All's Fair in High School Ch.16
Sitting on the gym's hardwood floor after school on Tuesday, Kay touched her forehead to her knee, feeling a slight tug in her tendon. She continued to stretch while her mind wandered to the school day that had just finished. After a pop-quiz in history, a lunch of paper-thin (and tasting) pizza, and listening to people gossip about Charity for the second day in a row, Kay needed a moment of peace.
She sat up straight and closed her eyes, breathing slowly and deeply. Suddenly, something hard hit the back of her head.
" Ow!" she cried, whirling around.
Mindy and Emily, Charity's sidekick and sidekick jr. stood next to her, their faces painted with hatred and anger. Mindy held a megaphone in her hands, the obvious weapon of attack.
" Oh," Mindy said in her empty voice. " Did I accidentally hit something, Em?"
" Yeah. Something vile. Better go wash it off," Emily said, raising a perfectly plucked eyebrow.
Kay could feel herself instantly fill up with tension. Mindy and Emily weren't worth it. She usually never even bothered to argue with them, she simply ignored them, because this seemed to piss them off the best. But today, something just sanpped inside of Kay, and she scrambled to her feet.
" You did that on purpose," she said. " I don't care what you guys think of me, but it should all be kept neutral during practice."
Emily blinked in obvious surprise before finding her voice. " Well, you've got some nerve showing your ugly face at practice after what you did."
" Yeah. You should be at the church, begging for forgiveness." Mindy added, tossing her hair over one shoulder.
Mindy took another step toward Kay. " Because of you, Charity's in the hospital right now," she spat. " She almost died, and it's all your fault."
" What?" Kay exclaimed. " You're blaming me for… that?" Kay couldn't bring herself to say it. She had thought they were going off on her for " stealing Charity's boyfriend, but now it had gotten much deeper. Much worse. They even thought that it was all HER fault that CHARITY commited suicide?
By now, the rest of the cheerleaders had abandoned their stretching exercises and crowded around Kay, Mindy and Emily.
Theresa stepped in between the three of them. " Enough. I want one peaceful practice. Just chill out. Coach Jenn will be here any minute."
Kay just stood there, numb. She still couldn't believe that Emily and Mindy would accuse her of something so bad, so wrong, so horrible.
" Killer." Emily muttered under her breath.
That did it. Kay turned to Emily, her eyes full of anger.
" Stop!" Kay yelled. " I have had enough of you two! You already make it bad enough, trying to spread some pathetic rumors about me, which may I add that no one buys anyways, and always acting so high0and-mighty. You're the ones totally out of line!"
" Kay," Theresa said gently. " This isn't really the time or pla—"
" No! Let me finish!" Kay stalked away from Theresa over to Mindy and Emily until only inches seperated them. She could see their eyes grow wide, but they stood their ground. " I haven't done anything to you! What is your problem?"
Mindy snorted. " Right. Like you didn't hit on Miguel when he was with Charity."
" I didn't know they were a couple! If you want someone to rag on, then go talk to Miguel. HE's the one who lied. He could have told me he had a girlfriend, but he didn't! Doesn't that tell you something?"
" Miguel loves Charity. The sooner you get that through your thick skull, the better." Charity said, fixing Kay with a cold stare.
" Yeah," Emily jumped in. " You're the one who tried to mess up their lives. All we're trying to do is protect our friend."
" Oh really?" Kay asked. " Well, maybe if you guys acted more like her friends and less like mindless followers, you would have realized that she was miserable enough to kill herself. Maybe you could have been there to stop her."
Mindy sucked in her breath as the color drained out of her cheeks. Emily's eyes narrowed, and she lifted her chin definantly, but Kay could tell that she had hit a definant nerve. She felt a twinge of guilt from these outragous accusations, but she couldn't stop herself. She was on a roll, and nothing could stop her.
" How can you accuse me of being this horrible person when you don't even know me? I've never done anything to you, but you just assume that I'm this evil bitch! If you want to fool yourself, go ahead. But from now on, stay away from me!" Kay finished.
By now, Mindy and Emily were only two tiny, glaring little lumps. Kay felt strangely weak. Her hands trembled and her knees felt weak. She usually didn't let those two losers get to her, but somehow they'd gotten under her skin today. But it had felt great to give them a piece of her mind.
