Angel finished the day totally wiped out. She was not tired from school itself, she was tired from dodging the nasty looks, imploring teachers, and mean principals. She appear ed to be the most hated girl in all of TC Williams High. Even the other members of the football team were not receiving such horrible treatment from their peers.
Angel went to her locker, got her stuff out, and slammed the locker door. She swung her bag on her back, and then walked outside to get on her bike and go home.
When she got outside, she dropped her bag.
All over the streets there were people. Hundreds and hundreds of people. All of them yelling, all of them furious. Most of them were holding signs, that said stuff like " Home-EC, not football", "Girls can't play ball", " NOMF- Not On My Field."
Angel was looking around, shocked. Sunshine walked up beside her.
" Me. These people are throwing this big of a fit over me." Angel said in amazement.
" You're different. People here hate people who are different." Sunshine said. " You need a ride home?" Angel asked him.
" Where's your bike?"
" Right over....." She started to say, but trailed off. Over in the same place where she had parked her bike that very morning, was a pile of Harley Davidson parts. The tires, helmet and seat were neatly stacked beside the pile of rubble.
Angel saw red. She turned, looked at the crowd; which had grown eerily quiet; and she screamed, " Thanks for leaving the f***ing parts!!!!"
She snatched up her bag, dug through it, and hauled out her wallet. She opened her wallet, got some change, and stormed over to the payphone.
Her hands were shaking so bad, she could not dial her number.
Sunshine gently took the receiver from her, and said " What's your number?"
She didn't argue with him. " 298-3256." She leaned back against the wall as he dialed. He listened into the phone, then handed to her. " It's ringing."
Her dad picked up. " Baby, what's the matter?"
She fought back tears. " Daddy, there are a million people protesting against me, and they took apart my Harley."
Her father took a deep breath. " Are all the parts still there, or did they took those?"
" No, they're here."
" Okay, sweetie, we'll take care of this, okay? I'll bring the truck, so we can get all the parts together and we'll put the bike back together. As for the protesters, can you wait inside until I get there?"
"Yeah. Sunshine is waiting with me."
" Okay. Stay in the front hall until I get there."
" See you in a minute Dad, and be careful."
She hung up, and Sunshine walked with her back into the building. They sat down on a bench.
" Man, that's pretty intense out there." Sunshine said, shifting his bag off of his back and onto his lap.
" Yeah I know. I played ball when we lived in Maine. It was kinda a big deal, but that was nothing compared to this."
" Yeah. They'll get used to you though. Hey, they got used to me, the Sunshine Kid."
Angel smiled. " How'd you get that nickname, anyways?"
"I got it from Rev. I come from California, and before I went to camp, I had this really long blond hair. So, Rev being Rev, he gave me the nickname Sunshine."
" Wonder what they'll call you." He said.
" Overbearing, Arrogant, Egotistical Bitch probably has a nice ring to it to most of them."
" Nah, " He said, " Too long."
She whacked him lightly on the arm. "That was low."
" I know. Look, there's your dad...and a bunch of big, burly people."
Angel ran to the door and looked out. With her father were 12 very large leather-clad bikers. "Oh my gosh, it's the guys!"
" Which guys?" Sunshine asked.
" Well, when me and my dad lived in South Dakota, of all places, we met the Angel Gang."
" The Angel Gang?"
" Yeppers. The Angel Gang. I'm an honorary member. But anyways, we met them in South Dakota. They must be the only twelve black men who ride Hogs in South Dakota."
Angel watched as the twelve men walked over to the pile of her Harley's insides. They backed the truck up right next to the pile of parts, and started picking them up one piece at a time, and carefully put them on the soft foam they laid in the back.
" What are they doing?" Sunshine asked.
" Restoring a Harley is expensive enough, but restoring a 1967 Harley with all 1967 parts is a million dollar investment. If one part is missing, it could cost about $400."
" Wow. That's a lot."
