Chapter 4 Letting Loose
After a few minutes, Patty and John finally came down from the balcony with John urging them to follow him. They were all confused but he said he had something special that he knew would "lighten the mood." They all reluctantly decided to go along but were still wary of what was going to happen. They all followed John out of the library as he lead the way.
"How do you know where Vernon went?" Claire asked.
"I don't." John replied.
"Well, then how do you know when he'll be back?" She asked again.
"I don't." John said again. "Being bad feels pretty good, huh?" Brian walked over to Andrew.
"What's the point in going to Bender's locker?" He asked.
"Beats me." Andrew replied.
"This is so stupid. Why do you think- why are we risking getting caught?"
"I dunno."
"So then what are we doing?" Andrew looked himvery annoyed.
"You ask me one more question and I'm beating the shit out of you!" He said. Brian gulped.
"Sorry." He said. Patty chuckled and patted Brian's back for comfort.
"Chill out, Brian." She said. "Everything will be fine." They finally got to John's locker. When he opened it, it was a complete mess.
"Slob." Andrew said.
"My maid's on vacation." John joked. He then reaches in and grabs a bag with a familiar green substance in it.
"Drugs..." Brian muttered.
"Screw that Bender. Put it back." Andrew said.
"Oh, please Clark. Trust me, you'll thank him later." Patty said.
"That's my girl." John says as he starts walking away.
"Drugs. The boy had marijuana." Brian said. Claire and the others started following John back. "That was marijuana!" Patty then put her hand over his mouth.
"Keep yourself quiet, ok? Please?" She asked. Brian for some reason couldn't say no and nodded. Patty smiled and let him go as they followed behind John.
"We'll cross through the lab and then we'll double back." John said.
"You better be right. If Vernon cuts us off, it's your fault asshole." Andrew replied. They tried to make their way back but Vernon happened to be walking by, which caught them off guard. They tried to go different ways but everywhere they went, Vernon was there.
"Wait, wait, hold it, hold it! We have to go through the cafeteria!" John said.
"No, the activities hall." Andrew argued.
"Hey man, you don't know what you're talking about."
"No, you don't know what you're talking about! Now we're through listenjng to you. We're going this way." They all followed Andrew but they were soon met with an iron gate.
"Shit!" Patty said.
"Great idea Jagoff." John said.
"Fuck you!" Andrew replied.
"Fuck you!" Claire says to Andrew. "Why didn't you listen to John?"
"We're dead!" Brian exclaimed.
"No, just me!" John said.
"What?" Patty said.
"Get back to the library. Keep your unit on this!" John said as he stuffed the drugs down Brian's pants.
"Are you sure, Johnny? Vernon will have your head if he sees you!" Patty said with worry. John smiled at her.
"I'd rather that than you ending up in his office again." John said. Patty sighed and nodded her head. John then went off and loudly sang. Brian then grabbed Patty's hand and pulled her.
"Come on! He's coming!" He said. Patty quickly nodded and followed him back to the library.
* * *
They all sat around waiting anxiously for something to happen. No one wanted to admit it, but they were all worried about John, even if he was such a dick. Patty worried the most, waiting for Vernon to come in and immediately start mouthing off. It was the only the thing he was good at.
"Get your stuff, let's go!" They all suddenly heard. They turned their attention to Vernon dragging John along with him. "Mr. Wiseguy here has taken it upon himself to go to the gymnasium. I'm sorry to infrom you, you're going to be without his services for the rest of the day."
"B-O-O H-O-O!" John said.
"Everything's a big joke, huh Bender?" Vernon said. "The false alarm you pulled, Friday, false alarms are really funny, aren't they.What if your home, what if your family... what if your dope was on fire?"
"Impossible, sir. It's in Johnson's pants." John said. Andrew lets out a laugh, making Vernon turn to him.
"You think he's funny?" Vernon azked. "You think this is cute? You think he's bitchin', is that it? Lemme tell you something. Look at him, he's a bum." He then looked over at everybody. "You wanna see something funny? You go visit John Bender in five years! You'll see how God damned funny he is!" This caught everyone off guard. They knew Vernon to be a very unlikable person but this was a new low. None of them expected that from a high school principal.
"What's the matter, John? You gonna cry?" Vernon taunted. "Let's go." He grabs John's shoulder.
