The Gossip Around Shermer

A/N: Hello, my name is Bambi and welcome to my new story, "The Gossip Around Shermer". I have written in the Breakfast Club tag before. I wrote the story, "Enter the Childstar" and now I'm back with a new one. I really hope you guys enjoy it. I've put a lot of work into it. As always, I do not/have not/probably, nor will I ever own the rights to The Breakfast or any of its characters. Those belong to dearly departed John Hughes. However, Xia Hart is 100% mine. Now, onto the story.

CH. 1 Toupee Lies

"You've gone too far this time, Hart." The vice principal of Shermer High, Richard Vernon, snapped. "I don't know what you're talking about." Shermer's resident gossip, Xia Hart replied. For someone who was being interrogated, she was seemingly calm. Vernon looks at her in disbelief. "Oh really? You have no idea, huh? Well, how about I show you?" Vernon raises his voice. "No need to yell, Vernon, but by all means." Xia invited, gesturing her hand towards the desk. Vernon grabbed a copy of the school's newspaper, The Blue & White Observer, slamming it on his desk.

Xia's gossip column that she's had since last April, Hart Blast, was a part of the observer. "Read it." Vernon demanded as he pointed to the page that her column was on. Xia looks down at the three red heart shaped bullet points. "What? Bender got a girl pregnant. Come on, Vern. Is it really that hard to believe?" Xia laughed. Bender was the biggest troublemaker at Shermer and one of the hottest topics for the column. He'll screw anything that moves. Excuse Xia for reporting on it. "That's Vice Principal Vernon to you, young lady. And you're wrong. Keep reading." Vernon demanded.

"Okay, is it Clarie Standish stuffs her bra? There is validity to that when you walk into school flat as a board and go to first period sporting the Himalayans on your chest. So, unless they're giving out five-minute boob jobs in the bathroom, I'd say it's true." Xia explained almost rolling in laughter at this point. "You're wrong again and watch your mouth. Now, read that last one or I will have you expelled." Vernon shouted, causing Xia a slight jump from Xia. "Chill out, Vern. Gosh it was just a joke." Xia scoffs at how sensitive he was being. Xia's eyes scan to the last bullet point. Xia's laughing stops and her face turns to worry.

"Problem, Hart?" Vernon sneers knowing he has her dead to rights. "Okay, I can explain." Xia started. "Oh, I'm sure you can, but first please read that excerpt." Vernon pushes sarcastically. "Sir, are you sure?" Xia asked, trying to sound as polite as possible. "Yes. Read it." Vernon demands once again. Xia wants to jump out of her skin. She doesn't want to read this, but knows she has to. "Vice Principal Vernon wears a toupee." Xia reads aloud, wincing at all six words. "That's right. Care to tell me why you're writing lies about me?" Vernon asked. "Sir, I didn't expect that to get printed. It was a joke that I said off the record. I told them to print this rumor I had heard about Andrew Clarke quitting the wrestling team. Xia explains.

"I'm sure." Vernon rolled his eyes. "Sir, I promise. I would never." Xia lies, trying to save herself. She absolutely would. Vernon would just have to be on vacation, retired, or dead before she said it. "You have three options." Vernon warned. "And they are?" Xia wondered. "Option one, you get expelled, I put it on your permanent record, and see to it that you never attend another school in the state of Illinois." Vernon laid out the first option. Expelled? Over her column? Her mom would kill her. "No thank you." Xia shook her head.

"Option two, we end your column." Vernon suggested. Over Xia's dead body. That was an even worse idea. It was going to take a little bit more than a pissed off vice principal for her column to just go away. "No." Xia dismissed his idea. "Last option, you spend a Saturday in detention." Vernon offered. DING! DING! DING! They had a winner. However, it does sound too good to be true. "What's the catch?" Xia asked. Xia wasn't stupid. She knows that when you make a deal with Richard Vernon, it comes at a hefty price. "No catch. Eight hours in detention and your word. I want to be left of your little column. Are we clear, Hart?" Vernon proposes.