Her father came into the building, walked over to her, and swept her into a bear hug. "Are you alright?" he said, his eyes full of concern.
" I'm okay Dad, promise. What are the Angel Gang doing here?" Angel asked, watching as the guys were warding off the crowd.
" They are the best damned Harley mechanics in the country, and they were on their way to NYC. So I called Bear, and asked him to please bring the gang and come and put my girl's Harley back together."
Angel watched the guys as they came toward the building. They were an intimidating bunch, and they parted the crowd with ease.
" Well, well, well, I guess all the kings horses and men are gonna put this Harley together again, huh, Girl?" Bear asked, with a big toothy grin on his face.
Angel gave him a big hug. " Bear, I have never been so happy to see your ugly face."
" Uh. If it was anyone else, I would be insulted."
" C'mon, you guys," her father said, " Let's go put the Harley together."
That night, Angel laid down on her bed, exhausted, but satisfied. Whoever had dismantled her bike had known what he or she was doing, so the bike was coming back together like a puzzle. The next day, Saturday, was going to be dedicated to getting it back together, and cleaning the sugar out of the gas tank.
Angel was about half asleep, when she smelled something. She really couldn't tell what it was, but it was getting stronger and stronger.
She couldn't pinpoint the smell, so she got out of bed. She walked around her room a minute, and then caught something orange in her front yard out of the corner of her eye.
She ran to her window, looked out, and saw it.
Someone had set up a huge, six foot cross, in her front yard. And someone had set fire to it.
Angel went dashing down the stairs, out the front door and onto the lawn. Her father was there, standing silently, watching the cross burn.
Angel looked at her dad, watching him. He looked....she didn't know what he might have been thinking. He was just standing there.
Suddenly, he yelled, " IS THIS ALL YOU GOT? IS IT? BURN A CROSS IN MY YARD, THAT AIN'T GONNA SCARE ME, YOU LOW DOWN, WHITE CAPE WEARING, IGNORANT REDNECKS!!! "
Angel said, " What are we gonna do about it Dad?"
" Let it burn. Let the damn thing burn."
" Dad..."
" Angel, I am not going to stand for this. These people want to harass me at my office, you at school, and then both of us at home. I am not going to stand for it. Let that cross burn. They are not going to run me and my daughter out of town. I am going to live here and no one is going to stop me."
" Okay Dad." Angel said.
He looked at her, confused. " Did you just...agree with me?"
" First time I have ever seen you take a stand against your persecutors. I honestly didn't think that you had it in you."
He smiled, and put his arm around her shoulders. They turned, and started walking toward the house. Then they heard the sound of firetrucks. " Well, at least someone called the fire department." Angel said, supressing a yawn.
" Probably that old woman who lives next door. She didn't want ash on her precious petunias."
" Hahaha, very funny Dad."
Angel spent all of her first Saturday in Alexandria in her garage. Her bike was almost put back together by the end of the day.
"Just needs spark plugs." Bear said, cleaning his hands with a rag.
" I'll walk into town, go and get some." Angel said, checking her face in the mirror, to make sure that she got no oil on it.
" Okay. Need some money?"
" Yeah. Probably about 3 or 4 bucks."
Bear handed her the money, and she set off for the hardware store.
As she walked through town, it was dusk. Everyone was out, shopping, doing errands, whatnot. As she walked through town, people stopped, and stared. Angel ignored them, but it was hard.
She went to the store, got her spark plugs, paid, and walked out. She quickened her pace as she walked, it was really dark by this point. She saw a field, and thought " I'll cut through there, and save time." She started across the field, and immediately got a bad feeling. She was looking around, it was dark all around her.
Just then, she heard a noise. Several noises. She was being surrounded from all sides.
She stopped, in the middle of the field, next to a lightpost. Then seven or eight guys came slowly into the circle of light. In their hands were boards, chains and pipes.
" Oh sh**." Angel thought, as she looked around. Then she said " Can I help you guys?"
