Author's Note: Thank you so much for being patient with me I had posted three new stories. I also would like to thank you all for continuing to review, favorite and follow. You're all awesome.
Special mentions (before I begin):
NicoleR85: Thank you. Enjoy this new chapter.
Twikel: Thanks, I'll keep that in mind.
Crystal tonics: Thank you very much! In the next chapter I'll have John tell Mirabelle about his extensive list of girlfriends. I'm glad you're looking forward to the Monday chapter; I'll work on it after the next chapter.
Teen wolf girl 20: Enjoy the new chapter.
Guest: if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.
Mickey8142: Thank you and enjoy.
So enjoy and remember to review please.
Chapter 10
Upstairs, all six students sat in a circle. The conversation began when Claire asked Andy what he would do for a million dollars.
"What would I do for a million bucks?" The athlete questioned. "I guess I do as little if I have to."
Claire gave Andy a look of disbelief.
"That's boring," She said.
"Well, how am I supposed to answer?"
"The idea is like search your mind to the absolute minute." The red head clarified. "Like um, would you drive to school naked?"
Andy chuckled.
"Um, would I have to get out of the car?" He inquired.
"Of course," said Claire.
"In the spring or winter?"
"It doesn't matter, spring."
Allison saw that Mirabelle and John looked bored. The singer had laid her head on the delinquent's lap.
"Front of the school or back of the school?" Andy asked.
"Either one," Claire responded.
"Yes,"
"I'd do that." Allison cut in.
The others looked at the basket case.
"I'll do anything sexual I don't need the million dollars to do it either." She injected.
Claire rolled her eyes.
"You're lying."
"I already have. I've done just about everything there is except for a few things that are illegal. I'm a nymphomaniac." Allison continued with a mischievous expression.
"Lie," said Claire.
"Are your parents aware of this?" Brian inquired.
"The only person I told was my shrink." Allison replied.
"What did he do when you told him?" Andy asked.
"He nailed me." Allison said with a sly look.
Brian and Andy looked a little uncomfortable while Mirabelle smirked; starting to like the direction this conversation was going.
"Very nice," Claire said snidely.
"I don't think that from a legal standpoint what can be construed as rape, since I paid him."
"He's an adult!" Claire protested.
"Yeah, I know;" Allison said "He's married too."
"Ugh!" The prom queen had a look of repulse on her face.
"Do you have any idea how completely gross that is?"
"The first few times…" said Allison.
"First few times?" Claire repeated with a look of incredulity. "You mean he did it more than once?"
"Yeah," Allison replied.
"Are you crazy?" Claire demanded.
"Obviously she's crazy if she's screwing her shrink." Brian said.
"Have you ever done it?" Allison asks.
"I don't even have a psychiatrist." Claire said.
"Have you ever done it with a normal person?"
"Wait, didn't we already cover this?" Claire asks.
"You never answered the question," said John. "Neither did Mirabelle."
"Look, I'm not going to discuss my private life with total strangers."
"Oh sure," Mirabelle said sarcastically.
"It's kind of a double-edged sword isn't it?" Allison questioned.
"A what?"
"Well, if you say you haven't you're a prude. If you say you have, you're a slut. It's a trap," Allison interpreted.
"You want to but you can't." The recluse continued. "And when you do, you wish you didn't right?"
"Wrong," said the princess.
"Or are you a tease?"
"She's a tease," Andy said to Allison.
"Oh sure why don't you just forget it?" Claire asks.
"You're a tease and you know it, all girls are teases." The wrestler said.
"She's only a tease if what she does gets you hot." John interjected.
"I don't do anything!"
"That's why you're a tease." Allison said getting her facts together.
"Okay, let me ask you a few questions." Claire suggested.
"I already told you everything." Allison persuaded.
"No. Doesn't it even bother you that you sleep around without being in love; don't you want respect?"
"I don't screw to get respect. That's the only difference between you and me," Allison replied sharply.
"It's not the only difference I hope." Claire retorted.
"Face it, you're a tease;" said John.
"I'm not a tease." Claire persuaded.
