The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

Since the beginning of my sophomore school year, I found myself the object of attention from a few of the girls in my class. This was a new situation for me—I had rarely attracted any notice from members of the opposite sex before.

The thing that was different this year, of course, was that I was now dating Kristen Swift, my little blonde Goddess. Kristen was a senior, had a long mane of lovely blonde hair, blue eyes, and a killer body. Her family was rich, and I was definitely from the “other side of town.” For some reason, Kristen attended public high school, and I had known of her for a few years, mistakenly thinking that she was responsible for my losing the friendship of somebody that I had once been close to.

Kristen was also eighteen months older than I was. That in itself was unusual in high school. Usually, it was older boys that dated younger girls. Girls seemed to look for maturity in the guys they dated, and they associated maturity with age. The fact that Kristen and I were going steady was atypical to say the least.

Apparently, this new situation seemed to make some girls give me more than a casual glance as dating material. After all, if somebody like Kristen found me interesting, there might be more to me than was immediately apparent. The level of my perceived maturity rose proportionately due to the fact that Kristen thought I was dating material. Kristen was no longer the leader of her own clique of girls at school, but she was well known enough that my stature in school naturally rose until I was pretty much known on sight by just about everybody.

Being naive, I didn’t know exactly how to handle this new attention from the girls, so I simply tried to ignore it. Some girls saw my reaction and set their sights elsewhere. A couple of girls saw my reluctance as a personal challenge. Somehow attracted by my attitude, they went on crusades to ensnare me.

One of these crusaders was Sherry Jordan, a sophomore like me that I had known since seventh grade. Sherry’s brown hair was very curly and was so fine as to look fragile. Her breasts were on the smallish side. She wasn’t the most beautiful girl in the world, and I always thought of her as a shy girl in junior high. Every time I saw her, she looked like she was concentrating on something or other, a look that I guess I associated with studiousness. Like most of the girls at that time, Kristen being the notable exception, Sherry wore what I thought was too much makeup—heavy on mascara and eye shadow.

I discussed the attention I was receiving from Sherry with my good friend Patty, who was a senior at the school. Patty was a red-headed friend that I introduced to Kristen. Patty was mildly amused about the way I described Sherry’s actions, understanding that the girls my age were still going through emotional changes themselves. She explained to me how they were just trying out their new wings, so to speak, and how the air of sexual permissiveness of the mid-1970s probably had a lot to do with their attitudes as well.

It was nice having somebody like Patty to talk to. I found her to be a remarkable source of insight into other people’s feelings. What Patty told me made a lot of sense. In fact, in the past year or so, I had seen some of my male acquaintances start to notice members of the opposite sex, a complete 180 degree reversal from their previous attitudes.

However, as I mentioned, I already had a girlfriend, and I was very much in love with Kristen. I had no desire whatsoever of doing anything that would jeopardize my relationship with her. Therefore, I found myself getting into the habit of trying to avoid Sherry’s attentions.

Of course, this only seemed to make Sherry more determined in her targeting of me.

I was therefore a bit nervous when I saw Sherry approach me in history class, one of three classes that we had together. After all, as I said, Sherry was one of those girls that didn’t give up their pursuit of me very easily.

“Hey, Jim!” Sherry said, batting her painted eyes.

“Um... hi ya, Sherry,” I answered, looking at her the way that Superman would eye a bar of Kryptonite.

Sherry continued to bat her mascara-covered eyes, and pushed out her smallish breasts just a little. “You ready for the quiz tomorrow?”

“The homework was easy enough,” I said noncommittally.

“I can’t get it, though,” Sherry said. “All of those dates.” She shuddered at the thought of actually having to remember something. “Maybe you could help me?”

“I’m going out after school...” I said. “With Kristen,” I added, to emphasize my loyalties.

I saw a strange look pass in her eyes briefly. “That’s all right. We both have fourth period lunch. We’ll meet then.” Without giving me time to object, Sherry gave me a sweet smile and walked away toward her desk, wiggling her ass a bit more than I had ever seen her do before.

“Wow, man. That chick’s hot!” a classmate of mine named Fred offered to me.

“Yeah,” I agreed, thinking if something is hot enough, it will burn somebody eventually.

I figured that fourth period lunch would be a good time to deal with Sherry. After all, both Kristen and Patty also had lunch during that period, and I usually ate with the two of them. Sherry would find me surrounded by two twelfth grade girls. I snickered to myself, congratulating myself for having gotten away from Sherry yet again.

As I walked from third period music to the lunchroom, I smiled in anticipation of Sherry having to deal with Patty and Kristen in order to talk with me at lunch.

Suddenly, I felt somebody tap my shoulder.

I turned around and my heart dropped as I saw Sherry standing behind me. “Hey, Jim!”

“Um... you wanted to meet at lunch, right?” I asked.

“Oh, the lunchroom is so noisy. The music room is empty this period and I’ve heard that Mr. Proilet has allowed you free rein to come and go into that room as you please. Isn’t that right?”

