Curse of the Fountain -14- Melanie Brown

Copyright © 2025

Part 14

He’s just a boy. I mean, come on. Why am I acting so goofy around him? I let myself get roped into this date. When did I start liking boys?  When did they become so cute?

Walk down the hall, stupid, I scolded myself. Everyone is looking at you.

Grinning ear-to-ear, Jeff stood up and stared at me.  Dad stood up with an incredulous expression. Mom just beamed at me. I smiled at Jeff and took a step toward the living room.

This was insane. I was wearing make-up and nail polish. I could feel my earrings dancing against my neck. My hair cascaded about my shoulders. What the hell am I doing here?

Stepping up towards the small group watching me walk into the living room, I cooed, “Hi Jeff.”

Jeff just smiled at me for a moment. Finally, he said, “Hey, Nell. You are absolutely gorgeous.”

I smiled back. “You look very nice.” And he did. Now, never in my life did I ever fancy boys, but I have to say, Jeff is smokin’!

Dad said, “Don’t you think that skirt is a bit short?”

I rolled my eyes. “Mom picked it out.” Douche nozzle.

Mom shook her head. “Her skirt is just fine, dear.”

Jeff handed me a small bouquet of flowers. “These are for you.”

I took the flowers and gently took in their fragrance. I smiled. “Thank you, Jeff. They’re beautiful.”

Jeff just stared at me. “Not as beautiful as you.”

Mom took the flowers from me. “Let me put these in some water for you.”  From the kitchen, I heard the faucet running.

Dad adjusted his belt slightly and sucked in a deep breath. “Now, son, we expect Nell home by no later than eleven thirty. Eleven thirty.  You got that?”

Jeff nodded. “Yes, sir. I got it.” I stepped up next to Jeff, and he took my hand.   He looked at me and asked, “You ready?”

I wanted to scream “No!” and run back to my room in terror. I smiled at Jeff and nodded. “Let’s go.” I was desperate to get away from Dad’s watchful eye.

Jeff waved and said with a chuckle, “I’ll get her back in one piece.”

Mom said, “You two have fun.”

Dad, pointing at a non-existent watch on his wrist, said, “Eleven thirty.”

Despite my nervousness, I relaxed when the front door closed behind us.

Jeff let out a low whistle. “Your dad is a bit intense.”

I barked a laugh. “Ya think?”

Still holding my hand, he led me to his truck and helped me climb up inside.

“Nice truck,” I said as I wriggled into the passenger seat.

Jeff grinned as he climbed into the driver’s seat. “Thanks.  This was my dad’s, but he got a new one and let me have this.”

“He certainly took care of it.”

The Ford’s engine roared to life. “Oh yeah. He kept it immaculate, and he expects me to do the same.”

As we drove away from the curb, I asked, “Where are we going to eat? You never mentioned where.”

“Oh. I assumed you’d figure on eating at the Cineplex. Best pizza in town.” He looked at me curiously.  “You’ve been there before, right?” I nodded. Actually, I’d never been there.  It’s been years since I’ve been to a movie. Pizza at a movie theater?  I guess times have changed.

The parking lot was crowded, and it took a minute or so to find a parking spot. The building was huge. I said aloud as I looked at the side of the building, “Bowling?  Really?”

Jeff laughed.  “Well, duh!  If we had more time, I’d challenge you to a game.”

I guess I am out of touch a bit. Last time I’ve been bowling was in college and it wasn’t part of a movie theater.

As we entered, Jeff high-fived a couple of his friends. “Great game last night, Jeff!”  Laughing, “I see you snagged a cheerleader!” It went on for several friends.

I looked around through the massive throng of kids. Jeff asked, “If you’re looking for the restrooms, they’re over that way.”

“That’s good to know, but I was wondering where you buy the tickets.  There might be a line.” I’d heard the movie was popular.

Jeff grinned and dug a receipt out of his pocket. “I bought them Thursday on-line.” Sheesh. Just how out of touch am I? The last movie I saw in a theater was what? Alien? I need to get out more.

I was led to a small, empty table. I was surprised when Jeff sat down with me. “Aren’t you going to order pizza?”

Jeff grinned and shook his head. “I thought you said you’ve been here.” He tapped a box on the table, and a display lit up. “What kind of pizza you want?” I knew computers were everywhere these days, but this still surprised me.

I shrugged. “Meat lovers?”

Jeff grinned. “I knew I picked the right girl. My last girlfriend only wanted veggie pizzas.”  He punched a few buttons and then swiped his bank card.  “They’re very fast.  Should be here in ten minutes.

Several boys walked up to the table. One said, “Hey, Jeff-ski. How about a game? I owe you an ass-kicking.”

