Okay, I have to explain some things here.
Okay, the dresses Spinelli was describing (not the vinyl one) were for prom or their little end-of-school dance-y thing… So she'll be wearing the red one (and, remember, she's supposed to come unto Vince at this dance, so it kind of suits its purpose) and Gretchen'll be wearing the short-but-tasteful blue one. And as for the blue vinyl dress she has, it's kind of matte, so it's not all shiny…it's more turquoise-y and tight… and not all dominatrix-y, but she uses it when she goes to clubs and bars, which she does a lot with her other friends (because Gretchen's studying or something and she doesn't really like those kind of places because she's Gretchen and she has Vince).
And, as for the like thing… The Ashley's (more of Ashley A., though, because she's the only one who has a main role, really) do use like a lot less.
Oh, and to describe why it's not really that descriptive. Well, it's in Spinelli's POV, and at some parts it kind of sounds like she's telling the story in the past and at others it's like she's living it, which is a little confusing… She also isn't very descriptive about things because, well, it's kind of in stream-of-consciousness, and so these are mostly her direct thoughts; and I don't know about you, but when I'm thinking, it's usually not something like: "The walls are all red". Not that I usually think stuff like "I am eating", but you know, it's hard to say that you're doing something in stream-of-consciousness. Which attributes to the weirdness of this fic. Because I have weird thoughts (I think in third-person, which is REALLY weird, for example), and, so, it rubs off on Spinelli's character in this fic, which is weird considering I try to keep her in character, but that's hard, considering the time difference from fourth grade to Sophomore Year.
Sorry about not updating. I'm really bad about that sometimes. I had finals, which are a real pain.
Oh, and I do not own Recess (T.J., Spinelli, Gretchen, Mikey, Gus, Miss Finster, Randall, Upside-Down Girl, Jared, Vince, Spinelli's Great Aunt Ashley, Johnny V., Skeens, Butch, King Bob, Principal Prickly, Sue Bob Murphy, Gordie, Francis "Hustler Kid", Irwin Lawson, Kelso's, The Ashleys and The Megans for that matter), War and Peace, Atlas Shrugged, Catch-22, or East of Eden.
Well, actually, I have copies of War and Peace, Atlas Shrugged, and East of Eden at home… And I read Catch-22…
I do however own Vivian van Gogh, Jack Fitzgerald, Marian the evil librarian, Crystal, Mr. Ferris, Helaine's name, Spinelli's first boyfriend, and Miss Finster being (laughs) married.
In a random side-note before the chapter (you deserve a medal if you've read all this), this happens to be my favorite chapter.
And, now, on with the fic…
See, my ideal wake-up was not Gretchen screaming over me that she was going to be late for school, my ideal sleeping position was not with my head on T.J.'s chest, back over the pillows, and feet twisted under the blanket, and my ideal breakfast was not those crappy poptarts they put in a freezer. But things are hardly ever ideal.
Anyways, I shower, throw on my clothes, eat, brush my teeth, and leave. It's almost like the old days. Anyways, I've got that track thing today, so I've got the whole day off. I figure I'll probably just work on my metal sculpture thingy for Metal Working, maybe a painting or a sculpture in Art, and then, I guess I'll get some Spanish help. I swear, I'm two points away from an F in that class.
Sounds nice. Maybe pop in P.E. for a little workout, see if I could snag some decent food from the cafeteria. Before I know it, I'm in the Metalwork room.
I grab a blowtorch, gloves, my tools, a visor to protect my face, the sculpture I'm making, and some more metal. I think I'm going to make an urn or something. Okay, on with the gloves, the welding mask, and time to turn on the torch. Okay, let's weld those pieces together. Some more welding, let's melt it a little, okay, just the look I was goin' for. Uh oh, Mr. Ferris. I'd best get going before he yells at me. I'm not technically supposed to be here.
Okay. Art then. But when I go in the room, my artwork's still up, and so I skedaddle before Miss V can spot me. Okay, since it's not quite lunchtime, I'll just go to the Spanish room and get help. Okay, except the fact that she's giving a lecture now. Uh, well, hmm, I'll just go to the library and read a Spanish book. Crap. I lost my Spanish book.
