Most often people talk about being in the right place at the right time. Maybe they achieved a beautiful photo of a sunrise, or the antics of children or animals. Maybe they found something someone lost and received a big reward when it was returned. But how often do they talk about being in the wrong place at the right time? If they do, it’s often about the death of someone or maybe witnessing a crime. And if this is the case, they are sad or horrified. Walter Williams often is in the wrong place at the right time, though his reaction to the incidents he encounters is much different than anyone would expect. And, life-changing.

Marge and Kathy’s walk wasn’t as interesting to the other students filling the hallway as it had been when Kathy first appeared. One boy, in particular, decided it was time he made his move on his first conquest. Just as Marge and Kathy reached where he was standing, he stepped out in front of the two and said to Kathy in what he considered a sexy voice, “Hey, sweetcheeks, I’m Robert. Why don’t you ditch your sister and you and me go somewhere private. I can show you a better time than your sister can.”

Robert Bakes was a transfer from several previous schools. He’d been kicked out of one after another until he landed in school today. No one would say exactly why he’d been kicked out of school, but rumor had it, and it was a true rumor, his parents had paid a lot of people to keep their mouth’s shut. It seemed Robert thought himself a ladies man, and he’d actually been kicked out after getting several girls at each school pregnant. The parents of those girls had wanted to go to the police and have Robert arrested, but when his parents stepped in and gave each family a hefty sum, they changed their minds. His parents had warned him each time he’d change schools, but nothing they said made any difference. But this time it wasn’t going to be his parents who gave him a warning, it was going to be the school.

Kathy turned to Marge and asked, “Did you hear something, Marge? It sounded like a whiny mosquito. Don’t you think so?” Marge looked Robert up and down before saying, “No, not a mosquito, but it’s so full of itself I’m surprised someone hasn’t changed its diaper.” At one of the schools Robert was kicked out of, he’d assaulted a girl when she’d made fun of him; the doctors had to wire her jaw shut because Robert hit her so hard he broke her jaw in two places.

Robert stepped closer to Marge before telling her, “Listen, bitch, no girl makes fun of me and gets away with it.” Robert started to bring his hand back to slap Marge when his hand was caught by someone standing behind him. He turned around to face the bastard who interfered with him, only to find a boy standing there looking at him. And about ten others standing behind Jeffrey Stoneman. “I don’t know what you fuckers think you’re doing but you don’t want to mess with me,” Robert angrily told the eleven. Jeffrey just smiled at Robert and replied, “Um, I think you’ve got it wrong there, sport. It’s you who doesn’t want to mess with those two girls, especially the one on your left. You don’t even want to have her mother on your case. She’d tear you limb from limb, then shove it all down your throat.” Robert turned around to look at Kathy and saw her nodding her head. “Yep, Robert, Jeffrey’s right,” Kathy said. Then in a growl she said, “She already put three boys who attacked me in the hospital. Want to try to be number four? You best run along and put me out of your mind.” Quite a crowd had gathered around the three, and they didn’t look happy. As Robert started to walk away, he said in a nasty voice, “This ain’t over, bitch. You wait and see.” No one moved to let Robert pass, so he had to push his way through all of the gathered students. And the same throng started walking in the direction of Marge and Kathy’s next class, only after the two girls walked into the classroom did the crowd disband. The school was protecting Marge and Kathy.

For the rest of the day, Kathy answered questions, even telling some classes what she’d said in her science class. And like her science classmates, some even applauded her courage in standing up before everyone and telling her story. The surprise came when she and Marge walked into the cafeteria for lunch, and everyone in the cafeteria, even those in the kitchen, stood and gave Kathy an ovation. She was so overcome with emotions she couldn’t help but cry. Thomas was right, she had touched more people than she’d ever know.

When the last bell rang, signaling the end of school, Marge and Kathy again walked hand in hand as they walked out to get into Terry’s waiting car. Neither girl saw Robert standing just around the corner of a building, watching them, planning how he was going to fuck the hell out of that bitch he was told to leave alone. He’d show her what a real man felt like. And he’d slap her in line as well.

