else would she allow you stay with me? After all, she doesn't have to do that." "She does it so she doesn't have to take care of me. All she thinks about is that white powder." There was a bitterness in his voice I'd never heard before. He continued, "She didn't care if we had enough to eat, it was all about cocaine. Never food, never a place to live, just that white powder." While I'd suspected what her drug of choice was, Corey had never said anything that would indicate he knew what she used. In fact, he'd never even let on that he knew her problems were drug related. I wondered if he was finally admitting to himself that his mother had a drug problem. How many of us know things that we never really admit to ourselves? After all, if you don't admit it, you don't have to deal with it. In Corey's case he knew he couldn't do anything about her problem as he was too young so it probably was easier to ignore it. None the less, those thoughts must have been in the back of his mind for a long time. A couple of times I'd tried to get her to accept help and allow me to provide the funds for a rehab clinic. I didn't feel I could push very hard due to the situation I found myself in. Even had I been able to apply more pressure, I doubted that it would do any good because unless someone is willing to admit they need help, a rehab clinic wouldn't do any good. Until one is willing to admit they have a problem, they can't be helped. None the less I wished I had tried harder. "I'm sorry Corey. I should have tried to help her." "You can't help. Nobody can help." He continued crying. I just continued to hold him, trying to help ease his pain. Finally his tears slowed. "Maybe when she gets back we can talk her into getting help." When he answered me I could hear a resignation and sadness in his voice. "It won't do any good. She's going to kill herself. Her friends did. She'll do it too." His crying again picked up. I was reminded that this young man had seen many things that I'd never been exposed to. Despite the fact that I was older than he was, I'd never been around any addicts. Sure I'd been to a few parties where drugs were used and even tried them myself but I'd never been exposed to that side of society. In fact, outside of the loss of my parents, my life had been what might be considered sheltered. I grew up in a two parent home and those parents had loved and encouraged me. The community where we lived was filled with families much like ours and was a community where all the parents watched out for all of us kids. Corey probably had a lot better understanding of the situation than I did. From things he'd said he had been forced to pretty much look out for himself for the last few years. A couple of the places he'd mentioned that he'd lived in were places I knew were filled with addicts. How he'd managed to survive that environment and turn out like he had never ceased to amaze me. As I held him in my arms I wished I knew a way to help his mother with her problem. Not because I really liked her but because of Corey. Understand, it wasn't that I disliked her. It was just that all the things I knew told me that I couldn't help her until she wanted to be helped. Until she accepted that and wanted to get her life together I wasn't sure I could ever like her. So far she had given me no indication that she was ready for any help I might be able to offer. In the meantime it was tearing Corey apart. This wasn't the first time something like this had happened. The only difference was that this time it seemed to have more effect on him. For the first time he had told me what was wrong and I could understand how it hurt him. I just didn't have any way to assure him that everything would turn out all right. Only time and his mother could determine that. He finally fell into a restless sleep. I stopped rubbing his back and shoulders and lay there wondering if there was anything I could do. That's the last thing I remembered before the alarm clock made its usual intrusive sound. If anything the morning was worse. Corey moped and the nicely wrapped presents reminded both of us what had gone wrong. I wondered when or if she would show up. If she did return I doubted that Corey would be completely happy. The fear that she wouldn't return and might die was something that I was sure would always be in the back of his mind. I did the only thing I could think of. I tried to convince him that I would always be there for him and he wouldn't have to worry about being alone. While I might not be able to replace his mother, maybe the thought that he would have a place to live and someone to help him and protect him would help. It was hard to be cheerful during classes. The students were really cranked up with the thought that the team might have an undefeated season, at least in league play. After that, who knows? Comments from several of my collogues convinced me that I wasn't the only teacher having problems keeping the students minds on their work. Every place you looked there were students grinning and high-fiveing each other. If one of the team members was near, all attention was on them. You'd have thought they were royalty. I hoped the team remembered that they still