Chapter Three: Thoughts
She was absolutely radiant. Ren smiled to himself as he tried to pull his focus back to school, but Gabrielle was so pretty! Ugh, this is not what he needed. He winced slightly as he suddenly collided with another person in the hallway.
"Hey. Watch where you're going, little guy."
"Sorry, man. I didn't see you." He replied apologetically and absentmindedly still thinking about Gabrielle.
"It's like driving. Stick with the flow of traffic, numbnuts." Says the dumbass wearing a red hat.
"Maybe if you weren't wearing all that camouflage, I could see you. You should get one of them orange vests so hunters don't shoot you." Ren couldn't help but smirk slightly at the Country Guy's reply. "An orange vest? I don't wear orange. I'm not a Tennessee fan. I'm Georgia Bulldog." Ren scoffed as he saw the Not-Tennessee fan trying to size him up. "Where you from? You talk funny."
He chuckled quietly before shooting back, " I talk funny? I talk funny? You should hear you from my end." Gabrielle pulls of the southern accent just fine. . . "I'm from Boston." Ren saw a blank expression, "Massachusetts?" Nothing.
"It's the United States?" the cowboy scoffed in reply. "Yeah . . .I read that somewhere." Ren laughed.
"What's up, man? I'm Willard." Ren shook the camo-kid's hand, "I'm Ren. McCormack."
"Nice to meet you. Let me see this." Willard took Ren's schedule and flipped it right way up. "Literature and Composition. That's this way. Follow me."
The last thing heard by passerbies, as the two walked down the hall was, "People give you shit about that tie yet?" and a laugh, "Nah, but the day just started."
XXX
Literature and Composition had passed in somewhat of a blur for Gabrielle and Dusty, that's the way it was with mornings and people. If people you don't like are out and about, they tend to fade into the background. The time came for gym class, all of the teams split off. The football kids went to their field, while the track and cheerleaders split off nearer to the bleachers.
Dusty was hanging out on the bleachers, taking in the scene as he always did, and heckled the Footballers, as he himself was a soccer player. Though that wasn't always convenient, as he had to commute to Basin for practice. Though no one but Gabrielle knew that.
Gabrielle was standing aimlessly as the cheerleaders did their initial catty chew-outs of the other students of the school, done as usual in a disturbing game of sex, marry, kill. And it was getting boring. Gabrielle leaned against the bleachers, "First group, on your mark!" The football coach yelled. Gabrielle was considered gutsy, but that man was just scary!
Gabrielle was jerked out of her mid-morning haze as she watched the football team practice. Huh, Ren was there. Gabrielle watched as she madly waved to Dusty with the other hand, her friend merely looked up from his book and smiled. All this before whispering, "Ren and Gabby sitting' in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-P-I . . ." Gabrielle smirked at him absentmindedly, "You got messed up Dusty."
Dusty smirked in reply at his best friend, he knew that look when everything else flew out the window. "Hey Gabby, you going to the Snack Bar tonight?"
"I Do."
Dusty scoffed in an attempt to cover a laugh, "What?" That jerked Gabrielle out of her daydream. She covered with "I do have a new bootleg David Banner song."
Quickly and frantically. "Dammit, I almost had you." Dusty pounded the railing of the bleachers. "Hah."
Missy the blonde bimbo chuckled a little always from the friend as Dusty playfully hit the (ironic) cheer Capitan in the shoulder. "Go get 'em sir!"
"Don't call me sir Hansen, I'm not in uniform!" Gabrielle tossed the reference over her shoulder as Dusty went back to heckling and reading.
Gabrielle adopted her death stare as she walked over to Missy and the Blondes proceeded with their game to spite her. She wasn't on duty, as this wasn't Cheer Practice, but a Capitan is never on uniform.
"Oh my god you guys, SMK, Ren, Woody, Willard. Go!" Missy flipped her hair in the stupid bitchy way that she did. "Marry, Wilard. Sex, Ren. Cause he's a hottie. And last, Kill Woody." "Why Woody?" questioned Gabrielle, already knowing the answer.