" Yeah, b****. We are gonna mess you up so bad, your own daddy ain't gonna be able to recognize you."
With that, all eight guys came at her at once. She landed a few good kicks and punches, but for every one punch from her, four hits from a pipe came at her.
Angel was laying on the ground, bleeding and in agony. Then, the biggest guy said " You had enough? Just say the word."
Angel looked at him, and then said, " F**** you, asshole."
Angel saw him swing the pipe, and was bracing to be hit in face, when she saw a hand grabbed the pipe from behind.
She turned her head, and saw Sunshine. Sunshine, with a Louisville slugger.
What she saw then she would not believe. Sunshine swung the bat, and connected with the jaws of every guy in the group. Every guy started running.
Sunshine stood there for a few seconds, the bat still in the air. Then he slowly turned, dropped the bat, and crouched next to Angel.
Angel was in so much pain, she was crying. She never cried about things that hurt, ever.
For a minute, she didn't recognizing Sunshine. When he reached down to lift her up off her back, she flinched. She was practically delirious.
" Don....don't hurt me. Don't hurt me. Please..."
As she faded out of consciousness, she heard Sunshine say, " Never Babe. Never."
Angel woke up in a white hospital room. She slowly opened her swollen eyelids to see Sunshine and her father. Her father was asleep by her bed in a chair, and Sunshine was asleep in a cot by her bed.
She looked down at herself. No casts, so no broken bones. Ugly bruises all up and down her arms. Okay, she thought, it can't be as bad as I thought it was. She felt a bandage on her right ankle. She shifted her sheet and poked her foot out from under it. An ace bandage. Sprained ankle? She turned her foot. OWOWOWOW! She thought. Yep, sprained ankle.
Her dad suddenly woke up. " Hey slugger." He said gently. "How ya feeling?"
" Bad. Lousy. In pain. Take your pick. How long was I out?"
" Three days."
" THREE.... I was out for three days?"
" Yep. You got attacked on Saturday, and today is Tuesday, so yep, three days."
" Sonfabitch. I missed the game."
Her dad perked up. " The game?"
"The game we had against Northside. It was on Monday, after school. The guys who attacked me were probably Northside football players."
" Damn them! I am going to get on this right away sweetheart, don't you worry."
With that. He bustled out of the room, muttering all the way down the hall.
Angel heard stirring, she turned, and saw Sunshine sitting up on his cot. " Hey Angel," he said, kinda of awkwardly.
" Sleep well?" Angel asked, smiling, and sitting up in bed.
Sunshine sat up, rubbed his eyes, and came over and sat down in the chair her father had left. " Yeah. I slept pretty good."
"How long have you been here?"
" Well, I came in with the ambulance, stayed until Monday, then I went to school. I came back after the game; by the way, everyone missed you, we coulda used you. Coach Boone was having a fit because he wanted to put you in. Anyways, came back after the game, and fell asleep on this cot, and here I am."
" So you've basically been here as long as I have."
" Well... yeah. Basically."
" Why?"
"Well...." Sunshine got quiet. "Well?" Angel prompted. " I...just...wanted to make sure you were alright." he finished lamely.
"Right. So you hung with my unconscious a$$ for three days."
"Yeah, basically."
Angel observed him for a minute. Then she said, " Okay, I'll buy that."
"Whew." Sunshine said, " For a minute there I thought you were gonna call my bluff."
" Well, it's sweet of you to have one."
Sunshine smiled. Then he looked at his watch and said " Well, I gotta go to school. I'll come by and see you this afternoon, okay?"
Then, without giving her a chance to respond or react, he leaned over, kissed her on the cheek, and was out the door.
Angel sat there for a few minutes, kinda stunned. Stunned was not the word. She couldn't think of the name of the feeling she was feeling.
Just then, her doctor walked in. " How are you feeling Angel?" asked Doctor Hall.
" Like I have been hit with a bunch of pipes, boards and chains. When am I being released?"
"Today. I want to run a few tests though, just to make sure there was no permanent damage."
