Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Chapter 22- War
Earnest's POV
Bif got us.
It wasn't that day, it wasn't the next day(It was on Thursday night), but he got us.
And hell, did he get us .
The stars gleamed, illuminating the path to the Observatory as Melvin, Beatrice and I dawdled towards it, discussing how jumpy Dr Watts had been at lunch when he caught Edna looking at him.
"After the incident last year, can you blame him? She's been hanging around the Chemistry Lab like that old, homeless drunk hangs around a pub when he's had twelve drinks too many and everyone's too polite to ask him to leave, so they wait till the next pint knocks him out before carrying him outside and dumping him in his alley." Beatrice stated.
"What actually happened between them?" Melvin enquired .
"Well, Melvin," I replied in a matter of fact tone. "When a woman and a man like each other very much or get very drunk, they have a special hug in which the man puts his pe -"
"Stop right there, Earnest, before you put all of us in therapy." Beatrice pleaded, shuddering. "They must have been utterly intoxicated."
"Well, I hear Watts was. I don't know how, mind you- he never drinks.
"Maybe it was the fumes from the lab again?" Melvin suggested.
"Remind me never to stay in there longer than necessary ever again." Beatrice said as we opened the door.
The sight before us was horrible; the spud cannon was reduced to a few cans scattered across the floor, the walls were spray-painted with the words "You've asked for war" as well as various obscenities(including 'Watts and Edna' messages - I'll spare you the details and you certainly don't want to hear about the diagram) and the boxes of my work were in disarray. From the first glance, it looked like nothing had been ignored- not even my(ahem) history work .
My history work!
I ran to the boxes to check, horror thrilling through my veins.
Anything but those!
Melvin's POV
"Why!" Earnest screamed as he looked through the boxes, falling to his knees. Horrified, I left Beatrice to read the graffiti while I tended to my distraught friend, who was close to tears as he stared at the empty box.
"My history project!" he weeped, throwing his arms in the air before bellowing "Damn you preps!". At this point, I pulled him up by the shoulders.
"Firstly Earnest, we both know that what was in that box and it wasn't history work. Secondly, I think we should concentrate on fixing the gun and clearing up the graffiti."
"This means war! We can't let them get away with this! Beatrice, could you get the greasers?"
"Have you forgotten Halloween?" Beatrice asked, frowning at the rude messages adorning the walls. "I think we've asked quite enough of them, don't you?"
"But look what they've done, Beatrice ! Look what they've wrote about you over here!" my friend shrieked, pointing above the doorway.
Beatrice's mouth dropped open as she read the words .
"I did what with magnesium!" she screamed as though someone had confessed to her that they took the photos of Mandy(the only good thing that came out of that was that when Beatrice found out about Jimmy's part in it, she lost all interest in him). She turned around, grabbed a discarded can and shook it, discovering it to be half-full(or half-empty, depending on what kind of person you were) and passed it to me.
"Cover that up as soon as possible. I'll go see what I can do ."
Johnny's POV
"I wasn't expecting you back." I said truthfully, if not slightly pleased- I admired the girl's loyalty and nerds always seemed to arrive with an opportunity to beat preps up, which was something I was having difficulty abstaining from as a result of Lola slamming Spencer into the wall of the canteen and ramming her tongue down his throat.
"I... wasn't expecting to come back... but then again, I wasn't expecting what the preps did to the observatory." she replied listing the various things the incestuous pricks had done, including a declaration of war. "Long story short, we weren't intending to lie back and take it. That said , we don't exactly instill fear into their hearts, so Earnest wanted to know if you'd like to help us." Before I could say a word, Peanut turned his attentions away fom him bike.
"Don't you dare make her work as your private detective again, Johnny."
"I wasn't going to." I answered, turning my attention back to Beatrice."So what did you have in mind?"
"We could egg them, we could take the rest of their bike chains, or we could do some good old fashioned mindless vandalism . What do you prefer ?"
"Spencer's house would look much better with a tag or two, if you want my opinion." Peanut commented.
"Sounds like a plan. Is Friday good for your bunch?"
"Probably. We'll meet you at Yum Yum market to get the stuff straight after school."
"Done. Shall we bring the bikes? In case we get caught, I mean."
