.x. CHAPTER THREE .x.
= Rust Root can die =
[N/ First off: endless thanks for all the reviews! You don't realize how helpful they are! I know I'm kind of a dunce when it comes to general knowledge (Spinner got held back? Nobody told me!), and I apologize for my mistakes in advance. I'm sorry it took my so long before posting this new chapter, too! I guess this makes it equal, since I got the last chapter up so fast; Spring Break left me a little lazier than I suspected.]
"So how was your first day at Degrassi?" Ashley asked me as a swarm of pupils exited the stone building.
"It was...interesting," I mused.
"Meet anyone special?"
"Hmm," I thought back to the last period I had. "There was this goofy kid in my English class who kept harassing me for my vital information. He would have found out everything about my vital statistics down to my blood type if I had offered. Didn't you see him?"
Ashley was curious: "I didn't see you! What did he look like? Did you catch his name?"
"He had a nickname that he's probably used since second grade. It was Dancer, or something like that."
"Dancer?" she asked in disbelief, but her eyes glowed in amusement.
"I don't remember!"
"Oh!" realization smashed Ashley like a ton of bricks. "I know who you're talking about now! You must mean Spinner!"
"That's it!" I laughed. "Total dork!"
She shrugged. "He's a pretty good guy. He's dating Paige, though."
"I wanted him!" I scoffed. "He sure wasn't acting like he was dating little Miss Priss. He was hitting on me!"
Taken aback, the Goth couldn't help but make a face. "He hit on you?"
"A bit too obviously, I suppose," I acknowledged, pointing in the distance. About twenty feet away from us, Romeo was receiving a heavy bitching from his jealous girlfriend.
"What's up?" Craig asked, appearing at Ashley's side.
"Spinner was hitting on Candy."
Craig wrinkled his nose. "That's a good one."
"You were there." I reminded. "He passed me about ten notes in English class. I could hardly concentrate between him, the redhead smacking her gum, and the chinkette's voice."
Ashley's eyebrows shot up. Suddenly, a short, stubby black girl marched up to the trio and addressed us with, "are you that new girl?"
"New girl has a name." I said as-a-matter-of-factly.
Huffy, the imp smirked and demanded, "Oh? And what would that be?"
"Candy."
"Right. Ok, Candy, I was just going to ask your opinion on a standard Degrassi issue. What do you think of that tree over there?" she pointed into the distance.
All of us studied a darkened tree with a thick trunk and a few leaves. "Psh. If you ask me, it looks like it won't last much longer than Bush."
Ashley and Craig spotted a friend standing beneath the tree's limbs, and decided to go join him. "We're going to go catch up with Jimmy. Join us when you're done." Ashley said to me, running over to the spot. I attempted to follow them, but the girl had me cornered.
"So do you think it would be right to cut it down?"
I shrugged. "Is it diseased?"
She looked up from the clipboard. "Please just answer the question."
"Well, based on the tree's appearance, I'd say it looks pretty bad, and it's most likely beyond any natural repair. Put it out of its misery. Cut the fucker down."
She sneered at my language but scribbled something on her clipboard. "Thank you for your opinion. You don't mind if I use it on my morning edition, do you?"
"Hell if I care." I said.
The mini-Hitler adjusted her glasses and smiled in triumph. "You know, I agree with you. That tree is a disgrace to our property. I can't wait until I can tell Mr. O' Donald this!"
"Wait. What's this for, anyway?" I asked, worried it might be some environmental control group out to get nature's bullies.
"It's for debate club. Emma is trying to keep that old tree up on the grounds, and it only makes us look bad. I'm taking a poll to see if the student body agrees with me."
"So how's that going?"
"Excellent. Out of the fifty-one students polled, forty-two of them said it appeared sickly and thought it out to be cut. Six said they couldn't tell, and three said flat-out no. But," she looked up, "That's a minute portion of the student body."
"Great." I said, a bit disinterested. "Have fun."
The girl strode off to harass some other innocent by-standers, and I went to the place where the few people I knew were gathered. "My place at eight!" the guy I'd been told was named Jimmy concluded as I approached.
"What's goin on?"
Craig explained, "Oh, Jimmy's having a party Friday night." He turned briefly to the tall boy and asked, "you don't care, do you?"
He shook his head, negative, and Craig continued, "It would be great if you could come! You know, just," he paused, and then decided against going on.
I ignored it. "No problem. I'll be there."
Craig smiled and exclaimed, "Great!"
"Excellent!" Jimmy agreed.
A harassed-looking overweight girl suddenly appeared, joining the eleventh- year student body. "I'm sure glad that's over," she huffed, throwing an angry look over her shoulder.
"Did Liberty weasel your opinion out of you too, Terri?" Craig asked, grinning good-naturedly.
"She already caught me for that one," Jimmy offered with a shrug. "I told her I didn't know."
The chubby girl Craig called Terri persisted in the conversation. "I told her to cut it down. That tree is so old and sick. Forget that it looks bad, it's hurting."
"Yeah, it's ancient!" said a redheaded punker. "I told her to do away with it, too."