"Sure you are." John insisted. "Sex is your weapon. You said it yourself; you use it to get respect."
"No, I never said that." Claire denied. "She twisted my words around."
"What do you use it for then?" John inquired.
"I don't use it period!"
"Are you medically frigid or is it psychological?"
"I didn't mean it that way!" Claire was starting to get upset. "You guys are putting words in my mouth and why are any of you not asking Mirabelle? She didn't answer your question too."
"We'll come to Mirabelle in a moment." John said.
"Why don't you just answer the question?" Brian questioned.
"Be honest. No big deal," Andy said convincingly. "Just answer the question, Claire."
"Yeah, answer it." Brian interjected.
"Talk to us," John persuaded.
"Answer the question!"
Allison and Mirabelle looked on as the guys pushed Claire's buttons.
"Don't be a jerk. It's easy, it's only one question."
"No, I never did it!" Claire screamed.
There's silence for a brief minute.
"I never did it either." Allison piped up.
Claire looked at her.
"I'm not a nymphomaniac, I'm a compulsive liar." Allison admitted.
Brian looked surprised and Mirabelle chuckled.
"You are such a wench!" Claire said savagely. "You did it on purpose just to screw me over."
From the corner of Mirabelle's eye, she noticed John was smirking.
"I would do it though," Allison confessed. "If you love someone it's okay."
"I can't believe you, you're so weird." Claire retorted. "You don't say anything all day and you open your mouth, you unload all these tremendous lies all over me."
"Stop your complaining, girlie." Mirabelle said sharply. "Everything isn't always about you."
"All right, Miss Singer." Claire sneered. "Ever done it before?"
Everyone's attention is now on the brunette.
"No," Mirabelle answered. "Although I had one boyfriend he dumped me because he just used me like I was a toy. Other than that, we never did it."
John gave a sympathetic on her right shoulder. She smiled at him as way of saying thanks.
Claire had nothing to say to Mirabelle's response, so she kept her mouth shut.
"You're just pissed off because she got you to admit something you didn't want to admit." Andy broke the silence.
"Okay fine," said Claire. "But that doesn't make anything less bizarre."
"What's bizarre?" Andy asks. "We're all pretty bizarre. Some of us are just better at hiding it, that's all."
"How are you bizarre?" Claire questioned.
Before Andy could respond, Allison cuts in.
"Can't think for himself," She said.
"She's right," Andy agreed with the basket case.
"You guys know what I did to get in here?"
No response.
"I taped Larry Lester's buns together." The athlete revealed.
Claire chuckled.
"That was you?" Brian seemed a little surprised.
"You know him?"
"Yeah, I know him."
"Well, you know how hairy he is right?" Andy asks.
John nodded, smiling a bit.
"When they pulled the tape off, most of the hair came off. And some skin too," Andy informed.
Mirabelle grimaced, remembering that day. She went to the clinic to get a Band-Aid and happened to see Larry lay on his stomach and the nurse took the tape off. Larry cried in pain and seeing the blood, she had to get out of there.
"The bizarre thing is that I did it for my old man. I tortured this poor kid because I wanted him to think that I was cool." Andy explained.
"He's always going off about; you know when he was in school. All the wild things he used to do. And I get the feeling he was disappointed in me that I never cut loose on anyone right?"
Andy paused for a brief minute before continuing.
"So I'm sitting in the locker room and I'm taping up my knee. And Larry's undressing a couple of lockers down from me. And he's kind of skinny, he's weak. And I started thinking about my father and his attitude about weakness."
He goes on saying, "And the next thing I knew, I jumped on top of him and I started wailing on him. And my friends, they just laughed and cheered me on. Then afterwards, when I was sitting in Vernon's office all I could think about was Larry's father. And Larry having to go home and explain to him what had happened. The humiliation, stinking humiliation he must have felt. I mean, how can you apologize to somebody like that?" Andy's voice cracked and tears start flowing.
"There's no way. It's because of me and my old man. I really hate him! He's like this mindless machine that I can't relate to anymore."
