Chapter 4- Get Me What I Need
Ross and Laura showed up at school last. When Ross walked in, Riker pointed to him.
"Hey, it's the Brain!" he shouted. Ross smiled and started passing out his invitations, first to Rocky, Calum, and Riker, and then gradually to everyone else.
Ross:
"I've got one day in October,
When the pieces all will fit,
When I'm finally accepted
And my party is a hit
I got one day in October,
And I know it's gonna be—"
"A bra what?" Riker asked.
"Like, okay," Rocky said, "so what's a Barf Matzah?"
Raini spoke up. "It's this weird Jewish thing where they make you talk backwards and everyone gets circumcised."
"Ugh!" everyone in the hall, except for Ross and Laura, said.
"No, no, no!" Ross said. "It's a party! With a hot DJ, and wild dancing." Everyone looked to Riker for approval.
"That might be cool," he said.
"Count me in!" Keirsey said.
"I'm there," Audrey smiled.
Ross:
"I've got one day in October,
And it's gotta be just right—"
"Hold on," Raini said when she saw Laura holding an inviation. "Is the freak coming?"
"Laura?" Ross asked.
"Yeah, cuz if she comes, we're so snubbing," Audrey said.
Keirsey spoke up. "Count me out."
"Come on, what's wrong with Laura?" Ross asked, defending his friend.
"She'll be there," Riker said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"And we won't," Raini continued.
"And if they don't go, we don't go," Calum finished.
"Get it?" Rocky asked.
"I told you," Laura said. "Come on, Ross."
"Guys, you got it all wrong..." Ross tried to explain.
"Make up your mind, Brain. It's either us... or her," Riker told Ross. He took Laura's invitation out of her hand and gave it back to Ross, along with his own. "Up to you." Ross looked down at the invitations and back at Laura, then to Riker.
Ross:
"I've got one day in October,
And if I don't get this down,
It's just one more huge disaster,
Like my parents, like this town,
I've got one day in October,
I can make it to October,
But its really gotta be
The perfect party,
The perfect party..."
Ross handed Laura's invitation to her. When Riker and everyone else started to walk away, he took it right back from her and tore it in half. Riker smiled and walked back.
"See what I told you? He is the brain!" he said.
Riker:
"I can't wait to come to your party!
Raini:
I can't wait to come to your party!
Noah & Cody:
I can't wait to come to your party!
Rocky & Aubrey:
I can't wait to come to your party!
Audrey & Calum:
I can't wait to come to your party!
Riker, Rydel, & Raini:
I can't wait to come to your party!
Cody & Keirsey:
I can't wait to come to your party!
Noah & Aubrey:
Party!"
Just then, Ratliff walked in on his crutches. "What party?" he asked. Everyone ignored him and went about their business.
All:
"I can't wait,
I can't wait,
Can't wait,
Can't wait,
Can't wait, can't wait, can't wait, can't wait for thirteen!
Thirteen!
Thirteen!
Thirteen!
Thirteen!
Thirteen!
Thirteen!"
Ross started to look for Laura, but Ratliff stopped him.
"Oh, hi! You're the new kid, right?" he asked.
"Oh yeah, hi, I'm Ross," Ross said, trying to walk around Ratliff.
"I'm Ellington Ratliff, but I prefer Ratliff," Ratliff said. "I pass by your house every day while you're waiting for the bus. See, I'm on the special needs bus, cuz of my crutches."
"Bummer," Ross said, trying to pass Ratliff again.
"It's okay. At least no one makes fun of me on the special needs bus. That would be ironic," Ratliff explained.
"So it's been really nice meeting you, Ratliff," Ross said, grabbing Ratliff's shoulders to prevent him from blocking him again. He started looking around the hall.
"Are you looking for Laura?" he asked.
"You know Laura?" Ross asked.
"Yeah, she's like my best friend. Also my only friend," Ratliff said.
"Do you know where she is?" Ross asked.
"Why, you want to do something else to publicly humiliate her and ruin her life?" Ratliff asked coldly.
"Oh," Ross said, embarrassed, "you know about that, huh?"
"Yeah, it's already on YouTube," Ratliff explained. "But I think I can help."
