Chapter 7: First attack
"We ROCKED last night! You two did GOOD!" Orrin congratulated, when Jojo got on the bus the next morning.
"Yeah! When we play, the whole crowd's going cry, laugh, and cheer at one time! THEY'LL BE BREATHLESS!" Nirro cried. A few people turned to stare at him, and he blushed and sheepishly leaned back in his seat, as if he wished he were invisible. He took out his phone and began to text Mar.
"You know, you might as well ask her out, you already text her 24-7," Orrin told him. He grimaced, but brightened as he read her reply.
"Well, it's not that easy. I have yet to see YOU ask someone out, and most girls aren't even as tough as her! What if she hates me for asking, and knocks my teeth out?" Orrin shrugged.
"It's a chance you have to take. Better you than me. But if she does, I'm not feeding you soup with a straw," Nirro ignored his brother for once, and began texting again. Rosie rolled her eyes.
"Well, you guys are normal today. Everybody is, so far. So, when are we deciding what to sing? I'd like to learn the words early,"
"We can't really decide until we know about what's going on with the concert, you know, if we hardly have any time, it wouldn't do to have 6 songs. Besides, we don't even know when the concert IS," Orrin replied. (And I'm not posting the concert chapter until people review and tell me at LEAST four songs I can use!)
"All right, but after school today, we talk about it," Rosie pouted. "Unless, of course, something important happens,"
"Fine. Let's shake on it," Orrin and Rosie reached out and shook hands. As the school finally came into view, and the bus finally pulled in and stopped, Tiffany sneered at them.
"Oh, something important WILL happen today, just you wait," She thought. Aloud, she said, "Oh, I feel SO, like, sorry for you! Still hanging with all the losers, when you should be at the top, like Stacey and me! It almost makes me want to help you, but then I think about who you are, and realize, you don't even deserve my pity!" Rosie stood up, faking happy shock.
"Oooooh, Tiffany, you're getting BRAVE! Orrin and Nirro are right there, and Mar and Mono will be waiting for us, and maybe even Musa!"
"Who's Musa?" Asked Tiffany, with a blank look.
"Oh, sorry, I thought you knew. Mrs. Merrywho, the choir and band teacher? The one who helped us out yesterday?" Tiffany cringed.
"Even stupid teachers are going to learn their lesson soon enough! NOBODY messes with Tiffany Taffy!" Rosie nodded, pretending to agree.
"I know! Stacey said the same thing when I first met her! It's because you two will cry and run to your mothers if someone does! And who on the speck of Whoville would ever want to make sweet, innocent Tiffany and Stacey cry? Only the cruelest of the cruel, that's who!" Tiffany glared at her, then continued down the isle as an impatient boy pushed her.
"Move it, girly!"
"Don't push me!" Tiffany smoothed her fur and left, clinging to what was left of her dignity with all her strength. She hated Rosie. Hated her for a hundred different reasons. She was always so controlled, so smart, so pretty, so popular in such a short time, she wasn't afraid, she had so many friends that didn't care who she was, that had been her friends since before she'd become popular, where Stacey was the only true friend SHE had, Rosie was just... Perfect. And that bothered Tiffany to no end. "We'll see who's better... And it WILL be me!" She grumbled.
"Geez, can't she just leave us alone? We haven't done anything to her..." Rosie frowned. Jojo handed her the notepad. Unless you count getting more attention and popularity than her something, then we have! Rosie sighed. "Yeah, that must be it. She really likes to know she's on top, doesn't she? Oh, well... That's just her opinion,"
"Well, yeah, she can be mad, but bother you, my friends? NO WAY!" Mar scowled. They had told her about Tiffany, and she was MAD. "If she doesn't leave us alone, I swear, I'm gonna beat her to the ground! She can cry and whine all she wants; I'm not letting her mess with my friends!" She folded her arms in protest.
"Aw, calm DOWN will 'ya? It's not like SHE can hurt us!" Orrin said. "And she can't exactly outsmart us," Mar glared at him.
"She can still be annoying. You've seen how she can get! And she has a lot of followers, who KNOWS what they'll do just to stay on her good side?"
"Yeah, well, her followers aren't very smart, either,"
"Neither are you,"
"Hey!" Rosie rolled her eyes with a smile. With choir and band to look forward to, today was going to be long... And it was. As each period rolled by, she found herself staring at the clock more and more. When lunch finally came around, she only just managed to relax.
"Rosie? Rosie? Rosie, are you AWAKE in there?"
"Huh?" She blinked. Mar was waving her hand in front of her face, looking both amused and concerned at the same time. "Oh... Yeah, I'm just a little... Anxious..."
"What do you mean, just a LITTLE? You're spacing out, you're eating way too slow, and you're tracing words on the table!" Orrin cried. She blushed. Luckily she hadn't had a pen or pencil, as you can just imagine what random things she'd drawn. (Or names! One in particular...) She tried her hardest to focus after that, but couldn't. Eventually she gave up, just as choir came around... And Musa said to wait. With a sigh, she took her seat.
"Now, class, we're having a concert soon, in three weeks, on Thursday. We will be singing before the band, after which a PRIVATE band will play. Any questions?"
"Yes, Mrs. Merrywho. What is the band called? Who's in it?"
