Disclaimer: I don't not own any of the characters of School Of Rock
(AN: I must tell you now before you jump into this that, well... I lied. I have decided to add one more chapter to the story before the actual last chapter. I thought I would be able to fit it all in, but there's just no way that I could've joined 'technically' two chapters together. So there will be one last chapter before drum roll please the 'big' dance. I doubt it will be as long as the other ones, but for a warning, there's no guarantee about that. Enjoy)
Sunday had went by fast. So had Monday and so had Tuesday. But Wednesday was smack dab in the middle, and it seemed to take forever to end. The hallways were crowded with fresh, new couples, and everyone had the upcoming dance to thank for that one. The girls grouped up to talk about how they were wearing their hair, what color their dress was, and how they were going to get that first kiss. The boys hung out in between classes and bragged about who's date was prettier, dancing skills, and most importantly, how much kissing experience they had, most of them lying.
Wednesday afternoons meant Gym class. One thing that Lawrence hated was gym. He was the guy who always made up some excuse to get out of playing dodge ball or a game of kick ball. He'd say things like 'um, I didn't bring my safety goggles for my glasses today. Make I sit this one out?' or 'my foot really hurts. I don't think I'll be able to kick the ball, Mr. Standish'.
Lawrence didn't own any 'safety goggles'. The phys ed. department provided them for students with glasses, but he hated wearing them. He thought they made him look even more weird and awkward than he already did. As for his foot excuse, him not being able to kick the ball had nothing to do with his feet hurting. Once, he had went to kick the ball and had landed flat on his back, all of the boys laughing at him. During a game of basketball the year before, someone had accidentally hit him in the face with the ball while passing it to him. Needless to say, it had almost broken his nose, and he sat out for the rest of that game. But no, that wasn't the worst gym experience ever.
The worst gym experience ever was the locker room after class. Since it was middle school, showers weren't a big thing after gym, but Lawrence could never forget that one day, that horrible, horrible day after playing a grueling game of soccer.
He could remember Zack sniffing around, saying, "Dude, what's that smell?"
"Yeah, man, I smell it too. I didn't wanna say anything," Gordon had said after that.
"Someone farted!" Freddy had shouted, sending the guys into a fit of immature laughter. "It was you, wasn't it Billy!"
"As if," Billy had answered, spraying himself with some cologne that caused them to choke on air.
Lawrence had stood there quietly, dressing himself back into his uniform. Freddy had gone sniffing around everyone, making faces, but his face really cringed when he had reached Lawrence.
"Woah, Larry, Dude," Freddy had said loudly, "It's you. You smell like... dead fish or something. Haven't you ever heard of deodorant, man?
Lawrence had turned a bright shade of red, afraid to look anyone in the eye. They had all laughed and began to throw deodorant tubes at him. Yes, it had been him giving off the horrid stench that filled the boys' locker room. He would've never lived it down if Billy hadn't pulled him aside politely, told him to wash under his armpits, and to apply some deodorant. Billy had given him his tube, saying in a disgusted tone, 'Uh, keep it. I have more'. Puberty hadn't been a fun thing for Lawrence, and gym class had a way of taunting him about it.
He had really hairy legs already in which the hairs were thick and black. He felt like Big Foot sometimes, and wearing shorts didn't exactly boost his confidence. He had developed a lot more than the other boys, along with Billy, Freddy and Zack. Freddy and Billy had grown a couple of inches, but Zack was now lanky and almost Lawrence's height. Technically, Lawrence and Frankie were the tallest boys so far, but it was only a matter of time when everyone would sprout up. Gym class was puberty central. Boys were always flexing their nonexistent muscles, and hormones seemed to get higher and higher every Wednesday. If they weren't talking about the opposite sex, they were making fun of each other for lack of attractive qualities. Lawrence was even more quiet in the locker room. He always silently got dressed and waited out in the hallway until the bell rang for their last class of the day.
On this Wednesday, Lawrence refused to embarrass himself. He made up some excuse about his ankle hurting, but Mr. Standish had finally caught on to him.
"Larry, you're not getting out of this today," said Mr. Standish.
"But, sir, really. My ankle--"
"You heard what I said," the gym teacher replied with much annoyance. "Now get out there with the other boys and line up."
Lawrence hung his head and did as told. He got in between Billy and Frankie while Mr. Standish took attendance. After that, the boys were ordered to do stretches and do five laps around the gym. Gordon only had to do three because of his asthma. Lawrence wished he had asthma. He and Gordon were always itching for a way to get out of doing gym, but Gordon had another approach to it. He would give Mr. Standish fake passes to go to the computer lab or library or to take a make up quiz. If all else failed, use the asthma excuse.
