Author's Note: This next part is dedicated to the victims of the Columbine incident of 1999. Let all of us continue to work to end violence in schools and in the world in general. I'm hoping this chapter gets people thinking. An incident does happen at SHS, but fortunately, there are no guns involved.
Also a disclaimer: Any characters recognizable by Fab Five fans are strictly a creation of Betsy Haynes, not the current author. Ditto for BSC characters that BSC fans recognize from the books. The ones that neither BSC fans or Fab Five fans recognize are this author's creation and have been copyrighted. Mr. Robert Brooke and Ms. Leah Silverbein are also creations of the current author and has been copyrighted as well. Enjoy!
The BSC Legacy - Book 3: When Numbers Really Count
By: CNJ
PG-13
20: The Final Storm, Part 1
Kristy:
"..so the game starts at two tomorrow," I told my friends at our May sleepover as we stretched out in our sleeping bags.
"Awriiight..." a bunch of us said.
Tomorrow was our last home game of the softball season and in fact our last home game in all sports. To make it more exciting, the game was going to be against our biggest rival, Burkeview High.
We were winding down the evening after playing Trivial Pursuit out on the back porch. The weather definitely spelled spring and the trees were budding.
"Just one more year of school after this one," I said, stretching out.
"I can't believe it," Mona put in.
"Then what about our club?" Abby asked, a worried look on her face. "Who will the parents here call after we leave for college?"
"Remember I mentioned a next generation a month or so ago?" I asked. The others nodded. "I have an idea and I think it's a good one...we could train our former charges to take over the club after we leave after next year."
"You mean...Charlotte and Karen and the kids we used to watch?" Stacey asked, her dark blue eyes widening.
"Exactly." I nodded. "They're almost in middle school now and they'll be old enough to baby-sit as early as next fall. What we could do is advertise to them, then spend next year training them and seeing what duties they want and who wants to be what officer and all."
"Sounds good," Mary Anne nodded.
"All in favor, say aye," I sipped a soda.
"Ayyyyye..." that was the whole BSC.
"I'm really going to miss Stoneybrook," Stacey said softly. "The whole idea about all of us leaving in different directions...has me a bit freaked."
"Me too," Mona put in. "But I think it'll be an interesting experience."
"I for one, can't wait to see the world out there," Claudia put in. "I've thought about New York City quite a bit. Stace, have you? You used to live there and all. Did you ever think of going back?"
"I used to," Stacey told us, toying with the edge of her sleeping bag. "But lately, I've thought of either here in Connecticut or a city up in New England."
"I'd like to see what it's like living in the Big Apple," Mary Anne said.
Mary Anne loves New York City.
"I'm thinking of either around here in Connecticut or back in California for college," Dawn put in.
"Weird that we're getting closer to adulthood," Anna put in. "These years were enlightening."
"They sure were," Claudia put in.
All of us became quiet a while as we thought about our battle against the In clique and everything.
Next step will be deciding on colleges, then mapping out our post-high school living arrangements once we graduated, not to mention figuring out tuition costs.
Abby:
"So are we ready to take on Burkeview?" Caitlin Giotti hollered in the locker room as the baseball team changed.
"YEEAAAAH!" One huge yell rose. "SHS! SHS..." Several of us chanted as we finished changing and headed out into the field ready to defeat Burkeview High.
Once we were out on the field, I scanned the crowd and saw the rest of our friends on a bleacher third to the top.
It had turned out to be a gorgeous spring day and a lot of grass had been cut around here since I could smell the fresh cut grass.
It's a good thing one of my allergies is not grass pollen, or else I'd be sneezing up a storm. It turned out to be a gorgeous game too because at first we started to lose, then ended up winning by the second half.
SHS's side went wild and I could see my friends bellowing and jumping up and down, slapping each other on the back. I even saw a few teachers there and caught a glimpse of Ms. Silverbein near the edge of the field with a woman I didn't know.
Kristy:
Our team had won and after the game was over, we headed out to change. It was a long line and we inched in slowly.
Abby and I almost missed what was happening up in the stands. We heard yells, then some smacks.
I looked up to see some kids falling over. At first, I thought it was just an accident...but I realized that a lot of shoving and some punching were responsible for the falling.
Abby saw this also and gasped.
The chaos slowly spread over to various spots in the stands and more kids were punched, pushed and fell over and the yelling and screaming got louder.
"Burkeview..." Abby muttered fearfully.
"No, look there's some kids from our school," I pointed.
Yes, we could see Riles Greer and some of the kids who were part of what was left of the weakened In crowd shoving at kids from Burkeview.