"I didn't!" a voice announced, and a lanky blonde ninth-year (tenth, maybe) entered our group. "How could you want to cut down something so beautiful?"
No one replied.
"I'm trying to keep Old Rust Root on the campus for as long as possible." She told us, starting around the circle with yellow fliers. "It's a part of tradition, a Degrassi staple! Only someone cold-hearted would have the nerve to—"
How could they all just stand there and stare? Didn't they have mouths? Or opinions? I suppose no one had the heart to shut her up, but I most certainly have the mouth to. And I never miss an opportunity to run my mouth.
I fired. "Says you. It's only a tree. How many trees are there in the world?"
"Only a tree?" she repeated, then shot back, "How many people are there in the world that need trees to inhale the air they breathe?"
I grinned. "How many people are there in the world who need firewood?"
A few kids snickered at my smart-ass response. She rolled her eyes, exasperated. "I guess you're just not sensitive enough to understand."
"Or maybe you're not mature enough to understand that the tree is sick as hell, and needs some relief. I'm with Hitler on this one."
"Doesn't anyone here care?"
The chubby one spoke for us all. "Sorry Em, we just think it needs to go."
"Terri's right, it's just too old." the metal-adorned redhead agreed. The occasional "yeah" or "right" chimed in behind her.
Emma crossed her arms and sighed in frustration. "Let me know when any of you start caring about the earth." I stuck my tongue out at her behind her back. She started to another clutch of bodies, fliers in hand.
"Good luck!" I crowed. "Maybe they'll care!" What? I know it's deliberate bitchiness, but that's half the fun in life.
*****
"Does this mascara look ok, or does it make me look like a frog?" I asked, turning around from the mirror to showcase my smoky eyes, lined with dark mascara.
Ashley nodded. "It looks really great. What about mine?"
"Stunning, as always," I responded, the both of us flashing each other smiles. "Thanks for letting me get ready at your house, by the way."
She dismissed it with a wave of her hand. "It's nothing."
"Ready to go wow the fuckers at that party? Knock out everyone with our overwhelming sexiness?" I asked, examining my reflection in the mirror. The girl in the mirror tilted her red chuck taylor to the right, showing off her fish-net covered calf and winked.
Ashley appeared in the mirror behind the overly-dressed punkette, and she moved out of the way so the Goth could see herself. Ashley straightened out her own black skirt and snickered at the image. "Dressed to impress," she added, though her voice seemed unsteady. She was probably nervous.
"Alright!" I decided, flinging my purse over my arm. "Then let's go get 'em!"
= Rust Root can die =
[N/ First off: endless thanks for all the reviews! You don't realize how helpful they are! I know I'm kind of a dunce when it comes to general knowledge (Spinner got held back? Nobody told me!), and I apologize for my mistakes in advance. I'm sorry it took my so long before posting this new chapter, too! I guess this makes it equal, since I got the last chapter up so fast; Spring Break left me a little lazier than I suspected.]
"So how was your first day at Degrassi?" Ashley asked me as a swarm of pupils exited the stone building.
"It was...interesting," I mused.
"Meet anyone special?"
"Hmm," I thought back to the last period I had. "There was this goofy kid in my English class who kept harassing me for my vital information. He would have found out everything about my vital statistics down to my blood type if I had offered. Didn't you see him?"
Ashley was curious: "I didn't see you! What did he look like? Did you catch his name?"
"He had a nickname that he's probably used since second grade. It was Dancer, or something like that."
"Dancer?" she asked in disbelief, but her eyes glowed in amusement.
"I don't remember!"
"Oh!" realization smashed Ashley like a ton of bricks. "I know who you're talking about now! You must mean Spinner!"
"That's it!" I laughed. "Total dork!"
She shrugged. "He's a pretty good guy. He's dating Paige, though."
"I wanted him!" I scoffed. "He sure wasn't acting like he was dating little Miss Priss. He was hitting on me!"
Taken aback, the Goth couldn't help but make a face. "He hit on you?"
"A bit too obviously, I suppose," I acknowledged, pointing in the distance. About twenty feet away from us, Romeo was receiving a heavy bitching from his jealous girlfriend.
"What's up?" Craig asked, appearing at Ashley's side.
"Spinner was hitting on Candy."
Craig wrinkled his nose. "That's a good one."
"You were there." I reminded. "He passed me about ten notes in English class. I could hardly concentrate between him, the redhead smacking her gum, and the chinkette's voice."
Ashley's eyebrows shot up. Suddenly, a short, stubby black girl marched up to the trio and addressed us with, "are you that new girl?"
"New girl has a name." I said as-a-matter-of-factly.
Huffy, the imp smirked and demanded, "Oh? And what would that be?"
"Candy."
"Right. Ok, Candy, I was just going to ask your opinion on a standard Degrassi issue. What do you think of that tree over there?" she pointed into the distance.
All of us studied a darkened tree with a thick trunk and a few leaves. "Psh. If you ask me, it looks like it won't last much longer than Bush."