“Well...”

“I brought my history book,” Sherry continued, holding the book in her hand. “We could discuss tomorrow’s quiz in relative quiet.”

“I don’t know...”

“Oh, come on!” Sherry said, tugging my arm back toward the music room.

Oh, fuck. Kristen and Patty were definitely going to notice my absence in the lunchroom. Moreover, on more than one occasion, Kristen and I met in that music room for a little rendezvous during lunch period. It wouldn’t be unlike Kristen at all to check on that room to see if I was just spending time working on arrangements for the jazz band.

“This isn’t a good idea,” I said to Sherry who simply ignored me, continuing to pull me into the music room.

Sherry wasn’t a member of the band, but she seemed to know the layout of the music room. As we entered the room, she found the Do Not Disturb switch that connected to a red light outside the room, indicating that nobody should enter the room.

This confirmed to me that Sherry’s intentions had nothing whatsoever to do with History.

“Sherry, I don’t think you should have...”

“Oh, shut up, Jim,” Sherry said, exasperated. Now inside the room with the door shut, she simply turned around and pulled my head down to hers.

Sherry’s kiss surprised me. I attempted to say something, but she kept my face on hers, and as I opened my lips, she simply slipped her tongue into my mouth.

Despite my not being a willing participant in this action, I found Sherry’s actions were making me aroused. I was more than a little surprised when I felt one of her hands leave my neck, quickly moving to my crotch.

Sherry cooed as she felt my erection, and she started to lower my zipper. I tried to muster all my will power to say “NO!” to her, and finally wiggled away from her.

“STOP!” I said, rather forcefully.

Sherry looked at me, dumbfounded. Apparently, it didn’t occur to her that I would really refuse her affections. Boys just didn’t do that!

The two of us were breathing heavily. I saw frustration in Sherry’s eyes, as she contemplated her next move.

I had to move fast, so I did.

Luckily, I had my attaché case with me. I fumbled with it and hastily opened it and pulled out a ticket from my ever-present roll, handing it to Sherry.

Sherry looked confused, but took the ticket, and intoned the words, “You have one wish.”

I pointed to one of the practice rooms, and said, “Go into that room, and don’t make any noise. Wait patiently for me to return.”

“Your wish is my command,” Sherry intoned, and she obediently moved to the practice room.

Whew. That was close. Now, what should I do with her?

I needed to talk with Patty. She already knew about Sherry, although she had doubted that Sherry would actually get as explicit or as obvious as she had just acted. I needed Patty’s ideas right now. I walked out of the music room, and headed for the lunchroom.

I heard a familiar voice call out, “Jim!”

I looked up and saw both Kristen and Patty. “Um... I was looking for you two.”

Kristen looked beyond me and saw the Do Not Disturb light was on. “Oh?” Kristen asked, knowingly. “Both of us?”

I sighed. Kristen thought that I had planned a little rendezvous for the two of us.

Apparently, Patty thought the same thing, and started to excuse herself.

“No, Patty. Wait.”

Both girls looked at me in surprise.

“Come into the music room. I need to talk with the two of you.”

We entered the room. I saw Sherry’s book on one of the seats, reminding me that she was still waiting patiently for me in one of the practice rooms.

“What’s this about?” Kristen asked.

I turned to Patty. “Patty, remember when I told you about the girls in my classes and how their feelings toward me have changed recently?”

Patty nodded, confused.

Kristen also looked confused. I hadn’t told her about this—I hadn’t wanted to get her upset. I now realized that I didn’t have much choice.

“Kris, I only told Patty so I could get advice,” I explained. “Since the beginning of school this year, girls seem to be more interested in me. Patty and I worked it out that because you seem interested in me, and that Wendy, Patty, and Patrice also hang out with me, that I might be somebody worth looking into.”

Patty nodded, remembering our conversation.

“You’re not thinking of leaving me, are you?” Kristen asked. I saw from her amused expression that she didn’t seem upset at this revelation.

“No, Kris,” I assured my love, “you’re my one and only.”

“So, what’s this about?” Patty asked.

“Well, there’s one girl that has been a bit more persistent than the others; one that doesn’t want to take ‘no’ for an answer.”

“And you want advice?” Patty asked.

“Or do you want me to kill her?” Kristen asked, still not completely serious.

“No,” I answered, “I just want you to understand.”

“Understand what?” Kristen asked. She sounded as if she was getting a bit exasperated.

“Give me a second,” I said, sighing. I took my attaché case and went into the room where Sherry was still waiting.

The two girls watched me enter the practice room. I saw Sherry simply waiting there. She went to say something as I handed her another ticket.

“You have one wish.”

I exited the closet, pulling Sherry behind me.

Kristen’s bemused expression turned dark. “You have a girl in there?”

“Wait, Kristen,” Patty said. “Look at her.”