A smirk crept onto Xia's face. Eight hours was a typical school day. Not to mention, Xia was almost certain there were more interesting people to write about than Vernon and his phony pomodoro. This proposition sounded more like an opportunity than a punishment. Depending on who's in there, she could score some serious info. The line for next week's Hart Blast was already appearing in her head, "Live from Detention", it could be groundbreaking! It could get Xia out of gossip and into covering hard hitting exposes like she's always wanted. This was a win. "You've got a deal." Xia beamed. "Well, isn't that nice? I expect to see you bright and early tomorrow morning.

And if you're late by even a minute, I'm ending your column so fast that your head is going to spin." Vernon warned. "Yes, sir." Xia nods quickly. She needed to go see her editor right away. "Lorenzo!" Xia called out to the editor of the Blue & White Observer. Lorenzo was a short guy, with greasy slicked back black hair, who liked to dress as if he was the dad in a fifty's sitcom. He was egotistical and relegated Xia to gossip the moment that he met her. "Hart, this better be good." Lorenzo greeted her. "First of all, screw you for running that story about Vernon. You knew that was off the record." Xia snapped. "Come on, Hart. We both know that when it comes to your column, there is no off the record. Plus, it was funny. Much better than that rumor you tried to run on Clark quitting the wrestling team." Lorenzo brushed off. He was always making Xia's gossip seem smaller than it actually was. As if it was some form of satire. To Xia and Shermer's very aggressive student body, it was quite the opposite.

"Your little stunt wasn't funny enough. I just came from Vernon's office. I almost got expelled. Now, I have detention tomorrow morning. Which is why I'm here." Xia started. "Which is why exactly?" Lorenzo asked. "I need the Heart Blast extended for next week." Xia informed him. He was staring at her as if she had ten heads. "And again, I'll ask why?" Lorenzo pressed on. "Like I told you, I'm going to be in Saturday detention. There's no telling what I'll hear. I even have the title You want to hear it. It's called, "Live from Detention." You think a toupee is going to have the school buzzing? Wait till they hear some real information." Xia explained hoping she was explaining it well enough.

She needed this extension. Lorenzo stares back at her blankly. Clearly unmoved by her idea. "No way. I'm not extending your column just cause you THINK you'll hear something." Lorenzo dismissed the very notion. "Please?" Xia begged. "No. Do you know if you get caught something could happen?" Lorenzo asked her. "Yes, and it's a risk I'm willing to take. I could really bring us some buzz." Xia suggested. "I just don't know if I can let you go through with that. You're not even a real reporter." Lorenzo reminded her, just as he always did when he felt Xia had overstepped her bounds.

"But I could become one. Lorenzo, you've had me in gossip for two years now. Let me prove to you that my work can be more than just bra stuffing and teen pregnancy. And you owe me. You got me into detention in the first place." Xia recalled as Lorenzo got quiet. She's starting to feel this whole idea might crumble. "If I let you do this, you do realize you have to accept all the hell that could come from this, right?" Lorenzo warned. "Of course." Xia responded as if it was a no brainer. "And you have to put up a warning reminding everybody that your point of view doesn't reflect those of the Blue & White Observer." He demanded.

Xia narrowed her eyes. How typical. "Sounds like a cop out, but fine." Xia accepts. "Not a cop out. Just got to cover our own ass." Lorenzo shrugged. "Yeah, okay. So, do we have a deal or not?" Xia asked. "Fine. Congratulations, Hart. You got your extension. Don't make me regret it." Lorenzo warned. "Don't worry about me. Just make sure my column has its space." Xia brushed off before leaving the paper room. Xia sighs in relief. As much as she had put up a tough front, Xia had been nervous. Nobody ever got an extension. Now she had to deliver. She also had to tell her mom that she had Saturday detention. Xia knows that won't be a nice situation. Especially because it was about the Hart Blast. Mrs. Hart absolutely despised the Hart Blast, but it wasn't always this way. At first, Mrs. Hart was supportive.

