March 1979-January 1980
It was tough being almost nine. Truly difficult. Rachel was getting in trouble more often but this time only with her dad and while she was very popular, she still wanted to be friends with Monica but she was not allowed to be friends with Monica in public. Mindy, Sharon and Nancy would be mean to her if she did and she liked that she was so popular. She liked that everyone in the class wanted to be her friend and they only seemed to want to be her friend if she was mean but she still wanted to be nice to Monica so in order to keep her happy, she had written a contract for Monica. It was a secret friendship contract with six rules:
1. Do not eat lunch with Rachel at school
2. Rachel can't invite Monica to her birthday parties
3. Rachel will celebrate her birthday with Monica the day after her birthday party
4. Rachel will always be included at Monica's birthday
5. The secret friendship will never be revealed
6. Make Rachel friendship bracelets every week.
Rachel had even signed this contract of sorts and wrote in tiny letters at the bottom of the contract, "I'm sorry". She was sorry. She was called a bully sometimes which always felt wrong. She just wanted to be liked and she didn't think that was so bad and she was nice to Monica privately, so that was enough. She told Monica the secrets she never told anyone. Her favorite times were when she got to hang out with Monica in Monica's pantry. They would eat boxes of Twinkies and Rachel felt so comfortable, so wonderful with Monica.
"So guess what?" Rachel asked, taking a bite of a Twinkie. It was 1979 and Monica's ninth birthday. The friendship bracelet Monica had made for Rachel hung on Rachel's wrist. Monica's eyes widened as Rachel looked at her.
"What?"
"I played a trick on Amy," Rachel said.
"Really? What did you do?" Monica asked.
"I filled her bed with nickels," Rachel said as she covered her mouth and giggled. Monica laughed too. Rachel couldn't wait until night time when Amy would find out. There was no housekeeper there, so Amy would definitely find out.
"Why?"
"'Cause it's funny. I put them in the sheets. So they were really heavy and made noise. It was funny."
"That sounds funny."
"We could play a trick on Ross?"
"No, I'd get in trouble," Monica said.
"No," Rachel said. Monica was always too scared to play tricks on her brother which she never understood.
"Yeah."
"Oh...can I tell you a secret? Promise not to tell?" Rachel asked.
"I promise," Monica said as she unwrapped another Twinkie.
"You're brother isn't ugly," Rachel said, scrunching her nose.
"Ewww, do you like my brother? 'Cause that's like really, super gross."
"No, I don't like your stupid brother. I'm just saying he's not ugly. That is all."
"Ewww, you like my brother. Maybe you'll get married and then...oh, if you got married, we'd be sisters," Monica remarked.
"Monica, we are sisters," Rachel stressed, grabbing another Twinkie and unwrapping it.
"Just secret sisters?" Monica asked.
"Secret sisters. That's so much better than real sisters. I have real sisters and they are so mean. Amy talks on the phone all day and night and-and Jill...she is such a baby that she still sleeps with a night light. When I was her age, I did not sleep with a night light," Rachel said.
"But you were still afraid of the dark," Monica said. Rachel's eyes widened as she looked at Monica. She had told Monica that once in secret.
"You don't tell people that," Rachel said.
"Not even your family?"
"No. My mommy and daddy always say that it is best to keep everything you're afraid of inside and never let anyone know."
"Your mommy and daddy say weird things," Monica said. "You told me."
"'Cause I trust you."
Monica smiled as she nodded. Rachel felt like she could talk to Monica. She could tell her things that she couldn't tell anyone.
"I-I don't like it when people call me a bully," Rachel said, quietly.
"Well, you're a mean person."
"I'm really not."
"The why do you act mean?"
Rachel shrugged as she ate another Twinkie. She wasn't sure why she acted mean. She wasn't sure why she had to act different ways. She just knew she did.
She also knew she was always getting in trouble now. She wasn't sure why. She thought she was being funny. She thought maybe if she played the tricks, people would like her more, but it didn't seem to work. She had almost missed out on going out on the yearly boat trip that April because she had painted the walls of Jill's bedroom but at the last moment, she was allowed to go.
She loved the boat trips. Her dad had a huge boat. He would invite friends and family and everyone would drink and eat while she and her sisters played. That April, he had invited family which included her favorite uncle. Rick who was her dad's brother. He was funny and would bring her movies and always seemed to be dating a different blonde.
