A/N: How is everything going, my amazing viewers? :)
I hope all is good with all of you. :) I'm doing good, in case any of you are wondering. :) It's time for the next chapter! Who's ready? :D
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Fun Fact: In the first script of the movie, Claire's name was originally Cathy.
Well, I believe that I said everything that I wanted to say. The time has come for you all to sit back, relax, and enjoy the chapter! :)
Please review! Happy reading, everybody! :D
Comrade's POV
Surprisingly, everything started to settle down. The Criminal had moved himself up to the front of the library, where he sat with his legs prompt up at the table in front of the Geek's. I've seen him jump tables and practically play Musical Chairs by himself during a lot of our previous detentions together, so I knew by now that he wasn't going to be staying in that new seat forever; but at least my sister and I got some time away from him now.
Claire, Andrew, and Brian were staring down at their tables with their hands folded and eyes overflowing with boredom. Allison had her back facing everyone again as she looked at her lap, keeping her messy hair hanging in front of her face as she rested her eyes shut. Roxy, on the other hand, was slightly bobbing her head to another song on her Walkman and quietly humming to the rhythm as she twirled the fibers of Bender's scarf around her index fingers. She knew by now that it belonged to him; but she - for some strange reason - still wanted to keep it wrapped around her shoulders. If I had to guess, she must've still felt pretty cold.
And lastly, I was tapping the upper half of my broken pencil against the edge of the table. My eyes were narrowed in thought, staring at my piece of paper like it was about to tell me something very important. At first, the fact that it was blank was entertaining to me because I thought about being able to see the veins popping out of Dick's forehead by the end of the detention; but now, the paper's blankness was really starting to bother me...
The sound of the door opening eventually broke the silence, causing me to roll my eyes and shake my head a little in annoyance. I thought that it was Mr. Vernon coming in to check on us again; but at the sound of music filling the air just seconds later, I knew by heart who it really was. Almost instantly, my eyes widened a little and I shot my head up, staring towards the library's main entrance. At the same time, Roxy stopped messing around with the Hooligan's scarf and snapped her attention in the direction of the noise. For a moment, her jaw dropped in surprise; but then, as soon as she closed her mouth back up, her lips morphed into a smile that practically stretched from one ear to the other. She and I knew exactly who listened to that music.
The other detention goers watched the newcomer as well, but showed no interest in him. It was Carl, the Janitor of Shitty Shermer. He was listening to his radio and patting his hip to the beat as he pushed his trash bin and other cleaning supplies up the ramp. Without a word, he entered the small office where announcements were made over the intercom and picked up a small trashcan from beside the desk. Then, as he turned back around and emptied the bin into his larger can, he flashed a little grin in the Nerd's direction.
"Brian, how are you doing?" Carl asked.
In less than a second, Brian's cheeks flared up. He adverted his eyes from the Janitor, the corner of his lips twitching in embarrassment as he ignored the question.
Bender raised an eyebrow and peeked over his shoulder. "Your dad work here?" he asked the Nerd in a tone that was half curious and half mocking.
At the sight of Brian's humiliation, Carl's smile faltered and was replaced by disappointment - like he expected better behavior from the Straight A student. Without another word, he turned away to return the trash bin to its original spot back in the office. As he did, my face hardened into a scowl and I watched as Brian finally responded to Bender by shaking his head and making a face that made it seem like he was actually disgusted by Carl. Then, an amused grin cracked across Andrew's face and he released a small snicker, causing me to shoot daggers at the back of his head next.
Aside from Allison, Carl was basically mine and Roxy's only other friend. He was helping us adjust to our new lives in Chicago by taking the time to tutor us in English every day after school. Carl had taken a Russian Language course when he was in college, so he was practically fluent in it. Not only that, but he often invited us over to his house after church on Sundays, where he helped Roxy with her 'special' braille homework and made sure to get caught up on how I was doing with my depression. I swear, he and his wife - Emily - treated us and our grandparents like we were actually part of their family. So, it really irritated me when other students insulted him and refused to show him the respect that he deserved.
"You guys are jerks!" Roxy seethed, taking the words right out of my mouth and making them appropriate. "You know, it wouldn't kill you all to show at least some respect!"
With no hesitation, Claire and Bender shifted themselves around a little in their seats and looked at her; but while the Diva's face was covered by a prissy scowl that made her nose look gigantic compared to the rest of her features, the Criminal was showing off a flirtatious smirk as he leaned a little over the back of his chair. There was also satisfaction glowing in his eyes at the sight of his scarf laced around Roxy's shoulders. Brian looked down at his hands, his face growing redder by the minute. It was like he was actually ashamed of being involved in making my sister angry.
"Comrade? Roxy?" Carl asked, slightly caught off guard by my sister's presence. He placed his gloved hand on his hip and rested his other arm across the rim of his trashcan. "What in the world are you two doing here?"
I raised my shoulders in a shrugging motion. "Haven't you heard by now, Carl?" I asked as I then kicked my feet up onto the table and carefully pushed my chair back onto its back legs. "Mr. Ryan caught me ditching class to go skateboarding down the Empire State Building." Despite how I was joking and sounding perfectly nonchalant, there was still some scorn dripping from my accent when I brought up my history teacher. I swear, other than Vernon, I've never met such a nosy prick before in my entire life. Seriously, Mr. Ryan couldn't go a day without searching at least one locker in the school and his eyes constantly followed me around like an eerie painting. It was really annoying.