"He still won't go out with me!" wined the bottle-blonde. "He's got a girlfriend, dumbass." Hissed Gabrielle in response; this was an ongoing thing for Gabrielle and Missy. Etta was a good friend, and if a bimbo tried to mess up her relationship, Gabrielle was going to stop it.
"Hey your one to talk Big G. You were so checking out the new guy. God your so naïve, I'm gonna hit that first!" Missy did a little dance as Gabrielle's face flushed. "So you do like him! I knew it." Thank god no one was paying attention when she did this.
Missy and Gabrielle stared at each other as Gabrielle backed out. The short brunette adopted an absent stare as she flipped out. There was just something about a girl like Missy that drove someone like Gabrielle crazy. It wasn't anyone's fault, but whenever they were together Gabrielle saw red.
"It's bring it on time bitches!" Bring it on was her and Bobby's movie.
Ah hell, it was time to dance.
I'm sexy, I'm cute! I'm popular to boot!
I'm bitchin', great hair! The boys all love to stare!
I'm wanted, I'm hot! I'm everything your not!
I'm pretty, I'm cool! I dominate this school!
Had Gabrielle not been busy with her pike-roundoff, she would of noticed Ren staring and laughing quietly to himself as Willard rambled on.
XX
It was lunchtime when Ren rolled his eyes good-naturedly as Willard went on. "Last year, varsity made it to regional. They bussed us down to Alabama." Ren hadn't ever been out of Boston and seen America; he mentally added visit all 50 states to his bucket list. "The excitement never stops," he replied sarcastically.
"You haven't been overseas?" somehow, magically, Ren already knew the answer. "I've been to Alabama, if that counts." Ren scoffed, and laughed internally.
"No. It doesn't. I went to Russia two years ago with my gymnastics team." A chance to mess with someone, always fun. "It's kind of a sister city thing with Moscow." Hmm, Valerie and Annika. They were his good friends when he went to Russia, and he still kept touch. They were best friends, and fell in love with each other, with Ren's help. But Willard didn't know any of that.
"Yeah, Russia... I don't know if I dig that. It sounds kind of boring."
Dude.
"Do you know anything about Russian girls?" he questioned.
Russia was pretty. . .in the spring anyways. "I know they range from bearded to drop-dead beautiful." Damn straight.
"Yeah? Well, I can vouch for the beautiful ones." So beautiful, that every straight man dies when he finds out they're not into guys.
"Two girls from the Russian team snuck me out of my dorm room late night. They didn't have beards." Good times.
"They were smoking." Every straight man. Dead. "What were they smoking?" Ren smiled a little. Seriously?
" Oh, you mean, like, smokin' hot. I'm sorry. Continue." Willard waved his fork a bit, as Ren noticed Gabrielle sitting on the table part of the outdoor lunchroom as Dusty was telling her about something.
Ren clenched his jaw a little in jealously. No. No jealousy, he had enough going on trying to get his life together, maybe try and get into Juliard, Columbia, or maybe even NYU.
Ugh she was so beautiful. Focus Ren. Focus.
"So we go to this club. The music's banging. It's pitch black. I couldn't see shit, just hot two girls drenched in sweat all over me." This was a massive exaggeration; they were dancing all over each other while Ren was the acting DJ.
"We danced all night." Eventually he got to dance after his sub finally came. "Great. What'd you guys do after?" He was making it to easy. "Oh, come on. Look, down in the South, you can't start a story about a threesome and not finish it." It was a good rule, but still, he was making this insanely easy.
"Come on." Willard was hooked. It was time.
"It goes without saying, these girls are take me into a bathroom stall." Willard's jaw dropped, exposing chewed food.
"One shoves her tongue down my throat, the other one's on top. This girl's a champion pommel horse gymnast."
Actually, Valerie had to go back to the dorm because she crashed.
"I'm talking killer upper body strength. Banging. She's scratching my back,
she's tearing my clothes off." At least the upper body strength was true, almost to the point of being scary.
