Jeff peered past Coach Gillian and saw his mom coming from the driveway out the small windows left of the front door. "Please," he pleaded, "I'll do anything you want, just don't tell my Mom anything."
Gillian looked momentarily dazed, and as one hand went to her head, Jeff welcomed the Chronivac remote emitter into his hands as it slid from hers. She shook her head, as though clearing it, just as Mrs. Kaylon came in the front door with a hand full of papers and a very sour look on her face. Coach Gillian turned toward the woman.
"Mom," Jeff greeted, somehow relieved even to see her in a bad mood and even though he might very well be in trouble now, at the moment it seemed somehow preferable to never seeing her again, as he thought would be the case only a little earlier that day.
Jeff's mother closed the door on the heat outside, and looked at the stranger in her house with an unwelcoming and weary expression. "Who are you?" She said in a voice that sounded like she really meant 'I don't really care who you are at all, just get out of my house and leave me alone."
"Mrs. Kaylon," the coach greeted professionally, holding out her hand, "Erica Gillian, I'm a coach from Jefferson-Baker High School."
"Okay," Jeff's mom ansered, clearly not interested. When Gillian didn't say any more and just stood with a befuddled look, "Why are you here?"
"It's very important I talk with you," Gillian said with conviction. But then she faulted. She knew it was something important, but for the life of her, she couldn't remember what. She could see Mrs. Kaylon growing more impatient by the second.
"It's about funding for the new gym," Jeff jumped in, seeing that whatever was happening with the Chronivac was finally catching up with the girls' couch. "She's out trying to raise funds," Jeff explained. "I tried to tell her you're out of work right now and things are tight."
"Yes," Gillian shook her head. It must be the funding for the new gym, why else would she be here? "And I understand things must be difficult for you, right now -"
"Listen," Mrs. Kaylon interrupted flatly, "I'm sure it's all very good and very important, but the fact is, I've had a long day, I'm tired out, and now really isn't a good time, Miss Gilligan."
"Gillian," the coach corrected, "Call me Erica."
Jeff's mom steered the coach to the door, "I'll tell you what, I'll give you a call when I'm working and don't have utility companies threatening to turn services off, okay?"
Gillian stepped out the front door into the hot afternoon. "Fair enough. It was a pleasure meeting you, Mrs. Kaylon." Gillian extended her hand again, but instead of getting a shake she got a door in her face.
"God, what a moron that one is." Jeff's mom turned to see he had already disappeared. Probably just as well, she had a headache the size of Texas and all she wanted to do was take three advil, get some ice water, and sit in front of the air conditioner - money be damned - she was hot and she was hurting, and today they would turn the air on and live a little.
Just upstairs, Jeff plugged the USB cable into the remote, booting up his computer. "Plug you in... we'll just see what the heck is going on." There was no doubt in his mind something definitely wasn't right. "Where did I put the package, I thought there was a support number..." As he looked over his cluttered desk, shuffling magazines, schoolbooks, and various scraps of note paper, Jeff didn't notice someone standing in his bathroom doorway, watching him.