Monday came along and Lenore was not feeling back to herself. She walked into the school, feeling like her world was finally collapsing all around her, and put her stuff in her locker, adding in another sigh, to punctuate the inner angst she was feeling. She wasn't feeling herself even the slightest bit. She didn't know how to deal with this.
"Hey, Lenny, don't feel down, we have a show to do today" Ainsley commented, noticing Lenore's look of sadness.
"What?"
"Battle of the bands is today!" Deidra giggled.
"I have detention."
"Oh, so you're gonna ditch us, letting us CRASH AND BURN…" Ainsley guilted Lenore.
"Because I have detention, which I don't have a choice on!" Lenore felt frustrated. How could Ainsley just not understand the words coming out of her mouth?
"Well, Miss Monday, you're in luck." Vice Principal Victoria came out of the woodwork, like a seemingly friendly, but still fairly intimidating snake. "Since your friends signed up for the battle of the bands before you were assigned the week of detention, you get out for today. However, that means your sentence is a day longer."
Lenore sighed. She didn't really want to do this. She never sang in front of others. Her friends said she had a good voice, and she didn't really argue about that, but she was fucking terrified of people watching her sing. She didn't really mind people watching her dance, or staring at her in general, but SOMETHING about them watching her sing just…terrified her.
"C'mon, we need to get to the news room, they're interviewing the contestants of the Battle of the Bands." Ainsley grabbed Lenore and pulled her.
Lenore gave a slight defeated groan and followed Ainsley. Of course, Ainsley was pulling so hard that Lenore couldn't keep up and was still being dragged along.
~u~
Lenore groaned, as she, Deidra, and Ainsley waited to be interviewed. Tina and Chaz were currently interviewing the Glamazons.
"Brandy, is it true you lipsync? Oh, and what's it like living in Kimmie's shadow?" Tina asked, and although her voice was neutral in tone, you could just sense the air of snark coming from her.
"You're cute when you're trying to be tough. But I can't really take your hair seriously." Brandy snarked back.
Then Chaz got an evil look, and grabbed Lenore, who tried to protest and pulled her over to the brewing catfight.
"And now we go to Lenore, who's been around the block a few times." Chaz said.
Almost immediately, Tina turned to Lenore and shoved a microphone in her face.
"Lenore, is it true that you have no respect for people's boundaries?"
"If anything I'd say it's Y'ALL who got no respect for boundaries…." Lenore snarked, in a hushed tone.
"What was that?"
"Get out of my face, Kwee." Lenore walked away.
Chaz made a loud "Ooooh" noise. "It seems like we've got some DRAMA! That should heat up the competition. I'm team Lenore."
Tina looked at Chaz, with a face of pure venom. Chaz just smirked.
~u~
They played the footage from the interview in first period. Lenore was fairly embarrassed, but Lee's Nordic friend's comment only made things worse.
"Girls no want to make nice…All three have the thing for Lee Ping!"
But luckily, Lee had sense about it.
"Heh. Yeah, right." Lee just brushed it off. Then Lee went to the "bathroom."
Lenore distracted herself with her doodling. She had a feeling that everyone in the class was staring at her, and likely, that was the case.
By now, everyone knew of Friday night's incident. Rumors were flying about what kind of things Lee and Lenore were getting up to in detention. And, of course, said rumors were enough, that when class ended, and Lenore passed Brandy in the hallway, Brandy tripped Lenore. Lenore fell over, which resulted in cruel giggles from the Glamazons. Lee saw and helped her up.
"Darn those fucking Glamazons and their stupid fucking…" Lenore grumbled under her breath.
"I'm sorry that Brandy is targeting you." Lee tried to apologize for his "girlfriend's" actions. He still, obviously, didn't consider Brandy his girlfriend.
Lenore tried her best to go along with her day as usual. At lunch, she and her friends went to practice in the hallway. Lenore wasn't too sure about the song her friends had picked though. Luckily, it was a song she knew well, so there wasn't much worry about having to memorize words, but still. It was the dance moves that gave Lenore trouble.