That afternoon, Angel was wheeled out of her room, and out the hospital door. She breathed fresh air. She Looked up at Bear, and said, " Did you get my Harley back together?"
" Yeah baby. She's at the house waiting for ya. In the mean time, we get to ride mine."
Angel perked a little. His had a sidecar, so she could enjoy the view out of the eye she could still see out of.
They rode in complete silence, slowly riding past all of the buildings and businesses. They came to a stop light, and right next to them was a green pickup truck. Angel glanced over at it, and then did a double take.
Inside of the truck was the four guys who had beat the sh** out of her. She sat there, gaping. They looked over at her, and they smiled and waved.
She hopped out of the sidecar and went over to the truck. She picked up a pipe that was in the road, and bashed the side window with it.
The guys were not smiling anymore. Angel reached in with both hands and pulled one of the guys out through the window. She slammed him against the truck, and said " Didn't mess me up as bad as you thought you would, didja asshole?"
She felt hands on her shoulders. " Let it go babe. Ain't gonna do no one no good."
She breathed deeply. She let him go. " This ain't over fool. I'll make sure you get put in your place, and you get put there good."
The guy crawled back into the truck, and they all sped off.
Angel turned around and Bear was standing right there. " Thank you Pooh Bear, for saving me from myself once again."
" No problem Babe. Let's get back to your house. I'll be leaving for NYC soon."
The next day, Angel went back to school. She decided to shock everyone. She wore all black leather. A black leather halter top, tight black leather pants, and a black leather jacket with plenty of fringe and black beads. Her curly red hair was pulled back with a black scrunchie.
She hopped on her Harley, and rode to school. She parked, and was immediatly surrounded by the guys from the football team.
" Are you okay How ya feeling" Rev asked, looking at her now intact bike in amazement.
" I will feel much better once I get back on the field." Angel said.
Just then, Coach Boone walked up. " I need to see a doctor's note, saying you are fit to play."
Angel produced the note. " Written, signed and stamped in doctor's handwriting. I would have got it notarized too, but I didn't have time."
" Haha, very funny. I wanna see all of you on the field this afternoon. We have a big game in two days, and we are going to win."
" Okay Coach. C YA there."
Angel got off her bike, and reached for helmet to take it off. Then, she saw the cheerleaders who had spat in her face. She said " Maybe I should leave this on."
" Look," She said, " I just wanted to apoligize. I'm really sorry"
Angel inched the helmet off. " Ya mean it?"
" Yeah. That was really mean of me. And what those guys did to you was really noxious."
" Yeah, well, thank you...What is your name?"
" Jessica. Jessica Parker."
" Well, Jessica Jessica Parker. I accept your apology."
Angel was riding home after practice, feeling content. Exhausted, yes, but content. Life was going a little better than it had for the last couple of days.
That is, until she saw the graffitti.
All over her house, stuff like " GO HOME YANKEE" and " HALF BREEDS NOT WELCOME" was sprayed in black spray paint. It was not just on the house, it was on the driveway and on the lawn as well.
She stood there for a few minutes, and then sat down on her driveway, stunned. There was someone who really hated her and her father.
Just then, she heard a group of familiar voices behind her. " Dang girl, who did this?" Rev asked. He was accompanied by Gerry, Julian, Eddie and Sunshine.
" My fan club." She said weakly.
" One hellava fanclub you got there."
" My life sucks."
Rev took a seat next to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. " Nah, your life don't suck. At least you have one. The people who did this," And he pointed to the graffitti, " They don't have no life."
Just then, Mrs. Halliwell, the old woman who lived nextdoor, poked her head out her window. She looked at Julian and Rev, and said " Go home you heathens!"
Rev and Julian spun around. " Stick it in your ear, you wrinkled up old white woman!"
Angel laughed. Mrs Halliwell came storming out of her house and stood face to face with Julian and Rev.
" Well, in my day, we had no such heathens as yourselves. The neighborhoods..."
