Chapter 9

Charlie didn't know what possessed her to go along with the group to Bender's locker. But there she was, sneaking out of the library with the rest of them, leaving Johnny with a rattle.

Bender had his arm linked with hers and was skipping down the hall. Claire hurried behind them. "How do you know where Vernon went?" she asked him.

"I don't."

"Well then, how do you know when he'll be back?"

"I don't." Bender looked down at Charlie. "Being bad feels pretty good, huh?"

She rolled her eyes. "We are so screwed."

Moments later they arrived at Bender's locker. He opened it and a miniature guillotine sliced the end off of a shoe.

"Sharp..." Charlie commented.

"Slob!" Andrew added.

"My maids on vacation." Bender deadpanned, fishing out a large paper bag, from which he pulled out another, and another until all that was left from the Paper Bag Nesting Doll was a bag of weed.

"Drugs..." Brian chocked.

"Screw that Bender, put it back!" Andrew ordered.

Bender held his arm out for Charlie to take; she just rolled her eyes and elbowed him in the ribs. The rest of the group soon followed behind them.

"We'll cross through the lab, and then we'll double back." Bender instructed.

"You better be right, if Vernon cuts us off it's your fault, asshole!"

Brian started to say something, but was cut off at a sight that made Charlie's stomach drop; Vernon was down the hall. The group took off at lightning speed, but it seemed that Vernon was around every corner.

"Wait! Wait- hold it!" Bender panted. "Hold it! We have to go through the cafeteria!"

"No, the activities hall!" Andrew insisted.

"Hey man, you don't know what you're talking about!" Bender said.

"No, you don't know what you're talking about!"

The quiet girl made a noise, urging them to hurry.

"Now we're through listening to you. We're going this way."

Claire, Brian, Andrew and the quiet girl went off to the activities hall, and Charlie was about to go too when Bender grabbed her arm.

"Wait," he said. "They block that part of the school off to keep people from running freely all around. Go back through the cafeteria."

"Come on, let's go then!" Charlie started to pull him in the other direction.

"I've gotta bail their asses out of this first."

Charlie bit her lip, and then leaned in quick, kissing Bender's cheek. "Be careful."

Bender's eyes lit up with his smile. "Anything you say, Charlie."

Charlie ran through the deserted cafeteria, but slowed when she got to the auto shop. She had taken it the year before, so she knew exactly where the tools she wanted were. She hurried and grabbed a metal file, solder- which was a thin metal wire that was used for electrical jobs, and a soldering iron.

Charlie could see the library, but ducked behind a locker when she heard someone approaching. Running down the hall opposite her was Bender, singing at the top of his lungs.

"...fore the day I die, there are five things I wanna ride! Rifle, life boat, automobile. Vernon's mother and a Ferris wheel..."

Charlie stifled her giggle and snuck back into the library. As she passed by Andrew, she shook her head at him. "You are an idiot."

Andrew said nothing in reply. Charlie found an electrical outlet where she plugged in the soldering iron, behind a potted plant.

She was about to take out the screws Bender had taken from the door when Vernon shoved Bender through it.

"Get your stuff, let's go!" the principal ordered. "Mr. Wiseguy here has taken it upon himself to go to the gymnasium. I'm sorry to inform you that you're going to be without his services for the rest of the day."

"B-O-O H-O-O." Bender spelled.

"Everything's a big joke, huh Bender? The false alarm you pulled, Friday? False alarms are really funny, aren't they? What if your home," Nope. "What if your family-" Still nothing. "What if your dope was on fire?"

"Impossible sir." Bender shrugged. "It's in Johnson's underwear."

Andrew laughed, earning a glare from Vernon. "You think he's funny? You think this is cute? You think he's bitchin'? Is that it? Lemme tell you something. Look at him! He's a bum!

"You wanna see something funny? You go visit John Bender in five years! You'll see how God damned funny he is!" Vernon snapped his gaze to Bender. "What's the matter, you gonna cry?"

Don't hit him John. Charlie prayed. He's not worth it.

"What's the matter, John? You gonna cry?" Vernon taunted.