Rolling his eyes, Jeff said, “Excuse me a minute, babe. I have to defend my honor.” He got up and followed the boys to an arcade game.

“I’ll just stay here and wait for the pizza,” I said aloud to nobody. I shook my head.

Above the din of all the noise in the Cineplex, I barely heard a buzzing coming from my purse.  I opened my purse and saw the display lighting up on my phone. I took the phone out and looked at the caller id.  It said, “Battleax.”  Why the hell would Bea be calling me on a Saturday night? I should answer it.

“Hello?

“Nel!” shouted an excited Beatrice.  “I need to tell you something. It’s urgent.”

I frowned into the phone. “It’s Nell, remember? Slow down. What can be so important?”

“Do you remember Clarence Foster?”

I scowled at the phone. “Of course, I remember that attention-grubbing glory hound. He robbed me of several discoveries that should rightly have been mine. Now he has the credit.”

“He’s about to do it again,” remarked Bea. “He’s announced to the media that he’s organizing an expedition to the Brazilian rainforest to search for the lost city of Z following the writings of Percy Fawcett and his mentor Dr. Neil Forscher who went missing and presumed dead in Brazil. They’ll be leaving on their expedition on October first.”

I sighed. “That rat bastard couldn’t care less about the lost city. He wants the fountain!”

“Neil… er um, Nell. We can’t let him find it! That discovery belongs to us!”

“Us?”

“You, us. But definitely not him! We have to stop him!”

“Using us and what army? Look. Relax. He’s lousy at doing research. That’s why he steals it. I never published the final location because, supposedly, I’m dead now. It won’t be easy for him to find.”

Bea sighed. “Well, you found it. He could get lucky. He plans to open a health spa in the healing waters.”

I laughed. “He’s saying that in order to get investors to finance his trip. Let’s just watch the situation for now.”

I saw a laughing Jeff heading back towards me. “I got to go. My boyfriend’s coming back.”

Bea laughed. “I never thought I’d hear you say that, Neil. Okay. We’ll play it your way for now. But we need to be ready to go to Brazil. I’ve already instructed your legal team to get us passports ready.”

“Gotta go.” I clicked off the phone.

Jeff sat down. “The pizza hasn’t arrived yet?”

I shrugged. “Not yet. Was your honor defended?”

Jeff laughed. “Fuckin’ A, man.  He should know better than to mess with the maestro.  Oh, here comes the pizza.”

A sad sack, pimple-faced, fellow inmate of HMM, but wearing a Cineplex uniform, set a box of pizza and two empty cups down on the table. As the employee walked away, Jeff picked up both cups.

“What kind of coke do you want?”

I looked thoughtful for a moment before saying, “Root beer.”

Jeff grinned. “Getting adventurous, huh?”

I smiled back. “Adventure is my middle name.”

As Jeff walked away with our cups, I smiled grimly. Yeah. Look what I’ve gotten for going on adventures. A date with a high school boy. But a cute high school boy.

When he returned, Jeff said, “Sorry, babe. They were out of root beer, so I got Dr. Pepper. Is that okay?”  I nodded.

                    *

I have to say, the auditorium was a pleasant surprise when we found our seats. I just hope I don’t fall asleep in the large recliner-type chairs. The table between our seats was nice for sharing our popcorn. The nearly endless stream of commercials was annoying, as were the endless logos when the movie started.

The movie barely even began before Jeff had his arm around my shoulder. I didn’t mind or pull away. I actually kinda liked it. I snuggled in, and he pulled me closer. I wished now I hadn’t been such a teenage curmudgeon when I was this age before. I grinned to myself. Not many people can say “when I was this age before.” Ha! Just me. 

Jeff played with my hair. The movie was fun but more violent than I expected. We shouldn’t have let Riley see it. She’s already too violent.  But damn. I’d love to have a prehensile tail like the main character.

I was expecting it. I knew it was coming. But it still surprised me during a lull in the action. Jeff bent his head down and kissed me—those soft, warm lips. I closed my eyes and leaned my head into his kiss. I can’t believe I’ve let myself be smitten by a sixteen-year-old boy. I have to admit. I kind of lost interest in the movie at that point. I just stared at Jeff.

The house lights came up. Jeff grinned at me. “What did you think?”

I smiled at Jeff. “I thought it was great!” I gushed. The parts I saw where good.

I started to get up.  Jeff touched my arm.  “Let’s wait. I heard there’s an after credits scene.”

“After the credits?” I sat back down.

After several minutes of credits scrolling by, the screen changed to an older man watching an old TV screen.  On the screen was Yonee, using her tail, swatting someone’s hand away from her tits. The man, who might have looked a lot like Edgar Rice Burroughs, chuckled. “Damn! Why didn’t I think of giving the women tails?” Then more credits and louder music.

Jeff swatted my butt. “Okay, I think that’s it. Let’s go.”

Jeff looked at his phone. “It’s ten after eleven. I need to get you home.”

I sighed.

                    *

The drive home was mostly uneventful.  Jeff had his satellite radio on the Beatles channel because he said he liked classical music. I just grinned and shook my head. We talked about what we thought were the best parts of the movie. He held my hand most of the drive.

“Here we are,” announced Jeff as he pulled his truck up to the curb outside my house. I could see the TV was on n the house. And the porch light was left on. I looked at the dashboard clock and saw we had a whole eight minutes to spare. Over the radio were the lilting lyrics of Why don’t we do it in the road?

Releasing my hand, he said, “I’ll walk you to your door.” He ran around to my side of the truck to open the door. With over-sized tires, the truck is a bit taller than I expected. Jeff helped me down.  Taking my hand again, he led me to my front door.

When we reached the porch, Jeff took both my hands and smiled down at me. “I had a great time tonight, Nell. I’d love to do this again.”

Looking up at his face, I gushed, “Oh, me too. I’d love to go out again.”

Still smiling down at me, Jeff said, “Maybe dinner next Saturday? I’ve heard Gladstone’s has great food.”  I’ve eaten at the finest restaurants in Paris, and…aw fuck it.

“Sounds wonderful,” I gushed. Even in the harsh porch light, Jeff was gorgeous.

Grinning, he said, “Then it’s a date.” 

We both fell silent for a moment, and I just drank in his eyes.  He slowly bent his head towards me. The anticipation was killing me.

His soft, warm lips pressed into mine. I closed my eyes as I wound my arms around his neck. I melted into his kiss. I was so happy to be a girl at this point. He pulled me closer to him. I never wanted this moment to end.

The porch light flickered off and back on. Jeff pulled back and chuckled. “I guess it’s time to go.” That was really rude. I’m sure it was Dad flicking the light off and on.

My arms still around his neck, I pulled him back for one more kiss. Grinning at me, Jeff unwound my arms and stepped back.

Looking into his eyes, my voice soft, almost a whisper, I said, “Thank you, Jeff. I had a great time.”

He gave me a quick kiss. “See you in school.”  He turned and walked back to his truck.

“You’re late.”

I glared at Dad. “It’s eleven thirty-one!  Sheesh!” Double douche nozzle.

                    *

Monday went by without much excitement.  There was more talk than expected about Friday’s game. You’d think the main purpose of the school was football. I guess that comes from it being the first game of the year, and the sports guy on local TV predicted we’d lose.

And I managed to piss off Mr. Morgan in history class when I corrected him. It pissed him off even more when I insisted that he Google it, and it turned out I was right. I was only a teen, but I was there and saw the event firsthand. Of course, he can’t believe that. I think he hates me.

Tuesday was quieter.  

“Hey, Nell,” said Jeff as he sat next to me at lunch.

“Hey baby,” I said with a grin.

“I wanted to ask you if you could meet me today after practice.”

I shrugged. “Sure. I get out of cheerleader practice before football practice ends. So meet you where?” I shot him a curious look.

“It’s no big deal. I just need to ask you something. Just in the hall outside the gym.”

I took his hands and very seriously said, “The tests came back. I’m not pregnant.”

His face turned beet red. JD blew his milk out his nose, and Sam gasped, and Trudy laughed.

I laughed. “Guys, that was a joke!”

Regaining some composure, Jeff said, “Don’t do that!”

I held up my hands and said, “Okay, okay. I’m sorry.”

Jeff said, “Anyway… I know your mom picks you up after school, but I need to ask you about the homework in Algebra.” Jeff has Mr. Cartwright in first period, while I have him in third.

I nodded. “Sure.  I’ll give Mom a quick call and let her know I’ll call her when I’m ready to be picked up.”

Jeff grinned. “I can take you home.  It’s no big deal.”

Smiling, I said, “I’ll let her know.”

The bell rang.

As we picked up our trays, Jeff said, “Great.  See you then.”

The afternoon dragged by, and I finally got out of cheerleader practice. It was brutal. And Coach picked me to do the skit at the next pep rally. Terrific.

I wandered slowly down the hall to the boys’ gym. Practice would be over in a few minutes, so I stopped by the gym doors and opened my purse. I took out my compact and opened it to check my makeup.

I was forcibly slammed against the wall and a hand firmly clasped over my mouth.

                    *

End of Part 14