D could NOT believe it. He simply could not believe it. Of all the two thousand kids at this inner city school, it was just his luck to see the LAST one he wanted to see, first. Oh, and she hadn't changed a BIT, he noted bitterly. Same Rhonda she always was; fancy clothes, shiny hair, and from the way she strutted back into the classroom, clearly she was still arrogant. In fact, as far as D could tell, there were only two things different about her: the fact she had boobs and the manner in which she looked at him. She held her eyes half lidded, she fluttered her eyelashes, and stared at him in a way that spoke plainly of desire. And she was completely unabashed about the way she looked at him. She knew she was beautiful and used it as a means to get his attention. He had to admit, she had met his expectations looks wise, maybe even exceeded them. Billy had been right in his guesses about her 11th grade self.
D pulled his eyes away from her and scanned the class room. A fraction of the kids were familiar faces. There in the third row sat Sheena and Peapod Kid, whatever his name was. And in the front, much to D's shock, was Harold Burman. But not the Harold Burman he remembered; this boy was powerfully built, all his fat gone, and in its place, some serious muscle. His face was more or less the same, however the ever-protruding tooth had retreated back into his mouth. D was sorta happy for him.
Ah, and there was that weird Football-shaped head in the back row. Arnold looked back at D with polite curiosity. D looked away uninterested. It seemed that Arnold, the Golden Boy, hadn't changed a bit either.
Beside him sat Sid. If it were possible, the kid's nose had gotten longer. The thing looked like a dick. D laughed a bit to himself at that, and sat in the chair the teacher merely pointed at for him to sit. He didn't even introduce himself. D could tell he wouldn't like this teacher.
"What's so funny, New Guy?" D knew that voice. Turning to the seat next to him, he gasped. Stinky Petersen.
"Er, nothing, Stinky. Just remembered something funny from my old school." D looked forward casually.
"Are you a psychic?" Stinky looked at D wide-eyed. "So am I!"
D looked at him out of the corner of his eye. "What are you talking about? No, I'm not a psychic…"
"How'd you know my name, then? It's strange that you know it, on account of the fact I never properly introduced myself."
D blanched. Oh god, I've blown my cover already!!
He thought as fast as he could. "Er, I didn't know it was your name. I just call people 'stinky' sometimes…when, uh…they stink…" D looked up somewhat questioningly.
Stinky chuckled. "Well, that sure is a funny coincidence! And I 'pologize fer the smell. I was helpin' my dad fertilize the garden this mornin'. I didn't have a chance to shower."
On the other side of Stinky, a harsh-voiced girl scoffed. "Criminy, Stinky, you do realize that we live in the city? As in urban. As in the opposite of rural."
D recognized that voice. Sure, it was more mature, but it had to have been hers because he didn't know anyone else his age that used the word 'criminy'. He looked at the source of the voice, and his jaw dropped. It was the girl from the hallway, the girl who he checked out along with Rhonda, the pretty blonde with the fantastic ass. Who also happened to be the girl who beat him up on two distinct occasions in grade school?
Yup. Helga G. Pataki. Talk about that whole Ugly Duckling thing! She was most certainly a babe. And, if she still had that spunk from back in the day, she really ought to meet Billy. He liked the feisty ones.
"What are you staring at, New Kid?" she glared at him.
"Oh, er, sorry. You just remind me of someone I used to know."
Her eyes looked as if they slid in and out of focus for a moment, then she responded "Yeah, I was just thinking you look familiar myself. New to the city or did you just transfer schools?"
D wasn't sure which choice was safer. He decided to mix the two.
"I'm uh, a transfer student, but I just moved to the city last year. So...both."
"I must have seen you somewhere or something." She shrugged then looked forward. Robbins, who had been searching for some aspirin for a few minutes, had finally found it and taken some. He stared at the class expectantly.
"So, as you can see, class, we have a new student. His name is-"
D stood up, cutting off Robbins. "D. The name is D and that's all I go by. "
"But it says here-" Robbins began, looking confused.
"Yeah, I know what it says, but I'm D. Really, please just call me D."
