Disclaimer: I do not own School of Rock. But if I did. Summer would burrn. BURRRN. And Freddy and Katie would be together forever and ever and ever and ever...
He was unconscious throughout the whole procedure. Pale faces streaked with tears sat outside the Emergency Room. The doctor finally emerged from the swinging double doors, he smiled slightly and said reassuringly, "He's going to live through this." Mrs. Jones burst into tears and hugged her husband, body racking with sobs.
A few hours later, Freddy was lying on the white bed, breathing shallowly, with a regular heart rate, judged by the monitor. Mrs. Brown was comforting her friend, her face was worn out from the long night of non-existent sleep.
"The doctor said Katie's going to pull through," Mrs. Brown said.
"Freddy will soon wake up—I better be—Christina, what happened to the young innocence?" Mrs. Jones cried.
She shook her head, "I don't know, but I've never realized how depressed Katie was—I'm such a bad mother."
The approaching doctor cut off the two ladies' conversation, "Well Mrs. Jones, your son is awake now, I expect that you want to see him now?" She stood up and bustled along, following the doctor.
By the first bell, everybody had realized that Katie and Freddy were not at school, but nobody knew why.
"Maybe they've gone off to do something," Ashley giggled. The girl's gossip reached Vanessa's ears and with a menacing glare, Ashley shut up.
"Freddy would never do that to me," Vanessa commented proudly, "He loves me. Although, I wouldn't pride myself on having a cheating bastard like Charlie around."
Ashley looked at Vanessa, trying not to cry in front of her.
The speaker on the right side of the wall clicked and the headmaster's daily announcements came on, "All classes are cancelled for today. Two of our students, Katie Brown and Freddy Jones have been sent off to the hospital yesterday. There will be an assembly for today…"
That was all everyone could hear before raucous chatter infested every classroom in the whole school. What had happened?
"Serves the bitch right," Vanessa said slyly, "I hope she burns in hell." The girls around her laughed and agreed, sneers on their faces.
"Katie has committed suicide," Dan said from the corner. Everyone rushed over to him.
"How would you know?" Vanessa sneered, her insides rejoicing in joy, "She was probably doing for attention."
Dan faced Vanessa, disgust etched in his pretty features, "Because I saw her, I saw the ambulance rush from the hospital. I was there when I saw her mum cry and grab onto Katie's hand. I saw her when the men zip-locked the empty vodka bottle and pill container." Dan's outburst caused everyone to go silent. "I hope you're happy Vanessa," he spat out, "I know how Katie's been treated." And he said no more, pushing past people to get to the assembly hall. He kept his mouth shut, for Katie's sake.
Vanessa looked angry and shocked. How dare that boy blame me. I did nothing of the sort. She stalked off, the many girls following her to where ever she would go.
When the assembly was over, Vanessa was called back by the headmaster.
"What's wrong sir?" she asked innocently.
"It seems Ms. Brown had left a letter to you before—" he gulped and handed the envelope to her, "You must have been a dear friend."
Vanessa dared not look him in the eye and rushed off. She looked for a secluded place and tore open the envelope and read the letter, expecting the letter to be filled with words of hate and anger, instead, she found this:
Dear Vanessa,
I do not blame you for fending me off Freddy, since I know you really like him. And I did too. But now I realize that you two were meant to be together. I'm sorry for all I've cost you, if I ever did.
I hope you're happy now. Now you've got no one standing in your way. I thought Freddy was the boy I once knew, but I see he's changed.
Maybe once would my heart have beat increasingly fast for the blond-headed rebel. But I can't feel anything anymore. I have no emotions. Thank you for making me realize that—even though I'm alive, that everyone says that people get second chances, I had none. I was never alive enough to begin with.
Your could-have-been friend,
Katie
Vanessa crumpled up the letter in guilt. She still hated Katie, with passion for liking Freddy. But through all the words Katie had penned down, she could not ignore the feelings of pain that she had caused this defenseless girl. How she had turned Freddy against his best friend because of the intense jealousy she felt.
Freddy. Freddy clouded up her mind. Before she knew Freddy, she had envied everything Katie Brown had. The shrouded looks, the perfect best friend that was in love with her, the smarts. She was not popular like Vanessa, but had a friendly reputation.
She had snatched Freddy with violence, leaving Katie vulnerable. She had twisted Freddy's mind to fit her needs. She had done this to Katie. And the more she thought about it, the less guilt she seemed to feel. The more she convinced herself that this was a selfish attempt to attract attention.
She took a cab to the hospital, insisting on visiting both Freddy and—Katie. She went to see Freddy first. He was up and awake, leaning against the bedpost and looking rather grim. His mother was by the coffee machine outside with Katie's mother chatting.
"Hi Freddy," she squealed flinging her arms around him.
He winced in pain and groaned, "Get off me Vanessa."
She quickly released him, "What's wrong?"
"I—I—how do I put this? I don't want us to be together," he finished, awaiting the boiling anger. To his amazement, she smiled deviously.
"Oh Freddy, I knew you loved Katie," she smiled, hiding the frustration, "I thought you two were perfect for each other."
Freddy had unknowingly stumbled across Vanessa's recent plan.
She gave him a hug and headed off.
Katie's door was vaguely open, and Vanessa had no idea that at the moment she stepped into the room, Katie had slipped from her paralyzed state, into a coma.