You'll Get Mixed Up

You'll get mixed up, of course,
as your already know.
You'll get mixed up
with many strange birds as you go.

 

“Okay guys they’re here.” Bobby looked around at his roommates. “Remember everything about the plan is top secret.” Bobby’s friends were thrilled about Trixie coming to the game and they had quickly been recruited to the plan.

“You got it Agent 48.” Moose grinned at his friend and roommate.

“Agent 48 seems a tad nervous don’t you think Agent 24?” Thump chimed in.

“No, I think he’s just excited about seeing his sister-in-law again.” Kevin teased his best friend. All the men knew of Bobby’s crush on the lovely Diana.

“Agent 48, does Farmer know about your crush on his wife, the lovely Lady Di?”

“What do you guys know? She only married him because she thought I was too young,” Bobby growled. He knew it was only teasing, and he didn’t want to admit just how much he admired his beautiful sister-in-law. He often called her by the popular “Lady Di” nickname. It was his pet name for her long before his roommates picked up on it as suitable code name. The reference to the late Princess of Wales was a compliment to her beauty and personality.

The group laughed together. Bobby’s friends and teammates normally referred to Trixie as ‘Little Sister’, in reference to her stature. This weekend, however, in typical secret service fashion, she would be referred to as Olive and Jim was Oscar. The college men had fully embraced ‘Operation Otis’ in a manner that would do the CIA proud.

The University had unknowingly handled Step One for them. The plan hinged on the group from Frayler staying together in one building. Fortunately, Syracuse offered rooms on the fifth floor of one of the older dormitories to the visiting students.

“Trixie!” Bobby shouted as he saw her step off the train.

“At least he didn’t call her Olive,” Kevin murmured to Thump and Moose.

The standard contingent of Syracuse college ambassadors was also waiting to welcome visiting school groups. Although there were three other school groups visiting Syracuse that weekend, Frayler was the only group to be met by a quartet of Syracuse football players. Curious, the other groups craned their necks to watch the exuberant reception unfolding.

Bobby gave Trixie a huge hug. Enveloping her in his muscular arms he picked her up and swung her around. This obvious pleasure between brother and sister set the tone for the start of the weekend’s festivities.

“Lady Di!” was Bobby’s next exclamation as she was afforded similar treatment. The two women were passed from man to man until Bobby and his three roommates had given what they believed was an appropriate Syracuse Orangeman greeting for the women.

“Do you have my press pass?” Diana asked her brother-in-law. He passed it along with a grin, knowing she would be on the sidelines tomorrow taking pictures.

“Aiming for another published picture?” Trixie teased her friend. Di’s accomplishments as a photographer began in college. Frustrated with her lack of talent in painting she discovered photography. It didn’t take long for her to realize she had an eye and talent for photography. When she looked through the lens of a camera, she could see things others didn’t.

“You better believe it. I need some extra money; I saw this great sweater last weekend.”

Trixie rolled her eyes. Diana’s father would have bought her every sweater in the store, but she wouldn’t allow it. Di took pride in making it without help from her Dad. He had paid for her to attend the best college she wanted as well as a year abroad studying art history. Now that she was a married adult she wanted to stand on her own. Freelance photography helped supplement her budget. The extra money helped Di satisfy her longing for frivolous clothes and shoes.

“Do you have schedules for us?” Jim asked the head of the Syracuse University Orange Ambassadors. His nervousness over this first field trip was starting to show.

Caitlyn Carver reassured him by passing out information packets to the four groups. Friday evening was full of activities planned by the University.

“If I could have your attention for just a few minutes, please. We have a bus over here ready to start. We’re going to stow your bags and begin with our campus art tour.” Caitlyn explained the agenda pleasantly and concisely. Dan and Regan exchanged a look over this attractive senior.

The university’s art tour was fascinating. Diana especially enjoyed it, along with Steven Willis, the youngest of Jim’s students. They kept their heads together for much of the tour, discussing the sculptures, mosaics, and statues on the exterior tour of the fifteen exhibits.

“I love the Sculpture Court,” Di said to Steven.

“Me too, but I wanted to see the Picasso,” he replied.

The tour did not include any of the school’s interior art. Caitlyn promised the group that tomorrow’s tour would include the library. The bronze statue of the Roman Goddess Diana was displayed there, which for some reason, Mart had been particularly anxious to see.

