"All students please report to the school auditorium IMMEDIATELY."
I looked up from my discman playing my new Method Man CD to the speakerbox mounted on the wall of the classroom. The two Latino fools were beside me; little Rey sitting up straighter and yawning, while the rambunctious Eddie stopped writing who-knew-what's on his notes. Professor Smith, our homeroom advisor, snuffed and scowled, closing her large text with a thud.
"Now what is Vince up to this time?" she said through her coffee-stained teeth.
Everyone groaned. Smith was known for this; keeping everyone cramped in this room to continue this freakin' discussion when everyone must be going to the auditorium right now. And I don't want to look like a reject waiting for what's going to happen next, so I did what I had to do and nudged Eddie with my elbow. He raised his arm until the professor finally noticed him.
"Yes, Mr. Guerrero?" the professor called.
"Um, Prof, shouldn't you let us go now? The big mamacita clerk did say all students, so…"
Smith crossed her arms. "Really, Mr. Guerrero? If your principal wants all children not to learn anything in values, then by all means, go."
Upon saying those words, all the students stood up from their seats and headed to the doors, ignoring the professor's pleas that she was just being sarcastic. Everyone was bored anyway, and Smith's discussion only composed of the dos and don'ts of a teenager, the topic she was currently mangling.
"Damn…that Smith is really whacked," Rey said to us the moment we're out of the room. "Why discuss values when everyone around here is practically loco?"
"Oh, don't worry about that, my little compadre," Eddie told him. "Worry about what'll happen and why we were all called out. Maybe the Big Boss will let us dismiss early."
I chuckled. "Yeah. Dream on."
We continued to walk through the student-suffused quad until we made it to the outside gardens where the auditorium was. Weather was fair, everything was good, finals are over, Spring Night was a memorable event and still a success (for some people), and tomorrow was the first day of vacation. Need I say more?
Then I noticed Rey looking closely at me. "Well, someone is quite a happy trooper today…"
"Of course I am. "Lovely days, just got paid, stack it up, be on my way…you know what I'm saying?"
Eddie and Rey smiled at each other, then lolled their eyes skyward as if they're praying. "Twista," they both breathed. I only laughed.
"So how are the Torrie-hanging days going?" Eddie asked me.
"Good," I answered, yanking my chains. "It's been like a daze, but I think she finally forgotten everything that had happened."
Rey sighed. "That's cool. I can't imagine being on those heels."
"Damn right you are, holmes," Eddie agreed. "Big Show was one scary brute gone totally bonkers. Glad he was expelled."
I nodded. After that little talk with Torrie back on the common room, the two of us have been together the whole week. Well, not exactly together-together. Just treat her to coffee and pizza, play Manic Marauders with her in the Danger Zone arcade, though I never encountered a girl scoring about a record-breaking thousand points.
But mostly, all we did was talk. Talk about what we want and hate, our stuff, school…anything that comes through our minds. But we're not dating—I haven't even suggested that. We're just hanging out like friends do.
I sigh. Yup, definitely just hanging out and being friends.
"Do you have plans with her tonight, J?" Rey asked me.
I thought for a moment. "Actually, yes. We're gonna watch that new SpongeBob Squarepants flick she always rambles about. Don't get me wrong, I like the show and all, and personally, I can't wait."
"Wow! You've got to be some hunk to hang out with her, that fine chica," Eddie breathed. "But don't forget our outing tomorrow in Long Beach…"
I smirked. "I know. I'm definitely coming."
Finally, we reached the auditorium, and the three of us sat in front. Everyone started talking excitedly. No one around here seems to know the reason why everyone was called out. I sank comfortably in my seat, predicting that maybe this one was just some type of end-of-school year announcement or something.
But I was dead wrong.
As soon as everyone was settled down, a loud, anthemic star-spangled music started to play that made everyone fell silent. And I thought that there was only one person—one person—who would withstand humiliation, pain, shame and damnation, possessing an authority no one would ever claim. A foolish yet very pompous person who was known to meddle in anyone's affairs for his haughty amusement.
Okay…maybe I've gone Shakespeare-deep with that. English translation is: The one that could do something this crazy and goddamned stupid is someone we all know. But who?