Maybe that's why I'm doing so badly. Oh well, can't hurt to check for it in my locker. Okay, I'm at my locker, and there's nothing here. It's a mess, and now the entire thing is on the floor, but there's nothing here. Great, now I have to clean it all up.
Hmm, that took about thirty minutes out of my day, and it's still hours to lunch. I mean, I even alphabetized the books. Sheesh. Okay, yeah, the library. Gotta check and see if I, you know, can find a tutor or a Spanish book. Now I'm in the library, but it's deserted. There's not even a librarian here.
Hmm, Spanish… Let's check under S.
Okay, I've got nothing.
Hmm, maybe it's under F, for foreign language.
Nope.
Okay, how about L, for Latin-based.
Still nothing.
M for Mexico, it's got to be there.
Aha! No, wait, these say nothing about Spanish!
Okay, I give up. I'll just find a free reading book. Hmm… War and Peace sounds nice. It's got a war, it's got peace, it's got Siberia, it's got over one hundred and fifty characters. It's really long, so it'll last me until lunch. Maybe even after lunch, as I have nothing to do.
Hmm, okay, let's find it. Aha! There it is! Wonder why it's on that sort of pedestal-y thing? Oh well, gotta snag it anyways. Man, this is hard to read. Oh, wait; it's in Russian, isn't it?
Hmm, I've seen this before somewhere. Yeah, that word means, hmm, what was it? Oh, wait, Great Aunt Ashley taught me some of this when I was little, something she picked up during her training for the Iditarod. Now that one's the, and that's and, and that's a, and that one's war, and that one's hello, and that's uh, friend, right? Okay, hey, I think I'm getting the hang of this a little.
I've just about finished the first page when the librarian barges in and has a cow about me reading it. She practically tears Tolstoy from my hands, drops him back on the pedestal and scolds me. Okay, she's a buzzkill.
Hmm, wonder if they've got East of Eden. Saw the movie. It was pretty good. The book ought to be good too. Yeah, I found it!
Of course, the librarian sees and seizes it.
"That book is inappropriate reading material. It was supposed to be burned. You are not allowed to read it because of the sexual content. That book is rated R, and you are not eighteen and do not have parental consent!" She fusses.
Hmm, maybe they've got Catch-22 in here somewhere?
Aha! Found it. Wow, this is pretty good. Of course, I'm laughing already, and so the librarian comes over to kill me, which is pretty stupid, because we're the only people in here. She yanks it out of my hands, scolding me again.
Okay, there has to be something else. Do we have Atlas Shrugged? Aha! There it is, on that big glass-covered bookcase. Gotcha! I've barely cracked the book open when the librarian seizes it from me.
"No stealing from the teacher's bookshelf! Too controversial. I'm sorry, but I warned you thrice. I'm afraid I'll have to kick you out," She snaps.
A librarian, not allowing me to read?
"You're a librarian, you're supposed to promote literacy. Now whether I want to read in Russian, read books with "sexual content", which is a stupid thing to be concerned about anyways, as more than half of the kids in the school have already had sex, so why should reading about it or watching it be illegal, laugh in an empty library, at a book, or read a controversial book from the teacher's self, I should be able to do it. We don't live in China, you know? You have gone out of your way to prevent me from reading!" I shout.
She then attempts to bodily throw me out, but I go out on my own, not before nicking, however, all four books. Of course, as I'm walking along in the hall, Randall spots me, and uses his portable scanner to check and see if I've checked out the books, which, of course, I haven't and so he snatches them and, well, I'd run, but hey, this delays time, right?
Of course, Finster comes, but she just shakes her head and walks away.
"Randall, she's the star of the girl's track team. We can't do anything to her because the finals are today!" Miss Finster hisses.
Randall scowls at me and I flip him off, running before he alerts Mrs. Finster.
Okay, now, what else can I do? Ah, the gym! I can lift some weights or run a lap or two.
I'm at the gym and just picking up a weight when it is lifted out of my hands.
"Miss Spinelli, sorry, no lifting. You've got to keep your strength up," Mr. Fitzgerald says from above.
Darn. I get up, scowling at him.
"Hey! That's no fair! I have to do SOMETHING! I couldn't work on my metal craft, I couldn't get Spanish help, I can't read, I got kicked out of the library, and now you're telling me I can't lift weights! Lunch isn't for hours, and I have nothing to do!" I screech at him.