"Rachel," Rick said as he stepped onto the boat. Rachel, who had been playing with Jill, ran towards him as he lifted her up and spun her around in the air. He still held her, carrying her as she rested her head on his shoulder. He was truly her favorite uncle.
"Uncle Rick!" Rachel yelled, happily before noticing the tall blonde woman standing next to him wearing a tight pink dress.
"Oh, sweetie….this is Nora," Rick said.
"Hi, I'm Rachel."
"Hello, darling. I need to get a drink. In honor of my son's birthday," Nora said.
"You have a son? Why didn't he come?" Rachel asked.
"He was still hungover from last night," Nora said.
"What?" Rachel asked, a little confused.
"Her son is a terror. Be glad he didn't come. He'd probably burn the ship down," Rick said.
"Oh, Rick," Nora said, patting him on the arm.
"Rachel, I got you a gift," he said as he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a copy of "Return From Witch Mountain". Rachel's mouth dropped as she looked at the tape. She had seen the movie the previous year and loved it.
"Oh my G-d. Thank you," Rachel said.
"Where did you get that?" Nora asked.
"I stole it from your kid's collection, is that alright?" Rick asked.
"Oh...does he want it back?" Rachel asked.
"You were in the theater?" Nora asked, her face suddenly getting pale.
"Yeah, we hung out, watched movies. We had a good time," Rick said. Rachel suddenly felt very uncomfortable but she wasn't sure why. She looked at Nora who looked sad. Rick turned to look at Rachel "Rachel, sweetie, where are your sisters? Maybe you girls can watch?"
"Yeah, yeah….they're in the TV room. Amy pushed Jill in the water. It was funny," Rachel said as Rick walked off, still carrying Rachel.
"Speaking of funny, you wanna hear a joke?" Rick asked to which Rachel nodded. She laughed as Rick told her jokes. She liked how funny he was. He placed her down on the floor between six year old Jill who was wrapped in a towel and shivering and eleven year old Amy, who looked angry.
"Hi, girls. Are you okay, Jill?" Rick asked.
Jill sniffled a little, "Amy dumped me in water."
"It was an accident. I thought you were Rachel," Amy said.
"You're a stupid head," Rachel said.
"Girls, I brought a video. My friend, Nora," Rick said pointing towards Nora in the doorway. Nora looked upset, "yes, Nora's son heard I was coming on this boat and gave me a movie to give to you."
"I thought you took it from him?" Rachel asked.
"Well, borrowed without asking. He is not a well behaved kid, not like you three," Rick said.
"Amy dumped me in water," Jill whined again.
"Let's watch," Rick said as he popped the movie in the VCR and set it up and soon the three girls were watching together.
"Rick, can I talk to you privately for a moment?" Nora asked.
"I wanna watch with my girls," Rick said.
"I really need to speak with you," Nora said. Rick let out a sigh and walked out. Amy shuddered.
"Ugh, Uncle Rick is so creepy," Amy said.
"He is not. He's so nice," Rachel said,.
"Yes he is creepy, he probably touches little boys," Amy said.
"On purpose?" Jill asked.
"I'm gonna throw you in the water again," Amy said.
"That's such a lie. He doesn't do that. He's a nice uncle," Rachel said.
"Whatever, you two are so dumb," Amy said, rolling her eyes. Rachel looked at Amy curiously. Was Amy being serious? She had to find out. She got up and walked out of the TV room and slowly walked up the stairs and snuck past one of the cabins. She heard Nora and Rick fighting.
"What did you do? What did you do?" Nora asked.
"I didn't do anything," Rick said.
"He wasn't feeling well this morning… something happened...what happened last night? If you did something-"
"I didn't do anything. He's a terror. Your kid is a monster."
"He is not a monster. That's too far, he's my child."
"Okay, fine...I'm sorry but it's not like he'll even notice the movie is gone. He has a million movies. Buy him a new copy. He won't know the difference. He's not very bright either."
"Stop, Rick. Just stop. Please tell me….what did you do to him?" Nora asked.
"Nothing. Nothing that he didn't deserve."
Rachel stepped back from from the room. She wasn't quite sure she understood what was going on but it freaked her out a little. She walked back towards the TV room and sat back in between Jill and Amy. She felt sick and she wasn't sure what it was that was making her feel so sick.
