⌜ chapter seventeen ⌟

Letty's at home with Morgan when the doorbell downstairs rings, causing the teenager to quickly get up. The little blonde's been driving her crazy, and she was looking for an excuse to leave their room. She makes it to the top of the stairs just as Eric answers the front door.

"Hi." He smiles at the redhead standing outside.

"Hi, I'm Brenda." She shakes his hand as she walks into the house.

"Oh, right! Hi, um..." He closes the door as Letty sits on the bottom flight of the bent staircase that leads up to the bedrooms. "You obviously didn't get the message." He says, pointing at her with the thick book that's in his hands.

"Amy left a message?" The redhead asks as she takes off her coat.

"Yeah, they had car trouble, and they're not gonna be able to make it." He tells her, and she hands him her jacket, which he then hangs up, but not before looking at her long legs, left bare because of the short, red skirt that she's wearing.

"Oh, well... So, I guess it's just you and me then." Brenda makes her way into the house, walking toward the couch.

"Uh, yeah... Just you, and me, and...the collected works of Billy Bob Shakespeare." He holds up the green book of plays in his hand.

"Right." She laughs. "Amy told me you were very devoted to your work." She says as she looks around the living room, then she sees the family picture above the fireplace. "Oh my God." She looks down, and Letty suppresses a laugh.

"Yeah, I know. I must've hit puberty the exact moment they took that picture." Eric says as he points at the portrait.

"No, um..." She clears her throat. "I thought you were Jonathan Turner. Your mother was fixing us up tonight, and..." She tells him, and he chuckles. "I feel really stupid." She says as she starts for the door.

"No, no. Not at all." He turns as she passes him. "I'm actually kinda flattered." He says, and the redheaded woman turns to look at him. "Look, my mom already called and canceled Mr. Turner, and I haven't had dinner yet, so, uh... Let's say we go grab a little bite-ski?"

"A little bite-ski, huh?" She smiles. "Alright."

"Alright. Let's get out of here before you get any older." He says as he grabs his own jacket and follows her out the door.

"That's funny." She sounds amused.

Letty looks down at her hands as he shuts the door behind them, and she takes a deep breath to find her composure. She told him that she didn't want him waiting around for her, and now she's not even speaking to him, so she really shouldn't be surprised that he'd flirt with the pretty girl who turned up at the front door. He's not cheating, and there's really nothing wrong with him going out with anyone... Doesn't mean it didn't hurt to watch him leave with an older woman.

And besides, how can she compare with that — Eric dating an older woman?

Late that night, Letty's watching tv in the living room when she hears a loud crash come from the backyard. The seventeen-year-old quickly gets up and runs outside, past Cory in the kitchen, and her dark eyes widen when she sees Mr. Feeny's house. It's covered in shaving cream, some spots have toilet paper stuck to the foam, and then she notices the large broken window — the loud crash that brought her out here in the first place.

"Oh my God." She mutters.

"I don't suppose you happened to see who's responsible?" The teacher asks, and she shakes her head as she looks at him.

"No, I came when I heard..." The brunette motions to the window. "I guess, when that happened, so... I can help you get it all cleaned up."

"You don't have to do that, Miss Black."

"After everything that you've done for me? It's the least I can do." She argues. "Do you have a board or something, maybe some tarp that I can get taped up out here? I can at least get that hung tonight so that the cold doesn't get in too much."

"Uh, no. I don't believe I do." He tells her, and she nods as she thinks over what she can do to help him.

"Let me ask Mr. Matthews." The teenager disappears back into the house and up the stairs before he even has the chance to respond.

The next day, Letty's already in the backyard with Mr. Matthews when Mr. Feeny gets home. He's surprised to find them both in his yard when he makes his way back there. Mr. Matthews is up on a ladder to get the higher pieces of toilet paper and eggs, and he drops them down to Letty before reaching for some more. She's already collected all of the trash from the ground and in the various bushes.

"Thank you." Feeny says as Mr. Matthews climbs down.

"I told you I was gonna help." She offers him a small smile.

"I got down everything I could reach." Mr. Matthews tells him as he walks over to them. "I'm gonna go wash up, and, uh... Look, George, I know this, uh, bothers you, but just remember, it wasn't the whole school, just a couple of kids. And you've got one fine student here cleaning up their mess." He looks at Letty, and she looks between the two of them.

"Hi. Yeah, I'm socially awkward. I do nice things, I don't talk about them. You're welcome, and stop looking at me." The teenager says, and he chuckles.

"Well, you're right — and what you're doing really does mean a lot, Miss Black." Feeny tells her, and she offers him a small smile. "But this really bothers me."

Mr. Matthews places his hand on his arm, trying to offer him some form of comfort, then he heads back to his own house as Letty ties up the last bag that's full of trash. She says hi to Mr. Turner as he walks past her, moving toward Mr. Feeny.

"George." Turner gets his attention as he glances back at Letty. "What's going on here?"

"Oh, well, we've had a wild toga party, Mr. Turner." Feeny tells him. "Sorry we didn't invite you."

"I should wrap those kids in togas, make 'em walk around school stuck in the stupid white sheets." The brunette mutters, clearly aggravated, and Turner looks at her, but he didn't quite catch what she said.

"I heard this rumor you're retiring. What's that all about?" Turner asks Feeny.

