The Grace Period

As Gavin sat in the passenger seat, watching the green hills and forests of Silver Lakes give way to the urban concrete and grey of Azure Rocks through the window, his mind wandered to the girl he was going to meet. When Gavin had come to high school, one of the first things he did was join the computer club. It was just about the only thing that he knew that he wanted to do, being not athletic enough to join any of the sport clubs or social enough for drama or debate. And it was there, on his first day to sign up that he’d met the incomparable Grace Smith.

In his mind’s eye, he could still picture her, standing in the center of the room, chatting to the then current club president. When he entered, her head made a half turn, her cool, eyes as green as the scenery around Silver Lakes, looking at him, though only for a second. Her long blonde hair, curled that day, bobbed with her head as she turned back to senior she was conversating with, but that one moment, that one look, Gavin had felt pierce through his chest like a sword. If he only knew at that moment what was in-store for him.

He was instantly struck by how pretty she was. That alone was somewhat surprising, since most girls he knew that were into computers were rather frumpy or generally uncaring about their appearance, at best being cute, but Grace was model level gorgeous. The fact that he’d managed to fall into a group of friends that were some of the most beautiful people on the planet was something he woke up grateful for every morning, but Grace had been the first girl to ever surprise him like that. So much so that, faced with the prospect of sharing this club with a girl this pretty for the next four years, his shyness kicked into gear, leaving him a mumbling, blushing mess as he tried to register.

Thankfully the club seemed to be all too familiar with applicants who struggled with social difficulties, though at the first opportunity, when Grace wasn’t around, he explained to the president that he wasn’t always like that, just when a pretty girl was around. The president completely understood, admitting being quite similar a few years ago, and giving Gavin some pointers. One piece of advice was simply to spend time with girls, and get to know the person beneath the hot body. Gavin would have liked nothing more to spend some time with the hot, green-eyed blonde with a figure like a model, but every time he built himself up to do so, he chickened out, his social insecurities getting the best of him.

So, it was up to Grace to make the first move. One day, after school, as he bid his farewell to Zack and Chloe, she drew up beside him, silent like a ninja, and walked with him to computer club. She struck up a conversation, asking him what he was working on at that time. He managed to answer, by staring straight ahead and not looking at her, though he felt like he was melting by how much he was sweating. But that was how their friendship began. She didn’t ask about him, she talked about coding and programming, and that made him feel at ease. This was stuff that he knew.

His knowledge must have impressed her because after that time she began asking him to check her coding or act as a beta tester for her projects. They worked on a few projects together, and Gavin’s confidence grew, at least so far as it related to Grace. Chloe he could talk to because they’d been friends forever, before girls ever started to make his tongue lodge in his throat, and Grace he could talk to because they shared the same pastimes and passions. But he still mumbled his way through conversations with the cheerleaders, the actors, the dancers of the school, girls with whom he shared no interests, who seemed too cool and outgoing to talk to him.

But that was fine by Gavin. He poured his efforts into Computer Club and Grace, growing ever closer. He shared about the **** of his father at a young age one day after he found Grace crying, her own father wanting her to give up the Club. He told her the ‘I.T.’ was no place for a her, that a Smith should be front and center, not in a basement. It was clear that her father had a very old-fashioned way of thinking, seeing his role as a father not only to bring his kids up right, but to make sure they didn’t bring shame to the family name.

Grace was determined to show her father that she could stand out among the rise of Silicon Valley and the numerous tech geniuses that seemed to be a dime a dozen those days. And Gavin helped. Month after month, Grace built an app for this or an app for that, presenting each one to her father, determined to show how successful she could be. It worked, to an extent. His opinion on coding and programming didn’t improve, but he agreed to allow her to continue, provided that she also join one of the other clubs, such as debate or the Model UN.

Though he saw less of her after that, they still spent time together and Gavin realized he was developing feeling for her. How could he not? She was a pretty girl who shared the same interests, with a fierce and determined personality, and he wasn’t the only guy to notice. More than a few guys in his year and even more throughout the whole school asked her out on dates, but she always seemed to turn them down. She told Gavin that her father wouldn’t approve of any of them, but he wasn’t so sure. Grace had never let her father’s approval stop her from pursuing what she wanted before.

