Introducing Warm Fuzzy

Sometimes, you start a book and it is perfect from chapter one on… And, sometimes, you start a book in the wrong place, which is totally what I did with The Homecoming War. That said, I wasn’t sad about it because the two scenes I wrote were some of my favorite and set the tone for the rest of the book.

Originally, I introduced Meg’s student government advisor, a goofy but lovable teacher at her new high school in Chapter Two. Once I got done writing it, I realized I wanted to start the book with Meg seeing her rival and fellow class president (and maybe crush), Chris Chavez on the first day of school. That said, I loved the scenes I wrote, and so I am sharing this one with you. As always, this is unedited, so please forgive the typos. And, without further ado, may I introduce you to, Warm Fuzzy!

*****

“Nice shades,” Nadiya hollered through her open window before the car even stopped, her 2002 Toyota shuttering noisily as I got into the passenger side.

“Thank you,” I said, checking my face in the mirror before clicking my seatbelt on.

“Very modern professional. What year are they?”

“1985 browline-style Bausleys. I found them at the swap meet in Cupertino. Talked the guy down to $85. So there went all my birthday money. But, it was a steal.” I shrugged, then stopped rambling. Nadiya didn’t really care where I got the glasses. No one really got my obsession with vintage sunglasses, but Nadiya always tried, mostly because she knew what they meant to me. How they connected me to my dad. Not that I was thinking about him today. Or how empty and haunted the house would feel when Mac went back to college at the end of the week.

Clearing my throat, I pushed the distracting thoughts away before they could swallow me up and changed the subject. “Thanks for picking me up.”

“I mean, what choice did I have? I’m your Vice President and when you want to do something stupid like storm the school instead of sending an email, it’s in my best interest to watch your bad ideas firsthand.”

“This is not a bad idea,” I said, clutching the door handle for additional comfort. Nadiya wasn’t the best driver I knew, but she had managed to get us anywhere we needed to be in one piece so far. “Besides, I know you want to know what’s going on as much as I do, so don’t pretend.”

“Okay, maybe I want to know a little bit.” Nadiya snorted and rolled her eyes. Swinging into the parking lot a little too fast, she pulled up to the spot marked PRINCIPLE and parked, then said, “But not as bad as you. I would have waited until lunch.”

“We shouldn’t park here.” I knew I wasn’t going to convince my friend, but I had to say it. We’d been best friends since the fourth grade, and not once in all of these years had I ever convinced her not to break a rule.

“Well, if the school is closing, it’s not like we have a principal, so Rodgers can tow me if he wants.” Nadiya laughed as we got out of the car.

I started power walking to the door. It was only 8:45 but California’s late September sun was already baking me and I regretted the yellow cardigan I picked out. At the time it screamed “professional” at me. Now, all it said was, “You’re about to be a sweaty mess”.

“So what’s the plan here. Are you just gonna charge in and demand Rodgers call the school board to remind them Davies High School is our sworn nemesis?” Nadiya asked, her long strides easily matching my short ones.

“I mean, I was going to be more subtle about it, but yes basically,” I said, pulling on the front door.

Our school building was old, and a bit shabby, so the AC in the administrative office felt more like muggy air circling us than anything refreshing, but at least we were out of the direct sunlight. No one was at the front desk. I was just beginning to crane my neck around to try and see if anyone was in the back office when Nadiya hissed, “Oh shit. Mr. Warm Fuzzy alert.”

I snapped upright and looked around in terror. Warm Fuzzy was the nickname we had given our guidance counselor/student government teacher, Mr. Bednarik. In true weirdo fashion, he was wearing Birkenstocks with toe socks and an old t-shirt from an event that said ConfidenceFest 2019.

Nadiya and I had just enough time to exchange should-we-hide glances when Mr. Bednarik saw us. “Well if it isn’t my two of my favorite class officers. Have you girls had a spiritually fulfilling summer?”

“It’s been great so far.” I managed to keep a straight face while answering him.

“I spent the summer watching Bengali rom coms with my grandma. It’s her faith, I don’t practice it,” Nadiya said, her voice tight as she tried, and failed, to swallow a laugh.

“To each their own,” Mr. Bednarik nodded, raising a cardboard box to us as if it were a toast.

Right,” I say, hoping to distract him from Nadiya’s giggles. “Do you know where Principal Rodgers is?”