Both Mirabelle and John lowered their heads in sadness. Brian covered his face while Allison and Claire had the same expression of melancholy.
"'Andrew!'" Andy bellowed. "'You've got to be number one, I won't tolerate any losers in this family. Your intensity is for piss. Win, win!'"
More tears roll down the wrestler's face.
"You know sometimes I wish my knee would give and I wouldn't have to wrestle anymore, and he could forget all about me." Andy added.
"I think your old man and my old man should get together, hang out and go bowling." John suggested.
Andy smiles a bit in spite of himself.
"It's like me you know with my grades." Brian lifts his head up.
"Like when I step outside myself and when I look in at myself you know, and I see me. I don't like what I see, I really don't."
"What's wrong with you?" Claire asks, full of sympathy. "Why don't you like yourself?"
"Sounds stupid, but because I'm failing shop;" Brian admitted. "We had this assignment to make a ceramic elephant and we had eight weeks to do it, we're supposed to pull the trunk; the light was supposed to go on. But my light didn't go on; I got an 'F' on it. I've never got an 'F' in my life."
"When I signed up you know for the course, I mean I thought I was playing it real smart you know I thought I'll take shop. It'll be such an easy way to maintain my grade point average."
"Why'd you think it would be easy?" John suddenly asks.
"Have you seen dopes that take shop?"
"I take shop," John said sharply. "You must be a flipping idiot."
"I'm a flipping idiot because I can't make a lamp?" Brian asked curtly.
"No, you're a genius because you can't make a lamp." John said an edge to his voice.
"What do you know about trigonometry?"
"I could care less about trigonometry," The criminal snapped.
"Bender, did you know without trigonometry there'd be no engineering?" The geek asked with sharpness in his tone.
"Without lamps there'd be no light."
"Okay so neither one of you is better than the other one?" Claire broke in.
"I can write with my toes," said Allison.
Everybody stares at her.
"I can also eat and brush my teeth…"
"With your feet?" The red head asked with an odd look.
"Play Heart and Soul on the piano," The dark haired girl added.
"I can make spaghetti," Brian interjected.
"What can you do?" Claire asks Andy.
"I can tape all of your buns together." Andy said with a smile.
"Mirabelle?"
"I can sing in French," Mirabelle responded. "Now listen carefully, I'm only going to do it once."
The chanteuse cleared her throat and began to sing.
"Non, rien de rien
Non, je ne regretted rien
Ni le bien qu'on m'a fait,
Ni le mal
Tout ca m'est bien egal
Non, rien de rien
Non, je ne regretted rien
Car ma vie
Car mes joies
Aujourd' Hui
Ca commence avec toi!" Mirabelle finished holding a note.
Cheers and applause erupted from the other students.
"I want to see what Claire can do," John said.
"I can't do anything," Claire replied.
"Come on. If Miss Belle here can sing in French, you can do something."
Claire pondered over it.
"There's one thing I can do…forget it its way too embarrassing."
"Ever seen Wild Kingdom?" John questioned. "That guy's been doing that show for thirty years."
"Okay, but you have to swear you won't laugh." Claire insists.
John exhaled and made a gesture on his heart.
"I can't believe I'm actually doing this," The prom queen takes her lipstick out from her purse, opens it and puts it between her breasts.
The five other teens looked on.
The flame haired girl's head lifts up, her lips coated with lipstick.
Another round of claps came out.
"All right," Andy commented. "Where'd you learn to do that?"
"Camp seventh grade," Claire answered.
"Not bad," Mirabelle said shrugging.
John golf clapped in a rather sarcastic manner.
"That was great Claire; my image of you is totally blown." He said.
"And here we go," Mirabelle muttered.
"You're dirt!" Allison said fiercely. "Don't do that, you said you wouldn't laugh."
"Am I laughing?" John asked his tone scathing.
"You filthy prick!" Andy snarled glaring at the rebel.
John looks at the athlete.
"What do you care what I care anyway?" He snapped. "I don't even count right?"
Allison glanced at Andy who turned away, regretting his harsh words.
"I could disappear forever and it wouldn't make any difference." John added. "I may well as not even exist at this school. Remember?"