Angel, still laughing, said " Mrs. Halliwell, do us all a favor and SHUT UP."
Angel went to her locker, got her stuff out, and slammed the locker door. She swung her bag on her back, and then walked outside to get on her bike and go home.
When she got outside, she dropped her bag.
All over the streets there were people. Hundreds and hundreds of people. All of them yelling, all of them furious. Most of them were holding signs, that said stuff like " Home-EC, not football", "Girls can't play ball", " NOMF- Not On My Field."
Angel was looking around, shocked. Sunshine walked up beside her.
" Me. These people are throwing this big of a fit over me." Angel said in amazement.
" You're different. People here hate people who are different." Sunshine said. " You need a ride home?" Angel asked him.
" Where's your bike?"
" Right over....." She started to say, but trailed off. Over in the same place where she had parked her bike that very morning, was a pile of Harley Davidson parts. The tires, helmet and seat were neatly stacked beside the pile of rubble.
Angel saw red. She turned, looked at the crowd; which had grown eerily quiet; and she screamed, " Thanks for leaving the f***ing parts!!!!"
She snatched up her bag, dug through it, and hauled out her wallet. She opened her wallet, got some change, and stormed over to the payphone.
Her hands were shaking so bad, she could not dial her number.
Sunshine gently took the receiver from her, and said " What's your number?"
She didn't argue with him. " 298-3256." She leaned back against the wall as he dialed. He listened into the phone, then handed to her. " It's ringing."
Her dad picked up. " Baby, what's the matter?"
She fought back tears. " Daddy, there are a million people protesting against me, and they took apart my Harley."
Her father took a deep breath. " Are all the parts still there, or did they took those?"
" No, they're here."
" Okay, sweetie, we'll take care of this, okay? I'll bring the truck, so we can get all the parts together and we'll put the bike back together. As for the protesters, can you wait inside until I get there?"
"Yeah. Sunshine is waiting with me."
" Okay. Stay in the front hall until I get there."
" See you in a minute Dad, and be careful."
She hung up, and Sunshine walked with her back into the building. They sat down on a bench.
" Man, that's pretty intense out there." Sunshine said, shifting his bag off of his back and onto his lap.
" Yeah I know. I played ball when we lived in Maine. It was kinda a big deal, but that was nothing compared to this."
" Yeah. They'll get used to you though. Hey, they got used to me, the Sunshine Kid."
Angel smiled. " How'd you get that nickname, anyways?"
"I got it from Rev. I come from California, and before I went to camp, I had this really long blond hair. So, Rev being Rev, he gave me the nickname Sunshine."
" Wonder what they'll call you." He said.
" Overbearing, Arrogant, Egotistical Bitch probably has a nice ring to it to most of them."
" Nah, " He said, " Too long."
She whacked him lightly on the arm. "That was low."
" I know. Look, there's your dad...and a bunch of big, burly people."
Angel ran to the door and looked out. With her father were 12 very large leather-clad bikers. "Oh my gosh, it's the guys!"
" Which guys?" Sunshine asked.
" Well, when me and my dad lived in South Dakota, of all places, we met the Angel Gang."
" The Angel Gang?"
" Yeppers. The Angel Gang. I'm an honorary member. But anyways, we met them in South Dakota. They must be the only twelve black men who ride Hogs in South Dakota."
Angel watched as the twelve men walked over to the pile of her Harley's insides. They backed the truck up right next to the pile of parts, and started picking them up one piece at a time, and carefully put them on the soft foam they laid in the back.
" What are they doing?" Sunshine asked.
" Restoring a Harley is expensive enough, but restoring a 1967 Harley with all 1967 parts is a million dollar investment. If one part is missing, it could cost about $400."
" Wow. That's a lot."
Her father came into the building, walked over to her, and swept her into a bear hug. "Are you alright?" he said, his eyes full of concern.
