Hey, hey, hey! It's time for yet another Fat Albert story! This time it's a sequel to No Class Ever! Remember that one? Well, in this one, things get even crazier. It takes place during the start of the school year for the boys, so this is a few months after the events of NCE.
So Rudy and Russell's ordeal over the summer became major news, and now every other student and classmate is talking about it and mocking Rudy for it. This eventually drives him crazy, and worse, he blames Russell for it, all because of the 'No class ever' comment. Now, Rudy's rage has taken a whole new level, and he labels himself as the 'No Class Monster' to not only shut up the haters but scare the living crap out of Russell.
And unfortunately, poor Rus is on his own this time, due to being in a different younger class because of school changes and such. Meaning he doesn't even see his brother and friends at all except for one class. But, he's a strong kid, so he can overcome Rudy's brutal bullying... right? Let's read and find out!
Warning: This story contains some violence and dark stuff like the first.
Disclaimer: I do not own Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids. They belong to Bill Cosby/Filmation.
Chapter 1: Back to School Drama
Fall had approached North Philly quick and fast. And every kid knew what that meant. It was time to go back to school. Though some were dreading it... a few were looking forward to it, especially if they were bored over the summer.
But that's not the say some kids didn't have an eventful summer. Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids sure did.
It all started when Rudy Davis and Russell Cosby got in a fight. Russell played a silly prank on Rudy, which made him mad as usual. Russell then said something that would set off the events that were to come...
No class ever.
Now, Rudy could take a 'no class' comment anyday. He was used to it at this point. However, something about this comment set him off so badly, he laid a brutal beatdown on the younger boy, nearly killing him that day. Due to the incident, Albert had been trying to help the two get along better, with not so great results.
Rudy was even more infuriated by the fact that everyone, even his own mother, was siding against him in what he did. He felt betrayed to the point where he swore revenge against anybody who opposed him for his actions. So he spent the next few days installing fear into his friends, even beating up Bill, Russell's older brother, with a shovel.
Afterward, a lunch gone wrong later, the orange cap wearing teenager cornered the smaller boy in an alleyway, and it was then where he realized how psychotic he had been acting. Unfortunately, at the same time, a thug tried to rob the boys, and Rudy took a knife to his side to protect Russell. Eventually, the police came, arrested the thug, and Rudy was taken to the hospital.
He apologized to everyone he hurt, Russell especially, and things soon went back to normal. Rudy took anger management classes, Russell forgave him but kept his distance for a while, and everything seemed to be okay...
... Well, until the first day of school...
Speaking of which, the Junkyard Gang stared in awe. The school had been under construction over the summer, now it was much bigger and brand new. This was going to be an interesting year.
"Hey, hey, hey. It's the first school day..." Albert said with a smile as he and his friends walked inside the building.
"New year. New classes. First year as sophomores..." Bill sighed, referring to himself, Albert, Rudy, Donald, Harold, and Mush.
Bucky looked at him, "Yeah. You're sophomores. Meanwhile, I'm just in seventh grade this year."
"And I'm in fifth..." Russell added.
To be honest, Russell was actually very nervous about this new year. Mostly because due to certain changes, this would be the first year he didn't have ALL classes with the rest of the gang. The only class he did have with them was homeroom with Miss Wucher again, according to his schedule.
And if he had to admit, he was not used to being separated from his brother, Bill, for a long amount of time. There was a reason the two were almost always together because, at a young age, Bill was told by his parents that as the big brother, it was his duty to look after the little brother. So from there, they were practically inseparable, no matter how much they got on each other's nerves.
But they still loved each other, no matter what.
It didn't help that from what he knew, the elementary students were in one part of the school, while the middle and high students were in another part, meaning Russell can't even see his brother when walking to his next class.
How complicated for a K-12 school?
Despite all of that, Russell wanted to keep an optimistic look on it. At least it would be better than what he had to endure in the summer at the hands of Rudy... who, at the moment, was looking at girls to fawn over.
The rich boy had made an impressive recovering from his short temper, and the stab he got protecting the little boy he calls a 'shrimp'. After all of that, he just wanted to forget about it all. Forget about his past misdeeds, and forget about the comment that started it all...
As the boys walked down the hall, they were greeted not by warm welcomes... but with silence... and stares. Most of them being directed at Rudy.
They all could feel the stares, and even heard whispers. Russell even heard someone mention something along the lines of 'I heard Russell got beat up over the summer...'
The silence didn't last long, as the other kids began talking to each other, and the boys kept going to their homeroom class, "What was that all about?" Harold asked.
"Yeah... they were just looking at us... d-did we do something wrong?" Donald wondered.
Albert shook his head, "I'm sure it's nothing. Let's just get to homeroom..."
With that, the boys walked into their class, where some of their classmates were there already, talking, but not noticing. Despite there being many conversations going on at once, the gang could here these questions and comments go by...
"Did you hear what Rudy Davis did to Russell Cosby this summer...?"
"Russell said something about 'No Class..."
"Rudy just snapped and beat up the poor little guy..."
"I heard Russell almost died..."
"That Rudy is a monster. I was told he did the same thing to Bill, Russell's brother."
"I think the comment was... No Class Ever."
Hearing these made both Rudy and Russell very uncomfortable. The former glared before sitting down, while the latter attempted to ignore it all. After everything, the last thing they needed was any gossip about it. Fortunately, at the boy's presence, the murmurs died down, especially when Miss Wucher walked in.
"Good morning, class. Welcome back to the fall semester." She greeted with a smile, "For today, I thought we could talk about how our summers went, and tomorrow, we'll get down to business... so who would like to go first?"
Immediately, students began to raise their hands. Miss Wucher picked one kid at a time, and they stood up to talk about their summer vacations. Eventually, she came to Russell, as he stood up.
