My father either didn't notice or didn't care when I got home. Didn't even say a word. The next day at school I was left well enough alone. I think it was the menacing smile I wore, which means it worked. I was going for a "don't mess with me because I'm not afraid of a fight" vibe. I probably would have gotten heckled over yesterday for it.
Now normally I don't even see much of my friends at school so as to avoid trouble, but the moment Betty saw me, she dropped what she was doing and ran into me like a hurricane. At least someone cared what happened to me. All of a sudden the whispers were back. A part of me wanted to push her back and save her from social suicide, but I was a bit thick from being beat up and embraced the attention as of it was a big middle finger to "the man" or, in this case, Chuck. He growled at us and she ran her thumb over my lip. Maybe it was the insinuations around us or maybe that's just what happens when you're so close and a very attractive girl is touching your lip but I felt the sudden urge to kiss her. Never before in my life had I wanted to touch anyone with my lips aside from maybe my mother, and it felt like I was being electricuted.
"What happened?" She was gentle, tender, and totally Betty. She looked so concerned, like I was the biggest star in her universe and in some ways at that moment I was. It was exhilarating. Just because I was an introverted outcast doesn't mean I don't also crave attention and human contact like everyone else, something I was routinely denied most of my life.
"I lost my footing in the dark. Don't worry so much, Betts. You look better with a smile than a frown." Everyone knew I was lying, but even though I wanted to pick a fight with Chuck, I wasn't stupid enough to admit he roughed me up. That was the sort of thing that could stop him from getting into university on a football scholarship, and without that he would have nothing to lose. That's a dangerous game to play with s narcissist like Chuck who thinks he's the sun in our galaxy. I hope getting into a university with other football scholarship kids might knock him down a peg or two. Maybe in his required classes, he'll have to look up the term "humbled."
At lunch hour she cornered me again and we went somewhere a bit more private to avoid eevesdroppers. At least that's what I told her but I also just wanted us to be alone, even if that was probably a terrible idea with my newly blossoming feelings. I admitted that it was Chuck, and she was stuck between wanting to go over and tell him off and just crying into my shoulder. She ended up fisting her hands on my jacket and doing the latter. She felt it was her fault but she also had a strong sense of fairness, and I happened to get the short end of the stick a lot in life. In hindsight this is probably why she was never judgemental, even though I kept my worst demons under lock and key. She asked me to walk her to class and the damage had already been done so I did. She squeezed my hand.
After school I was cornered by Archie. The irony was palpable but he was too dense to get it.
"How could you do that to her?!" He wasn't quite yelling but he was loud. I chuckled.
"I walked her home since the people she came with made her feel unwelcome and took off without her. What was I supposed to do? Let her walk home alone and let her get jumped? Then you'd really be yelling. Relax, Archie. As you can see," I pointed to my lip, "I'm the one taking all the heat. Betty's a big girl. I wouldn't ask for the social problems she's having, but she can take care of herself."
"Maybe just cool off and lay low for a bit, man. I heard Chuck Clayton talking in the locker room and he was not happy about you ignoring his 'message' apparently. She's out of your league in the social hierarchy."
"Pfft, like I'll ever let some spoiled brat tell me what to do and who I can or cannot be with. I'm surprised at you, though, Arch. I thought you knew me better than this. I'm not interested in anyone that way, let alone Betts." So maybe I was a little bit but like hell if I was going to admit that out loud any time soon, especially to someone like Archie Andrews.
He rolled his eyes, thinking my antics were childish, but it takes one to know one. "Right, I believe that. But not everyone else here is so sure you're McWomanHater Jones. Watch your back. I know I've been a bad friend lately, but I really am just trying to look out for you." He slapped his hand on my back and I hissed in pain. I hadn't lied earlier. The damage to my face was purely from the fall. The pain in my back, however, was not.
I avoided Pop's on the way to work. Memories were too fresh. Instead I stepped into Aunt Bob's Bakery and got a few sweets. I grabbed a few pink merangues for Betty as sort of a sorry/thank you combo. That night's film was Bonny and Clyde so most of the younger crowd were banned from coming by their parents. I grew up watching this stuff so I was fairly desensitized by this point.
There was some hooting and hollering outside by the local gang, so I just turned the volume up a bit. It was getting more and more rowdy out there and I panicked. There was no adult working, as there almost never was, and like hell if I knew what to do. My first instinct was to call my father, but we don't actually have a phone. We use the payphone a block from our trailer. I straightened my back, popped the collar of my jacket up, and adjusted my beanie. Time to face the music.
Upon looking at me, everybody just stopped. It was a power I didn't realize I had and certainly was not proud of.
My father was the king of these losers. In the sub-social heirarchy, I'm actually a prince. I didn't care to keep it a secret anymore. Any leverage I had in this slow boil of a problem would be to my advantage.
"It's the boss's kid." It came out in a hushed tone. All the other movie goers just watched on in aw. Apparently this drama was better than the bank heist duo on screen.
"What you do on your own time is up to you, but not here. I'm in charge here, and I'll kick anyone out if I have to." Shallow threats, of course. I'm a beanpole of a man. Archie was the one with muscle. Somehow it worked though. Those that started all this took off and everyone went back to watching the movie. It felt eerie, and I sort of understood how my father fall into this, but it was not the life I wanted. He knew that and didn't bother grooming me to take it on when he "retires" in whatever capacity that ends up being.
The movie night was otherwise uneventful, unless you count breaking a personal record for stress eating. I blew way too much of my money on food, but thank whatever is out there that I get good discounts on movie food while on shift.
When I got home, something felt off. My dad was nowhere in sight and I could tell there was someone in my room. I slowly opened my door and almost had a heart attack. It was just Betty. Wait. Betty. What is she doing here?! She looked up at me like I had all the answers but I mostly just had questions. I never brought friends over so how did she know where I lived? The phone book, duh.
"Jeez Betts, you scared the crap out of me. You should really be more careful, I could have attacked you." She looked down, clearly embarrassed. "But what brings Miss Cooper to the south side of town?" I moved to sit next to her on my bed, with enough space so that I didn't freak out.
She looked me dead in the eyes. "I heard about your dad, being the king of the snakes. Is that why you wear a crown? To identify you as the prince? Jesus Jug, do I even know you at all?" The accusations cut deep but I was, am, a very perceptive person.
"You know that's not true, and that's not why you're here." She was too fidgety, like there was something more. She looked away, out the window.
"I guess we don't choose who our parents are. But it's my mom."
Alice Cooper was over the top and scary but why would Betty need to talk to me about her? Am I a confidante or something?
"I know you probably don't know a lot, and you avoid being associated with your dad's business, but I need to know. There's so much yelling going on and home and my dad mentioned that my mom would have nowhere to go if she left because she's trailer trash." She stopped to take a few deep breaths. "Is my mom a Serpent? I need to know."