A/N: I am posting early because I have a (somewhat) important question for any and everyone who reads this, which can be found in the bottom Author's Notes.
In THIS chapter: Maggie meets her new 'teachers', Maggie does the math, Danny gets into some trouble, Rachel comes to a realization, Maggie gets sick, and Terry passes.
Disclaimer: I do not own Drillbit Taylor.
Chapter 9: Pass~
It all happened on a Friday.
It started out normal, of course, like most days do. Maggie had gotten up, got dressed, eaten a good breakfast, brushed her teeth, and rode the bus to school.
She thought something was 'off' when she noticed her History teacher had been replaced. Her 'new' teacher was some fat guy with a beard and long hair. He looked like a hillbilly. His looks, however, weren't what made Maggie suspicious of him.
It was his teaching method, if you could call it that.
For a history teacher, he didn't know much about history.
He took 2 minutes talking about the Civil War, then 5 minutes talking about Marilyn Monroe, and then asked how they were related.
How are you supposed to answer something like that?!
To top it all off, Maggie had (as well as the rest of the class) witnessed him flirting with one of the students. Blatantly, openly flirting!
Needless to say, she was glad when the bell rang.
Her other classes weren't much different.
Nearly all of her teachers had been replaced at some point, even Ms. Zachey. And they were shady, too. Especially the blond one. Maggie had seen him around campus talking with Ryan and Wade, and he seemed as though he had it in for Filkins and Ronnie.
She wondered what the connection was.
The blond one (Mr. Taylor, as she had later come to learn) had 'filled in' for just about every class Maggie had. Today, he was substituting for their gym teacher.
It was by far the easiest gym class she had ever had. Mr. Taylor only made them do 2 laps, 5 pushups, 10 situps, and a quick game of dodge ball before he made them sit back down.
At this point, Mr. Taylor announced that he was going to 'demonstrate new exercises'.
"Okay, you little rugrats, I'm gonna need some volunteers," he shouted across the vast space. "Okay, let's see..."
As he began to pick said 'volunteers', Maggie speculated that he must have had someone (or someones) in particular in mind, as he would point to a few random students, only to change his mind on each one.
"Okay, you, you, you...no, not you...you can sit back down...you," he pointed at Maggie. "Nah, you're too damn cute..." he moved on to the next would-be volunteer.
Maggie turned around to give Rachel a 'what-the-heck' look, only to find she was already staring at her, eyebrows rising up and down suggestively.
Oh, no. Not her too.
It seemed like anyone who didn't have a crush on Filkins had a crush on Mr. Taylor, and it was really starting to annoy her.
Maggie gave her an 'are-you-crazy' look before turning back around.
After many minutes of deliberation, Mr. Taylor ended up choosing Ronnie and Filkins, but Maggie had a feeling this was no coincidence.
Her feeling was proven correct when said boys were put through the workout of their lives.
Maggie and the rest of the students sat back for nearly an hour watching Mr. Taylor make Filkins and Ronnie do as many squats, crunches, lifting, medicine-ball-throwing, laps, and rock-climbing exercises as their muscles would allow.
Less than halfway through they were both sweating so much it looked like they had just come inside from a rainstorm.
Maggie looked behind her to see Rachel wiggling her eyebrows suggestively at her (again) and giggling. Maggie just rolled her eyes and looked back to Terry and Ronnie.
Sweaty guys were so gross...
Lunch was the most normal thing that happened that day. Maggie moved through the line, got her food, and sat with Rachel. Danny wasn't there. Rachel explained that he got detention for 'daydreaming' in class. Must have been one of the 'new' teachers.
As Maggie ate her food she was pleasantly surprised to find that it was still the same; same taste, same texture, same consistency.
'At least the lunch lady hasn't changed,' she mused to herself.
As Rachel rambled on about Mr. Taylor and how there was totally something going on between him and Ms. Zachey, Maggie caught a glimpse of Ronnie and Terry making their way to another student's (soon to be theirs) table. They looked like they were back to normal, though they were definitely worn out.
