Wrestling Against Myself (52 page)

“I ran to your car and locked myself in, but a few seconds later he was there with his buddies and they started shouting it. Then more people came and it was a mess.”

“It's over now,” Tony said as he stroked the girl's long flowing hair. “I got you now.”

“It may never be over,” Courtney said in a whisper.

“But it's over now. You're safe here.”

Though Antonio was referring to the girl being home, Courtney thought he was referring to being in his arms and she wasn't about to protest. “I know,” she murmured as she closed her eyes.

Tony sat still for a few moments before realizing the girl drifted off.

“Is everything okay,” Mrs. Barnes said as she entered the room.

Antonio put his finger to his mouth and shushed Courtney's mother. “She fell asleep,” he whispered.

“I see,” Mrs. Barnes mouthed. “Looks like you have the magic touched.”

Tony navigated so he could place the girl on her bed and not rouse her from her sleep. He made sure Courtney's head was on the pillow and placed the wrestling bear in her arms so she had something to clutch. He stood up, making sure he didn't disturb her, and tip toed out of the room.

“That wasn't my plan,” Tony said as he walked towards the front door.

“Sometimes stress does that,” Mrs. Barnes said as she opened the door for the teen.

“Is she going to be okay for school tomorrow?”

Mrs. Barnes nodded. “When we decided to put this experiment into play, we agreed that we would deal with the consequences without sacrificing her education. Courtney knows she isn't allowed to miss school because of the teasing. It may sound harsh, but if this is road she wants to take, we figured it was better to get the horrible stuff out of the way first.”

“I guess. I wish people will lighten up.”

“We will have a talk with Mrs. Reed and Mr. Fenton, I'm sure they will have a solution to make the situation more bearable.”

“Good,” Tony said as he made his way through the door and stood on the porch. “I'm glad she isn't going to miss any school tomorrow.”

“Are you kidding? With being able to go to your house after school tomorrow, I don't think I could keep her from going unless I put a gun to her head.”

“Tell her I said good night, if she wakes up.”

“You're a Godsend, Tiny,” Mrs. Barnes said as she slowly closed the door. “I hope you realize that.”

“I do the best I can. Have a good evening, Mrs. Barnes.”

Tony was sitting at the lunch table. So far that day, things had been quiet and he hoped they stayed that way. Outside of a knowing smirk from Peter while passing each other in the hall, there had been no interaction. Antonio was torn about what to do; part of him wanted to take the bull by the horns, confront Peter physically, and put an end to things. Another part of him said it was Courtney's fight, and outside of having his car rocked violently, Antonio didn't have a place to say anything that would make any lasting difference. He didn't know what Courtney could do, other than outlast her enemy.

“How is she,” Tracy asked as she sat down with Carl. “I heard all about it and I think it's terrible.”

“I think she'll be okay.” Tony put down his sandwich. “She's a little shaken up, but none the worse for wear. I saw her between class, so she's at school.”

“If that was me, I would be terrified and would miss a whole week.”

“I think she came to school as some sort of moral victory.”

“Good for her,” Carl said. “She needs to stand her ground and not let them get the best of her. I don't know what's with Peter, that's a lot of hatred. If he wants to prove Courtney is wrong about living life as a girl, he's going about it the wrong way.”

The way Carl said his last sentence didn't sit right with Antonio, but the middle of a crowded lunch room wasn't the place to get into a heated conversation. “How would you convince her she is wrong?”

“The same way you're going about it. Show her the love of Christ and lead her to Him, then the Holy Spirit would do the rest.”

Tony had a thoughtful expression on his face. “You think her problem is spiritual?”

“Isn't that everyone's?” Carl assembled his hamburger. “Everyone is in danger of going to hell until they accept Christ, no matter what their sin is. Have you had a chance to witness to her?”

“Not yet,” Tony said and then realized outside of knowing that Courtney got kicked out of her old church, he had no idea of her spiritual walk. “I should
ask if she is saved.”

“I doubt it,” Tracy spoke up.

“Why is that?” Antonio asked.

“Isn't it obvious? She's a boy living as a girl, that defiance flies right in the face of God.”

“You think her being a girl is defiant?” Tony remained calm, but was concerned.

“Don't you agree? God made her a boy for a reason. Who are we to tell God He made us wrong?”

Tony held his tongue as he saw Courtney approaching. When the other two saw his gaze strayed from them, they turned their heads and realized the conversation was over.

Courtney sat down at the table with a tray of food. Her face was tense, but she didn't look as stressed out as the day before.

“How you doing, Courtney?” Tracy asked.

“I'm okay, I guess.”