From the corner of my eye, I could've sworn that I saw Brian tense up a little at the mention of Mr. Ryan. For a moment, I couldn't help but stare at the back of his head and cock an eyebrow in confusion; but at the sound of the Janitor lightly chuckling, I turned my attention away from the Wimp and locked my eyes back on him.
"I'm being serious, Comrade." Carl remarked, continuing to snicker a little as he spoke. "Why are you two in detention today?"
In the blink of an eye, the amused grin that had swept across Roxy's face vanished. "Uh..." She reached behind her head and vaguely rubbed the back of her neck, growing a little red from being put on the spot like that, "...no comment."
At the same time, I lowered my chair back down onto all four of its legs and said through slightly pursed lips, "Yeah, the reason I'm here is a pretty long story, too." The last thing I wanted to do during this detention was take the time to actually think about why I was sitting here in the first place; so, I quickly changed the topic. "How's Emily doing?" I asked, still maintaining an ordinary tone.
"She's doing well." Carl answered. I could still detect a hint of curiosity in his voice, but that didn't stop a cheeky grin from stretching widely across his face. "We went to the hospital yesterday and had an ultrasound done. We're having a boy."
One of the corners of my lips peeled back, forming a smirk that bared some of my teeth as I nodded a few times in approval. Carl and Emily already had two daughters, and after going through three hours of listening to Brian's babbling, Claire's complaining, Andrew's lame-ass comebacks, and Bender's perverted humor, it was great to hear that they had a son on the way. It was the best thing I've heard all day.
Roxy flashed her brightest smile, showing off her dimples. "That's great, Carl! Поздравления!" A few giggles were laced around her final word. 'Congratulations!'
"Спасибо, Roxy." Carl said. 'Thank you, Roxy.' He stared over the Queen Bee's head and watched me closely as I rubbed my hand over my sleeve to scratch at an itch. "Но не говорите ваши бабушки и дедушки, все в порядке? Эмили и я хочу, чтобы ждать, чтобы сказать им самим." 'But don't tell your grandparents, all right? Emily and I want to wait to tell them ourselves.'
"Да, все в порядке." I replied with a small, simple shrug. 'Yeah, all right.'
"Вы двое все еще приходят на ужин сегодня вечером?" Roxy asked as she rested her chin on top of her closed fist. 'Are you two still coming over for dinner tonight?'
The two preps glanced at each other, the looks on their faces giving it away that they were strongly confused as to what was being said. As for the Nerd, he was peeking up at the ceiling inquisitively and mouthing a jumble of words to himself, looking like he was trying to figure out the translation of mine and Roxy's conversation with the Janitor.
Carl's smile broadened. "Мы бы не пропустить это для всего мира." He jingled his keys at his side slightly. "Lora и Джессика будет сопровождать нас как хорошо." 'We wouldn't miss it for the world. Lora and Jessica will be accompanying us as well.'
"Хорошо," I crossed my arms over my chest, vaguely grinning, "мы с спагетти." 'Good. We're having spaghetti.'
Carl opened his mouth to say something back, but before he could get a word out, Bender butted into the conversation, "Uh, Carl?"
The Janitor's eyes immediately jumped over to the Rebel. "What?"
"Can I ask you a question?" Bender asked. The curious look on his face was clearly staged, causing me to roll my eyes.
"Sure."
The darker-haired teen drew in a deep breath, suddenly sounding serious, "How does one become a janitor?"
A smirk twisted across Carl's face. "You want to be a janitor?"
"No, I just want to know how one becomes a janitor," Bender explained, gesturing around with his hand a little, "because Andrew here is very interested in pursing a career in the custodial arts." He pointed at the Athlete at the mention of him.
"Oh, really?" Carl sarcastically nodded his head and stared at Andrew, who looked like he was seconds away from ripping someone's head off.
I shot Bender a grave stare as he smirked in satisfaction. "Ублюдок..." I muttered under my breath. 'Bastard...'
Carl lifted his hands up to his shoulders. "You guys think I'm just some untouchable peasant? Serf? Pee-on, huh?" He stopped for a moment to watch Claire slightly roll her eyes and glance away from him like he wasn't worth looking at before continuing. "Maybe so, but following a broom after shitheads like you for the last eight years, I've learned a couple of thinks." He stopped again, but this time was to catch the smirk that Allison was sending him from the sidelines. "I look through your letters. I look through your lockers..." Carl jingled his keys again and watched as Bender's head shot up, his eyes now wide in surprise. "I listen to your conversations," the Janitor went on, pointing at his ear, "you don't know that, but I do. I am the eyes and ears of this institution, my friends."
At Carl's final sentence, Roxy mouthed along with him and my sly grin broadened a little in amusement. The two of us had heard that lecture enough times to know it word for word by now.
Carl flashed another smirk at the rest of the stunned teens and turned to leave; but within seconds, he froze in his tracks to glance back at my sister again.
"Oh, Roxy," he said, switching over to his tutoring voice, "before I forget, I've been meaning to ask you about those braille classes of yours. How are you doing with the latest assignments?"
My eyes expanded. Roxy stiffened in her chair. The air seemed to thicken as the shocking realization smacked all of the detention goers upside their heads - excluding the Basket Case. Startled looks swept across everyone's faces; Brian's jaw looked like it was about to slam against the floor and Claire's eyes were practically bulging out of her skull, making her look more terrified than shocked. Nonetheless, nobody said a word as Roxy reached up and slowly ran her fingers across the rim of her glasses. Then, for the first time that whole morning, she removed them from her face and exposed her silvery eyes to the whole room. The light bounced against them, making them look beautiful.