“He’s got her in the power of a ticket!” Kristen spat.

I turned to Kristen and said, “Trust me, Kris.”

Kristen’s expression didn’t soften, but her mouth closed.

I returned my attention to Sherry and said, “Until I say the phrase ‘Truth serum off,’ you are obligated to tell me the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. You will simply stand there and answer my questions, ignoring everything else.”

“Your wish is my command.”

Turning my attention back to the two seniors, I said, “You both know that she cannot lie right now. I’ll ask her right now if I have betrayed you, Kristen. Or do you trust me?”

Kristen looked me in the eyes, and her expression finally softened. “I trust you, Jim.”

“I was thinking about using a ticket to take her mind off me, but I wanted Patty’s advice—and yours—before I did so. You both know how tricky these tickets are.”

Both girls nodded.

“Anyway,” I said, turning back to Sherry. “I still want to set the record straight. Sherry, why did you come into this room today?”

“I came here to kiss you, Jim,” Sherry intoned. “I was going to fondle you and make you shoot off. If I had to, I would give you a hand job.”

“But why?” I asked, almost automatically.

“My cousin said she’d pay me a hundred dollars if I did that here in the music room.”

“Your cousin? Here in the music room?” I asked, not understanding.

“I saw you come in here last week with Kristen,” Sherry explained, still using her monotone voice. “I put my ear to the door and heard what you two were doing in here. I told my cousin, and she dared me to do it with you. She even told me that she’d pay me another hundred dollars if Kristen walks in and you’re naked. If not, she wanted me to steal you away from her, and I could use the hand job as blackmail material to make you leave Kristen.”

“Why would your cousin want that?” Patty asked.

Sherry didn’t answer. My wish had only been for Sherry to answer my questions, and to ignore everything else.

I turned to the other two girls and saw a look of shock on Kristen’s face.

“Kris, I didn’t know how far she was willing to go. This thing about Sherry’s cousin has thrown me for a loop.” I turned back to Sherry. “Who is your cousin?”

“Dale Hardy,” Sherry answered.

“Oh, shit!” Kristen said, and ran out of the room.

I looked at Patty in shock at Kristen’s outburst. “What just happened?”

“Dale Hardy was the girl that Kristen got kicked out of high school, Jim.”

“Oh, fuck!”

“Jim, I need to talk with Kristen. I’m afraid she’ll do something drastic.”

I nodded dumbly at Patty.

Patty went to leave and said, “You’ll need to get Sherry out of here. Um... make her think she failed, that you don’t seem to like girls that come on too strong. Have her forget what happened in here.”

“OK,” I said, but Patty was already out of the room. “So,” I asked, turning to Sherry knowing that the two of us were alone, “do you love me, or were you just putting me on?”

“I love you, Jim,” Sherry said, her voice losing its monotone and becoming more animated. “I’ve wanted you to be my first boyfriend, my first lover. I’d have come with you in here even if Dale hadn’t offered me money. Dale just gave me the idea.”

“Love me?” I asked, surprised. “You hardly know me!”

“Not true,” Sherry said. “I’ve watched you in earth science and English last year. You didn’t notice, but I liked you. I saw you playing the piano here at the high school for ‘Annie Get Your Gun’ last year. I bought a ticket for every performance. I think I’ve been in love with you since seventh grade.”

Oh, shit. I didn’t need another person falling in love with me.

However, there was something about Sherry, and the fact that I knew that there was no way that she could be lying to me, that made me consider what she said.

“So, why am I getting the attention now? Because of Dale?”

“I saw that you were going with Kristen,” Sherry spat. “I hate her! She has everything in the world! She fucked over my cousin! Now, she’s taken the one boy that I always wanted! You didn’t seem interested in anybody last year, but now you’re going out with her, probably because of all her money.”

I looked at Sherry, stunned by her venomous remarks. Did she truly think that I was only interested in Kristen’s money? Is that what other people thought?

I sat quietly, looking at Sherry standing with her tear stained face. Somehow, I would need to clean up this mess, and I had no idea how to do so.

“Truth serum off,” I said.

Sherry shook her head and looked at me. “Did... did what just happen... really happen?”

I sighed, and handed Sherry another ticket.

“You have one wish,” Sherry intoned.

“I wish that you will forget what happened in this room,” I said, remembering Patty’s instructions. “Instead remember that you tried to kiss me, but found that I was repulsed by your heavy handed tactics. And...” I let my words drop off, keeping Sherry from “finalizing” the wish.

I paused, thinking about what Sherry just told me. Had she really been infatuated with me for all that time? I never noticed it if she had.

I realized that Dale probably knew about Sherry’s infatuation and simply used it to get to Kristen. Sherry wasn’t really the one at fault here. There was something else. I couldn’t let Sherry think of herself as a failure. She seemed so... so vulnerable.

“And,” I continued, “as you leave this room, you will turn and give me a tender kiss. It won’t last too long and it will just be our lips touching.” I felt that I had to give Sherry something for baring her feelings to me the way she had done.

