CJL TOC From Installment #6:
"So, anyway… the game plan for tomorrow is: we go to Coronado High School and tell the office that we would like a tour, because we're thinking of relocating our family here from Kansas. The thing is, both of us will start the tour, but one of us will take a wrong turn and will go find Lenny Thorul. Agreed?" Lois asked.
"It's a plan," LL agreed.
~~~~
7
"Yes, my name is Martha Kent, and this is my sister, Mary, who lives with me. I have a teenaged son named Clark. My family is relocating to Coronado and I was wondering if you give tours of the high school," Lois asked, trying to speak with a Midwest drawl. <With as much time as I spend in Smallville, it's not all that hard to mimic Martha's accent.>
"Of course, Mrs. – Kent, was it?" the office clerk replied. "Let me find out who's available to show you around."
Shortly, "Martha"/Lois and one of the Assistant Principals, a Mr. Gregorick, were walking down the hallowed halls of Coronado High School, while "Mary"/LL was, little by little, trailing behind. Lois was keeping the Assistant Principal distracted by asking him all kinds of inane questions. When the moment was right, LL took a turn down a side hallway. Lois kept babbling about what a good boy her son "Clark" was, and how she expected great things of him. Why, he might even be President some day.
Meanwhile, LL was walking in a different direction at a very fast clip, hoping she wouldn't be stopped or questioned. She did have a visitor's pass, but she was supposed to be accompanied by proper high school personnel at all times. <Now, if I was a geek, where would I be right now? Hmm… either a study hall or the library. Ah! There's the library!>
Lois entered the room, and, since no one was at the receptionist's desk, she furtively walked around the various tables and areas. Almost ready to give up, something told her to try the reference room. As she entered, walking around the corner, a head of bright red curly hair, bent down, absorbing the information contained in some very thick textbooks caught her attention.
"Excuse me, are you Lenny Thorul?" she asked him, distracting him from his studies for the moment.
The face that looked up at her chilled her to the bone. The features were largely the same. But the innocence – that startled her. He really did look like a great kid! Even through the thick eyeglasses – he must wear contacts now – there was absolutely no sign of the future demons that would, some day, reside within him. How could a person change so drastically?
"Yes- yes, I am. And you are - ?"
"Mary Kent, of the Smallville, Kansas Press. I'm doing a story on Coronado, the Hotel Del, and the local high school. Would you have time to give me an interview?" <Whoa, I am *so* flying by the seat of my skirt here!>
"Sure, yeah – I guess so. May I ask – why me?" he answered tentatively.
"Well, my sister and I, and another business associate checked in at the Hotel Del last night, and your mother – very lovely woman, by the way – waited on us at the front desk. She went on and on about what a great student you were, how helpful you were around the house, since you don't have a Dad – and I thought – what a great human interest piece this might be, to interview such a stellar student for my article," LL babbled. <What a lot of B.S., hope he buys all that! And I hope his mother didn't tell him about the substitute teacher who was asking about him!>
"Wow. She said all that?" he replied, looking surprised. "She works nights, so we only get to spend real quality time together on the weekends. My mom's really great, isn't she?"
"She sure seems to be. Do you have a free period when we can get together, or maybe we could meet right after school gets out?" <Holy cow! A son who wants to spend "quality time" with his mother! Lenny, Lenny, Lenny... what *happened* to you?>
"This is my free period; I'm studying because I have some exams today. How about after my last class today, which is about 1:30 p.m.? We could meet by the back door. There are picnic tables there," he explained.
"Sounds great, Lenny. I'm so looking forward to this. See you then."
"Thank you, Mrs. Kent, I'll be there. Thanks for asking me."
<In the 70's, women were still largely assumed to be "Mrs." not "Ms.", although women's lib was starting to take hold,> LL observed. <Thank God it's not like that anymore!>
~~~~~
Back on the high school tour, Mr. Gregorick finally noticed that "Mary Kent" was no longer walking with them. "Excuse me, Mrs. Kent, but your sister appears to be missing. That's against school regulations! Where on earth could she have gone to?" He did not look amused by this breach in school board policy.