"Ok, boys, today we're playing good old fashion dodge ball again," announced the teacher proudly.
Billy let out an 'oh no', Frankie smirked and slammed his fist into the palm of his hand coolly, and Zack shrugged nonchalantly. Lawrence wanted to cry.
"Now, we all know who the champion of last week's game was, " Mr. Standish went on. "Freddy, take a step forward."
Freddy smirked and pumped his fists in the air. "Who's ready to take on the Spaz Man this week?"
"Enough showing off, Jones. Now, team one's captain is Freddy, and... Billy, you're team number two's captain."
"But I don't wanna be captain."
"Fine, Gordon--"
"No way, sir. Besides, I'd probably have trouble with my asthma. I think I'd better sit this one out," said Gordon, puffing off of his inhaler nervously.
"What's the matter with you boys? Does anyone have any leadership skills at all?" Mr. Standish shook his head sadly.
"They're just not ready to take me on. I mean, who would want to?" said Freddy, crossing his arms and mimicking the teacher, shaking his head.
"Jones, I said enough bragging."
"I'll be the stupid captain," Zack stepped up.
"No way, man," demanded Freddy. "I need you on my team."
"Enough of this! Lawrence, you're captain," Mr. Standish told him, ignoring Lawrence's dropped jaw. "No more arguing about it. Now, boys, choose your teams. Freddy, you go first."
"Ok," Freddy rubbed his hands together, warming up for the game. "Zack Attack."
Zack took a step forward and went over to Freddy.
It was Lawrence's turn. He had no clue who to pick. If he picked Frankie, he'd probably get mad that he wasn't on Freddy's team. If he picked Billy, they'd lose for sure. Wait, was he actually trying to win? He decided that it was just a stupid game, and he'd probably get out with the first ball.
"Marco," he cried out.
Marco didn't seemed to be bothered by this. He stepped forward, and slowly but surely, the teams were forming.
"Frankie."
"Leo."
And so on and so forth. Billy was the last one picked, and he had ended up on Lawrence's team after all. Gordon got to sit on th bleachers comfortably and watch the game from afar. The boys took their positions across the gym from each other. The red balls that Lawrence hated so much were rolled out and placed into the middle. Mr. Standish gave the whistle, and it was every man to fend for himself.
"Is she trying to kill us!" Tomika panted, taking a minute to rest her hands on her knees.
Wednesdays meant that the girls and the boys didn't have music class. Instead, they had separate gym classes. The boys had gotten the gym, which meant the girls had gotten the track out back of Horace Green Middle School. Gym with Mrs. Horfield meant death. She was new to the school, and she was a lot tougher as a gym teacher than Mr. Standish.
Katie collapsed on the ground, her face flushed with redness. "I think that's exactly what she's doing."
Alicia jogged in place next to them, straight face. "You guys need to build up your stamina. How're you gonna let Eleni and freakin' Michelle double you guys around the track?"
Tomika and Katie shot her annoyed looks.
"Sorry, girl," Tomika put her hands on her hips defiantly, "but not all of us have a marine for a father."
"That has nothing to do with it," Alicia stopped her jogging and crossed her arms.
"Weren't not all skinny minnies like you either."
"Hey, Tomika, is that Zack?" Alicia said in a surprised tone, pointing towards the set of doors to enter the school.
Tomika looked expectantly, and Alicia laughed and darted off.
For some reason, Alicia was in a great mood. The band was going to record today, she had learned her father was going to be there the night of the dance, and school wasn't a drag for once. Hell, even Freddy was laying off of her. In fact, he had been for the entire week so far. She had Friday to thank for that maybe. And Lawrence. She had fun with him that following Saturday. It was different than hanging out with Tomika. He was a new face, a new personality that maybe she had a lot more in common with than she thought. In a short period of time, she felt like she could trust him, count on him. It was the beginning of a good friendship, and Alicia was surprised at herself for allowing it to even happen.
When she finished her laps with the other girls, Tomika and Katie were still in the same place. Alicia laughed and plopped down next to them on the gravel track, taking in the new feeling of the hot sun. It was finally warming up outside. Spring was here.
Mrs. Horfield blew her whistle. "Good hustle girls. Tomika and Katie, you still have one more lap to do."
"Water... please," Katie gripped her throat, speaking in a dry tone.