Like many high schools, being Friday there’d be a football game followed by a dance. Terry was worried when Kathy asked to go to the game and then dance with Marge. When Terry called Thomas she had planned to tell him she didn’t want Kathy to go out with just the two of them, but got a surprise when Thomas told her he and Dorothy were going to take the two girls to the game and were one of several couples who chaperoned the dance. Terry felt much better, and gave Kathy permission to go, reminding her she was a girl now, and to keep her eyes open. In Walter’s usual way, she told her mom, “Mom, I’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”

Marge and Kathy yelled their heads off at the game, and enjoyed their time together. But even though they enthusiastically cheered on their team, the boys lost by three points. The girls followed Marge’s parents to the gym, where the dance was to be held. Robert kept in the shadows, biding his time to teach the bitch a lesson. It was after the second dance that Robert saw his chance, as Kathy was walking to the girls restroom. Robert shadowed her and was about to grab her when several hands grabbed him instead, dragging him off down the hallway; Kathy never knew anything about what almost happened to her right then.

When it turned 11 p.m., the lights in the gym came on, a signal the dance was over. Marge and Kathy helped others pick up and put things away before going home, Thomas and Dorothy dropping Kathy off at her house.

It was standard practice by the Police Department, while patrolling the area, to drive into the school parking lot, turn on their flashing light and headlight high beams, and slowly drive to the far end of the lot before turning around and going back to the entrance. As they slowly drove by the wings which housed the classrooms, the riding partner would play the spotlight on the car along the building looking for any anomalies. It wasn’t unusual on the weekends to find one or two cars parked at the far end of the parking lot, since it was much darker there. Once the young lovers saw the flashing lights coming their way, it didn’t take them long to leave the school area. On one occasion, they even spotted two young lovers running naked to their car before the car sped out of the lot.

It was 12:30 a.m. when a patrol car pulled into the high school parking lot, turned on their lights and slowly drove their usual pattern. It wasn’t until they were slowly heading back to the entrance that the headlight high beams illuminated something high up on the flagpole. The officers in the patrol car were too far away, and it was too dark for them to recognize what they were seeing, but as they got closer, the riding partner shined the spotlight up at the top of the flagpole and everything became clear. What they saw caught both officers off guard, and caused them to chuckle.

Suspended up on the flagpole was a boy, completely naked. Duct tape over his mouth and his hands duct taped behind his back. He had some type of harness on that was used to attach him to the rope going up the pole. About that time they received a radio call, asking for their location and to try and find a boy named Robert Bakes. They radioed back a description of the boy hanging from the flagpole, and when dispatch said that was the boy, they told their dispatcher they found the boy but would need the fire department and their ladder truck. And no, it wasn’t an emergency, so lights and sirens weren’t needed.

The riding partner turned to the other and asked, “You figure he did something he wasn’t supposed to or maybe this was a prank?”

The driving partner shrugged her shoulders and said, “Could be either, but my money’s on he did something he shouldn’t have done. We had something like this happen when I was in school. Seems a guy got his girlfriend pregnant and some in the school didn’t like it. The school admin never found out who did it, but that kid was found by a patrol car checking the school, naked, gagged, and tied to the back side of the statue of the school mascot that was on a small island in the parking lot. No one could see the kid from the street, it was only when that police car came back around that the guys spotted him. That kid had been out there for three hours before he was found. Kid’s family moved out of town the very next day. A few months later I saw that kid again, with his mom. And it was the darndest thing. Every time that kid got all whiny or started to act all uppity, his mom would say, ‘It must have felt nice wearing those nylons with that garter belt,’ and that kid’s attitude would change in a heartbeat. It’d be all yes ma’am, no ma’am, yes sir, no sir. Never did figure out why.”

The other officer looked closer at the boy suspended on the flagpole, and saw a sign hanging around his neck. He pointed up and his partner saw it too. “We told you to leave her alone. Maybe you’ll get the message now.” The officer who had been listening to his partner’s story then said, “Yep, guess he DID do something he shouldn’t have done.”

