ACT II
CHAPTER 15: RECRUITING THE NERDS
Cameron and I both waited a couple of weeks till I felt a lot better before setting our plan in motion. I still had some stitches in me, but that wasn't going to be holding me back. I wanted revenge on Jake for what he did, and I wasn't going to let some stitches get in the way. Apart from them, I was back to normal. I should have them removed any day now.
But that wasn't my concern right now. What I needed to begin my quest for revenge was the help of Craig, and I haven't seen him since the night of the football game. He must be hiding from me, thinking that I want his head on a stick or something. I need his help and support on my plans, or else I may as well kiss my plans good-bye. Luckily, at least the Nerds were still found around the Library. And lucky enough for me, James and Carl were there.
"Back off", James says as I approached him right before he raised his potato gun at me. "I don't want to hurt you guys", I told them while backing a foot away. "You could be tricking us just so you get to Craig and kill him", Carl pointed out. "I don't want to hurt – let alone – kill Craig", I told them. "We got the same enemy. I feel that we should work together and bring Jake down a notch". "We still won't tell you under Craig's orders", Carl tells me. "Fine", I said to them. I pretended to turn around right before I knocked the potato gun out of James' hands and shoved him into a nearby trash can.
Carl was about to pick the potato gun up when I quickly grabbed it and aimed it at him. "Give me Craig's location right now. I'm not fooling around", I told them. "He's at his dorm room right now", Carl tells him. "Which room?" I ask them. "It's on the second floor across from the bathroom" he replies. "Please don't shoot me", he then adds. With all the information that I wanted, I tossed the potato gun onto the ground near his feet and told him, "That wasn't so hard, wasn't it?" I turned to James who was still struggling to get out of the can. I grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him out. "Sorry about that, but it had to be done. You two got my word that I won't harm Craig", I said before turning and leaving the Library's courtyard.
Cameron, who was watching from a safe distance, came up to me and said, "I hope you didn't plan on putting poor James in the trash can like that". "I'm not proud of it, but at least I got them to tell me where Craig is holed-up", I tell her. "Okay, lead the way", Cameron says.
We walked from the Library and climbed up over the wall into the Boys' Dorm's courtyard. There was some Bullies nearby but luckily, they were too busy looking at magazines, possibly Playboy, to even pay attention to us. We walked through the doors, made a left turn down the hall, and made our way up the stairs to the second floor. Once we were up the stairs, we walked by a couple of Greasers who made remarks towards us.
"Hey Danny, would you want Cameron as your girlfriend?" "Nope. Cameron is pretty much like a used condom; you don't to slip that on after what Jake may have done with her". Cameron turned to give them a piece of her mind, but I grabbed her shoulder and continued her towards Craig's dorm room. "She's scum anyway, especially since she hangs with Greg Winston. I'd had to have an extreme case of autism just to even think about going out with her".
While we walked away, Cameron said out-loud, "Those idiots don't even know what autism is". "What was that about anyway?" I asked her. "Normally, I hear people say that you're too good to hang out with me. But this, this was new". Cameron exhaled before saying, "Debbie spread some rumors about how I was so much a sex addict that I convinced Jake to poke me a few times unprotected". "I know it's none of my business, but…." Before I could continue, Cameron says to me, "No. And besides, there's more to relationships than just sex".
After a while of walking, we made to Craig's dorm room. "I got to use the bathroom. I'll be right back", Cameron says before entering the bathroom right next to them. While she went into the restroom, I knocked on the dorm room, hoping for an answer. "Craig, it's me. We need to talk", I said through the door. Of course, there was no reply. I knocked once again and still, there was no reply. "I'm not mad. I don't want to hurt you. Hell, I didn't even want to harass James and Carl like I did back at the Library", I then said through the door. Still, no reply. I'm an idiot for saying that last part out-loud, I thought to myself. There's no way he'll open it after saying that I harassed two of his friends.