“I heard what they did,” Tracy continued. “Simply horrible. Good thing Tiny came to your rescue.”

“Told you he was a super hero minus the cape,” Carl told Tracy as he elbowed her in the side.

“We're glad you're safe and in one piece.”

“Me too,” Courtney said as she picked as her food.

“I don't think they'll try that mess anymore,” Antonio said. “Besides, I won't be delayed like I was yesterday. They must have known I was going to be held up with wrestling stuff.”

“Thank you John Sharp,” Carl said.

“I don't think he had anything to do with it. He is the one that let me know something was going on.”

“Yeah,” Carl said sarcastically. “Anything to see people get into a fight.”

Tony grimaced. “I don't think he would've let it get that far. Besides, he likes the beast too much.”

“The beast?” Courtney looked confused and offended. 

Tracy laughed. “The beast is what they call Tiny's car, not you.”

“Oh!” Courtney turned red with embarrassment.

“Even if he didn't set it up, I bet he's the one who told them we were meeting in the locker room.”

“The whole school knew, they made an announcement.”

“Can we drop it,” Courtney said in a huff. “It's over; let's move on with our lives.”

“What's over,” Ted said as he came to the table with Dave in tow.

“Something that happened yesterday that I don't want to talk about.”

“Oh, the car thing,” Dave said.

“How do you know about it?” Carl asked.

“It's all over the school,” Dave replied. “Five people told me about it. Said Tiny was about to lay out that jerk.”

“A two hit fight,” Ted added. “Tiny hitting Peter and Peter hitting the floor.”

“There wasn't going to be a fight. Peter was posturing; nothing was going to come of it.”

“Guys, please,” Courtney whined.

“Yeah,” Tracy came to her defense. “No need to rehash the past.”

“Fine by me,” Ted said. “Did any of you put in a suggestion for Homecoming theme?”

“I didn't,” Tony said. “I doubt they would appreciate a wrestling theme anyway.”

“I would agree to it if you had to wear your tights,” Courtney said.

Tracy and Carl raised their eyebrows.

“We put in suggestions for sci-fi or space,” Dave said.

“We can all dress like astronauts,” Carl said sarcastically.

“They want to wear star trek uniforms,” Tony joked.

“What's wrong with that,” Dave and Ted asked in unison.

“Told you,” Tony said with a knowing smile.

“Doesn't make a difference what we wear, we’re going stag,” Carl said.

“I'm not dressing like a Captain Kirk,” Tony said emphatically.

“You could be a Klingon,” Ted suggested.

“Yeah Tiny, you would make a great Worf,” Dave said.

Tony rolled his eyes. “Maybe I should have taken the day off from school.”

Friday at school finally drew to a close. Outside of a few test that Tony wasn't as prepared for as he would have liked, the day went without incident. When the final bell sounded, Antonio sprang to his feet and made his way to the door. He did his best not to push his way through, but he didn't want to delay getting to his car. In the end, he figured he only saved himself a few seconds by being impulsive, but those few seconds could be instrumental in keeping things from escalating.

Antonio made his way through the mass of people scurrying to get home from a tough week at school. He didn't waste time exchanging pleasantries and it was the earliest he ever made it to the parking lot. Through the sea of teenagers, he could tell his car was safe, but couldn't tell if Courtney was inside.

Tony got to the Firebird, it was empty and he would have to wait, but at least he was available if anything went down. He rolled down his windows and started the car, figuring the least he could do was warm up the engine while he waited.

Two minutes later, Courtney made her way to the car. “Hey you,” she said with a beaming smile. “I didn't mean to keep you waiting.”

“It's okay, turnabout is fair play and you've waited on me more than enough.”

“But it's your car.”

“That it is, but if you had a license, I would let you drive her.”

“So the beast is a her,” Courtney said whimsically.

“Don't tell the others.”

“Guys and thinking cars are girls. I think the beast is a boy. He looks mean and fast.”

“But she's also beautiful,” Tony countered.

“Some girls have all the luck.”

“You seem to be in a good mood.”

“I am. The week is over and I get a whole weekend off from school. What could be better?”

“Winning the lottery.”

“I'm too young to play,” Courtney playfully pouted.

“Are you set to come over to my house or do we need to stop by yours first?”

“Nope. All set. You said you have a pool, right?”

“I sure did.”

“I wish we had a pool. I brought my swimsuit.”

“I hope it's modest.” Tony inched his car toward the exit. “If not, I'll have to put you in a pair of my swimming trunks.”

“As if,” Courtney said in her best Valley Girl accent. “Don't worry, it's a one piece. My mom won't let me wear a bikini yet.”