As always, a huge thank you to Carol for all her help with comments, suggestions, attempts to get me to write faster, and other things too numerous to mention.
From Chapter 25
“Volunteers are needed on the coast of several Central American countries for clean up,” the sound came from upstairs. “Expectations are that more than two dozen species of birds may be impacted by the oil, not to mention the wildlife in the water that is more difficult to clean.”
I sighed. Steve had shut off the radio now and was snoring across the room. I could also hear Maddie's quiet, rhythmic breathing, indicating that she, too, was asleep. If I slipped out now, would she even notice? Generally she was a pretty sound sleeper and didn't seem to wake up. I suspected that the only reason she woke up the last time I left was because she wasn't sleeping well, knowing I was gone.
So maybe I could sneak out and help? Maybe?...
Taking another glance around the room to make sure Maddie and Steve were asleep, I spun out of my shorts and into my standard Boy in Black outfit before slipping out the door. I waited there for a few moments, just listening, but Steve's snores and Maddie's breaths continued on uninterrupted. Once I was sure they were not about to wake up and notice my absence, I ran out of the dorm and headed towards the math building to take off for Venezuela.
Chapter 26
It was an exhilarating experience. I had never done anything like it before.
I showed up in Venezuela all ready to help, even though I had no idea what exactly I'd be doing. I was only there a few minutes before I was told that they had all the volunteers they needed. I was surprised by this, until I heard one of the volunteers comment on how sad it was that other shorelines weren't getting the same response. Apparently, like me, many people had heard about the spill off Venezuela so local people were coming out to help. In some of the countries north, though, birds were already showing up covered in oil, but the press wasn't talking about it yet and as a result, they were not getting the same response.
So, I went back up north, deciding to land in Costa Rica. To be honest, there was no reason to go there rather than anywhere else, but I remembered Mom saying something about wanting to go there someday, so when I realized I was right above it, I decided to land.
I got trained there on helping with the clean-up and spent a couple of hours with the other volunteers. It was hard work trying to help the birds, who did not necessarily want help. Still, it was the kind of thing I liked to do. It was small, and nothing special, but I felt like I was really making a difference. It was a way to use my special abilities to help without coming out and announcing that some sort of science fiction freak lived among us. No one ever questioned how this American boy got there so fast, they just assumed I was on vacation or on a student exchange program or something. I had gotten very good over the years at letting people tell me why they thought I was there and then nodding noncommittally. It had been a necessary skill early on when my knowledge of other languages had been poor, and I had found it worked well even after that.
My Spanish was actually starting to get quite good. Considering how much of the world spoke the language, I guess it wasn't surprising. Plus, I had a facility for languages and for the most part had progressed past the simple skills I had learned through the Berlitz classes Mom and Dad suggested. I had gone far past it in Spanish, though, and was finally at a point where I could hold a conversation. My speaking was still somewhat stilted, but at least I could understand the people around me quite well – something that was trickier when using other languages unless the speaker slowed their speech down for me.
So, after several hours of work, the supervisor suggested we take a break. We sat around a small area of the beach. Someone's wife had brought coffee and empanadas and we sat around and talked for a little while.
After about half an hour, the group of us had split up, with several volunteers going home, while others said they could stay all day. I stayed a little longer, mulling over something one of the other volunteers had said: The birds were a bad sign and clearly needed our help, but the worst damage was really in the water. The real danger was what I had heard on the radio – of changing the ecosystem to the barrier reef, but it was difficult, if not impossible to clean that area. Meanwhile, they were expecting thousands of fish to float to the surface, dead, in the next few weeks and expected that there were many more things that would die that only the snorkelers and divers would see, like the plant life that lived in the reef.
It seemed like this was where the most help was needed, but it wasn't clear how I could contribute. I had tried to ask some of the other volunteers if someone who could hold their breath a long time would be able to do something special, but they had laughed at me, saying no one could hold their breath long enough to do anything that wasn't already being done.
So, I went back to washing birds, still trying to find a way to help in the reef. There had to be something I could do. It took two more hours before I found out what it was.
Apparently, according to another volunteer, one of the ways they cleaned up oil from the water was with puffed cereal. They dumped a bunch on the surface of the water and it would absorb the oil that was there. For the most part, this worked well for the surface, but less well for areas deeper where it was hard to get the cereal before it was water-logged and too “full” to absorb more oil.
They had been doing some experiments with divers and water proof containers, though. They weren't going very deep, but so far it was working. The divers would bring the cereal ten to twenty feet down, release it from the container and at least in the hardest hit areas, it would absorb a fair amount of oil before getting water logged.
I stayed another hour before I decided it was time to leave. I was itching to go out there and try to help, thinking I could do a lot given that I'd probably be working alone enough to go faster than normal. I just needed a way to get a diving suit or no one would allow me to dive.