"Yes, well... I have worked hard for many years, and this just feels...right, now." He tells him. "Oh my God, to finally have time to garden, to- to read a good book, to travel. To do all the things that I love."

"George, you love teaching. Come on, don't give these...goons the power to change your life." He says, and Feeny nods as he takes a few steps forward.

"You don't garden, do you, Jonathan?"

"No."

"Here, in the garden, at the end of each season, you see the results of the seeds that you've planted." Feeny says. "And even in a particularly bad season, there's still...growth. So, Mr. Turner, sorry, but I must admit, these days, I quite prefer the garden."

"When I was in sixth grade," Letty starts, gaining the attention of both men. "I was having a really hard time, not that that's really news to anybody, but... The point is, I wasn't doing my school work, and I was slacking in other areas of my life. I... I had decided that it didn't matter what grades I got or who my friends were because I was never going to be anyone important. I was so convinced that I would become who I came from and what I was a product of. There was no hope for me, so why try?

"But I had this teacher, and he talked a lot, and I made it a habit of ignoring him. One day, after things had gotten particularly bad, he asked me to stay after school, and listening to him lecture me was a better alternative than what I was going home to, so I stayed. But there was no lecture, what he said was simple...and yet incredibly complex. He sat down in one of the seats beside me, rather than standing over me, and he said... Miss Black, every day we are one decision away from an entirely different future, and I believe that we have the power to choose which path we take. And the only person who can make that choice for us...is ourselves.

"I'm not sure that teacher realizes just how much of my life he shaped just in that one afternoon, just in those two sentences. I believe, with my whole — admittedly broken — heart that I am today where I am because of those words. I started studying much harder and choosing better friends than the people like those I ran into a couple weeks ago.

"I saw where they are now, and I was proud to say that I'm somewhere else. I help people when I can, and when I can't, I leave them on the couch of someone who I know is capable of keeping them safe. I became much better friends with the boy who lives in the room next to mine, and it is the best friendship and relationship that I have ever had." She looks at Mr. Feeny for the first time since she started speaking. "All because I had a teacher who noticed that I was slipping, and cared enough to speak to me as his peer, instead of looking down at me from the front of the room.

"I can't say things like I love you, and I have a hard time with thank you... So, instead, I cleaned a yard today. I've learned that actions don't always speak louder than words, sometimes things need to be said outright, so... I was lucky to have you as my teacher that day, that year; and I've been incredibly lucky for the years that followed because you're the neighbor of the boy that I clung to after that afternoon. If I had had any other teacher, or if you didn't care as much as you do, I would have an entirely different life today.

"I was going through a particularly bad season, but you planted a seed... I'll let you be the judge of the growth." She smiles. "Thank you, Mr. Feeny, for everything that you've ever done for me."

—

Letty's walking down the stairs to the kitchen when she hears Mr. Matthews say, "An older woman, huh?" and she knows that he's talking to Eric, so she stops before she can round the corner to the last few steps.

"An older foreign woman." Eric says, and the brunette can hear the smirk in his voice.

"Wait a minute... I thought you were in love with Scarlett." Mrs. Matthews says, not liking where this conversation is going.

"I am, but she hates me now. And I don't blame her." He tells her. "Besides, she told me before that she didn't want me waiting for her to be ready to date 'cause she didn't know how long... I was willing to wait when I thought that she loved me, but you didn't see her face after... She's never gonna forgive me for what I said. Cory was right, I don't deserve her. And Morgan won't let me in their room. Everyone hates me for what I did, so I should let her move on, and... I'll do the same." He says, and Letty goes back upstairs, not wanting to hear any more of this conversation.

Later that night, Shawn walks into the living room at the Matthews' house, and he sees Letty sitting in the dark watching tv. "Cory called, told me that you were pouting because Eric's out on a date with some older girl." He tells her. "You look worse than he said."

"Bite me, Hunter." She mutters, and he sits down beside her. "Cory told me why you came bursting into the house earlier. He told me that you stopped a bunch of vandals from going into the school to trash the place."

"Yep. You would've been proud." He says as she adjusts her position on the couch and rests her head on his shoulder.

"I am proud of you." She tells him, and he smiles.

"I'm proud of you too."

"I didn't do anything."

"Oh, yeah?" He turns his head and looks at her. "Then who gave Denny Burgess the black eye that I saw him wearing tonight?" He asks, and she chuckles.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." She tells him, and he smiles.

"My big sister — I finally understand why people call you Scar." He says as he looks back at the tv.

"That jackass is lucky he only got one black eye after he led the goon squad that vandalized Feeny's backyard and broke his window." The brunette says. "That, of course, isn't an admission of guilt." She adds, and he smiles as sinks into the cushions with her.

They're watching tv half an hour later, and Eric walks in the front door. "Oh, hey." He greets quietly; Letty's eyes are closed, so he assumes that she's asleep.

"Hey." Shawn says, not looking up. "How was your date?"

"Uh, it was... It was great." He says and then heads for the stairs. "I set her up with Mr. Turner and then ate by myself at Chubbie's." He mumbles to himself, going completely unheard by the two sitting on the couch.

Shawn sighs when Letty turns her head to bury her face in his shoulder. He then moves his arm and wraps it around her, comforting her as she fights back tears.