Chapter 10: Good Things
"Lucas?" Mike said tapping the boys back as he stood choosing books from his locker.
Lucas turned around slowly, staring at Mike before attempting to walk away from him but Mike caught his arm just in time.
"Lucas please just answer some questions. I promise I will let you go, but you need to answer us."
"Mike please, I don't want to talk to you." Lucas said closing his locker and clutching his geometry book to his chest.
"Lucas, this is important. Just please tell us the truth, we won't be mad even if it isn't what we think it is."
Lucas looked at Mike through sad eyes but decided to agree and walk with Mike and Eleven into the janitors office.
"So what do you want to ask? Quickly!" Lucas sighed.
"Lucas, did Kat tell you to ask those questions, about me and Eleven?" Mike said and they both stared at him as Lucas' eyes softened.
"Yeah. She did. She told me that if I joked about your relationship you would freak out. And she was right." Lucas admitted, it was like taking a breath of fresh air for the first time. Mike took a deep breath in, thinking of all the times he had chosen El over his friends, never wondering how that would make them feel.
"What did she want in return?"
"Nothing much, just any information I knew about you two. She seemed a bit annoyed when I told her I knew nothing and that's when she turned bad." Lucas said folding his arms.
"What do you mean bad? What did she do?"
"She told me if I didn't dig some dirt up on you two she'd tell her mom that I- that I did something bad. Really bad. But that didn't matter because I told her we weren't talking anymore so that's when she decided to find another way to be Amanda's friend. She told Amanda at the party that I liked her and I was easy."
"And you went along with it because if you didn't then she'd tell you mom you did something terrible." Mike said summarizing the whole scenario into a sentence.
"Exactly. And she told Amanda we were friends so she could hang out with Amanda. It didn't work. Kat said a few weeks ago if I went along with it for one more day she'd let me off the hook. She said that everyday, and now I don't believe her. She blackmailed me and her moms a teacher! I couldn't disobey her, she could get us all expelled if she wanted!" Lucas exclaimed taking Mike and Eleven aback.
"Lucas why are you only telling us this now? You know we would have helped you, find something on Kat that we could blackmail her back and end this loop your stuck in!" Mike said but Lucas only shook his head.
"We can't. Kat told me if she caught me hanging out with you guys she'd tell her mom some lies and get you all suspended. Amanda hates you all and she would dump me if she caught me with you all. I hate Amanda but Kat loves her for some reason and won't let me leave her." Lucas said sadly. "And Mike?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm sorry. Those things I said, it was just Kat getting into my head. Making me think that you would always take El's side and at the time I didn't realise I was totally out of order. I'm really sorry."
"It's alright. Your in a hard position, any of us would have done it." Mike said patting Lucas' shoulder and smiling at him. "But we won't let you do this alone. Meet at my house tonight, eight o'clock and we can work out a plan to end this blackmail and Kat's power over you."
"Thanks Mike. But only us three. Any more people and something could leak that we're friends again." Lucas said wearily.
"Promise. Only us three, and Lucas?"
"Yes?"
"Max hasn't moved on." Mike said making Lucas blush and quickly scuttle out of the store leaving Eleven and Mike very happy going over their plan.
The next day arrived quickly and Mike, Lucas and Eleven's plan was in motion. They arrived in front of the school fifteen minutes early as that was the time Kat would arrive so she would not be spotted arriving with her mother. Thankfully Alex had decided to drive himself to school in the jeep his dad had gifted him for his birthday, so Kat was alone walking into the building, her mother going through the teachers entrance to get some tea before lessons. Lucas walked briskly up to the girl as she filled her water bottle in the cooler beside the lockers.
"Hello Kat!" Lucas said happily, bouncing on his heels. Kat stared at him with a raised eyebrows.
"What do you want Lucas. And don't even ask because your not dumping Amanda yet. I'm not popular enough." She said taking a swig of her freshly filled bottle.
"Oh Kat, your not popular at all!" Lucas said which made Kat's face turn red and blotching, filling with uncontrollable rage.
"I am popular! I am Amanda's best friend!" She said even though both knew that was untrue, Kat was simply a donkey to Amanda. A person to carry around her books.
"Kat-"
"No Lucas! You think you can make me feel inferior but you are wrong. I have you right were I want you, under my control. I can spin any story to my mother about you, and if you don't do as I say you and your friends will be suspended! Now get out of my sight before I get you a detention!" She screamed, but Lucas kept a calm face.
"Oh Kat. You know Amanda's only dating me because Jace broke up with her. She wants to get back at him and soon she'll dump me and go back to Jace. So you can either release me from this blackmail or I do something I really do not want to do." Lucas said with a devilish smile on his face, Eleven and Mike now walking up behind him with confident strides.
"What is this? What would you do?" Kat said panicking slightly.
"Now Kat, we all know your a fraud. And Amanda would hate the person you really are. Everyone would." Mike said happily to Kat's raging face.
"And you wouldn't want this recording getting out would you?" Lucas said holding up a recorder that was previously recording in his back pocket. "And not only would Amanda and her friends ignore you, but the whole school would turn on you. Because your nothing more then a deceiving, little girl."
Kat's face was now at boiling point and quite suddenly all the rumours of Kat's therapy sessions became clear when she began screaming. All three stepped back as she jumped to attack her, moments before two secretary's and a passing teacher grabbed her and held her down.
"How dare you! Do you know who my mother is? Lucas you will not dump Amanda! You will not!" She screamed, so loud she nearly burst her vocal cords. Once Mrs Sunny arrived after hearing all the commotion she was stunned to see her daughter being forced down and her three favourite students being comforted by a fellow teacher.
"Bridget, your daughter is out of control! Mr Sinclair has proof that she has been blackmailing him." A teacher said to Mrs Sunny, playing the recording so she could hear for herself the confession that her daughter had been bullying this boy into dating a girl to save his friends.
"Katherine! You wicked girl! You are just like your father, and I am sending you straight back to Pennsylvania. Your aunt can deal with you." Mrs Sunny said whacking her across the head as she was being restrained, laying across three waiting room chairs as the secretary's held her hands behind her back.
"I won't go! You can't make me you cow!" She screamed.
"This is just like before. Why can't you be more like Alexander!" She said, motioning for the teachers to ring 911.
Eleven, Lucas, and Mike had to resist themselves from laughing at the notion that Alex was better behaved then Kat but after the scene they had witnessed today it did not seem impossible.
"Children go back to the classroom, and don't tell anyone of this. I will deal with Katherine." Mrs Sunny said turning to the kids with a stern but soft face.
"Yes Mrs Sunny." They said, practically skipping off to class knowing they had succeeded in their mission. Just as they had reached the second floor where Mrs Sunny's class resided they spotted a van outside dragging Kat into the back, her arms tied in a straight jacket as they pierced her skin with an injection that knocked her out. The two doctors lifted her lifeless body into the van before driving off, Mrs Sunny following behind.
"I hope Kat gets the help she needs." Eleven said resting her chin on the window frame.
"Yeah, I wish that could have been handled a bit- better." Mike said agreeing hole heartedly with Eleven.
"I hope she gets help too. And guys?"
"Yeah Lucas?" Mike said and they both looked up at him.
"Thanks. For everything."
"Thank you. You saved us from expulsion as well, even if you were a bit of an ass about it." Mike joked ad Lucas flung an arm around his shoulder to symbolise their friendship being rekindled. It was little and broken, but it could be salvaged and mended like most good things can be.