“Your wish is my command.”

Sherry blinked again, and said, “Um... I’m embarrassed. I’m sorry I touched you like that...”

“Don’t worry about it,” I said, feeling like I had somehow done something wrong to bring this problem on myself.

“I... I think I should leave,” Sherry said, quietly.

I nodded.

Sherry moved toward the door, but stopped as she walked next to me. She moved upward and pursed her lips for a kiss.

I looked at Sherry for a couple of seconds, and realized that my wish was preventing her from actually touching me with her hands. I needed to bend down to kiss Sherry.

I did so.

It was not a very romantic kiss. There were no tongues, and no touching of either of us, except for our lips.

Nevertheless, the kiss moved me.

After Sherry left, I sat alone in the music room for a few minutes and pondered the situation.

When I returned to the lunchroom, neither Patty nor Kristen were there. That worried me a bit. I knew that Kristen could easily go off the deep end and do something stupid. Knowing that Patty was with her (at least, I hoped she was) gave me a bit of hope, since I knew that Patty had a good head on her shoulders.

I was somewhat surprised to see Camille in the lunchroom. Camille was a lovely cheerleader in twelfth grade and was one of Patty’s closest friends. I knew that she didn’t have fourth period lunch. Camille saw me and started heading right for me.

“Jim!” Camille said.

“Cammy, what are you doing here?”

“I’ve got a substitute teacher in physics class,” Camille explained. “My National Honor Society card allows me to go to the library. I wanted to talk with Patty at lunch, but when I saw her, she was with Kristen. She told me that I should talk with you.”

I hadn’t known that Camille was in the honor society. After all, I knew her predilection for skipping class. She was also a cheerleader to boot. National Honor Society material? I was a bit amazed. “Talk about what?” I asked her.

“Patty said something about a girl named Sherry. In addition, I noticed that Kristen looked furious at the mention of her name. Can you tell me what’s going on?”

I sighed. “Do you know Sherry Jordan?”

“She’s a small girl, the brunette with the permanent perm?” Camille asked.

Camille’s description brought a quick smile to my lips. “Yeah, that’s her.”

“Isn’t her cousin Dale Hardy?” Camille asked, her eyes getting wide. “Uh, oh... I think I’m beginning to get the picture.”

Camille led me to a set of tables that were empty so we could sit and talk in relative privacy.

I brought Camille up to date. “Sherry’s been in love with me since seventh grade, she told me. Dale offered her money for her to get me into a compromising situation with her and have Kristen find out. She even told Sherry to try to blackmail me into dumping Kristen for Sherry.”

Camille whistled. “Shit. Dale doesn’t take prisoners. Dale and Kristen used to be close, though. What’s going on with them?”

“Kristen’s dad got Dale thrown out of school,” I explained. “I think he arranged for her to attend St. Jude’s Catholic school on a ‘scholarship’ in order to get her out of here. I thought she was no longer an issue.”

“Dale doesn’t forget, Jim,” Camille pointed out. “Dale was a friend of my sister’s, you know.”

Actually, I hadn’t known that. Ages before, when I was quite younger, Camille’s sister Debbie used to baby sit me, although I couldn’t really remember much about that. “I’ll take your word for that. Anyway, Sherry’s in the middle. She really has feelings for me. Moreover, she hates Kristen because of what she did to Dale, and because Kris and I are going together. On top of all that, she thinks that I’m only in love with Kristen for her money.”

Camille was silent for a minute.

“How do you know how she feels? Did she tell you? Could it be she was just telling you in order to get you to go along with her?”

I shook my head. “Camille, you know that I can be very persuasive when I want to know something. What she said is the truth, without a doubt.”

Camille looked at me solemnly and after a few moments, she nodded her head. I didn’t think she knew about the tickets, although she had once been under their influence. I figured that she simply considered me a very persuasive person, a thought that I didn’t try to discourage. Camille continued to think silently, and I waited patiently.

The expression on Camille’s face showed that she just had an idea. “What do you know about Sherry? Did she do any sports in junior high? I think I remember her doing something like gymnastics.”

“Yeah,” I said. “She was pretty good on the gym team. The school came in third in the regional tournament—almost good enough to qualify for the All State tournament. I think she did floor exercises.”

Camille’s face turned into a grin. “I think I can handle Sherry for you, but we’ll need to talk with Patty.”

“What’s your idea?” I asked.

“It’s just the germ of an idea now, Jim. Let me think on this a bit.”

“I guess,” I said, a bit disappointed that Camille didn’t want to confide in me.

“Oh, you!” Camille said, playfully rubbing the hair on my head. “OK. Let’s say Sherry has two problems: her unrequited love for you, and her hatred of Kristen.”

“All right.”

“You have a problem with Sherry. You seem to think you’re responsible for her feelings.” Camille looked up at me, sharply. “Um, Jim... you aren’t, are you?”

