Chapter 10

The art show was scheduled for the evening before the last day of school. Final exams were over and the last day of school was usually only part of a day with school letting out at lunch time. Graduation would be the following evening. Since I was a member of the Beta Club, I would be one of the people handing out programs.

My finals were over after lunch and instead of heading home to kill time before the show, I decided to go see if Mr. Watts needed help in setting up our displays. I was ambushed by Mavis before I could get to his classroom. She grabbed my arm, put a finger to her lips and whispered, “Don’t say anything.” Peeping into a dark classroom to see if the coast was clear, she said, “We need to talk in private.” After inspecting the room to her satisfaction, she hauled me into it.

With her back to the door, she said, “Let’s sit in the back of the room, where it’s dark. No one will notice us right away.” Mavis was my best-friend. She was also one of the few African-Americans in our school. It wasn’t that our town didn’t have blacks in it…what they didn’t have was an overflowing population of children at the moment. Mavis was the school drama queen. Her secret desire was to be an actress on the big stage—forget Hollywood. She had her eyes on Broadway.

“What’s gotten into you, girl?” she asked. “Who’s this Little James guy everyone keeps linking with you? What have you done to get Eva so pissed off? She says she’s going to get evidence that you and this dude are having a fling and show it to Trent. I thought you two were good friends.”

“Eva needs to mind her own business. For your information, if we ever really were friends, we aren’t now.” The face-off with Eva tonight should be fun, I thought. I’ll be the cool one and she’ll be so pissed that she’ll bring undue attention to herself. She never was one who could keep a cool head when something bothered her.

“Here’s the deal, girl.” Mavis used her hands and arms to emphasize everything she said. “This morning, she had me stand guard outside Mr. Watts’ office so she could get another look at a painting you did of this Little James dude.”
”What? Why can’t she let things lie?” I was beginning a slow burn towards anger.

“Because she’s born to make trouble. That’s what she does best. Haven’t you figured that out these last 3 years?” Mavis put both hands on my arm, forcing me to look at her. With a touch of Mavis drama, she said, “Viv, you need to watch yourself. Eva’s got it in for you. And this is the first time you’ve had to deal with her venom. According to her, you’ve stolen this boy away from her. She’s been after him since grade school. Lucky for him, he’s only around every few years. I think that’s the attraction. He’s like a trophy to her. I feel for the boy, but it’s you I care about. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Mavis, she should take this up with him. I’m not a threat. All I did was paint the guy. Hell, I’ll give her the painting, if she’s that hung up over it.” I threw my arms up in a dramatic flair. Mavis had a tendency to rub off on me.

She smiled at me. “You should be on the stage, girl.” But her smile went away with her next comment. “You can’t give it to her, Viv. The painting wasn’t there. That’s why she got so mad. She thinks you destroyed the evidence.”

“It’s not there?” I was surprised. “Where is it?” I mused aloud.

“Don’t look at me, honey.” Mavis stood up. “We better break up this clandestine meeting, before we’re discovered. I don’t want to be on Eva’s hit list. Someone has to be her friend. I’m electing myself. I’ll keep tabs on her and if she starts trouble your way, I’ll let you know.”

“Thanks Mavis.” I gave her a hug. “Hey, I just thought of this. She knows we’re best friends. Won’t that jeopardize things?”

“Remember, I’m an actress. I can fool anyone. You can critique my acting tonight. I promised Eva I would come to the art show. See you then.”

At the door, she said, “Viv, wait a few minutes and then leave after me. I don’t want us to be seen by Eva. She’ll figure out I told you everything she said.”
I waited longer. It was quiet in the classroom. If my conscience would let me, I would skip the art show. But that would make Mother too happy and also, it would disappoint Mr. Watts. Both he and I have put too much effort into my art, just to toss it aside because of a vindictive girl like Eva, whose artistic skills could fill a thimble.

The art room was an ocean of activity with students I knew by sight but not by name, moving easels and paintings where ever Mr. Watts directed. When he saw me, he quickly shooed me out of the room. “Out, Vivian. I’ve got some volunteers helping me set up the exhibits. I’ll see you tonight. Be here at 6 pm. The show starts at 6:30. Bring as many guests as you like. Dress up a bit. No jeans allowed. ”

He promptly shut the door in my face. I wasn’t allowed to say one word or ask one question…like “What have you done with my last painting?”

An arm slipped around me from behind. I felt hot breath at my ear. “Hey lady, need a boyfriend? My rates are reasonable. And I have a special thing I do with ping pong balls. I know you’ll love it. Come on, I’m cheap. You know you want it.” I smiled at the reflection of Trent’s face in the glass of the art classroom.

“Well, sexy guy all I have is a dime. What will that get me?” I turned to face him. Both his arms went around my waist. He said, “All the time in the world.”

“Great. I’ve got about 3 hours to kill before the show and would love to spend it with the sexiest guy in Blueberry Ridge. Shall we get some lunch?” I was famished. His answer was a quick kiss. Hand and hand, we left school. I pretended to ignore the looks we got. Let them speculate all they wanted. Things were still perfect between Trent and me.