and Claudia began to show signs of hyperventilating. Dr.
Phillips gave Claudia a tablet with a glass of water, watched carefully to make
sure it was swallowed, and then walked over to the door to ask her secretary to
locate Louis. He arrived with a warmed cotton blanket to throw over Claudia's
shoulders, and then he helped the whimpering patient down the stairs and back
to her room. Claudia lay down in her narrow bed and slept deeply until
midnight, when she was given a small boxed lunch by the counselor on overnight
duty. After she finished eating, she was sent back to bed for the night.
The next morning she made a mental note
to clean out the memento box she kept in her closet.
Chapter
16
Melanie and Fulko continued
to see each other for several more weeks, but the relationship was doomed. His
interest waned (maybe due to the change in Melanie's appearance, maybe because
he couldn't deal with Claudia holding the bag that held the cat), and Melanie
resented him every time she looked in the mirror. By summer break they were no
longer a couple. It all worked out for the best. At least that's what Claudia
told herself, but in the end, she felt more defeated than victorious.
First of all, she felt guilty. She'd
acted behind her friend's back, even though it was for Melanie's own good.
Melanie never did tell Claudia about the pregnancy, so the fact remained there
were still secrets she was reserving in her heart. She wasn't the totally open
friend that Claudia had thought her to be before the Fulko incident.
And ironically, now that Claudia had
taken the steps she had, she found herself less likely to trust other people.
If she herself, who had been reared to know right and wrong and to discern
ethical actions from unethical ones,was able to manipulate
circumstances to her advantage – and to do it with Melanie, whom she loved more
than anyone in the world – what was to stop other, less moral people from doing
it as well, but with more selfish motives? Claudia was a good person, and she'd
been driven to deceit. What about all the other people out there, people who
didn't have her ethics? She began to look at the world with different eyes.
By their senior year in high school
Melanie's hair was growing back. It was beautiful again, but perhaps somewhat
less lustrous than it had been. She put her wild days behind her. She did date
a boy who worked at the movie theater, but the relationship was nothing serious
and ended naturally after just a couple of months.
Mr. Fulko was
caught with a sophomore in his car – in flagrante delicto – after the
homecoming game, and was let go by the school district within the week. Melanie
was devastated. This sophomore was very beautiful, perhaps more beautiful than
Melanie, but she was so stupid, and had such an awful personality, that Melanie
couldn't believe Jim would be involved with her. It was all very disappointing.
With less drama in her life, Claudia was
able to enjoy her classes more. Her favorite course, by far, was German.
Claudia loved it. She loved the declensions, the order, the sharp, guttural tones. She loved the history. And Claudia excelled in German.
As some had ears for music, she had an ear for language and she spoke with
quite a good accent for a high school student. Her dream was to be a college
professor in some nice little town, in charge of the whole German department.
Senior year proceeded, for the most part, uneventfully.
In May, awards were passed out to the top performers in the graduating class:
Claudia received a medal in German and history, and was acknowledged as a
National Merit semifinalist. She'd been accepted to the big state university to
which she'd aspired, and had received a scholarship that covered the bulk of
her tuition. Moreover, she was admitted to the honors program; she was going to
be housed in the honors dorm, which meant she'd have her own room and wouldn't
have to bother with a potentially irksome roommate. Her future looked
Phillips gave Claudia a tablet with a glass of water, watched carefully to make
sure it was swallowed, and then walked over to the door to ask her secretary to
locate Louis. He arrived with a warmed cotton blanket to throw over Claudia's
shoulders, and then he helped the whimpering patient down the stairs and back
to her room. Claudia lay down in her narrow bed and slept deeply until
midnight, when she was given a small boxed lunch by the counselor on overnight
duty. After she finished eating, she was sent back to bed for the night.
The next morning she made a mental note
to clean out the memento box she kept in her closet.
Chapter
16
Melanie and Fulko continued
to see each other for several more weeks, but the relationship was doomed. His
interest waned (maybe due to the change in Melanie's appearance, maybe because
he couldn't deal with Claudia holding the bag that held the cat), and Melanie
resented him every time she looked in the mirror. By summer break they were no
longer a couple. It all worked out for the best. At least that's what Claudia
told herself, but in the end, she felt more defeated than victorious.
First of all, she felt guilty. She'd
acted behind her friend's back, even though it was for Melanie's own good.
Melanie never did tell Claudia about the pregnancy, so the fact remained there
were still secrets she was reserving in her heart. She wasn't the totally open
friend that Claudia had thought her to be before the Fulko incident.
And ironically, now that Claudia had
taken the steps she had, she found herself less likely to trust other people.
If she herself, who had been reared to know right and wrong and to discern
ethical actions from unethical ones,was able to manipulate
circumstances to her advantage – and to do it with Melanie, whom she loved more
than anyone in the world – what was to stop other, less moral people from doing
it as well, but with more selfish motives? Claudia was a good person, and she'd
been driven to deceit. What about all the other people out there, people who
didn't have her ethics? She began to look at the world with different eyes.
By their senior year in high school
Melanie's hair was growing back. It was beautiful again, but perhaps somewhat
less lustrous than it had been. She put her wild days behind her. She did date
a boy who worked at the movie theater, but the relationship was nothing serious
and ended naturally after just a couple of months.
Mr. Fulko was
caught with a sophomore in his car – in flagrante delicto – after the
homecoming game, and was let go by the school district within the week. Melanie
was devastated. This sophomore was very beautiful, perhaps more beautiful than
Melanie, but she was so stupid, and had such an awful personality, that Melanie
couldn't believe Jim would be involved with her. It was all very disappointing.
With less drama in her life, Claudia was
able to enjoy her classes more. Her favorite course, by far, was German.
Claudia loved it. She loved the declensions, the order, the sharp, guttural tones. She loved the history. And Claudia excelled in German.
As some had ears for music, she had an ear for language and she spoke with
quite a good accent for a high school student. Her dream was to be a college
professor in some nice little town, in charge of the whole German department.
Senior year proceeded, for the most part, uneventfully.
In May, awards were passed out to the top performers in the graduating class:
Claudia received a medal in German and history, and was acknowledged as a
National Merit semifinalist. She'd been accepted to the big state university to
which she'd aspired, and had received a scholarship that covered the bulk of
her tuition. Moreover, she was admitted to the honors program; she was going to
be housed in the honors dorm, which meant she'd have her own room and wouldn't
have to bother with a potentially irksome roommate. Her future looked
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