“Didn’t you two hear? Principal Rodgers has decided to take early retirement. As far as I know, he is meeting with Principal Domit over at Davis, sorting out the final details for the school transition, and then he is off golfing in Hawaii. It’s all very exciting.” Mr. Bednarik bounced in his berkies as if someone told him there would be free ice cream later in the day.

“About that.” I stood up a little straighter, hoping to bring the conversation around to something useful before Mr. Bednarik forced any more enthusiasm on us. “Nadiya was hoping to get some answers from Principal Rodgers. At the school board meeting, it seemed like everyone was all for slowly merging the schools. But today’s announcement said we are all going to Davies now?”

“That’s the plan. In fact, I’m here just grabbing the last of my things from the classroom.”

“But, what about us? Are we just not class officers anymore?” Nadiya asked, cutting to the chase. So much for subtly.

“Oh.” Mr. Bednarik looked surprised as if it was only just occurring to him now that this might be a problem for us. Which, to be fair, it was probably the first time he’d thought of it. “Don’t worry you two, we are going to talk this out and find a way for everyone to share in the experience equally.”

“Share in the experience equally. Like how?” I asked, trying to keep my voice flat. If Mr. Bednarik was planning on having us alternate rock paper scissors to see who would remain an officer and who wouldn’t I would lose my mind.

“Always such thoughtful questions,” Mr. Bednarik said without a hint of irony. “I think you’ll be delighted to know I am still thinking through that and will have a plan in place by this Friday’s leadership orientation. I’ve already heard from Chris Chavez—Davies Junior Class President, and he emailed me some of his own ideas. I welcome input from you two and any member of the student body at well.”

Who the hell was this other president and how had he managed to track Mr. Bednarik down so fast? And if Warm Fuzzy was already taking his ideas into account, did that mean that I’d been demoted? I snuck a glance at Nadiya whose eyes had gone wide as she furiously typed up something on her phone.

“Mr. Bednarik, I assure you that I will come up with a workable solution that represents both Hirono students and the new student body that we form at Davies.”

“Oh I know you will. And, I know Chris has every intention of leading the next student body with the same commitment and spirit that you have.”

Was it just me or was Mr. Bednarik basically saying Chris would be leading the new student government? The back of my neck got hot as the thought of losing my spot sunk in. Before, I had been nervous, but fairly certain that Mr. Bednarik wouldn’t just throw me out of the chair after all the hours I’d spent decorating for last year’s homecoming dance. Or, my hours volunteering to make sashes for Senior Awards night, even though I was just a freshman and a lowly student senate member.

Mr. Bednarik waved at someone behind my shoulder and panic flared through my chest. I had to come up with something to convince him to keep Hirono’s student government intact.

“Sir, I actually think it might be worth us gathering just the Hirono student officers and talking about this. I’m sure no one wants to feel like they are being replaced and—”

“Not to worry, no one is being replaced. It’ll just be different.” Mr. Bednarik cut me off, frowning slightly at whoever was behind us in the office. I turned to see Mrs. Snyder, our chemistry teacher, trying to back slowly out of the office right as Mr. Bednarik couldn’t see her. “Alright you two, I have to try and catch Mrs. Snyder. Well enjoy the rest of the break and I’ll see you in a few days.”

What did he mean by different? I needed to get clarity, but Mr. Bednarik stepped around us with a wave that managed to be as dismissive as it was jovial.

“If you will just—” I stared when Nadiya made a weird squawking sound.

I paused to look at her while Mr. Bednarik just stood there grinning at the greying paint down the hallway where Mrs. Snyder had disappeared. Nadiya opened her eyes got wide and shook her head ever so slightly, in the universal gesture for ‘shut up’. I widened my eyes in the equally well-known stare for ‘what’s up?’

“Well, we gotta hurry. My shift starts at 10,” Nadiya said, nudging me toward the door and away from Warm Fuzzy. “Thanks for the info, Mr. Bednarik. See you at orientation!”

As soon as the sunlight hit my face, I wiggled out of her grip. “Nadiya, what are you doing?”

“Don’t rub him the wrong way, or it might get worse!”

“Worse? Worse how? Hirono is already closing.”

“Like we get demoted worse. I thought Chris’s name sounded familiar,” Nadiya said, more to herself than to me as we reached the car. Pulling her phone out of her pocket she refocused on me with an intensity that was almost scary. “We cannot compete with his head-on. We need a plan.”