Her ninth birthday was in May and was a tea party with all the girls in her fourth grade class except Monica as was written in the secret contract. She sat with Sharon, Mindy and Nancy and wore a fake plastic tiara and wore a puffy pink dress.
"Why do you always wear those?" Mindy asked, pointing to the friendship bracelet hanging from her arm. She smiled at it.
"It's a birthday gift," Rachel said.
"Oh, from Monicow," Nancy said.
"Yeah...but it's nice that she makes them," Rachel said.
"Why are you even friends with her? She's so weird," Nancy said.
"And I heard she and her brother are actually dating," Sharon said.
"Ewww, they're not dating," Rachel said. "And I'm only secret friends with Monica….you know, 'cause like she does stuff and she'll keep your secrets. Don't worry."
"Yeah, but we're your real friends, right?" Sharon asked.
"Yes, you girls are my best friends," Rachel said, although whenever she said that, she felt like it was a lie. She looked around at the party and felt a little sad Monica wasn't there but she just couldn't have her there. She was not welcome and if she did, who knew what those girls would do.
But as third grade came to an end and fourth grade began, she was secretly not liking the rules. She hated the secret friendship contract and spent as much time as she could with Monica. Monica would complain about her brother, how she accidentally broke her brother's nose during Thanksgiving or how Ross had burnt Monica's Easy Bake to the ground and Monica got in trouble. She felt bad for Monica.
Another one of Rachel's other favorite family traditions was her family's yearly New Years Day parties. It was all her family and friends. Rachel invited Monica to these parties and never invited Sharon or Nancy or Mindy. She felt it was the time in which she and Monica could be public friends. Yes, there would be rules but it was more flexible. Rachel noticed Monica and Ross as soon as they walked into the playroom of the Green house, she ran towards Monica and hugged her.
"Monica," Rachel said.
"Hey, Rachel, how are you?" Ross asked.
"I'm fine," Rachel said, ignoring him.
"That's a pretty dress you're wearing...it...it makes you look pretty," Ross said. Monica and Rachel both stared at him, confused.
"You're a weirdo. Will is over there playing with dolls," Rachel said pointing to a boy in the corner playing.
"Dinosaurs, not dolls," Will yelled.
Rachel rolled her eyes as Ross walked towards Will and began to play. Rachel smiled at Monica. She grabbed Monica's arm and pulled her over towards a toy box and pulled out two Barbies, handing one to Monica.
"We have to get them ready for prom. My doll is Lindsey, she's a Rock Star and she's the Homecoming queen. You're Donna. Donna is going on a diet so that she can go to prom and she's Lindsey's best friend and Lindsey will help her diet," Rachel explained.
"Okay," Monica said.
Rachel began narrating the game, telling Monica what she was supposed to do. She kept playing with Monica until Jill quietly approached her.
"Rachel, Amy said I look like a troll," Jill said.
"I will be right back," Rachel said, rolling her eyes as she grabbed Jill's hand. She stomped off to find Amy. Amy had turned twelve in November and Rachel was convinced that her sister turning twelve made her even worse. Amy was resting on the couch, glancing through a Tiger Beat.
"Jill is not a troll," Rachel said.
"If it looks like a troll and walks like a troll….and smells like a troll….actually, you might be right, you're a troll," Amy said.
"You take that back," Rachel said.
"Whatever, hey...do you think he's cute?" Amy asked, pointing to a picture of Scott Baio.
"I guess," Rachel said.
"By the way, your little stalker is talking to that boy," Amy said. She pointed behind Rachel. Rachel turned and saw Monica talking to a little boy with brown bowl cut. She wasn't sure how much she liked that. She had never seen the boy before and he looked strange.
"Monica," Rachel screamed. Monica looked towards Rachel.
"What, Rachel?" Monica asked.
"Come here and clean my doll house or I'm gonna tell Mindy that she's gonna be my first best friend and you're going to be my second best friend," Rachel yelled.
"Yeah, you show her who's boss," Amy muttered.
Monica quickly ran to Rachel's side to begin cleaning the doll house. Rachel was feeling mad. She was mad at Amy. She was mad at Monica. She was just mad and Monica kept looking back at that boy who looked so strange and when he suddenly raced out of the room, he just seemed stranger.
"I'm gonna go find that boy," Monica said.
"What boy?" Rachel asked.
"The one that was sitting on the couch. He seems sad."
