CHAPTER 7: REACTIONS.....& THE BEGINNING OF A SCHEME
Soon after the gathering of the grades had ended (with students still whispering to one another), Vince, Mikey, and Gus (who had to climb up to the throne), all rushed to T.J. and Spinelli, who were seated closely to one another on the big throne. Both Spinelli and T.J. rolled their eyes in knowing what was coming next.
A smiling Mikey began. "Oh my gosh, you guys, I don't believe it! You're really in love?"
T.J. then took Spinelli's hand and responded, "Yeah, Mikey. We like each other a lot."
Suddenly, Vince cut in with waving hands, showing he still was overcome by the news. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a second! You mean to tell me that you......and you......" he said, pointing to both of them, "....are boyfriend and girlfriend?! Wh-When did this happen?!"
"Right before summer," Spinelli responded. Before the three boys could even express shock over how long the couple kept their secret, Spinelli continued. "Guys, it's the coolest thing, there's nothin' like it! I don't even remember why I thought kissin' was disgusting in the first place! It's great!"
Vince and Gus looked at each other with confused expressions and asked, "Really?"
"Yeah, it really is great!" T.J. told them.
"Look, guys," Vince cut in, "I know you're my friends and all, so I'm trying to....accept this, but I'm gonna need some time with this. I'm not like Mikey, I'm not used to this kind of stuff."
"Yeah," Gus agreed, "I mean, it was different two years ago, when it was just the vow of the straws forcing you to, but I can't imagine anyone actually LIKING kissing. Even my parents do it only because they're married and they have to."
"Oh, grow up, Gus," Spinelli said. "Parents kiss because they like it, and they like each other, just like us. Besides, it's cool.......and a couple of times, we even used our tongues!", she said slyly.
"Spinelli!" T.J. exclaimed in shock. "We weren't supposed to tell them THAT!"
Vince and Gus groaned in disgust, while Mikey smiled even more. Gus finally said, "Oh, man! That's gross!"
"What's gross?"
All five friends turned around to see Gretchen walking towards them. "I just came from the restroom," she explained. "So, what are you guys talking about?"
"Didn't you hear?" Vince said excitedly. "T.J. and Spinelli.....they're boyfriend and girlfriend now!"
At first, Gretchen's facial expression was the same plain one she had when she first arrived. But when she saw T.J.'s concerned look, she got the message.
With a quick surprised expression, she responded, "What?! Are you sure?"
"Of course I'm sure; they only announced it to the entire playground a while ago," Vince told her.
"Really?" Gretchen continued acting. "The whole playground? Wow, weren't you nervous, T.J.? Admitting something like.....THAT to all the kids?" she asked half-seriously, since she had no idea he was already prepared to tell everyone.
"A little," T.J. answered, "But, I'm just glad we don't have to sneak around anymore." He looked at Gretchen while saying this, who flashed him a smile.
There was a ten-second pause.
"So, uhhhh....." Gus began timidly, "What do we all do now?"
After another shorter pause, Spinelli blurted, "Aw, c'mon guys, this doesn't really change anything. We can still hang out, play, and joke around. We can still be close. It's just that....well, me and T.J.'ll be a bit closer, that's all."
"Yeah, Spinelli's right," Gretchen agreed. "This doesn't have to be a big change."
Getting into the mood, Vince made a suggestion. "Hey, who's up for a quick game of kickball before the bell?"
After a unanimous agreement from the rest, all six friends joined some other students on the kickball field.
Throughout the rest of the school day, students (and even teachers) were displaying various reactions to T.J. and Spinelli's 'union'. Some couldn't care less. Some were immediately supportive, like Swinger Girl, The Diggers, and Butch. Most of the second graders (who remembered the two fondly from their kindergarten years, Spinelli as 'Queen Spinuddi', T.J.as their 'honorary kindergartener'), even though they didn't really understand what Spinelli and T.J. were doing, still thought good of them. Even Ms. Grotke gave knowing smiles to both of them during class, and even held them back after class for an embarrassing talk about 'the beauty of their young relationship'.
However, not everyone thought their being together was that great. Besides Randall and the Ashleys, there was another who had a problem with the new relationship. Her name.......Finster.
