Karyn had had enough.
Karyn's mother had been gushing about the Career Center as soon as she'd heard one was opening in town. An entire month buried in a deluge of 'fun facts', recited statistics, and banal mission statements released by the Center's PR department; rendered faithfully in her mother's nagging voice. As the Center's first week of operation approached, the outpouring dwindled in intensity, but not in frequency. And as annoying as the previous weeks had been, conversation with her mother became far more grating when her enthusiasm turned to bitterness, and the not so subtle suggestions turned into recriminations.
Karyn often didn't see eye to eye with her mother, but it rapidly became impossible to do anything but avoid her. Every topic of discussion was inevitably drawn back to the Career Center. "Oh, you got an A+ in pre-cal? You know your cousin Lea's grades really improved after she visited the Center. And her work with the program counts as an extra-curricular activity! You know you should really consider visiting. It would help you so much in getting to a good college!" On and on...
But Karyn's Great Wall of Apathy remained impregnable, and without either Karyn's consent or her father putting his foot down, Michelle Black simply seethed as the assignment date sailed by. She had thought that would be the end of the Center's malign influence on her life.
She had never realized that Jon was enrolled in the program.
It hadn't taken long to find out. As the wait by their usual after-class meeting spot stretched past a half hour she had simply thought 'Fuck it.' and gone home. She'd expected a phone call at the usual time that afternoon. Her mostly fading irritation rekindled as that date too passed without notice.
Saturday was an uncharacteristically boring day. With the Career Center having already accepted their students for placement, her mother's designs on Karyn were now impotent. Michelle spent the day sulking in a way Karyn found amusingly childish. Karyn watched TV, played boring games against the AI in Starcraft 2, and little else. After determining she had to leave the house or go stir crazy, she drove to the mall to wander aimlessly in the town's quaint, pre-Wal-Mart Super Center commercial nexus. On her way to the ancient, nearly derelict arcade, she'd spotted two of Sarah McMillan's wannabes. She'd slowed as she walked past them, struck by some petty urge; just enough to catch a shred of their conversation. Apparently Sarah had gone to the Career Center and none of them had heard from her since. Karyn had smirked. It must have been a dire emergency indeed if Sarah McMillan refused to answer her cellphone. But the smirk soon evaporated.
"Who was that grungy looking guy that was with her? Jason?
"No...Jon I think."
An irrational fear took hold of Karyn then, the sudden premonition of doom soon found her reaching for her own cell phone. A call to Jon's cell garnered no response. Swallowing her pride, she dialed his house instead. Jon's mother answered.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Mrs. Gibson. Is Jon there?"
"Oh...Karyn. I'm sorry. He is, but he just got home from Brittney-Lynne's class. You know-from the Career Center? He's fast asleep. I'll tell him you called, but he needs his rest right now."
"But-" A click, and the line was dead.
Karyn would later try and laugh it off, but the abruptness of the conversation's end continued to creep her out. She determined to meet him in person.
She arrived at his house Sunday afternoon. By freak chance, she was rounding the corner just as Jon leaped from the front door of the house to the sidewalk below. And it was one hell of a leap. He'd managed to nimbly bound from his front porch to the edge of the sidewalk only a foot from the car waiting nearby. But what stunned her was not his surprising athleticism, but what he was wearing. Tight white short-shorts and a tank top that not only showed a hint of midriff, but had a neckline that seemed to be reaching desperately for some cleavage to display. Was this some kind of joke?
He had climbed into the car and left before she'd found herself able to move again.
And then came Monday. They had two class periods together, plus lunch. There was no way she could miss him this time.
In the crush of students heading to first period, it was impossible not to overhear the rumors. Sarah, being for all intents and purposes a minor celebrity in Lake Point High, was the major topic, but gossip about the Career Center was suddenly on everyone's tongues.
"So like, what happened to Sarah? She looks like some uber geek or something?"
"OMG I know! I didn't even know she needed glasses."
"I'd still tap it."
"Dude, you'd tap anything."
"I wouldn't tap that."
"What's the deal with that dude's clothes anyway?"