"Lenore, we're performing in front of the school, which includes faculty, stop dancing like you're on the pole!" Ainsley would continuously shout at Lenore, whenever Lenore's movements just got a little too suggestive.
"I'm sorry! I'm TRYING! You're putting ALL OF THIS PRESSURE ON ME LAST MINUTE!" Lenore snapped.
"Whoa, now…calm down!" Deidra tried to calm Lenore, to no avail.
"BOTH OF YOU! I DIDN'T WANT TO DO THIS! I'D RATHER….I'D RATHER BE IN FUCKING DETENTION!"
Both Deidra and Ainsley stared at Lenore in shock, with huge frowns on their faces. Lenore stomped away, very peeved, and went all the way down to the detention room, and went in, slamming the door behind her, which gave Lee a fright.
"I thought you got out of it today because of the Battle of the Bands."
"It's probably off." Lenore said, with a still very angry tone.
"…you sound angry…"
"I AM." Lenore snapped. She sat on Lee's desk. "My friends just put ALL of this pressure on me last minute and expect me to be perfect! Who does this! They didn't even give me a fucking warning! Like if you're gonna pressure me into something I don't want to do AT LEAST LET ME KNOW FIRST!" Lenore ranted.
Lee just listened, and gave slight nods of acknowledgement.
"And then they judge me on my dancing! I'm actually PUTTING IN EFFORT TO THIS STUPID SHOW I DON'T WANT TO BE A PART OF AND THEY YELL AT ME!" Lenore was really wound up.
Lee was considering bringing up his own personal issue of the moment, involving having to figure out the deal with the prank song, acquiring a copy, and fixing the Dudes of Darkness so he could still have Biffy's help-and even with that big lot on his plate, he still felt that just wasn't enough to interrupt Lenore while she was ranting.
After all, Lee still wasn't quite sure what terms he and Lenore were on, due to the incident at the party on Friday; For all he knew, she could still be VERY angry at him, and him saying the wrong thing could make her snap at him as well, and he didn't want that. She didn't seem like the type to do it, but he was still scared she might tell Barrage that he'd been sneaking out of detention, and obviously that would be bad.
Plus, Lenore had started to grow on Lee-he enjoyed her company, and they seemed to get along well enough. He was sure that as long as she was on his side, she'd help him. He didn't really care that much about her reputation. He always felt the whole "reputation" thing was stupid and pointless, as it didn't always accurately reflect the kind of people that they actually were. From what Lee knew, Lenore wasn't the "sultry and seductive man-stealing whore" that the whole school liked to make her out to be. Yes, her dancing on Friday could have swayed him to think it was true, but other than that, she was neither sultry nor seductive to him. Not even once had she tried to bed him, in the whole week they'd known each other, when, according to rumors, she would have tried to get in his pants immediately after meeting him.
Lee had zoned a little, while thinking about this.
"Um, hey! ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME?" Lenore said, very loudly.
Lee shook out of it. "Sorry. Anyways, I'm sorry your friends are doing this to you."
Lenore gave off an exasperated sigh. "I wish they'd just…let me be." She hugged her knees, giving off another sigh. She was glad that Lee at least listened to her. That was more than she could say of her own friends.
The lunch period ended and Lenore and Lee parted ways for their next classes.
~u~
Lenore was backstage, and nervous as fuck. She'd talked to her friends, and it was too late to back out, so they still had to perform. The outfit her friends picked was tight and itchy. Lenore didn't mind the tightness, but she sure as fuck minded the itchiness. She wore a sparkly headband, and high heels, and desperately hoped she didn't trip in them, since she wasn't used to wearing heels. Lenore was actually, surprisingly, feeling confident about this. Lenore and her friends were up next, and they were the second to last to perform, as there were only two groups left after theirs. She paced backstage, just to cool her nerves a little, and then bumped into someone.