"Monica, it's in the rules. You have to do what I say and you need to clean the doll house," Rachel said.
"I'm gonna go um...find that boy. I don't want him to be sad."
"Fine, then you are no longer my friend," Rachel said.
"Is she really your friend?" Amy asked.
"No. Not in real life," Rachel said.
Monica simply nodded and stepped back and walked out of the room. Amy let out a snort.
"Wow, you made a fatty cry. You're a mean girl, aren't you? I'm proud to call you my sister," Amy said.
Rachel glared at her sister and stormed out of the room. She stormed upstairs towards her room and threw herself on the bed. She took a deep breath and came up with a plan. She walked into Jill's bathroom and grabbed her bottles of shampoo and conditioner. She walked back into her room and grabbed a box from under her bed. She opened it and pulled out food coloring that she had stolen from the kitchen and put it in the bottles. She closed the bottles and put them in Jill's bathroom. She felt a little better after although she would miss seeing the reaction on Jill's face or see Amy get in trouble...it was probably better that way. She would be at the Geller's.
Rachel had come home with the Geller's to spend the night. Rachel and Monica found themselves in their favorite spot in the pantry, sharing a box of Twinkies. Ross was hanging out with Will in his room and Judy and Jack were in their room. Rachel was feeling a little nervous wondering what was going on at home, if Jill's hair was dyed a crazy color. She wouldn't be in trouble for it. She wasn't home.
"So...who was that boy?" Rachel asked. When she had come back from doing the prank on Jill, she had noticed Monica talking to that strange boy.
"Chandler."
"Do you like him?"
"No."
"You played with him the whole time."
"He was nice and I felt sad for him because Ross wasn't playing with him...and he's really funny. He told so many jokes. I didn't even know people knew that many jokes."
"You're gonna marry him," Rachel grinned, taking a bite of a Twinkie.
"I am not going to marry him because we've discussed this. My husband will be named, Matthew and we will have a daughter named, Emma and...and-"
"You're gonna marry him. I bet you a bazillion dollars."
"No because...no...you're wrong Rachel."
"I am not wrong."
"You are wrong. You're gonna marry Ross," Monica said.
"Ewww, no...and besides, he burned your Easy Bake down and got you in trouble so I don't like Ross," Rachel said which made Monica happy. The pantry door soon opened and Judy Geller stood there, smiling at the two girls.
"Rachel, honey, your mom and dad are here to pick you up," Judy said.
"But I'm spending the night," Rachel said.
"Why does she have to go home?" Monica asked.
"Rachel Green get out here right now," Leonard Green stormed into the kitchen with Sandra standing next to him. Rachel could feel her heart drop to her stomach as she stood up.
"Why? Why do I have to go," Rachel said.
"You know why," Leonard said.
"But I didn't do anything. Amy did it," Rachel said.
"What did Amy do?" Leonard said.
"It's her fault," Rachel said.
"Are you lying to me?" Leonard asked.
"No. I'm not," Rachel said.
Leonard walked towards Rachel and grabbed her arm, pulling her out of the kitchen. Rachel began crying as he dragged her towards the car. He turned to look at her.
"Tell me the truth. Did you or did you not dye Jill's hair green?" Leonard asked.
"I didn't. I was in the playroom the whole time with Monica. You can ask Monica, she was with me the whole time. She never left the playroom."
"Oh, honey. You know that's a lie. She was in the kitchen talking to Sophie's son," Sandra said.
"That's not true," Rachel said. She began crying as Leonard opened the driver's side door and sat, with his legs out of the car. He grabbed Rachel and began spanking her. She began crying more.
"Honey, you have got to stop lying," Sandra said.
"I'm not lying," Rachel cried. When her dad was done spanking her, he lifted her up and stood her on the ground.
"Get in the back. When we get back, you're going straight to your room," Leonard said. Rachel nodded and climbed in the backseat. She kept crying. Sandra got in back with her and comforted her.
"Sweetie, you have to learn to behave," Sandra said.
"Why do you do that?" Leonard asked as he drove.
"Do what?" Sandra asked.
"You're undermining my parenting," Leonard said.
"How? You keep spanking her," Sandra said.
"Because she's not behaving. She needs to learn how to behave and not lie. You've raised a liar, Sandra."
"I have raised a liar? She lies because she's afraid of you."
"I'm parenting her. You let her get away with everything," Leonard said.