Truth be told, Muriel Finster liked both Spinelli and T.J., despite their troublemaking ways. Spinelli reminded her of herself at 11, smart, feisty, and not taking crap from anybody. T.J., to her, was a young version of the kind of men she always liked - nice, handsome guys who weren't intimidated by a woman of power or independence. She always thought that the secret to a relationship that lasts forever is a man with a woman in charge of their relationship. Not to say that the woman should just bark orders and the man should do everything she says like a robotic slave, but that he should feel so secure about his feelings for his woman, that he would always do anything she asked of him. At the same time, even though the woman knows she can get her man to do anything, she never forgets that she is his woman, and because of that and her love towards him, she'll do anything for him, also. Yet, the majority of relationships in the world was the opposite - wives being 'submissive' to their husbands, the husband being the utmost head and king of everything, no equality, no 50-50, while he secretly cheated on her, or neglected her. Just the thought of these facts angered Muriel Finster. But in any case, she still thought that not only were the two too young to be together, but having TWO regular troublemakers instead of one, have rule over the playground was very risky. She had dealt with, and broken up, sixth-grade couples before, but this time, she decided to leave it alone - for now. For now, she would keep a close eye on the so-called 'royal couple', to make sure that no fragile pre-teen emotions would be shattered. Yet, something in the back of her experienced brain was telling her that it was only a matter of time, before something very wrong would occur between the two. She had seen it far too many times before not to know.
The day passed, and finally, the after-school bell had rung. Of course, all of the students burst out of the school as if it was a deep sea, and they had just resurfaced for air after hours of agony. T.J. walked out of the school doors, looking for his girl, who happened to be just behind him.
"Lookin' for someone?" she asked him jokingly, knowing it was her he was trying to find.
"Spinelli, there you are! I was wondering if....." T.J. stopped and noticed that Skeens, the petty thug, was staring at the two while walking past them, his face obviously showing his thoughts about them: "I can't believe those two are kissy-kissy lovers! I don't care if they are the king and queen! They're disgusting!!"
Ignoring the hatred, T.J. continued, ".....if you'd like to walk home together."
Spinelli answered, "Oh, sorry, Teej. My folks are pickin' me up. Some stuff about...."
Just then, Spinelli noticed that Kristin Kurst, a.k.a. Kurst The Worst, was looking at her and T.J., then rolled her eyes, as if to say, "Oh great, there's the royal dorky couple."
Before Spinelli could lunge at Kurst and start trouble, T.J. noticed what happened and held her back. "Now, Spinelli," T.J. warned her, "We both knew this was gonna happen once we told. Just give it some time; they'll get used to us."
Suddenly not in the mood for trouble anymore, she quickly said, "You're right.....you're right. I guess I can ignore it if you can." After fully regaining her composure, she continued, "Anyway, my parents keep sayin' they don't want me to spend TOO much time wit'cha, so they're pickin' me up today."
"Oh, okay," T.J. said, sounding a bit sad.
"Uh, you WILL call me later tonight, right?" she asked him.
"Sure, of course!" T.J. answered brightly.
Just then, Spinelli could see her father's car in the distance. After a quick look-around, she gave T.J. a quick peck on the cheek and ran off with a just-as-quick "Bye, Teej!".
As she ran to her father's car, which had just pulled up, T.J. smiled, holding his cheek, then started his familiar journey home. At first, he was saying his 'byes' to a few friends, until he saw a girl sitting on the ground, close to the school, looking sad. He then realized - it was the same brown-haired girl who ran off during his 'gathering of the grades'. He had to go over and see if he recognized her.
"Hey, there," T.J. said to her.
The girl stood up and raised her head so that T.J. could see her face clearly. It took a couple of seconds, but he finally recognized her.
"Oh, hey, King T.J.," she responded sadly but politely.
"Megan?!" T.J. exclaimed.
It was Megan, one of T.J.'s classmates in fourth grade. She used to sit behind him, and she, like nearly everyone else, still had her old look: brown hair in pigtails with purple scrunchies, white blouse, reddish-orange jacket, purple skirt, knee-high white socks, and black shoes. Also like back then, she was still a bit shorter than T.J., and had full lips, almost like Spinelli's.
"So, you remember my name," she said jokingly.
"No, it's just.....I haven't seen you around in so long, I.......I thought you left Third Street....."
"I didn't leave.......I've just been in different classes, keeping to myself in the library. You mean you haven't even seen me during assembly?" she explained.
"No......what happened to your eyes?" T.J. asked her. "They're kinda red. Were you......Were you crying or something?"
Megan sighed and said, "Yes, King T.J.," still sounding polite yet a bit annoyed this time.
