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Bam. The three folded fingers on the side of the costume hit the doorway and buffeted him to the other side, where the thumb portion of the outfit promptly scraped it.
“Not to worry,” he said. “Not. To. Worry.” He sidled unsteadily sideways into the office, thumb first.
He bent to sit in the chair. He couldn’t. Part of his outfit might have fit, but the rest of it, the actual palm of the hand and those darned curled fingers, extended beyond the arm of the chair. He struggled and finally placed his headpiece on the desk so he could maneuver a little easier. JJ stared at this head-sized fingernail realizing how disturbingly lifelike it was.
Meanwhile, Blake continued to try to wiggle the palm and other fingers in under the arm of the chair. That didn’t work. He got up, turned around, and stared at the chair, looking as if he were pleading for some help from it.
Both she and Alex found his stance ridiculous and laughed.
“No one informed me of the hazards of the job before I signed on to be Ulysses Uno.”
“Ulysses?” She couldn’t help but laugh even more. “You mean this finger actually has a name? In all my years here, I never realized he had a name.”
“I was told the student body just recently voted on it,” Blake said flatly. “It beat out Uriah quite handily.”
“I bet it did.”
Alex, meanwhile, had settled in her chair, and crossed her legs, making her short outfit look even shorter and accenting her shapely limbs.
“Look, I’m finally a cheerleader. I don’t think I was ever one before. Was I?” She looked at JJ for guidance on her personal history.
She shook her head. “No, you never were.”
Alex sat up taller in her chair and straightened her shoulders. JJ couldn’t help but noticed how proud she was. Perhaps she should have made her one.
“We debut in two weeks at the football game,” Blake said proudly. He had finally given up trying to sit. “Are you going to the game?” he asked.
He took Ulysses’ head from JJ’s desk, held it to his side as if it were in a military helmet, fingernail facing JJ, and stood next to Alex. He glanced over at the love of his life, dressed in such a tantalizing costume. JJ read his face and had no question about what the pair would be doing when they when they arrived home.
Chapter 24
“Do you hear that?” Kenn asked as he and JJ walked down the hall toward their classroom for the second session.
She nodded. “Sounds like it’s coming from our classroom. And it doesn’t sound good.”
The moment she walked into the doorway she discovered how not good it was. It was like a Grade C science fiction movie:The Attack of the Fans.
“JJ, sign my book!”
“Ms. Spritely, sign mine first. I need to get to class!”
She faced what seemed like two dozen coeds, each armed with one of her novels, waving pens in the air pleading for an autograph. And they all swarmed around her like bees around a hive.
The group was so assertive and so determined they pushed Kenn aside to get as close to her as possible. Three to four young women at a time stuck books and pens in her face. Even if she wanted to sign the books, she couldn’t. The wall of girls kept pushing her back. Having never been involved in such a scene, she was at a loss of what to do.What if they start tearing my clothes off? No, they wouldn’t do that. Would they?She had never seen a group so resolute to get autographs.
At first, Kenn only watched the unbelievable scenario play out. After a few moments, he stepped in to quell the riot. He was able to maneuver the eager coeds away from the door by squeezing himself between her and several of the students closest to her. This let her actually enter the room. Then he announced that she would be delighted to do a book signing at the Physics Café at three p.m.
“Ladies, as much as Dr. St. Clair would love to take time now, we do have a history course to teach.”
She looked at him nodding her approval and mouthed, “Good work. Thank you.”
He winked at her. She thought her heart would melt. Then she chastised herself for having that reaction.He is not my knight in shining armor.But she was, indeed, grateful to him.
The mob scene was slowly breaking up. Some young ladies weren’t pleased with being put off, but Kenn assured them that they would get individual time with JJ at the signing. That seemed to appease them, and they finally left.
Curiously, most of the students who accosted her were not even taking her course. Those who were reluctantly took their seats.
“Thanks, that was quick thinking on your part,” she told Kenn once the front of the room cleared. “Now, all I need is a partner to join me at three to keep the peace. You seem to be perfect for the job.” She wasn’t quite sure why she blurted out this invitation. Except that she had a lingering, if baffling, need for him to join her. But she knew his thoughts on romance novels and novelists very well. She was sure he wouldn’t willingly be a part of such a frivolous undertaking.
