XXI. Learning About the Other Sides

Make an effort to understand. Talk to her.

I ride to school with my dad feeling completely drowsy. Last night's slumber consisted of weird dream versions of what actually happened between Rick and I that evening. I'm still on edge about the entire thing, even a little paranoid about it. He just moved on his own terms without waiting for me to give him the green light. My experience with Rick would mark the second time a guy has tried to take advantage of me. How does one handle such stress like this? I think as dad pulls in in front of Degrassi.

Dad stops me before I step out of the car. "Love you, peanut. I can't have you stayin' mad at me forever."

"It's not you, dad", I reply although it's not entirely true. "It's just...school."

"What is it?" Dad's eyes widen in concern. "Do you not like it here? Who's bothering you?"

"No one." Total lie. "It's just...there's a lot of drama that I didn't expect to run into here."

"You caught in the middle of it?"

"It's hard to avoid it actually." I sigh.

"This wouldn't happen to be about Rick, would it?" Dad raises an eyebrow.

I sigh mentally. My lies have finally run out. "It's barely getting better, and Rick...I feel bad for jumping to his defense so quickly. I mean, I guess I can see where his flaws are, but still...I can't bring myself to hate him like my classmates do." There: I've expressed the way I feel without giving away the entire story about Rick.

"Think about it this way, Vivian: Queenie, for example, or maybe Renee, your friend from Chicago-whichever she; it doesn't matter-has a boyfriend that beat her to the point of critical condition, and nothing happened to him: no criminal charges, no probation, nothing. Meanwhile your friend's parents have to go through the notions of paying for hospital bills and moving out of the school district all in the efforts to keep their daughter safe from this criminal."

"You're calling Rick a criminal?" I say.

"Hold on. Just let me finsish." Dad inquires. "I'm saying that it's like the victim is paying the price for something her attacker did. While HE has the convenience of returning to the same school after only an expulsion-and only for the remainder of that one year."

I bite my lip in thought.

"Think about that for a minute-as you go to class." Dad reaches over and opens the door on my side. "Would that make you happy as Queenie's best friend?" He kisses my forehead. "We can talk about this later because I'm not going to be the reason why you're late for class. Now go."

"Whatever you say, your majesty." I do a makeshift bow. Once I catch an agitated look from Dad, I burst out laughing. "I'm just kidding!" I chuckle. "Of course I'll think about it." I climb out of the car and blow him a kiss before shutting the door. Dad waves at me, and I wave back as he drives down the street and around the corner out of sight.

Well that went well, I thought. Ironically he doesn't know about what happened between Queenie and I recently. Not that it matters. I pause while I walk. She's still a friend I've grown too fond of this year to simply not care about. I'd be...infuriated if something like that were to happen to her.

But as I head into the building, I think about Queenie and Jay Hogart in the same bed. Why...? I still don't understand why she would do that. I shake my head. Then make an effort to understand. Talk to her.

I'm inside the building with fifteen minutes before classes start. Usually I ask Dad to bring me to school a bit earlier so I can get some reading done, or sometimes (you know, when that just doesn't happen) I find time to catch up with my friends simply just to hang out and make memories.
Today I didn't want to straighten my hair, or decided against having to straighten it out every two or three weeks, so I have it big (The way it is naturally). I have it all stuffed in a large side ponytail at the top of my head, giving me a couple of inches on my height. I dash towards my locker, an easy task since there are hardly any students here, and dismount my backpack. I retrieve the drawstring in my locker and stuff my textbook and two notebooks inside, and leave the novel that I'm reading outside to carry.

I head towards a tiny bench by the lobby area of a side entrance into the school and make myself comfortable, sitting Indian style on the bench, and proceed with my Inkspell reading adventure. It's a favorite of mine even if it's written for a younger audience, and I can delve into it in peace and silence: hardly anyone comes in through the side entrance. What will become of Meggie's father? We shall see. I think as I open the book. I never actually finished it since I would always stop just at the mid way point, but now I've gone beyond there, and I can't wait to get to the ending.

I look up as the rays of the sun glare through the large glass window; one of the sections is boarded up due to the wind damage from the last storm. I smile at myself: what a great time. I feel at peace with myself, something that has NEVER happened to me since I came to Degrassi. Better read while I still have the time.

