Chapter 43: The Reunion
Alec Gartland arrived at his old school for a four year reunion. He wondered what it was he was doing there and if he would run into old acquaintances. He knew that Sylvia, Elliot and Derren had disappeared mysteriously before their graduation but he was curious about the others. He hoped that Nathan Cathcart the Quarterback on the school football team had lost all his hair, or that some of the other bullies such as Jay Onslow had put on about two hundred pounds. Most of all he hoped that no one asked him what he did for a living.
“Alec, remember me?” a familiar voice addressed him.
It was Harold Simpson dressed in a tuxedo.
“Good to see you Harold. You’re looking sharp. Are you CEO of a huge multinational yet?”
“Not quite. I’m an actuary on a ridiculous salary. Hence the BMW in the parking lot,” Harold declared with a large and long-lasting smile upon his face. Already Alec was feeling inadequate and was disappointed with how proud his old friend had become.
“What do you do yourself Alec?” Harold asked.
“I’m a personal assistant in Jarold Plum Engineering. My boss is Jason Plum. Remember him? It wouldn’t surprise me if he arranged this reunion himself. He’s vice president of the company now. Old daddy came in handy for something.”
It was at this point that Jason Plum pulled up outside in a Ferrari, with a beautiful blonde on his arm. Vice President Plum was also wearing a tuxedo.
Harold did not divulge the fact that he had secretly arranged the Reunion in the hope of winning the high achiever award but now it looked like he had some competition. “Oh look, there’s Nathan Cathcart over there,” Harold declared. “He must have put on like two hundred pounds. I’m surprised he showed up looking like that. No longer the ladies man.”
Harold saw a rather beautiful woman he didn’t recognise and approached her with a sense of confidence he did not have during High School. “Why hello there,” he said aloud, “I’m Harold Simpson. I don’t remember you. Are you somebody else’s partner?”
“My name is Judy Beckford,” the young woman responded in an unimpressed manner. “You turned me down when I asked you to the Prom. Do you remember me?”
Harold was stumped. Judy Beckford wore glasses, rarely washed her hair and was two stone overweight at the time.
“Of course I remember you,” Harold declared in surprise. “You look sensational.”
“I’ve had a lot of work done and turned into something of a fitness freak. I’m a model now. I also do charity work.”
Suddenly Harold’s confidence diminished somewhat. He now had serious competition for high achiever and he detected that he wasn’t number one on Judy Beckford’s list of eligible young men. Harold however was not one to give up so easily.
“Are you married Judy?”
“I have a boyfriend. He’s about a foot taller than you and a lot less goofy looking. You should have taken the opportunity when you got the chance. He’s also a multi-millionaire but he’s a really great guy. He also does charity work.”
As the evening wore on, both Harold and Alec found themselves in the same circles once more. The night had been a disappointment for both of them. Jason Plum won high achiever. The organisers divulged that Harold didn’t even make the top five.
“You know Alec, you should aim higher. Do you still recite novels backwards?”
“No I gave up on that after I secured my first job,” Alec declared in a downbeat manner. “Turns out there aren’t many job opportunities in that line of work.”
“Working for Jason Plum has to be the most humiliating job anyone could expect,” Harold sympathised with his old friend. “He always was a pain in the butt.”
“You’d be surprised,” Alec declared as he tried to remain positive. “There are worse jobs out there.”
“Like what exactly?” Harold asked in a bemused manner. “Surely nothing could compare to working for Jason Plum for eight hours a day. You have to broaden your horizons. Do something that means something. You must have other passions that don’t include talking backwards. Pursue your dreams?”
“You mean become an actuary? Is that really all that exciting? Even the job title sounds dull unless you like working with numbers.”
Harold didn’t appreciate the criticism. It was his life’s ambition to become an actuary. It was a pity that nobody else in the entire class had the same interests or ambition. “There must be something you can do,” he said pensively.
“Did you hear that Elliot was wanted by the authorities?” Alec asked in a bid to change the subject.
“He was wanted by the authorities when he was in High School,” the actuary responded as if he hadn’t given the matter much thought until now. “Of course I remember. I wonder whatever happened to him?”
“That’s anybody’s guess. They probably got him in the end but brushed it under the carpet. Thinking about his predicament sure makes me feel a lot happier. I’m not the unluckiest one in my class. At least I can afford the rent and pay for cable. Poor guy.”