Three things happened about that time, the fire department ladder truck arrived, Peter arrived, and Robert’s parents arrived. The firemen were chuckling seeing the naked boy suspended from the flagpole, but the parents were fuming. Robert’s father said, “This is it, Beth. We told him what was going to happen if he screwed up again. Did you pack his bag according to the instructions from that boarding school?” Beth nodded her head then said, “Ten pairs of panties, ten bras, ten pairs of nylons and garter belts. Five dresses and skirts, along with five blouses, five pairs of shoes, kitten heels and high heels, and five nighties. The instructions said they’d provide anything else she was going to need. It’s all packed in the luggage they sent and secured with a padlock they will unlock when Robert gets to school.” They both stood and watched as a woman firefighter climbed the extended ladder, held Robert while those on the ground untied the rope. As they slowly let the rope slacken, the woman firefighter holding Robert pulled him towards her so he was standing on a rung of the ladder and leaning against the flagpole. She gently took the duct tape off his mouth, then reached around and cut the tape securing his wrists. She then took her coat off and helped Robert put it on, giving him the first piece of clothing he had on since he disappeared from the dance at 11 p.m. It was now 1:30 a.m.

The woman firefighter helped Robert to slowly descend the ladder, then he was helped off the ladder truck by two firefighters standing on the ground. Once the ladder was secured to the bed of the truck, the woman firefighter came over to where Robert was being questioned and said she needed to get her coat back since they were leaving. Robert’s dad didn’t wait for the officer who was pulling a blanket out of the trunk of their patrol car to return, he simply took the coat off Robert and gave it back to the firefighter. Leaving his son standing there in his birthday suit, thanking her for all she’d done. As any boy of Robert’s caliber would do, his hands immediately went to his groin, covering his genitals the best he could. But he never thought of how he looked from behind, as the female officer, bringing the blanket over, got a good view of everything Robert hadn’t covered. She just chuckled and shook her head.

Once Robert was covered by the blanket, the male officer resumed his questions, while Beth had asked to speak with the female officer. As the women talked, Robert and his father could hear bits and pieces of what was being said. Robert heard boarding school, panties, bras, and a few other things that more than puzzled him. He knew his parents had warned him several times before about his behavior, and when they sent him to this high school, their warning was one of ‘this is your last chance’ type of warning. Beth and the female officer had rejoined the three men, the male officer asking the last of his questions. In front of the officers and Peter, Robert’s father told him, “Son, we’ve warned you on more than one occasion about your behavior and intolerable actions. Well, this was your last chance. Tomorrow we’re going to be driving you to your new boarding school.” Robert’s father bent down so he was looking directly into Robert’s eyes, and told him, “Son, if I were you, between now and when we arrive at that school tomorrow, you have a change of attitude. Because those at that school won’t tolerate how it is right now.” Robert had an ugly look on his face as he said, “There ain’t been any pigs in any school that’s made me scared of them. I’ll handle them pigs at that school just fine.” Robert’s father, Tony Bakes, and his wife Beth, had visited that school and had seen what it was really about, and knew their son was in for a very rude awakening. One even he wasn’t expecting.

Peter had been standing by the officer questioning Robert and listened as the officer asked questions he would also have had to ask.

“Robert, did you see who did this to you?”

“No sir, after they grabbed me they put some type of cloth bag over my head.”

“And when they put the tape over your mouth, could you identify any of them at that point?”

“No, sir. They taped my hands behind my back then took off the bag over my head. There were six of them, all dressed in black and wearing full face masks.”

“Could you tell their hair coloring or could you see their eye coloring? Anything that would help us catch those who did this?”

“No sir. Whatever they was wearing on their heads completely hid the color of their hair. And it was too dark to really see their eyes.”

“Well, did you recognize their voices, did they use names?”

“No sir. None of them ever made a sound.”

Peter walked a short distance away to be by himself, he had a decision to make. There was nothing to go on to prove who did this, or if they were even from his school; he’d talked with the Principals of the other schools Robert had attended and learned that a lot of students hated what he had done while at those schools. And if he called for a general assembly in the gym then blasted the entire student body, without any proof, he was going to accuse the innocent as well as the guilty, if they were present. Plus, whoever did this kept it so quiet so Kathy never found out what had just about happened, so they were actually protecting her. And if he blasted everyone, she would learn what they were trying to keep from her. His only option, as he saw it, was to keep his ears open. See if word gets around and then try and backtrack where it came from, though with this many kids they might have heard about it from anyone. And not just at this school.