“The Schaffer Art Building will be on tomorrow’s tour” Caitlyn promised Steven. “We are proud of our permanent art collection. Unfortunately, my favorite, the etchings of Rembrandt, is currently on tour.”

“What about the Robin Hood Tree?” Dan spoke up. “Some of the guys were hoping to see that.”

“I’m glad you asked. We’ll be concluding the art tour at the Robin Hood Oak. This tree was planted from an acorn about 75 years ago from the famous oak in England’s Sherwood Forest.” Caitlyn continued her role as the tour guide.

It was a cool, dusky evening when they arrived at the famous oak tree. Dan stuck close to the lovely Caitlyn, his friends noticed with little surprise.

“This is the end of tonight’s tour. Next door, we have supper ready for you. When we’re done with that, we’ll be moving over to the Carrier Dome for tonight’s pep rally.”

Excitement was in the air as the group walked over for the pep rally. The students were totally unprepared for the noise, excitement, and activity.

“If you were here next week for homecoming, there would be a parade and fireworks,” Caitlyn yelled over the noise as she directed the groups of students. It didn’t take much for all of the visiting groups to get into the spirit. The Syracuse Cheerleaders did a great job leading the crowd of students. The gymnastic stunts they performed for the crowd were impressive. Regan whistled in admiration at some of their more daring stunts. The marching band played loud and long and ended their contribution with the school fight song. The football team took the field as the team captains and game line-ups were broadcast of the PA system. Trixie especially cheered loudly when Bobby’s name was announced for tomorrow’s starting line-up. By the time the rally was over, they were all ready to relieve their strained vocal cords with a cold drink and some rest.

It was a relief for the ambassadors and chaperones to herd the rambunctious Frayler crowd off to their assigned dorm rooms for the weekend. To the delight of the Frayler students, the university ambassadors had set up a lavish snack bar in the common area of the dormitory.

“Do they always eat this much? I thought they had gotten enough at dinner.” Trixie asked Jim as she watched his students put away milk shakes, cookies and other assorted snacks.

“Oh yeah, you would think they hadn’t eaten all day. They’re bottomless pits when it comes to food.”

“Of course their beloved Professor stays right there with them.” Trixie replied as she nodded her head towards Mart. Some things never seemed to change.

Jim had wisely spaced the adult rooms through the fifth floor hallway to maximize the effectiveness of the chaperones. Adults had rooms next to all doors and exits.

“These kids don’t have a prayer of sneaking out.” Dan whispered to Mart. “How does a guy as honorable as Jim figure these things out?”

“Dan, my man, have you forgotten your days as a camp counselor? If you will simply recollect that enlightening experience, you will remember being educated in a way similar to Jim and me, specifically education by tribulation.”

The students played a few games in the common room before heading upstairs to bed. The elevators would take them back up to their rooms, although only one was working that night.

“You guys might as well get used to the elevators here.” Thump announced.

“These things are always on the fritz.” Kevin chimed in.

“Syracuse is supposedly the Greek word for swamp, but the big joke on campus is it’s an ancient Indian name for land of the broken elevators.” Bobby told the Frayler crowed.

“I’m sure it’s not that bad.” Diana said.

The Orangemen hooted with laughter.

“Listen, the most popular guy on campus is the elevator repair guy,” Moose told her. “Everyone calls him Otis and he has two guys working for him just to keep all the elevators running on campus.”

“He’s a really nice guy” Bobby told them. “His wife’s expecting a baby any day now. The joke is he’s going to be stuck in an elevator somewhere when he gets the call.”

“I’m sure the elevators will be fine” Jim told them. “We can always use the stairs if they both go out.”

 

 

Saturday, the day of the game, dawned as a beautiful and clear day for football with just the right amount of chill in the air. As usual, Trixie woke up early. She stumbled out of bed, barely taking the time to push her hair out of her face and pull on running clothes. After a quick stop in the bathroom she headed downstairs to run. She was both embarrassed and surprised when she ran into Jim stretching in the common room.

Jim was disconcerted when Trixie arrived downstairs; he had no idea she ran every morning. Sure, she had to stay in shape when she worked for the FBI, but he had never been one to associate Trixie or Honey voluntarily rising early.

Trixie greeted him diffidently and started stretching as well. She was totally oblivious to the concealed glances from Jim as he checked her out. When her back was to him and she was bent over doing hamstring stretches, he tried not to notice the way her running shorts pulled tightly over her bottom. But it was quite a vision! Jim had to shake his head to keep from having lascivious thoughts about her.

