To further explain a little bit about Veronica leaving the way she did and how it parallels her mother's love triangle with Keith Mars and Jake Kane…I think that Veronica knew that she and Logan had an intense relationship that always derailed but yet she always found herself getting back together with him because obviously she loved him deeply. What makes it similar to her mom's situation is that Lianne chose Keith because he was safe and stable; however, in the end, it appeared to me that she hooked up with Jake during her marriage, possibly multiple times. In season 3 Veronica also tries to make a go of a safe and stable (read boring, sorry) relationship with Piz, when clearly she still has unresolved feelings for Logan. She worries it will never really work, but she will always be drawn back to him, just as Lianne is drawn back to Jake Kane. To stop the cycle she leaves. For dramatic effect, she leaves without closure in any of her relationships, but I will definitely work those beloved characters back in!
Chapter 4
Veronica walked into Pan High with more trepidation than she had nearly a decade ago when she had posed as Betty, trying to exchange Polly the Parrot for the beloved goat that Pan claimed as their mascot. Something tells me that I won't be trying out for the pep squad this year, as Veronica was feeling anything but peppy, considering the present situation of her relationship with Matt Adams. Being in high school again gave her the willies, although truthfully, despite being the target of vicious rumors, the breakup of her family unit, the bludgeoning of her best friend, getting dosed and subsequently raped by a sociopath, and then trapped in a freezer by her boyfriend's murderous father, her high school years had actually held some of her fondest memories.
"He legit asked me if I wanted to get together tonight to 'study."
"OMG, STFU!"
"I know, right?"
"I was all, LOL, really? FML, ya know?"
"I am just SMH at his balls!"
Veronica feared, as she took in the conversation around her, that being back in high school might be a lot harder than she anticipated. High school never had so many acronyms back when she had attended. With all this code lingo, they could be referring to the crime element right in front of her, and she would have to spend half her time on Google just to try to decipher their language. She laughed as she thought of Bob and Tim intercepting the conversations unfolding around her.
Veronica had already checked in with guidance, and turned down the need for a tour by Mrs. Slezak, the seemingly hundred year old guidance counselor, for fear that she would die of exertion climbing multiple flights of stairs. Since she had roughly twenty minutes before she was due in homeroom, she decided to locate her locker and then sit down in the library to study her class schedule.
Seriously, Mars? There are six missing girls, and I am worried about planning my route so I can get to classes on time? Veronica ran through the list of classes on her schedule. AP English with Stone in 214, Fun wow, they made me smart! Pre-Calculus with Lockardt on the third floor, then PE…Yeah right, I wonder if the Aunt Flo might get me out of breaking a sweat? Then, there was Government with Redmond in 112, lunch, study hall in the library, Chemistry and Lab in the science wing with Ericksson, and her day ended with Advanced Photography, again with Stone in 214.
Somebody on this team likes me if they put me in an elective I actually would enjoy and excel in, Veronica reasoned. But then she frowned, considering the fact that it was Nancy who had doctored her student records to submit to Pan, resulting in the classes listed on her schedule. Veronica's ego still smarted from the ultimate betrayal of Matt. He was the one who had pushed her into this case, only to banish her to high school so he could rub elbows with Pamela Abrams. Sure, he'd tried to smooth things over the night before she'd left for California by promising that he would pull her out of high school duty and put her into the action when they had enough information to proceed. But Veronica wouldn't bite. Matt had played her, and she was a firm believer in "fool me once, shame on you…fool me twice, shame on me."
Twenty minutes later Veronica entered 214 and trotted her cute little butt clad in skinny jeans and Uggs back to a nice cozy seat two rows up from the back of the disorderly classroom. Her "peers" were socializing, sitting on desks, doing their bizarre high school mating dances around one another. How the hell do they have the energy to be flirting and gossiping in these early AM hours, yet not one of them possesses a Starbucks grande? Veronica marveled.
A burly looking student, wearing a red flannel shirt with the sleeves cut to emphasize biceps only a mother could be proud of, loomed over her. She smiled up at him. He was her first potential new friend, and twenty-five year old undercover beggars couldn't be choosers.
"Hi, I'm Jennie! I just moved here from Buffalo," Veronica gushed.
"Hey, Jennie from Buffalo, you're in my seat."
"Excuse me?"
"Ahh haa, hush that fuss, new kids move to the front of the bus!" Billy Bob, as Veronica had so fondly named him, rapped, in the spirit of OutKast. Several kids looked over and began to snicker as Billy Bob's booming voice cut through the high school chatter.
And people wondered why I carried a taser in high school? Veronica mused. Clearly for the obligatory psychotic jackasses. Every school has one.
Begrudgingly, Veronica got up and moved to a seat closer to the front – one of the only seats left now that students were starting to respond like Pavlov's dogs to the impending bell that would soon ring to signify the start of the period.
A Hispanic girl smiled up at her empathetically. "Matt's a total douche," she whispered.
Veronica felt her insides sink. She knew Matt was a douche bag, but the real question was: how did this girl know that Matt was a douche bag? Luckily only a beat passed before Veronica realized Billy Bob and Matt were one in the same.
"No worries," the girl continued, "it's better to be in the front anyway. Mr. Stone's kind of a hottie," she added, smiling. "My name's Lily."
Well, if there was ever a sign…
"I'm Jennie," Veronica introduced herself, taking a second stab at "fitting in". "I just moved here from Buffalo-"
The bell rang, nearly jolting Veronica right out of her seat. She reached into her bag to grab a notebook so that she could busy herself with taking notes, hoping to evade any probing questions about her literary endeavors at her previous non-existent high school or awkward ice-breaker introductions her English teacher might have in mind for his new transfer student.
A tall, broad-shouldered figured, wearing a leather jacket, with a coffee in hand, entered the room.
"Morning, kiddies. I hope everyone is well-rested, because today we are going to dive into the scandalous life and times of the man-cougar, aka Willie Shakespeare."
Students quieted and there was a short lull before, "Hey, Matt, what the hell are you doing in my class again? Man, you're not in AP English! I'm pretty sure that fifth year seniors aren't even eligible for this course." Students snickered and Matt retreated with his tail between his legs.
"So the word on the streets is that a new student from Buffalo, New York, is joining us today…Miss Jennie Kempner?" The man in front of her searched the rows of students, looking right over her head.
Miss Jennie Kempner did not raise her hand. She did not stand up. She did not move a muscle, despite the fact that Lily was poking her while simultaneously trying to catch Mr. Stone's attention by waving like an epileptic. But Miss Jennie Kempner was picking her jaw up from the floor, where it had fallen when she had first heard that voice that cut through three layers of clothing. She was trying to stabilize her own breathing when her eyes finally made contact with the questioning liquid brown eyes of Mr. Stone, formerly known as Logan Echolls.
So, some of you guessed where my mind was going, but I am still aiming for twists and turns! Your reviews give me the fuel to continue writing every night and to tighten up any holes, so please keep them up! Also, sorry for the shorter chapters, but I feel like I just have these natural stopping points (aka cliffhangers). Hoping for a snow day tomorrow so I can stay home and write all day!