I shook my head. “No, Camille,” I said, wondering why she would ask that.

Camille looked into my eyes and then nodded. “All right. Kristen has her own problems with Dale. Patty is probably working on that problem with Kristen right now. That leaves just you and Sherry. Maybe the two of us can fix that problem.”

“How?”

“Well, you’re not about to leave Kristen anytime soon, right?”

“Not a chance,” I said emphatically. “I love Kristen.”

Camille smiled. “I know you do. Therefore, if Sherry wants to get closer to you, she’s going to have to change her mind about Kristen. You’ll need to do that.”

I found myself nodding at Camille’s advice.

“You can’t force Sherry to like Kristen, Jim,” Camille warned me. There was a look in her eyes that showed concern. “You cannot mess with her feelings.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, wondering what Camille knew about me.

“I mean, you need to show Sherry reasons why she should like Kristen. You love Kristen, so that should be easy for you.”

I looked at Camille, but I didn’t see anything that suggested that Camille knew about my tickets. “What about you?”

Camille grinned. “Sherry’s other problem is that she’s too fixated on you. I will help her find another focus for her life.”

“Another boyfriend?” I asked, shaking my head. “I don’t think that will work.”

“Perhaps we could find her another boyfriend, but maybe I can help her find some better ways of spending her time.”

“Like how?” I asked, intrigued.

Camille furrowed her brow. “Well, you could break the ice by mentioning her gymnastics if the three of us ever get together.”

“You, me, and Sherry?” I asked, smiling. “That’s not likely to happen anytime soon.”

Camille shot me a mischievous grin. “You can never tell.” The class bell rang, and the two of us found ourselves having to end our conversation.

“Gym class, Jim,” Camille said, giggling. “Say ‘hi’ to Coach Dillard for me.”

I gave Camille a look while shaking my head. I still remembered the time that Camille barged into the boys’ locker room looking for me—as we were dressing—much to the chagrin of the coach, not to mention the boys that were dressing!

I thought about Camille’s suggestion. She was right in that I needed to do something to change Sherry’s mind about Kristen.

Of course, the first method that sprang to my mind was the lucky tickets. Although they had never failed to make people change their minds, I was a bit reluctant to use them in that way. Using them as a “truth serum” was usually pretty safe, but I found that occasionally, something unexpected would happen when a wish would go further than I actually expected.

An example of wishes having unintended consequences involved Kristen, who was now the love of my life. A few weeks before I really knew Kristen, I had been of the opinion that she was a self-centered bitch and that she had been responsible for my losing a friend many years before. I had been wrong in that characterization of Kristen at the time, but in a fit of revenge, I used the tickets in anger to attack Kristen sexually.

I offhandedly made a wish that she would be addicted to my dick and sperm. To my horror, I found out that I accidentally managed to turn her into a strung out junkie in less than a day. Fixing this problem and others like it turned out to be surprisingly difficult. I found out that no ticket could be any more powerful than any other ticket. That means that I can’t use a ticket to override the effects of a wish that I had already made. I thought long and hard about trying to fix Kristen’s addiction, and I think that I was able to lessen its effects, but had never been able to remove them completely.

I decided that I was not about to make that same mistake with Sherry.

In gym class, I was relieved that inclement weather forced us to play dodge ball in the gymnasium instead of football outdoors. It was a no-brainer exercise, and I was able to give Camille’s advice about Sherry some serious thought.

It didn’t take me long to come up with the obvious solution for dealing with Sherry: talk to her! We had English together in eighth period at the end of the school day. I could make it a point to talk to her then.

Having successfully dealt with Sherry for now, my mind went to other things. I was worried about Kristen’s reaction to finding out that Dale Hardy seemed to want to go after her. I was glad that Patty was around to help her deal with it—I couldn’t think of a better person for somebody to confide in than Patty.

Thinking of Patty brought Camille to mind. Camille was a cheerleader in twelfth grade, and one of Patty’s closest friends. She had hair similar to Kristen’s, long and blonde, but Camille’s face was more oval than Kristen’s was. In fact, it was amazing how much Camille looked like Marcia from the Brady Bunch television show.

Camille liked to joke about sex, and on more than one occasion, hinted that she’d like to have some recreational sex with me. Camille had recently toned down that kind of joking with me, and I had recently come to decide that sex should be an intimate act between lovers. For that reason, I tried to avoid Camille, since it was obvious that she didn’t seem to feel the same way. Another good reason was that Kristen had a jealous streak. Being skilled in the martial arts, Kristen could seriously injure Camille while in a fit of jealous rage.

When Patty’s aunt passed away, Patty joined her mother in New Jersey to attend the funeral. During that time, Patty arranged for Camille to take her place temporarily as my personal adviser and confidante. In the week that Patty was away, I actually grew to know Camille more and our friendship blossomed. Her hints for a sexual liaison lessened, although she continued to occasionally make outrageous puns involving lewd sexual acts. She actually described herself as a slut!

