Blind Squirrels by Jennifer Davis Page B

Club, Totally Cool Club, The Fun People’s Club, and The
Party-Hearty Club.  All losers.
    Sam brought up an interesting
point, “Most of the popular clubs have French names.  Mes Amies...Mais
Oui... Of
course, I don’t know any French… ”
    Fortunately, I did know a little
French.  “How about Bons Copains?  It means good friends.”
    I was quite amazed when everyone
liked it.  And so Bons Copains was created.  The club became official when Mrs.
Kalakos turned in our information forms and submitted our club name and our
elected officials. Matt Bruin would be President.  Beverly Corley was
Vice-President, Debbie Carson was Secretary, Kevin Cone was Treasurer, and Pete
McDermott was Master-at-Arms.  Our stated purpose was to work towards the
betterment of William McRee High School.  Our true purpose was to get together
and have a good time.
     
    Bons Copains met on Thursdays
after that.  We started meeting in Mrs. Kalakos’ room, but after-school
meetings weren’t working out for everyone.  Matt and Pete’s football practice
was the greatest problem.  We finally voted to meet on the first and third
Thursday of the month at a member’s house.  The first night, we would meet at
Debbie Carson’s.  Sam was the only person in Bons Copains that I knew very
well, and I was nervous about going to a stranger’s house.  I worried that Sam
might not be there when I arrived, and then what would I do? 
    Debbie lived in Braxton Hills,
and my mom was taking me to her house.  After circling around several times, I
saw a girl walking in the street that looked familiar.  We pulled up to her and
I asked her if she knew where Debbie Carson lived.  She told me she was on her
way to Debbie’s, and she asked me to join her.  She was Lindsey Moore, and she
lived just a few houses away from Debbie Carson.  I asked if they were good
friends.  She told me that she didn’t really know Debbie at all because she had
only recently moved to Braxton Hills.
    Debbie Carson opened the door.  Lindsay
and I were the first ones to arrive.  I felt absolutely out of place my nerves
were on edge.  I realized right away that neither Debbie nor Lindsey was overly
excited to hang around me, so I stood by the front door looking for Sam.  She
arrived just as I was thinking of leaving the house for the empty front yard.
    “You want to sit by Max?” she
asked me.
    “I couldn’t do that!”
    “Of course you can.”  She took my
arm and dragged me behind Max.  There was one empty spot right beside him, and
she pushed me into it.  I stumbled and almost ended up in his lap, but he chose
to ignore my graceful entrance.  I sat down without touching him.  He looked at
me and said, “Hi, Kat.”
    I smiled and forced out a soft,
“Hi.”
    We received our club jerseys at
that meeting, and we were to wear them every Thursday.  The jerseys were navy
blue with gold lettering.  Mine was number five, and it said “Kat” on the
back.  Max’s carried number twelve and the nickname “Beach Bum.”   Sam’s number
was twenty-one, and it said “Bewitched,” a reference to the TV show.
    After taking care of business, we
had refreshments.  Sam teased me about Max, but she did it quietly.  I met a
few of the members that I didn’t know, and I began to feel more comfortable. 
The next meeting would be at Rita’s house on the first Thursday of November. 
We were going to discuss our Christmas party.
     
    Felicia and I were talking.  Laura
had let Felicia read a story I had written, and Felicia wanted to see more. 
First, I had to know Felicia, so we began talking before Chemistry.  Felicia
was originally from Georgia, and she had a charming Southern drawl.  She
claimed to have descended from a wealthy Southern plantation owner, and she
normally looked down her nose at lesser individuals such as me.  But my writing
fascinated her.  I wasn’t exactly good enough to be her friend, but she would
sacrifice breeding for