After a while of waiting, Cameron came out of the bathroom and said to me, "Men just do not know how to aim when they break water into the toilet". "I know how you feel about that", I tell her, thinking about how gross it was to go into a toilet stall just to see piss on the seat. Very awful, especially for those who has to off-load the solid waste. "Cameron, is that you?" Craig's voice broke through the door. So now he replies? I thought sourly.
"Craig, we need to talk", Cameron tells him. "We have a plan to take down the Jocks, and we need your help to get it started". "What's the plan?" Craig asks her. "Open the door and we'll talk", Cameron tells him. "As long as Greg doesn't come in", Craig tells her. "It's my plan, Craig. I need to be in there just as much as you need to be a part of it", I said through the door. "Then I'm sorry Cameron, but this door won't open until he's gone", Craig says out-loud.
Cameron took a deep breath and then started speaking. "Craig, we're all on the same side at this point. We all have the same thing in common: Jake has screwed us over one way or another. He rules the school with an iron fist and whenever someone tries challenging him, they usually meet his wraith through humiliation and torture. We need to work together. Greg has nothing against you for what happened that night at the game. It was his idea to get you onboard for what we're about to do. We need you. We need the Nerds and their expertise if we're going to take them down. We know you're scared, but right now you need to put on your big-boy bridges and help us out. In the words of Princess Leia from Star Wars, 'Obi-Wan, you're our only hope'".
The door opened, revealing a pale-looking Craig. "For the record, I prefer Halo over Star Wars. And the quote goes 'you're my only hope'". "Can we both come in and discuss our plan for taking down the Jocks?" I asked him. "Come in", Craig says while holding the door open. Cameron and I walked into his room and saw that it was a chaotic mess. Apart from the book shelves which had neatly arranged Halo figurines and books, the entire room was disorganized and messy. The desk next to the window was full of papers and empty Sprunk bottles. As for the floor, it was completely covered with clothes. At one point, I think I was stepping on a pair of boxer briefs. Among the clothes, I could have sworn that I saw a few Halo t-shirts. I'm a huge fan for the series, but man Craig took the fandom to a whole new level.
"Sorry that it's so dark in here", Craig says as he opens a curtain, letting in some sunlight. "Were you worried that I somehow climb in through your window, even though it's on the second floor?" I asked out of curiously. "No, my roommate and I always have the curtains closed. We kind of like the room dark when we play multiplayer matches online", Craig tells me. "I guess that makes sense", I reply. "So, what is your super-special plan to take down the Jocks, Greg?" Craig then asks me.
I took the bag with the notebooks off my back and laid them onto his bed. I unzipped it and then dumped all its contents on his bedspread. "I found all this stuff in the old Observatory", I started to explain. "It talks about plans that the Nerds enacted on twenty years ago. Apparently, they had a problem with the Jocks as well. What they did was had some sole individual play pranks on the Jocks on the night of their big game. Pranks such as planting a rigged football, gluing the team benches, and spreading marbles on the football field. I was thinking with you and the other school cliques who had enough of the Jocks, we should team together and do the same thing. When I showed Cameron this stuff two weeks ago, we decided who else would want a piece of the action other than the Nerds. You're the first leader that we came up to just to discuss this plan. So, what do you say? You want in on the action?"
While I was talking to him about my plans, he was looking over the notebooks and the contents that were in them. "Wow, these Nerds really had a plan", he says out-loud. He looked up at me and then told me, "You got my support as well as the rest of the Nerds. Though, we are going to have to talk later about what you did to James and Carl". I held my hands in surrender and said to him, "And I will apologize to them both. Really, I will". "Good to know that you're on our side, Craig", Cameron says, "but there is still one problem: how will we get the support of the other cliques?"
"That will be a difficult problem, will it?" Craig asks her. "Pretty much, especially since both the Greasers and Bullies hate Greg so very much", she answers. "I don't know if there is a way for you two to talk to both cliques since that is the case. But maybe you won't have to convince them via words. Maybe through actions though", Craig then tells her. "Excuse me?" I asked him.