'And grumpy,' thought Maggie as she witnessed Filkins practically throw a kid out of his seat as he and Ronnie took their table.
Maggie thought about everything that had been going on today. The 'new' teachers, the 'talk' that Mr. Taylor had with Ryan and Wade just before school, the intense 'workout' Filkins and Ronnie had been given by Mr. Taylor, and the fact that all of the substitutes started showing up only after Mr. Taylor.
Everything seemed to center around him...
Maggie did the math: Ryan and Wade get bullied by Filkins and Ronnie, Mr. Taylor shows up and discreetly thwarts any further attempts to bully Ryan and Wade, other teachers start showing up...
She could only come to the conclusion that Wade and Ryan had made some kind of deal with 'Mr. Taylor'. She didn't know how deep it went, but if you payed any attention like Maggie did, it was obvious that they were in cahoots together.
Maggie was so wrapped up in the Taylor Conspiracy that she didn't notice that Rachel was talking to her.
"Are you listening?"
Maggie jerked her head up. "Huh? I'm sorry, what?"
Rachel's attempt at being stern melted away into a giggle. "I SAID, what did you think of Mr. Taylor? Pretty cute, huh?"
...Was she seriously asking that question? "Um...yeah, sure I guess."
Rachel gasped, shocked. "You guess?! Oh, come ON, Maggie! That blond hair, those eyes..."
"That nose..." Maggie added, taking a sip of her juice box.
Rachel gave her a look. "...That was mean."
"Well, it's true!" Maggie defended.
Rachel rolled her eyes. "Oh, whatever."
The lunch bell rang.
"Look, I'll see you after school, okay?" Said Rachel, getting up to take her tray in.
"Actually, I have studying with Filkins again tonight." Maggie replied, getting up as well.
She paused at the look on Rachel's face. "It's the last one! I promise!"
Her friend merely sighed. "Okay. Well no matter. I'll just text you until your eyes fall out of your head!" She gave a lighthearted laugh.
Maggie smiled. "Yeah," she laughed, and they both made their way to their classes.
When Maggie had finished with her classes, she headed for the library, dealing with Rachel's bombardment of texts as best she could on the way.
There was someone sitting at their usual spot when she got there. Normally she would have just moved to another table, but Terry had a psychological need to sit at that particular one.
She speculated he had OCD...
Maggie walked up to ask them to kindly move - it was an emo that occupied their spot - but as she got closer she found there was no need. He saw her coming and almost immediately rose from his seat, and, wordlessly, sulked off to somewhere else.
At first she was surprised and just thought that he was done using the table, but when she thought about it she realized that he moved because of another reason entirely.
He was scared of her.
She knew that it was common knowledge to everyone else that she and Filkins frequented the library together, at this particular table, in these particular seats, at this particular time, but she assumed that it was also common knowledge that she was there against her will; she was being forced to do this!
She wasn't friends with Filkins! She wasn't like him! And she certainly wasn't a bully!
I mean, sure, she had noticed that people tended to stay away from her even more than they already did, she occasionally got the evil eye or the dirty stare, and she definitely wasn't making any more friends, but...
Crap.
Maggie sat down - ew, the seat was warm - and thought about what all of this really meant. If she wasn't mistaken (and she highly doubted she was) then the reason people were avoiding her (and even scared of her) was because of all of the time she was spending with Terry.
The more she thought about it, the more it made sense.
No one but Filkins had ever messed with her. Sure, Ronnie had pitched in that one time on the first day of school, but she thought that he quit razzing her because he was spending more time with Alexandria. Now she realized it was probably because Terry had told him not to.
It was one of those sick situations where no one but the top dog could mess with the unfortunate victim they've 'claimed', whoever that may be.
Now she was mad.
She wasn't gonna lie, she was kinda sorta starting to enjoy Filkins' company, but if being 'kinda sorta friends' with him meant never being able to go near anyone for the rest of her school-life (save for Rachel and Danny) then forget that!
She was gonna have to put a stop to this.
Break it off, kill the switch, nip it in the bud, whatever.
But if she really wanted to put a stop to the ridiculously silly idea that she was 'off limits' or 'untouchable' to anyone but him, she was going to have to quit hanging around him.