"Hey, keep your fuckin' hands off me! I expect better manners from you, Dick!" John said. He then throws Andrew his sunglasses. "For better hallway vision." They both started to walk out when Vernon suddenly stopped, right in front of Patty, who was staring very coldly at Vernon.
"What's the matter? Does this happen to upset you?" He says.
"For the last time, leave her the fuck alone!" John said.
"What are you going to do about it? Punch me?" Vernon dared.
"How dare you." He heard. He turned and looked at her.
"Excuse me?" He asked.
"How dare you!" Patty repeated. "They call you principal but you're just a fucking prick who doesn't even care about the students. I don't how you got this position or how you've been able to keep it for so long but trust me Vernon, your luck's going to run out soon enough and I'm going to be there to so that you know what you've done and I won't show you any fucking mercy!" Everyone in the room were all surprised by what she said. This wasn't a regular defyant speech, this was personal. Everyone could see that. Brian couldn't even believe it. Whatever Vernon did, it was enough for Patty to hate him.
"Is that a threat?" Vernon asked. He inched closer to her. "If it is, I'll be seeing you again on Saturday and it won't be for detention."
"You sick son of a bitch!" John said. "You try anything and I'll make you regret it." Vernon turned back John.
"I guess I have to handle you first." He said. They then both made their way out of the library. Patty kept her eyes on them until they were finally out.
"That was impressive." Andrew said. Patty looked over at him. "Though it seemed a bit much."
"If you knew, you wouldn't be saying that." Patty said.
"Let me guess, you're not going to tell us anyway." Claire said. Patty looked away.
"It's not easy to say, especially to a bunch of strangers." She replied.
"Just leave her alone." Brian said. "She doesn't have to say anything." Patty smiled at him. She reached her hand over and took ahold of his hand. Brian felt his heart pound but he didn't feel nervous at all. This time, he gladly took her hand into his and smiled back.
"I owe you way more than a thanks." Patty said. "You've done so much for me."
"Hey, don't mention it." Brian replied. Patty chuckled and squeezed his hand. Brian felt himself blush but he couldn't stop smiling. He looked away after a bit, slightly embarressed but still smiling. Patty liked seeing him more confidant. She never knew Brian to be like that. Somehow the time he's been here has changed that and she liked it a lot.
* * *
Vernon and John walk to a nearby closet and Vernon forces John inside.
"That's the last time, Bender." Vernon said angrily. "That's the last time you ever make me look bad in front of those kids, do you hear me? I make $31,000 dollars a year and I have a home and I'm not about to throw it away on some punk like you. But someday, man, someday. When you're outta here and you've forgotten all about this place. And they've forgotten all about you and you're wrapped up in your own pathetic life. I'm gonna be there. That's right. And I'm gonna kick the living shit out of you, man, I'm gonna knock your dick in the dirt!"
"Are you threatening me?" John asked.
"What're you gonna do about it?" Vernon replied. "You think anybody's gonna believe you? You think anybody's gonna take your word over mine? I'm a man of respect around here. They love me around here, I'm a swell guy. You're a lying sack of shit! And everybody knows it. Oh, you're a real tough guy. Come on, come on. Get on your feet, pal! Let's find out how tough you are! I wanna know right now, how tough you are! Come on! I'll give you the first punch, let's go! Come on, right here, just take the first shot! Please, I'm begging you, take a shot! Come on, just take one shot, that's all I need, just one swing." John knew waht he was doing. He wanted to punch him so bad, but he wasn't stupid enough to follow through Vernon's plan. Vernon made a fake move, making John flinch a little.
"That's what I thought. You're a gutless turd." He said. "It's a shame. You sounded so tough back in the library. Was it just 'cause Miss. Jett was involved? Maybe I should bring her to the office after all."
"You touch her and you'll definitly get it, you shit!" John said.
"Is that supposed to scare me? You won't even punch me in the first place." Vernon said.
"I can see through you, Vernon. I know what the hell you're trying." John said. "But if you lay one finger on her, believe me, I won't fucking hold back, not after what you did last year." They both glared at each other before Vernon scoffed.
"If that's a promise, I'd like to see you try." He then left the closet and locked it. John sighed as he looked up at the ceiling. He wasted no time and quickly climed up the heating duct as he crawled his way to the library.
"A naked blond walks into a bar, with a poodle under one arm and a two foot salami under the other." He said to himself, chuckling. "She lays the poodle on the table. Bartender says: 'I suppose you won't be needing a drink.' The naked lady says-" The ceiling under him suddenly gives away and he falls through.