"I'm doing fine with them, I guess," Roxy answered at last. She folded the glasses up and gently sat them down in front of her, knowing that there was no point in hiding her blindness anymore. "Crystal Rose has been helping me out a lot and you've have been a great tutor so far, but..." she paused for a moment, shrugging in thought, "...it's still going to take some time, you know?"
Carl nodded a little and spoke reassuringly, "Hang in there, all right? It'll get easier."
Roxy straightened her lips and nodded in acknowledgement, but didn't say anything back.
The Janitor, after sharing a quick glance with me, started pushing his trashcan to leave again; but this time, he stopped to take a quick peek down at his watch.
"By the way," Carl said, smugly grinning as he pointed towards the massive clock, "that clock's twenty minutes fast."
The Princess and the Jock simultaneously groaned and slumped back in their seats. At the same time, Allison shifted herself fully around in her chair and gaped in shock, causing an entertained smile to curl up on one of the corners of my mouth. In all honesty, she did look pretty cute when she got caught off guard like that.
"Shit." Brian muttered. He dropped his attention back down to his watch and started fiddling around with it, clearly trying to fix the time.
Then, as soon as the door slammed shut behind Carl, announcing his departure, the Criminal spun around in his seat and locked his full attention on Roxy.
"Hey ... Roxanne..." He was reluctant to say her name, considering he had gotten used to addressing her as the 'Russian Beauty' and 'Russian Queen.'
Roxy rolled her eyes and let out a deep sigh, right before she turned her head and said in a careless tone, "What do you want, John?"
For a moment, the Delinquent just stared at her. He tilted his head a little to the side, obviously studying her bright gray orbs as a smirk peeled widely across his face, exposing some of his teeth. Admiration gleamed in his eyes, making it clear that he didn't mind being called by his first name if it was Roxy who was saying it. Eventually, Andrew and Claire glanced across the aisle to see what was taking him so long to respond. A defensive scowl was already twisted across Sporto's face, but Gingersnap looked genuinely curious.
Bender flicked some of his hair out of his face. "I just wanted to tell you..." he paused for some stupid dramatic effect, still slyly grinning, "...that you look even prettier without the glasses."
Roxy's eyes shot huge, just as a bright red blush burned across her cheeks like a wildfire. She opened her mouth, looking like she was about to say something back; but when no words came out, she pressed her lips together and remained quiet. With a small chuckle, Bender rotated back around in his chair and coolly wrapped his arm around its back. At the same time, I viciously narrowed my eyes and glared fiercely at the back of his head. Maybe if I stared long enough, holes would start to burn through his skull.
"Roxy, uh..." Brian spoke up, shyly stuttering into his knuckles. "I'm sorry about, uh ... not - um - knowing about ... you know, about you ... being handicapped."
I rolled my eyes, crossing my arms over my chest. "Each of you assholes thought that she was intoxicated or trying to hide a hangover, for cryin' out loud..." I sneered, right before I muttered, "Невероятно ... идти в ад, уколы..." under my breath. 'Unbelievable ... go to hell, pricks.'
Roxy closed her eyes, ignoring my comment as she drew in a deep breath through her nose. "It's fine," she said to the Geek as she released her air, "but please ... do not call me handicapped. Any of you. If anything, I'd rather be called 'visually impaired'." She used her fingers to add air quotes around her two final words.
Brian nodded softly and mouthed what looked like "Yeah", but other than that, the whole library became quiet again.
Surprisingly, fifteen minutes of pure silence managed to tick by - not counting the annoying tapping that was coming from Claire drumming her pencil against her table. The clock now read 11:49, meaning that it was really 11:29. From all of my previous experiences in detention, I knew for a fact that Mr. Vernon was going to be coming in at any second to assign me and the other detainees thirty minutes to eat. Although, he never cared to come back when the thirty minutes were up; so, we basically got to enjoy our lunches for as long as we wanted.
Out of boredom, Bender had - unfortunately - decided to move back to his original seat, and Roxy - just minutes before that - had tied his scarf around her head. It almost made her look like a pirate and it caused the Thug to send her a seductive wink, at which I flicked him off for. Then, shortly after he rolled his eyes at me and sat back down, he shattered the silence by beginning to whistle Mitch Miller's The Colonel Bogey March. When Carl couldn't get his radio to work, he would often whistle this song while he worked. At first, I was planning to ignore Bender - until I heard the sound of Brian and Roxy starting to whistle along.
The Recluse peeked over, watching the scene through her hair. Bender began swaying his head, just as Brian started to tap his foot to the rhythm. I reluctantly decided to whistle along, followed by Andrew and then Claire. Finally, as I took a small peek over in Allison's direction, a vague grin toyed around with one of the edges of my lips and I motioned for her to join in. Almost instantly, Allison attempted to whistle along; but the best she could do was blow out some air, resembling an eerie breeze. Maybe the next time we're hanging out, I can teach her how to whistle.
Suddenly, everyone fell silent at the sound of the door opening. Though, at the sight of Vernon strolling in, Bender started to whistle the beginning of Beethoven's 5th. Then, just to aggravate the Principal even more, I carried on the tune from where the Criminal had left off. Which, by the way, resulted in Bender sending me an annoyed glare from over his shoulder. Aw, was he mad because I ruined his chance to piss Vernon off? Too bad for the Bad Boy.