I found Camille to be a very smart person and a good friend. She, like Patty and Kristen, treated me as their equal, despite the fact that I was two grades lower than them in school. In the absence of Patty, Camille was a person that I could turn to if problems came up. She was discreet, intelligent, and quick-witted.

I noticed Camille’s lack of wisecracks during lunch. That alerted me to the fact that she thought the situation with Sherry, Dale, and Kristen was serious. I made a mental note to take extra care with Sherry when I talked to her later.

As I was thinking about these things, a red ball approached me, and I didn’t even notice it until almost the last second. I knew that I didn’t have a chance in hell of catching the ball, so I twisted my body to prevent any damage to important organs as the coach blew his whistle calling me out. I headed to the sidelines, content to pretend to watch the other boys play, while trying to continue to think up ideas on how to handle my end of things with Sherry.

Seventh period came, and I survived a pop quiz in French class. I filled in the answers automatically, and I was getting concerned that I still hadn’t come up with any concrete ideas for dealing with Sherry. The part of me that likes to procrastinate was thinking about waiting until tomorrow, but I quickly shrugged off that idea. It was obvious that I needed to do something because the situation could easily get worse if left alone.

The bell rang, signaling us that we needed to head for eighth period. About halfway to class, I noticed that Sherry was in front of me. I quickly moved toward her, and said “Hi, Sherry.”

Sherry looked at me and her eyes opened. “Oh, Jim. I’m really sorry...”

I cut her off. “No need to apologize again, Sherry. It wasn’t entirely your fault. You need to realize, though, that I am in love with Kristen. We’ve only been going out a few weeks, but it is very serious between us. I’m not after her money, and you should know that.”

Sherry looked at me, surprised. “I never said that you were after her money!”

Oh, shit. I had told Sherry to forget what happened in the music room, and I now realized that this included her outburst about me. “No, I just wanted to assure you that the two of us really love one another. I can see how somebody could get that idea if one doesn’t really know Kristen.”

“Oh,” Sherry said, looking a bit guilty. “I know that the two of you are dating, but...” Her eyes dropped again, and she let the sentence hang.

We were near the English class, and the bell was about to ring. I steered Sherry into the classroom and said, “Sherry, let’s talk about this later. I think the two of us really need to talk to one another. I like you... I really do, and I want us to be friends. Close friends.”

Sherry had a shocked look on her face as I walked to my desk.

The topic for that day was exposition writing, or, as my English teacher, Ms. Taylor put it, writing to persuade. I thought it an appropriate topic, actually, considering my need to persuade Sherry about some things.

During the class, I stole glances at Sherry, who looked disturbed. Maybe I laid it on too thick in my last remark to her, but I needed to get Sherry to stop hating Kristen. To do that, I needed to become a friend to Sherry.

I considered whether my actions were honorable. After all, I was seeking Sherry’s friendship with an ulterior motive in mind. My motive was to prevent a bad situation between Kristen and her. As I mentioned earlier, Kristen knew martial arts and she also had a jealous streak—two things that made for a dangerous combination. I didn’t want Sherry hurt, emotionally or physically.

Something in Sherry’s revelation to me earlier that day tugged at my heart. I had been completely unaware that she had been infatuated with me for so long.

Now, just because a girl has had a crush on me doesn’t mean that I really have any obligation to her; that sort of thing didn’t strike me as being fair.

On the other side of the coin, however, I had not known that about Sherry’s feelings, and I realized that part of the reason that I didn’t know was my own fault. I knew that I used to be more than a bit self-centered and conceited back in junior high, and I probably still had traces of both of those character flaws. Recently, I started changing my outlook from just thinking about me, to thinking about Kristen and the new friends that I was now making.

Now I had Sherry suddenly thrust into my world. I didn’t know her very well, and I realized that I would probably have to rectify that. Of course, I would have to let Kristen know my intentions and motives as well, or things could get even worse.

I didn’t know if Sherry’s infatuation with me would interfere with the two of us being friends. I had never dealt with anything like this before. I knew that I needed to talk with either Patty or Camille about this in more detail, but Camille told me that she might be able to help Sherry somehow find another focus. I had no idea what Camille meant by that, or if she really had anything planned. Either way, I was determined to do right by Sherry.

When the bell rang to signal our release from school, I saw Sherry bolt for the door. I think I might have frightened her with the things that I said earlier. I was closer to the exit, however, and managed to catch up with her easily.

“Sherry, can we talk for a few minutes? School is over now, and I feel we really need to talk.”

Sherry had an uncertain look on her face and she shook her head. “Sorry. I have to get home. My mom’s expecting me...”

“It will be a few minutes before the buses leave. Let me at least walk you to your locker.”

Sherry shrugged and we walked down the hallway. It was crowded with students in three grades looking to escape from the school another day.

“I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable before,” I said. “You’ve been willing to talk to me in every class up until today. What’s changed?”