Finally I decided the direct approach made the most sense. I went and asked the man talking how someone could get involved in helping with that effort. He explained that there was a small boat taking volunteers back and forth to the reef a little north of where we were. A local dive shop had even supplied all the materials. You just needed to prove you were certified.
I thanked him, still thinking it over. It sounded easy enough. The only glitch was that I wasn't a certified diver and it was unlikely I could get certified quickly.
Then I came up with the idea. It wasn't really a brilliant idea by any means, but it did lead to my helping in a way I'd never been able to help before. With a smile, I made my way away from the beach before taking off and heading back to Metropolis.
The library on campus was just opening when I got there, and after a quick perusal of the card catalog I found two books on diving techniques. It was plenty private enough there at this time of day for me to find a corner where I wouldn't easily be seen and speed read through the books.
Then with a smile at the guard on my way out of the library, I made my way back to the math building and then back to Costa Rica.
************************
It was nearly evening before I got back to Metropolis. I had flown from Metropolis to a small island in the Caribbean that was mostly populated by cruise ship passengers. Mom and Dad had mentioned that the Irigs had gone on a cruise this fall and had gotten a one day diving certification on an island in the Caribbean. I called Mom to find out the name of the island and banked on the fact that the certification process would be a bit lax. I used what I had read in the Met U library to prove I knew what I was doing, and they gave me a certification within the hour.
I went back to Costa Rica from there and caught the small boat out to the reef. I dived for hours, coming back to the surface for more cereal as quickly as I dared. As it was, the volunteers providing the cereal for the divers were impressed with how often they saw me.
I have to say though, that as soon as I landed in Metropolis, my exhilaration evaporated. How could I have completely forgotten about Maddie while I was helping? She was sure to be upset to find me gone when she woke up.
If I had gotten back earlier, I could have told her I had woken early and gone to the library to study or something, but as it was I had missed lunch and dinner as well. What could I possibly say to explain my absence?
With a heavy heart, I walked over to her dorm and knocked on her door. The look on her face when she saw me made my heart break. She didn't look upset or sad or angry. Just defeated.
“Where were you?” she asked me quietly.
“I'm sorry,” I said in reply.
“Really?” she asked me. “It took you all day to come find me. Did you just decide you were sorry for sneaking out on me last night? Did we not just have this discussion a couple of days ago about how I don't particularly like being alone with Steve?”
“Steve would never…” I started.
“I know!” she cut me off and I could tell her anger was building now. “I didn't say that I felt unsafe. Just uncomfortable. Really, Clark, is it too much to ask that when you invite me to spend the night in your room you intend to be there, too?”
“No,” I said quietly.
“Are you sure?” she asked, her voice slightly sarcastic. “Because it seems to be a problem for you. Do you sneak out regularly and I just don't know since we're not usually in the same bed? Where is it you go?”
I fumbled, trying to find something to say. Anything. But lying wasn't the answer – I was a terrible liar and she would see right through me. Telling her the truth was also not the answer, though. What would she say if I told her I was in Costa Rica? And how could I explain without telling her the truth?
She shook her head. “You know what, Clark? This isn't a good time. I'm tired. I woke up at four this morning to find you gone and couldn't fall back to sleep. I wanted to nap today to make up for it, but couldn't as I was too worried. And it turns out you were fine all along. I'm just not awake enough to have this conversation. I'm going to go to bed.”
“Do you want to sleep…”
“No!” she cut me off. “Dave is gone by now anyway. And even if he wasn't, why exactly would I spend another night in your room while you're who knows where?”
“I'm sorry,” I said again.
She nodded her head. “Maybe you are. We can discuss it tomorrow after I've gotten some sleep.”
“Can we have breakfast?” I asked her.
“You have an eight o'clock class,” she reminded me. “I'll see you at lunch tomorrow.”
I nodded, fearing that I had ruined everything, before heading back to my room.
************************
I had been too embarrassed to tell Lois I had seen Paul after my run-in with him at the library. She had asked me to leave things alone, and I had butted in anyway. I knew I shouldn't have, but someone had to let Paul know they were on to him and it was starting to seem like Lois was not willing to do it herself.
I didn't understand and I wanted to curse the person in high school that gave her father the feedback that she had poor social skills. This Lois lacked all the passion and fire that the girl I had met had had. And I bet she was already toned down from her true self by then.
As a result, we still hadn't talked about it any more when Professor Matthews asked to talk to Lois at the end of class on Monday.
“Should I wait for you?” I asked her.
She glanced at Professor Matthews before nodding yes. I put together my things and then went to the door waiting for her outside. I have to admit, I was tempted to eavesdrop on their conversation, but I pictured my mom shaking her head at me and refrained from doing so.