"OH SHIT!" Everyone in the library looked up in surprise. They stared in disbelief as John walked down the stairs toward them.
"I forgot my pencil." He said. Everyone kept their eyes on him as he walked toward the tables.
"God dammit!" They heard Vernon yell outside. John immediately dived under Claire and Andrew's table as Vernon entered. "What in God's name is going on here?" They all shrugged in response. "What was that ruckus?"
"Uh, what ruckus?" Andrew asked.
"I was just in my office and I heard a ruckus!" Vernon replied.
"Could you describe the ruckus, sir?" Brian asked.
"Watch your tongue young man, watch it!" Vernon said. There was a sudden bang under the table as John hit his head and lets out a groan. Andrew bangs on the table, trying to cover it up. Patty quickly glanced down to make sure he was ok.
"What is that?" Vernon asks. Andrew makes a zip noise. "What, what is that? What is that noise?"
"What noise?" Andrew asked again.
"Really, sir, there wasn't any noise..." Claire starts to say before gasping. Patty glanced down again and noticed John was right under her. Claire then squeezed her legs together, making John groan again. Everyone then starts a cough fit to cover it up again.
"That noise? Was that the noise you were talking about?" Patty asked.
"No, it wasn't. That was not the noise I was talking about." Vernon replied. "Now, I may not have caught you in the act this time, but you can bet I will." Allision lets out a laugh. "You make book on that missy!" He then looks at Patty. "And you. I will not be made a fool of." He then walks away, showing he had a toilet seat cover stuck to his pants. Everyone laughs at this except for Claire, who angrily lets John out and slaps his back.
"It was an accident." He says.
"You're an asshole." Claire said.
"Sue me." John replies. He gets up and walks over to Brian. "So Ahab, can I have all my doobage?" Brian completely forgot about the drugs. He quickly took them out and gave them to him.
"Yo waistoid! You're not gonna blaze up in here!" Andrew said.
"You coming, Patty?" He asked, ignoring Andrew. Patty laughed and got up.
"You bet your ass I am." She said. They then both walked up the second floor. Claire slowly followed. Brian felt a little conflicted. He wanted to go with Patty, but he was worried about what would happen. He's heard all the crazy shit marijuana can do and he's done his best to stay away from it, no matter how much he was tempted. All he could think about was being with Patty though, and he knew she'd be smoking up the joint. He sighed as he decided to go and walked to the second floor.
* * *
Although he was reluctant at first, Brian soon found himself lost as he took his first smoke in his life. As always for a newbie, he got high very quickly and was soon acting very goofy. He tried on John's glasses and tried to make a serious face but they all soon started laughing hystarically. John lights a match with his teeth and lights up Claire's cigarette. She takes in the first smoke but immediately coughs it back up, making everyone laugh. Brian exhales his smoke and tries to eat it up. Patty giggled. She loved see Brian so relaxed.
"Chicks cannot hold der smoke! That's what it is!" He says in a goofy voice.
"Do you know how popular I am?" Claire says. "I am so popular, everybody loves me so much at this school."
"Poor baby." John says. Patty holds her hand out for the joint and Claire gives it to her.
"Let me show you how it's done." She said. She took in one long inhale but she didn't let out the smoke. Instead, she held her mouth open full of smoke and inhaled it through her nose.
"Ah, that's my girl!" Brian said. Patty giggled and turned to him. He held his hand out to John, who hit him hard enough to send him falling backwards.
"Johnny! I said be nice!" Patty said. She crawled her way toward Brian, who was giggling uncontrollably on the floor. He looked at her with a confidant smile.
"Show my another trick, baby." He said. Patty raised her eyebrow and smiled.
"Alright tiger." She said. She inhaled another smoke and handed it back to John. She then got close to his face, opened her mouth, and tapped her cheek, making smoke rings blow in his face.
"How's that for a chick?" She said. Brian suddenly placed his hands on her waist, slightly catching her by surprise.
"You, baby, are no chick." He said with a cocky smile. Patty didn't know where this Brian came from but she found herself blushing and smiling as she liked it very much.
* * *
Patty, Andrew and Brian were now sitting together, laughing as they conversed with other. Allison was a few feet away from them. They all have calmed down from their little experience and now they were just talking.
"No no man, no. You got a middle name?" Andrew asked Brian.
"Yeah, guess." Brian replies. Allison suddenly sits down with them.