After minutes of long thinking, the answer hit me like a bolt of lightning. Could it be…? Nah.
But could it?
Then I felt Eddie shudder beside me. I asked him what's wrong.
"You know what, John? I suddenly have a bad feeling about this…" he answered.
"You and me both, Ed," Rey told him. "The only idiot who could do this is—''
Suddenly everyone gasped and started chattering loudly, cutting Rey off. When my eyes went back to the stage…well, I was shocked myself.
The person who've just made this silly entrance was the one and only pomp, our General Manager.
None other than Kurt Angle.
Yup, Lumpy is definitely back, clad in his usual dorky clothes, and still pretty much bulbheaded. Except that he was in a wheelchair, his left leg in a hard cast up to his thigh, and he was pushed on the stage by his stooge Luther Reigns. Even from a distance I saw a bandage sticking out from the back; a small white square right in the middle of his bald head and his nape.
The auditorium became noisy. Each student acted differently like they've just seen a ghost. Eddie and Rey were cussing loudly in Spanish, while I…let's just say I sank down in my seat even lower, holding the handrests tight with my eyes set straight on that damn red-curtained stage.
And believe me, this isn't how I usually act. 'Nuff said.
When the music stopped, Luther gave Angle a microphone as the auditorium eventually quieted down. He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it, opened it, then he closed it again. And from my sharp lookout, I saw tears threatening to spill in his beady little eyes.
"I stand here before you all as the General Manager," Angle finally said. "This past week I have been hospitalized and horribly bedridden…my leg is injured beyond repair. I was already looked over by the best doctors in the state, and they all said the same thing."
Everyone, myself included, strained to listen.
"I can never walk again!" he cried.
A murmur swept through the entire auditorium. Again, everyone reacted differently to what Angle had just said. So he would never play football again. I can live with that. It's his totally jutted ass being handicapped forever that really bothers me. I don't know why, though.
"And it never would have happened if it wasn't for all of you!" Angle affirmed angrily, pointing to the whole student body.
Now, everyone reacted like they have just been insulted. He blames his injury on all of us?! Why, I was the one who saved him in Spring Night! Sort of a different term for 'save'. At this moment, students started to mock and make fun of him as if he didn't almost die. I know it's nasty, but I wouldn't help it if Angle did say that to my face.
"Stop making fun of me!" Angle yelled in a wobbly voice. "I'm injured, and you think it's funny! I blame all of you, I blame the Big Show…you all should go to hell!"
Now that I think about it, it was kind of funny in a sick way. Before I could react, everyone began the "YOU SUCK" chant. Angle didn't respond; he just stared down the crowd for a long time, waiting for them to quiet down. And they did.
Angle took the mic back to his mouth again. "And then there's Torrie Wilson."
Everyone incoherently cheered at the sound of one of Springville's cheerleading pride. But Angle wasn't smiling at all once he said her name, and it definitely wasn't a good sign. A bad feeling started to brew at the pit of my gut.
"Torrie, I would like you to come up here right now because I have something to say to you," Angle said flintily.
Before anyone would even cheer, Angle took over the microphone again. "Cut the cheering! Cut it right now! Just get down here, Torrie!"
"Kurt seems really angry, vatos," Eddie whispered to us. "This is getting serious."
"Out of control, you mean," Rey corrected him. "I don't think Torrie has to get up there."
But she did. Before I even knew it, the pretty blonde had just passed our row of seats. I watched as she slowly went up to the stage, and stood up about 10 feet away from Angle's wheelchair. Even there I saw her lips saying that she didn't do anything to make Big Show angry, his accident was at the wrong place and time, and none of it was her fault. But it looks like Lumpy wasn't listening.
"Luther, get Torrie in front of me," Angle ordered.
The tall, Mohawk-haired stooge obeyed, gripping Torrie's shoulder as he pulled her towards Angle. Everyone went irate. I gritted my teeth and stood up from my chair, ready to charge but Eddie and Rey both pushed me back down with all their strength.
"What the hell did you do that for?!" I demanded.