Unknown to Jim, Trixie was struggling with some of the same emotions. Jim was a hunk! If the man didn’t put a shirt on soon she was going to embarrass herself! She turned around to do her hamstring stretches just so she could focus and count. There was no avoiding the inevitable however when she finished the last stretch. She looked over at him and asked the question they had both been avoiding.

“So do you want to run together?”

“Sure.” Jim answered politely

“So how far do you run?” Trixie inquired just as politely as Jim.

“Depends,” he answered cautiously. “How about you?”

“Always at least five, but the goal is ten.” Trixie wasn’t competing with him so she answered honestly.

Jim shrugged “I usually go for five a day, more than that and I’m out of time.”

Trixie nodded “So, five then?”

“It depends.” Jim fell back on that same answer.

Her eyes flashed as she finished her stretching. “On?”

“On whether or not you can keep up with me,” he kidded her. Trixie rolled her eyes and with her finger poked him in the chest as she answered, “Frayne, my man, I would worry about keeping up with me if I were you!” With that cheeky comment she was off and out the door, not even bothering to see if he was ready.

Jim had, in fact, been taking his time, waiting on Dan to run with him. However he couldn’t let the challenge Trixie issued go by. Dan was forgotten. Jim was out the door and right behind Trixie. Although he could have easily pulled in front of her, he managed to stay right behind her, reasoning that he should enjoy the view while he had the chance.

Surprising even themselves, Jim and Trixie kept a similar pace during their run. Trixie had visited Syracuse several times and was familiar with the path she wanted to take. She led them along the main quad and turned to run down Comstock Avenue past the Chancellor’s residence and the lovely Oakwood Cemetery. She estimated what she thought would be a five-mile run.

As they ran, a quiet companionable atmosphere seemed to settle between them. Trixie’s nerves abated and Jim’s feelings of inadequacy melted away. They were once again the two close friends they had been at fifteen and seventeen. Trixie no longer thought about how rumpled she must look in her wrinkled running clothes and Jim almost forgot about how Trixie had rebuffed him ten years ago.

Returning to their dorm, they hit the showers getting ready to take on the day. Both were sorry they had to return to the dorm so soon.

When Trixie arrived downstairs ready for breakfast, Jim couldn’t help but look at her admiringly. Her jeans seemed to do things for her rear that he had not noticed the day before. The orange Syracuse sweater she had donned over a Navy blue turtleneck was becoming.

Jim frowned slightly at Dan when he arrived to board the shuttle bus for breakfast. “What happened to you this morning, Mangan?” Jim asked him. “I thought you were going to run with me.”

Dan shook his head, “Sorry Jim, for some reason I just rolled over and decided to sleep in. I think Regan’s snoring kept me up most of the night.”

Unbeknownst to Jim, Dan had just opened his door to come downstairs and observed Trixie pushing the door open to the stairwell. Dan knew Trixie ran each morning; it was a habit she started in college and had never stopped. Remembering the habit of a certain auburn haired schoolmaster, Dan smiled to himself and quietly shut his door.

Overhearing this exchange, Regan simply punched his nephew in the arm and boarded the shuttle. He wondered if the attractive Caitlyn would be their guide again that morning.

Regan’s question was soon answered when their shuttle was boarded by a handsome man with dark auburn hair.

“Good morning!” he greeted the crowd. “Welcome to Syracuse. My name is Justin Hathaway and I’ll be your tour guide this morning. I’m the oldest of the Orangemen Ambassadors and I’m also a graduate student here at the University.” Justin flashed a winning smile at the crowd but his gaze lingered on Trixie.

Jim scowled as he saw the way Justin looked at Trixie. He thought to himself, Justin, I don’t believe it! Another damn J-name, what is it with her?

Diana frowned at the admiring look Justin gave Trixie. The last thing they needed was some graduate student making a move on Trixie this weekend. She shrugged inwardly. If necessary she might consider sacrificing herself for the cause.

As always reading his wife’s thoughts as clear as a book, Mart suppressed a grin. He leaned over to Diana and whispered in her ear. “Don’t even think of it!”

Another frown and a poke in the ribs was his reward.

Jim asserted himself by immediately introducing himself to their tour guide and ambassador for the morning. He deliberately did not introduce the chaperones, only the students. Jim managed to monopolize the conversation, asking questions and doing everything possible to keep Justin from speaking with Trixie. This strategy seemed to work through breakfast but was much more difficult during the tour.