Fitzy's laughing at me. It's starting to get really annoying. I mean, yeah, he's the youngest teacher here, we know he has a sense of humor; don't rub it in our faces! Sheesh!
"How'd you get kicked out of the library?" Fitz mutters, smirking.
I look down, rolling my eyes.
"Well, I tried to read War and Peace in Russian, East of Eden, Catch-22, and Atlas Shrugged. I suppose War and Peace was rare. She said East of Eden was "smutty" or something. I was laughing out loud at Catch-22, and I "stole" Atlas Shrugged from the Teacher's Bookcase," I scowl.
Fitzy smirks.
"So, how far'd you get?"
I shrug.
"A couple pages, at best," I sigh.
He nods.
"So, Fitzy, what am I supposed to do, huh? Lunch is in a long time, and I'm sick of waiting to do something!" I snap.
Fitzy shrugs.
"Well, Spinelli, you could change into your gym clothes. I suppose that a lap or two wouldn't be so bad. I'll race you."
Eh, it's not half-bad, and I'm bored out of my mind.
"Okay, Coach."
He nods seriously.
"Okay, Spinelli, meet me at the track. I'm sure you know where it is," He leaves.
How could I not? No, seriously…
Anyways, to the girl's locker rooms! Hey, is that Helaine? Helaine was Upside-Down Girl, you know, back in grade school. She's cool. We're friends now. She's on the track team too. That gives me an idea.
"Hey, Helaine!" I shout.
Helaine turns.
"Oh, hey, Spinelli! How are you?" She replies congenially.
I smile at her.
"I'm fine. Actually, I'm going to race Fitzy down at the track. I've just gotta get changed. You wanna come with me?" I ask.
Helaine smiles.
"Sure, Spinelli, I'm there!"
I nod, smiling back.
"Okay, just give me a sec to change," I request.
I throw on the track uniform (short black shorts and a white t-shirt with the school's name and mascot on it), put my hair up in a ponytail, and then lace up my sneakers.
"I'm sorry I missed practice on Monday. I heard about T.J. chasing you. I would've paid to see that," She smirks.
"What do you mean?" I say sharply.
I can feel her rolling her eyes as I step out into her aisle.
"Look, you like him. This whole hating-him-thing you've got going is just a cover. You're not fooling anyone with it, either!" Helaine retorts.
Ugh. I do not like T.J. I am not in love with T.J.! How many times do I have to say that before someone believes it? This is so frustrating.
"Says the girl who had the world's BIGGEST crush on him in freshmen year. When you heard about me fighting him on April Fools, you practically blew a gasket! And, sheesh, how many times must I say that I DON'T like him, that I'm NOT in love with him, and that I HATE him, before you all finally get the hint?!" I reply angrily.
Helaine rolls her eyes.
"Oh, come on, you were in LOVE with him in elementary!"
Oh, sure, throw that in my face. Wait, how'd she know about that? I didn't even hang out with her back then. Oh, well.
"Yeah, so? I had a crush on Johnny V. in elementary too!" I hiss back.
Helaine shoots me a look.
"Spinelli, in case you've forgotten, Johnny V. was your most recent boyfriend," Helaine pointed out.
Gee, how could I forget? Remember, I knocked out one of his front teeth because I caught him cheating on me with Ashley A. That's not something I can exactly forget so easily.
"Yeah, so? I've had a lot of boyfriends," I mutter, annoyed.
Helaine rolls her eyes.
"Yeah, and they've all cheated on you."
That's not true.
"No, actually, 'Laine, that isn't true. Now, let me see here… First there was that new guy, who was a dweeb, and he was really stupid, so I cheated on him, and I got away with it for a while, and then we just kind of never saw each other anymore and it turned out that he had moved away again or something. And, uh, then there was Butch, who I broke up with because, well, I'm not going there. That was really bad. Hmm, and after that's Skeens, who cheated on me with Sue Bob Murphy, go figure. Hmm, and then there was Bob, right? He was too self-involved, and then, you know, he cheated on me with that new girl, Crystal, right? And, okay, then there was Francis, who didn't cheat on me, and that one lasted a while because he was somewhat nice, but you know, he was even more closed off than I was. I broke up with Lawson because he was a jerk and he didn't respect me, but he was also cheating on me with, oh, who was it? I think it was a Megan, but it could've been Ashley Quinlin… And after that, there was Gordie, that one lasted a while too… Hmm, why did I break up with him? Oh, yeah, he got bored with me, and I got bored with him, so I ditched him. And that brings me to Johnny V., who I caught in the alley of Kelso's cheating on me with Ashley A." I reply matter-of-factly, counting them off on my fingers.