With a roll of my eyes, I stopped whistling and slumped back in my chair like I hadn't done anything at all.
"All right, girls," Dick announced, sounding just as grim and heartless as he looked, "that's thirty minutes for lunch."
The Athlete squinted in confusion, "Here?"
"Here." Vernon answered firmly.
Andrew spoke up again, trying to sound reasonable, "Well, I think the cafeteria would be a more suitable place for us to eat lunch in, sir."
The Principal coldly narrowed his eyes. "Well, I don't care what you think, Andrew," he sneered, enhancing the scorn in his voice as he said Jockstrap's name.
"Uh, Dick?" Bender butted in. Mr. Vernon flicked his attention over to him, still glaring. "Excuse me, Rich. Will milk be made available to us?"
Andrew nodded a little. "We're extremely thirsty, sir."
"I have a really low tolerance for dehydration." Claire informed, not sounding the slightest bit convincing. Her face almost looked dumbfounded, as if she was actually asking Vernon if he was really going to fall for that. She really needed to work on her lying skills.
"I've seen her dehydrate, sir." Andrew was quick to cover up the Drama Queen's pathetic comment. "It's pretty gross."
"'Pretty gross' is an understatement." I piped in. Unlike Claire, I sounded perfectly nonchalant and was fighting to keep myself from breaking out into a huge smirk as I continued. "Seriously, Richard, you have no idea how disgusting it is if Gingersnap gets dehydrated. If she doesn't get any beverages in her system, she practically turns into an overdressed raisin. It is absolutely horrendous."
The Principal didn't look amused, staring at me with the same stony stare. My sister, on the other hand, had to bite down on her bottom lip to prevent herself from chuckling; and the Diva shot me a snobby scowl that silently commanded me to shut my mouth.
Bender held his hands up and spoke like he had a mischievous plan up his sleeve, "Relax. Comrade and I will get it."
I scoffed quietly, remaining seated as I watched him rise from his chair. I wasn't dumb. I knew that he wanted to get even with me for constantly one-upping him in front of everyone and for fighting in the bathroom; but hell would have to freeze over before I ever agreed to go with him anywhere.
"Ah-ah-ah!" Vernon snipped, causing the Rebel to freeze. "Grab some wood there, bub. What, do you think I was born yesterday?"
With a small click of his tongue, Bender slowly lowered himself back down in his chair.
"You think I'm gonna have you roaming these halls?" Dick went on, eyeing me for a split second before he locked his eyes back on Bender. "Especially with Mr. Alexandrov of all people?"
Bender straightened his lips and nodded sarcastically, as if he actually agreed with the Principal.
"You." Vernon pointed at the Jock, causing him to glance away and bounce his leg in annoyance. Mr. Vernon then began to skip his gaze around at the other detainees, obviously ignoring the Criminal as he tried to find someone else to pick. For a moment, I sarcastically raised my hand high in the air, pretending to volunteer. As I suspected, the Principal refused to acknowledge me; but then, he pointed at Roxy - clearly oblivious to her silver pupils - and said, "You as well." In return, the Handicapped pursed her lips and nodded a little, somehow knowing that she was the one being spoken to. She removed Bender's scarf from around her head, dropping it onto the table.
As the Principal then began scanning around at the remaining detention goers for a third member, Andrew pointed over at Claire in the hopes of her getting picked. At the same time, the Princess straightened herself a little more in her chair. Nonetheless, their teamwork was quickly terminated when Mr. Vernon directed his finger to the Basket Case and said, "And you." Her back was still facing everyone and she was showing no signs of paying attention to what was happening.
"Hey!" Vernon exclaimed as he snapped his fingers. Allison's eyes fluttered open, just as the rest of the detainees turned around in their seats and looked at her. "Hey! What's her name? Wake her! Wake her! Hey!" Dick snapped his fingers again, waiting for Allison to look at him. When she did, she shot him a dark stare. "Come on, on your feet, missy! Let's go! This is no rest home."
I felt that familiar tingle of heat flare up deep down inside of me again; except this time, it felt a few notches hotter. After witnessing Sporto flash Allison that tiny half of a grin not that long ago, I really didn't like the idea of the two of them being paired up. Even if it was just for fetching some drinks. It was bad enough that my sister was chosen, but that bitch Vernon just had to make this worse by picking the Recluse, too. I didn't know why, but just the mental picture of Andrew getting some time away from the detention with Allison irritated the hell out of me. I fiercely bit down on my bottom lip to keep myself from objecting, surprisingly not drawing any blood.
"There's a soft drink machine in the Teacher's Lounge." Mr. Vernon said. "Let's go!"
Andrew, now looking incredibly wretched, rolled his eyes and silently stood up from his seat. Claire rested her cheek against her knuckles and shot him an almost entirely pitying expression, but didn't say a word. I sharply narrowed my eyes, keeping them on the Athlete as I slowly leaned over towards my sister.
"Roxanne, сделай мне одолжение, хорошо?" I whispered with my accent dripping in seriousness. 'Roxanne, do me a favor, okay?' Roxy turned her head and gave a small nod, letting me know that she was listening. I flicked my attention over to the Basket Case, watching as she quickly slipped her bag's strap over her head and rose from her seat. "Убедитесь что бандаж не пытается что-либо с Allison." 'Make sure Jockstrap doesn't try anything with Allison.'