Rachel was still crying as her parents voices grew louder, they were screaming in the car. It was scaring her. She didn't want her parents to fight.
"Stop it! Stop fighting, stop it….I'm sorry. I'll be good, I promise. Just stop fighting," Rachel said, shaking she was crying too hard. Sandra immediately wrapped her arms around Rachel. The fighting scared her. There was always fighting in her house. Her mom and dad screaming at each other. It made her cry, always. When they got home, Rachel was sent to her room. Although she did get a good look at Jill's hair now green but it didn't matter now, she didn't get the reaction she had wanted.
Back at school, Rachel still wanted to play. She had brought honey and dental floss to school and during recess snuck into Ross' fifth grade class. His fifth grade teacher wasn't in the classroom and Rachel found Ross' desk with a pencil box covered with dinosaur stickers on top and ROSS written in sharpie. She opened the desk and filled it with honey and dental floss until it was covered and then snuck out of the classroom. She was proud of herself. She then wrote a note to Monica that read: "I thought Ross could use some dental floss...and honey-your secret sister" and slipped it in her desk.
Rachel's prank became the scandal of the school, of course Rachel told no one. Everyone thought Monica had done it. It wasn't until a couple days later when the principal came by Rachel and Monica's classroom to get Rachel. She was little nervous as she followed the principal into the office. She sat on the chair and the principal closed her door and sat at her desk.
"Rachel, I have a question. Who put honey and dental floss in Ross Geller's desk?" the principal asked.
"I don't know. Maybe Monica."
"A couple teachers have said that they saw you walk in and out of Ross' classroom when the teacher wasn't there. The teachers were lying?"
"Yes. I didn't do it."
"Lying is not okay. You'll get in a lot more trouble for lying than for telling the truth."
"I'm not lying. I didn't do it."
"Uh-huh. This note was found in the trash. It looks like your writing," the principal said, handing Rachel the note she had written to Monica.
"I didn't write that," Rachel said.
"Rachel, I'm going to have to suspend you for a week. I've called your parents."
Rachel gasped and immediately began crying, "I didn't do anything wrong. It's not my fault. Please, I don't wanna get suspended. I don't wanna….it's not my fault."
"You need to stop lying."
"I didn't do anything bad. I'm not a bad kid."
"You're not a bad kid, but you're not making good choices. You need to make better choices. I know you're a good kid."
Rachel was still crying when her father came by to pick her up. She knew she was in a lot of trouble. After speaking with the principal, Leonard grabbed Rachel's hand and pulled her out of the school. She sat in the passenger's seat, hyperventilating. When they got home, Leonard dragged her up to her room where he sat on her bed and pulled her over his knee and proceeded to spank her. She dissolved further into sobs as her father kept smacking her bottom. When her dad was done, he sat her facing the wall and yelled at her not to move. She stayed in her room all night and she was sleeping in her bed when she was woken up by screaming. Her parents were screaming at each other….about her. They were yelling about her, how to parent her. She lay there, not wanting to cry again when she felt someone pull at her. She saw Jill staring at her, wide eyed.
"Can I sleep with you?" Jill asked. Rachel nodded as she picked up her sister and placed her in bed next to her. The two hugged each other as they still listened to the fighting. Amy soon walked into Rachel's room and crawled into bed, in between both Rachel and Jill and wrapped her arms around both of them.
"I'm not a bad kid," Rachel cried.
"I know," Amy said.
"Why do they fight?" Jill asked.
"Because they hate each other and need to get a divorce," Amy said.
"I don't want that. I don't want them divorcing," Rachel said.
"Then this will be our lives and you have to learn not to lie and just behave," Amy said.
"I'm just playing," Rachel said.
"Adults don't look at it that way and then they fight," Amy said.
Rachel nodded as the three sisters sat in Rachel's bed, holding onto each other as the shouting continued downstairs. She hated it, hated the yelling. She wanted to be in the pantry, eating Twinkies with Monica. It was peaceful there.
It was a long, tough week for Rachel. She was grounded for the whole week. Her parents kept fighting, she could not wait to get back to school and when she was finally allowed back, she was amazed. She was more popular. Even the bigger kids thought she was cool because she had played a prank on Ross. It confused her a little but it seemed like the meaner she was or the more ill behaved she was, the more popular she got and she did like that. She liked feeling popular. It felt comfortable.