"You know, you don't have to call me 'King' after school," T.J. informed her. "Why were you crying? Did someone hit you or something?"
Megan said, "No, It's just.....", but she couldn't continue.
"Just what?" T.J. asked, interested.
"Well...." she began, "What if I told you that something got.....RAN away from me, and I wanted him.....I mean, it.....to come back, but I think it may be gone forever?"
T.J. was confused. "What in the world is she talking about?" He thought to himself. "A puppy? A toy? Maybe her dad left her and her mom or something. I'd better be careful."
With that, T.J. responded, "Well, if you think there's a good chance IT may not be coming back, maybe you should work on trying to forget about it, and moving on, you know."
"But I don't wanna forget! I can't forget!" She blurted out. She was looking at T.J. and he noticed that she was about to cry again. It was obvious to him now that what she really wanted to hear was someone agreeing with her hopes, whatever they were. He took a different approach.
"Well, In that case, maybe I could be wrong. Maybe if you hold out long enough, it'll come back to you, and it'll never leave you again," he told her, with optimism in his voice.
"You....you really think so, Ki - I mean, T.J.?" she asked him.
"Well, sure, like when I was eight, and I lost Fusion - my puppy - "
Megan gave a little laugh. "You named your dog after a superhero?" she asked him, finally sounding happy.
"I'm not ashamed of it," T.J. replied, jokingly trying to sound defensive. "Anyway, he ran away for three months, but one day, I heard some running around in the backyard. I looked outside, and there he was, dirty and skinny, but it was him. From that day on, I always kept a chain on him, to make sure he didn't run away again. So, you know, never lose hope."
Megan smiled and said, "Thanks, T.J., you really made me feel better." Then, without warning, she hugged him hard.
T.J. immediately became nervous and quickly looked around, hoping no one saw and got the wrong idea. He didn't see anyone. After a full six seconds, she slowly let go, smiled at him, and finally said, "Bye, T.J.!". She just grabbed her bag and walked off. A bit confused about what just happened, T.J. got his bag and started walking home (which happened to be in a different direction from where she was walking), almost as if he never even talked to her.
As she walked away, Megan held her hand to her chest, as if to feel her heartbeat. She turned around to look at T.J. walking off, and smiled again.
Just then, Randall shot up out of a nearby bush. "Well, well, well, isn't this interesting?"
Soon after the gathering of the grades had ended (with students still whispering to one another), Vince, Mikey, and Gus (who had to climb up to the throne), all rushed to T.J. and Spinelli, who were seated closely to one another on the big throne. Both Spinelli and T.J. rolled their eyes in knowing what was coming next.
A smiling Mikey began. "Oh my gosh, you guys, I don't believe it! You're really in love?"
T.J. then took Spinelli's hand and responded, "Yeah, Mikey. We like each other a lot."
Suddenly, Vince cut in with waving hands, showing he still was overcome by the news. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a second! You mean to tell me that you......and you......" he said, pointing to both of them, "....are boyfriend and girlfriend?! Wh-When did this happen?!"
"Right before summer," Spinelli responded. Before the three boys could even express shock over how long the couple kept their secret, Spinelli continued. "Guys, it's the coolest thing, there's nothin' like it! I don't even remember why I thought kissin' was disgusting in the first place! It's great!"
Vince and Gus looked at each other with confused expressions and asked, "Really?"
"Yeah, it really is great!" T.J. told them.
"Look, guys," Vince cut in, "I know you're my friends and all, so I'm trying to....accept this, but I'm gonna need some time with this. I'm not like Mikey, I'm not used to this kind of stuff."
"Yeah," Gus agreed, "I mean, it was different two years ago, when it was just the vow of the straws forcing you to, but I can't imagine anyone actually LIKING kissing. Even my parents do it only because they're married and they have to."
"Oh, grow up, Gus," Spinelli said. "Parents kiss because they like it, and they like each other, just like us. Besides, it's cool.......and a couple of times, we even used our tongues!", she said slyly.
"Spinelli!" T.J. exclaimed in shock. "We weren't supposed to tell them THAT!"
Vince and Gus groaned in disgust, while Mikey smiled even more. Gus finally said, "Oh, man! That's gross!"
"What's gross?"
All five friends turned around to see Gretchen walking towards them. "I just came from the restroom," she explained. "So, what are you guys talking about?"
"Didn't you hear?" Vince said excitedly. "T.J. and Spinelli.....they're boyfriend and girlfriend now!"