Roxy arched an eyebrow, and a small smirk twitched up on the corners of her lips. "Могу ли я почувствовав ревность, товарищ?" A few chuckles were laced into her words. 'Am I sensing jealousy, Comrade?'
I scoffed quietly, sliding my hands into the pockets of my worn out jeans. "Конечно нет. Просто убедитесь, что он ничего не тянет." The heat inside of me grew a little warmer as I spoke. 'Of course not. Just make sure that he doesn't pull anything.'
Roxy only nodded, just as Allison approached our table and let out a tiny squeak. With no hesitation, my sister rose from her chair and allowed the Recluse to guide one of her hands up to her shoulder. Roxy curled her fingers, digging them into the fabric of Allison's oversize sweater as Allison began to escort her down the aisle. At the same time, Andrew walked up the aisle; the two of them abruptly stopped, making Roxy get slightly jerked as they stood apart and continued to walk, as though they would get cooties if they touched each other.
Andrew got closer to Brian and held out his hand for money. In return, Brian quickly reached into one of the pockets of his pants and pulled out his wallet.
"Come on. Shake your tail feather." Vernon growled, watching as the Nerd searched anxiously for the correct amount of cash. "Let's go, ante up."
I rolled my eyes at the Principal's impatience, just as Brian handed his money over to Andrew. Whether Dick liked it or not, it was going to take me a moment to get my money.
"Some people don't even get a lunch hour." Vernon went on.
Andrew turned, extending his hand out towards the Criminal. Shortly after, Bender turned his head over to the Geek and held out his hand, resulting in Sporto dropping his arm in a way that made it look like he was thinking, "Figures." Brian eyed Bender's gloved hand for a few seconds before giving it a wimpy slap. I didn't even bother holding back a snort.
"Come on, haganaga!" Dick ordered.
The Rebel's face was masked with a deadly stare and his eyes were overflowing with annoyance. For a moment, Brian was confused; but after a couple of seconds, he realized his mistake and raised his hand up to his face, chuckling to himself in embarrassment. After that, he retrieved his wallet from his pocket again and pulled out some more change. Then, after he handed it over to the Jock's waiting hand, the Nerd glanced over at the Burnout and mouthed what looked like, "I'm sorry, my bad." As a response, Bender rolled his eyes and looked away.
I was next. When Andrew approached my table, I had to bite down on the inside of my cheek to prevent myself from lashing out on him. He held out his hand, but I remained as still as a statue and took a moment to just stare at his palm.
"You want money?" I asked, pretending that I had no idea what he was doing. Although, when all I got in return was a slight glare, I decided to cut the act. "All right, give me a minute."
"You don't have a minute, Mr. Alexandrov." Mr. Vermin sneered as he shook his head a bit, acting sassy. "If you don't hurry up, I'll make another call to your grandmother."
I rolled my eyes, but didn't say anything back. Instead, as Jockstrap leaned against the edge of the table, I scooted my tailbone all the way back in my chair and easily lifted my right leg up onto the table. All of the detention goers - not including Allison and Roxy - stared at me with utter confusion etched across their faces. I untied the laces of my converse and pulled it off, leaving my foot in just its sock. My face was perfectly natural as I slid my hand all the way into the shoe and pulled out a couple of folded, vaguely crumbled dollar bills. I sorted through them, gathering enough to pay for me and Roxy before I wadded the other bills back together and tucked them back into my converse.
Vernon cocked an eyebrow, but continued to scowl as I shoved the money into Andrew's hand and said in dead seriousness, "I want my change back." The Athlete rolled his eyes, but I chose to ignore him as I slipped my shoe back onto my foot and retied the laces.
Claire was the last one to go, staring at the Principal. "Excuse me, sir ... um..." She pulled out a fifty dollar bill from her pocketbook and held it up, "can you break this?"
My eyes widened in disbelief. The most money I've ever got was fifteen bucks per week, courtesy of having an allowance. So, despite how I should've seen something like this coming from the Snob, her fifty dollars caught me by surprise.
Vernon breathed an insulting laugh, as if he couldn't believe that she was carrying around that kind of money in the first place. Especially to a Saturday detention.
Eventually, after the grumpy Principal rummaged through his wallet for about two solid minutes, he finished breaking down the Redhead's fifty bucks and spared her the appropriate amount of change. Then, after Andrew gathered every last penny from her, he walked past where Roxy and Allison were waiting for him beside the librarian's desk. I pierced his back with my eyes, making sure he was keeping his distance from my sister and best friend until the three of them vanished out of the room.
Mr. Vernon took one final glance around at the remaining detainees in the room, double-taking me and the Delinquent a few times before he turned away and silently exited the library. It looks like that leaves me alone with Bender, Brian, and Claire for some time...
"Great," I thought to myself sarcastically, "this detention keeps getting better and better."
In less than a second, the darker-haired teen rose from his seat and walked down the aisle. I turned my head, following him with confusion glistening in my eyes. He pulled a large book out of one of the shelves and plopped down on top of a table that was nearby the strange looking statue. Without a word, he flipped it open to random page and began to skim it. The Princess and the Nerd exchanged glances, not waiting long before standing up from their chairs and walking over to where he was. Claire, with a mask of boredom covering her face, crossed her arms and leaned against the statue. Brian, on the other hand, seated himself on top of the railing beside the Criminal and started to read from the same book at a safe distance.