"Stop being dramatic and finish your laps," the strict woman ordered her and Tomika. They rolled their eyes, got up, and began a slow jog around the track.
Alicia and the rest of the girls went to get a drink of water at the water fountain, waiting for Katie and Tomika to finish. She bent down and let the coolness splash in her mouth.
"I'm going with an eighth grader. He's so hot. Better than any boy in our grade," she heard Eleni behind her say to Michelle.
So Freddy hadn't taken her advice. That was a bit surprising. He had actually done something smart in his life.
"I mean, who's better? Hot eighth grader Chris or some loser like, I dunno, Lawrence? I personally think losers should go with other losers," Eleni laughed.
Alicia sucked in a mouth full of water, turned around, and saw Eleni smirking at her. Before she could stop herself, she spit the water into Eleni's face. Eleni let out a shrill scream, and Michelle's jaw dropped in horror. Summer flung her hand to her mouth, holding in a laugh, and Marta burst out laughing.
Alicia was just about to say something smart aleck, when Mrs. Horfield came storming over, clipboard in her hand.
"Is there a problem over here, ladies?"
"She... she spit on me!" Eleni cried out loud, pointing her finger at Alicia.
"Actually, it was water," Alicia shrugged nonchalantly.
Mrs. Horfield's eyes blazed with anger. "Alicia, I would expect nothing more from you."
"Are you trying to say that my mouth's dirty?"
"It is if you've been kissing Lawrence!" Eleni sneered, hands on her hips.
Alicia tried to lunge at Eleni, but Mrs. Horfield held the two girls apart. Katie and Tomika, huffing and puffing, came over to the water fountain to see what all of the commotion was about.
Alicia felt her body tense up from embarrassment. "You... evil... self-centered... wannabe Freddy's personal groupie... Bi--"
"Alicia! That's enough. You're benched for today," Mrs. Horfield growled.
Alicia smacked her teeth and rolled her eyes, and she also gave her a detention for that day after school. She turned around to find Tomika and Katie giggling wildly at what Alicia was about to say and benched them as well.
It wasn't as though being benched was a bad thing. It meant that they didn't have to get sweaty for no reason or do relay racing around the track. However, it did mean that they got a F for that day. They took their seats on the cold, steel benches and watched the other girls line up and receive their relay teams and batons. Eleni was Michelle's partner, Marta was Summer's partner, and so on and so forth.
Alicia felt herself cooling down. She was not going to let someone as stupid as Eleni get to her over something so stupid. Why let that ruin a good day? She laid down on her back on the bench, staring up at the sky. Tomika sat two bleachers up, her elbows on her knees and chin rested in her hands. Katie sat next to her, leaning back against the bleacher behind her, wind blowing through her hair slightly. They looked like a couple of girls that had just found out they hadn't made the cheerleading squad even though that's definitely not how they felt.
"Do you think it's going to be like this in high school?" asked Katie, watching the girls begin their races with boredom.
"Like what?" asked Alicia.
"Like this. I mean, we'll be the rebels sitting on the bleachers, dreading gym class and watching all of the popular girls toss their hair and show off in front of the boys practicing on the other side of the track field."
"Rebels? We're not rebels. We're just..."
"Defiant of authority and pathetic when it comes to physical activity?" Tomika suggested.
"Something like that," chuckled Alicia.
"Well, I think we'll be rebellious in high school," Katie told them. "I mean, Summer's gonna be student council whatever so she'll be popular. Marta, well I dunno about her, but I figure she'll be some jockette. Probably try softball or something hardcore like that. And Eleni and Michelle..."
"...Cheerleaders!" all three chimed together.
Eleni and Michelle's team had just won the relay, and they were giggling and giving each other high fives.
"Like, Oh my God, We totally won, Michelle!" Alicia mocked them in a high pitched voice. "They make me nauseous."
Tomika and Katie laughed at her comment.
"What do you think we'll be like, Katie?" asked Tomika.
"I told you. Rebels."
"Yeah, but there are, like, different types of rebels."
"Well, Tomika, I don't think you'll be a rebel. You'll be like a... a..."
"I'll be the fat girl," Tomika said matter-of-factly. "The person stealing not only your lunch money but your food as well."
"Tomika, don't joke like that," Alicia looked up at her. "No one cares about that. Everyone loves you."
Tomika had changed a lot mentally. She had plenty of confidence although she was still the same size. Alicia figured she had come to terms with it and learned to love herself, but she didn't like it when she used her weight as some joke. If anyone dared to call her 'fat' in front of Alicia, they'd get beat down big time.