Only six pages in do I hear someone approaching the area. Quickly I look up and see some buff- ish, blonde guy: I think I recognize him from earlier in the school year. I do! He's the guy that confronted Emma about her ribbon campaign. The slightest trace of a smile (an upturned corner of his mouth) appears on his face, and I return the gesture to the best of my ability. (Though it may look like I'm just smiling) I return to my book while listening as the blonde guy heaves a sigh and drops his backpack on the floor to the right of him. In just a matter of seconds, I tune him out along with the rest of my surroundings and engage into my reading. I glance down at my blue watch to check the time: there's still ten minutes before class. Just as I catch on, the bell rings.

"Hey."

I look up as Blondie speaks. "Hmm?"

"Are you waiting to see the assistant principal too?" He jerks his head in the direction of the door on the other side of him.

Quickly I shake my head. "Oh no. I'm just reading here." I say cheerily. "It's a quiet spot this early in the morning."

"So I see." The guy squints at me. "Have I seen you before?"

I nod. "Probably. I remember your face when those Orange ribbons were going around."

"Oh." He frowns, looking engaged in thought. "I...vaguely remember a black girl being there." He widens his eyes. "No offense."

"None taken." I can't help but chuckle.

"You a friend of Rick's?" He asks.

Talk about out of the blue. "Um...yeah." I say. No point in going into details with a guy I barely know.

"Sorry that came out of nowhere, but you know Jay right? He's always talking about how much he can't stand him and is pissed that he's trying to seduce this underclassmen into liking him- or so he says."

I arch an eyebrow.

"Again: sorry. You just fit the description of the girl he was talking about. Said her name was Vivian."

"Yeah. I'm her." I'm shocked that Jay would mention me by my actual name. "Who are you exactly?"

"Sean. Cameron's. Jay's friend." He offers a hand.

"You seem awful friendly to be friends with someone like Jay." I take his hand, " and I've never seen you participating in the bullying that takes place between your pals and Rick." I smile. "But it's nice to meet you though."

"I said I was friends with Jay." He corrects me. "Those other idiots I could care less about. That shit gets old."

Somehow Jay misses the idiocy train? "You didn't pass that one along to Jay." I say dryly.

"Look, I keep telling you that I'm only friends with the guy." He says more bluntly. "Not his brother, his parent, his teacher. I don't control what he does. That's what mommy's for." He sighs.

"So...you're not a fan of the bullying, but you won't do anything about it?" I scoff. "Figures."

"What was that supposed to mean?" Sean hardens his voice and glares at me. He appears...offended.

"I'm sorry, but it's usually the people who have the ability to make a change who don't. I've had enough run-ins with that character-of-a-friend of yours, and no matter how many times I ask him to stop, or tell him to stop- nicely or rudely- it doesn't matter." I explain. "To him, I'm just a little girl he can easily overpower. You, on the other hand, if you are Jay's friend like you claim you are, have the ability to get Jay to listen to you. What the heck, Sean?" I sigh heavily. "Sorry if I vented. I'm really tired of the same old stuff that happens to Rick everday. It's like what you just said: this shit gets old."

"Look, I'm not here to be the man of the hour! I have my own set of problems to worry about, okay?" Sean glares at me as he raises his voice. "Keep playing Degrassi Police if you want and see where it gets you, but I'm through with high school drama. I reached my limit last year and decided that was it." Sean suddenly pauses and draws in a breath. "No, I don't care for what they're putting Rick through", He's calmer this time, "but it's none of my business to jump into, and quite frankly, I don't want to." He leans in close to me, our faces only a couple of inches apart. "Don't tell me what I should and shouldn't do again. Got it?" His pale blue eyes burn into my dark ones.

I can feel myself boiling. Who is he talking to? "Don't you dare talk to me like I'm your child." Some spit flies from my mouth to his face, but I'm too hot-headed to care. "You know what? You're right: you do you. Since, you know, you're the only person at this school with personal problems." I stand up from the bench. "This isn't going over so well, so I'll see you later when I won't say something I'll regret. Have a good time at the principal's office." I fling my drawstring over my shoulder. "We should argue again some time."

"Whoa, wait a minute." Sean grabs my arm. "Before you take out your anger on the next guy you see, I there' s something I think you should-"

"That's okay. I can hear it some other time." I snatch my arm away and storm off before I lose my temper.

What a sarcastic ass. I think angrily, then chuckle at myself. Takes one to know one, right?

I turn the corner left and make my way through the senior hallway. Now it's alive with students putting their belongings in their lockers. Soon I reach the clearing to the main lobby where the student population multiplies as more people enter the building. After I walk across the lobby, I reach the Grade 10 corridor and head for my locker. Just a few feet away, however, I pause in my tracks as I notice Queenie standing there.