" I'm okay Dad, promise. What are the Angel Gang doing here?" Angel asked, watching as the guys were warding off the crowd.
" They are the best damned Harley mechanics in the country, and they were on their way to NYC. So I called Bear, and asked him to please bring the gang and come and put my girl's Harley back together."
Angel watched the guys as they came toward the building. They were an intimidating bunch, and they parted the crowd with ease.
" Well, well, well, I guess all the kings horses and men are gonna put this Harley together again, huh, Girl?" Bear asked, with a big toothy grin on his face.
Angel gave him a big hug. " Bear, I have never been so happy to see your ugly face."
" Uh. If it was anyone else, I would be insulted."
" C'mon, you guys," her father said, " Let's go put the Harley together."
That night, Angel laid down on her bed, exhausted, but satisfied. Whoever had dismantled her bike had known what he or she was doing, so the bike was coming back together like a puzzle. The next day, Saturday, was going to be dedicated to getting it back together, and cleaning the sugar out of the gas tank.
Angel was about half asleep, when she smelled something. She really couldn't tell what it was, but it was getting stronger and stronger.
She couldn't pinpoint the smell, so she got out of bed. She walked around her room a minute, and then caught something orange in her front yard out of the corner of her eye.
She ran to her window, looked out, and saw it.
Someone had set up a huge, six foot cross, in her front yard. And someone had set fire to it.
Angel went dashing down the stairs, out the front door and onto the lawn. Her father was there, standing silently, watching the cross burn.
Angel looked at her dad, watching him. He looked....she didn't know what he might have been thinking. He was just standing there.
Suddenly, he yelled, " IS THIS ALL YOU GOT? IS IT? BURN A CROSS IN MY YARD, THAT AIN'T GONNA SCARE ME, YOU LOW DOWN, WHITE CAPE WEARING, IGNORANT REDNECKS!!! "
Angel said, " What are we gonna do about it Dad?"
" Let it burn. Let the damn thing burn."
" Dad..."
" Angel, I am not going to stand for this. These people want to harass me at my office, you at school, and then both of us at home. I am not going to stand for it. Let that cross burn. They are not going to run me and my daughter out of town. I am going to live here and no one is going to stop me."
" Okay Dad." Angel said.
He looked at her, confused. " Did you just...agree with me?"
" First time I have ever seen you take a stand against your persecutors. I honestly didn't think that you had it in you."
He smiled, and put his arm around her shoulders. They turned, and started walking toward the house. Then they heard the sound of firetrucks. " Well, at least someone called the fire department." Angel said, supressing a yawn.
" Probably that old woman who lives next door. She didn't want ash on her precious petunias."
" Hahaha, very funny Dad."
Angel spent all of her first Saturday in Alexandria in her garage. Her bike was almost put back together by the end of the day.
"Just needs spark plugs." Bear said, cleaning his hands with a rag.
" I'll walk into town, go and get some." Angel said, checking her face in the mirror, to make sure that she got no oil on it.
" Okay. Need some money?"
" Yeah. Probably about 3 or 4 bucks."
Bear handed her the money, and she set off for the hardware store.
As she walked through town, it was dusk. Everyone was out, shopping, doing errands, whatnot. As she walked through town, people stopped, and stared. Angel ignored them, but it was hard.
She went to the store, got her spark plugs, paid, and walked out. She quickened her pace as she walked, it was really dark by this point. She saw a field, and thought " I'll cut through there, and save time." She started across the field, and immediately got a bad feeling. She was looking around, it was dark all around her.
Just then, she heard a noise. Several noises. She was being surrounded from all sides.
She stopped, in the middle of the field, next to a lightpost. Then seven or eight guys came slowly into the circle of light. In their hands were boards, chains and pipes.
" Oh sh**." Angel thought, as she looked around. Then she said " Can I help you guys?"
" Yeah, b****. We are gonna mess you up so bad, your own daddy ain't gonna be able to recognize you."