"They are called Shadow wings, and the member's names are Rosie Reeses, Jojo Mcdodd, Mar Moore, Mono Flight, And Orrin and Nirro Minnow. Any other questions? No? Alright, then. On with class," She repeated the speech in band, and Rosie was able to concentrate, now that she knew. Still, that victory was short lived, as she became anxious, though not as much, over what songs she would sing. Meanwhile, skipping class, was a group of trouble...
"So, you all know what to do, right?" Tiffany asked, Stacey at her side. They nodded. Six tough looking characters stood before them. Four guys, bullies, most likely, and two girls, who were not really strong, but were fleet of foot, and ready to fight. "Good, because we're probably not going to give you a second chance at this. School will be over soon, too soon, and I want you to do this right. Now go! We can't risk suspicion," They reluctantly agreed, and scattered to their usual wandering ways, which wasn't right, but common enough. Now all they had to do was wait, and popularity was theirs...
"FINALLY! We're FREE! Now we can decide what songs to do!" Rosie cried. They were all walking as a group toward the park near the school, where a playground was slowly beginning to fill. They had it arranged so that their parents would come for them in a few hours. But as they got out of sight of the school, six kids stepped out of the bushes. They were grinning, and the four guys were cracking their knuckles. They two girls laughed, standing ready to run.
"You won't be in good enough shape for your little concert, I'm afraid. We have orders, and those orders demand that we have you in the hospital! And if that doesn't stop you, we'll do worse, much worse," The leader bluffed, smiling triumphantly. Mar stepped forward.
"Oh, yeah? I've dealt with guys like you before!"
"Yes, but we won't fall so easily. GET THEM!" The two girls began to dance around Mar, laughing and darting at her with their fists, giving her many light bruises. At the same time, they drove her away from the group, while avoiding the girl's fists. They just needed to get her away from the group for a little while... The four guys had rounded on Mono, Rosie, Jojo, Orrin, and Nirro. Jojo leaned over and whispered quickly into Rosie's ear, and she passed it on to the others. They nodded.
"So, who sent you? You don't seem so tough to me!" Rosie taunted, distracting them while Nirro and Mono slipped away to Mar, where Mono was able to catch on of the girls and hold her still for Mar, while Nirro managed to take the other by surprise, spinning them around and smacking them on the back of the head. She crumpled to the ground next to her friend.
"I thought you couldn't hit girls?" Mar teased. He smiled back.
"They were a different breed, it doesn't count," The three turned and ran back to help Rosie, Jojo, and Orrin. They had so far been able to taunt the four guys into a rage that was quickly tiring them out, while they played defense, dodging and running. They were paying too much attention to them, and didn't notice Mar until it was too late. She punched one in the face, instantly knocking him out cold. His nose bleed onto the ground as she went for the remaining three. Two came at her from different directions and ducked, knocking themselves temporarily to the ground. Orrin and Nirro pounced on them, and Rosie and Jojo managed to trick the last bully, the leader, into turning his back to the other four.
Mar and Nirro snuck up behind him, and Rosie and Jojo gestured to them. The leader turned, and was met with two fists at his face and shoulders, and a kick to his stomach. He fell to the ground, and Mar kicked his unconscious body with a look of disgust before turning to high five Nirro, and give him a hug, from which he nearly fainted. A limo pulled up, and luckily, only Jojo's parents and Lora were inside. Sally ran forward, tears streaming, to Jojo, while his Dad just stared in shock at the bodies. Lora was shocked, too, but she was in complete control.
"Alright, everybody, in the car," She took out a camera and snapped a few pictures. She left a note on the ground next to the leader saying she would put the picture on the internet, showing them beat up by two girls and four guys, if they bothered her brother and his friends.
"Wow, Lora, you seem to have it all under control... A great quality for a mayor to have. Maybe you'll become one someday. It depends on you and Jojo, though, so don't get TOO excited..." Ned complimented his daughter. She beamed, as did Sally, and Lora, Jojo, and the others exchanged looks. It was going perfectly!
"This isn't going to be their last attack," Mar said, wiping a little sweat from her forehead. "I can just feel it. They'll try again, and next time, who knows? Hopefully, we'll be ready for them. It won't be such a shock next time. Who do you think would send them after us like that?"
"Tiffany, of course. She hates us. And, no doubt, she and Stacey only sent them as a taste of what they can do. There was only five of their followers there; they've got a good number more. It's only a matter of time before they get us," Rosie groaned.
"Tiffany and Stacey? Who are these girls? They defiantly are on MY bad list if they sent those goons after you," Sally frowned.
"They were the most popular two girls in school, until we came along. I'm not sure why they hate us so much, though, when being friends with us would serve them so much better," Rosie explained. Sally nodded, looking grim.
"Yes, some girls were like that in school when Ned and I were your ages. I'm certain you're right... They've probably got an army's worth more followers to toss at you. Please be careful! This is serious!"
"Yeah, we know. The best chance we have is to try to make friends with them, or make it up to them, at least. And in the meantime, it wouldn't hurt to try to get a few friends of our own to look out for us..." Rosie trailed off in thought.
"Well, first things first, we've gotta survive to our next concert, 'cause we can't play if we're hurt, and what would people think of us if we couldn't play? That's probably what Tiffany and Stacey want," Orrin remarked. They all nodded their agreement. And so the first attack was over, and things were beginning to look very, very bad...