Ultimately though, Gavin’s shyness won out again, not quite having had the experience of Victoria, Chloe and Ashley that he had now, and worrying that maybe Grace just didn’t see him that way. Slowly, over the next couple of years, he did notice that her attitude towards him seemed to change. Though she still spent time with him, and checked his work, she stopped asking for his opinion on her projects and seemed distant and impatient when talking with him. They were both top of their class, and outside of school, when he put himself and his programming forward for grants and funding, building a portfolio for when he eventually wanted to continue programming and development after school, he almost always found himself up against Grace.

When the class president graduated, he recommended Gavin as his successor, citing Gavin’s social growth and technical skills as reasons. On the back of that suggestion, Gavin indeed was voted as president, a position he was honored to fill. However, it was certainly a position that put him outside of his comfort zone, requiring him to be more involved in planning and scheduling, and the use of funding, while answering to the faculty and keeping in touch with other club presidents. Part of him believed that the last president had intentionally put Gavin up for the position to continue encouraging his social development, and Gavin was doing well, or so he thought.

Towards the end of his first year as President, at a club meeting, Grace, now a brunette, her hair dyed dark and reminding him of another of his dark-haired teen crushes, put it forward that Gavin’s lack of pressure on the faculty meant the club was being overlooked. They received less funding than in previous years, and furthermore, Gavin had used more funding on his own projects than he allocated for others. On the first point, Gavin conceded, though funding across the entire school was down, and had been dropping even during his predecessor’s tenure. On the second, he denied it as being unequivocally false. However, Grace was compelling and well-liked, and on that day, the club voted him out and her in.

He never knew why she had done it. He spent less time at Computer Club after that incident and Grace always seemed busy. He suspected that it may have been something to do with her dad, that being President would validate it as a profession to him, that he might finally see how skilled she was. But her method of usurping the title still hurt. If she had truly felt that way, all she would have needed to do was ask. Gavin would have gladly stepped down and willingly gave it up if it would have helped her. Instead, for the past year, they had barely spoken and no longer seemed to be friends.

“So,” Peter asked, breaking the long silence and dragging Gavin out of the past, back into the present. “Where do you want me to drop you?”

“Oh Henry’s’ is fine,” Gavin told him.

A brief silence returned, as Peter chewed his lip, building up to his next question. “Listen. I know you said you didn’t need help, but I can come with you if you like. You don’t need to be a hero.”

“It’s fine, honestly, I’ll be fine,” Gavin insisted, offering a smile as proof. “I swear I’m not doing this out of a sense of male pride, honestly, it’s just…I think Grace will be more honest and forthcoming if I meet her alone.”

“That’s fair,” Peter accepted, but his father had taught him responsibility and consideration, and it just didn’t feel right to leave the conversation at that. “Even someone to watch? I could sit nearby and keep an eye on you both. I know you just think she knows something, but-”

“She could be the hacker,” Gavin confessed.

“What?” Peter was taken aback, mostly because Gavin hadn’t mentioned this earlier to the others. “How?”

“When I was breaking some of the encryption on the laptop, I notice some of the coding was familiar. I’ve seen it before. It’s Grace’s handiwork,” Gavin explained, concisely. “There are only two options, either she’s helping whoever it is…”

“Or she is k3Y$Tr0kE,” Peter finished the thought, Gavin nodding along. “Shit, you definitely can’t go in alone then.”

“Even if she is, I don’t believe Grace would physically hurt me in real life. She might send me a virus in an email or something, but nothing face-to-face,” Gavin assured him, knowing that he had to do this by himself, even if he knew getting help would be the smart, logical option. “Besides, where I’m going, you can’t follow.”

Peter’s car slowed to a stop outside the Taphouse, as he bent down to look out the window, reading the name to make sure he got the right place. “Oh Henry’s? Why can’t I go in there? You sure this is the place?”

“Yeah, I’ll find Grace here,” Gavin replied cryptically as he opened the car door and began to step outside. “Thanks for the ride, Peter. I’ll see you later.”

Peter waved goodbye, still a little uneasy and slightly confused, as Gavin stood on the sidewalk, shutting the car door firmly behind him. But, if Gavin didn’t want, or think he needed, his help, Peter wasn’t about to **** himself on the situation, slowly pulling away but watching the bespectacled teen in his rear-view mirror.

Bowing his head, Gavin took a deep breath, mentally and emotionally preparing himself, not quite sure what to expect from Grace after all this time apart. Exhaling, he looked up, steeling his will, and headed inside. What he didn’t expect was a voice calling his name almost the moment he walked into the building.

“Gavin?!”