"Your middle name is Ralph." She says. They all look at her in confusion. "Your birthday is March 12th, you're five-nine and a half, you weigh a hundred and thirty pounds and your social security number is 049380913."
"Wow. Are you psychic?" Andrew asked.
"No." Allison replied.
"Well, would you mind telling me how you know all this about me?" Brian asked.
"I stole your wallet." She says as she pulls it out of her bag.
"Give it to me." Brian says.
"No."
"Allison, give it back." Patty says. Allison reluctantly hands it over. Brian checks to make sure nothing's missing.
"This is great. You're a thief too." Brian says.
"I'm not a thief." Allison replies.
"Multi-talented."
"What's there to steal? Two bucks and a beaver shot."
"A what?" Andrew asked.
"He's got a nudie picture in there. I saw it, it's perverted." Allison replied.
"Ooh, let me see!" Patty said. She snatched his wallet and searched through it.
"Hey! Give it back!" Brian said. He tried to snatch it away but Andrew held him back. Patty looked through until she found the picture.
"Oooohhh! Saucy!" She said.
"Let me see!" Andrew said.
"No! Get off!" Brian said as he struggled in Andrew's grasp.
"There's so much I'm learning about you Brian. And I like it." Patty said smirking.
"Yo, share it already!" Andrew groaned. Patty giggled and gave Andrew the wallet. Andrew let go of Brian looked through the wallet. Brian knew he was defeated at this point so he didn't try to take it back. Andrew lets out a laugh.
"This is the worst fake ID I've ever seen. Do you realize you made yourself 68?" Andrew said. Brian and Patty laughed at that.
"Oh, I know. I know I goofed it." Brian said.
"Why do you need a fake ID?" Patty asked.
"So I can vote." Brian replied.
"You wanna see what's in my bag?" Allison spoke up.
"No." Brian and Andrew said at the same time, slightly chuckling. Patty saw the somewhat hurt expression on Allison's face. She then dumps the contents out of her bag just out of spite.
"Holy shit! What is all that stuff?" Andrew exclaims.
"Do you always carry this much shit in your bag?" Brian asks.
"Yeah, I always carry this much shit in mu bag. You never know when you may have to jam." Allison replies.
"Are you gonna be like a shopping bag lady?" Brian asks again. "You know, like, sit in alleyways and like talk to buildings and wear men's shoes and that kinda thing?"
"I'll do what I have to do." Allison says.
"Why do you have to do anything?"
"My home life is... unsatisfying."
"So you're saying you'd subject yourself to the violent dangers of the Chicago streets because your homelife is unsatisfying?"
"I don't have to run away and live in the street. I can run away and go to the ocean, I can go to the country. I can go to the mountains. I can go to Israel, Africa, Afghanistan." Brian takes a long look at her and turns to Andrew. Patty shook her head. The drugs have now made Brian speak his mind, which was not going to end well here.
"Andy, you wanna get in on this?" He asks him. "Allison here says she wants to run away because her home life is unsatisfying."
"Well, everyone's home lives are unsatisfying. If it wasn't, people would live with their parents forever." Andrew replied.
"Yeah, yeah I understand. But I think that her's goes beyond, you know, what guys like you and me consider normal unsatisfying." Brian says. Patty's eyes widen. That was too far and she knew it.
"Nevermind. Forget it, everything's cool!" Allison says. She shoves everything back in her bag.
"What's the deal?" Andrew asks.
"No! There's no deal, Sporto! Forget it, leave me alone." Allison says.
"Wait a minute, now you're carrying all that crap around in your purse. Either you really wanna run away or you want people to think you wanna run away." Andrew says.
"Eat shit!" With that, Allison turns and walks away from them.
"That girl is an island, with herself, ok?" Brian says. Andrew quickly gets up and follows Allison. Patty then turns to Brian and flicks his forehead.
"Vernon's right. You need to learn to be quiet." She said.
"Hey, I was just trying to say that she shouldn't run away just 'cause of that." Brian explained. Patty inched closer to him.
"Look Brian, whether or not she shouldn't, it still doesn't change the fact that sometimes life is just so shitty that all you can do is run away." Brian tilted his head at her.
"So you're saying if your life was unsatisfying, you'd run away too?" He asked.
"In a heartbeat." Patty quickly answered. She looked down sadly.
"Is something wrong?" Brian asked, scooting closer, now being shoulder to shoulder with her. She shook her head in response. Brian let out a sympathetic smile. He put his arms around her and placed his head on top if hers. He felt her place his head on his shoulder as he held her there.