Tomika only laughed. "You're talking to the girl that Dewey nicknamed 'Turkey Sub'. Besides, I like to eat. It's cool. Katie, I think you'll be the silent, mysterious type in all black. You'll like, hang out behind the bleachers during lunch and smoke cigarettes."
"Really? I don't think I'll be like that," Katie laughed. "Besides, I'd never smoke. Gross."
"Nah. I figure she'll be the same, still listening to that Black Sabbath CD on repeat," Alicia said, closing her eyes in fatigue.
"Hey, Sabbath rocks my world. Step off," Katie stuck her tongue out at Alicia.
"Alicia, girl, you're gonna be a trip in high school," said Tomika. "You'll live in detention for back talking teachers and beating people up every week."
"I've only ever beat up two people," Alicia shrugged. "The third one was a fluke."
"Yeah, you kicked Freddy in his balls!" Katie burst out laughing at the memory. "He started crying like a little baby! No wonder he gives you such a hard time."
"Nah, that ain't it," said Tomika, laughing with Katie over the memory too.
"Girls, this isn't social hour!" Mr. Horfield yelled up at the girls who had fallen into a fit of laughter. "Keep it quiet up there!"
When she turned away, the three girls exchanged looks and chuckled quietly.
"She's evil."
"She's a future Alicia."
"Shut up, guys."
"Oh, I forgot," said Katie slyly. "Larry has gotten her soft side to come out. Must've been that trip he made to your house this past Saturday, huh?"
Alicia jumped up, startled by Katie's remark. She hadn't told anyone about Lawrence's visit, let alone that she had helped him with his dancing after school Monday and Tuesday. It's not like it was some deep dark secret, but Alicia didn't want it getting out for a reason.
"What?" asked Tomika in a shocked tone. "You didn't say anything about that."
"There's nothing to say," Alicia said roughly. "Where did you even hear that from?"
"I heard Summer telling Marta on Monday in the girl's bathroom. She said that Lawrence ditched her to go over to your place. She told Marta that he was your boyfriend," Katie informed her.
"What is everyone's problem in this stupid school!" Alicia shouted. "Don't they know how to stay out of anyone's business?"
"So it's true? You're dating Lawrence?" Tomika hopped down a bleacher and questioned her. "Like Foreal?"
"No! He just came over and hung out. Can't two people just hang out?"
"Not when you're our age. You knew that everyone was going to think that you two were an item," said Tomika.
"Then maybe I should let them think what they want to think," Alicia shaking her head, angry as all hell now. "They're a bunch of stupid asses anyway!"
Did it look like they were walking down the halls holding each others' hands? No. Were they making kissey faces with each other in between classes? Definitely not.
"Look, I'll set everyone straight about it," said Tomika, trying to make her feel better. "I'll tell Zack to tell everyone that it's a lie."
"Yeah, I know what would set them all straight," Alicia spat, walking off of the bleachers angrily away from her friends. "Throwing something at them."
Lawrence ducked as a red ball came flying towards him.
"Ow!" shouted Marco, who had been hit in the stomach harshly by Freddy's dodge ball. "Jeeze Freddy!"
"Take a seat, Marco," Mr. Standish said. "Alright, this is the last round. Only two boys left."
Marco rubbed his stomach gingerly and went over to the bleachers to sit down next to Gordon, who was playing a game on his cell phone. The only people left were Lawrence and Freddy. Billy had been the first one to go down, and slowly, team members had fallen away. Lawrence had no clue how he was the last one standing. It was captain against captain, drummer against keyboardist, heartthrob against dork. Lawrence didn't want to continue with the game. Freddy hadn't been very nice to him for a couple of days, and the last thing he wanted to do was give him permission to throw things at him.
"You're mine, Larry," Freddy hissed. "You might as well go sit down now. Game's over."
That's what Lawrence wanted to do, but before he could even move, the whistle was blown again. Balls began to fly rapidly, but not from Lawrence's end. He had a red ball tucked under his arm as he jumped from side to side to avoid Freddy's throws. Ball after ball after ball came hurling towards him.
Maybe he should just get hit and let Freddy win. That's what the old Lawrence would do, the dork. He could lose to Freddy, and all of the boys would laugh at him. Freddy would be the hero, and he'd be invisible.
But maybe he didn't feel like being invisible anymore. Maybe, he wanted to win.
He decided in that moment that he wouldn't let Freddy win this. He took the ball tucked under his arm and lunged it with all of his might at Freddy. It missed.