Luckily for her, that shouldn't be too hard since this was their last tutoring session (Terry had a test coming up).
Maggie began getting everything out. As she was angrily putting the pens on the table she noticed a friendly face enter the library.
Danny.
She smiled at him, some of the anger melting away, thinking that maybe she could get through the rest of the day without a hitch.
Up until she noticed that he intended to come up and sit with her. "Hey, whatcha doin'?" He asked smoothly, pulling out Terry's chair and angling it towards her.
Oh, no.
He could not be here. Not now. Not when Terry was practically just around the corner.
"Oh, um...look, now's not a really good time, so-"
"No biggie, I won't be long."
"Well, no- it's just that-"
"Look. I got somethin' I've been meanin' to say-"
"No, you don't understand-"
"So let me just get it off my chest, and I'll be out of your hair. 'Kay?"
This wasn't good. Terry would be here any second, she just knew it. But she also knew that Danny probably wasn't going to leave until he said whatever it was that he wanted to say. At a standstill, Maggie visibly struggled with herself for a moment before making her decision.
"Okay, what is it?" She said hurriedly.
Danny took a deep breath. "Okay," he breathed, leaning closer.
Oh, no.
This was it. He was asking her out. He was going to ask her out. Just like Rachel said.
Dangit.
But maybe she was wrong. Maybe it was something else entirely.
"I know we haven't really spent a whole lotta time together," Danny began.
Or maybe not.
Maggie wanted to lean away, to rewind so that she could pick a different course of action, but it was too late.
"But, I still really like you and I think you're pretty cool," he paused, scratching the back of his head. "I guess, what I'm basically trying to say is..."
Great, now she was gonna have to deal with the guilt of rejecting him...
Detecting movement in her periphery, Maggie looked to her right, just in time to see Filkins entering the library.
And he didn't look happy.
She immediately turned back to Danny. He needed to leave. His confession would have to wait.
Just as he began to speak, Maggie cut him off. "You need to leave." Danny stared at her for a moment, at a loss for words. "Uh...what?"
She wasted no time in replying. "You need to get out of here. Now, go!"
Filkins was stalking up to them now. Panicking, Maggie tried to usher Danny out of his seat, but to no avail.
"Who the hell are you?" Terry demanded, totally ignoring Maggie.
Danny finally acknowledged Filkins, his utter obliviousness to his clearly pissed off behavior throwing Maggie for a loop.
"Oh hey, I'm Danny." He greeted in a laidback tone, holding out a hand for him to shake.
And it all went downhill from there.
Terry had had a really bad day. He had banged his car up pretty good chasing those Siamese Queers (Ryan and Wade) so he had to ride to school with Ronnie and his mom, he had been humiliated in gym class, he had a pounding headache, some asshole took the last chocolate pudding at lunch, and all he had to look forward to at the end of the day was Maggie.
So yeah, he was kinda pissed when he saw some skater punk sitting in his seat; talking to Maggie, nonetheless!
He couldn't believe the gall this kid had, being so laidback and civil. He obviously didn't get the message he was trying to send.
Well.
He'd just have to be more clear.
"Get the hell outta my chair." He ordered.
"Woah, bro. All you had to do was ask." Said 'Danny' as he got out of his seat. "There you go," he said, gesturing towards his spot. Filkins scoffed, shoving past him with his shoulder.
"So Maggie, like I was saying..."
Was this punk serious? Was he just born with the inability to take a hint or something?
Terry turned back around to give him a death glare, but apparently he was too focused on Maggie to notice.
"You wanna go out sometime?" Danny finished.
That was it.
Terry grabbed Danny by the shoulder and shoved him away. "Did you not hear me when I said get out?" He bit out harshly.
Danny copped a laugh. "You...didn't say get out..."
Terry was getting more annoyed by the second.
"I'm saying it now: leave." He snarled.
He heard Maggie get up behind him. "I'll give you my answer Monday," she told Danny.
Terry whirled around to face her, disbelief written on his face. "You're not actually considering going out with this retard, are you?!"