Helaine nods, surrendering.
"Man, you've had a lot of scumbags for boyfriends, haven't you?" She replies, in awe.
I nod. Sad, eh? Let's see, five out of eight boyfriends have cheated on me. That's intriguing.
"Yeah. It's kind of sad, actually. Now, come on, Fitz is probably having a cow on the field," I say, after a while, hustling.
Of course, once again, I don't look where I'm going, and I run into someone. It's a seriously annoying habit. I swear, if I run into someone once more, I'm gonna turn into Helga from Hey Arnold. Anyways, this time, I'm fortunate enough that the man I run into isn't T.J., but someone else.
Now, I'm not a girl who gushes over how cute guys are, I mean, you can use the scene at practice with T.J. for an example, but, this guy, well, he's hot. I don't know why, but he looks somewhat familiar and I can't place the familiarity. Oh well.
He's pretty nice too, because he helps me to my feet before I can protest. And his hand lingers on my arm longer than necessary. Somewhere behind me, Helaine's smirking. No, but seriously, this guy, he's really unnerving. He's staring straight into my eyes and not blinking. And now, he's leaning down and kissing my hand, something that is still very strange by my standards.
Maybe it'll help if I describe this guy. Okay, he's got light brown hair and green eyes and he's about six foot. He's dressed pretty normally; wearing some battered sneakers, a red t-shirt, and some jeans. I dunno why he looks so familiar though.
"Hello. I'm new here, and I was wondering if a woman as beautiful as you would even give a guy like me the time of day, let alone show me around," He flatters.
Now see, I don't usually blush, because well, my facial features don't support it, but, hey, I'm doing it. No one's ever been so flirty with me. I mean, people come onto me, but they don't do it smoothly. Or, at least as smooth as this guy does.
"Well, I could show you around. I've got the day off anyways," I reply, smiling.
He smiles back at me, looking at me quizzically.
"What's your name, gorgeous?" He asks smoothly.
I hold out a hand, which he grabs. Helaine's chuckling behind me.
"Spinelli."
His eyes widen and he drops my hand.
"Spinelli? Seriously? You've grown up so much!" He exclaims.
Who is this guy? He looks at me, frantic.
"Don't you recognize me, Spinelli? It's Jared!" He cries.
Holy crap. THAT's Jared? The Perfect Kid from fourth grade. Wow. Figures, I guess. I pull him into a hug.
"Wow. Jared! You look… great! It's great to see you again!" I reply sincerely.
He smiles, pulling back.
"So, how is everyone? Gus, Mikey, Gretchen, Vince, T.J.?" He chirps.
Helaine snickers from behind me. I turn around to face her.
"Shut it, Helaine," I warn.
She rolls her eyes, gazing straight at Jared.
"Well, Gretchen's okay, even though she's dating Vince, who's also okay. Gus is fine, Mikey too, he's lost a lot of weight actually. He's a great actor, though; he's in my drama class. Hmm, T.J., I don't know about him though. I mean, Spinelli did push him down a flight of stairs on Sunday…" She trails off.
Jared shoots me a curious look.
"Look, Jared, it's a very long story, and we don't have the time. We've got to get you to class. Did you know that there's a dance tomorrow?" I say, changing the subject.
He shrugs, showing me his schedule.
Hmm, Latin 3.0, AP Calculus, AP Philosophy, P.E., AP Physics, Photography, Art, Honors English II… Hmm, wonder why he's not in AP English? Oh well. So, we've got P.E., Art, and English together, cool. I gaze at my watch.
"Well, you should be in P.E., but it's cancelled today because of the track meet, so I guess you're with me for now. I'll show you where they are, okay? Now, Helaine, could you run down to the track, well, maybe not run, and tell Coach that I'm gonna be late?" I order.
Helaine rushes off towards the track, giggling, and I walk down the hallway with Jared.