I rolled my eyes and mumbled, "Дерьмо..." under my breath. 'Shit...' After that, I stood up from my chair and snatched up my blank sheet of paper, as well as both halves of my broken pencil. And finally, I approached the statue, ignoring the Diva's judgmental scowl as I climbed all the way up to the top and straddled one of its 'arms' like a horse.
Nobody said a word, so I figured that now was as good a time as any. I dangled one of my legs over the edge, where my foot rested a little above and to the side of Claire's head, and I used my other leg's knee as a surface as I began to write.
Allison's POV
Andrew walked ahead, not seeming to care about how Roxy and I were taking our time to follow. Roxy was still gripping my shoulder and staring straight ahead, allowing me to escort her down the incoming curve in the hall. By the time we past the huge "Freedom For All" poster that was decorated with some eagles and the Liberty Bell, Andrew clapped his hands together in an attempt to distract himself. Then, when it failed to work like I knew it would, he turned around and stared at me and Roxy with boredom thickly coating his eyes.
"So..." He looked away after examining the two us for a couple of seconds. "...What are your poisons?"
I remained silent, narrowing my eyes in dissatisfaction as I stared at the back of his head. Roxy, on the other hand, shifted her attention in the direction of his voice and furrowed her brow in confusion.
When neither of us answered, Andrew glanced around again and clarified, "What do you two drink?"
I parted my lips with a sneer, but still said nothing back. Roxy didn't either; if anything, she tightened her grip on my shoulder a little more, seeming to grow tense for some reason. I crinkled my nose a little, detecting the smell of Bender's bitter cologne coming from her. It must've been left behind from his scarf ... and it reminded me of my shitty excuse of an old man.
"Okay," Andrew sighed disdainfully and jammed his hands into the pockets of his hoodie, "forget I asked."
Almost immediately after he said that, the Handicapped spoke up, "I drink Coke." Although, her voice was a little reluctant.
Andrew shifted around again, locking his eyes on her. "Coke?" It sound like he was making sure that he had heard her correctly. When all he got for an answer that time was a vague nod, he said in the same bored tone, "All right. We can get seven Cokes." After that, without acknowledging me, he gazed away again. Another sneer crossed my face, and I studied him from the bottom of his sneakers to the top of his dirty blonde hair. I wouldn't go as far as saying that he wasn't good-looking, but he sure as hell didn't compete with Comrade.
"Vodka," I said after another long, annoying silence.
At the sound of my voice, Sporto turned and took a moment to just stare at me. At the same time, a small grin molded across one half of Roxy's mouth.
"Vodka?" It was obvious that he thought I was bluffing. "When do you drink vodka?"
I raised my arms in a shrugging motion and answered, "Whenever." I picked up the pace a little, flicking my bangs aside as the Handicapped and I past the Jock.
His eyes followed us, "A lot?"
"That's an understatement." Roxanne chimed in, almost mimicking what Comrade had said just minutes before about Claire getting dehydrated. Andrew jumped his attention over to her, just as she added, "She drinks tons." A smirk cracked widely across my face at her last word.
Jockstrap stared at the Handicapped in astonishment. "Is that why she's here today?" he asked, truly curious. In less than a second, my sly grin crumbled away from my face and I rolled my eyes. Roxy straightened her lips, not saying a word back. "What about you, Roxy?" Andrew continued, treating this like some sort of interrogation. He cocked an eyebrow at my second best friend and watched as she dropped her head down to the floor. I could feel how uncomfortable she was starting to feel. "Why are you here?" Andrew asked again. Finally, I had enough.
I stopped and spun towards Sporto, forcing Roxy to freeze in her tracks as well. "Why are you here?" I demanded as I looked directly into the Athlete's eyes.
He stared back at me, hesitating for a couple of moments. "Umm..." He pursed his lips and slowly backed himself up against the wall. "I'm here today because, uhh ... because my coach and my father don't want me to blow my ride." I raised my eyebrows, as if I was interested, and he continued. "See, I get treated differently because, uhh ... Coach thinks I'm a winner. So does my old man. I'm not a winner because I wanna be one." Roxy rose her head, the glint in her bright gray eyes giving it away that she wasn't falling for this. Neither was I. Nonetheless, Sporto went on. "I'm a winner because I have strength and speed ... kinda like a racehorse." He nodded a little. "It's about how involved I am in what's happening to me."
"Yeah..." I narrowed my eyes at him, speaking softly. "That's very interesting..."
"Mesmerizing..." Roxy contributed. "So fascinating..."
Andrew nodded a little, clearly unaware of how the two of us weren't fooled by his bullshit story. If there was one thing I actually admired about myself, it was the fact that I practically had a lie detector - or as Comrade usually calls it, a 'bullshit meter' - built in to me.
"Now why don't you tell us why you're really in here?" I asked, sounding dark.
Andrew squinted at us, pausing for a second before scoffing. "Forget it..." He turned away and continued to walk without flashing the tiniest glance behind him to see me or Roxy.
The three of us continued our journey to the Teacher's Lounge in complete silence.
Comrade's POV
I tapped the eraser end of my broken pencil against my bottom lip and repeatedly scanned the same sentence that I had just finished writing out. Ever since Roxy, Allison, and Andrew left, I'd been distracting myself by working on something; but I still peeked up every once in a while to see what the three other detention goers were up to. At the moment, Brian was still glancing at the book that Bender had pulled out and Claire, who was still visibly being devoured by her boredom, had just finished sliding in a circle around the statue for at least the sixth time. Bender had his arm resting on one of the bars of the railing, watching her.