With that, all eight guys came at her at once. She landed a few good kicks and punches, but for every one punch from her, four hits from a pipe came at her.
Angel was laying on the ground, bleeding and in agony. Then, the biggest guy said " You had enough? Just say the word."
Angel looked at him, and then said, " F**** you, asshole."
Angel saw him swing the pipe, and was bracing to be hit in face, when she saw a hand grabbed the pipe from behind.
She turned her head, and saw Sunshine. Sunshine, with a Louisville slugger.
What she saw then she would not believe. Sunshine swung the bat, and connected with the jaws of every guy in the group. Every guy started running.
Sunshine stood there for a few seconds, the bat still in the air. Then he slowly turned, dropped the bat, and crouched next to Angel.
Angel was in so much pain, she was crying. She never cried about things that hurt, ever.
For a minute, she didn't recognizing Sunshine. When he reached down to lift her up off her back, she flinched. She was practically delirious.
" Don....don't hurt me. Don't hurt me. Please..."
As she faded out of consciousness, she heard Sunshine say, " Never Babe. Never."
Angel woke up in a white hospital room. She slowly opened her swollen eyelids to see Sunshine and her father. Her father was asleep by her bed in a chair, and Sunshine was asleep in a cot by her bed.
She looked down at herself. No casts, so no broken bones. Ugly bruises all up and down her arms. Okay, she thought, it can't be as bad as I thought it was. She felt a bandage on her right ankle. She shifted her sheet and poked her foot out from under it. An ace bandage. Sprained ankle? She turned her foot. OWOWOWOW! She thought. Yep, sprained ankle.
Her dad suddenly woke up. " Hey slugger." He said gently. "How ya feeling?"
" Bad. Lousy. In pain. Take your pick. How long was I out?"
" Three days."
" THREE.... I was out for three days?"
" Yep. You got attacked on Saturday, and today is Tuesday, so yep, three days."
" Sonfabitch. I missed the game."
Her dad perked up. " The game?"
"The game we had against Northside. It was on Monday, after school. The guys who attacked me were probably Northside football players."
" Damn them! I am going to get on this right away sweetheart, don't you worry."
With that. He bustled out of the room, muttering all the way down the hall.
Angel heard stirring, she turned, and saw Sunshine sitting up on his cot. " Hey Angel," he said, kinda of awkwardly.
" Sleep well?" Angel asked, smiling, and sitting up in bed.
Sunshine sat up, rubbed his eyes, and came over and sat down in the chair her father had left. " Yeah. I slept pretty good."
"How long have you been here?"
" Well, I came in with the ambulance, stayed until Monday, then I went to school. I came back after the game; by the way, everyone missed you, we coulda used you. Coach Boone was having a fit because he wanted to put you in. Anyways, came back after the game, and fell asleep on this cot, and here I am."
" So you've basically been here as long as I have."
" Well... yeah. Basically."
" Why?"
"Well...." Sunshine got quiet. "Well?" Angel prompted. " I...just...wanted to make sure you were alright." he finished lamely.
"Right. So you hung with my unconscious a$$ for three days."
"Yeah, basically."
Angel observed him for a minute. Then she said, " Okay, I'll buy that."
"Whew." Sunshine said, " For a minute there I thought you were gonna call my bluff."
" Well, it's sweet of you to have one."
Sunshine smiled. Then he looked at his watch and said " Well, I gotta go to school. I'll come by and see you this afternoon, okay?"
Then, without giving her a chance to respond or react, he leaned over, kissed her on the cheek, and was out the door.
Angel sat there for a few minutes, kinda stunned. Stunned was not the word. She couldn't think of the name of the feeling she was feeling.
Just then, her doctor walked in. " How are you feeling Angel?" asked Doctor Hall.
" Like I have been hit with a bunch of pipes, boards and chains. When am I being released?"
"Today. I want to run a few tests though, just to make sure there was no permanent damage."
That afternoon, Angel was wheeled out of her room, and out the hospital door. She breathed fresh air. She Looked up at Bear, and said, " Did you get my Harley back together?"