needed to win. Too many of the students seemed to think it was a done deal. Every time I spotted Corey, he was just quietly going about his business. He wasn't joining in with the high spirits that seemed to have taken over the rest of the student body. The difference was so stark that a couple of teachers asked me what was wrong with him. I briefly told them he was worried about his mother. They seemed to want to know more but we didn't have time to pursue it at that time. During lunch Principal Mathers asked me about Corey. I told him what had happened and he said maybe we needed to address the problem in the morning meetings. He reasoned that Corey's teachers were bound to notice his mood and if they knew his problem they might be able to help him. I hadn't thought about it like that and was now sorry I hadn't mentioned it this morning. I told him I'd be sure and bring it up tomorrow. As the school day wore on the background noise in the school increased. There's always a certain amount of noise but today it swelled to where it sounded like an angry hive of bees. The only thing about that was that if one looked around, one could find no one who looked angry. Instead, there was a feeling of exuberance in the air. I'd never seen the student body like this. They were even more pumped now than they were just before Christmas. I was really beginning to worry. If the team acted the same way the rest of the students were acting, I had real reservations about how well they would play. Finally classes were over and the team members headed for the locker room. I'd managed to place a package containing the appropriate set of briefs in each team member's locker where they stowed their pads and jocks. It wasn't hard as I had a master key to every locker so that if a student left his key at home, we could still get his gear out and he wouldn't have to adjust one of the spare sets of shoulder pads. As they entered the locker room I could hear them chattering like a bunch of magpies. I just waited, wondering what reaction I would get when they discovered the packages. They were all noisy and I had the door to my office cracked so I could hear what was going on. All of a sudden I heard a shrill voice yell, "All Right!" A few seconds later there was only the sound of lockers being jerked open. Then the noise level went up. I could hear voices yelling things like cool, look at these, what color did you get, and things like that. It sounded like the briefs were a success. I finally couldn't resist. I opened the door to see what they were doing. Instead of getting dressed for the game they were all modeling their briefs. I couldn't believe it. The room was full of butts clad in brightly colored briefs and they all seemed to be inspecting their teammates, almost like checking to see if they approved. They didn't even notice me and when I yelled at them, telling them they better get their act together and their gear on, they jumped like they'd been caught with their hands in the cookie jar. I began to wonder if I'd make a mistake in giving them their reward before the game. The only way to describe them was much too cranked up. At the rate things were going there seemed to be some question as to whether or not they wanted to play the game today or stand around and brag to each other about how well they had played during the season. When the game finally started it was almost like the first game of the season. They were nervous and couldn't seem to relax and just play their positions. Between jumping off-side and missing their assignments it was surprising we managed to stay in the game during the first quarter. Only some great plays on defense saved our asses. I was beginning to get very worried. We didn't have enough size on the team to just ram the ball down the field and we had to depend on speed, agility, and teamwork. The teamwork just wasn't there. It wasn't that the kids weren't trying; it was that they were so excited that they just kept making mistakes. It wasn't until the second quarter that things started to settle down. We were only down by one touchdown and when they finally got their act together it didn't take long to make that up. By half-time we were up by seventeen points. Making the points after would have made things even better but so far we were zero for four. Boy it would be nice to have a good kicker. Couple that with the fact that we didn't have the size to overpower our opponents in short yardage situations and that had been one of our problems all season. Every time I'd looked at Corey during the first half, he seemed to be searching the crowd. I knew he was looking for his mother. She had been making it to most of our games since about mid-season. Today didn't seem to be one of those times. Each time I looked at him he seemed to have withdrawn into himself a little more. His shoulders slumped a little lower and his eyes kept looking more towards the ground than at the game. I wondered if he was managing to keep up with his duties of keeping track of the game. At half-time I learned the answer. The first quarter wasn't bad but the second had almost no information. It was a good thing that the team was finally playing well and I