Tales of the Ragoon, Kate's Movie Star (8 page)

“Isn’t there someone else that could take you
home? Maybe one of your friends has an older brother in high
school,” suggested Kate.

“Mom doesn’t like me to hang out with older
boys,” explained Luke. “She's got this weird idea that I might turn
out to be gay like my cousin.”

“Oh. Does that bother you too?” asked
Kate.

The boy scuffed his toe on the floor of the
room. “Sort of,” he muttered moodily.

Kate had already noticed that Luke was
talking partly to her face and partly to her chest.

“See the blond standing next to Runyon?” she
asked indicating a girl with rather prominent breasts speaking
animatedly to Runyon..

The boy countenance brightened. “Yeah,” he
said wistfully. “That’s Britney.”

“Which one would you rather see naked?” asked
Kate. “Runyon or Britney?”

Chapter Four

Runyon Goes to School

The boy blushed. “What kind of question is
that?” he demanded turning his attention to Kate. Then he looked at
Runyon and Britney again. “Britney,” he answered with another
blush.

“Trust me, you are not gay,” said Kate with a
smile.

“Oh!” Kate’s reasoning had dawned on the boy.
“Oh, I see. But if I had said Runyon then…”

“Then you might be gay. But you said Britney,
so…”

“So I’m not gay,” finished the boy with
satisfaction in his voice still looking longingly at the blond.
“Not that there’s anything wrong with being gay,” he added hastily,
turning back to Kate.

“Right,” said Kate.

The boy regarded her for a moment, and then
he asked, “Who are you?”

“My name is Kate,” replied the girl.

The boy nodded, and then his jaw dropped.
“Are you Kate Garcia?” he asked eagerly.

This surprised Kate. “Have you heard of
me?”

“Are you kidding? I can’t believe it! I’m
talking to Runyon Silverstar’s girlfriend."

Kate gave an inward groan as Luke scrambled
to find his composition book. “Can I have your autograph?” the boy
demanded.

With a sigh, Kate took the book and signed
her name. Luke took it back and stared down at her name in
wonder.

“Wow! Wait ‘til I show the other guys this,”
he blurted, and then he looked at her speculatively.

“Have you ever posed for any magazines?” he
asked.

“Like what?” asked Kate naively.

“Like for Men Today or Spaced Girl?”

“No!” yelped Kate. “I’m not that kind of
girl.”

“Humm…” mumbled the boy.

He looked at Runyon Silverstar, and then he
looked back at Kate. He clearly was having a hard time trying to
decide whether or not to believe her.

The buxom blond and a much more slender blond
came walking to them followed by Runyon. They greeted Luke. The
buxom blond was chewing gum and rocking back and forth on her
heels. She had blue eyes and a cute laugh that grated on Kate. Her
sister, who really did not resemble her, seemed to be the smart
one.

“Hi, Britney,” mumbled Luke as he blushed yet
again. “Hi, Mr. Silverstar.”

Runyon looked startled at the honorarium.
“Uh, just call me Runyon, okay?” Kate chuckled.

“Ready?” the slender blond asked Luke.

“Yeah. Shotgun!” he called.

“You wish,” replied Britney. “Back seat for
you, dwarf.”

Grumbling, the boy walked away with the two
girls and then he suddenly turned and yelled, “I’ll gimaged you
Kate.”

Kate winced. She hoped that there were not
any fakes of her on the internet.

Later that night, she and Runyon were sitting
on his bed watching his holographic screen. A very old movie,
‘Hocus Pocus,’ was playing.

“He gets bored waiting for the girls,” said
Kate referring to Luke. “Maybe you could find something for him to
do.”

“Yeah, maybe,” answered Runyon noncommittally
as Bette Midler railed at the citizens of Salem.

“Come on,” insisted Kate. “I know there must
be something that he could do.”

“All right, all right, I’ll think of
something.” Runyon watched the show for a moment more, and then he
muttered, “Magic.”

“What?” asked Kate.

“Nothing. Just thinking. Maybe something from
moose and squirrel.”

“Who?”

“Nothing. Nothing.”

“Well, don’t forget about Luke, and don’t
forget that you promised to talk to Juan and Pete about not cutting
classes.”