Justin did manage to get past the watch dogs to Trixie eventually asking for her phone number, which to her credit she did not give him.

“Hi, you must be a Syracuse alumnus. When did you graduate?” He smiled at those brilliant blue eyes.

“Sorry no, I’m a Virginia graduate. This weekend I’m primarily a chaperone and football supporter.” Trixie explained carefully.

“I’m available after the game if you need someone to show you around the stadium. I know a few football players, we could tour the dome. If you’re not busy later I could give you a call.” Justin was smooth.

“Thanks but I have plans after the game.” Justin was attractive enough but she wasn’t interested. After getting dirty looks from almost every adult in the group, Justin got the message and began answering a question from Sam on one of the programs offered by the university.

“Looking to add another victim to the J-brigade?” Mart asked Trixie quietly.

She glared at him “Why are you ready to scare him off?”

He shrugged “Just wondering, it seems to me he’s pretty interested.”

“Justin is just flirting,” Trixie informed him loftily. “Why is it so hard for you and Brian to accept the fact that guys are interested in me?”

“Who said I was talking about Justin?” Mart grinned and walked off.

The morning tour ended without mishap or interference in the plan. Diana, Dan and Mart all breathed huge sighs of relief. Regan thought the entire process hilarious.

“Mart, you guys surely don’t think you can beat off every guy that shows an interest in Trixie?” Regan asked him privately.

Mart shrugged, “Just the ones that aren’t Jim.”

“Mart, Diana, come on, use some sanity here. All you can do is push them together. They have to make a move on their own.”

“Regan, all they need to do is talk to each other. The problem is they make sure they are never alone together” Diana explained.

“That’s not true; I’ve seen them ride together!” Regan protested.

“Really?” Diana asked arching an eyebrow at the still handsome groom. “When was this?”

“Back when they were in school” Regan mumbled.

“Exactly, something happened during that time that has them both scared of their feelings. They need to talk.” Diana explained.

Regan rolled his eyes. “Why is this so important to you?”

Diana, Mart and Dan exchanged looks before Mart answered for all of them. “We just believe they’ve had a misunderstanding. Neither of them is happy.”

“I don’t know about that,” Regan protested. “Jim’s been over the moon happy since the school opened last month and when Trixie and Honey opened the business for their first case at the beginning of the year, well I would venture a guess that she was pretty happy.”

“Uncle Bill, we just want to give them an opportunity to talk,” Dan explained. “Do you really think it hurts anything for them to be alone together where they can talk?” None of them wanted to say it out loud, but they wanted Regan on their side in this.

Bill Regan sighed. He thought the world of both Jim and Trixie and privately believed the two were destined to be together. “No, it won’t hurt anything. I just don’t think you should interfere when other people express an interest in getting to know them better.”

It was time for lunch and any further opportunity for a private conversation was squelched. Trixie sat next to Sam and Harry and talked about what they had observed so far. Trixie knew Bobby and his friends loved attending Syracuse as much as she had enjoyed college in Virginia. It would only be a few years before Sam would go to college and he was focusing on in-state schools so he could be close to Harry. The brothers were close to each other and had quickly become favorites of Trixie as well.

Before they realized it, they needed to leave for the stadium. As was tradition at Syracuse, they would walk to the game. Trixie walked with Harry and Jim with Sam as they discussed the university. Harry was a huge fan of football and was already wild about Bobby and his roommates. He talked of little else on the way to the game.

“Ms. Belden, did you know that Syracuse is the only college team to play its games in a domed on-campus stadium?”

Trixie was still adjusting to being addressed as Ms. Belden. Jim had strict rules in this area and ‘Trixie’ was out of the question.

“Bobby mentioned that to me last year. It’s a nice facility. They even have concerts there,” Trixie replied.

“All kinds of great concerts,” Harry nodded. “They’ve had U2, the Rolling Stones, Garth Brooks, Elton John, and, my favorite, Billy Joel, all play here.”

Trixie shook her head. He reminded her of Jim with his quick recitation of the music groups, and of Mart with his knowledge of trivia. She failed to notice Jim’s back stiffen when Harry mentioned his favorite singer.

“They always make a respectable showing, but they haven’t won a national championship in football since 1959.” As much as Harry wanted the Orangemen to go all the way, he knew the odds. A formidable force in the Big East, his team seemed to falter slightly at the national level.

“Well, they’ve only had Bobby “BB” Belden for a little while, so maybe there’s hope in their future,” Trixie teased.