Ashley and Craig spotted a friend standing beneath the tree's limbs, and decided to go join him. "We're going to go catch up with Jimmy. Join us when you're done." Ashley said to me, running over to the spot. I attempted to follow them, but the girl had me cornered.
"So do you think it would be right to cut it down?"
I shrugged. "Is it diseased?"
She looked up from the clipboard. "Please just answer the question."
"Well, based on the tree's appearance, I'd say it looks pretty bad, and it's most likely beyond any natural repair. Put it out of its misery. Cut the fucker down."
She sneered at my language but scribbled something on her clipboard. "Thank you for your opinion. You don't mind if I use it on my morning edition, do you?"
"Hell if I care." I said.
The mini-Hitler adjusted her glasses and smiled in triumph. "You know, I agree with you. That tree is a disgrace to our property. I can't wait until I can tell Mr. O' Donald this!"
"Wait. What's this for, anyway?" I asked, worried it might be some environmental control group out to get nature's bullies.
"It's for debate club. Emma is trying to keep that old tree up on the grounds, and it only makes us look bad. I'm taking a poll to see if the student body agrees with me."
"So how's that going?"
"Excellent. Out of the fifty-one students polled, forty-two of them said it appeared sickly and thought it out to be cut. Six said they couldn't tell, and three said flat-out no. But," she looked up, "That's a minute portion of the student body."
"Great." I said, a bit disinterested. "Have fun."
The girl strode off to harass some other innocent by-standers, and I went to the place where the few people I knew were gathered. "My place at eight!" the guy I'd been told was named Jimmy concluded as I approached.
"What's goin on?"
Craig explained, "Oh, Jimmy's having a party Friday night." He turned briefly to the tall boy and asked, "you don't care, do you?"
He shook his head, negative, and Craig continued, "It would be great if you could come! You know, just," he paused, and then decided against going on.
I ignored it. "No problem. I'll be there."
Craig smiled and exclaimed, "Great!"
"Excellent!" Jimmy agreed.
A harassed-looking overweight girl suddenly appeared, joining the eleventh- year student body. "I'm sure glad that's over," she huffed, throwing an angry look over her shoulder.
"Did Liberty weasel your opinion out of you too, Terri?" Craig asked, grinning good-naturedly.
"She already caught me for that one," Jimmy offered with a shrug. "I told her I didn't know."
The chubby girl Craig called Terri persisted in the conversation. "I told her to cut it down. That tree is so old and sick. Forget that it looks bad, it's hurting."
"Yeah, it's ancient!" said a redheaded punker. "I told her to do away with it, too."
"I didn't!" a voice announced, and a lanky blonde ninth-year (tenth, maybe) entered our group. "How could you want to cut down something so beautiful?"
No one replied.
"I'm trying to keep Old Rust Root on the campus for as long as possible." She told us, starting around the circle with yellow fliers. "It's a part of tradition, a Degrassi staple! Only someone cold-hearted would have the nerve to—"
How could they all just stand there and stare? Didn't they have mouths? Or opinions? I suppose no one had the heart to shut her up, but I most certainly have the mouth to. And I never miss an opportunity to run my mouth.
I fired. "Says you. It's only a tree. How many trees are there in the world?"
"Only a tree?" she repeated, then shot back, "How many people are there in the world that need trees to inhale the air they breathe?"
I grinned. "How many people are there in the world who need firewood?"
A few kids snickered at my smart-ass response. She rolled her eyes, exasperated. "I guess you're just not sensitive enough to understand."
"Or maybe you're not mature enough to understand that the tree is sick as hell, and needs some relief. I'm with Hitler on this one."
"Doesn't anyone here care?"
The chubby one spoke for us all. "Sorry Em, we just think it needs to go."
"Terri's right, it's just too old." the metal-adorned redhead agreed. The occasional "yeah" or "right" chimed in behind her.
Emma crossed her arms and sighed in frustration. "Let me know when any of you start caring about the earth." I stuck my tongue out at her behind her back. She started to another clutch of bodies, fliers in hand.
"Good luck!" I crowed. "Maybe they'll care!" What? I know it's deliberate bitchiness, but that's half the fun in life.
*****
"Does this mascara look ok, or does it make me look like a frog?" I asked, turning around from the mirror to showcase my smoky eyes, lined with dark mascara.
Ashley nodded. "It looks really great. What about mine?"
"Stunning, as always," I responded, the both of us flashing each other smiles. "Thanks for letting me get ready at your house, by the way."
She dismissed it with a wave of her hand. "It's nothing."
"Ready to go wow the fuckers at that party? Knock out everyone with our overwhelming sexiness?" I asked, examining my reflection in the mirror. The girl in the mirror tilted her red chuck taylor to the right, showing off her fish-net covered calf and winked.
Ashley appeared in the mirror behind the overly-dressed punkette, and she moved out of the way so the Goth could see herself. Ashley straightened out her own black skirt and snickered at the image. "Dressed to impress," she added, though her voice seemed unsteady. She was probably nervous.
"Alright!" I decided, flinging my purse over my arm. "Then let's go get 'em!"
