Chapter 12
Raven was sitting on a metal folding chair that Debra had brought in off to the side of Lawler's desk, waiting for her parents. Principal Lawler sent Eddie and Ben to class, and hadn't spoken a word to her since. He made a few calls and, at the moment, was writing something in a small book. Raven played with her fingers, wishing she could call Chelsea and know where she was. She hoped that Chelsea was okay. Raven knew how scared Chelsea was of what other people thought of her. And having "dyke" written on the lockers was definitely not the way Chelsea wanted other people to find out about them.
It scared Raven to think about what Chelsea could be doing. Fortunately, she didn't have to think about it too long, when Debra called on the intercom.
"Principal Lawler, Mr. and Mrs. Baxter are here."
"Send them in please. Thank you Debra." Principal Lawler said, straightening his tie.
In seconds, Victor and Tanya came in. Tanya went to Raven, who stood up. "Honey, are you okay?" Tanya asked, concerned, as she hugged Raven.
Raven nodded numbly.
Victor shook Lawler's hand. Tanya hugged Raven one more time before going over to Lawler and shaking his hand as well. "Ah, Mr. and Mrs. Baxter. Nice to see you again. I'm sorry it's over something as horrible as this."
"Well, what exactly happenedMr. Lawler?" Victor asked, looking at Raven and then back at Lawler.
"This morning, before school, some vandals broke in and…defaced your daughter and her friend Chelsea Daniels' lockers."
"J-just Raven and Chelsea's lockers?" Tanya asked nervously, having a terrible feeling that she already knew what this was about.
Lawler nodded. "Yes. The vandals wrote a word. A specific word. A-a horrible word that would refer to Raven and Chelsea in a derogatory way."
"Dyke." Tanya stated, and Victor sighed heavily. Raven cringed as the word left her mother's lips. She shivered as she thought about the big bold four letter word that smacked her in the face and ruined her natural love high for the day and…possibly forever.
"Yes, that's the word. I'm having it cleaned up as we speak. It should be completely removed very shortly. I'm just sorry that it happened in the first place."
"Well, what are you going to do about it?" Victor said firmly.
"I assure you Mr. Baxter that the vandals will be caught and dealt with properly."
"Do you have any suspects?" Tanya asked, her Law school practices becoming evident.
"Yes, I have a few people in mind, Mrs. Baxter. However, they aren't in attendance today and I cannot reach their parents. But rest assured, they will be caught."
"So what do we do?" Victor asked, looking at Raven. "Should we take Raven home?"
"Yes, I think that would be best for today---"
"No." Raven interrupted, and all three adults looked at her.
"What honey?" Tanya asked.
"I don't want to go home. I want to go out there…and face it."
"Rae, I don't think that's the best idea--" Tanya started, but Raven stood up and shook her head.
"I need to go to my classes Mom, and face everyone. If I don't, things are just going to get worse."
Everyone stayed silent for a moment. Raven could see Lawler mulling it over. Then, he said, "If that's what you want Miss Baxter. I applaud your courage."
"Thank you, sir." Raven said, giving him a half smile.
Victor and Tanya stood up and shook Principal Lawler's hand again. "Thank you sir, for everything." Tanya said to Lawler and he nodded.
"Once again, I'm terribly sorry about all of this. I'll do everything in my power to make sure this never happens again."
Victor and Tanya both nodded and left with Raven behind them. Out in the empty hallway, Tanya stopped Raven. "Are you sure honey?"
"I'm sure Mom. I have to do this." Raven said, sighing heavily. "I'm just worried about Chelsea. She ran out of here as soon as she saw it."
"It'll be okay Raven." Victor said, but Raven didn't think he was as sure as he sounded. "Everything will be okay."
"I hope so." Raven said as her father wrapped her in a hug.
"If it gets too overwhelming, go to the office and call me or your mother. We'll pick you up."
Raven nodded. "Thanks, but I'm staying, no matter what."
"You're really brave baby girl." Tanya whispered, her eyes lining with tears. "I'm proud of you."
Raven hugged her mother one last time and then they left. She watched them go and then turned the corner to her locker. The cleaning crew was just about done. The guys were packing up by Chelsea's locker and just putting the finishing touches on Raven's. It didn't really matter though. It would still be there when she looked at her locker. The paint was gone, but the damage remained. And it might as well have been branded to her forehead in the eyes of her classmates.
The cleaning crew packed up and left, but not before a few of the men glanced her way, eying her suspiciously. Raven didn't care though. She just wanted to get in and out of her locker and find a way to muster up some courage for the rest of the day. Lucky her; she'd decided to stay just in time for lunch, where the staring, pointing, whispering, and possibly mocking would commence. Raven opened her locker, breathing in and out deeply, trying to steel herself for the next few seconds. She grabbed her lunch…and then the bell rang.
RING!
"Great."
Students flew from their classrooms to their lockers, eager to get their stuff for lunch, the only freedom they had in school. As the students passed the now legendary lockers, they slowed, as if they were looking at a car wreck. Raven kept her head inside her locker until she felt like she was becoming a part of it. The cleaning fluid left a suffocating chemical smell, and it swirled inside the locker and into Raven's lungs. Raven pulled her head from the locker and turned reluctantly, trying to keep herself from fainting. She had done so just in time to meet Bianca, Muffy and Loca.
"Hey Baxter." Bianca said sternly and Raven suppressed her urge to say, "Ow…ow…ow…"
"I'm not really in the mood ladies." Raven said flatly, trying her best to be brave. "What do you want?"
"Bianca wants to know if it's true." Muffy said quickly and Bianca nodded.