“Do you think we’ll get to see Bobby again and the other players?” he asked.

“Yes, they plan to have dinner with us tonight. We’re on our own tonight for supper. I think Dr. Frayne and Mrs. Professor Belden have made some plans.”

To Trixie’s great amusement the boys called Di ‘Mrs. Professor Belden’. Honey was referred to as ‘Mrs. Doctor Belden’ and her own Moms who was just ‘Mrs. Moms Belden’. It was the only way the boys could keep all the Belden women straight.

“Mrs. Professor Belden said we could go with her if we wanted to develop her pictures.”

“Yep, I think she’s going to borrow a lab from the school,” Trixie replied absently, wondering where the photo lab would be. “Maybe she’ll take a few pictures of our group. I’d like to have a picture to remember this weekend by.”

“Do you think if she took a picture of your brother he would autograph it for me?” Harry asked.

“Of course he would.” Trixie said immediately. “I’ll have to ask Diana to get you a good picture.”

 

 

It appeared to be a day for football at Syracuse as they arrived at the stadium. The attendance numbers promised to range in the forty thousand. The crowd, confusion, commotion and clatter combined to amaze the six students. They soaked it all in like sponges: the loud boisterous crowd of college students, the cheerleaders with their large pom-poms and acrobatic stunts, and even the stadium itself. The experience was heady.

“I’ll see you guys at half time,” Diana took her leave with a quick kiss on Mart’s cheek and headed for the home team sidelines.

“Don’t fall for any football players,” Mart warned. He was extremely proud of his wife’s talent and knew she was a favorite among the ball players, including his own brother.

Dan and Mart contrived to make sure the Jim and Trixie sat next to each other. Trixie had Jim on one side of her and Harry on the other.

The crowd roared and the noise was deafening at the opening kickoff. Trixie held her own, cheering for Bobby, Thump, Moose and Kevin like crazy.

“Number 48,” she told Harry unnecessarily. “Watch for number 48.”

Today, Trixie was entirely too excited to be less than her usual exuberant self around Jim that day. She cheered loudly for Syracuse but it was nothing compared to her excitement when Bobby “BB” Belden, number 48, made his first tackle of the game. Trixie jumped up out of her seat, did a little dance, hollered “Go Belden” as loudly as she could. This act garnered laughs from all of them, but it was a lackluster performance when compared to her reaction to Bobby’s scoring of a touchdown on a defensive interception. In addition to her dancing jig, she gave Harry a high-five and turned to literally jump into Jim’s arms she was so excited. She threw her arms around him and kissed him before she realized what she had done.

She immediately became flustered as she fathomed what she had just done. In typical Trixie fashion she turned bright red and began to stammer.

Jim was astonished at her action but secretly pleased. He was able to put her at ease with his crooked grin and a friendly laugh.

“Don’t worry about it Trix, I promise if it will make you feel better I’ll kiss you every time Syracuse scores.”

She laughed nervously then realized she was over-reacting. After all, what was a friendly celebratory kiss between two people who had been friends as long as she and Jim? Trixie would have liked his offer to mean more, but it was obvious it was just a nice gesture between two old friends.

Between watching her and watching the game, Jim was vastly entertained that afternoon. He was also pleased to be able to drop casual kisses on Trixie’s cheek four more times before the game was over, thanks to some great plays by Syracuse.

Dan, Mart and Regan all noticed this byplay between their friends and exchanged smirks. Things were going much better than they had hoped at this point in the weekend.

Mart chortled inwardly; he couldn’t wait to relate this incident to Diana!

After the game, the group waited in their seats for Diana to join them. Eventually they would hook up with Bobby and his roommates for dinner that evening.

“Did you boys enjoy the game?” Diana asked as she met them.

“You bet!” Harry was the first to reply enthusiastically. The rest of the students heartily agreed.

“Well, I need to go process these pictures and then submit some to the paper. I can take three of you into the computer lab with me as long as Mart comes with us” Diana explained. “Or we can all go and take turns coming in and out but that will take a little longer.”

The boys discussed it and agreed they would all go. Mrs. Professor Belden was popular with all the students and the boys liked Professor Belden immensely. He managed to make their foreign language classes and English classes halfway interesting, not to mention what he knew about plants and growing things.

Diana promised the photography lab was well within walking distance on the campus. They had more than enough time. There was a comfortable window of time between the game ending and their dinner reservation at a local restaurant.