Talking about Luke made Runyon realized that
Kate was having to wait for him. So the following afternoon, Runyon
gave the keys to his car to Kate and told her to go home and pick
him up later. Kate made an insincere show of reluctance before
eagerly grabbing his keys. Then, she was out the door in a
flash.

After that, Kate rarely stayed late, so she
really did not know how the project was progressing. Sometimes
Runyon needed to use the car, so she left it with him and
reluctantly took the bus. She soon realized that, when she rode the
bus, she was likely to be hit on or fawned over by young male
admirers. She was both flattered and annoyed.

For some reason, the thought of Runyon
working with Ashley and Britney bugged Kate. Once after she had
ridden the bus home, she realized that she needed supplies from the
grocery store. It occurred to her that Runyon might be helpful, so
she called him.

“Yes?” he asked impatiently when he answered
his cell.

“Hi, it’s me,” she said. “On your way home, I
need you to pick up a gallon of milk and a loaf of bread.”

“What?” he replied, disbelief in his
voice.

“You heard me. And get two percent this time,
not whole milk like you did last time. And get wheat bread, not
white.”

“Geeze, I’m working here,” he grumbled.

“Sorry to bother you, Your Importantness,”
she said quite unapologetically.

Occasionally, Kate caught glimpses of the
work when she picked up Runyon. She heard Ashley singing one
afternoon, and she was surprised to see Luke on the stage.
Apparently, Runyon had decided with Mrs. Doolittle’s support to add
Luke to the cast.

“That was nice of you, Runyon,” she
remarked.

“Yeah, he’s a good kid,” said Runyon. “Which
reminds me. I need to go to Merced and talk to the Big Lizard.”

“Why,” asked Kate with a startled look.

“I’m trying to pull a rabbit out of a hat,”
he replied.

He refused to say anything more. Kate emailed
the Ragoon a request for an interview with Runyon. Jane Laurence
replied that it would be convenient for the District Supervisor to
meet with Runyon on Saturday. The District Supervisor had also
decided that this would be a good opportunity for it to review
their status. So Kate was instructed to come along.

Kate wasn’t too happy about meeting with the
Ragoon, but she decided that this would be a good chance to go
swimming before the weather turned too cool.

“There’s a nice artificial lake northeast of
Merced,” she explained to Runyon. “It’s called ‘Yosemite Lake’.
There are a few spots that you can swim at.”

When they arrived at the Merced Human
Rehabilitation Center, Kate was annoyed to discover that Runyon was
the only one that was allowed in the interview. The District
Superintendent had changed it’s mind. It only wanted to speak to
Runyon.

Her curiosity was killing her as she waited
impatiently for him to reappear, but when he did, he refused to
explain what he had discussed with the Ragoon. He would only say
that it involved Ragoon holography.

“Don’t worry,” he said. “I put in a good word
for you. I told them you are being a good girl.” He dodged a
kick.

Kate grumbled about it all the way to Lake
Road. There, she pulled into a parking lot, and they made their way
down to the water. They pulled their outer clothing off. Kate’s
eyes bulged when she saw that Runyon was wearing a small tight
Speedo.

“Geeze,” she said looking around. “I hope you
don’t get arrested.”

Then she stripped down to her suit. She was
wearing a very modest one piece swimming suit.

“Did you get that from your Granny,” asked
Runyon with mock politeness.

“Ha, ha,” answered Kate. “Not everyone is an
exhibitionist like you.”

For a few hours, they swam in the lake, threw
a Frisbee and sun bathed. Kate found it to be very relaxing. She
had come to realize that she enjoyed spending time in Runyon’s
company. He had a clever sense of humor, he was considerate of her
feelings, (unlike her brothers) and he seemed to genuinely like
her. He would touch her from time to time, but never too
inappropriately, and his touches never seemed to be contrived like
those of some of the boys at her high school.

The truth was, Kate admitted privately, she
wouldn’t mind a little more touching. But other than dueling
occasionally with her tongue, he had not made a serious effort to
deepen their relationship. From the first, she had been expecting
something like that from him, and it was somewhat irksome that he
hadn’t.

In the early afternoon, they walked back to
the car. But when they got there Runyon had a request.

“I want to take some pictures, Kate,” he
explained. He retrieved his comcell from his bag. “Stand next to
the car.”

So Kate stood next to his car, and then she
stood behind it, and then she stood in front of it.