At first, Gretchen's facial expression was the same plain one she had when she first arrived. But when she saw T.J.'s concerned look, she got the message.
With a quick surprised expression, she responded, "What?! Are you sure?"
"Of course I'm sure; they only announced it to the entire playground a while ago," Vince told her.
"Really?" Gretchen continued acting. "The whole playground? Wow, weren't you nervous, T.J.? Admitting something like.....THAT to all the kids?" she asked half-seriously, since she had no idea he was already prepared to tell everyone.
"A little," T.J. answered, "But, I'm just glad we don't have to sneak around anymore." He looked at Gretchen while saying this, who flashed him a smile.
There was a ten-second pause.
"So, uhhhh....." Gus began timidly, "What do we all do now?"
After another shorter pause, Spinelli blurted, "Aw, c'mon guys, this doesn't really change anything. We can still hang out, play, and joke around. We can still be close. It's just that....well, me and T.J.'ll be a bit closer, that's all."
"Yeah, Spinelli's right," Gretchen agreed. "This doesn't have to be a big change."
Getting into the mood, Vince made a suggestion. "Hey, who's up for a quick game of kickball before the bell?"
After a unanimous agreement from the rest, all six friends joined some other students on the kickball field.
Throughout the rest of the school day, students (and even teachers) were displaying various reactions to T.J. and Spinelli's 'union'. Some couldn't care less. Some were immediately supportive, like Swinger Girl, The Diggers, and Butch. Most of the second graders (who remembered the two fondly from their kindergarten years, Spinelli as 'Queen Spinuddi', T.J.as their 'honorary kindergartener'), even though they didn't really understand what Spinelli and T.J. were doing, still thought good of them. Even Ms. Grotke gave knowing smiles to both of them during class, and even held them back after class for an embarrassing talk about 'the beauty of their young relationship'.
However, not everyone thought their being together was that great. Besides Randall and the Ashleys, there was another who had a problem with the new relationship. Her name.......Finster.
Truth be told, Muriel Finster liked both Spinelli and T.J., despite their troublemaking ways. Spinelli reminded her of herself at 11, smart, feisty, and not taking crap from anybody. T.J., to her, was a young version of the kind of men she always liked - nice, handsome guys who weren't intimidated by a woman of power or independence. She always thought that the secret to a relationship that lasts forever is a man with a woman in charge of their relationship. Not to say that the woman should just bark orders and the man should do everything she says like a robotic slave, but that he should feel so secure about his feelings for his woman, that he would always do anything she asked of him. At the same time, even though the woman knows she can get her man to do anything, she never forgets that she is his woman, and because of that and her love towards him, she'll do anything for him, also. Yet, the majority of relationships in the world was the opposite - wives being 'submissive' to their husbands, the husband being the utmost head and king of everything, no equality, no 50-50, while he secretly cheated on her, or neglected her. Just the thought of these facts angered Muriel Finster. But in any case, she still thought that not only were the two too young to be together, but having TWO regular troublemakers instead of one, have rule over the playground was very risky. She had dealt with, and broken up, sixth-grade couples before, but this time, she decided to leave it alone - for now. For now, she would keep a close eye on the so-called 'royal couple', to make sure that no fragile pre-teen emotions would be shattered. Yet, something in the back of her experienced brain was telling her that it was only a matter of time, before something very wrong would occur between the two. She had seen it far too many times before not to know.
The day passed, and finally, the after-school bell had rung. Of course, all of the students burst out of the school as if it was a deep sea, and they had just resurfaced for air after hours of agony. T.J. walked out of the school doors, looking for his girl, who happened to be just behind him.
"Lookin' for someone?" she asked him jokingly, knowing it was her he was trying to find.
"Spinelli, there you are! I was wondering if....." T.J. stopped and noticed that Skeens, the petty thug, was staring at the two while walking past them, his face obviously showing his thoughts about them: "I can't believe those two are kissy-kissy lovers! I don't care if they are the king and queen! They're disgusting!!"
Ignoring the hatred, T.J. continued, ".....if you'd like to walk home together."
Spinelli answered, "Oh, sorry, Teej. My folks are pickin' me up. Some stuff about...."
Just then, Spinelli noticed that Kristin Kurst, a.k.a. Kurst The Worst, was looking at her and T.J., then rolled her eyes, as if to say, "Oh great, there's the royal dorky couple."
Before Spinelli could lunge at Kurst and start trouble, T.J. noticed what happened and held her back. "Now, Spinelli," T.J. warned her, "We both knew this was gonna happen once we told. Just give it some time; they'll get used to us."