Sherry looked at me. “I made a fool out of myself with you. You don’t like me.”

I shook my head. “I don’t know you. I think if we get to know each other, we would probably like each other. Is that so difficult?”

We stopped at Sherry’s locker. Patty saw me, and noticed Sherry, who had her back to her. “Excuse me, Jim?”

“Yeah, Patty?”

“I’m going to be getting a ride with... a friend. Cammy said she’d be happy to give you a ride.”

Patty was telling me in a coded way that she was going to be going home with Kristen alone today, and that Kristen wouldn’t be giving me a ride. Instead, I’d be getting a ride in Camille’s red Toyota.

“Cool, Patty,” I said, smiling. “See you around.”

“Who was that?” Sherry asked.

“Patty Nadal. She’s a friend of mine.”

“You seem to hang out with a lot of seniors,” Sherry remarked.

“Well, Camille—the girl Patty was talking about—used to baby sit me with her older sister. Camille is Patty’s best friend.”

Sherry nodded. “I guess. So, do you still think that I don’t know you? You’re Jim Crittenhouse, the music whiz. You used to hang out with Jack Williams, although I don’t see the two of you together much anymore.”

I smiled ruefully. “Jack and I don’t have any classes together. His sister is a close friend, too.”

Sherry shook her head. “You’re a regular Lothario, aren’t you, friends with all those senior girls?”

“Maybe they see in me what you see in me, huh?” I shrugged.

Sherry blushed crimson and didn’t answer.

“But at least I know those girls. You seem to know me. What’s my favorite color?”

“Blue,” Sherry said automatically.

I was stunned. How did Sherry know that?

“Hmmm, then what’s my favorite band?”

“The Beatles are your favorite of all time, but your favorite performer is Elton John. I heard you do Honky Cat over and over in Mr. Thurd’s music class after school once, and you told whoever it was with you that he’s your favorite keyboardist.”

I was completely shocked. Sherry really did know a lot about me. Finally, I said, “You definitely seem to know me. What should I know about you?”

Sherry once again looked uncertain. “Jim, I need to get to the buses. My mom expects me home in a half hour.”

Camille found me just at that time. “Hello, Jim. Who is your friend?”

Sherry looked up. “I’m Sherry... Wait... Is this the Camille that your friend mentioned—Camille Lombardi on the cheerleading squad?”

Camille’s smile was broad and unforced. “Here, I am... the one and only!”

“I’m Sherry Jordan,” Sherry said shyly as she offered Camille her hand.

Continuing to smile, Camille shook Sherry’s hand and said, “I’m really glad to meet you.”

Sherry finally smiled. “Well, excuse me, but I really need to get to the bus...”

“I’d be happy to give you a ride, Sherry. I was just here to find out when Jim wanted to leave. I’m driving him home as well.”

“Oh, I can’t...”

“Sure you can. How far away do you live?”

“About five minutes away.”

“Piece of cake,” Camille smiled. “How long does the bus take?”

“Um... about twenty minutes.”

“Fine. I’ll find the two of you in the parking lot in ten minutes. You’ll be home in plenty of time.” Camille smiled a truly lovely smile and left.

Thank goodness for friends like Camille. I now had an additional ten minutes with Sherry.

Sherry didn’t seem to know what hit her. “You didn’t tell me that you were friends with Camille!”

I laughed. “I told you that Camille was Patty’s friend. You mentioned that she was a senior, so I thought you knew who I was talking about. However, this points out something interesting. You don’t know everything about me, do you?”

“Point taken,” Sherry said, continuing to smile.

“Let’s walk to the bench outside the school, shall we?”

Sherry nodded and the two of us walked to one of the benches just outside the school. Luckily, they were all mostly empty, most kids wanting to spend as little time at the school as was humanly possible now that school was over for the day.

“So, you were about to admit that you don’t know a thing about me,” Sherry said, taking the initiative.

I shook my head. “That’s not entirely true. About a week after school started, I started getting attention from girls in my class, including you. One of the guys today referred to you as ‘hot,’ by the way. Did you know that?”

Sherry blushed, and said, “Well, I noticed you before you were going out with Kristen, actually.”

“Yes,” I said, now getting into my prepared speech. “I guess I was a bit conceited and self-centered before. I admit that I never really noticed you. More is the pity, actually.”

“Huh?”

“Maybe the two of us would have been friends last year. I’ve found in the past few weeks that having friends is very important. I used to think that I knew everything, but talking—actually talking—with people like Kristen, Patty, and Camille, I found out that other people know many things that I didn’t know; things that were important.”

Sherry nodded, not knowing where I was going with this.

“One thing that I learned is that if I have an opportunity to become a friend to somebody, it’s an opportunity worth taking.”

I didn’t have much more prepared, so now I was going to have to wing it, depending on how Sherry reacted.

“I see,” Sherry said, slowly. “This is the ‘let’s be friends’ speech, isn’t it.”