"Relax, holmes," Eddie told me warily. "We'll let you go in a jiff. Charging the bulbhead now would be a bad idea. Trust me."
And so I followed Eddie; begrudgingly sinking down in my cushy chair, but I could hardly keep still. There's no telling what Angle might do to Torrie, and thinking about it more makes me want to scream in impatience. I continued to watch the scene before me. Torrie was now in front of Angle, continuing to reason with him, but the pomp wasn't listening again.
"If there's one person to blame for this injury," Angle told her sternly. "It's you."
The crowd meticulously booed Angle off, obviously ticked as Torrie lowered her eyes.
"Because of you Torrie, I can no longer have sex with my girlfriend anymore!" Angle bawled at her.
Now, the crowd went with a unanimous "EWWWWW!"
"Asqueroso!" Rey said, repulsed.
Eddie rolled his eyes. "Did he really have to say that?!"
I curled my lip. "If you had no life, yeah, you would reveal that,"
"And now, since you're the center of this whole consequence, I'm gonna let Rene Dupree continue what he wants to do to you. I want you to feel my pain, Torrie. I want you to suffer with every last breath you take," Angle seethed. "Luther, get me out of here."
Spoken like a true dumbass, Angle was now wheeled off by Luther and disappeared inside the navy blue curtains. And as if he was hearing his presence called, the self-proclaimed French phenom strutted out from nowhere and went in front of Torrie.
A perverted look passed over Dupree's face immediately. He went near Torrie and twirled a strand of her hair. She swatted his hand away, but that only made him look even more perverted. Seeing that, Torrie slapped the guy for a second time, this one hurting even more than the last. The audience were taken aback.
Feeling his stinging cheek, Dupree carried Torrie's whole body up again, and as I saw only a few days ago, another attempt of a body slam was now taking place.
But not on my watch.
In a daze, I stood up from my chair, ran up to the stage, and speared the French fry again with my shoulders in lightning speed that made him go in a knock-out zone, flat on the floor. I caught Torrie in my arms, catching her light body perfectly, but I put her back down again when he sat up. He stormed in front of me and punched me continuously, until I gave him a spine-buster that left him out cold.
After that, I immediately went back to Torrie's side.
"John…?" Torrie whispered hoarsely. "What are you—''
"Don't worry, honey," I murmured. "I'm here."
Everyone in the audience cheered as if we were an item. I raised my brows. Eddie and Rey ran up from the stage and accosted us.
"Come on esse," Eddie said rigidly. "Let's get out of here before this gets crazy!"
With that, we all ran down the stage, out of the auditorium, and back to the dormitory common room. No one was there, so it was safe to fuss around. As soon as we got there, we were panting our butts off.
"That was close," Rey huffed, sitting down from the carpet.
"I hate to say this," I got out between gasps. "But this has been exciting,"
"Not for someone here, that's for sure," Eddie said to us, motioning us to look behind him.
Torrie was on the sofa, squirming uncomfortably, a look of total confusion in her face. Seeing her like that made the excitement melt away from my expression. I started to walk towards her, but Eddie intervened with a hand in my arm.
"Just leave her be, holmes," he informed. "This was one crazy day for her."
I nodded, torn, and sat down next to Torrie, as the two Latinos walked away from us in a short distance to keep a sharp lookout.
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"Coast is clear, hermanos," Rey updated.
It was now 6:00 in the evening. All the students respectively went back to the dorms, and surprisingly none of them interrogated us. Instead I saw them walking around with smiles on their faces, their days obviously have been made. Don't forget; tomorrow's the first day of vacation. And the seniors who will be leaving here must have a pocket full of memories.
I was still sitting next to Torrie, who still hasn't said a word after that incident. Lumpy and Luther didn't show up at all, but I'm sure they've heard about it now. Eddie and Rey sat down on the sofa across ours, watching me and Torrie, shooting us both with sympathetic expressions.
"Are you okay?" I finally asked her.
No answer.
"Come on, Torrie. Talk to me please."
She looked up at me, and I thought if I was too harsh. She had to face her problems sometime, but after all, she wasn't a strong and overpowering person who can fight off someone with a punch. She's just…a girl. A girl that I really like.