"Tell us about your summer, Russell..."
The small boy cleared his throat, before speaking, "Well... I can't say too much. But my family and I went to the beach, we spent a weekend in Baltimore, visited our grandparents, and well uh..."
"Talk about what happened with you and Rudy!" One boy spoke up.
Russell paled a little, "Huh...?"
Soon, everyone, except for the gang, started to ask about that particular event.
"Yeah!" Another boy replied, "Tell us about how he beat you up!"
"What's the whole story with that?" A girl asked.
"Are you okay?"
"Is it true that he almost killed you?"
"Did Rudy get arrested?"
Rudy himself was becoming more and more irritated by these questions. It took all of his willpower not to stand and tell everybody to shut up. It was the first day of school, and he didn't want to get in trouble already. Thankfully, Miss Wucher clapped her hands to calm everyone, "Alright, alright, class. If Russell doesn't want to talk about it, then he doesn't have to. Don't pressure him."
The class remained silent and nodded in understanding. Russell sighed in relief before he heard the teacher ask, "Is there anything else you wanna tell us, Russell?"
"No..." Was he quiet response.
"Okay. You may sit down..."
With that, the child sat on his desk and sighed. He felt a hand rubbing his back, and turned to see his brother comforting him. He silently thanked him for it, and it made him even more worried about the fact that this was going to be the only class they had together for the year.
The class itself went on well. Miss Wucher discussed what they would be learning during the semester, and after some more conversing, class was over, and it was time for the next period. Bill offered to walk his little brother to his class, which was on the other side of the building.
"How you feeling...?" Bill asked.
Russell shook his head, "I don't get how people know about the 'No Class Ever' thing. It's not like it was on the news..."
"I guess things like this tend to get out. But I wouldn't worry about it, give it some time, and they'll forget all about it within the first week of school. And if anybody asks, just say you don't wanna talk about it."
"But it seems like most people are concerned if I'm okay..."
"Concern is fine, but it's still none of their business. Remember that...?"
"Okay..."
After about five minutes, the brothers arrived at Russell's Language Arts class. It was already full, and the teacher walked up to them with a smile. Bill and Russell recognized her instantly, "Miss Berry! I didn't know you were here!" Russell replied.
"It's good to see you, boys, again." She replied, "I'm glad to have you in my class again, Russell. We're gonna learn the basics, but eventually, advance as we proceed. Shouldn't be hard for you."
The little boy nodded, glad to see a familiar face. Bill gave his brother a hug, "I'll see you after school, Rus. Wait by the entrance of the elementary section, and I'll come get you."
"Okay. See you later..."
With that, the older brother left, and Russell sat down at a desk, next to a familiar friend of his, "Hi, Russell." She greeted, "Good to see you again."
"You too, Melba..." Was his reply, "How was your vacation in California?"
"Good. Devery didn't cause any trouble this time, thank goodness."
"Is his probation over yet?"
"He's still got a few months left. Three I think. Can you believe Mom and Dad are still sore about the Halloween thing? I almost feel sorry for my brother..."
The two kids laughed, as Miss Berry began to speak, "Welcome to Language Arts, everyone. I'm Miss Berry, and I'll be your instructor this year. I hope to make this experience fun for everyone. As long as you're willing to learn and strive to be successful."
Russell started to feel a little more comfortable now. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after. If only the same could be said for someone else...
Meanwhile...
"I wish those dudes would mind their own business..." Rudy grumbled as he and the rest of the gang (Sans Bucky, who was starting his middle school classes) walked to their next class, "How did they even find out?"
"Don't worry about it..." Albert assured him, "They're concerned now, but maybe in the next few days, it'll all die down."
"What's worst is that they seemed more concerned about Russell's well being and if he was okay! What about me? I got stabbed in my side protecting that little shrimp. I still have the scar! Where's all the concern for me?"
Harold spoke up, "You weren't the one who got beat to a pulp and almost died, though..."
"I almost DIED from my stab wound, mind you! And yet the only attention I've been getting is dirty looks and snickers!"
"I thought you wanted the whole thing to be forgotten about, Rudy." Donald spoke, "And now you want attention?"
"Not that kind of attention! Does nobody pity me at all?"
When he asked that question, some other kids noticed, as one girl spoke, "Why would anybody pity a monster like you?" She asked with scorn. Rudy looked at her with a glare, "Monster?! You think I'm a monster?!"
A boy stepped forward, 'Yeah. We know all about what you did this summer."
"How could you hurt poor Russell like that?"
"You're lucky he didn't die!"
Albert could tell that this was starting to get outta hand, so he put his hands up to stop the questions, "Hey, hey, hey. Everything's okay. Rudy doesn't want to talk any of this. But I wanna say that everything has gotten solved. Russell's fine, and Rudy's fine. Thanks for your concern."
Eventually, the other students began to mind their own business, but one boy, one of the tough teens said, "Okay. See you later, Mr. No Class Ever!"
Rudy growled as he charged for the boy, but as usual, Albert held him by the vest, "Cool it, Rudy. They just wanna be funny..."
"Well, I ain't laughing..." Was the rich boy's response, "I'm gonna lose my mind if these keep up."
"Don't worry... it'll stop soon. People'll forget about it eventually."
All of the boys were hoping that would be the case, for they all wanted to forget about what happened. But little did they know, was that things from there would get worse... for both Rudy and Russell especially...
Well, it's a bit of a rocky first day for the boys, since the whole school seems to know of the NCE incident. Next chapter will mostly be after school, as they talk about how their first day was. And how they feel about the NCE thing being known. Until then, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'll see you later, and don't forget to review, please. Thank you!