“Hey Diana,” Trixie spoke as she caught up to her friend. “Harry and I were wondering if you would take a picture of the group? I’d like one as a memento of this weekend.”

“Sure, if you’ll wait until I get to the lab I can borrow a tripod.”

“No rush, anytime this weekend. Also, Harry would like a picture of Bobby. He wants an autograph.”

Diana promised to do her best.

The students loved watching the photography process. It took almost twice as long with switching the students in and out. Harry was thrilled. He helped Diana photoshop an excellent shot of Bobby’s interception. She quickly made an extra copy, knowing the chances were good that photo would appear in the Syracuse Post. Hopefully the AP would pick it up. Diana was vainer about her photography than she had ever been about her looks. She knew she was good; she had the senior portfolio to prove it. She wished she could have exhibited her photographs in more art competitions. But her best work was of her closest friends. She had promised them she would not exhibit those particular photographs.

“What I wouldn’t give to exhibit Swimming at the Lake,” she murmured to herself.

“What did you say Mrs. Professor Belden?” Steven asked her.

“Oh, I was just remembering some pictures from several years ago” Diana told him. Steven was the artist of Jim’s students. She had already made her pitch to Jim that the boy needed an artist kit for Christmas. She wanted to see what he could do with some real supplies. Jim had already promised that some art easels would be the next wood-working project for the students.

“One day, Steven, I’m going to show you the beauty of black and white photography.” Diana said thoughtfully. “You’ll be amazed what you can do with shadows and silhouettes.” Diana remembered her favorite photo and the shadows from the late afternoon sun. She sighed. It was definitely worthy of the top grade she had received.

“Alright, boys, let’s wrap this up. I still need to take our group picture before we lose all the light outside.”

The picture was taken with few problems. Diana took the time to show Steven and Charlie how she had set up the shot and set the timer. They had just enough time to drop Diana’s photographs off at the Post before they headed to dinner.

Dinner was a jovial affair. The food was delicious. There was something to please everyone. The service was outstanding, with Regan and Dan doing their best to pick up the two waitresses assigned to their large party.

“So you like that little brunette, huh Regan?” Trixie teased him quietly. The waitresses were cute. Unfortunately they seemed to prefer Bobby’s roommates Thump and Moose to Dan and Regan.

“Always had a thing for brown eyed girls,” Regan admitted. The coed was cute but Thump and Moose had no interest.

Thump’s arm quickly moved along the back of Trixie’s chair and she looked up at him in surprise. “Hey Trixie, don’t you want dessert?” He asked giving her a meaningful look.

Trixie got the message, “Sure sweetie, coffee would be great. I need something to keep me awake for later.” She gave him a smile that told him she understood what game he was playing with the waitress.

Moose in turn pretended to be possessive of Diana, although Mart was quick to prevent that from going very far.

The waitresses got the message the handsome football players were not interested.

“I want pecan pie!” Mart declared as he spied it on the menu.

“Cheesecake for me” Bobby said. “It won’t be as good as Moms though.”

Trixie and Diana stuck with coffee and the students shared everything from chocolate thunder cake to hot apple pie a la mode.

“Can you believe I’m stuffed?” Mart asked twenty minutes later. He had eaten the last piece of pecan pie available after winning a challenge with Jim for it.

“No!” his friends and family chorused as one.

“This delicious regalement has indeed been a repast for one whose culinary expectations are normally unfettered.”

“He means he ate too much.” Trixie translated for Thump. “So what do you guys normally do after a big win like today?”

“Well we normally get invited to a bunch of parties.” Thump explained.

“You didn’t today?” She asked surprised.

“Well yes, but we declined we didn’t really want to desert you guys tonight.”

“Well any suggestions for the rest of the night?” Trixie asked brightly. She knew it was much too early for the energetic students to think of winding down.

“How about we rent a movie?” Jim suggested.

“That’s a great idea Jim.” Diana jumped on it. “Why don’t you and Trixie go rent a movie and we’ll herd the boys over to the dorm. Trixie knows where the closest rental store is.”

The six boys immediately begin suggesting movies to Trixie and Jim, everything from blood and gore to science fiction. She laughed as she held up her hand in protest.

“If I promise not to let your headmaster get anything too stuffy will you trust me?” she asked them, her blue eyes twinkling.

The boys agreed and the group split up. Mart took charge of heading the students back to the dorm while Jim and Trixie left for the movie store.

 

 

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