Chapter 5

It was now 2:45 p.m., and the bell signaling the end of the academic day at Peach Creek High had just rung. Accordingly, large crowds of students poured out of the front doors of the school onto the curb as if the flood gates had opened. School buses and private vehicles lined he street, waiting to escort the school students back to their homes; the tranquil silence that was characteristic of the outside vicinity of the school during the day was replaced with the sound of hundreds of students conversing happily amongst themselves.

Five minutes after the bell had rung, the oldest and youngest of the Kanker family emerged from the school doors. May was wearing a green winter coat and had returned her hair to her favorite style: two pony tails hanging over her shoulders secured by blue bows. On her back, she carried a pink book bag, with the single strap passing across the front of her chest. Lee had let her hair back down once gym class was over, and was currently wearing her standard outfit; hip hugging blue jeans, black high heeled winter boots and a black, thigh length winter coat with grey fur trim around the collar, supplied to her by her fashion agency. While Lee claimed she only wore the coat because it was given to her for free, both of her sisters knew that she truly enjoyed her new sense of fashion. She carried a large brown handbag, also supplied to her by the agency, which had the dual duty of carrying her books as well as a standard purse.

The two girls descended the stairs as they conversed, walking side-by-side.

"I wonder what happened today in gym with Double Dee?" asked May, "I hope everything is okay, did you get a chance to talk to Marie before Mom came to get her today?"

"No I didn't." said Lee, "She left right after gym, and I didn't have any classes with the boys for the rest of the day. I wouldn't worry, I'm sure everything is perfectly fine. Those two have a great relationship, both of them seem to have some kind of superhuman ability to make each other feel better when the other is upset."

Lee paused.

"Speaking of which, why the hell did Mom pull Marie out of school early anyway?" asked Lee.

"I don't know," said May, "I asked Marie right after gym. She was in a rush to leave, and alls she told me was that it is a surprise."

"Whatever," said Lee, "So it looks like it's just us this afternoon. Marie's off doing her thing, her man is staying after school for an hour to help with that winter safety club he loves so much for some reason, and Eddy's in detention with Kevin for acting like a jackass and crab walking during the pacer test. He's so immature sometimes."

"C'mon Lee," said May with a smile, "You giggled when he did it!"

Lee cracked a small smile.

"Yeah," said Lee, "It was pretty funny. I'll admit, I think those silly little things he does sometimes are cute. He wouldn't be my Eddy without them and that's definitely one of the things that attract me to him."

Both girls giggled.

"By the way," said Lee, "Speaking of our Ed's, where yours?"

"He said he had to get home to go do something important ," said May, "He didn't tell me what he was doing...I think he might be looking for a Christmas present for me!"

May hugged herself out of excitement and jumped up and down as she smiled.

"Whoah calm down there Sally Ride," said Lee, "At that rate you're gonna wind up on the moon!"

Lee ran her fingers through her hair after which she decided to pose a question.

"So, Goofball," said Lee playfully, "Did ya decide what you wanted to get Ed for Christmas?"

May's eyes lit up.

"You bet," said May after which she removed her book bag and placed it onto the ground. She opened the zipper and pulled out a comic book ethusiasts catalogue. She quickly opened the book to a page that she had bookmarked, revealing an advertisement. She pointed to the page as she continued speaking.

"Ed's been talking about the new limited edition Slug-U-La comic book that just got released. It comes with all of the action figures, limited edition trading cards, and exclusive articles with interviews with the creators."

"That's great May and very thoughtful," said Lee, "But I can't help but notice you said the words 'exclusive' and 'limited edition' a few times. Past experience tells me that things described by those words cost money, and as far as I know you ain't got a pot to piss in."

"I know," said May, "But if it makes my Big Ed happy, I will find a way!"

"Whatever ya say." said Lee while smiling. While she often playfully teased May and was the first to deliver the truth to her when warranted, she was happy to see that her little sister had learned the meaning of selflessness and the spirit of giving.

May closed the book, and placed it back in her backpack. May delayed placing the backpack back over her shoulder so that she could adjust her hair, and left it sitting on the ground next to her. She decided to continue the conversation as she spoke.

"So what are you getting Eddy?" asked May.

Lee paused for a few seconds, before she replied.

"I haven't figured it out yet," said Lee, "Eddy ain't really interested in anything other than money, so there is always that. Between you and me, I want to get him something special and more personal than just cold cash."

At that moment, Lee's neutral facial expression turned into one of irritation as she spotted something behind May.

"But I have bigger fish to fry right now." said Lee.

May stood confused for a few seconds at Lee's statement, after which she realized that Lee's eyes were trained behind her. She quickly turned around to discover what had gotten Lee's attention.

It just so happened that Lindsay had just exited the front door of the school, and was making her way down the stairs. She was carrying a grey designer handbag, very much similar to Lee's. She had spotted Lee and May, and decided to pay them a quick visit.