“No, Sherry,” I said. “I’m not breaking up with you. I want to get to know you better. It wasn’t until I really knew Kristen that I realized that I loved her. Don’t you deserve the same chance?”

Sherry’s eyes lit up. “You mean...?”

“I’m not making any promises, Sherry,” I said, wanting to make that perfectly clear. “I’d like to get to know you. You said you had problems with History, I might be able to help you with that.”

“I, um... lied about that,” Sherry said. “I got an A in both quizzes so far this year.”

I smiled. “I know. I do want something from you.”

“What’s that?” Sherry said, looking suspicious.

“I want a friend. I don’t want a girlfriend on the side. One thing that can destroy a friendship is jealousy, and treating you like a girlfriend wouldn’t be fair to you, or to Kristen. Right now, Kristen is my girlfriend, and she’s done nothing wrong whatsoever to deserve to be treated unkindly.”

“She’s done nothing wrong?” Sherry said, a bit emotional. “I know some of the things that she’s done.”

“To you?”

“No...”

“How about to me? Is she hurting me by dating me?”

“No, but my cousin...”

“Your cousin is Dale Hardy, right?”

“Yes, and Kristen got her kicked out of school.”

“Because Dale tried to blackmail Kristen,” I said, arguing Kristen’s case. “Dale was spreading vicious rumors about Kristen. Did you know that?”

Sherry shook her head at me. “You don’t understand.”

“No,” I admitted. “Dale is your cousin, and deserves your loyalty. Likewise, Kristen is my girlfriend, and until you give me something specific, I want to remain loyal to her. I also got my information from Patrice Williams and some of the boys that heard Dale’s rumors.”

Sherry was silent, but I knew that she still had feelings about this.

“You see, Sherry, there are two sides to every story.”

“Maybe,” Sherry said, still not sounding convinced.

Camille came over and found the two of us at the bench. “Are you guys ready to roll?”

“Sure,” the two of us answered together.

Sherry and I followed Camille into Camille’s red Toyota station wagon. I intentionally maneuvered so that I was sitting in the back seat of the car. I was still curious as to what Camille’s ideas were for Sherry.

Camille started the engine, and asked Sherry where she lived.

“I live on Rogers Street,” Sherry said.

“Near the park?” Camille asked.

“Yeah.”

“Cool. You’re right, only five minutes away, and it’s in my neighborhood!”

Sherry smiled.

I remembered Camille’s suggestion from lunch period. “Cammy, Sherry is on the gymnastics team.”

“Really?” asked Camille.

Sherry turned beet red and nodded. “You knew that?” she asked me.

“See,” I said, smiling. “I do know some things about you.”

Sherry smiled a bit nervously, and she nodded her head again.

Camille took the cue. “You know, Sherry, the cheerleaders are having mid-season tryouts pretty soon. If you need a sponsor, I’d be happy to put in a good word for a gymnast.”

Sherry laughed. “Me? Do you really think I could be a cheerleader on the varsity squad?”

“Jim says you are on the gym team, right?”

Sherry gave me a glare. “Well, yeah.”

Camille continued, “You’ve got the build, you know the basic moves, and you know how to memorize routines. You are also used to wearing uniforms that don’t hide much. You could be a perfect cheerleader.”

“You really think so?” Sherry asked.

“I know so. I’ll talk with Lynette Robbins tomorrow.”

“Groovy,” I said. “Now I’ll have two cheerleaders for friends.”

Sherry turned toward me and playfully punched my in the shoulder. “You pig!”

“You know what they say about cheerleaders?” I said, flashing Sherry a big smile.

“No, Jimmy,” Camille said, emphasizing that nickname I disliked to let me know that I may not have said the right thing. “They just say that about me.”

That broke the three of us up, but I got the message from Camille to be careful about what I said.

Sherry pointed out her house on Rogers Street, and Camille pulled into the driveway.

“Thank you for the offer, Camille,” Sherry said. “Let me think about it tonight.”

“All right. When do you have lunch?”

“That would be fourth period.”

“Cool. Jim does, too. Tell Jim your decision tomorrow, and he knows how to get in touch with me or one of my friends.”

“Thanks again,” Sherry said, getting out of the car. “And thank you, Jim.”

“For what?” I asked.

“For wanting to be a friend,” Sherry smiled.

I watched Sherry enter her house. I felt that Camille and I had successfully averted disaster with Sherry.

“You’re serious about the offer?” I asked.

“I’m totally serious about cheerleading, Jim,” Camille said. “I wasn’t kidding. A gymnast like her would be more qualified than most of the untalented bimbos that we normally have as candidates. That’s why we require sponsors.”

“All right. I just don’t want her to get hurt.”

“I know, Jim. I know how much you care about people. It didn’t take Patty to convince me of that, you know.”

For some reason that I could not describe, I really felt great hearing that from Camille. I was silent as Camille drove me to my home.