"Shut up, Steve. I think it's kind of cool."
"I think it's kind of faggy."
"You guys just have no taste. Just because you're boys you can't take care of yourselves and dress nicely?"
"You mean dress like a cheerleader?"
And through the press there was a glimpse of Jon, again in an unreasonably tight shirt, this time with more than a hint of midriff. It wasn't quite cross dressing...but it was close as he could get without wearing a skirt.
Jon showed up late to second period physics. Karyn had already spent half of the class staring at Sarah by the time he'd arrived. Sarah had taken a seat front and center, though she was nearly unrecognizable in the plain clothes, thick glasses, and unkempt hair. Jon was unrecognizable too, though for entirely different reasons. She could now see he was wearing low cut, hip-hugger jeans and decidedly feminine looking boots. Karyn was dismayed when he didn't sit next to her, but all the nearby chairs had been taken in his absence.
Jon was up and out of the room as soon as class let out. Karyn couldn't even see him in the hall, he'd left with such reckless energy.
Karyn missed Jon at lunch, but he did sit next to her at fourth period history. She started assaulting him with questions, but she'd barely gotten anything out of him besides an "I'll tell you later" before the teacher began lecturing. He'd fallen asleep rather quickly after that. Karyn was sure the teacher noticed, but she said nothing. This was getting into Twilight Zone territory. History was Jon's favorite class. And after class, she found all she'd learned was that Jon was now plucking his eyebrows.
By the time school let out, a more troubling story had started spreading. Jon was getting away with sleeping in class for the same reason the cheerleaders often did, he needed his energy for practice...but at the Career Center.
Karyn knew enough now not to wait for Jon by their old spot. He was going to the Career Center directly after school. And instead of approaching him, she watched.
Karyn didn't get it. Jon had been assigned to be a fucking pro-bowl cheerleader? That was insane. How could his parents possibly approve of this? And even if they did, why would Jon be going along like this?
A sleek sports car rolled up by the side walk. When the door swung open a dazzling flash of white-blonde hair caught in the sun, the platinum locks dragging beneath them a supple, deeply tanned body in revealing clothes. Jon's posture instantly transformed from hunched and self conscious to upright and full of nervous energy. When a high pitched squeal of delight issued from the throat of the blonde creature as she leaped to embrace Jon in a tight hug, heedless of all concept of personal space or standards of intimacy, Karyn decided that she understood where Jon got his motivation.
Yes, she'd had enough. She wouldn't miss him this time, camped out as she was behind a bush adjacent to the Gibsons' house. She'd be there when he got back from the Career Center. And then, Jon-Boy, you'll have some explaining to do.
"What are we doing here? I thought we'd be going through more drills today." Jon tried to stifle the hint of disappointment he was sure had seeped into his voice.
"Cheerleading is hard work. That's why some times, a cheerleader just has to treat herself! Besides, this is part of your training. We'll be practicing outside soon, and remember what the safety video said about the sun?" Brittany-Lynne's enthusiasm infused every aspect of her teaching. It made you never feel dumb when she answered a question with an obvious answer. But this time it just wasn't quite enough to alleviate the dread Jon felt at the phrase 'treat herself'.
But he was being silly. It was just a bad choice of pronoun. Wasn't it? And it wasn't inherently girly to go to a salon. Tons of guys worked on their tans too!
Brittney-Lynn must have noticed his dismay. "Don't worry! We'll still have all the rest of the week for practice!" Jon found himself crushed in one of her electric hugs, his body suffused with a pleasant tingling ."Besides-" She gave a dazzling, mischievous grin, lifting one perfectly plucked, penciled, and arched eyebrow. "Did you know this tanning salon was endorsed by the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders?!"
Jon tried to remember his dismay. But Brittney-Lynn just made it so hard. he found himself tittering along with her as she broke the hug. They held hands as they walked through the door.
Jon forgot to worry. Yet at the same time, he couldn't help but feel there was something else he'd forgotten.
Somewhere, on a distant computer monitor the words: "Physical adjustment, Stage One" appeared.