"You would do that? That would be amazing. I'd totally owe you," Ross said.
"And then you could do something for me?" Ratliff asked. "A deal of sorts."
"Wait a minute," Ross said, unsure. "What kind of a deal?"
"A small deal, a no-big-deal deal," Ratliff said. "I need a date!"
"Okay..." Ross said, "is there anyone specific you want a date with?" Ross adjusted his backpack.
"Rydel," Ratliff said.
"Rydel!" Ross shouted. "Are you on crack?!"
"She wants me!" Ratliff protested.
"Come on," Ross said. "There's no way I can get Rydel to go out with you."
"Fine," Ratliff said. "I'll just sit next to her at your bar mitzvah, rub my leg against hers, hope I feel it, and before long, I'll be attending to her special needs."
"Okay, first, yuck! And second, I don't remember inviting you to my bar mitzvah," Ross said.
"Do I really need an invitation?" Ratliff asked. "Do you think your mom would throw Tiny Tim out on the street? And so close to Christmas..."
"Ratliff, I really gotta go find Laura," Ross said, walking to the door.
"Okay. Even though it's a sick boy's dying wish," Ratliff said. "I don't want you to feel any pressure." Ross looked back to Ratliff.
"Dying?" he asked.
"Oh, did that slip out?" Ratliff said.
"Really? You're dying?" Ross asked.
"I have a degenerative neuromuscular disorder," Ratliff said. Ross walked back over to him.
"Look, I feel terrible, really, but I can't get you a date with Rydel," Ross told him. "I do one stupid thing, and suddenly I'm exiled to the loser table for the rest of my life. I'm on major probation here!"
"There's exactly one person in this school who can help me, and that person is you!" Ratliff said.
Ratliff:
"There's the cool kids
There's the preps and there's the skate punks and the jocks
And then there's me
There's the losers
There's the nerds and there's the stoners and the goths
And then there's me
But then there's you!
Cause you're the new kid in the school
You're not defined by one specific breed
And so your free to flit from group to group
From scene to scene
Cause you're the conduit, the medium, the go-between
Which means your perfectly positioned to get me what I need!"
The bell rang and Riker, Rocky, and Calum walked into the hallway, Riker carrying football. "Yo, Brain!" he said. "That guy? Not cool." He threw the football at Ross and he caught it, but not before it hit him right in the stomach.
"Okay, got it," Ross said, in pain. Riker, Rocky, and Calum left the hall.
Ratliff:
"They don't like me
Even back before the crutches, it was clear I don't fit here
So it's hopeless
I can't walk right up to Rydel and say "Hey",
She'd run away
But look at you!
You're making friends and having parties
And adapting at impressive speed
Just twenty minutes where we're sitting so our knees can touch
Yes, it's a tiny inconvenience, but it means so much
Cause out of all of Indiana, you can get me what I need
Ross:
It's impossible!
Ratliff:
And what I need is Rydel!
Others:
Rydel, Rydel!
Ratliff:
Beautiful Rydel!
Others:
Rydel, Rydel!
Ratliff:
Wonderful Rydel!
Make her appear!
Boys:
If you want a girl, the girl you want is
Ratliff:
Rydel!
Very hot Rydel!
Boys:
Very hot, very hot
Ratliff:
Go tell Rydel…
I'm waiting here"
Ratliff had been having a fantasy about Rydel, and she just walked out the door. "Rydel! Rydel!" he shouted.
"Here's the problem
Every minute, every second that I wait might be too late
So let's face it,
If I ever had a chance, the time is now, so who cares how?
Just do your best
And I won't bother you again and that's a promise guaranteed
So, you can help me out and we can both do very well
Or I can turn around and make your life a living hell
It's up to you, you've got a choice, you've got incentive to succeed
Yes, I know it sounds insane
Jerry Lewis can't explain
You've got to help me, Ross
Help me, Ross
Help me, Ross
Help me, Ross
Get me what I... need!"
"I'll try!" Ross said, desperate to stop Ratliff from holding 'need' for so long.
"I knew you would," Ratliff said. Ross sighed and left.
A/N- Longest chapter I've ever written. Hope you liked it! Please review!