Peter walked back over where the officer was talking to Robert’s father. He had handed Tony a copy of the case number and was explaining who to call if he had any further information or had any question. When Peter reached the two, the officer gave him another copy of the same case number and the same instructions. The two officers bid the three goodnight, got into their patrol car and left. Tony turned to Peter and said, “Peter, I’m so sorry this happened. But I can assure you it won’t happen again. Tomorrow we’re taking Robert to a boarding school that won’t tolerate his attitude or antics. One that he won’t like because they will force him to behave as they want, not as he wants. And, he’s going to learn a lot more about a side of himself he never expected to explore. So we’ll be here tomorrow to withdraw him from school.”

Peter mulled over how he was going to respond, and came up with, “Well, one thing I know, you have nothing to apologize for, none of this was your fault. I’d been hearing things about Robert I didn’t like, things like what was printed on that sign hung around his neck. I think that warning was because of a new girl we have in school, a very popular girl, a girl Robert had been told to leave alone when he tried to convince her to go somewhere private with him. Seems he was going to show her a good time as only a ‘man’ could do; she already has a girlfriend, something your son didn’t think much of. No, Tony, don’t apologize for your son’s behavior. He brought all of this on himself and the consequences of his actions.”

When Peter finished talking Tony then told him, “You’re right, Robert has to suffer the consequences of his actions, but while he chose how to act, his mom and I should have done a better job of being his parents. We spent too much time working or being involved in civic groups, and weren’t there to teach our son how to act properly. And I honestly believe his attitude towards that girl, and the ones before, actually came from me, though I’m embarrassed to admit it. You wouldn’t happen to have a time machine around, would you? Then we could go back and fix all this before it got this far.” Tony chuckled, then added, “I bet that’s a wish a lot of people have.” Peter and Tony shook hands before Tony got into his car and left the parking lot, headed home. Peter doing the same. As he drove home he wondered if Tina would be awake when he got home, or wake up when he got in bed; he needed to talk to someone.

Marge and Kathy had planned to spend the afternoon at Kathy’s house doing their homework. But at 9 in the morning Terry heard a knock on their front door. When she opened the door she was surprised to find Marge standing there, backpack in hand and that sun blinding smile on her face. “Hi Mrs. Williams, I thought I’d surprise Kathy and came real early.” Terry looked past Marge and saw Dorothy in their car, and waved to her as she let Marge into the house. “Well, she is sure going to be surprised, since she’s still asleep. Maybe you can go wake her up, hmm?” When Terry suggested that, she had an impish smile on her face, and it transferred to Marge’s face, as Marge sat down her backpack, and quietly went up the stairs and into Kathy’s bedroom, opening and closing the bedroom door as softly as she could.

Marge stood and watched her girlfriend for a few moments, watched how she stretched one time, and the soft snoring sound she made. And as she watched, she slowly took off her shoes and socks, then her top, then the shorts she was wearing. Then ever so slowly she pulled back the covers over Kathy, slowly got into bed with her, and scooted so close to Kathy their noses were almost touching. And then with her right hand slowly reached down and began to gently rub Kathy between her legs, then slipped her fingers underneath the panties Kathy was wearing.

Marge watched Kathy’s face as her ministrations were being felt. Marge could also feel how wet Kathy was getting as she continued the action. Kathy let out a moan before her eyes snapped open and she was staring into Marge’s face. “Hi sweetheart, thought I’d surprise you and arrive a bit early today. Your mom said I should come up and wake you. How’d I do? Are you awake yet?” In response to Marge’s questions, Kathy inched closer and began kissing Marge, and reached down with her left hand and pressed Marge’s hand harder into herself.

It was 10:30 a.m. before Terry heard the upstairs shower running, she wondered how many were showering. She also had an idea Marge had woken Kathy up much earlier, but felt the two needed to get to know each other better. At least Kathy couldn’t get pregnant and they were in a safe place. She had debated with herself whether or not to let this happen, but realized this was something she had to experience and not something she could teach Kathy. She chuckled to herself as she realized the shower was running much longer than it normally took Kathy to take a shower. She hoped Marge was too rough on her daughter, or her daughter too euphoric to walk straight.

