The first part of this chapter goes a little fast, especially the scene in the office, but there's really not much more than what is shared. Also, since this chapter is longer than the others, I decided to try and make the boring parts shorter. We all know some Klaine action or fluff or whatever else could go on is where the real treasures lie. It's the only reason that I would read this story.
When we get home, I run straight to my room, again feeling a lump in my chest. Blaine follows me and again sits on the edge of my bed. As much as I want to be alone, I let Blaine take me in his arms as the tears stream down my face. "Hey," he starts. "Why are you so upset about this?"
"Because I don't want the word 'gay' to mean something bad, Blaine, when the best people I know are gay," I tell him angrily.
"Look, Julia, this is how people are. To many people, being gay will always be a sin. And you can't let that get to you. Do they even know about me?" he asks, looking down at me.
"No," I say, ashamed that I haven't told anyone, but he doesn't seem to mind.
"Then you shouldn't have gotten angry. I know that when your brother is gay, you feel differently about these things, but what she said was never directed towards me specifically."
I sigh and nod, too tired to start and argument about this.
"Just try and get through the rest of the week, okay?" he tells me.
"Kay," I say, and let him out of the room, where I imagine the doctor's exploding Ashley's face while injecting her with Botox.
The next two days are pretty uneventful, I have to admit. I gave a presentation on Africa in Geography, and even though no one clapped, I got an A, which my teacher hinted was the highest grade in the class. I decide I don't want to feel like a loser while I talk to George, so he tragically gets hit by a bus. Nothing else worth reporting goes on.
I wake up on Thursday, glad no one is harassing me anymore. Dad drops me off at school and I sit through the morning classes, my mind occasionally drifting off to how cool my life would be if unicorns existed. I am thinking about this as I eat lunch and head out for recess. I would name my unicorn George, too, I decide, since it really was unfair that I killed the old George.
Coming out of nowhere, Ashley appears in front of me, and I almost run into her. "Hey, Julie of the Gays," she says.
"Wow, a literary reference. I didn't know you could read," I say, putting in my fair share of insults. Of course, she ignores this.
Gloating, Ashely states, "I figured out why you were so upset that I called you a homo the other day."
"I know, I can't take a joke. Can you please go away now?" I ask. I look around me and see she's brought a big crowd with her. I really don't understand why they need to hear her torment me.
"Nope. See, I decided to go get a coffee yesterday, and upon arriving at the nearest Lima Bean, I almost choke on my latté when I find your brother making googly eyes at another fag."
I clench my teeth and breathe deeply, trying to control myself. I am so close to breaking right now… she has no idea. She takes a couple steps toward me and invades my personal bubble, getting all up in my face. "And that's because," she says. "Your brother is a dick-sucker."
That's it. I'm over the edge. I feel relief as soon as my fist hits her cheek. She takes a step away, but soon pushes me as hard as she can and I fall to the ground. I quickly reach toward her arm and pull her down with me. She rolls me on my back and gets me in a choke hold, resulting in my elbow to her diaphragm. She coughs and that gives me just enough time to pin her down. "Take it back!" I yell, slamming her wrists on the dirt.
"Why should I?" she asks. "It's true, and you know it."
I put more pressure on her wrists. "My brother may be gay, but he's ten times better a person than you are," I say hotly.
She knees me in the stomach and rolls me over so that she's the one on top. "I bet you learned all these moves from him. That explains why I'm winning."
I free my wrists and shove her off of me. I am just about to punch her again when someone steps in and brakes up the fight. "Ladies, follow me," the principal orders us, pulling us along by our hands.
He makes us sit in the wooden armchairs that are in front of his desk, just like in the classics. Soon, my Dad arrives along with Ashley's parents. They sit on the couches next to us.
"As we all know, you both broke the rules today," the principal starts. "As punishment, I'm required to give you both detention for four Fridays, starting tomorrow. But, first, I'd like you to explain yourselves."
"Easy," Ashley says before I can get a word in. "She punched me because she was jealous that Nathan was my boyfriend, not hers."