"If you like, but if we get caught, you may have to share with some of us. I'll be going then. I'll see you both on Friday." she smiled before vanishing out f the Auto-shop.
Derby's POV
We raised our champagne flutes, clinking the glasses together in various celebrations.
"To weekends."
"To Tad finally getting a woman, even if she is a trollop."
"To well and truly getting the nerds." Bif grinned, recollecting the state we left their headquarters to repay that(from what Bif had told me) completely undeserved egging of Harrington House. I was particularly proud of the warning we'd painted.
"That'll teach them." I smirked as I raised my glass to my lips .
About four hours and a few champagnes later, a slight hissing sound grabbed my attention, before fading.
"Tad, you might want to hire someone. That hissing is almost as annoying as the greaseballs."
"I can't hear anything, chap. Where was it coming from?" he enquired, refilling his glass with the sparkling liquid.
"Outside, I think. It's started again! Open the window and see what the matter is." I ordered.
Within seconds of obeying, Tad shrieked "You again!". We heard a slight crack before Tad turned from the window, egg yolk dripping down his face.
"Those rapscallions are vandalising the house!" he shouted.
"Come on, men." I ordered. The other gentlemen stood up on command.
"Let's beat them back to the ghetto!"
Johnny's POV
"You'll pay for this pauper!"
Shit.
"Hal , get the bikes ready!"
From the corner of my eye, I noticed Montrose circling Beatrice, a bit like a wolf would circle its prey. I couldn't help edging over as I punched Derby- we greasers had a bit more respect for women but if the preps ganged up on a scrap of a man like Bucky, they wouldn't hold back for a girl.
I needn't have worried. A lifetime of physical bullying from other girls- who , judging from the cat fights Lola had with Mandy, tend to be a bit sneakier with with twisting pinches and(if the victor was very bitchy) kicking a floored opponent- had left her the advantage of expecting the first blow and consequently dodging it before grabbing the prep's shoulders and jerking her knee up with a speed that would leave him singing soprano for a while. Having stunned the prep, she darted towards the bikes Hal was preparing, pulling them up and quickly arranging two people on each bike; one standing to pedal, another on the seat or sat on the front, holding the handles. By the time the other preps were down- not least due to Peanut's enthusiasm with the spare emergency spud gun- only me, Vance, Cornelius and Beatrice were left. Immediately , Cornelius rushed to the bike Vance had just got on to, which left me and the lone girl of the revenge party in the blazing autumn sunlight.
"I'll drive." I offered as I sat down, not having having faith in her slender frame, however much harm it had caused Bryce's balls. She nodded, pulling her glasses off(with the sunlight glaring, they probably weren't helping her) before slipping onto the front of the bike, careful to keep her legs out of the way of wheel's way.
By the time we got back to Yum Yum's, her knuckles were white with the effort of clinging on.
"If you'd said you were worried, I would have slowed down." I told her, surprised at my concern for someone I knew very little of. She shook her head madly as Cornelius darted into the shop.
"It wasn't that bad." she insisted as the colour returned to her hands."Thank you for helping us again. I really ought to stop asking for favours- this is turning into a weekend ritual." she added , smiling.
"No problem. I wouldn't mind much if it did. It's not like there's lots to do on a Saturday." I commented.
"Who wants a toast?" Cornelius announced, passing around three six-packs of lemonade once we were sat on the pavement.
"Yes please."
"I do."
"Nothing like a nice cool drink after a hard night of tagging, is there Johnny?"
"Nope" I agreed. "I wonder why they didn't hear us until we were done. We were making enough noise."
"Tad reeked of booze. Celebrating, maybe?" Vance theorised . Taking this as a prompt, Cornelius stood up, raising his can in an exagerated gesture.
"Now gentlemen... and lady." he added in a flawless english accent. "A toast... to being condescending and marrying our immediate family so we can have children with nineteen middle names and no chins." The reference to Spencer's brother was too much, resulting in the lot of us falling about laughing, unfortunatly spilling a lot of lemonade in the process.
After we finally recover our compusure, Beatrice stood up. Her cornflower blue eyes sparkling with triumph from under long, thick eyelashes, she raised her glass slightly.
"To showing the preps who's boss." she declared, her voice soaring with delight as we repeated the toast and clanged our cans together in happy victory.