It was 11:30 a.m. by the time both girls finally came downstairs, both wearing silly grins, both glowing. Terry didn’t even beat around the bush, but asked them directly, “Did you girls have a good time?” Marge buried her face into Kathy’s chest and laughed. Kathy tried to look shocked by her mother’s question, but failed and she turned a lovely shade of pink. Terry walked over and gathered both girls into a hug before telling them, “Let’s go sit down.” The three walked into the living room and sat down on the couch, Terry between both girls. “Girls, I let both of you be together like this because, number one, neither of you would get pregnant. And number two,” and Terry looked at Kathy, “this was something I couldn’t teach you, sweetheart. I had to let you experience it for yourself, but someplace safe. And you both are safe in this house.” Then Terry looked back and forth to each girl before telling them, “My giving my permission doesn’t mean you two enjoy each other every time you’re alone here, or at Marge’s house; you need to talk with your mom, Marge. It means you act responsible about your time together. And make sure you keep yourselves clean, that’s important.”

Terry looked back and forth to each girl, and saw the light pink shading on their faces. She chuckled before telling them, “I felt the same way my first time with another girl, long ago, before I met Shelby.” That sparked a conversation that lasted until Kathy’s stomach told her she was hungry, and Terry suggested they go out for pizza.

After they returned from getting lunch, the rest of their time was spent studying, or helping each other in the same subject but with different teachers. Two hours into their study time, Terry took a tray of drinks and snacks up to Kathy’s bedroom, knocking lightly on the bedroom door before entering. She snickered with what she saw as she entered the room, for Kathy was lying across her bed with her back against the wall and Marge was lying lengthwise with her head resting on Kathy’s hips. And both were reading. “Hey, how about taking a break. I’ve drinks and snacks,” Terry told the two girls before sitting the tray down on Kathy’s desk. Both girls sat their school books aside, stretched, Kathy bent over and gently kissed Marge on the lips, before Marge sat up, turned, got off the bed and walked over to the desk. Kathy had to scoot off the bed, given how she was sitting, but followed Marge over to the desk.

They both took a glass of orange juice Terry brought them and a couple of the cookies from the plate on the tray. The girls had just sat down on Kathy’s bed when Terry asked, “How’s the studying going?” She had to wait a few chews since both girls had a mouth full of cookie. When the swallowing and drink of orange juice had been done, Marge said, “I’ve just a few more pages to read for my World History class.” “Same here, but for Science,” Kathy chimed in after Marge. “I’m just asking because we have to get you home before five, Marge. Guess your family has plans for tonight,” Terry reminded Marge. Marge nodded her head before saying, “Yeah, it’s the birthday of one of my parents’ friends. We’re going over there for supper then help her blow out the candles with a fire extinguisher.” Marged chuckled after what she just said, explaining just how old the woman was going to be. And someone had the bright idea to put the same number of candles on the birthday cake, instead of getting those number candles. She slowly shook her head and said, “Sure hope they don’t burn the house down.”

Both girls finished the rest of their homework by 3:30 in the afternoon. Marge had put her school books back into her backpack and was now sitting next to Kathy with her back against the wall. They wouldn’t see each other until Monday, as each family had plans for Sunday. When Terry knocked on Kathy’s bedroom door, and walked in, she saw the two sitting on Kathy’s bed, backs against the wall, holding each other and Marge’s head on Kathy’s shoulder. “Hey, girls, I hate to break up this lovely scene, but we need to get you home, Marge. Your mom called to make sure you’d be home in time to get ready for the birthday party. So if you have everything, we best get you home.” Terry saw Marge nod her head, then let go of Kathy and scoot off the bed. Kathy followed her then picked up her purse and the two girls followed Terry out of the bedroom, down the stairs and out to Terry’s car parked in the driveway.

Neither girl took notice that Terry was headed in the wrong direction, as Terry decided to take the circumspect route to Marge’s home, giving the girls a little more time together. There was no throat clearing this time, when they arrived at Marge’s home, as the two girls said goodbye in their own personal way. When their kiss ended, they both reached up and wiped tears on the other’s cheeks, telling each other, “See you Monday at school.” It was a quiet ride back to the Williams’ home, and when Terry pulled the car into the driveway, Kathy asked, “Does love always make a person hurt when the one they love can’t be with them?” Kathy was looking straight ahead when she asked the question, but Terry could see tears running down her daughter’s face. She reached over and pulled Kathy to her and replied, “Yeah, it does, honey. Every time.”