didn't need his records. He looked like he was about ready to just give up and cry. The worst thing about that was that I didn't have the time to try to console him. Much as I'd have liked to drop everything and just try to help Corey with his hurting heart, I still had a team and a game to worry about. After the usual half-time talk, the team streamed back out to the field. Corey just sat there, not even looking like he'd noticed that he and I were the only ones left. I put my arm around his shoulders and gave him a hug and finally he seemed to notice what was happening. We walked out to get ready for the second half. The team had calmed down and was now hitting on all cylinders. Our opponents were not the toughest team we had faced and that soon became apparent. Maybe there should be a mercy rule. After the third quarter, the game was no longer in doubt. In fact, we would have almost had to leave the field in order for our opponents to have had a reasonable chance of catching us. We ran the opening kick-off back for a touchdown, intercepted a pass for another, recovered a fumble and carried it in, and moved the ball in long bursts every time we had it. We had a forty-nine point lead going into the final quarter. I had all the substitutes in trying to hold the score down but it was no use. Our opponents were no longer trying. They were beat and all the fight had left them. I'd even gone to a ground game to try to slow things down but when your opponent doesn't seem to try to tackle, that doesn't help. The final score set a school record for most points and largest margin of victory. No matter what we had done, it seemed to work and produce another score. The fans and the team were jubilant. The only one I could see who was not was Corey. While everyone was screaming and celebrating the first time any team from our school district had gone undefeated, Corey didn't even seem to notice the game was over. For myself, I was torn. It was great to coach such a great bunch of kids who had come together as a team but with Corey feeling the way he did, I also felt bad. I knew that we would have to join in the celebration and catching dinner at the local McDonald's where we normally gathered after a victory. I'd seen the manager calling towards the end of the game, no doubt warning his staff to be ready. While I was thrilled we'd won and had a perfect season, all I really wanted to do now was to try to cheer Corey up. None the less, we'd have to go along and celebrate. The locker room was a madhouse. The team was almost too excited to remember that they needed to shower and get dressed. There were other students and the fathers of some of the players joining the celebration. There were so many people in there that I began to wonder if the team would ever find room to get their gear off and get a shower. All that was lacking was champagne. I'm sure if they had thought they could get away with it, some of the parents would have changed that. We had to make due with sparkling cider. Boy what a sticky mess. It doesn't pop quite as loudly when opened, but when properly shaken, sprayed nicely. The team members finally managed to get their showers and get dressed. As they started out of the locker room, they encountered parents and the reporter from the local paper taking pictures and asking questions. That slowed things up and I was beginning to wonder if we would ever manage to get something to eat. I suppose that if there hadn't been such a celebration more people would have noticed how quite and subdued Corey was. Thankfully no one seemed to notice him and ask questions about it. I was sure Corey didn't want to talk about his problems and I know I didn't. Finally the crowd started moving. I couldn't believe it. It looked like half the town was outside the doors waiting for the team. When the doors opened and they could hear the crowd chanting, the team suddenly looked shocked. It was as if they suddenly grasped the incredible thing they had accomplished. They didn't seem to know what to do or how to act. They didn't have time to worry about it as suddenly people were grabbing them and shaking their hands. I think there were some congratulations given but there was so much noise it was hard to tell. The team had gone from jubilant to overwhelmed in a distance of about forty feet. They no longer had any idea of how to act. As far as I was concerned, they weren't the only ones. Someone grabbed me and thrust a megaphone into my hands. I could hear chants of speech, speech. I had not a clue as to what to say. Of course when I tried to say something the volume wasn't properly adjusted and all that came out was a bunch of garbled screeches. The screeches probably made as much sense as what followed when I got the volume adjusted. I managed to babble about the usual things that are said at times like that. You know, what's known as the usual clichés. I was running out of things to say and wondering how to stop when my brain finally started to work again. Suddenly I knew I had the perfect ending. When I'd finally finished thanking everyone who had helped during the year it was time to try my idea. I paused to get the crowd's attention. "That's about all I can