When Lois finally joined me, she looked upset, but didn't say anything, just started walking, so I followed. “Everything okay?” I asked her.
She nodded, but still didn't say anything. “Lois?”
She stopped as we walked out of the building. “He noticed,” she said quietly.
“What?” I asked.
“Professor Matthews. He noticed the article in the Titan. And the byline.”
I nodded. “And?” I prodded when she didn't say anything else.
“And he wanted to turn Paul in. He could get fired from the paper,” she said.
“Doesn't he deserve to be? He plagiarized.”
“It wasn't really plagiarizing,” Lois said. “And he'd probably be brought in front of the publications board, Clark. It's not just getting fired. It would be humiliating for him.”
“It was really plagiarizing!” I insisted, “And he deserves to be humiliated. Does this mean you haven't said anything to him about it?”
Lois didn't say anything for a minute and finally I stopped walking and grabbed her arm. “Lois, you can't do this!” I insisted.
She sighed. “I haven't said anything to him and I don't intend to. And I asked Professor Matthews to not act on it either. I told him I'd deal with it.”
“Since when is ignoring it the same thing as dealing with it?” I asked her.
“Drop it, Clark. It's just one article,” Lois said and I could hear some of the annoyance in her voice. Why was she able to show her annoyance at me, but not at Paul?
I sighed. I clearly had my own relationship trouble to deal with given that Maddie had ignored me at lunch. I should really let Lois deal with this on her own.
************************
Only the fact that I was a coward kept me in my room that evening after dinner. I wanted to go find Maddie, but was afraid of what she'd say once I did. So, I was in my room when Lois came pounding on the door shortly after eight.
“I can't believe he did it!” she exploded as she soon as I opened the door.
“Who did what?” I asked.
“Professor Matthews,” she explained. “I mean, okay, he didn't bring it up to the publications board, but he did talk to Paul.”
“What?” I asked, surprised. I would have thought Professor Matthews would tell her if he was planning to talk to Paul. “He did?”
“He must have. Paul was all weird during the staff meeting and then asked to talk to me afterward. Asked if I had a problem with his editorial skills. It was so embarrassing,” Lois said, the fire gone from her words.
“What was embarrassing?” I asked, annoyed again at how she was letting this guy walk all over her. “That he gave you a chance to tell him off and you didn't take it?”
Lois glared at me. “Of course I didn't. Do you think Linda would tell him off for taking a bit too much credit for one of her articles?”
I sighed. “First off, I doubt Linda has ever written anything worth stealing. Second of all, Paul did more than take "a bit too much credit' for one of your stories. And thirdly, when did you decide you wanted to become Linda King? So she's dating Paul? Do you really want to date Paul more than you want to win the Pulitzer before you're thirty? Cause Linda King doesn't stand a chance of that.”
“I can do both,” Lois insisted.
“Not if you let other people keep taking credit for your writing,” I shot back.
“It was a one time thing,” Lois insisted.
I sighed. “So what did you say?” I asked her.
“What?”
“He asked if you had any problems with his editorial skills. What did you tell him?”
Lois flushed. “I told him no. He asked if I had complained to anyone about it and I said I hadn't, but it wasn't clear he believed me.”
“I'm sorry,” I said and I really was. It didn't help for Paul to think Lois was a tattle-tale. Although, maybe it did. Maybe he'd be less likely to steal her article next time if he realized others noticed.
“I just can't believe Professor Matthews would say something,” Lois said, sitting on my bed dejectedly.
“Wait,” I said, realization dawning. “Did he say it was Professor Matthews?”
Lois shrugged. “I don't think so, but who else would say something?”
“Have you seen him since Thursday?” I asked her, the dread in my gut building.
“No,” Lois said with another shrug. “Why?”
“I…” I fumbled, not sure what to say.
Understanding dawned on Lois' face. “Clark, have you seen Paul?” she asked, her voice hard.
“I may have run into him at the union,” I said softly.
“Did you say anything to him?” she asked. I said nothing but could feel myself flush. “Didn't I ask you to leave it alone?” she asked.
“I'm sorry, Lois,” I said softly. “I just got so angry when I saw him. And I never said anything to him about you complaining.”
“Well, thanks for being such a good friend!” Lois said, her tone leaving no doubt that my being a good friend was not exactly what she was thinking. “I really appreciate that I can count on you to let me handle things on my own.”
“You're not handling it,” I pointed out.
“I am, too!” Lois insisted, getting up. “Maybe not in the way you'd like, but…”
“Lois…”
“Don't!” she cut me off. “You're not my father or even my boyfriend. It really doesn't matter what you think. I asked you to stay out of it and you didn't. And you had no good reason for not doing so!” she said.
“I just…”
“Not right now!” she cut me off again. “I'm so angry at you, I can hardly think!” she said just before leaving my room, slamming my door after her.