"Every clique on campus apart from the Preps hate the Jocks", Craig started to explain. "If you tell them that you're going to harass the Jocks, then they will just see another wannabe tough guy who's just going to get his ass handed to him like every other people who stood up to them. But, what if you harassed the Jocks during one of their games? What if say you send a message straight to them? Of course, they will retaliate, so maybe that plan isn't a good idea". "I was publicly humiliated if you don't remember", I told him. "Whatever they do to me next wouldn't be any worse than what they did to me".
"So, you're willing to do whatever you can to get even with the Jocks, even if Jake retaliates in the cruelest way possible?" Craig asks me. "Jake can't keep getting away with everything that he has done, and I need to get the respect of the other cliques. Whatever Jake throws at me, I'll throw back harder", I tell him. "Do you absolutely agree with his plans?" Craig then asks Cameron. "Jake has been nothing more than a bully all these years", Cameron tells him. "He used to be sweet and kind, but that Jake is gone. Popularity has gotten into head, and now he rules the school with fear and malice. If screwing the Jocks' precious games and ending their sports program will end their reign on the school forever, then by all means: let Greg hit them hard where it hurts".
"WAIT, ENDING THEIR SPORTS PROGRAM?" Craig yells out-loud. What looked like concern in Craig's face slowly turned into a smile as he started laughing like an evil mad-man. "I don't like this new Craig", I said out-loud, half-joking but also half-serious. "Oh, we're going to fuck their sports program so much, there won't be another one for a hundred years", he then says out-loud. "Can we focus back on the plan?" I asked him. "You said something about playing pranks on them to get the other cliques involved? What do you have in mind?"
"Well, there was one thing that I was going to have one of my friends do, but I'll have you do it instead", Craig tells me. "And what is that?" I asked him. "I was going to have them shoot the Jocks on the football field with a BB gun", Craig explains, "but I think it would be best served if you shot them during their game. I already ordered the BB gun, and should be here by Thursday. Once I get it, I'll send it straight to your dorm. But in the meantime, what I think the Nerds and I should do is prank them during the next few days and try and get them wearily before the next game". "Sounds like a plant", I told him. "But won't Jake get revenge on your group for the attacks as well?" Cameron asks him. "The most important thing right now is that this plan goes right so we can get the cliques' attention" Craig answers her question. "When they find out that Greg had a hand in the attack, then they'll back him up". "The only thing I probably don't understand now is why anyone would back me up after what they found out?" I asked Craig.
"Despite what they know about what you did, they'll most likely follow you", Craig tells me. "You're the only one thus far that got really humiliated by the Jocks and is not afraid to get back on your feet just to get back at them. I really don't know anyone else who would do the same. I guess I am the only one, but I have never done anything that was noteworthy like what you're doing".
"So that's it? Everything is settled? We're going to attack the Jocks this coming game night?" Cameron asks. "I guess we are", I told her. "And we're going to do it good enough to catch the attention of the other cliques", Craig added. "With that settled, I'm going to go back to my dorm and tell my friends what's going on Friday night. Don't want any of them to get caught in the crossfire", Cameron says as she leaves the dorm. "Later, Cameron", I say before turning back to Craig. "Hey, is it possible to fix this potato gun that I also found in the Observatory?" I asked Craig while taking it out from the bag. "Wow, you found the Super Spud Gun", Craig tells me.
"The what?" I asked him. "All our Spud Guns are based on the standard ones that the Nerds had years ago" Craig tells me. "This one we tried to find for years. Apparently, they are rare. You got to let me keep this one so I can reverse engineer it and see how it's made 'super'". "Sure, if you promise me that you'll get it clean and fixed in the process", I tell him. "Deal then", Craig says. "I'll try and get it back to you before your mission Friday night". "Good enough", I said as I started to leave the room. Before I exit through the door though, I turned to Craig and told him, "Tell your crew to give the Jocks hell for me before Friday night". "Will do", Craig tells me.