"Mr. Lennon, are you even listening to me?"

John looked up from his notebook. He looked back at his friends who just shrugged in response. "Oh yes sir, I see the difference between crocodiles and alligators now." He smiled. The class began giggling silently.

The teacher kept staring him down and went to where he sat. He looked down at John's notebook. "Wonderful notes Mr. Lennon." The teacher sneered.

"You don't like my drawing? I thought I got your likeness quite well, sir." John quipped. This time his friends behind him didn't bother trying to hide their laughter. They stopped when the teacher glared at them and went back to their notes.

The teacher tore the page out and crumpled it up into a wad. "This is the third time I've had to get your attention today. Detention, right after school. You're cleaning up this classroom until it's spotless." He went back to his counter and started writing on the board again.

"Used to it." John muttered.

"Oh yeah," The teacher turned around. "and tell your Aunt Mimi I'd like to have a word with her tomorrow on your behavior."

"Aunt Mimi?" John stopped acting. "You don't really have to speak to her, now do you?" He just couldn't do this to him! John could take the hard labor punishment but he could do without Mimi knowing. She'd kill him with her own two hands. "I'll be good now, I promise!"

"That's what you said the last time." The teacher said sternly. "Your Aunt Mimi is seeing me tomorrow and that's final!"

"Well, what if she's busy?" The student considered. "What are you gonna do then?"

The teacher laughed haughtily. It took John everything he had in him to keep from standing up and punching him in the face. "Then I'll just give your aunt a phone call. The school does keep records of each of its students, you know."

"I'd like to shove something up the school's records…"

"LENNON!" The teacher threw his chalk. John ducked but it managed to just hit the side of the desk. "No excuses. And you wonder why I put you in the front of the class." The teacher took a deep breath. "If Mr. Lennon is finished disrupting the class, we'll get back to the lesson. Chapter 16…"

"I mean, what was wrong with what I said?" John said while taking a drag of his cigarette. "That's what we were learning about today or yesterday or something. The distinction between alligators and crocodiles! I don't why the mister got all mad after that."

John's school friend, Peter Shotton, laughed at him. "That was during math class."

John playfully thumped Peter in the forehead to which Peter retaliated by shooting his rubber band at him. "But I don't see why he give you lot detention. You were all laughing!"

"He probably favors you." Another friend, Eric Griffiths, patted him on the shoulder.

"At least we stopped. You just went on and on!"

"He should be thankful." John smirked. "My interruptions wake up the class from his boring lectures. And I didn't even interrupt class, he's the one who called on me. So he should be blaming himself."

"So when are you supposed to see Old Montague anyway?"

"Now." Though he made no effort to leave. "I figure every minute I'm not there, he's happier. I'm doing him a favor."

They continued smoking and chatting at the bottom steps in the front of the school until they heard the doors open. They quickly put out their cigarettes before a teacher would see. Or worse, the headmaster. They heaved a simultaneous sigh of relief and burst into laughter when they saw who it was.

John whistled. "Clean up your language now mates, the ever-proper Lady Marshall has just entered the premises. And she's off to her study right now!" The boys hooted and howled as she walked down the steps.

Megan rolled her eyes and took a deep breath. They aren't going to get to me today. They aren't going to get to me today. She kept chanting in her head. A day without having to run into John Lennon and his gang was heaven. But she had to say that their taunts have gotten monotonous lately and she was pretty used to the old routine. Don't they ever get tired and wanna pick on someone else? "At least I'm not the one who has to spend the afternoon washing the chalkboard and clapping erasers. That was quite a show you put on in there Lennon. I'm surprised Mr. Montague didn't send you to the headmaster right then. What was that gonna be? You're fourth, fifth time seeing him this semester?"

The boys sniggered. "Ooooh."

"Touchy, touchy." John took out a comb and raked it over the sides of his head. "For your information, it would have been the sixth time seeing him."

"And Lennon, Mr. Montague knows you're trying to skip out on detention. He said he wants you to hack the cigarettes and get your arse to his class right now." Megan made a little noise of disapproval. She turned around and clutched her books tightly to her chest, wanting to leave them as soon as possible. They weren't worth her time. Plus she had better things to do rather than hang around the school's misfits. Don't make yourself laugh Megan. Like what?