But now Kay was starting to think about their accusations. Could they be right? Was she responsible for Charity trying to commit suicide? Did Charity blame her? Worse, did Miguel blame her?
Kay Bennett and Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald
Audition Practice. Cafeteria. Take one.
Theresa: What are you trying to tell me?
Kay: I'm trying to tell you that your son is dead. I'm sorry, madam.
Theresa: (huge gasp) There must be some kind of mistake!
Kay: Hey. Wait a minute. Time-out. Theresa, what was that?
Theresa: (miffed) What was what?
Kay: SOME kind of mistake. That's totally emphasizing the wrong word.
Theresa: And it's TOTALLY my audition.
Alex: And you're both TOTALLY annoying.
Kay: (rolls her eyes at Alex) Let's try again. (clears throat) I'm trying to tell you that your son is dead. I'm sorry, Madam.
Theresa: There must be some kind of MISTAKE!
Kay laughs.
Theresa: What now?
Kay: Passions ask for an audition tape?
Theresa: Fine, Ms. Julia Roberts. How would you do it?
Kay: (stricken) There must be some kind of mistake.
Theresa: Blah, blah, bland. Here. How about this? There MUST be some kind of MISTAKE.
Kay: Nope.
Theresa: There MUST be—
Kay: Nope.
Theresa: THERE must—
Kay: Nope.
Theresa: THERE MUST be—
Alex: There must be some way to make you shut up.
Kay: There must be—
Theresa: There must BE—
(Bell Rings)
Alex: There is a God!
Deliver to Room 162, Harmony High School
Miguel,
Great news! Charity's better! Come after football practice- bring ice cream!
-Mrs. Standish
" Jess, I swear, my hair is rebelling. It looks like something that Tabitha's doll cranked out of a play-doh factory." Kay moaned.
" Don't be ridiculous, Kay. Doll's don't play with play-doh." Jessica said matter-0f-factly.
" Oh my god! My hair really is that bad, isn't it?" Kay asked, her eyes widening in fear.
Jessica laughed. It was way too easy to get to Kay. " I'm only joking, Kay. It looks fine. But, here, let me help."
Jessica picked up a brush and began running it through Kay's hair, eager for something else to focus on. The mechanical motions took her back several years to when she and Kay used to play with eachother's hair, practicing "grown-up" styles.
" Jess?" Kay's voice sounded far away, and Jessica wondered if she might be thinking the same thing. " Can I ask you something?"
" What is it, Kay?" Jessica stared at her sister's downcast image in the dresser mirror.
Kay closed her eyes. " Do you think it's possible that I'm responsible for what happened to Charity?"
" You're messing with me, right?" Jessica set the brush down and turned Kay toward her. " Is this a trick question?"
Kay shrugged weakly and stared down at her hands. The guilt was really starting to get to her. She hadn't given it a second thought before, but somehow Mindy and Emily had really set something off inside her. Their anger, their hate, had been so…REAL. It was obvious that they weren't lying this time. It was obvious that they really believed Kay to be responsible.
" Kay! There's no way you could be responsible for what happened! How could you even think that?"
" I don't know." Kay gestured helplessly. Kay hated being helpless. Helpless meant weak, and there was one goddamn thing Kay bennett wasn't, it was weak. But she couldn't fight this. This wasn't a situation where she could just kick someone's ass, and be done with it. These thoughts kept intruding her mind, and she was helpless against them. She didn't have a shield to protect herself. And the hits kept coming and coming.
Jessica grabbed Kay by her shoulders. " Listen to me. You've been the victim throughout this entire ordeal. Whatever Charity's problems are, they're much deeper than all this. There's a lot we don't know about her."
" Yeah, I guess so." Kay mumbled, still staring at the carpet.
" Hey. Why are you wasting time thinking about this, anyways? Shouldn't you be trying to revive your play-doh hair?" Jessica asked, playfully whacking Kay on the head with the hairbrush.
"You said it wasn't that bad!" Kay protested.
Jessica laughed. Throughout the years, she had learned that she couldn't change Kay's mind about something. But if she could redirect her thoughts to something else (like guys or chocolate or guys or cheerleading or guys), she was usually able to seep away her worries. At least, temporarily.
" So, what are you going to wear? That might help us fix your hair dilemas." Jess asked.