"So what if I am?" She said defiantly, suddenly angry with him.
He scoffed a laugh. "He's a..." he struggled to find the right word, "dweeb! What do you mean 'so what'?"
"Well at least he's nice to me." She countered.
Terry forcefully grabbed her by the arm, and they glared at each other.
"Hey, leave her alone!" Danny stepped in, grabbing Terry's shoulder and spinning him back around to face him.
Now he was really mad.
Finally snapping, Terry glared at him for a moment.
And then proceeded in promptly smashing his face in.
Maggie could hardly believe her eyes. What was his problem!? Why was he acting this way? Why was a raven like a writing desk?! She was so surprised by the sudden outburst of violence that all she could really do was stand there.
Even more surprising, Danny fought back, something she just couldn't picture his non-confrontational self doing before this point.
She watched on in utter shock as Danny and Filkins wrestled to the floor of the library, beating the snot out of each other...well, trying to, on Danny's part.
The library was so quiet and the fight was so loud it felt like they were in an opera house, with every little sound amplifying and reverberating off the walls, practically broadcasting to the entire student body: 'Hey, everybody! There's a fight at the library!'
Maggie was so distraught over the scene before her. She felt so many things at once: she was mad at Filkins for being an ass, she was sad for Danny because he had gone through all of that trouble only to have his face punched in, and she was furious with herself for letting things go this far.
She wanted them to stop, but she knew they were so blinded with rage (well, Terry was) that her yells would fall on deaf ears, and she wasn't stupid enough to try and break them apart. She had seen what happened to a chick that tried that at her old school, and it wasn't pretty.
So in the end, Maggie just stood there, feeling helpless. She looked to the librarian, who ran out of the room, hopefully to get the principal and not to hand in her resignation form.
A crowd had gathered at the entrance, watching in horror, shock, amusement, and delight.
Maggie spotted Rachel, who was looking from Danny to her in shock and confusion.
Finally, principal Doppler arrived with 2 other teachers - along with the librarian - in tow. With some difficulty they pulled Filkins off of Danny, and Maggie ran up to help Danny to his feet.
She locked eyes with Filkins as they dragged him away.
It was one of the few moments in her life that seemed to happen in slow motion, and she didn't understand a millisecond of it.
She spent the entire weekend trying to figure out what on earth had just happened. Rachel called her Saturday and asked her to tell her every possible detail she could remember.
But everything had happened so fast...no. That was no excuse. She could remember.
She just didn't want to.
When she finished spilling her guts, Rachel was silent, something she normally wasn't. Maggie started to check the phone chord to see if the line had been severed, when Rachel suddenly gasped. Guess she was just piecing everything together.
"Ohmygosh..." she said, as if she had just had an epiphany.
Okay, Maggie was confused. "What?" She asked.
"He likes you." Rachel replied.
"Who, Danny? Yeah, we went over that-"
"No! Terry! Terry likes you, ya dummy!"
Say what, now? "No he doesn't."
"Yes he does! Ooooh my GOSH, I cannot be-LIEVE I didn't see this before!"
"You can't be serious."
"No, really! That's why he teases you all the time!"
"Teasing? You call pulling and pushing and shoving and verbal abuse teasing?"
"Oh, come on, when's the last time he's physically hurt you?"
Yesterday.
"...Never mind. Look, it's just a way for him to show how intense his feelings are." Rachel said as a matter of factly.
"...You're disgusting." Maggie said, scrunching her nose.
"Just you wait," Rachel laughed. "He'll be head-over-heels for you by the end of this year!"
"Whatever." Muttered Maggie doubtfully.
Rachel laughed again. "I gotta go. Bye Mags!"
"Bye."
"Oh, and by the way; I know all about you and Danny. You owe me a pudding."
Click.
...What?!
'Danny must have told her,' she thought.
Sigh...
When Maggie came back to school on Monday, everything felt...awkward. Everyone seemed to be on the hush-hush, even the teachers. In fact, pretty much everyone was acting as if nothing had happened. Weird.
She was glad to see Danny's face was okay. For the most part.