" Yeah baby. She's at the house waiting for ya. In the mean time, we get to ride mine."
Angel perked a little. His had a sidecar, so she could enjoy the view out of the eye she could still see out of.
They rode in complete silence, slowly riding past all of the buildings and businesses. They came to a stop light, and right next to them was a green pickup truck. Angel glanced over at it, and then did a double take.
Inside of the truck was the four guys who had beat the sh** out of her. She sat there, gaping. They looked over at her, and they smiled and waved.
She hopped out of the sidecar and went over to the truck. She picked up a pipe that was in the road, and bashed the side window with it.
The guys were not smiling anymore. Angel reached in with both hands and pulled one of the guys out through the window. She slammed him against the truck, and said " Didn't mess me up as bad as you thought you would, didja asshole?"
She felt hands on her shoulders. " Let it go babe. Ain't gonna do no one no good."
She breathed deeply. She let him go. " This ain't over fool. I'll make sure you get put in your place, and you get put there good."
The guy crawled back into the truck, and they all sped off.
Angel turned around and Bear was standing right there. " Thank you Pooh Bear, for saving me from myself once again."
" No problem Babe. Let's get back to your house. I'll be leaving for NYC soon."
The next day, Angel went back to school. She decided to shock everyone. She wore all black leather. A black leather halter top, tight black leather pants, and a black leather jacket with plenty of fringe and black beads. Her curly red hair was pulled back with a black scrunchie.
She hopped on her Harley, and rode to school. She parked, and was immediatly surrounded by the guys from the football team.
" Are you okay How ya feeling" Rev asked, looking at her now intact bike in amazement.
" I will feel much better once I get back on the field." Angel said.
Just then, Coach Boone walked up. " I need to see a doctor's note, saying you are fit to play."
Angel produced the note. " Written, signed and stamped in doctor's handwriting. I would have got it notarized too, but I didn't have time."
" Haha, very funny. I wanna see all of you on the field this afternoon. We have a big game in two days, and we are going to win."
" Okay Coach. C YA there."
Angel got off her bike, and reached for helmet to take it off. Then, she saw the cheerleaders who had spat in her face. She said " Maybe I should leave this on."
" Look," She said, " I just wanted to apoligize. I'm really sorry"
Angel inched the helmet off. " Ya mean it?"
" Yeah. That was really mean of me. And what those guys did to you was really noxious."
" Yeah, well, thank you...What is your name?"
" Jessica. Jessica Parker."
" Well, Jessica Jessica Parker. I accept your apology."
Angel was riding home after practice, feeling content. Exhausted, yes, but content. Life was going a little better than it had for the last couple of days.
That is, until she saw the graffitti.
All over her house, stuff like " GO HOME YANKEE" and " HALF BREEDS NOT WELCOME" was sprayed in black spray paint. It was not just on the house, it was on the driveway and on the lawn as well.
She stood there for a few minutes, and then sat down on her driveway, stunned. There was someone who really hated her and her father.
Just then, she heard a group of familiar voices behind her. " Dang girl, who did this?" Rev asked. He was accompanied by Gerry, Julian, Eddie and Sunshine.
" My fan club." She said weakly.
" One hellava fanclub you got there."
" My life sucks."
Rev took a seat next to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. " Nah, your life don't suck. At least you have one. The people who did this," And he pointed to the graffitti, " They don't have no life."
Just then, Mrs. Halliwell, the old woman who lived nextdoor, poked her head out her window. She looked at Julian and Rev, and said " Go home you heathens!"
Rev and Julian spun around. " Stick it in your ear, you wrinkled up old white woman!"
Angel laughed. Mrs Halliwell came storming out of her house and stood face to face with Julian and Rev.
" Well, in my day, we had no such heathens as yourselves. The neighborhoods..."
Angel, still laughing, said " Mrs. Halliwell, do us all a favor and SHUT UP."