Well anything is better than taking their crap! She argued back to the little voice in her head.

John got up. "I should go then, if it'll make the old geezer happy." But he wasn't finished with Megan just yet. "Hey Megan!" He called from the top of the steps.

Megan rolled her eyes before turning back around. She was already halfway down the street. "What?"

He cupped his hands around his mouth so he'd be louder. "Have my babies!"

You have no idea of how much she wanted to run back there and give him a smack in the face. But what good would that do? There were more of them. Plus John was really strong. And he could be scary. She once heard that he sent a kid to a hospital just for looking at him funny. And the kid was already in a wheelchair! Megan cooled down a bit and started for back home again. He's not worth my time. He's not worth my time. He's not worth my time. "Get bent Lennon!"

John's friends laughed again. "Oh!"

"And that's how you get 'em!" John yelled at them and winked before heading inside the building. He practically skipped to detention.

It began raining around 6.

It started as a light drizzle and gradually built. The ground outside was nearly flooded. Water poured out the water spout like slide. The sky was in a heavy overcast.

"Oh dear," Megan gazed outside her window sadly. "You think he'll make it fine?"

"Huh?" Joanne gazed up from her magazine. "Of course. Jimmy's a big boy. A little rain isn't going to hurt him."

Megan crawled off her bed and lay on the floor next to Joanne. "But no one walks outside when it's raining. What if someone goes and kidnaps him? It's the perfect time to because no one's there to help him. At times like these I wish I had a car."

"Gosh Megan, you're like his mother already."

"Well, I am practically raising him myself."

"Don't worry he'll be here soon. Practice ended for him not too long ago." Joanne rolled over onto her stomach so she was looking at Megan. "Doesn't this picture of Elvis remind you of Steven?" She held the magazine in front of her face.

It was an ad for Jailhouse Rock. He was on his tiptoes and his mouth was open. But was stood out was the provocative position Elvis was in. He was in mid-pelvic thrust to the camera. It was overlapped with the title of the movie, but still, you could see it. Megan scoffed. "Ugh, why would you even advertise that? It's vulgar. It's dirty. It's disgusting."

"What are you talking about? He looks great in that position." Joanne laughed at Megan's mortified expression. "I'm kidding! You're so uptight Megan! It's just Elvis. He won't bite."

Megan looked at the picture again. "I guess he's kinda cute here. We'll see that movie together then?"

"Of course!" She sat up on her knees. "But doesn't he look like Steven?"

Steven was Joanne's boyfriend of six months. He was a year older than the both of them, bringing Joanne into the limelight at school a lot. Girls were fascinated by her going out with an older guy. She seemed so much more mature and like she's done it all. And being with Steven was a plus. He was so cool. Sometimes he'd pick the both of them up for go to school so that everyone could see them riding in his car when they pulled up to the front. A 1955 red Ford Thunderbird Convertible. It was a beauty. He did come from a wealthy family. Their family owned one of the first drilling companies in Liverpool. Despite the fact that he was rich, Steven didn't let it go to his head. He was just an all-around good guy. Joanne was lucky to have him.

"Eh. Elvis does seem a bit gassy in this picture, so you're right, he does look a little Steven here."

Joanne rolled up the magazine and playfully smacked her in the head. "Ay, don't be cheeky." Just then, they heard the doorbell ring downstairs. "Ah see, I told you Jimmy could walk home by himself. You worry too much."

"You would too if he were yours." The two girls darted out the room and downstairs to answer the door.

"Hello." Jimmy said simply. He was soaking wet and covered in mud. Water dripped from his hair onto the pavement below him.

"Jimmy! You're filthy! Jo, grab me the mat from the coat closet." Joanne did as told and set the mat on the floor next to the door. "Come inside before the rain does and take off your shoes." Jimmy handed her his cleats. Clods of mud clung to the bottom but they had already been dirty. "It's a good thing I hadn't cleaned these yesterday." She took them to the sink and washed them.

"Hi Jo."

"Hi Jimmmy." She handed him a towel to dry off. "You look like you had a rough day."