" Actually, I'm not sure what to wear. Josh is taking me out to that new comedy club, but I don't know what the seating is like." Kay said, taking a beading necklace and holding it under her chin.
" Seating? Is that important?" Jessica asked.
" Yeah. If we're sitting at tables, I need play up my upper torso, like a scooped neckline and a delicate string of beads. If we're on stools. I can emphasize me legs more—maybe wear shimmery hose and strappy shoes. Then there's the whole lighting thing."
" Lighting thing?" Jessica asked, trying desperately not to laugh.
" Of course," Kay said, obviously exasperated. " With lamplight or candles you have to wear glittery makeup and go a little heavier on the colors. But don't ever do that with ultrabright flourescent lights or it's like 'Hello, my name's Elvira. What yours?'"
Jessica shrugged helplessly. Leave it to Kay to raise dressing for a date up to a high art.
She watched in awe as her sister painstakingly tried on most of what she owned before settling on a wine colored sheath dress and a lacy coverlet. Kay then studied herself walking in four different pairs of shoes before deciding on the gold platforms.
" All set." Kay said, turning to Jessica to give her the full effect. "Only I still don't know what to do with my hair."
" Here, I've got an idea." Jessica said, tugging Kay towards her. She twisted Kay's hair back, pinning it in place. Then she put her hair in a ponytail. After spiral curling her hair, she just smushed her hair into a messy bun.
" There. Like it?" Jessica asked, giving Kay a mirror and holding one herslef so that Kay could see the back of her head.
" Actually, I do. Thanks, Jess." Kay said., checking her eye makeup in the mirror.
" No prob, sis." Jess said smiling. It was good to see Kay back in full force.
Twenty minutes later…
Kay smiled as she glanced over at Josh. He looked unbelievably handsome, and she asked herself how she got so lucky.
He pulled into a parking lot.
Kay glanced at the sign: Scooper Duper's Ice Cream Shoppe.
She glanced over at him quizzically.
" We're early." He explained, smiling. Kay loved the way his eyes crinkled at the sides as he smiled at her. The smile that could practically melt her heart. The smile like Miguel's…
She jerked her head slightly. Where had that thought come from?
" Uh, Kay? Coming?" Josh teased, as he was holding her door open for her.
" Yeah! Of course!" Kay said cheerfully. As she walked into the store, she scolded herself for letting Miguel get to her. Here she was, on a date with a wonderful guy and she was letting that jerk spoil her evening.
As she opened the door, she quickly checked her reflection in the glass door. One of the spiral curls had somehow fallen out and now was hanging from the left side of her head like a lifeless snake. Great. How was she supposed to feel charming with limp hair?
" Hey, Josh?" she playfully twirled the strand of hair around her finger. " I'm gonna go to the rest room. Will you order for me?"
" Sure. What's your poison?"
" I'll have a double scoop of chocolate cookie dough with little sprinkles of… Miguel!"
Kay's heart stopped. It couldn't be happeneing. But it was. Standing right in front of her at the cash register was the unmistakeable back view f Miguel Lopez-Firtzgerald. She recognized the boyish slouch, and the broad shoulers… everything.
'No! Why? Just when I decided to let loose and have some fun.' She thought miserably.
She briefly considered diving under one of the pink plastic tablecloths, but it was too late. Miguel turned around, brown paper sack in hand, and came chest-to-face with Kay. A startle expression crossed his features, and he stopped dead in his tracks.
" Kay!" he exclaimed.
" Miguel. Uh… hi," she stammered. " What are you doing here?"
" Getting some ice cream." He held up the brown paper sack.
Duh. What did she think her was doing? Getting a pedicure?
" It's for Charity." He added.
" Oh." Kay felt a pang in her heart. "That's nice. How is she doing?"
" She's fine." Miguel said, a bit too quickly.
Miguel kept glancing from her to a spot off her right, and Kay became extremely aware that Josh was standing next to her.
" Oh! How rude of me. Miguel, this is Josh. Josh, this is—"
" We've met." Josh cut her off.
Oh god. They know eachother? Just how well do they know eachother?
" Hey, Josh. Well, I gotta go. Bye." Miguel said, walking past them.
A shiver ran through Kay. Miguel must blame her for what happened to Charity. Why else would he seem so blunt and cold?