“Sit on the hood,” Runyon commanded.

Dutifully, Kate stepped onto the bumper, and
she sat down on the hood of the car. The hood was not hot, for the
car had been in the shade for most of the day, but it was in the
sun now so it was a good moment to take some photographs.

Runyon snapped a couple, and then he said,
“Now, lay down on the hood, Kate.” Bored by now, Kate did as he
asked, lying down on the hood of the car and then smiling when
ordered.

When Runyon was satisfied, they got into the
car and started back to Livingston. Kate was starting to have
second thoughts about what had just happened. True, her swim suit
was quite modest, but still. She had posed for pictures while lying
on the hood of a car! She thought about what her father would say
if he saw the pictures, and she winced. Kate was about to question
Runyon about the photos when he spoke.

“What I would really like is to take some
very special pictures of you,” he said in a suggestive tone of
voice..

Kate was shocked, and she burst out angrily,
“There’s no way I would ever pose nude for you, you jerk.”

Gottcha, thought Runyon.

In the wounded tone of voice that he had
perfected for his first movie, he replied, “Kate! I’m surprised
that you would say such a thing. How little you must think of me to
even suggest that I would ask you to pose in the nude. I’m talking
about getting some pics done by a professional photographer that I
know. I’m really hurt, Kate.”

“Uh,” Kate said.

Perhaps she had misunderstood, she
thought.

Runyon switched to the stern voice that he
had used in one of his early theatre roles.

“Not only am I not suggesting that you pose
in the nude, I expressly forbid you to ever pose in such a
tasteless manner. Do you understand that, young lady?” he
barked.

“Yes, Runyon,” Kate replied guiltily, wishing
that she could sink back into the seat of the car.

“You are such an attractive person,” said
Runyon in a calmer tone of voice. “Some professional photos would
be a nice Christmas present for your father, don’t you think?”

“Uh, sure,” replied Kate feeling even more
guilty.

“By the way, if it’s all right with you, I
would like to purchase a new bathing suit for you.”

“Oh, sure,” answered Kate hastily, glad to be
able to placate him.

“Then it’s settled,” answered Runyon. There
seemed to be a triumphant tone in his voice now.

They traveled in silence for a few miles, and
then some things began to occur to Kate. Her eyes narrowed as she
considered that she had just agreed to accept a new swim suit from
Runyon. She hadn’t even stipulated anything about the suit. She
gave him a suspicious glance. He was staring straight ahead at the
road, but he had a smug smile on his face.

“Runyon,” said Kate.

“Yes, Kate?”

“If it’s all right with you, can I have my
new swim suit as a Christmas present?”

“Sure, Sweetie,” answered Runyon, the
contented smile not leaving his face.

“Oh, goody,” replied Kate sweetly. “I can’t
wait for Christmas, so that I can show my Daddy the swim suit that
you are buying for me.”

The smile froze on Runyon’s face.

“Uh,” he said.

“He normally wouldn’t be happy for any guy to
buy me something like that,” Kate said confidentially. “Actually, I
think that he would be furious. But I’m sure that, in your case, it
will be okay.”

“Uh,” Runyon repeated as he frowned.

Satisfied, Kate leaned back in her seat. As
he imagined Carlos’ reaction to Kate holding up a tiny skimpy swim
suit on Christmas Day, Runyon gulped and began tapping his thigh
with the fingers of one hand.

On Halloween night, Pete and Juan went off to
a party while Kate and Runyon handed out candy to the myriads of
children who came by. Carlos retired early to his room, and Matt
avoided the youngsters by staying in his room behind the
garage.

Once the barrage of witches, ghosts and space
captains had dwindled away, Runyon and Kate sat down on the couch
to watch a movie. They snuggled up close. Runyon put his arm around
Kate, and she slouched down so that she could lay her head against
his shoulder.

After a while, Matt came into the living
room.

Seeing Kate and Runyon, he said, “Kate, I
want to talk to you.”

Kate sat up straight and scowled at Matt.
“We’re not doing anything,” she stated.

“It’s not that,” said Matt as he sat down on
their stuffed chair. “It’s about, Dad.”

“What about Dad?” asked Kate.

Matt hesitated, glanced at Runyon and then
said, “I think that there is something wrong with Dad. I think that
he might be sick.”