think of to say except if we don't get the team somewhere they can get something to eat I think those lions I can hear growling in their stomachs will escape and eat us all." The crowd erupted in laughter. It was mostly made up of the parents of the team anyway and they all knew what bottomless pits their sons were when it came to food. Amidst much laughter we all headed for those arches everyone knows. Mickey D was about to get a transfusion of money. I'm sure the manager was shocked when the crowd showed up. He'd expected the team and a few parents but there was at least four times as many people as we'd ever had before. There were thirty-one players and normally one might expect another twenty to forty parents. Now he was faced with at least two hundred people and about half of them were students. While the adults might not eat very much I knew he'd better have gobs of fries and burgers. The younger set would make up for what the adults lacked with regards to appetite. The parking lot was full and traffic was backed up for a couple of blocks. What a mess. There were people everywhere and instead of going about their business and ordering something they all crowed around the door trying to shake the hands of every team member. Finally the manager got the door pushed open from the inside and there was a large enough break in the crowd for some of the kids to get in. That started things going. The team was shoved to the front of the line and it finally looked like things were moving along. I started looking around and finally found Corey. He was standing by himself next to one of the trees beside the street. There was no one within twenty feet of him and as still as he was I doubt that anyone else noticed him. He was just leaning against the tree with his head down. With the way his shoulders were slumped down and his head was hanging he was the perfect picture of dejection. The problem I had was how to try to bring him out of his depression. Not only that, we wouldn't be able to leave until everyone had managed to get their turn telling me what a great team I had and how I'd done such a good job of coaching them. Normally I'd have been thrilled but tonight I just wanted to get Corey home and try to cheer him up. Unfortunately, that would have to wait. I didn't like it but the kids on the team had busted their butts to win and I had to help them celebrate. Chances are they'd never be on another team with a perfect record again and I suppose they'll remember this all their lives. No matter how much I wanted to leave with Corey, they deserved their hour of fame and I had to let them bask in it. I knew I couldn't leave until all had managed to get their fill of the celebration. I couldn't get Corey to eat anything but he finally had a milkshake. It wasn't much but it was better than nothing. The celebration just kept going on all around us and I finally got Corey to go sit in the pickup so he wasn't bothered by it. Eventually things started to slow down. The parents were taking their kids home so they could get some sleep. I had my doubts about that but figured we would just have to put up with a bunch of sleepy students tomorrow. I finally got up to the counter to settle the bill but found a bunch of the parents had left money and it was more than the total bill. It had been such a mad house that nobody had been able to keep up who was paying and who still owed money. Most parents had just left plenty of money and let it go at that. I told the manager to give any excess to the Ronald McDonald house as it's a worthy charity. I always made sure to give them a donation once a year. Finally I was free to go. I found Corey sitting in the pickup crying. I hurried home as I wasn't sure people would understand if they saw me hugging him and trying to calm him. He'd already attracted more attention than I wanted and I wasn't about to give people anything more to think about than they now had. As we were driving into the garage he asked me if I thought anything might have happened to his mother. I told him I didn't think so but that we would check. Once in the house I called Vince Logan, the team doctor and asked him to check the hospital and see if Mrs. Babcock had been admitted. I also called a friend at the sheriff's office and asked if there had been any reports of her being involved in an accident. When both called back, the answers were negative. That didn't give us any information but in this case no news was good news. If anything had happened to her in the area it should have showed up in my checks. Corey again cried himself too sleep. He was afraid something had happened to his mother even though my checks of the hospital and law enforcement had turned up nothing. All I could do was hold him and rub his back. After he drifted off, I started trying to figure out if there was anything I might do to assure this didn't happen again. Unfortunately there was nothing I could think of. I finally fell into a restless sleep. Friday was an improvement. It wasn't that he was cheerful or anything like that, it was just that his normal appetite kicked in and when he said he was hungry I fixed him a big breakfast. By the time he had finished his hotcakes and