Chapter 8: Boss Battles

I opened my eyes, just as the early morning light began to creep into the room. I closed them, groaning as I stretched in bed. Once satisfied with making my joints pop, I sat up, rubbing my eyes. I looked around, realizing I wasn't in my room, but Jimmy's. All the events of the previous day rushed through my mind, reminding me how I got here in the first place. I looked down to my right, seeing Jimmy tangled up in his blanket, softly snoring. I got off the bed, with a strong urge to use the bathroom. Knowing I wouldn't be able to hold it in, I make my way to the bathroom.

Coming back, I see Jimmy waking up due to his alarm clock. He grumpily turns it off, then returns to sleep. Me, feeling totally refreshed after splashing my face with water, I jump down to him, and began to aggressively shake him.

"Wake up! Wake up!" I exclaim. Jimmy begins to mumble something.

"Ten more minutes..."

He pulls the covers over his face. My eyes look to the right, thinking of a way to force him up. I smirk as soon as I come up with an idea. I yank blankets off Jimmy, and run to his windows to pull back all the blinds while yelling, "Rise and shine!" Jimmy finally gets up into a sitting position, then looks at me, annoyed.

"Can't you let a guy sleep in?"

I rush back to him, pulling him up with his arm.

"Nope! Today's a new day! And we gotta see what's in store for us!" I lead him to his wardrobe.

"I'll see you guys in an hour, 'kay?" I gleamed. He nodded, still groggy.

I bounced out of the boys dorm, doing my best to avoid the prefects as I go back to my dorm. Knowing I'd probably get snitched out on by the younger girls, I strap on my mary janes to climb up to the attic. After my clothes getting caught onto the trellis multiple times, I ungracefully landed on my face once I entered the window. I rubbed it, hoping I didn't get any splinters. I looked around, making sure there weren't any teenagers making out. Seeing that the coast was clear, I carefully tiptoed down the stairs. I peered out into the hallway, checking for Mrs. Peabody. I spotted her salt and pepper colored hair going down the stairs, warning Melody that she can't go out unless her homework was finished. As both were distracted, I quickly crawled to my room, which happened to be the door right next to the attic entrance. I quietly shut the door, and soon noticed the absence of both my roommates. I brushed away the thought of them, knowing they're probably out in town. Once I had picked the perfect outfit for the day, I removed my costume, and draped my blue towel over me. Grabbing my shower supplies, I was ready for a quick wash.

Tying my shoelaces up into a crooked bow, I was ready to take on November 1st. I jogged out of room, and sped down the flight of stairs. I continued running, slamming the front doors behind me as I made way for the boys' dorm. Inside, morning was normal. A couple kids here and there still in pyjamas, a nerd trying to get his book back from a bully, the guys trying to watch what's on T.V. despite the static. I mused around, until I decided to knock on Jimmy's door, even if it was wide open. I peeped my head inside, but it was empty of any freckled redheads. I turn around, going to Gary's room. Sure enough, I find the gang there, gathered around Gary, as he scribbles something on a blank page. I walk on over, and ask, "Whatcha doin'?" Pete and Jimmy both turn to me, but Jimmy goes back to watching Gary.

"Well, this school is full of a bunch of assholes, right?" He asks rhetorically. I nod.

"So the only way to restore peace is to take care of every faction."

"How are we supposed to do that? They're all lead by some big tough guy, except the nerds."

"Which is what we're trying to figure out, but we're not sure how. We were thinking of maybe individually taking them all down one by one."

"What, like some sort of boss battles?"

"Exactly!"

"Who's gonna bring the fight to them? Us? I don't really wanna fight Russell. Or Ted. Or Derby. Or Johnny."

"Well, Gary was thinking of testing Jimmy's strength by making him fight Russell."

"What? You're kidding! And has Jimmy even agreed to this?"

"He's willing to do anything to stop the obnoxious rivalries."

"Okay, okay, what about-"

"And there! I've got it all planned out." Gary exclaimed triumphantly.

"Jimmy, you better stock up on some weapons if you don't want to get your ass handed to you." Gary smirked.

"Whatever." Jimmy replied, leaving the room. I watched his back, thinking.