He looks at Claire.
"And you don't like me anyway,"
"You know I have feelings just as much as you do. And it hurts just as much when somebody steps all over them." Claire said with sadness.
"You're so pathetic!" John said, disgusted. "Don't you ever compare yourself to me. You got everything and I got nothing. Stinking Rapunzel right, I bet the school would shut down if you didn't show up. 'Queenie isn't here'."
"I like those earrings Claire,"
"Shut up," said Claire.
"Are those real diamonds Claire?" John demanded.
"Shut up,"
"I bet they are." John said sarcastically. "Did you work for the money to buy those earrings?"
"Shut your mouth." Claire snapped.
"Or did your daddy buy them?"
"SHUT UP!"
"I bet he bought those for you." John sneered. "I bet those were a Christmas gift right?"
"You know what I got for Christmas this year?" He asks. "It was a banner year in the old Bender family. I got a carton of cigarettes. The old man grabbed me and said 'Hey smoke up, Johnny!'"
Claire wept.
"Okay so go home and cry to your daddy alright?" John asked sharply. "Don't cry here."
Claire sniffles and dries the tears with her fingers.
"Are we going to be like our parents?" Andy asked.
"Not me," Claire said softly.
John faced her.
"Ever," She added, meeting his eyes.
John nodded.
"I agree with that." Mirabelle interjected. "I will never be like my stepfather."
The criminal puts his arms around her.
"What did your stepfather do to you?" Andy asks.
"He caused me and my mother great pain," Mirabelle replied, tears rolling down her cheeks as she thought of all the horrific memories of abuse.
"It's unavoidable, it just happens." Allison said.
"What happens?" Claire asks.
"When you grow up, your heart dies." The basket case answered.
"Who cares?" John scoffed.
"I care,"
For a moment, everybody is quiet. Then Brian speaks up.
"I was just thinking I mean, I know it's kind of a weird time but I was wondering um…what's going to happen to us on Monday when we're all together again. I mean I consider you guys my friends. I'm not wrong am I?" The nerd asks.
No," Andy replied.
"So…so on Monday what happens?" Brian inquired.
"Are we still friends you mean?" Claire questioned. "If we're friends now, that is?"
"Yeah," said Brian.
"You want the truth?"
"Yeah, I want the truth."
"I don't think so." Claire said sadly.
Brian looked disappointed. Mirabelle didn't blame him.
"With all of us or just John?" Allison asks.
"With all of you," Claire responded.
"That's a real nice attitude Claire." Andy retorted.
"Oh be honest Andy, if Brian came walking up to you on Monday what would you do?" Claire asks. "I mean picture this. You're there with all the sports. You know what you do, you'd say hi to him and when he left you'd cut him all up so your friends wouldn't think you really liked him."
"No way," said Andy.
"Okay, what if I came up to you?" Allison asked. "Or if Mirabelle came up to you?"
"Same exact thing," said Claire.
"You are a wench!" John hollered.
"Why?" The red head demanded. "Because I'm telling the truth that makes me a wench?"
"No, cause you know how mean that is to do to somebody." John shot back.
"And you don't have the lady balls to stand up to your friends and tell them you're gonna like who you want to like!" Mirabelle added furiously.
"Okay what about you hypocrite?" Claire snapped angrily. "Why don't you take Allison to one of your heavy metal vomit parties?"
John glanced at Allison who laughed a bit.
"Or take Brian out to the parking lot to get high, what about Andy for that matter? What about Mirabelle and what about me?" She demanded.
"What would your friends say if you and I were walking down the hallways together?" Claire demanded.
"They'd laugh their asses off, and you'd tell them you were doing it so they'd forgive you for being seen with me."
"Don't you ever talk about my friends!" John snarled.
"You don't know any of my friends, you don't look at any of my friends, and you certainly wouldn't condescend to speak to any of my friends! So you just stick to the things that you know: shopping, nail polish, your father's BMW, and your poor, rich drunk mother in the Caribbean!"
"SHUT UP!" The queen bee screeched. More tears roll down her face.