Before he could take it in, a red ball came flying towards him, smacking him dead in the face. His glasses went flying somewhere, and he fell to his knees in defeat. In the background, he could hear Freddy whooping and the boys clapping from the bleachers.
"Good hustle out there, Lawrence," Mr. Standish said, handing him his glasses that surprisingly weren't broken.
Lawrence got to his feet, and the gym teacher patted him on the back sympathetically. "There's always next week."
He simply nodded and followed the rest of the boys into the boy's locker room defeated.
In the locker room, the boys talked about the dance some and held quiet conversations with each other, but Freddy couldn't help but brag.
"Did you see that? Did you see how I took him down? Bet you won't want to be captain next week, huh, Larry?" laughed Freddy from across the room, putting on his deodorant.
"Ok, Freddy, man, you can shut up now," Zack replied, shaking his head. "That was, like, ten minutes ago."
"Whatever, Mooneyham," Freddy carried on, walking over to Larry. "How does it feel to lose to me?"
Lawrence looked over at him annoyed and shrugged. What exactly was he trying to prove? He had won, big deal. He wanted to be left alone.
"I asked you how does it feel to lose to me."
"Lay off, Freddy. No one cares," Billy rolled his eyes.
"Shut up, Fancy Pants! I'm not talking to you."
"Zack, get your friend before he does something stupid."
"Come on, Larry, say something," Freddy shoved Lawrence. "What's the matter? Your witchy girlfriend Alicia not here to defend you?"
"Don't call her that," Lawrence demanded, glaring at the blonde boy.
"What are you going to do about it? Seems like lately you can't function without her."
"You don't know anything about that," Lawrence said, picking up his stuff and shoving it into his messenger bag.
"As if you can even handle her. All he needs is a girl to pay attention to him, and all of a sudden he's got balls," Freddy laughed, but no one joined in. They were all staring at him as if he had lost his mind.
Lawrence had never seen him act this way before. He was acting like some mean jock that had taken too many steroid shots.
"Where are they now, Larry, huh?" Freddy pushed him again.
"Don't touch me or I'll--"
"You'll what? You wanna have a go? Right here, right now!" Freddy pushed him harder this time, knocking Lawrence's messenger bag off his shoulder.
"Hey, Summer!" Alicia called after Summer, who was the last one to leave the girls' locker room.
Summer spun around. "What? You have a question about the recording session?"
"Heard you've been spreading rumors about me?" Alicia walked up to her, crossing her arms with attitude.
Summer looked confused and afraid. "Sorry. I don't know what you're talking about."
"Oh, I think you do. You've been telling people that Lawrence is my boyfriend."
"Well, isn't he?"
"No!" Alicia snapped at the short, dark haired girl. "Next time, get your facts straight before you go running around making stuff up."
"For your information, I didn't make it up," Summer snapped back.
Alicia narrowed her eyes in confusion and anger. "What's that suppose to mean?"
"Why don't you ask Lawrence? He doesn't seem so shy about what he's telling people."
Summer left Alicia there stunned, the heels of her Mary Janes clanking against the floor as she walked away.
At the end of the day, Alicia had detention. She headed to room 301 where it was usually held and came face to face with Freddy, who was carving 'Punk Rock is God' into the desk. Ms. Mullins wasn't there yet, and only three other people were in there, one eighth grader and two sixth graders.
Alicia and Freddy glared at each other before she took her seat next to him.
"What are you doing here?" he asked her.
"Spit water in Eleni's face and 'sassed' Mrs. Horfield," she answered with a clenched jaw. "What are you doing here?"
"Beat up your boyfriend in the guy's locker room," Freddy said, leaning back in the chair smugly.
Now, Alicia was angry with Lawrence, but she wasn't exactly thrilled to find out that he had been beaten up. "What? What the hell did you do that for!"
Freddy shrugged, "It's a guy thing."
"You're not a guy. You're a little boy who's so full of himself!"
"And you're nothing but a witch!"
Alicia had a notebook in her hand and prepared to smack him in his face with it, but Ms. Mullins had walked in on that moment and snatched it out of her hand before she could succeed.
"What do you think you're doing, Alicia?" asked Ms. Mullins, staring intensely and threatening at her.
"I was... handing Freddy my notebook. He needs to copy my Latin notes," she lied.