He (amazingly) didn't have a black eye or broken bone, just a bunch of cuts and scrapes and bruises. Considering the fact that, from where she was standing, it sounded like Terry was beating him to a pulp, she found it astounding that he was even able to come into school the next day.
Danny just laughed and said it sounded a lot worse than it felt, but Maggie had her doubts.
She didn't see Filkins at all that day, but truthfully, she didn't want to.
When school let out and Danny casually asked for her answer, Maggie was at a loss, but only for a second. She thought about saying yes in that second, if only because she felt sorry for him after going through all that trouble to ask her, but she was no liar, and Danny was no sensitive crybaby.
She said no. He took it very lightly, saying it was perfectly fine and everything was cool, and Maggie knew he was telling the truth.
She smiled, and so did he.
And all was well again.
For the most part.
Maggie stayed home Tuesday. Her mother had called the school to say she was sick. It was true. She didn't know how or when, but she got sick.
'Probably that bathroom stall,' she speculated as she sneezed all over her phone.
Rachel had been texting her all day. How she accomplished this during class, she would never know.
She was better the next day.
'Just a bug,' her mother had told her.
She was welcomed back with overly eager arms Wednesday as she was nearly crushed by Rachel's welcome-back hug.
Filkins wasn't there that day either. She wasn't mad at him anymore, only curious.
After school, Maggie went to the principal's office. Not because she was in trouble, but because she just had to know about Terry. The unmistakable fire of curiosity was burning her insides, and she was just itching to douse it.
It really didn't matter to her either way; he could do whatever he wanted for all she cared. But it was kind of like a question with no answer. We all know there is no real reason why a raven is like a writing desk, but we still wonder; Why is a raven like a writing desk?
Like so, we all know there is no real reason as to why Terry is a total ass, but the decent people of the world with a sympathetic ear still wonder: why is Terry an ass? Why is he constantly missing school? Where could he possibly have to go that's worthwhile?
And so we wrack and search and pick our brains until we can come up with our own answers.
Luckily, Maggie wouldn't have to go through any of this, as the answer to her question was just behind the door she was currently opening.
"Miss Lovelace! What brings you here?" Principal Doppler asked, smiling as he propped his elbows on his desk.
Maggie wasn't one to beat around the bush. "What happened to Terry?" She asked, a bit too bluntly.
"You mean Mr. Filkins?" Judging by his tone, Maggie realized that she needed to switch tactics.
Softening her expression, she asked politely as she could, "Yes, do you know what happened to him? I haven't seen him since Friday."
Maybe he got suspended. That would be nice.
But, unfortunately, far too good to be true.
"Terry is...a troubled young man," Doppler replied, straightening the plaque on his desk.
Hey, maybe it wasn't too good to be true.
"But, as much as he deserved to be suspended, we did have a deal."
Never mind.
"What do you mean?" Maggie asked, tone innocent.
She was honestly wondering how many loads of utter bull he had to shovel to get out of this one.
"Well, we both agreed that if he could get his test scores up, he was off the hook. You were there, don't you remember?"
Oh.
...Wait.
There was a test on Tuesday. Maggie was sick. She missed that test.
Dangit.
"Soooo, what are you saying?" Maggie asked warily.
Doppler lifted his head to look at her, eyebrows raised.
"Terry took his math test yesterday."
"...And?"
"He passed."
A/N: Yep, Terry passed. Thanks to Maggie's supreme tutelage, he was able to squeak by into yet another school year.
I finally brought in some characters from the original movie plotline. I know it's a bit late for that, but oh well. I'm going to continue following along the basic story, going all the way up to the party :D
You can't really tell by the way this chapter ended, but Maggie is not happy. You'll see what I mean in the next chapter.
It has been brought to my attention that some would prefer if I just typed up the rest of the story and did a batch post, so it'll be finished faster and you can just read to your heart's content. If others also think I should do this, I will. It'll just take me a while before I can post the whole thing XD Otherwise, I'll just continue the way I have been :)
Any questions or comments, just ask in a review or pm or whatever.
'Till next time.