"So you're saying you wouldn't do it, even after how poorly your parents treat you?" Patty said. Brian gave it some thought. He still didn't think it'd be worth it, but if he could get away from his parents for even a day, he wouldn't hesitate.
"I guess." He answered. His mind suddenly went back to school. The whole reason he's here is because he saw no way out. He couldn't just run away because he knew his problems would just follow him anyway. He felt himself go numb again. He unintentionally tightened his grip on Patty without noticing. Patty's eyes widened as she felt his grip get tighter.
"Brian?" She said. He didn't hear her. She looked up at him with concern. His face looked pale and he looked lost.
"Patty?" He said. "What if there's no way out? What if I can't just run away?" Patty's mouth opened in surprise at what she just heard. She's heard those words before, she knew what he was talking about and she just couldn't believe it. She reached her hand over and turned his head so that he was looking right at her.
"Listen to me, Brian Johnson." She said very seriously. "There is always a way out, even if it seems like there isn't one. Don't you ever doubt that for a second." Brian stared at her. She seemed genuinely concerned for him. The seriousness in the tone of her voice gave a hint to him that she's either been through this or knows someone who has. He didn't know why, but for some reason this scared him. He took his arms off of her and looked away. He didn't know what came over him but he just felt the need to isolate himself.
"Brian, please don't turn away. I just wanna help." He heard her say. He immediately stood up and looked at her.
"I-I don't need help." He said. "I'll be fine."
"Brian-"
"No! I don't want any help. It's nothing major, really." He could see she wasn't convinced in the slightest. Her face was full of worry. She stood up and walked toward him. She reached her hand out to him but he grabbed her wrist tightly.
"Stop. Just stop." He said.
"No, I won't stop." She replied. She tried to release her hand from his but he held her firmly.
"Why do you care so much? You don't even know me." Brian says. "We just met today. I bet you didn't think of me more than just a boring smartass who could do no wrong and too afriad to stand up to the teachers." Patty's mouth parted in surprise. She couldn't deny that what he said was true, but she know see who he really was, she didn't think of him that way, especially after the fact she now knows he has own demons.
"You're right." She replied. "I did think of you that way." She fell silent as she stared into his eyes.
"So why? Why do you care?" Brian asked again. Patty herself had no idea. She didn't know why she found herself so comfortable and natural with him, even though she's only met him today. She's never really thought about the reason, she just liked being around him.
"You don't know, do you?" He said. She felt his grip loosen and she noticed he looked disappointed for some reason. "Well, if you don't have a reason, then maybe you should just stop." He then released her wrist. Patty rubbed it a little. Brian didn't mean to hold her that tight but he was trying to make a point, even if it meant he'd end up hurting her.
"Does everything have to have a reason for you?" She asked. He was caught off guard by the question for a second.
"Everything has a reason, Patty. It's how the world works." He replied. Patty's face changed drastically. She had saddness in her eyes and Brian could've sworn he saw her eyes get very glossy.
"That, Brian Johnson, is where you're wrong." She said in a sad tone. She then walked past him, leaving Brian at a loss for words. The way she looked at him when she said that struck him hard. He's noticed the bits and pieces that fell out of her shell but it was as if a a huge chunk just broke off with that statement. He looked over at her direction. She was now leaning on the railing, holding her walkman and headphones with the same melancholic look. Brian held his head as he wad filled with guilt.
"I opened a door that I can't close." He said to himself. "How could I be so fucking selfish? You're not the only one going through shit, you know." He let out a miserable sigh as he looked back at her again. He saw her wipe her face and her eyes. He never thought he'd see Patty cry. She seemed way too strong for that but here she was, crying because of something he did. He shook his head and walked back to the place he was sitting at earlier.
"She deserves better." He said. "Not some good-for-nothing intellectual dweeb." He rubbed his head and groaned. He looked over at the clock. It seemed like only a few more hours until they could finally leave this place. That thought brought up another question to Brian, something he never thought about before. What was going to happen to them on Monday? Are they still going to be friends? Will they even see each other again? He glanced over at Patty again, this time slightly worried. Will he be able to be with her again after this day?
*finally done with this chapter! sorry about it taking a while. i had some stuff to do and school also got in the way of so yeah, hope you guys understand. thx again for reading and stay tuned for the next chapter. :D*