eggs, he seemed a little more ready to face the world. Perhaps the sugar high from the syrup accounted for some of that but I was ready to accept any help with his attitude that was available. At least he was no longer spending all his time looking down. Fixing Corey such a big breakfast during the week caused me to be a little later than normal. I wouldn't have done it except he hadn't eaten anything last night. That made me somewhat later than normal but I was still there before most of my colleagues. I don't know, I've always tried to get to school early. That gives me a little more time to get organized. There always seem to be a few things that come up and need to be taken care of. I've tried to get everything done before leaving for the day but it doesn't work. I can have my mail box empty and there will be something in it in the morning that needs my attention. I finally learned it was just easier to show up early and get everything caught up. Today was no exception. I have no idea when he did it but there was a note from the principal announcing there would be an assembly for sixth period and I would need to think of something to say about the team and make sure everyone knew the tentative play-off schedule. Since we had the best record, we would have the home field advantage until the championship game if we lasted that long. That game would be played in Sacramento. I still wasn't sure who our opponent would be but that wouldn't change anything except how we prepared. I was sure we'd find out who we were playing sometime this morning. Fortunately I had a free period in both the morning and the afternoon. I could use the one in the morning to plan for the assembly. I started making a list, noting those things I thought would need to be done. I needed to check and see if last night's performance had caused any or our players to set any State records. We'd all ready set several school records and I needed to get the final figures together so they could be announced. I also needed to figure out which players to call on. About that time Mr. Mathers called the meeting to order. It wasn't really like that but he did say it was time to get the show on the road. The first thing he announced was the assembly and also reminded me that the sports reporter for the local paper would be there along with the paper's photographer. After some discussion of that, we moved along to the normal school business. Jerry beat me to the punch. He asked about Corey before I could bring it up. That caused a lot of the other teachers to wonder what was wrong. I explained the problem with his mother and after that the conversation got lively. By now, most of the teachers seemed to think of him as their own special project. The way he'd improved his grades and the fact that he was polite and seemed appreciative of their efforts had made him one of their favorite students. A lot of them seemed almost as concerned as I was. While we could not come up with a way to solve his problem, at least all the teachers were now aware of it and I knew they would help in any way they could. The day actually went pretty well. The students were still pretty excited over the team but they at least acted like they were listening to us. About halfway through the day I came to the conclusion I'd have to repeat the lesson on Monday as acting like they were listening and actually listening are a world apart. None the less, they at least seemed polite even if nothing was managing to stick in their feeble little minds. As the day wore on Corey seemed a little better each time I saw him. That improved my outlook so by the time the assembly rolled around I was in a pretty decent frame of mind. When Principal Mathers turned things over to me I had a list of the state records we had broken and also the school ones. They cheered the team when I announced we'd broken the record for passing yards and passing touchdowns. School records included most points, highest scoring average, and a tie for fewest points allowed. Brad Conner managed to do a good job of thanking the line for giving him time to pass and his receivers for catching the ball. Tyler Andrus, who led the team in tackles, brought the house down when he yelled at Brad and told him the team would have lost all our games if the defense hadn't managed to get the ball for the `skinny assed' offense. The fact that his remarks contained some other commentaries about the ineptitude of the offense contributed to the laughter. We might not be the best defensive team but we had a good offense and the students knew it. After that there seemed to be a bunch of light hearted banter amongst the students and members of the team. All of us teachers stayed out of it and let them have fun. After all, how often does a team go undefeated for a season? They deserved their day. I will have to have a quiet talk with Tyler. Skinny assed, I wonder which one he was looking at? I never noticed any skinny asses and I like to look at asses. I would have said they were all cute asses, even his. Besides, he really shouldn't be using words like that during an assembly. The team still hadn't come off their high. Practice was a disaster. They didn't pay attention