" And her friend's whispering in my ear, "Hernnya." Valerie did have an affinity for teaching the Americans, Russian swears. "Her..." he glanced over to Willard, completely hooked to the point of being an Internet meme.
"Hernnya." He questioned simply, enthralled.
"Yeah."
"What does that mean?"
"It's Russian for "bullshit."
"Why would she say that?" Williard thought for a moment, "'Cause you're bullshitting me?"
Willard's face fell, disappointed, but then he laughed.
"Yup. Yeah." Ren looked over at Gabrielle again, she was absolutely radiant. Why did she have to be so amazing?
"But we did dance, man. We danced our Asses off."
'None of the Russian chicks even came close to the Preacher's Daughter of Bomont, Georgia.' Thought Ren quietly to himself as he finished his food, listening to Willard tell him about Rusty.
XX
Rusty pulled me up front of Scully's bar, "I don't understand why you need to risk this Gab." Rusty warned me wary of my hobbies. "If I can't dance or listen to good music, I can at least perform it."
"I get your point, but your rock hard ass is gonna be busted." Rusty dramatically slapped her hands against the steering wheel as they both sat in front of the bar as Gabrielle put her pink VANS on her feet.
"Lucky no one knows I perform in Basin but you." It was lucky. Hopefully it'd stay that way. "You're coo-coo for coco puffs." It was a fact. At least Rusty put it nicer than everyone else.
"And trix are for kids. It's gonna be fine Rusty, you might even come in and watch one night." It was unlikely, but at least Rusty cared enough to driver her. "I really don't feel like getting Hepatitis." Gabrielle rolled her eyes. "Don't be melodramatic, it's actually quite nice in there." It was. Way nicer than the outside. "The usual time? Were still hitting the snack bar later right?"
"The usual time. And of course." Rusty smiled as Gabrielle took her beat up guitar and headed down into Scully's bar.
XX
Gabrielle was on her fourth song, and Rusty was coming in about five minutes, she could squeeze in one more song, if she could. It was the best one, the one they all scream-sang on the radio. Holding Out for a Hero.
Gabrielle adjusted her position and smiled as she began.
One, two, three.
Where have all the good men gone
And where are all the gods?
Where's the street-wise Hercules
To fight the rising odds?
Isn't there a white knight upon a fiery steed?
Late at night I toss and turn and dream of what I need
I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night
He's gotta be strong, he's gotta be fast
And he's gotta be fresh from the fight
I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the morning light
He's gotta be sure, he's gotta be soon
And he's gotta be larger than life, larger than life
Somewhere after midnight
In my wildest fantasies
Somewhere just beyond my reach
There's someone reaching back for me
Racing on the thunder and rising with the heat
Isn't there a superman to sweep me off my feet?
I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night
He's gotta be strong, he's gotta be fast
And he's gotta be fresh from the fight
I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the morning light
He's gotta be sure, he's gotta be soon
And he's gotta be larger than life
Up where the mountains meet the heavens above
Out where the lightning splits the sea
I could swear that there's someone somewhere watching me
Through the wind and the chill and the rain
And the storm and the raging flood
Oh, his approach is like a fire in my blood
I'll meet a hero
And then we'll dance 'til the morning light
Dreaming, he'll lead me
Held tight,
Tonight's the night
I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night
He's gotta be strong, he's gotta be fast
And he's gotta be fresh from the fight
I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the morning light
He's gotta be sure, he's gotta be soon
And he's gotta be larger than life, larger than life
Oh
Larger than life
Larger than life
Oh maybe, maybe, maybe tonight
Oh, oh
There was an enormous applause from the normal five-o- clock crowd, as the invincibility feeling Gabrielle got when she sang spread to her bones. Her phone vibrated from her pocket as she took a bow and left her safe haven.