At the time, Xia's dad had just gone to jail, knew Xia was lonely, and thought it would be a great creative outlet for her. Overtime, it had grown into a monster that was constantly getting Xia in trouble with her peers and teachers. Which lead to problems with parents that always seemed to trickle to Mrs. Hart. It's one of the reasons why their relationship is so strained. Meanwhile, if you ask Xia, she'll say it's because her mom works all the time and stopped paying attention to her the moment her dad got locked up.

That seems to be a common theme as to why everybody stopped paying attention to her. Coincidentally, she had lost her best friend and boyfriend of three years around the same time. All that anger had been channeled into the gossip column. So much so that Claire and Andy became her most popular subjects. When Xia got home that afternoon, her mother was seated in a chair waiting for her. "Xia Marie what did you say now?" Mrs. Hart asks. "Mom, I know this is bad -" she's cut off.

"Bad? This is worse than bad. You were almost expelled. Do you know how hard it would've been to get you into another school if that happened? It was going to be on your permanent record." Mrs. Hart reminds. "I know, mom. But it wasn't my fault this time." Xia defends herself as Mrs. Hart stares on, not believing a word coming out of Xia's mouth. "Oh really? And just who's fault was it, Xia?" Mrs. Hart grilled. "Lorenzo! It was supposed to be off the record, but he published it anyway." Xia explains hoping it'll keep her out of trouble.

"If you would learn to be quiet and mind your own business, you wouldn't have to worry about the things you say getting published." Mrs. Hart suggested as Xia sighed exasperatedly. "Oh, here we go. Go ahead, mom. Say it. You always do. Your life was so much better before that column." Xia snapped. "Well, it's true. It's ruined our lives, Xia." Mrs. Hart snapped back. Yeah right. Her mom might've gotten yelled at by a few parents. However, she's never gotten physically attacked by her peers or disrespected by teachers. That was Xia. "Daddy ruined our lives way before I did, and you know it." Xia replied as the expression on her mother's face turned fiery. Xia' s done it now.

"How many times have I told you not to talk about your father that way? He provided for us." Mrs. Hart asked as Xia rolled her eyes. "We're calling stealing money from your job providing?" Xia questioned. Her father had been a banker and was now in jail for eight years for stealing from the accounts he worked with. It was a sore subject for Xia and her mom. That didn't stop Xia from going for the jugular. Especially as she watched her mother's arm wind back and swing away, instantly connecting with Xia's face. "I don't want to hear another word. You understand me?" Mrs. Hart asked through gritted teeth and slit eyes.

"Yes, ma'am." Xia whimpered as she stumbled back, grabbing her left cheek. "Go to your room and do your homework. I have to get to work. Tomorrow morning you get yourself up, pack lunch, eat breakfast, and go to detention. I expect you off of that paper by Monday afternoon. You are done ruining our lives. If I find out you didn't do it, I'm sending you to military school. You've become such an angry little brat and I'm sick of it. Get over yourself." Mrs. Hart barked. "Okay." Xia replied softly. "Pizza money is on my dresser. Lock up behind me." Mrs. Hart commanded as she grabbed her purse and work smock. Finally, Mrs. Hart leaves. The moment Xia hears the wheels of the station wagon peel out, she begins to cry. Ever since her dad got locked up her mom has become such a hard ass. Xia knows it's rough but there's no reason she should be getting slapped. Once she calms down, Xia orders a medium cheese pizza. She eats two slices and wraps the other two in tin foil for her lunch tomorrow.

She also packs a hostess cupcake, peaches, and some ants on a log. No need for her to pack a drink, because she knows the school has soda machines. Xia closes out her night and goes to bed with one thing on her mind. All this drama over a toupee?

A/N: That's all folks. I hope you enjoyed the first chapter and this first taste of Xia. I'm so excited to show you guys more. Uploads will be on Friday's at nine am EST. Thank you so much for and I'll see you guys next week. Bye guys!