Ms. Mullins was the only person in that school that she couldn't talk back to. She had a tendency to see right through a student so, naturally, she didn't buy the lie. She took the notebook and skimmed through the pages, before saying, "Hmm, this doesn't look like your Latin notebook. It looks like a Math notebook. Next time you try to hit another student, you'll get a week's detention. Let's not be so quick to forget the consequences of last year."
When Ms. Mullins walked past to go to the front, Alicia smirked at Freddy, and he blushed. Apparently they were thinking of the same memory.
"Hey, Ms. Mullins!" Freddy shouted.
Ms. Mullins turned around, and he said, "Dewey says you never call him anymore. What's up with that?"
"Enough, Mr. Jones," she answered sharply.
Freddy snickered, and Alicia rolled her eyes. Hopefully, an hour an a half would go by fast. She had a recording session to do, and a serious verbal fight appointment with Lawrence.
Lawrence sat in the passenger seat, seatbelt buckled tightly, moping and staring out of the window. His cheek was sore and he felt sick to his stomach. Freddy had got in a good many punches before Mr. Standish came in and broke up the fight. Lawrence had lost that too. Freddy was given a detention, and Lawrence was let off scot free since he didn't start the fight.
But that didn't mean he wasn't embarrassed. He had never gotten into a fight in his entire life, and his first time, he lost.
He didn't want to talk about what had happened, but he saw his mother watching him from out of the corner of her eye. Ms. Mullins had called home to tell his parents what had happened. Now, it was only a matter of time before his mother would start questioning him about it.
He decided to just get it over with.
"Mom, I'm ok. You can stop staring at me now," he said quietly.
"I would just like to know how you and Freddy got into a fight," replied his mother in a concerned voice. "I thought he was your friend."
Lawrence rolled his eyes. How could parents be so naive? Why did they think that being friends meant that people never fought. Besides, he figure he and Freddy had only seemed like friends because of the band.
"It's just a guy thing," Lawrence said after awhile, when his mother still continued to shoot concerned glances at him. "You wouldn't understand."
"Well, I'm not so sure about you going to this recording session. Maybe--"
"Mom, no, it's not that big of a deal. Everything's solved now," he lied. "I promise."
She shot him one more concerned look and nodded in assurance. "Ok. Want me to drop you off at Dewey's?"
"Sure."
When he arrived at Dewey's apartment, everyone was already there, chatting amongst themselves excitedly. Dewey had decided that since it had been a team effort in the beginning, the entire band, meaning groupies, roadies, security, and Billy the stylist could come along too. It was amazing that they had come this far, despite the differences and friendships that had virtually come in between them all. Lawrence skimmed through all of them. He really wanted to talk to Alicia about what had happened that day, but she was nowhere to be found.
Tomika was with Zack so he went up to Katie, who was plucking a few notes on her bass. She and Alicia ate lunch together, maybe she knew the whereabouts of Alicia.
"Uh..."
Katie looked up at him with her pouty brown eyes questionably.
"Where's Alicia?"
"Detention."
"Oh..."
"She spit in Eleni's face," Katie explained and went back to what she was doing.
Lawrence nodded and looked up just as Summer was about to make an announcement.
"Ok, guys, listen up!" Summer shouted over the talking kids, "We have a few things to go over before we head out! The first rule is to please be courteous and patient when we get to the recording studio. They know we're kids so they don't expect much. Show them that we can be mature, please. That includes you too, Dewey."
"Hey, I'm the adult here, you just remember that," Dewey shook his finger importantly at her.
Summer rolled her eyes, "So anyway... Roadies, how are we with equipment?"
"It's all in the van," said Marco.
"Ok. Is everyone here?"
"No. Freddy's in detention," Zack told her.
"Alicia is too," said Tomika.
"What?" asked Dewey, "Why?"
Tomika and Zack went into their explanations of how the two had landed in detention, and everyone shot sympathetic looks at both Lawrence and Eleni. Lawrence wasn't in the mood for it. He looked away, busying himself with the scuff marks on his shoes.
"No! This cannot be happening!" Dewey ran his hand through his knotted hair frustrated.
"We're suppose to be there in twenty minutes," Summer told him.
"Everyone, in the van," ordered Dewey. "We're going to get them. Summer, grab your phone and tell them we'll be a little late."
Everyone hopped into the van, and Dewey started up his engine, speeding off in a cloud of smoke.
Only twenty minutes had passed, and Alicia had been working on her math assignment out of boredom. After awhile, all the numbers seemed to blur together, and she glanced up at the clock.