"Lay off him!" Charlie shouted, standing to meet her principal's cold gaze.

"What?"

"Leave him alone!" she spat. "John may not have the most money, best grades or be a star athlete. He may not be another one of those cookie cutter students you love. But he is one of the most genuine men I've ever met- and he's a bigger man that you will ever be!

"Do you wanna hear something funny, Principal Vernon? You. You are hilarious! Did you ever have a conscience? Because picking on a student doesn't seem right. Neither does taunting him and pushing him around. Is this what you hoped to accomplish in your life? Because that's just sad."

"Charlie." Bender said quietly. "Leave it alone."

"No John!" Charlie felt warm tears running down her face as she yelled at an expressionless Vernon. "Why don't I share with you why I'm here today? Last year I was raped. After school, under the bleachers during a damn football practice! I asked this man for help, but he was bribed by the bastard's parents to keep quiet.

"No one believed me. They thought I wanted attention. Yesterday the same bastard was trying it on another girl, I tried to stop him-" Charlie was almost sobbing, all eyes were on her. "He shoved me away. I kicked him in the nuts. Next thing I know I'm sitting in your damn office, with you telling me that I assaulted a student with no grounds.

"So, Dickwad. Promptly piss off and stop blaming us for your sad, pathetic life!"

"Charlotte..." Bender whispered. His expression was hard and angry, but also...empathetic?

"Let's go." Vernon grabbed his shoulder.

"Hey, keep your fuckin' hands off me!" Bender wrenched himself back. "I expect better manners from you, Dick!" He took his scarf and walked over to Charlie, wrapping it loosely around her. "I'll be back." His voice was barely a whisper; she closed her eyes as he pressed a kiss to her forehead.

Charlie sat down, still shaking, and hugged the scarf close. She didn't know how much time passed, but she could hear Johnny begin to cry and Brian murmur soft words and sounds to hush him.

She felt something wipe her cheek, and saw Claire smiling softly. Removing the tears with a tissue- more of which the quiet girl was pulling from her bag.

"Who did it?" Andrew asked.

"D-Davies." Charlie croaked, before clearing her throat. "Stewart Davies."

Andrew clenched his fist. "He won't be bothering you ever again. Or anyone else."

Charlie smiled softly. "Thank you. Everyone. I didn't mean to blow up like that-"

"OH SHIT!" there was a loud crash from the back of the library. Soon, acting like nothing happened, Bender waltzed over to them. "I forgot my pencil." Was his only explanation. Charlie started to laugh when they all heard Vernon shouting.

Bender dove beneath Charlie's table while everyone else returned to their seats.

"What was that ruckus?" Vernon entered, shouting.

"Uh, what ruckus?" Andrew asked.

"I was just in my office and I heard a ruckus!"

"Could you describe the ruckus, sir?" Brian asked.

"Watch your tongue young man, watch it!"

Charlie glanced down quickly and saw Bender try and shift his position. Instead he managed to bang his head on the desk with a groan. Everyone tried covering it up with various banging sounds.

Charlie looked over to Johnny and saw he had his pacifier in his mouth. Perfect.

"What is that? What, what is that, what is that noise?" Vernon questioned.

Under the table, Charlie felt Bender slide his hand up her leg. She gasped just as Claire said there wasn't any noise. She bit her lip but a small moan escaped it.

Starting with Claire, everybody began faking a coughing fit. That was enough distraction for Charlie to pry the pacifier from Johnny's mouth without Vernon's notice, making him cry.

"Shut that thing up!" Vernon yelled. "Now I may not have caught you in the act this time, but I will."

The quiet girl laughed.

Vernon pointed at the offender. "You make book on that missy!" he turned to Claire. "I will not be made a fool of!" Vernon turned and walked away. Which would have been quite serious and dramatic, were it not for the plastic toilet seat cover on his pants.

Everyone laughed, even Charlie, who was smacking Bender's back as he crawled out from beneath the table.

"It was an accident." He defended.

"You're an asshole!"

"Sue me." Bender started to walk over to Brian.

"Never said I didn't like it." Charlie called over.