"Claire?" The Criminal waited for her to look at him, gaining the Wimp's attention in the process as well. "You want to see a picture of a guy with Elephantiasis in the nuts?" He pointed at the book that was prompt up against his knee. "It's pretty tasty."
Claire rolled her eyes and glanced away, clearly revolted. "No thank you..." she mumbled as she started to fiddle around with her perfectly manicured nails.
Trying to get a better reaction, Bender continued, "How do you think he rides a bike?"
"Ой, черт побери!" I exclaimed. 'Aw, dammit!' While writing, I had been paying so much attention to the so-called conversation that I accidentally wrote down the Rebel's latest question. Bender glanced up at me, watching in silence as I eagerly erased my mistake. Then, after a few seconds, he directed his attention back over to Claire, who had just looked away again after shooting him a half disturbed/half aggravated glare.
"Oh, Claire?" Bender watched as she made eye contact with him again. "Would you ever consider dating a guy like this?"
The Redhead threw her arms down at her sides in exasperation and blurted out, "Can't you just leave me alone?"
However, the Burnout wouldn't back down. "I mean, if he had a nice personality, was a good dancer, and had a cool car?" He paused for about three seconds, looking satisfied in himself. "Although, you'd probably have to ride in the backseat because his nuts would ride shotgun."
I glanced up from my piece of paper again, resting the back of my head against the 'neck' of the statue as I scoffed. "Bender, how in the hell do you suppose that he's a good dancer if his junk is that swollen?" I asked, referring to how the man's personal areas would be too huge for someone to sit directly beside him in a car. Though, Bender only shot me a cold stare in response.
With another roll of her eyes, Claire turned away so she wouldn't have to look at Bender or Brian. "You know what I wish I was doing?" she asked, nearly whispering each of her words.
"Oh, watch what you say," Bender cautioned, right before he turned his head and pointed at the Nerd, "Brian here's a cherry."
"A cherry?" Brian asked. I leaned a little forward, cocking an eyebrow at his slightly nervous tone. What kind of scene was about to unravel there? Only one way to figure out.
"I wish I was on a plane ... to France." Claire muttered to herself, looking a little annoyed since nobody straight-up answered her question.
"Keep dreaming, Princess." I rolled my eyes, but kept my gaze locked on Brian and Bender as I folded my piece of paper up until it was nothing but a tiny square. "Whether you like it or not, the closest any of us are getting to France is French Toast." After that, I slid the paper into one of my pockets and hopped down from the statue. I landed perfectly on my feet, right behind the Snob, and casually strolled over to the Delinquent and the Geek.
Brian peeked at me, acknowledging my approach before he glanced back at Bender and whispered, "I'm not a cherry..."
"When have you ever gotten laid?" Bender asked.
"Oh, great," I thought to myself sardonically, "one of these conversations."
"I've laid lots of times." Brian replied, sounding so naive to the point where it was like he didn't even know what 'getting laid' meant.
"Name. One." Bender sneered.
With a tiny shrug, the Geek looked away and fixed his eyes on me. "She lives in Canada," he said, as though he was trying to convince me too, "I met her at Niagara Falls. Neither of you would know her."
I slowly shook my head and rolled my eyes. At the same time, the darker-haired teen smacked his lips and glanced off in the distance out of aggravation.
"Ever laid anyone around here?" Bender eventually asked.
Brian's eyes widened and his cheeks grew pink. He shushed the Criminal and peeked over at Claire, gesturing with his hand for him to keep it down. I straightened my lips and closed my eyes, as if I was saying to Brian, "You shouldn't have done that..."
"Oh," Bender said, enhancing the volume of his voice on purpose. He had his eyes widened in staged shock, and he pointed at the Princess before pointing back at the Brain. "You and Claire ... did it!"
After opening my eyes again, I glanced over my shoulder and watched as Claire turned to look at the three of us at the mention of her name.
"What are you talking about?" She focused her attention mainly on Brian, making his blush darken a shade more.
"Uh, nothin' ... nothin'." He shook his head at her a few times, right before he peeked over at me and then at Bender. "Let's just drop it, okay? We'll - we'll talk about it later."
"No, drop what?" Claire asked. She flicked her eyebrows up in dead seriousness. "What're you talking about?"
Bender constantly turned his head from left to right, eyeing the Dork and the Princess as he explained, "Well, Brian's trying to tell me and Comrade that in addition to the number of girls in the Niagara Falls area, that presently you and he are riding the hobby horse." I darkly narrowed my eyes at his mention of me, considering I haven't said a word during his and Brian's whole conversation.
"You little pig!" Claire hissed as she shot a prissy glare at Johnson.
"No, I'm not! I'm not!" Brian exclaimed. He went back and forth from gesturing to himself to pointing at Bender. "John said I was a cherry and I said I wasn't! That's it! That's all that was said! Just ask Comrade!"
I opened my mouth to say something, but I was cut off when Bender spoke up again, "Then what were you motioning to Claire for?"
The Beauty Queen shook her head a little, "You know, I don't appreciate this very much, Brian."
"He is lying!" Brian declared, pointing at the Rebel in another attempt to defend himself.
"Oh, you weren't motioning to Claire?" Bender asked.
Brian bounced his leg nervously, opening and closing his mouth a few times before he said to Claire, "You know he's lying, right?" He was very desperate by this point, but when she refused to reply, he glanced over at me and said, "Can you please tell her that he's lying?"