“What? Like three minutes ago you were all about ‘head-on’. The plan was talk to Mr. Bednarik and—”

“Look.” Nadiya held up her phone.

I squinted at the phone for a moment. She had pulled up Chris’s social profile and I tapped at the screen to blow up his picture. I couldn’t see much since he and Nadiya weren’t following one another, but I could see his face. And, it was a good-looking face.

In the photo, his Davies baseball cap cast a shadow over his golden brown skin. His hair was long, and curling in gentle looping waves around the base of his neck. he was wearing a Davies baseball uniform and staring off into space with a level of intensity that made it seem like he was thinking really hard about something important.

Not that it mattered what he was thinking. Or, how he looked. Chris Chavez was my new nemesis. He could look like a demi-god and be a Mensa candidate and I’d still despise him.

“It’s just a guy,” I say, shoving Nadiya’s phone out of my face and avoiding eye contact so she wouldn’t know about my traitorous thoughts. She could always smell when I was lying and I didn’t need Nadiya getting suspicious or anything, especially with our seats on the student government on the line.

“Not just any guy.” Nadiya looked at me and wrinkled her nose like I was used chewing gum on the ground. “Chris Chavez. As in Chavez Flowers. As in fancy, rich person, fair trade flowers.”

“Oh.” It took everything in me not to add one of the 27 different curses running through my mind. I didn’t know Chris, but I knew his family. The entire county did. Chavez Flowers were the biggest business within two hours of here. They sponsored everything from the Davies High car wash to little league tournaments and even my grandmama’s community dance night. Hell, if I opened up social media, I’d probably be slammed with 12 different posts about someone receiving their flowers for a special event.

“I knew that name sounded familiar,” Nadiya yanked me out of my thoughts. “My mom serves on the local women’s business association board with his mom. I met him at their charity dinner two years ago.”

“Uh huh. And…” I rotated my wrist in a ‘speed it along’ motion. I didn’t want to tell Nadiya to hurry up, but I did need her to get to the point before I had a full-blown panic attack over the fact that my direct competition was basically the guy whose family was responsible for helping keep Huntersville afloat after the prefab housing factory and the glass plant closed a decade ago.

“I’m sorry, but we’re screwed. The Chavez’s are basically Huntersville royalty.”

“Yeah, I put that much together when you told me the first time,” I said, wishing she would hurry up and unlock the car door so I didn’t melt into the asphalt.

“I love you, Meg, but how are you gonna compete with that? If you piss off Warm Fuzzy, there is a chance you get demoted. And, you have to protect Hirono. You can’t do that from the VP chair. I mean, you probably can’t do it anyway, but—”

“Okay rude.” I knew it was technically impolite to cut Nadiya off, but I didn’t need the reminder that I wasn’t exactly Huntersville’s Golden Girl. “I’m pretty great. The Davies administration might just choose me.”

Nadiya looked at me like I was her little sister telling some weird made-up story. “I love you but you can’t compete with paying for a brand new baseball field.” Nadiya ignored the look I gave her. “If you are gonna compete with Chavez, it’s on cunning. It’s a statistical fact that no one good look and rich is ever brilliant. You’ll be able to outsmart him if you play your cards right.”

“I don’t think that is a statistical fact. I mean, didn’t that guy from that superhero movie go to Columbia?”

“I think his whole family did. Whatever. There are always exceptions.” Nadiya waved her hand in front of her face like the evidence that her argument might have holes were irrelevant. “All I’m saying is that you have to protect Hirono. We can’t let our class be erased. Generations of Hirono High graduates are counting on you to make sure we come out on top.”

As absurd as Nadiya sounded, and, to be fair, she sounded ridiculous a lot of the time, she was right. I could not let Hirono be swept under the rug and forgotten. I’d made a promise to represent my classmates. And, no way was I sticking around to rot in this town after graduation. I’d worked way too hard to get out of this town for some Davies airhead to steal my spot and derail my future.

“You’re right. Hirono deserves better than to be swept under the rug. All our traditions forgotten and our memories erased. I’m gonna find a way to make sure of it.”

“That’s my girl.” Nadiya nodded as she finally unlocked the car door. “Now get in. We gotta figure this thing out and rally the Hirono student council before my shift starts.”

****

Hope you liked the original Warm Fuzzy meeting. Fun fact, I based Warm Fuzzy on a teacher my mom had when she was in middle school. Ha! If you haven’t had the chance to read The Homecoming War and you want to, here are all the links:

Share this: