Butch chewed on a piece of grass while he leaned on the rail by the school steps, and waited for Derek and Lilia to arrive. I’m not done with them yet, thought Butch with hateful vengeance. As soon as he spied her Jeep, he headed nonchalantly in their direction. He pretended that he had business in that direction. Neither Lilia nor Derek spied his approach among the milling student body. She struggled to get out of the Jeep by herself with her sprained ankle while Derek collected her backpack and crutches out of the back of her Jeep. Derek glanced up to see Butch, but before he could get to Lilia, Butch walked casually by her, and hit her shoulder hard with his shoulder. Lilia fell and cracked her bottom lip wide open on the running board. Blood poured forth in a gush. Lilia held her hands to her mouth as they filled up with blood. The blood dripped through her fingers down onto her crisp white blouse and rolled down to her skirt.
“Oh no, Lilia!” Derek charged to her side. He tossed the backpack and crutches into the front seat quickly with force. “Let’s get you to the nurse’s station! It’ll be faster if I carry you.”
He collected her quickly. He easily lifted her frame and hurriedly made his way to the nurse’s station as he dodged all the people in the hallway. Shocked students gawked at the blood congealing all over Lilia’s blouse and could only imagine what had happened. Derek walked-ran with Lilia to the nurse’s station next to the principal’s office.
“Ms. Nelson, please help!” Derek cried as he set Lilia down gently on the bed.
“How did this happen?” The school nurse demanded. She stared directly into Derek’s eyes and insisted on an honest answer. While she waited for his answer, the nurse handed Lilia a clean towel to soak up the blood that spewed forth.
Derek spoke up quickly in a shaking, agitated, and angry voice, “Butch has assaulted Lilia three times in the last two days because he didn’t get hired as her bodyguard and I did. The cuts on her hands and knees and the bruises on her arm are all because of him. Something has to be done about it!” He breathed deeply and finally felt better after getting it off his chest.
“I’ll be right back. I have to report this incident to the principal,” she said with her lips pressed together soberly in a thin line. She hurried from the infirmary room to do so. She returned shortly, and said, “Let’s get you cleaned up, Lilia.”
The nurse told Lilia to lie down, and then she held the cloth to Lilia’s bleeding lip until it finally stopped. She held an ice pack to the lip to help the swelling go down.
After a half hour, the nurse said, “You’d better go home and change, Lilia. There’s blood all over your clothes. I’ll write both you and Derek an excuse.”
“Thank you for your help, Ms. Nelson,” said Lilia graciously. She held her hand to her mouth and didn’t smile for fear that it would cause her lip to start bleeding once more.
Ms. Nelson wrote each of them an excuse, handed the slips of paper to them, and said, “Take her home Derek.”
Derek picked her up carefully and carried her out of the room. An angry Butch sat in the anteroom of the office and waited to see Principal Hampton. He crossed his arms in defiance and stared at the chipped wood on the reception desk. He felt like making another dent in the desk himself.
“Please set me down Derek. I want to talk to Butch.” Butch stared at her with fury.
Derek didn’t set her down, but looked into her beautiful turquoise eyes with disbelief and asked, “Are you sure, Lilia? Really, are you certain?”
She closed her eyes, prayed for the right words to speak to Butch, and then said, “I’m sure.”
Derek gently lowered her to the chair next to Butch and stood very close to her. He wanted to be prepared this time if Butch became argumentative again.
“Butch, do you think we could try to be friends?” she asked with sincerity.
She locked her eyes with Butch’s eyes. God’s love softened her features, and his grace gave her a beatific expression.
She continued in a quiet and slow manner, “I’m sorry for your disappointment about not getting the bodyguard job, Butch.” She laid her left hand on his hairy bulging forearm. “If you gave any inkling to Jim or my dad that you’re a hothead, that’s why they didn’t choose you, because I’m a hothead, too.” She searched his eyes for understanding.
“I’ve heard about your temper,” he said with a gravelly edge in his voice.
Lilia continued in a quiet and sincere manner, “Sad, but it’s true. I wish it weren’t.” Her hand remained on his forearm and doggedly pursued his acquiescence to her.
“What do you want from me?” Butch asked, completely bewildered by her request. “You’ve already gotten me into enough trouble!” He shrugged her hand from his forearm with anger.
It didn’t deter her. She continued in her subdued smooth voice, “I was wondering if you would come on Saturdays and help with our ‘Ride by His Side’ horse ministry?” She asked so sweetly and dearly that it tugged on his heartstrings. She placed her hand on his shoulder to communicate her genuine feelings to him.
“Maybe,” he said softening as he eyed her beauty. He had wanted to be her bodyguard so badly. He had imagined protecting her from every intrusion, and yet here he was the threat himself. It made him sick to think about it, and he sulked.
“You would be a welcome addition, Butch,” she smiled and encouraged him by laying her hand on his forearm again.
“You don’t know my disappointment. I don’t know if I can stand to be around you, Lilia,” he replied. He looked down and shook his head back and forth adamantly.
“Why is that, Butch?” she asked with melting kindness and continued to keep her hand on his arm.
“I have a crush on you,” he answered quietly. He looked at her pointedly to see if she understood.
“I’ll find you a girlfriend, Butch. Everyone says I have a knack for matching people. Trust me, okay?” she said with a pleasant smile and a lighthearted giggle.
Principal Hampton walked out of his office and puzzled at the scene before him. Lilia didn’t remove her hand from Butch’s arm to demonstrate her alliance with him.
The Principal announced in a stern voice, “I’m ready for you, Butch.” It sounded more like an order from a military sergeant rather than a statement or request.
Lilia requested in a pleading voice, “Principal Hampton, may I speak with you first please?”
Principal Hampton looked at her with questioning in his eyes.
“Please, Principal Hampton, can I speak with you?” Lilia begged.
Principal Hampton gave one simple, but stern nod to convey his agreement. Derek watched the whole scene, as if it were a movie playing out in front of him.
Lilia tried to break him out of his stupor, “Derek, could you please help me?”
He conjectured about the mystery of Lilia, lifted her gently, and carried her into the principal’s office.
When they came back out, Principal Hampton said to Butch in a not so pleased manner, “You can go.” He wondered at the young woman and her motives.
Butch felt shocked, and said, “Okay,” in a tentative tone with the last syllable going up in pitch at the end with uncertainty. He, too, pondered what had transpired in the principal’s office.
“See you Saturday,” said Lilia with a little wave and a slight smile at the corners of her mouth. She didn’t want to break the coagulated scab on her bottom lip and cause it to bleed again.
“See you Saturday,” Butch replied with sincerity and a building admiration. He waved a little wave back at her and took a deep breath to relax.
While hauling Lilia back to her car, Derek said as he gazed deep into her mesmerizing eyes, “That was impressive the way you turned a bad situation into a good one.” He kissed her lightly on the cheek.
“I’m getting better at it,” Lilia giggled, and then held her hand up to the pain it caused to her hurt lip. “I haven’t always been that effective, and that’s the truth.”
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