John continued to attack Claire.
"As far as being concerned about what's going to happen when you and I walk down the hallways at school, you can forget it! Cause it's never going to happen! Just bury your head in the sand and wait for your stinking prom!"
"I hate you!" Claire yelled through sobs.
"Yeah, good!"
"Then I assume Allison, Mirabelle, and I are better people than you guys huh?" Brian asks.
"Us weirdoes, would you do that to me?" He asked Allison.
"I don't have any friends," Allison said.
"If you did?"
"No. I don't think the kind of friends I'd have wouldn't mind."
"Mirabelle?" The blonde asked.
"Nah, I'd never do it. If my friends make a stink about it, I'd tell them to take a hike." Mirabelle answered.
"I just want to tell each and every one of you that I will and will not do it. Because I think that's real low." Brian addressed the others.
"Your friends wouldn't mind because they look up to us." Claire said with sorrow.
"You've got some nerve," Mirabelle thought.
"You're so conceited Claire, you're so conceited." Brian said with a half-hearted chuckle.
"You're so like full of yourself, why you're like that?" He asked.
"I'm not saying that to be conceited!" Claire cried. "I hate it! I hate having to go along with everything my friends say."
"Then why do you do it?"
"I don't know, you just…" Claire hesitates.
"You don't understand; you're not friends with the same kind of people Andy and I are friends with. You just don't understand the pressure that they can put on you."
"I don't understand what?" Brian demanded. "You think I don't understand pressure Claire?"
"Well, damn you!"
"Damn you!" He wept into the sleeve of his green sweatshirt.
"Do you know why I'm here today?" Brian questioned.
"Do you?"
Nobody answers.
"I'm here because Mr. Ryan found a gun in my locker." The geek revealed.
"Why'd you have a gun in your locker?" Andy inquired.
"I tried. When you pull the trunk on it, the light's supposed to go on. It didn't go on," Brian said, dejected.
"What was the gun for?"
"Just forget it,"
"You brought it up man," said the wrestler.
"I can't have an 'F'. I can't have it and I know my parents can't have it." Brian said sadly. "Even if I ace the rest of the semester, I'm still only a 'B'. Everything's ruined for me."
"Brian," Claire started to say.
The blonde smacked the chair away, still pissed with Claire.
"Considering my options, you know."
"No, killing yourself is not an option." Claire objected.
"Well I didn't do it, did I?" Brian snaps at the red head. "No I didn't think so."
"It was a hand gun?" Allison asks.
"No it was a flare gun," Brian answered. "It went off in my locker."
Andy snickers.
"It's not funny." Brian replied.
Andy stops. He tried to keep it together, but couldn't help laughing.
Mirabelle, Allison, and John smiled.
Brian finds himself smiling too.
"It is; the elephant was destroyed."
"You want to know what I did to get in here?" Allison suddenly asks.
Andy smiled warmly at her.
"Nothing, I didn't have anything better to do." The recluse confessed.
"What?" Mirabelle asked, laughing while John chuckled.
Andy laughed.
"You're laughing at me," Allison said, even though she was having fits of laughter.
"No!" Andy insisted.
"Yeah, you are!"
Brian and Claire laughed too.
Everyone stops.
"Mirabelle, why you're in here?" Brian asks.
"I pulled the letters off from the building," said the crooner.
"That was you?" Andy asked, incredulous.
Mirabelle nodded.
"I went to the school one night. Bringing a ladder with me, I climbed up and pulled the first three letters off spelling 'Hermer igh chool.' I guess Vernon figured it was me."
Once again, all six teens erupted in laughter.
A/N: Whew, what a lengthy chapter. Well, I hoped you've all enjoyed it. While I was writing the chapter I've been debating about having Mirabelle find out about John's list of former girlfriends in this chapter (or in the next one), so it'll be in the next chapter.
Also I wanted to come up with a different excuse (that did not involve doing something to Vernon) about why Mirabelle is in detention.
BTW, the song my OC sings is called "Non Je Ne Regrette Rien" by Edith Piaf. I do not own that song.
More soon!