I stared at him, saying nothing with no particular emotion shown on my face.
"Were you or were you not motioning to Claire?" Bender pressed on.
The Brain looked down at the floor, beating an intense shade of pink. "Yeah, but it was only..." He then shifted his attention uncomfortably from his right knee to his left one. "It was only because I didn't want her to know that I was a virgin, okay?" When nobody said anything, he turned his head back over to the satisfied Bender. "Excuse me for being a virgin, I'm sorry."
Claire let out a small chuckle as she approached the same table that Bender was sitting at. "Why didn't you want me to know that you were a virgin?" she asked as she took a seat on the opposing edge.
"Because it's personal business," Brian replied, right before he motioned to himself, "it's my personal, private business."
"Well, Brian, it doesn't sound like you're doing any business." Bender smugly remarked, causing me to cross my arms over my chest in annoyance.
The Princess, after piercing the Burnout with an unamused glare, glanced back at the Nerd and said, "I think it's okay for a guy to be a virgin." Immediately, Bender snapped his head in her direction and stared at her with utter disbelief printed across his face. Despite how I didn't show it, I was pretty caught off guard too. I expected Claire to be the type of girl who would only sleep with guys who 'understood the activity' ... but I guess this little confession of hers means that she didn't mind sleeping around with pure guys.
"You do?" Brian asked in a small, delicate voice.
Claire took a moment to peek at Bender from the corner of her eye. After that, she locked her attention back on Brian and flashed him a smile, nodding.
"Brian," I spoke up for the first time since my sister, the Basket Case, and the Athlete left, "why were you so afraid to admit that you're a virgin? Seriously, it's not that big of a deal."
The Nerd pursed his lips slightly. "To be honest, I ... um..." He paused for a moment, almost reluctantly making eye contact with me. "...I didn't really want you to know about it either."
I squinted at him in confusion. "Why in the hell didn't you want me to know?" I asked, hoping to death on the inside that it didn't involve the same reason as to why he didn't want Claire to know.
"I-I was afraid that..." Brian sighed and glanced down at his lap again, "...that you would make fun of me, you know?"
"Brian, I can name a lot of things about you to make fun of," I informed as I uncrossed my arms and slid my hands into the back pockets of my jeans, "but being pure isn't one of them. There's nothing wrong with wanting to wait for the right person. Why do you think I'm still a virgin?"
In less than a second, Brian snapped his head back up and stared at me with his eyes looking like they were about to pop out of his head. At the same time, Claire narrowed her eyes and examined me from the bottom of my feet to the top of my head.
"You?" She clearly didn't believe me. The judgment laced around her words was evident. "You are a virgin?"
"Yeah, I am." I confirmed with a solid glare plastered on my face. I locked my attention back on Brian. "And I'm sure as hell not ashamed of it. You see, Pipsqueak, unlike some people, I don't see the point of having sex with anyone unless you're planning on spending the rest of your life with them." At the words 'some people', I shot a glance at the Hoodlum and then at the Diva.
Bender scoffed, "Oh, what a gentleman." He flashed me an amused smirk, speaking sarcastically. "I guess that means your underwear is overflowing with cobwebs, huh? No wonder you're such a cranky bitch."
I viciously narrowed my eyes at him. "This coming from the biggest man whore in the school! I swear, John, you are just like a doorknob." As soon as I called him a whore, Bender's sly grin transformed into a piercing scowl; but when I mentioned a doorknob, he arched an eyebrow in confusion. I raised my hand, curling my fingers slightly; then, with a small rotation of my wrist, I made it look like I was twisting a knob. "Everyone gets a turn with you. Anytime, anywhere." I sneered.
In less than a second, fire practically flared up in Bender's eyes, as if something inside of him really did explode. He opened his mouth, but before he could get a say anything back, he was cut off by the sound of the library's door opening. Seconds later, the sound of Andrew's voice filled the air, announcing, "Drinks are here!"
Brian hopped down from the railing and took off running like he had a wedgie. Whether he wanted to get away from me and the Burnout or he was very eager to have lunch, I couldn't figure out the direct answer. Claire quickly followed, not sparing me or the darker-haired teen the tiniest glance as she swayed her bony hips with every step she took. Was she seriously trying to get more attention? What a slut...
Bender cussed under his breath, scowling at the floor for a couple of seconds. Then, as he made eye contact with me again, he sneered, "You better watch your back, Russian Massacre."
I rolled my eyes, unfazed by the threat. "And you should start spending a lot less time on yours, Rebellion 101." I turned my back on him, catching a small glimpse of his cheeks becoming redder than his flannel before I walked off to join the other detention goers.
Time for lunch.
A/N: And that's another completed chapter! :D :) :) :D
I hope you all enjoyed it! :D Keep in mind that I love feedback and it's my goal to get at least four reviews per chapter. :) :) Feel free to share your thoughts in the reviews or you can PM them to me. I admire all of your feedback. :)
Another Fun Fact: The whole scene where Andrew is gathering money from the other detainees to pay for the Cokes was cut from the film to save time. It is an actual deleted scene.
And yes, I mentioned Crystal Rose - my other character from "The Loner" - in this chapter. Who caught the reference? :D
Well, everybody, I believe that's it for this chapter. Please review! :) :) :D :D
Have a great and safe Fourth of July! :D :D Until the next update, everyone! Happy reading and writing to you all! God bless! :) :)
THE BREAKFAST CLUB FOREVER!