and just wanted to clown around. I finally got their attention with the threat of lots of laps. I'd learned who our opponent would be and they didn't present any problems I didn't think we could handle. In fact, the only type of team that would be hard for us was one that was a lot bigger and could just overpower us. We were built on speed and agility, not power. We were just too small to do anything else. The team finally settled down and the practice wasn't too bad. I hoped they would do better next week but for now I guess they were entitled to feel a little cocky. The hard work would start on Monday. I had a couple of tapes to watch so I could figure out our game plan. One change would be that the games would now be on Saturday afternoons. That gave teams more time for travel. Corey and I were just getting in the pickup to go home when the rain that had been threatening arrived. The forecast had called for a pretty good storm so it looked like we would be housebound for the weekend. I'd really been hoping the forecast was wrong so that I might come up with some activity that would bring Corey out of his depression. It didn't look like that was going to happen. I ordered a pizza because Corey loved them and I thought that might help cheer him up. I'm not sure the pizza cheered him up but he showed a little more animation while eating it. In fact, he volunteered his first comment since Wednesday night when he told me how good it was. I looked upon that as a step forward because the only words he'd spoken in the last few days had been the result of a direct question. After the pizza we headed for the family room. I settled into my recliner and when Corey walked past me to get to his chair I grabbed him. Drawing him close, I just held him for a few seconds. When he made no move to pull away, I pulled him around in front of me and with an awkward move tried to get him on my lap. I did succeed although he more or less fell there. None the less, that was what I was trying for. Leaning back some, I pulled him to my chest and wrapped my arms around him. He sighed and just sort of collapsed against me, his head facing my shoulder. I didn't say anything, just held him and started gently rubbing his back and shoulder with my left hand, holding him tight with my right arm and hand. "Do you think she's all right?" His voice was kind of muffled. "I don't know but think so. If she'd been in an accident or sent to a hospital we should have heard by now. Dr. Logan said he would call if he heard anything and so did Deputy Eastland. Since we haven't heard from them we've got no reason to think she isn't." "I just wish I knew." After that he didn't say any more, just sat there on my lap. While I loved holding him, in fact it was one of my favorite things to do, still I wished it was because he was happy and wanted to be held. To hold him to try to ease his pain wasn't the way I would have liked this moment to be. Still, he seemed a little less upset. Maybe he was starting to come to terms with his mother's actions. I hoped so. It would make it easier for him to cope with life. Suddenly he passed gas. (For all you dim bulbs, he farted.) "Sorry, I didn't know that was going to happen." About then the odor managed to waft its way up to our noses. "Euuuu, God that smells nasty," I said after getting a whiff of it. I continued, "In fact, if that's what pizza does to you we're going to have to quit eating it. I don't want the seat of your pants burned out." Corey started to giggle. After all, even he could tell it could only be described as a pretty rank smelling fart. About then another one was released. Neither was very quiet. He continued to giggle. Finally, "You want to inspect my pants and see if the ass is burned out yet?" "God no. That's a lethal weapon you've got there. The last thing I want to do is get close to it. Maybe we need to contact the defense department." "You told me you liked my smell." You talk about being struck speechless. I had no idea of how to respond to that. He was right. I'd told him I loved his smell many times. "Uhh, maybe we need to clarify things a little." He continued to giggle. "Uhh, Corey, do you remember the Darwin awards? Remember the one about the guy that gassed himself to death? If you don't quit that they may find us in the same condition." By now we were both giggling. At least he had cheered up some. I continued. "Maybe you better visit the porcelain throne and see if it wilts under your assault. After all, porcelain melts at around twenty-five hundred degrees. If those are as hot as they smell, it may just melt down." Giggling all the while, he got off my lap and headed for the bathroom. At least he finally seemed to be feeling better. I'd put up with thousands of those farts if it would make him happy. Well... Maybe... They were pretty grim... I need to rethink my whole position on that. The rest of the evening went fairly well. We managed to review our opponent's game and start making our own game plan. Corey had a pretty good eye for what they did. He seemed to notice their tendencies even quicker than I did. By the time it was bed time we were well on the way to figuring out how we wanted to play them. Since it