He had blue hair, and wore shades, despite backstage being really dark. He was dressed really weird.
"Sorry!" she and the stranger both said at the same time.
Lenore recognized that voice.
"Wait a second…" she leaned close "Lee?" she said in a hushed tone.
All her confidence that she had built up, was now gone in the blink of an eye.
"Heh…Hey…" he said.
Then it was Lenore's group's turn. Lenore was now panicking, as Ainsley dragged her on stage.
Lenore stood awkwardly on stage, as the music started. Lenore was breathing heavily, and when it was time to sing, her voice started off awkward, wobbly, and breathy due to her nerves.
"Everyday I feel the same
Stuck, and I can never change
Sucked into a black balloon
Spat into an empty room
But was it really worth it?
Did I really deserve it?
It happens when you're hurting
And cut me at the surface
Of my heart
Of my heart-heart-heart" she awkwardly sang out. She completely forgot the choreography, and just stood in the middle of the stage, as a pink spotlight in the shape of a heart was shining on her. She was breathing heavily as she sang the chorus.
"I'm living dead, dead, dead, dead
Only alive-live-live-live
When I pretend-tend-tend-tend
That I have died, died, died, died, died, died
I haven't lived life
I haven't lived love
Just bird's eye view
From the sky above
I'm dead, dead, dead, dead
I'm living dead, dead, dead, dead
Dead" The crowd began to get a feel for Lenore's singing, so there was a little bit of cheering, and whistling.
Tina watched, with a glare. She was secretly enjoying Lenore's singing, but she wouldn't admit this. From backstage, Brandy gave a low growl. How DARE Lenore be more talented than her.
"Got bubble wrap around my heart
Waiting for my life to start
But everyday it never comes
Permanently at square one
When it's late at night-ight
I'm so dissatisfied-ied
The weight of an empty life-ife
Will lessen in the moonlight
In the light
In the light-light-light" Lenore herself was feeling the song too and started to dance a little. It was a bit awkward but she was feeling it, and no one seemed to care her moves were a little awkward. What they really liked was her voice.
"I'm living dead, dead, dead, dead
Only alive-live-live-live
When I pretend-tend-tend-tend
That I have died, died, died, died, died, died
I haven't lived life
I haven't lived love
Just bird's eye view
From the sky above
I'm dead, dead, dead, dead
I'm living dead, dead, dead, dead
Dead
"
Lee, who was a little wrapped up in trying to find where Cyrus was, took one second to listen to Lenore. He didn't really expect her to have such a great voice. He gave a small smile.
Lenore turned around because of her dance moves, and he lowered his shades and gave her a wink, that made her blush, and she stammered the next lyric a bit.
"I-I lay back in a glittering mist,
And I, I think of all the men I, I could have kissed
I haven't lived my life, I haven't lived love,
It's just a bird's eye view from, from up above"
Lenore finished strong with the final chorus, as her friends joined in with the singing.
"I'm living dead, dead, dead, dead
Only alive-live-live-live
When I pretend-tend-tend-tend
That I have died, died, died, died, died, died
I haven't lived life
I haven't lived love
Just bird's eye view
From the sky above
I'm dead, dead, dead, dead
I'm living dead, dead, dead, dead
Dead" Lenore, Ainsley, and Deidra all did their most impressive poses, as they panted when the song end.
There was uproarious applause, including Lee, and two Glamazons (the two stopped when Brandy and Kimmie glared at them)
~u~
Lenore went backstage, and saw Lee get shoved to a wall by Biffy, and then climb up into the rafters after talking to him. Lenore thought nothing of it, figuring it was a Lee Ping spy thing.
Lenore was absolutely fried with anxiety from her performance, and she honestly just wanted the whole day to just be over, and go back to normal. She thought it was stressful when she got detention, but after today, she'd rather have a detention sentence twice as long as Lee's is, than do that ever again.