Suddenly not in the mood for trouble anymore, she quickly said, "You're right.....you're right. I guess I can ignore it if you can." After fully regaining her composure, she continued, "Anyway, my parents keep sayin' they don't want me to spend TOO much time wit'cha, so they're pickin' me up today."
"Oh, okay," T.J. said, sounding a bit sad.
"Uh, you WILL call me later tonight, right?" she asked him.
"Sure, of course!" T.J. answered brightly.
Just then, Spinelli could see her father's car in the distance. After a quick look-around, she gave T.J. a quick peck on the cheek and ran off with a just-as-quick "Bye, Teej!".
As she ran to her father's car, which had just pulled up, T.J. smiled, holding his cheek, then started his familiar journey home. At first, he was saying his 'byes' to a few friends, until he saw a girl sitting on the ground, close to the school, looking sad. He then realized - it was the same brown-haired girl who ran off during his 'gathering of the grades'. He had to go over and see if he recognized her.
"Hey, there," T.J. said to her.
The girl stood up and raised her head so that T.J. could see her face clearly. It took a couple of seconds, but he finally recognized her.
"Oh, hey, King T.J.," she responded sadly but politely.
"Megan?!" T.J. exclaimed.
It was Megan, one of T.J.'s classmates in fourth grade. She used to sit behind him, and she, like nearly everyone else, still had her old look: brown hair in pigtails with purple scrunchies, white blouse, reddish-orange jacket, purple skirt, knee-high white socks, and black shoes. Also like back then, she was still a bit shorter than T.J., and had full lips, almost like Spinelli's.
"So, you remember my name," she said jokingly.
"No, it's just.....I haven't seen you around in so long, I.......I thought you left Third Street....."
"I didn't leave.......I've just been in different classes, keeping to myself in the library. You mean you haven't even seen me during assembly?" she explained.
"No......what happened to your eyes?" T.J. asked her. "They're kinda red. Were you......Were you crying or something?"
Megan sighed and said, "Yes, King T.J.," still sounding polite yet a bit annoyed this time.
"You know, you don't have to call me 'King' after school," T.J. informed her. "Why were you crying? Did someone hit you or something?"
Megan said, "No, It's just.....", but she couldn't continue.
"Just what?" T.J. asked, interested.
"Well...." she began, "What if I told you that something got.....RAN away from me, and I wanted him.....I mean, it.....to come back, but I think it may be gone forever?"
T.J. was confused. "What in the world is she talking about?" He thought to himself. "A puppy? A toy? Maybe her dad left her and her mom or something. I'd better be careful."
With that, T.J. responded, "Well, if you think there's a good chance IT may not be coming back, maybe you should work on trying to forget about it, and moving on, you know."
"But I don't wanna forget! I can't forget!" She blurted out. She was looking at T.J. and he noticed that she was about to cry again. It was obvious to him now that what she really wanted to hear was someone agreeing with her hopes, whatever they were. He took a different approach.
"Well, In that case, maybe I could be wrong. Maybe if you hold out long enough, it'll come back to you, and it'll never leave you again," he told her, with optimism in his voice.
"You....you really think so, Ki - I mean, T.J.?" she asked him.
"Well, sure, like when I was eight, and I lost Fusion - my puppy - "
Megan gave a little laugh. "You named your dog after a superhero?" she asked him, finally sounding happy.
"I'm not ashamed of it," T.J. replied, jokingly trying to sound defensive. "Anyway, he ran away for three months, but one day, I heard some running around in the backyard. I looked outside, and there he was, dirty and skinny, but it was him. From that day on, I always kept a chain on him, to make sure he didn't run away again. So, you know, never lose hope."
Megan smiled and said, "Thanks, T.J., you really made me feel better." Then, without warning, she hugged him hard.
T.J. immediately became nervous and quickly looked around, hoping no one saw and got the wrong idea. He didn't see anyone. After a full six seconds, she slowly let go, smiled at him, and finally said, "Bye, T.J.!". She just grabbed her bag and walked off. A bit confused about what just happened, T.J. got his bag and started walking home (which happened to be in a different direction from where she was walking), almost as if he never even talked to her.
As she walked away, Megan held her hand to her chest, as if to feel her heartbeat. She turned around to look at T.J. walking off, and smiled again.
Just then, Randall shot up out of a nearby bush. "Well, well, well, isn't this interesting?"