The Unknown

Swinging for the fences

Mike's pov

After suffering through a two hour meeting with Neil and some medical supply liaisons, I'm actually looking forward to hearing how things went between Julie and Shane. When I enter Shane's room I see him sitting at his desk with his head in his hands, looking like he was just flattened by a steamroller. Poor bastard looks wiped.

"Hey, how did it go?" I ask, feeling oddly optimistic.

Shane sighs loudly, exhaling forcefully.

"It was intense, draining, and a long time in the making but ultimately ground-breaking. Julie was able to get some things off her chest that I know have been weighing her down for awhile now and I think we were able to rebuild a good portion of the crumbling foundation supporting our relationship."

Shane sounds like a passage out of a psych 301 textbook written by Dr. Seuss but I know his words are sincere, even if they're largely brought about from sheer exhaustion. He and Julie have an extremely close, yet volatile bond that only the two of them can truly comprehend. I've never admitted it to anyone but I've always been a little jealous of the connection they share.

"Sounds like a successful mission, Admiral," I say smirking, as I flop down on Shane's bed. After landing, I hear an object I must have accidentally bounced off his mattress clatter on the floor. Reaching down to retrieve it, I groan upon identifying it. Holding the cellphone up to Shane, I ask, "The reason the school called?" even though I'm almost positive I already know the answer.

"Yep, Lisa's. She cut class Friday, took an attitude with me, and denied it ever happened," Shane replies, confirming my suspicions.

"Just great," I mutter. "What class and why?"

Shane replies tiredly, "Last period and I don't know why, she didn't say. I grounded her for one week, took her phone, and sent her to her room." Rubbing his eyes and forehead, he sighs. "Plus, I administered some correction with my hand to address her disrespect."

"Why don't you relax and get some rest. I'll go talk to her and find out what's goin' on." Setting Lisa's phone on his desk, I reluctantly head over to the girls' room for some answers.

"Alright, thanks, mate." Shane slowly gets up and starts to change out of his suit, thinking it's been a helluva long day.

The girls' room

"Hi, sweetheart. Where's Lisa?" I ask, when Julie lets me in and I don't see anyone else in their room. Before she has a chance to respond, I clarify, "I thought Shane sent her here after grounding her for skipping last period on Friday?"

Looking confused, Julie answers, "She's not here and she didn't skip last period on Friday."

"How do you know?" I ask. Since Julie responded so quickly and assertively, I'm inclined to believe her.

"Because I have last period with her. BSCS? Mr. Dick?" Seeing my displeasure in how she referenced their teacher, Julie quickly modifies her words. "I mean, Mr. Kemp of course. Please excuse my faux pas."

Biting my lip, I muster the restraint to let her impudence slide.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure," she responds cockily. "We had a sub that day. Dick wasn't even there so the class was actually tolerable. I sat next to Lisa while we watched Condescending Patronization of Highschool Freshmen: Intro to Photosynthesis. Don't quote me on the title though, that may not be the exact name of the video."

Now it's my turn to roll my eyes I thought, as I once again ignored Julie's facetiousness, choosing instead to focus on the heart of her message.

"Why would Lisa have been marked absent then?"