had been cool, neither of us had taken a shower. That meant that we'd take one before going to bed. To say I was looking forward to it doesn't begin to explain how I felt. The fact that he had been so depressed since Wednesday night and was now coming out of it made me almost giddy. Secondly, we hadn't even shared a kiss during that time. He had been too withdrawn to even begin anything like that. Now, maybe we could start to make up for that. Maybe I ought to just admit it. I was getting horny. I hoped he was too. Boy, I didn't need to worry on that account. When we hopped in the shower his hands were busy from then on. His hands weren't the only things that were busy. All right, I'll admit I had something to do with making certain other parts of him busy. I just couldn't resist. It tasted soooooo good. We had so much fun in the shower that even the new water heater ran out of hot water. When the water got cold we moved to the bed. Although we'd both experienced a certain amount of relief in the shower, we were both still in need of more such relief. It was great. Here I had a slightly damp boy and he was squirming around on my bed. He didn't have as much flavor as I would have liked owing to the just completed shower but he still had some and, after being without for a couple of days, any taste of Corey was great. I'd squeezed him a couple of times in the shower, trying to see if his earlier condition was still present. He just giggled and we experienced no other difficulties. Somehow during the squirming he managed to get me on my back and start kissing me. I love to kiss. I think I could get by with just kissing Corey but thank God I don't have to. When his tongue demanded admission to my mouth, I readily granted it. I enjoyed the feelings that produced and besides, that gave me a chance to suck on and taste his tongue. I'll tell you this, his tongue is a lot better tasting than that pickled tongue you can buy in the deli sections. Besides, it's attached to such a cute boy. Tonight it was mild, with just a slight mint flavor. I always insisted that he rinse his mouth well after brushing his teeth. That way the flavor of the toothpaste didn't overpower his flavor. There were some muffled groans and sighs while we kissed. After all, it's hard to sigh when your mouth is full of tongue. Groans were a little better. During our kissing neither of us could keep our hands still. I could feel his hands exploring almost everywhere he could reach. I really couldn't complain. My hands were finding all kinds of places they enjoyed being. After all, they had Corey to explore. Since we'd done this many times before, we each knew what the other liked and that made it great. Corey liked it when I kneaded his ass. You can bet I didn't mind doing that. Since he was on top of me that meant that I had both hands free to do that very thing. After a little of that I got my fingers in his crack and it wasn't long until I started to gently rub his pucker. That produced some real reaction. Up till now we'd just been kissing and enjoying each other. Now he was suddenly in need of more. Any time my fingers got close to that part of him, it really got him excited. I guess you might say it was kind of like stepping on the throttle. When my fingers rubbed him there he turned into a high performance sex machine. Instead of gentle kissing and rubbing, we now had active thrusting and it wasn't gentle. My rubbing had really revved his motor up. His thrusting against me had about the same effect on me that my rubbing of his anus did on him. I just loved the feel of his warm body as it thrust against me. The tip of his cock was along side my belly button and the tip of my cock was lying in that area between his scrotum and his thigh. When he rocked back against my fingers that make my cock reach his somewhat sparse pubic hair. We'd both been damp and warm from the shower and what we had done since then had in no way cooled us off. When you added in the precum we were both leaking, it made us slide against each other in a thoroughly pleasant way. In fact, it was so pleasant that I doubted that either of us would last much longer. No matter. We'd have lots more chances, maybe even tonight. Sometime I'll have to set up a tape recorder. The sound effects should be interesting. I could hear myself growling and Corey was grunting. There were other sounds but I was too far gone to figure out who was making them and what they sounded like. I could feel myself start to approach my release so I increased my attack on his pucker. I was rewarded almost instantly. He stiffened and that was all it took to finish me off. As we strained against each other I could feel the love that we shared blanket us, bringing that happiness that can only be achieved at times like this. When finished he just collapsed. My hands fell to the bed. The sound effects were gone except for our panting. As I lay there with his breath blowing in my ear I was amazed. He still loved me and desired me. He still wanted to share his life with me. It was almost more than I could comprehend. If it hadn't been for his weight holding me down I could almost have thought I was dreaming. I was glad I wasn't. To be continued.