XX
Ren sat down in his garage as Willard and Woody helped him with his new-old car. "Yeah. Give it a little bit of gas." The machine purred as he then replied, "Yeah, that sounds good. Cut it." Ren got out of his Volkswagen as he wiped his hands. "What's the deal with the preacher's daughter? She worth it?" What was the deal with Gabrielle?
Woody and Willard smiled, almost knowingly. " I hear, back in the day, she used to be a goody two-shoes. Now she fronts like she some hell raiser. Wearing her jeans tight and everything." Ren's nearly choked.
"You could put a quarter in that girl's back pocket and tell if it's heads or tails." Willard supplied, taking in Ren's odd expression. "Rusty's brother, Dusty's crazy in love with her. Poor guy doesn't have a shot though." Dusty? That guy Gabrielle was a friend with? Hell no.
But then it hit him, and a giant amount of relief flowed trough him.
They were talking about Arielle, the girl who scared the absolute crap out of him!
Ren only shook his head, "Nah, I meant the other one! Gabrielle." Of course he meant Gabrielle, she was sweet, and seemed smart. It didn't even matter if she wasn't exactly book-smart. You can tell all about someone from his or her presence, and Gabi just radiated intelligence.
Woody bowed his head after exchanging a weird look with Willard. "Back a few years, her brother died, along with all their friends in that car crash after a party." Ren gaped. "What happened then?" he questioned. It must be so terrible to have all the people you care about gone just like that, having to start over from scratch and everything.
"She . . . tried to jump out the third-floor window of her house. She didn't get hurt too bad, but she just kind of disappeared." Willard looked sad as Woody continued.
What? A suicide attempt? He didn't see that coming at all.
"She's more of the quiet rebel type, wanting to see how far she can push them adults before they finally acknowledge her as more than 'the she devil.'"
Willard scoffed, "Or 'the demon-child,"
"Rosemary's baby," Topped Woody.
"The Freak." Willard stuck out his tongue at Woody, who punched him in the arm.
"Madame Infidel." Woody pushed Willard off the tire he was sitting on, causing Ren to laugh, slightly confused.
"Chicken- Blender Killer!" Screamed Willard finally as he threw a dirty rag at Woody's face, kicking wildly.
"What's the big issue, why a freak?" Ren questioned after the exchange of various nicknames.
"Girl's got ADD, though round hear, everyone treats that like it's AIDS or something. It's absolutely ridiculous. She's a cool girl, she usually hangs out with us or Dusty."
"Why? You're trying to knock boots with her, aren't you?" exclaimed Willard as he punched Ren in the arm, for some reason, overjoyed.
"No." Ren stared him down, but Willard wasn't fazed. " Yes, you are. He is." Ren kind of tuned out the rest of the conversation as he took in the antics of his new friends, leaning against the hood of his car, letting all the noises turn into a calming buzz.
XXX
He was almost asleep on the hood of his car until he was jolted awake. "REN!" screamed Willard spastically.
Woody scoffed, "Dude, be cool."
"Whatever. Anyway, Gabrielle's on Youtube! Woody man, we are going to make her remix the shit out of her songs!"
"Man I'm just going to ask were she got that guitar . . . " said Woody, someone who genuinely loved instruments, and was currently attempting to learn piano.
"What did she do?" questioned Ren dumbly.
"Our dear friend apparently performs in a bar in Basin. Someone posted it online." Woody showed Ren his iPhone as the trio watched their friend's performance.
"I'm holding out for a hero 'til the morning light
He's gotta be sure, he's gotta be soon
And he's gotta be larger than life, larger than life"
Everyone's jaw was dropped when she finally stopped and the video ended. Woody was the first to speak. "Well that totally defies the dance ban!"
"Jump back. . . what?" Okay. . . Dance Ban. Dead kids. Reverend Moore. Reverend Moore's kids. Dance Ban. Stupid.
Ren's mind raced as his new friends babbled on, why ban dancing, it's not like the accident was an uncommon thing.
But this was Bomont, and nothing was common here.
The next thing the Boy from Boston knew, was that he was getting dragged to a place called "The Snack Bar."
What?