"Well, well, look at what we have here." said Lindsay as she approached, "It's Annalee and Annamae, or should I say geek girl and metal mouth."

Lindsay laughed at her own joke, as the two Kanker sisters stood as still as statues with angry facial expressions. Lindsay approached May.

"By the way, Braceface." said Lindsay, "I forgot to congratulate you for setting that record for the girls pacer test in gym. I guess if you don't have an ounce of femininity, beauty or fashion sense, athletics are always a pathetic back up plan!"

Earlier in the day, May had ran 105 pacer laps, setting a new girls record for the school and receiving honorable mention on the school bulletin board. Naturally, a Kanker accomplishment was not to be taken lightly by Lindsay, and warranted a few minutes of teasing.

Lindsay laughed as she flicked her hair away from her face with her right hand prior to continuing.

"Seriously," said Lindsay, "Like, who wants to run back and forth like some kind of caged animal?"

At this point, May was visibly upset about being teased over her natural talents. As upset as May was, Lee was twice as upset. While Lee became quite aggravated when Lindsay insulted her, insults directed to her sisters were even more infuriating. Accordingly, she decided to retort.

"Oh lord," said Lee sarcastically, "God forbid little Miss Priss Statorowski get's one little drop of sweat on her face. It will be the end of the world!"

"Oh Hun, I don't need to prove myself," said Lindsay, "It's already a fact that I'm the prettiest girl in the freshman class and that's all that matters as a girl in this world, you haven't learned that yet?"

Lindsay laughed.

"I mean, look at you." said Lindsay, "Miss goodie two shoes, getting straight A's in math and science. You think you're going to win winter ball queen, but all's you are is the queen of the nerds."

At that point a black Jaguar XJ luxury car with dark tinted windows pulled up to the curb.

"Well, looks like I have to go." said Lindsay with a smile, "I'd offer you a ride back to the neighborhood, but my dads taking me to the mall to look at dresses for the winter ball. I wouldn't want to you to get too jealous before the night of the dance."

Lindsay giggled.

"See ya later losers!" she yelled, as she began walking towards her fathers vehicle, flaunting her hips heavily.

Little did Lindsay know that Lee, while having become far less aggressive than she had been a year ago, was still not one to let someone make fun of her family without going unpunished. Lindsay had barely taken a single step when she was suddenly brought down to the ground face first. This was due to Lee placing her left foot in front of Lindsay's moving leg, resulting in a successful attempt to trip her.

Due to natural instinct, Lindsay attempted to save her face from collision by placing her arms out in front of her, resulting in her hands absorbing most of the impact. Unfortunately for her, the force managed to fracture one of her long, pink, perfectly manicured nails.

Lindsay quickly recovered from the fall and lifted herself up off of the ground to a kneeling position, examining her nails in a panic.

"My nails!" yelled Lindsay, her face donning an alarmed expression. This expression quickly turned to one of fury as she glanced up towards Lee, who stared down at her nemesis with a neutral expression.

"You bitch!" yelled Lindsay, "Do you know how much that manicure costs?"

"No I don't, but it sure does look expensive," said Lee, "I guess you better watch where you are going next time and make sure you don't trip."

Lindsay rose up off of the ground, her face red with fury. She dusted off her coat, and began making her way over to her fathers car. She opened the door to the car, after which she turned around to deliver one last insult.

"I'll have my nails fixed tonight," said Lindsay, "But nothing is ever going to change the fact you two are nothing but a four-eyed geek and a bucked toothed barbarian. You just remember that! That crown is mine on the 23rd!"

Lindsay disappeared inside the car and slammed the door shut. The vehicle briskly pulled away from the school building. The anger from Lindsay's previous statement began to build up in Lee, as the two girls stood in silence for a few seconds. May took notice of Lee's red face, and her clenched fists.

"Lee?" asked May, "Are you okay?"

"I hate her, I hate her, I HATE HER!" yelled Lee at the top of her lungs, slightly frightening May, "Who does she think she is making fun of us? She ain't all that, as much as she thinks she is!"

"Calm down Lee," said May, "Who cares what she thinks. All's that matters is that we are happy! We've got each other, our amazing Eds, and the beautiful Christmas season to look forward to."

"She always wins!," said Lee as she removed her glasses from her face, "Well she's not going to win this time. She needs to be smacked down a few pegs. I'm going to win that winter ball queen and put that stuck up bitch in her place no matter what it takes!"

Lee placed her glasses in their case, and shoved them into her handbag. She proceeded to walk aggressively away from the school, towards the direction of the cul-de-sac.

"C'mon May, let's go home." said Lee, "I've got work to do, and I need your help."

May watched as her sister stomped aggressively in the direction of the cul-de-sac, with an expression of concern. After a few seconds, May lifted her pink backpack off of the ground, placed it around her body, and began running to catch up with her older sister.