On top of that, some of the kids from Burkeview who seemed to be part of their BIG clique were shoving Stoneybrook kids.
"Let's go; our friends are in there!" Abby shouted and we broke into a run toward the bleachers.
We dodged the blows and finally saw the rest of our friends trying to exit in one piece.
Abby:
I could see Cokie jeering at somebody, then felt a hard jostle, then a jarring push.
"Cooome onnn, bash her face in!" Cokie was screaming.
I was shocked to see Randy Kirwan give Mary Anne a push.
"Cut it out...knock it off!" Mary Anne's thick brows were taut; I could tell she was terrified as she tried to put her arms out to avoid falling. Beside him, Jana was laughing.
"MARY ANNE!" I called. I ran forward and grabbed her. "Randy, GET THE SHIT OUT OF HERE!" I screamed at him.
Randy laughed and gave me a shove. Jana sneered and put out her foot to trip me. I almost fell over, but Mary Anne grabbed me just in time.
We clung to each other. Randy started to kick us, but someone fell on him from behind and Jana screamed.
Clinging to each other, all of us BSC struggled out of the stands and toward the parking lot, trying to avoid the numerous brawls.
It was so scary. My heart was pounding and I could see that my friends were tense and pale. Mary Anne looked like she might faint.
Still latched onto each other, we maneuvered our way out and landed out in the edge of the parking lot.
"Wh-what are we going to do?" Claudia asked. "We'd better call somebody."
"The teachers will...oh, there's Ms. Silverbein," Dawn pointed.
We raced up to her. She'd called the police and was rounding up the other teachers, Burkeview's as well as our own.
"Stay here, girls," she told us.
It was hard to see from the parking lot, but we could see Ms. Cerrata there and several other teachers grabbing the students that were doing the punching and pushing and holding them still.
I could see Ms. Silverbein lunge forward and grab both of Randy Kirwan's arms just as he was punching someone. She managed to hold on to him even though he was much taller than her and tried to pull away from her. She's brave, I thought in admiration.
"God...this is so awful!" I heard someone wail.
I turned to see several other kids out in the parking lot and among them were that group from Burkeview, the Five R Us. Thank the providences of New England that none of them appeared to be really hurt.
Mona:
It took about a half hour, but with the teachers' heroic efforts and the help of the police, once they arrived, the fight was over and the kids who caused the trouble were taken into the school, I think at least most of them.
We stuck around to make sure that no one was hurt. Kids milled back into the field once a teacher said it was safe.
Some kids were bruised; some had bumps and a few had cuts, but thank the skies no one was seriously hurt. Everyone was mainly shaken.
Mary Anne held my arm; her face was white and she was trembling violently. The Five R Us followed us back into the stadium.
"I'm so glad no one was badly hurt," I told them.
As I walked around the stands and fields, talking to people and calming some others along with some teachers and officers who'd stayed out with us, I spotted Melanie Edwards with a tall blond guy that I took to be Logan Bruno.
"Are you two all right?" I called.
It was weird being face-to-face with Melanie Edwards again. It was even more strange that Melanie's boyfriend used to be Mary Anne's boyfriend.
Somehow, looking at this tall blond guy, who seemed prim, conservative, and rather proper and very different from contemporary, looser, freer Mary Anne.I can't imagine Mary Anne and Logan ever having been a couple.
Melanie and Logan both looked tired, tense, and shaken, but nodded.
"I wished I could have punched that jerk Kirwan out..." Logan muttered through clenched teeth.
"But, Logan..." Melanie pleaded. "You would have gotten busted too along with Jana and Randy."
"It's a good thing you didn't," I added before heading on to see about others.
It was good seeing the Five R Us again, I thought as we re-united by the front gates. Liza's face was streaked with tears and her face was pale.
"I...c-can't believe Jana and Randy..." Liza shook her head, fresh tears streaking down her face. "Th-they...pushed me...Randy punched me and they both...dissed me...they used to be two of my good friends..."
Mary Anne reached out to hug her.
"I know, Liza, it's shitty and it sucks," Mary Anne told her before she started to cry too.
Katie reached out and hugged them both.
"It's hard the believe too," Katie agreed. "You're right, Mary Anne, it is shitty, what they did."
"Tell you all what...why don't we stop at my house and talk for a while?" Kristy suggested. "All of us, including the Five R Us."
They slowly nodded, then we headed toward Kristy's house, which is the closest to Bridgeport. Since Kristy had the car, she be able to give some of the others rides home later.
To be continued in the next chapter...