Robbins raised an eyebrow. "Whatever. I'm Mr. Robbins. And you, 'D', have joined our class at a very opportune moment. You see, it's lucky you'd come today because now you can see EXACTLY what happens to students who disrupt my class. Now, it says here you came from a-"
D cut him off again. "Yeah. Yeah I did."
Robbins seemed pleased at D's desperation to keep his details quiet. It gave the teacher leverage.
"So let this be a warning to you. Screw around in my class or be disrespectful, and you will be punished." He turned his attention to the back of the room, and barked "Miss Lloyd!"
D turned his head and found Rhonda. Her face was red-tinged and her eyes were ablaze.
"Yeah?"
"Come up to the front of the room, please."
Rhonda, displaying all the dignity she could, marched to the front of the room with her nose held high. She turned back towards her classmates. She determinedly looked anywhere other than D. If she did, she knew she would blush. If she blushed, Robbins would think he had won. Rhonda wouldn't allow that.
"Apologize to the class for your outburst."
"Sorry." She looked at her classmates.
"It's fine, Miss Rhonda! I reckon you were just worked up is all!" Stinky called out.
"Stinky?" asked Robbins dangerously.
"Yessir?"
"Shut up. Now, Miss Lloyd, apologize-"his lips pulled over his coffee stained teeth into a smile- "to me. For your disrespect and general indifference to my class."
Rhonda scoffed, and turned her head up. "I'm not indifferent to the class. I get good enough grades. I just don't like you." The class burst out into laughter. Robbins silenced them with a deathly stare.
"I'm not even going to pretend to be offended by that. Now apologize."
"Pfft, sorry, Mister Robbins. Yeah, real sorry."
He smiled evilly. "Good"
"…that I have to be around you." She muttered under her breath. D caught her saying it, and laughed. She looked at him, and mentally cursed herself. She had blushed. Robbins noticed, and smiled even more harshly.
"Lastly, Miss Lloyd. I want you to apologize to someone else."
Rhonda's jaw dropped in an angry exhale. "Who?" she snapped.
"Harold Burman, for putting him in that awkward situation and therefore inhibiting his learning experience."
Harold shrunk in his seat slightly. Rhonda turned to her teacher in disbelief.
"You're kidding, right? You don't actually expect me to apologize to that…that…sleaze, do you?"
D blinked. 'Sleaze'? As far as he could remember, Rhonda and Harold had always been somewhat civil to each other, sometimes inexplicably flirtatious with each other.
"Yes. Yes I do." Robbins folded his arms.
"Well then you've got another thing coming, don't you?" Rhonda turned on her heel to walk out of the classroom. The bell rang. She walked out the door without a glance back.
Inside the classroom, stuck behind a slow moving line of people, D heard snippets of conversation.
"Robbins was a real douche today…"
"…meatloaf again this week? I swear those lunch ladies are out to get me…"
"Well, I don't know, she was a little out of line, but he totally crossed it."
"I reckon she'll be getting a big fat detention come tomorrow."
"Look, Arnold! I'm not going to apologize for cheating on Rhonda. I already did and it's not my fault she's not over it! So quit buggin' me"
D stopped in his tracks. From behind him, Harold pushed him forward.
"Keep walkin' New Kid!"
D turned around and glared at him. "Harold, I take it?"
"What's it to you?"
"Nothing. I just wanted to make sure I knew who the idiot was to cheat on that beautiful girl."
Harold grabbed D's neckline. "What'd you say to me?"
D opened his mouth to repeat himself, not even phased by Harold, when someone broke the two apart.
"Come on, Harold. Cut him a break. He's new. Besides," Sid grinned, "you ARE an idiot for cheating on Rhonda. You even said so yourself!"
Harold looked angry. They were in the hallway now. D turned gruffly away and straightened his jacket. He nodded in acknowledgement at Sid, and walked off, the last bit of the other boys' conversation fading away.