"I-I'm sorry—'' I began.
"No, don't be," she said. "I'm fine."
I didn't know what else to say. Eddie and Rey were now making a 'move-on' look. I was about to open my mouth until Torrie interrupted me.
"Why do you keep doing this?" she asked me.
I was confused. "Doing what?"
"Saving me."
"I want to."
"How can you even say that?" Torrie requested. "I mean…you hardly know me…"
I raised my brows high up to my hairline. "Of course I do. I know you're smart and nice, I know you don't waste your money to buy clothes when you could make them, I know you could match your friends to guys when they're too shy to make a move, I know you care when sweaty people run out of towels, you're cute…you love riding around LA in your Beetle…"
I let my voice drift away, and from Torrie, Eddie, and Rey's expressions, I must have talked too much. Damn it, I can get carried away…
Surprisingly, Torrie laughed. "O-Okay, I can live with that…"
"Damn babe," said Eddie. "I actually expected you to bawl or something."
"Don't look back, look forward," Torrie announced, giving me a significant look when she said it.
Then I had an idea.
"How many punches did the Frenchman gave to me?" I asked to Eddie and Rey.
The two looked at each other, then back to me. "Twenty times," Rey answered.
"Twenty…" I echoed.
I was silent for a moment, then Eddie had this excited look on his face. "You're coming down with something, aren't you, Johnny?"
I nodded cockily. "Oh yeah. Could you guys do me 'the favor'?"
Eddie and Rey both whooped and cheered, giving high-fives to each other. Torrie became confused again.
"What favor is that?" she demanded.
"I'll tell you tomorrow." I promised.
Torrie smiled at me, her green eyes shining even more than usual. "Thank you John."
"For what?"
She shrugged. "For sticking around."
Torrie circled her arms around my back, her face leaning against my white Red Sox jersey shirt. She pulled me in for a hug, her head on my broad chest, falling in rhythm with my breathing, her eyes closed in bliss. I couldn't react; I couldn't even move. My hands remained in my side.
Then I felt a sudden, invisible blow in my chest, something that I've never felt before.
I suddenly felt weak. And my heart was beating double time. I looked at Eddie and Rey, and they were both smirking, their chins in their hands, as if they were enjoying the scene before them, as if they were watching a rerun of General Hospital. But I didn't care; my feelings heightened, I surely never felt this way about anyone before.
"Yeah…you're welcome…" I said groggily, pushing her gently away from me. She was still smiling at me, expecting me to say something. Then I reddened and looked away. I didn't know what's wrong with me.
"So…uh…do we still have time for that movie?" Torrie asked awkwardly, her face red as well.
I looked at the wall clock. "There's still an hour."
Torrie suddenly brightened, then turned to Eddie and Rey. "I know! Why don't you come watch the movie with us?"
I agreed and then felt generous. "She's right, you guys. Join us. It'll be fun."
"I don't mind," Rey piped in. "I watch SpongeBob too."
Eddie laughed. "Oh sure, we all want to watch the talking cheese in his movie debut. But we'll come only under one condition, Torrie. Come with us to the Long Beach party tomorrow. I guarantee you: you'll have a time of your life there, chica. What do you say?"
Torrie nodded, her blond curls bobbing. "Sure. I'll go. But only if you let me take someone."
"Sure you can," I said to her. "The more the merrier."
Eddie clapped his hands together. "So it's settled. Let's go to that movie before the kids beat us there first."
We all laughed and stood up from our seats, walking together to the parking lot to my BMW. But mostly, I can't wait for him and Rey to do 'the favor.' Don't worry…you'll find out what that means soon.
I opened the passenger door to let Torrie in, and when she smiled up at me again from the black leather seat, my heart nearly flipped over. And I'm not feeling embarrassed or angry anymore. I felt…happy.
After all that has gone on, it was still a beautiful day.
(t.b.c.)
Apologies for the rather late update... lots of things to do and I haven't got time to log in the net...
and because I love you guys so much, I have to make a favor to a friend of mine (mitchy: THAT'S ME!) to upload this chapter for me. hope it's all worth the wait...thanks guys!