Some of you might think, with my natural penchant for stalking, that I would haunt the Van Horn's home. But I didn't. I had made a deal with them and they had lived up to it. They apparently didn't need me anymore and I stayed away.

The semester had ended and I was no longer in Cynthia Van Horn's Humanities class. I saw her almost daily in the halls but she didn't see me and I did not approach her. I didn't see Edwin Van Horn at all. He was probably holed up in his office shuffling papers and dealing with problem students who hadn't boned his wife. For my part, I had entered into Math, Finance and Computer classes and finally resorted to taking my required Physical Education Classes. I had a deep-seated aversion to Physical Education. All the team sports and organized activities bothered me. I didn't mind the team concept; I just wanted to pick and lead my own team.

I was in my last hour of school, shooting lazy baskets in the free time part of Physical Education when I was approached by Mr. Collins, the Physical Education Teacher. He had bothered me the first few days about joining his basketball team until I finally laid down the law to him. He had gone away with quite the unattractive scowl on his face. I had very low hopes about what my grade would be in this class regardless of my athletic ability. When he approached me this time, I had figured he wanted to try once more to get through to me. I thought idly about the clichés he would use. He usually spoke almost entirely in sports clichés. He wore sweatsuits and was one of those guys whose fat goes entirely to their gut. He protruded quite a bit there. It was hard to believe he had once played on a state championship high school team in the time when dinosaurs ruled the earth. I nailed a perfect twenty-footer from the baseline as he approached. Nothing but net. That would piss him off. He was flanked as usual by his fawning players. He pulled a hall pass out of his pocket and handed it to me. "You gotta appointment with your counselor," he said flatly and walked away.

I looked at the hall pass. I had an appointment with Counselor Van Horn. Huh. I took a drink of water at the luke-warm drinking fountain and headed down two miles of hallway until I got to Administration. Mrs. Crawford, Ed's dumpy secretary, checked my look out when I handed her the pass. She picked up the phone and intercommed into Ed's office, and then told me I could go in.

Edwin opened the door as I approached it and motioned me to a chair. He spoke briefly with Mrs. Crawford, checking on the status of her work and then released her for the day. She seemed only too glad to leave the mounds of work that lay on her desk. She grabbed her coat and purse and vanished. I sprawled casually in the chair opposite Ed's desk and waited. He shuffled back into his office and slouched behind his authority desk. His desk, conversely, was almost bare. We stared at each other idly for awhile until I had to smile. And Edwin loosened up.

"How have you been, Damien? Keeping out of trouble, I hope?" he asked me conversationally.

"I'm okay. I started some interesting classes and I hit the library almost every day," I answered, wondering where this was leading.

"Starting your program to take over the world?" he asked jovially, searching my face.

"Pretty much," I answered glibly. "You don't believe I could?"

"It wouldn't surprise me, Damien. Not after everything that's happened," he answered me quietly. He watched me silently, and I could hear the gears in his head whirring as he considered the best way to approach whatever the next subject would be. He cleared his throat several times. I waited on him.

"First off, uh.. I... we wanted to thank you again for the nice gifts you left us. And the money," Edwin amended. I just stared back at him as he struggled for words. Edwin obviously expected me to answer and he struggled for words when I didn't speak. "We... our deal is done, right? All paid up? On an even footing so to speak?" I nodded in the affirmative. Edwin's face turned red and I knew he was turning into his subject. As his mouth opened to gush out more words, a small knock came at the door. He croaked for the person outside to come in.

And my pretty little teacher came in. My Cynthia walked in and stood behind her husband's desk. She gave me a shy smile and said, "Hi, Damien." I nodded to her agreeably. Ed's wife was dressed for cheerleader practice. Wearing some baggy shorts and a sweatshirt with the Clinton High School logo on it. A Brahma bull or something. Those magnificent breasts covered by sweatshirt. To keep the high school boys at bay. And Cynthia Van Horn guessed correctly that her husband hadn't broached the subject yet and that her knock had come early. She flushed and gripped the back of his chair. Edwin's voice went up a notch.

"Dear, I was just telling Damien here that we thank him again for those gifts. I was going to mention that we're going to start our own family pretty soon..." Cynthia Van Horn didn't answer her husband. She just kind of stared off at a point on the wall behind my head. Edwin forged ahead helplessly. "Damien tells me that we are even. Passed the test, so to speak." It was his second use of 'so to speak' in the last minute. "Uh... Damien, based on that, and the fact that you have left us alone--I'd, uh... we would like to ummm.....make a proposal. He foundered at looked at me for feedback.

"Go ahead, Mr. Van Horn. I'm listening." I stared idly at Cynthia Van Horn who was making a conscious effort to leave her embarrassed body and float out of the room......(cont)