"Yeah, so what? I happened and there's nothing I can do and I don't even care. So get off…"
D shook his head to clear his thoughts, sorta like an Etch-a-Sketch erasing a picture. He didn't know WHY exactly he was angry at Harold for cheating on Rhonda. He guessed he was bitter that HAROLD had been with Rhonda (or so he assumed), even though he was a complete idiot. If her standards were THAT low, how bad was D when he had been Curly? How had Curly managed to be below the standard when Harold Burman met the bar?
But hell, if Harold managed to break Little Miss Richie-Rich's heart, then D wouldn't have to get his revenge. It wasn't worth it.
He stopped walking for a minute, looking for his next classroom number. His thought process changed.
No, it IS worth it. Rhonda is a bitch. She deserves a reward for how she treated him as a kid. She deserves karma. Payback. And he was gonna give it to her.
He subconsciously began wringing his hands in a conniving fashion. He started laughing insanely, uncontrollably. Then suddenly
It was pitch black.
Someone had grabbed him and pulled him into some kind of…broom closet?
He was forced into a half-nelson, and found himself being blinded by a flashlight.
"Thaddeus Curly Gammelthorpe?"
D grunted in shock. In one swift motion, he was out of the half-nelson and had his captor's wrists closed in one of his hands. He turned on the light.
"Helga?"
She was fighting to get out of his grasp, but paused and looked at him. "Admit it, Curly. It's you. I couldn't place you at first, but after you defended Rhonda like that, it all clicked. The game's up, pal."
D glared at her. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Oh yeah?" she shot back. "Then why'd you freak out when I said your name, Curly?"
D stared at Helga fiercely, not breaking eye contact. Finally, he sighed, crouched down on an overturned trashcan, and looked up at her.
"Is it really that obvious?"
"Nah," she shrugged, straightening her shirt, "Only when you go off and drool over Rhonda like you used to. Oh, and it's questionable when you know people's names before they introduce themselves. Thankfully for you, Stinky is slower than frozen molasses…he didn't suspect a thing." She sighed. "I, on the other hand, am NOT slow and saw right through you. Now, you may be able to fool these suckers into thinking you're 'D', but they'll catch on eventually, especially if you're this careless all the time."
D looked up at her, confused. "So…you're not going to tell anybody?"
Helga crossed her arms and smirked. "No. I won't."
"Why not?"
Helga cocked her head to the side. "I dunno, you seem different now. It would be sort of a drag if kids met you now and thought of you the same way you were when we were ten. For instance, Rhonda."
"Rhonda? What's she got to do with this?"
Helga stared at him. "I don't know, you tell me, Curly."
D cringed at the name. "D, Helga, please, not Curly."
The bell rang.
"Shit!" cried Helga, grabbing her stuff. "We're late! C'mon." She grabbed his arm and began pulling him out of the closet. "What room do you have for your next class?"
Helga was being way too forceful. D wrenched his arm away as they bounded into the hallway. "Jesus, Helga, don't be so rough next time!" he complained, rubbing his arm.
Arnold was passing by, giving both Helga and D a weird look. D could see why. Two disheveled looking teens falling out of a broom closet, one telling the other she was rough? D smirked.
Helga on the other hand, looked horrified.
"Er..I have room 240."
Helga snapped out of it and glanced at his locator sheet. "C'mon. You have the same class as me."
D tried to keep his tone casual. "So, uh, whatever happened with you and Arnold? Ever date?"
Helga froze. "What?"
"You know, I mean, you liked him so much back in the day…"
Helga grabbed D's collar and pulled him forward. He was getting really tired of people doing that.
"How did you know?" She growled.
"I thought it was common knowledge." He shrugged.
"Well it WASN'T. If you ever breathe a word of this, I swear to god you'll wish you'd never been born. I'll tell them who you are." She whispered menacingly.
D got an idea.
"And if you tell a soul who I really am, I'll tell Arnold."
Helga stared at him. "I see we've reached an agreement." She said stiffly, releasing him.
He grinned. "Looks like it."
The two shook hands, and Helga led them to class.
D smiled to himself. This friendship/blackmail situation with Helga in which he found himself was something he rather liked.