"Does Bianca need to know if it's true?" Raven asked, her whole body already deflating from exhaust.
Muffy looked at Bianca, who nodded. She turned her attentions back to Raven. "Yes. Bianca needs to know if it's true."
"All right. Yes. It's true. Chelsea and I are together. Happy now?" Raven said, raising her arms and then letting them fall against the sides of her legs.
Muffy and Loca exchanged a glance as they all waited for Bianca's response. Bianca looked Raven up and down, her eyebrow raised in her usual bad attitude. Then suddenly, her face softened.
"Okay." Bianca shrugged and then snapped her fingers. "Let's go."
"Thanks for stopping by." Raven said sarcastically as the three bullies left. Raven shook her head. At least Bianca and her crew didn't care. Maybe the rest of school would act that way.
Raven closed her door and walked to the cafeteria.
"Hey Rae! I didn't think you'd still be here." Eddie shouted, surprised as Raven approached the table that he, Chantel, and now Ben were sitting at.
"What would going home do for me? Gotta face the music sometime."
Raven looked around. Some of the student body was carrying on with their own lives. Most, however, were doing exactly what she had figured. They were staring at her and whispering to one another. A few pointed. She was suddenly regretting her decision to stay. But now, she had to stick to it.
"Wow. That is so brave." Chantel said, surprisingly looking up from her tray. "So, does that mean that it's true?"
Raven closed her eyes. She was going to hear a lot of that today. She sighed. "Yeah. It's true."
"Oh, that's cool." Chantel said, smiling.
"What, you don't care about it?" Ben asked, looking from Chantel to Raven and then back to Chantel.
"No. Why would I care? She's still Raven, isn't she?"
Raven nodded, relieved that Chantel was being so…nonchalant.
"I have a cousin whose gay. He's really cool." Chantel stated, putting a hand under her chin. "Must've been tough keeping it a secret."
Raven nodded. "Yeah, but I have a feeling it's going to get a lot tougher."
Chantel shrugged. "You never know. Maybe nobody will mind."
"Wow baby, you're being so cool about this." Eddie said, amazed.
"Yeah well, it's kind of a relief. Now I don't have to worry so much when you hang out with Raven and Chelsea anymore."
Raven laughed a little as Eddie put a hand over his heart. "Baby, I'm hurtin! You didn't trust me?"
"I did! I do. It's just…I couldn't help but be a little, just a little, jealous of Rae and Chelsea. Well, a little bit more Raven--"
"Really?" Raven asked, her ego growing a little.
"Girl, you just crazy. I would never cheat on you!" Eddie said, but not angrily.
"Yeah I know."
As Eddie and Chantel continued to playfully argue, Ben turned to Raven. "Did you see Chelsea?"
"No. She ran out of school when she saw the lockers. I wish I could talk to her."
"Did you try to call her?"
"No. But I should, shouldn't I?"
Ben nodded. "Tell her I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"I don't know." Ben shrugged. "I guess I just feel bad that I didn't see it coming."
"I didn't see it coming either. Funny how those old visions work huh?" Raven whispered into Ben's ear.
Ben nodded. "What's the point if they can't help you out?"
"Exactly." Raven agreed, standing up. "Listen, I'm gonna go make a phone call. I'll see you guys in class."
"Okay Rae. You sure you'll be all right by yourself?"
"Yeah." Raven nodded. "I'm a lesbian...I can take it like a man." Raven joked, but nobody really laughed.
Raven walked out of the lunchroom, trying her best to be confident, and feeling the eyes of everyone burning holes through her body.
Chelsea cracked open her eyes when her cell phone began to ring. Her back, arms and legs were tingling from laying on the carpet and her muscles were sore from lack of movement. She had stayed there for a while, in that same position. What else was she going to do?
Sitting up, she lazily sifted through her pocket and picked up the phone. "Hello?" She rasped, her throat dry and scratchy.
"Chels?" That familiar, concerned voice filled her ears and she closed her eyes. Raven.
"Hey." She whispered, clearing her throat a little, but that hurt.
"Are you okay?" Raven asked. Chelsea could feel her worry though the phone.
"Yeah, just peachy."
"Where are you?"
"Home."
"Oh, good. Good. I was worried."
"Yeah well, where else was I going to go?"
Raven didn't answer. Chelsea went back to her position on the floor, a shaky sigh escaping her mouth.
"Things are so messed up." She said, her already scratchy voice breaking.
"I know. But they'll get better Chelsea. I promise."
"Don't make promises you can't keep Rae."
"I don't."
There was silence.
"Chels? You still there?"
"Yeah"
"It's all cleaned up. You-you can't even tell that anything was there."
"That's nice."
"Chelsea."
"It doesn't matter Rae, because I'm still going to see it when I go to my locker. Even if it's gone it'll always be there, haunting me. Dyke. Might as well burn it into my face--"
"Don't think that way Chelsea. We'll get through this. We will."
Chelsea sighed. "Yeah." She said, and Raven could sense a hint of defeat in her voice. It scared her.
"Chels--"
"Listen Rae, I'm not…really up for talking right now. So…"
"Okay. As long as you're okay."
"Mmm-hmmm."
"I'll see you later. I love--" Raven stopped; the dial tone hummed in her ear.
Pressing the 'end' button on her phone, Raven put a hand to her mouth and took a sharp breath; tears threatened to spill down her cheeks at any second, but she didn't want them to.
Chelsea sounded so broken on the phone and Raven felt her heart shatter. Suddenly, her sadness turned to anger. If Rocky was indeed responsible, Raven couldn't even fathom what she would do to him. She didn't care what would happen to her. He had ruined Chelsea, and for that, he would pay.