Lois looked around and spotted the ladies room. "You know, Mr. Gregorick, I think she must have run in to use the rest room. Let me check on her, and I'll be right back."
"I'll be waiting," he said sternly.
At that moment, LL, flying down the hall, spotted Mr. Gregorick standing by himself, with no sign of Lois in sight. Panicking, she ran into the nearby rest room where she nearly collided with her twin!
"Thank God! He just noticed you were missing!" Lois exclaimed. "Did you find Lenny?"
"Yes, I have an interview with him outside by the picnic tables at 1:30pm today," LL replied excitedly.
"An *interview*? What's that about? I though you just wanted to make sure he was real and not a – 'ewww – clone', as you would put it," Lois replied, smiling, but expecting some clarification.
"Lois, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get inside the head of my enemy before he's had a chance to turn evil. We have to think of questions to ask him that might give me some insight into him – some weakness, that I can use to turn the tables on him," she explained.
"You *are* good, Double L! You really don't need any help from me - I don't think you're rusty at all. It's all coming back to you!"
"Thanks, 'sis'! Now help me come up with some questions!"
"First, we have to finish the stupid tour with Mr. Gregorick, remember?" Lois said, with sarcasm in her tone of voice, wearing a slight frown.
"Oh, yeah – right. Let's get this over with," LL replied, resignedly. They exited the lavatory, noting that Mr. Gregorick's face brightened, seeing both of his school tour victims accounted for.
~~~~~
LL had arrived at the picnic table 15 minutes early. She wanted to be sure that she didn't miss Lenny, in the event his exam let out ahead of time. In the meantime, she wondered how Clark was doing; wished she could communicate with him somehow. She had been having fun with her twin and Wells on their 70's adventure, but she was missing her man. It was so nice to *have* a man to miss. She thought she really hated the male species, after all those years of watching Congolese women raped and abused by the rebels in Congo-Brazzaville. But Clark, with all of his inner goodness, had won her over in just five short days! That was so amazing.
At exactly 1:30 p.m., a flaming red, curly head of hair wearing thick, black-framed glasses, sitting across from her, distracted her from her daydreaming.
"Mrs. Kent? You look like you were a million miles away," Lenny observed. "You didn't even notice that I had sat down."
"Maybe not a million miles… more like another world away," she replied, smiling. "So what was your exam on?"
"Chemistry," he replied. "I'm pretty sure I aced it."
"That's great! I take it you are one of the top students in your tenth grade class, academically, then?" LL asked.
"Actually, yes... if I get straight A's on all of my exams, I will remain #1 in my class, grade-wise," he replied, rather sheepishly. "I may graduate from high school a year early. I plan to apply as UCSD, majoring in business, with a minor in psychology. I would love to better understand the inner workings of the human mind. But, I'll only be able to go if I can get a full scholarship, because otherwise, my Mom doesn't have enough money saved."
<Wow, that's interesting. No wonder he's a master at mind games.> "Why do you find it embarrassing to be so smart? You should be so proud of yourself."
"Well, I'm not embarrassed, exactly, but it's hard because when you get good grades, the popular kids don't want anything to do with you."
LL reflected on her experiences in high school. What he was saying was *so* true.
"But your future will be so much brighter than theirs," she replied. <If you only you weren't going to be an evil monster when you grow up.> "What are your extracurricular activities, Lenny?" <Like blackmail, coercion, murder, perhaps?>
"Let's see... I'm on the chess team, co-editor of the school newspaper, and next year I've being inducted into the National Honor Society," he said.
"Do you play any sports?" <Huh... OK, I can see that... I'm a pawn in his chess game, he buys the Daily Planet, and he's obviously brilliant.>
"No, Mrs. Kent, I'm just too busy helping my Mom around the house, and studying all the time."
"Lenny, where do you see yourself in five years? Ten years?" <Every job interview I've ever gone to, they ask that question!>
"Mrs. Kent, this is going to sound a little clichéd, but someday, I hope to be rich and own my own company. My Mom won't have to work anymore, and maybe some of the kids who made fun of me, calling me a bookworm, will work for me, and I'll have the last laugh on them!"