Jimmy started to wipe himself off. The rain washed away some of the dirt from his body on the way home, but he still left the towel mucky when he cleaned off. "Oh it was. When it started raining during practice, the coach made us keep running."

"That's not good. What if you guys slipped and fell in the grass or something?" Megan scrubbed the excess dirt into the trash with a brush.

"Jimmy's too good to fall." Joanne leaned her arm on his shoulder. "Megan says you're the best on your football team."

She nodded in agreement. "Their team would be nothing without this centre fielder. I don't know what that is, but I know he's the best!"

Jimmy made a bashful expression. "I'm not that good."

Megan set the shoes down to dry when they were clean. She wiped her hands on a rag. "Go take a shower before you catch a cold. And leave your dirty clothes in the washroom. It's laundry day. But take off your socks first so we won't get the floor dirty." They watched him strip off his socks and run upstairs barefoot.

"I should probably get going then before my parents get worried." Joanne grabbed her coat from the closet.

"But it's still raining."

"Eh, I'm not the Wicked Witch of the West. I'll make it without melting." Joanne shrugged. "By the way, tomorrow night there's a party at Betty's house." Betty was a friend of theirs at school. "You wanna go?"

Megan fingered the hem of her skirt. "Oh I don't know…"

"Is it because of that test on Friday?" Joanne raised an eyebrow. "I'm telling you Meg, you don't need to study up to the test! Also, Mrs. Riding is a very easy grader. I don't even need to study to pass."

"I don't wanna just pass, I want top marks." Megan corrected her. "And I can't leave Jimmy home alone at night. Our parents aren't coming back until Saturday, remember?"

"Put him in a kennel. Do something! You need to go out more."

Megan just smiled and waved her out. "Goodbye Joanne." She said in a singsong voice.

Joanne put on her coat before she left. "Mark my words Megan Sue Marshall! One day, I will get you to party!"

The rest of the night was relatively quiet except for the pot of tea whistling on the stove. Megan had already finished her homework with Joanne before they spent the rest of the afternoon looking at magazines and listening to music. Now she was curled up on the couch under an afghan reading a book. The rain had died down but it was still cold. Fire crackled softly in the stove heater. It was nice and warm inside. Knowing she was absolutely safe from the rough and cold of the outside world was comforting. Megan pulled the afghan closer to her body.

Jimmy scuffled into the kitchen. His hair was wet and disheveled from the bath. "I'm hungry now."

"There are some baked potatoes on the counter." Megan answered, not looking up from her book.

He looked dejectedly at the plate of glop. "Anything else?"

"'What do you mean 'anything else?'" She said almost angrily. "I spent an hour trying to make those."

"No offense Meg, but I'd like to eat something…different." It was the best way he could put it. Megan got up from the couch to take a bite of the potatoes. She made a face after the tasting it.

"It's really bland." Megan stuck out her tongue in grotesque. "It's okay then, you don't have to eat it."

"I mean, I'd like something nice to eat. Again, no offense." Jimmy said sheepishly. He took a seat on the small round kitchen table. "Like a roasted turkey or, or ham."

Megan sat across from him. "Look, I know I'm not exactly a top chef. But I'm trying my best."

"I know you are." He said sympathetically.

"But just wait. When mum and dad get back on Saturday, we are going to have a feast. Okay?" She reached across the table to ruffle his hair.

Jimmy nodded. "Okay."

Megan got up to take the plate. "We'll just dump these." She tossed the whole thing into the rubbish can. "How about we bake some chocolate chip cookies? That I know how to make." She leaned into Jimmy as if telling him a secret. "And don't worry, I won't tell mum and dad that we went straight to dessert."

"Yeah!"

"All right then." Megan grinned. "You go get the ingredients and I'll go preheat the oven."

Cookies would have to do then. Anything beats bloody baked potatoes.

A/N: So…yeah! That was the first two chapters of Don't Let Me Down. What did you guys think? Let me know in the reviews! But if you don't want to, then okay… I know much didn't happen here, but there will be more action to come in the next chapters. All right then, thanks for reading! Look out for chapter 3 coming soon!