This was so not fair. She and Freddy had a recording session to do. They didn't have time to be trapped under Ms. Mullins' noise in detention. She glanced over at Freddy, who was asleep on his desk. Ms. Mullins was working on something or other not paying attention. She nudged Freddy, and he jumped up, drool on the side of his face. Alicia shot a look at Ms. Mullins nervously, but she hadn't noticed Freddy's action.
"What?" he whispered groggily.
"We have to go," Alicia whispered back.
"Why?"
"Our recording session, stupid ass."
"Oh yeah," Freddy looked up front. Now Ms. Mullins was humming a Stevie Nicks tune, bobbing her head.
"Um, Ms. Mullins, I have to go to the potty," he said, getting her attention.
Alicia shook her head and rolled her eyes. Why did he have to be so unhelpful?
"Hold it, Mr. Jones," Mullins said with a clenched jaw and continued to do what she was doing.
Freddy looked at Alicia and shrugged. She had to think of something fast to get out of here. But what could she use as an excuse?
"Um, Ms. Mullins, I..."
"What, Alicia?"
"I... I think I just started my period," she lied. "Can I please go to the bathroom?"
"No you didn't," said Freddy loudly. "You had your period last week."
Alicia glared at him, and Freddy understood a little too late.
Ms. Mullins's now looked annoyed. "I don't know what you two are trying to do but--"
In mid sentence, Dewey burst into the room, scanning the desks for the two people missing from the band.
"Oh, hey, Freddy, Alicia, get your stuff and let's go," said Dewey, summoning them up to the front.
Freddy smirked at Alicia, and the two did as told.
"Excuse me!" Ms. Mullins yelled at Dewey. "What gives you the right? They have detention. This is no time for one of your little antics."
"Oh, well that's really cute and school marmy and all, but they have more important things to do, like record CDs."
"Dewey, don't... don't make this about...," she lowered her voice, "us."
"Well, last time I checked, there was no us," Dewey said out loud.
Alicia, Freddy, and the rest of the detentioners looked on as Ms. Mullins and Dewey got into it about some relationship that they were having. They used this as a distraction to escape and head out to the van. They walked in silence, and as soon as they reached Dewey's vehicle, they went their separate ways.
Alicia didn't look at Lawrence when she got in. Instead, she sat down next to Tomika and rode the entire way in silence.
The recording session was tiresome and repetitive that day. About an hour in, everyone had lost their excitement and now resorted to playing games of tic-tac-toe and who could spin around in the chairs the longest. Lawrence watched his classmates that weren't in the band through the glass while he was stuck behind the keyboard. Freddie was still drumming away, Zack and Katie were complaining that their fingers were hurting, and Tomika had lost her voice from hitting the high notes so many times. Even Dewey was getting impatient with all of the stopping. Needless to say, none of them were no longer 'in the zone'.
Four hours had gone by, and the session was coming to an end. Sure, they had breaks in between, but Lawrence sensed that something was wrong. Alicia had stayed away from him the entire time. He had noticed it in the van when Dewey had gotten her and Freddy out of detention. She hadn't looked at him, hadn't spoken to him, hadn't acknowledged him in any way.
She could've been mad at him, but people could usually tell when Alicia was mad at someone. She wasn't yelling at him, or pushing him, or even shooting glares at him. She seemed very concentrated on everything but him. What did that mean?
Finally, the session wrapped up, and the kids were free to go. Their parents were picking them up since Dewey had driven them there. Summer held one quick meeting with everyone before she dismissed them all to go.
Lawrence shot a nervous glance over at Alicia, who was gathering up her stuff at lightning speed. She didn't look at him so he figured he should approach her to see if maybe Freddy had said something hurtful towards her in detention.
"Hey," he said cautiously.
She looked up at him and rolled her eyes. "What do you want?"
"I... I just wanted to see what was wrong," he said, shrugging. "Did Freddy--"
"No, Lawrence, it's all about you," she snapped.
"What did I do?" his voice squeaked loudly.
Alicia pushed passed him, and he grabbed her arm lightly. "Alicia--"
She yanked away from him angrily. "I trusted you! I can't believe you've been going around telling people that I'm your girlfriend!"
"What?" Lawrence heard himself yell incredulously. "I never--"
"Don't even lie. Your little study buddy, Summer, told me," said Alicia, glaring at him. He saw more hurt in her eyes more than anger. He saw disappointment. He saw insecurity.
Was he really hearing what he thought he was hearing? He looked around the room for Summer, but she had already left. He had never told Summer that they were a couple. Where had she gotten that from?