<Bingo! Lenny had to grow up so fast, be a little adult too soon, so he never got to really have any friends; the "cliquey" kids made fun of him. Revenge is his motivator for turning evil. How sad, really.>
"Power can corrupt, Lenny. Remember that. I hope that you'll be the bigger person, and realize that those kids that made fun of you are hurting themselves, because in goofing off in high school, the stars will never burn as brightly in their future as it will in yours. Revenge can be a very bitter pill to swallow." <Wow, I am *so* full of it today!>
Lenny's face lit up a bit. "You're right, I guess, Mrs. Kent. I'll try to keep that in mind. If you don't have any more questions, I promised my Mom I would spend this afternoon looking for a part-time job for the summer so I can help her pay some of the bills."
"I'm all set. It was truly a pleasure to meet you, Lenny. I hope we meet again, someday, when you're rich and successful, as I *know* you'll be," LL said, almost choking on her own words.
"It was great to meet you too, Mrs. Kent. Will you be able to send me a copy of the article when it's published? I would really like to have it for my records, and to show my Mom."
<Uh-oh! How am I going to pull *that* off?> "Sure, Lenny. Why don't you write down your home address for me," she said, ripping a piece of paper off her writing pad, "and I will have it sent to you just as soon as it's approved for printing in the latest edition."
Lenny scribbled his address on the paper, and handed it to her. "Have a good day, Mrs. Kent. You sure are a nice person."
"Thanks, Lenny. So are you. Take care of yourself, and good luck." <Wish you would remember that thirty years from now! It's so awful that a great kid like that turns to the dark side!>
~~~~
Back at the Del, LL found Lois and Wells stretched out on the lawn chairs on the beautifully landscaped brick patio facing the ocean. They had already checked out of their suite, and were anxiously awaiting LL's return.
"Hi guys," LL called out. "Herb, we have to make a side trip to Smallville before we go home."
The look on Wells' face was priceless, "Smallville - in 1973? Goodness, why?"
"I promised Lenny that I would send him a copy of the 'article' I was writing about Coronado High School, focusing on him, and I have to convince the editor of the Smallville Press to publish the article and send him a copy."
"How are you going to do that? No one knows the byline 'Lois Lane' in this time period!" Lois exclaimed.
"No, but you told Lena Thorul that you, Martha Kent, were a budding novelist, and the *real* Martha Kent does exist. She doesn't die until 1976."
"You can't be serious? You *are* serious! You're going to try to get the article published using the byline 'Martha Kent'? Why, that's absolutely brilliant!" Lois stated. "You are *so* my twin!"
"Actually, since I told Lenny my name was 'Mary Kent', I thought I would use the byline 'M. Kent'. The trick is going to be to get the paper to publish the article, written by a virtual unknown. It's going to have to be damn good!"
"It's written by a Lois Lane... say no more," replied her twin. "I'll write the part about the high school tour, and you write the part about Lenny Thorul, star student, and our stay at the Hotel Del, since you already did an article about it years ago - or rather, years from now. Wow. This time traveling stuff gets confusing. Anyway, the article will be so good, they'll have to publish it!"
"It would probably be safer to just send it in as an editorial – you know, a 'letter to the editor' type of thing - those generally get printed as long as they are well-written, which, as we know, it will be!" LL suggested. "Maybe we'll make the op-ed page, even."
"That works too," agreed Lois.
Wells rolled his eyes again at the two women, so full of energy. It was no wonder that the Supermen would accept no less than this pair as their wives!
After a taxicab ride back to Balboa Park, Wells waited until the area was free of bystanders; he then turned off the cloaking device, making the time machine visible once again. He set the geography control, forgetting that his default Smallville setting was the Kent farm. The trio strapped themselves in, Wells clicked 'OK' with the mouse, and soon, they found themselves materializing right in front of 7-year old Clark Kent playing outside in the yard fronting a *very* familiar yellow house!
~~~~~
"So, anyway… the game plan for tomorrow is: we go to Coronado High School and tell the office that we would like a tour, because we're thinking of relocating our family here from Kansas. The thing is, both of us will start the tour, but one of us will take a wrong turn and will go find Lenny Thorul. Agreed?" Lois asked.
"It's a plan," LL agreed.
~~~~