"No!" I exclaim, standing up.
"Julie, sit down!" Dad says. He clearly will take whatever comes to me, just as long as it doesn't go on my permanent record.
"You don't understand," I tell the principal. "She's the one who said my brother sucks dick!" That shut my father up pretty fast.
"And, is he…" the principal says. "Does he… have…"
"I'm gay, if that's what you're asking," Blaine says as he walks into the room. He drops his bag and sits down next to my father. It's the closest they've been in years.
"You shouldn't be here Blaine," I tell him, refusing to look in his direction.
"Of course I should. I check the voicemail and hear that you've gotten into a fight? I need to know what's going on. And from the sounds of it, it's not so much about you."
I don't say anything; I just know that he's right. I look over at Ashley and she's staring at Blaine like, what the hell is this fucking homo doing here?
The principal looks over at Ashley. "Ashley, are you a strong Christian?"
"I am," Ashley replies.
"Then, I've reached my verdict. Julia, you are suspended for three days. Ashley, for the next three Fridays, you have detention."
Blaine is appalled. While I stare at my principal in disbelief, Blaine says, "I'm sorry, what? You're suspending Julia because Ashley said… derogatory things about gays?"
"Ashley was just stating her opinion. More than that, she was defending her religion," the principal says.
"I was defending my brother!" I yell back.
"Maybe, but you started the fight."
"She called me a homo!" Even Dad is stunned now.
"When was this?" the principal asks.
"Tuesday," I reply.
"And why didn't you report it?"
"I didn't want to be bullied for not being able to take a joke."
"Were there any witnesses?"
"No."
"Then I have no proof that it really happened."
"You have no proof that it didn't happen!"
"Innocent until proven guilty, darling."
"Fine," I say and grab my stuff. I leave and run to Blaine's car.
It seems like all I do is cry nowadays. While I wait for Blaine to come out and start driving, I think about how I shouldn't have expected that principal to stick up for me. Assholes are everywhere, I say to myself as I wipe a tear from my cheek.
Surprisingly, Dad comes out of the building first and sees me standing by Blaine's car. He heads over to me and I prepare for a lecture that I really don't want to sit through right now. As I expected, he says angrily, "What was that?"
"That was a money tree, Dad. Unfortunately, it only produces one dollar bills, so there's really no point in stealing it," I reply.
"Don't get smart. You just got yourself suspended, Julia."
"I was sticking up for Blaine. He doesn't deserve to be thought of as the scum of the earth."
"Look, if Blaine wants to be gay, that's fine. But I will not have him drag you into this."
"He never dragged me into anything. I love him, he's my brother. He would've done the same for me."
"He wouldn't have gotten suspended!"
"Probably not, but I'm not as smart as he is."
My dad sighed. "If you're thinking that Blaine is some kind of hero, good luck. He won't be there to save you later."
"I don't care."
"It doesn't matter to me. But at least ride home with me. You're my daughter and I haven't spoken to you in weeks."
"Are you kidding me? We just had this whole conversation and now you're looking to bond? No thanks, I'll ride with Blaine. He's really the only one who can make me feel better after something like this."
My father walks away, obviously annoyed that I keep choosing Blaine over him, but I don't really care. He kind of deserves it, anyway.
Extremely Long Author's Note:
As you can tell, the characters get a little sassier, ruder, and a little more homophobic. It took me half an hour to come up with all of Julie's witty lines. She has a life I wish I could lead. Except for the no friends part and all the crap that's dished out to her. That really sucks. I guess that's why it's called Fan Fiction.
In case you guys were wondering, I have not made several typos when spelling my main character's name. She is officially, Julia Anderson, but sometimes she is called Julie, just to mix it up.
Thank you for my first review! It's great to know that you actually like my story. Also thanks to my second reviewer, and the gazillion more that i hope will come. (Not really a gazillion, because that would be a lot of emails to read, but hopefully many more.)
There's more coming up very soon. This is what I do in my massive amounts of free time. Instead of making arrangements with friends, I write stories for you people. :D.