"I knew you'd show eventually." She moves towards me. "I really need to talk to you about what you saw the other day at my house."

I stare at her for a few more seconds before replying, "I was thinking the same thing." I nod, attempting to soften my voice after fighting with Sean, and only after just meeting him too... Way to go, Vivian "I just don't understand how or why you'd do something like-"

"I know." My friend says abruptly. "I can only imagine what you must have been thinking those first few seconds when you saw us. I am so sorry for having put you through that hell."

"That still doesn't explain why you did it." I say.

"I know, I know." Queenie says again. "But there was a reason...two actually, and neither of them involved hurting you...or Alex for that matter, who's going to find out eventually."

"Why would Alex find out? Wouldn't Jay want to keep that a secret from her?" I squint.

"Girl, if you would let me finish the story, then you'd know!" Queenie snaps.

I flinch at this but go along with it.

"Now, I heard Alex the other day at lunch with Heather Sinclair and some other people I don't know. The name Vivian entered the conversation, and it caught my attention. Then Alex started talking about you- not good things. Somehow she was suspicious of you sleeping with her boyfriend and was talking about how she saw Jay with the same locket she saw you wearing at some point in time. Said he actually showed it to her one time."

I squint. I couldn't be more confused.

"I heard her go on about trying to kick you off the council-or more like get you to quit- by revealing your relationship between you and Rick in front of the council. Said it would be easy since no one there likes him."

Flashback (Queenie's P.O.V)

"Little Vivi would be heartbroken." Alex continues. "She loves serving on this council with everyone. I won't feel bad through: She'll learn in the future not to cross the line with me."

"You know for sure that Jay and Vivian..." Heather starts.

"No, but Jay keeps complaining about how she keeps making advances on him. She may be able to do that with Freak-boy, but she needs to know her limits." Alex replies.

Vivian's P.O.V. (Present)

"WHAT?" Killing Jay would make life so much easier. "Why would he say that?" Ha! Why wouldn't he?

"Why wouldn't he?" She echoes my thoughts. "For one: to cover up his fault of trying to-" she glances around "-rape you. If he shifts the blame on you, then he'll get out of trouble. This is your first year here, Vivian. I don't want your entire experience to be ruined by some punk who thinks he's the shit."

"So you..."

"I gave him something to talk about." She explains. "Since you didn't want to tell anyone about Jay, I decided to give him something else to think about." She smirks. "I have to say, he's pretty good at moving his hips."

"Ugh! Okay!" My stomach is always unsettled at the mention of that kid and anything...implied about him. "That's psychotic, Queenie! You did all of that just to protect my reputation?" Goosebumps cover my skin. My friend is more insane than I thought.

"Alright, I'll admit that I kinda had a thing for Jay last year; back when I was pretty...out there." Queenie replies. "But yes: I went all the way there just to make sure that you aren't as stressed as you could be." Queenie puts her hands on her hips. "And for someone who made friends with a guy who used to beat his girlfriend, you have some nerve to call me crazy!" She sticks her tongue out at me.

I try with every ounce of my being to suppress my laughter, but I release it as a way of admitting defeat. "You win." I say. Especially considering what happened between us recently. "Guess I owe you an apology, huh?"

"I wouldn't be a good friend if I blamed you for reacting the way you did." My friend replies. "So I'm sorry that you're friends with a nut like me!"

"Well, sorry anyway for not hearing you out." I say.

"Yeah you better be!" Queenie smirks. "Just kidding! Listen, there's probably going to be some serious trash talk about me. I'm telling you right now to not worry about it. I'd rather them slam me than you. There's just too much on your plate right now."

"Why would they 'slam' you?" I ask. "Did you go blabbing about it?"

"Only to the best Gossip Queen of Degrassi: Sinclair."

"Oh." Yeah, she's in trouble. "Look, can we finish this later? I need to get to my things for gym class."

"Sweet pea, remember I'm In the same class." Queenie says. "We can go together. We've been void of each other for too long."

"Yeah: a whole two days." I say. "Brace yourself. You've inserted yourself in the middle of Degrassi drama."

"Hey, which one of us is the new girl?" She says.

Finally. The duo is back, but I still can't wrap My mind around the fact of how Queenie was so willing to lie with Jay. I know she said she had a crush on him before (I won't ask), but how could she have just...done it with him, knowing that Jay's with Alex, and shrug it off along with the consequences to follow? Why is she treating this whole ordeal like it doesn't matter to her?

I'm keeping a closer eye on you, Queenie.