"Wai-wait, is he really gonna do it?"

"Of course! Aren't you tired of getting walked on by everyone?" Gary teased, getting up from his chair. I purposely bumped into him with my shoulder, receiving a taunt for my action.

"Yeah but... are we really going to solve this with violence?" I was worried for Jimmy; afterall, he was going against the toughest person in the whole world. But if he could beat him, then this would prove he could really take on just about anyone.

"Actions speak louder than words." Gary raised an eyebrow as he said this, referring to me bumping into him.

"I think I got everything." Jimmy's voice suddenly said as he appeared at the doorway.

"Then, shall we go?" The familiar mischievous glint twinkling within Gary's eyes as he smiled a wolfish grin at me. I swallowed, following behind Petey, closing the bedroom door.

We ran to the school parking lot, ordered with the objective of beating up every single boy in the Bullies Clique, so they wouldn't interfere in the fight once they heard about it.

"Hey idiots! We're gonna beat you up! Isn't that right, guys?" Gary practically sang joyfully. Jimmy and Gary fought in the front lines, while Pete and I hid in nearby bushes to attack from a distance with slingshots. Jimmy and Gary were able to take down two of the bullies themselves, while Pete took down another. Since I wasn't helping much, I decided to sneak forwards to get a closer look; unfortunately, I was spotted by Christy's brother, Martin. As we made eye contact, he spotted the slingshot in my hands, knitting his red brows together as he put two and two together.

"Hey! It's the bitch who's been throwing rocks at us!" My eyes widened, frozen in shock and fear from getting caught. I only moved when Martin threw a punch at me, narrowly missing. I landed on my knees on the grass, preventing any scrapes on my legs. I was kicked forward, losing my balance on my hands, falling flat on the ground. I growled, turning around to see who had the audacity to literally kick my ass. Martin stood there, laughing haughtily at me. At this point, I had had enough.

"Why, you little-!" I lunged at him, tackling him onto the ground. He was surprised by my strength, and soon as well as my weight as he found it difficult to remove me. I sat firmly on his stomach, and pulled my arm so far back, I couldn't imagine the bruise I was about to leave as my fist made contact with his face. Once. Twice. Three times. I climbed off, and kicked him in the groin to assure myself that Martin was going to stay knocked out for a while. In a moment of victory, I spat on the ground. Though, it was short lived as I slowly looked up to see all three of my friends staring at me, astonished.

"Damn Kat. Remind me not to mess with you." Jimmy complimented, laughing.

"Yeah. You sure finished him off." Pete continued. I shook my head, embarrassed.

"Nah, it's nothing-"

"Come on, we don't have time to lose." Gary abruptly cut me off. He walked quickly into the downstairs basement, and I glared at him, even if he couldn't see. I sighed loudly, but I soon joined the rest of the group. After passing through the basement, we were walking down through a darkened hallway, surrounded by openings in the walls that I could only assume were made for the sewage.

"Remember James, I may have to taunt Russell just a bit in order to rile him up." Gary reminded Jimmy.

"Wait, what? Won't that piss him off?" Jimmy asked with concern in his voice.

"Hm. We'll see." I heard the smile in his voice.

"Gary, you son of a-"

Gary was already pushing Jimmy down the ladder, into the gigantic hole of sewage.

"Go down there Jimmy! I'll get Russell over right now."

As he did, people suddenly appeared from the corner, including Russell.

"Welcome! Ladies and gentlemen! Boys, and morons. I give you, Russell!" Gary loudly proclaimed, his sentence followed by loud cheering. Said challenger slowly climbed down the ladder, accepting his cheers. Jimmy backed away as Russell joined him in the sewer.

"Gary, I really hate you!" Jimmy pointed a finger at him, fuming.

"I know. Russell, go beat that little jerk who said that nasty stuff to me about your mom, and those barnyard animals."

"What?! Come here! Russell wants vengeance!" Russell walked over to Jimmy, pounding his meaty fists together.

Gary and Jimmy made eye contact one last time, and Gary winked at him.

Petey and I could only look at each other with surprise and confusion, shrugging our shoulders.

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senior year and depression has been kicking my ass 3