"I've never lied a day in my life," Lawrence challenged her, "especially about some girl."
Now Alicia's eyes flashed with embarrassment and he could see the tension building up in her, ready to explode.
"I did you a favor, you stupid ass!" she shouted, pushing him. "I was trying to do the right thing because I thought you deserved better, and all you've done is take advantage of it. I didn't want to go to this stupid dance, especially with you!"
Lawrence was about to defend himself until she had said it. He realized that some of the kids were still in there, watching them have this ridiculous argument. He knew they'd all call each other on the phone to talk about it later, or whisper jokes about it in the cafeteria tomorrow. He could hear them now, laughing behind his back at how much of a loser he was that his own date to the dance wouldn't be his girlfriend. He got mad at all of them and mad at her.
"I was wrong about you," he finally said, fists clamped together at his side. "God, you're just like everyone else. I'm so sorry that being thought of as my girlfriend for a second is so horrible to you, and I'm sorry that you're stuck with such a dork."
"Don't you even make this all about you!"
Lawrence scoffed, "Oh yeah, I forgot. It's all about you, huh? Heaven forbid someone comes along that's actually willing to put up with you and your attitude."
"Fine then, I guess you won't need to worry about that," said Alicia acidly. "Have fun at the dance all by yourself, Loser."
She stormed off and out the door, and before he could control himself, Lawrence shouted in hurt and annoyance, "You're queen Bitch, you know that!"
He spun around and glared at everyone who was staring at him, including Dewey. It was embarrassing, even more embarrassing than losing in gym class, or losing to Freddy in the fight, or feeling his mother's worried eyes on him in the car. This was that feeling of being deserted in the middle of the street after being kicked out of someone's car. It was that feeling of wetting the bed at a friend's sleep over. It was the feeling of being dumped for the first time. Lawrence was sure of that.
"Queen Bitch?" asked Dewey, for the sake of Lawrence explaining himself.
"Now that took balls," Freddy was in awe. "She's going to slaughter you for that tomorrow, Dude."
"Freddy, shut up," Dewey pointed a finger at him, and Freddy shrugged and headed for the door. "Wait, I wanna talk to you and Mr. Cool, here. Take a seat."
He told everyone else to leave the studio room and closed the door behind them. Lawrence and Freddy sat on opposite ends of the couch, and Dewey sat in the spinning chair, considering them for a good while before speaking.
"Ok, I'm gonna make this quick because my show is coming on in about twenty minutes, and it's the episode where Clarice finally tells Rebecca that she had an affair with her husband and..."
Lawrence and Freddy gave him strange looks, and he got back on track, "ok, I want to know what this whole fight in gym class was about today."
That was the last thing Lawrence wanted to explain right now. He had so much on his mind that he could cry. Now, he didn't have a date to the dance and everything just seemed so wrong. Oh no. What if Freddy was right? Surely, Alicia wouldn't let him off the hook for saying that 'Queen Bitch' remark. Then again, one could only hope.
Freddy shrugged. "I spazzed."
Lawrence rolled his eyes.
"Look, I was a guy once myself--"
"You mean you're not anymore?"
"I'm trying to be serious here. Now listen," said Dewey seriously. "I know how hormones can be and you guys start to think about girls for the first time, and all you wanna do is show off for them. But you guys are bandmates. If you've got a problem with each other, it effects everyone. I told this to Alicia not a week ago. This is how bands break up and end up on Behind the Music. Do you understand? Larry, do you have anything to say?"
"No," he replied quietly, staring at his hands.
"Freddy?"
"Sorry," said Freddy lamely, holding his hand out to Lawrence. "We cool again, Man?"
Lawrence hesitated, having a feeling he was just doing this to get Dewey off of their backs. Eventually, he shook the blonde haired boy's hand, got up, and walked out without a second look back.
(AN: I had no idea where I got the whole gym class setting. I was just sitting here one day for some reason picturing Alicia, Katie, and Tomika sitting on bleachers outside, dressed in these hideous gym uniforms... like gray and navy blue. I dunno about anyone else, but I hated gym class. It was just so awkward. This story isn't just about the two characters, but it's also about hitting that weird stage in your life of rumors, crushes, enemies, and the most dreadful... puberty. Please review! It would make me sincerely happy. You can nitpick it all you want or whatever. I want to know what I should've changed and what not. Some helpful criticism would be nice if you have any. Don't be afraid to let me know now... I'm already too far in this thing LOL. Oh and as mention up above, there will be one more chapter BEFORE the last one.)