"Okay, all the AP classes are in the same hallway, which we'll reach in a second. The senior classes are on the right side and the junior classes are on the left. The math classes are first, followed by the science classes, and then the social studies classes, followed by the English classes."
We're here. I gesture towards his classrooms.
"AP Calculus."
We walk a little further.
"AP Physics."
A little further.
"AP Philosophy."
I grab him by the shirt and keep walking. Okay, turn left, then right, then left, aha! Foreign languages. There's Latin in that hallway.
"Latin 3.0."
We then go all the way across the school.
"Art is here. I've got that one too. There's Photography," I gesture.
He smiles and nods. I'm tired. I'll show him the English room later.
"I'll show you the English room later, okay?" I request raggedly.
Jared nods good-naturedly.
"Now, I've got to race my coach, and English teacher. Do you wanna come, or do you wanna wait in the cafeteria, because lunch is in a few minutes?" I offer.
He shakes his head, grabbing my hand.
"Okay, then. Race it is," I mutter.
I walk, and soon we're at the track. Helaine rests on the bleachers, smirking up at me, and Coach, well, Coach looks almost… disappointed? No, that can't be right. I must be hallucinating. Or imagining things. Yeah, that's it.
Nothing good ever happens when someone looks disappointed around me.
"Oh, finally decided to show up, have you, Spinelli? Who's the beau?" Fitz jeers.
I roll my eyes, turning to Jared.
"Wait for me here, okay? This won't take long," I mutter violently.
Fitzy's eyes widen.
"A little cocky, aren't we, Miss Spinelli?" He retorts.
I ignore him, stretching.
"You're one to talk, Fitz," I reply in irritation.
I then walk over to the track, done stretching, and get into position.
"You're on, Spinelli."
Helaine rises to her feet.
"On your mark, get set, and GO!"
We both shoot off, racing. All I am in this moment is the speed. I'm a blur. I can't see him and I don't care.
All I can see is the finish.
In a flash, I'm done. I screech to a halt, and my surroundings become shapes once more. Did I beat Fitz?
"Hmm, Jared, could you tell who won?" Helaine asks, biting her lip.
"Nope. It looked like they finished at the same time," He replies, shaking his head.
I stare over at Fitzy, both of us panting and he gives me a thumbs-up.
"Nice… work… Spinelli… You'll… smoke… 'em…" He puffs.
We both gasp for air, and I dive into the grass, trying to put my muscles at ease. As I gaze up at the blue sky, getting my wind back, I realize that this day's going to be hard.
- Loren ;
Kudos to anyone who gets why the last name of Ferris is funny for a metal-craft teacher. And, in case you're wondering… I wrote this chapter before I was finished with East of Eden, which was before I knew that it wasn't really smutty at all…lol… It's a great book though…One of my favorites…
Oh, and let's see…
First Name Ashley, that's where Spinelli's Great Aunt Ashley is mentioned.
Here Comes Mr. Perfect is where Jared is from.
Huster's Apprentice is the one where Hustler Kid says his name is Francis.
Nobody Doesn't Like T.J. is the one with Gordie in it (Trust me, it's no coincidence that Spinelli went out with the only guy who doesn't like T.J. for a long time. She also went out with Lawson… And Skeens… Maybe she's got a bad guy complex)…
The Substitute is the episode where Spinelli says that metal craft is one of her passions (Along with Wrestling…So she makes wrestling candlesticks out of metal…lol)
Dance Lessons is the episode with the Megans, who are just like the Ashleys, and so I figured that they went to Fifth Street (y'know, the school that Prickly's Big Brother ran where everyone was a clone of the people at Third Street?), and so all the people from Fifth Street now go to high school with them…
Oh, and in case you're interested, which you're prolly not, Spinelli's friends are Helaine, Ramona (Swinger Girl), (Megan) Regalli (Remember, her double?), and other people who I don't feel like naming…
By the way, thank you to everyone who reviewed.
I really appreciate you guys taking the time out of your busy days to review this li'l ole fic…
So I'm gonna give ya'll a little shout-out...
Because you all rock!
And here's a nifty little list of all you great people:
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recess fan :)
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Awesome Ashley
and
KimNamhee!
You guys are awesome! Love ya!
Review if you feel like it!
Au revoir!
Bet you're glad I'm done, right? Of course, if you read all this, you definitely deserve a plaque… ;)