News travels around quickly at Clone High. Whenever something bad happens, Frida Kahlo, the student body president, is one of the first to know.
As someone who is proud of her Mexican heritage, as well as having understood the values of diversity and inclusion. The news that a far right extremist group had settled right in her hometown is nothing less than devastating.
Pieces of human garbage. All of them. Wherever they go, fascism is never far behind them.
While she does believe that the country as a whole is moving in the right direction, there are always groups of people that appear to grow in both size and number each year that sees everything through a hateful lens.
Why are they in Exclamation? Rumors point to the two students that have dropped out. There's just no way that the two are connected.
At least, that was what she would have thought if it wasn't for the 'incident' that occured over the weekend. Amerigo Vespucci seemed just like any other student at Clone High. She never would have thought that he'd actually get into a fight with JFK… and won.
JFK's girlfriend, Joan, after hearing the news, kept sharing the same piece of advice with everybody: Be careful.
Frida sighed as she put the finishing touches on her latest piece of art: Graffiti in the form of a pride flag. Complete with no straight lines.
Being the president really does have its perks. Technically she wasn't allowed to paint the walls outside the school, but everybody lets her do it anyway.
She then started thinking about her girlfriend, Cleopatra Smith. They had been dating for a little over two months now. She still couldn't believe she agreed to be in a romantic relationship with her. Despite everything that's happened in the past.
God help her if anything bad were to happen between the two of them. Her life would never be the same.
There are people out there who just don't care about people like them. She's heard all the arguments. Each one more nonsensical than the last.
People will try to have you believe that gay people didn't exist until the 20th century. That is just beyond ridiculous. In reality, homosexuality lasted as long as heterosexuality. It just never was seen as 'normal.' People have a tendency to hate what they have been taught to hate. There were always some people, usually holding positions of power, spreading lies and misinformation, targeting certain groups. The end result is never pretty.
Despite all the hate, there is also love. Frida will do all she can to fight for whatever love there is left in this world.
As she took a step back and looked over her latest masterpiece, she couldn't help but wonder what would happen if she just didn't paint to begin with.
It's a part of this nagging feeling that always follows her everywhere she goes. One that says: "Why are you doing this? What do you hope to accomplish? Do you really think a pride flag painting is going to help people?"
She ran her fingers through her hair. The painting IS necessary. If even one student has their spirits lifted, she's done her job as an artist.
Because that's what an artist truly does: Bring people's attention to the truth. You ARE loved. You ARE accepted for who you are no matter what anybody else says otherwise.
"I gotta say, babe. This has got to be your best one yet."
Frida snapped out of her thoughts as she noticed Cleo standing right beside her. She always loves it when she looks down at her for some reason.
It's still a work in progress… just like everything else I've made."
Cleo giggles. "You really got to give yourself more credit."
Frida shared a smile of her own. Even though she wasn't happy on the inside. "I try not to be too proud of my art, that way if anyone goes out of their way to deface it, I won't feel as bad."
Cleo crosses her arms. "Nobody is going to mess this up, Frida."
"I'd like to think that, but let's be real." Frida then began to gather all her things together in her backpack. Her skateboard included. "All my life, I've known that people are quick to hate. Right now, we got to be prepared in case somebody deluded starts looking our way."
The two continued their conversation as they walked towards their class. They shared their fifth period: Introduction to Computer Science. A class neither of them excel at, but are also not failing.
"I still don't know who it was like back in 2003, Cleo. I mean, I try to imagine people getting along more than today. But that's because they talked things out more. They don't have as many… distractions?"
Cleo looked up. "I wouldn't go so far to say that things were different twenty years ago. I did have a lot of fun during the time I thought I was straight."
"But you THOUGHT that because it was during a time homosexuality wasn't as socially accepted, right?" Said Frida.
"Well, I guess you got me there." Answered Cleo. "JFK wasn't all that fond of his gay dads… Until later on… Then there was that time I overheard Joan refer to…"
It was then that Cleo noticed a subtle change in Frida's facial expression. There's something going on behind the scenes and it isn't pretty. "Uh… um…"
"Go on… You can tell me." Her tone was another thing Cleo was quick to note. It's not pleasant to listen to.
If she says the wrong thing, Joan will end up confronted and cancelled. God only knows what would happen to everybody after. She clears her throat and composes herself.
"It happened a long time ago, Frida. I could have misheard her. I don't want anything bad to happen between any of our friends. Not after everything I've done… Right?"
Frida scratches her chin. She and Cleo weren't always on friendly terms. It took her unibrow almost two months to grow back. It was the integral part of her brand and she forgave Cleo for disrespecting it.
It was for the best that she just dropped the subject and focus on the one that's right in front of them.
Every day in class, Cleo would look over to see what Frida had been doing during the assignment. Only to see that she is as lost as her. This is one of those classes where the professor is pretty much useless. All the work has to be done on her end. It doesn't matter how hard it is. Right now she's hovering around an even 70 for the class and is aiming to keep it that way.
After spending nearly an hour looking through code and a little 'de-bugging,' as everybody called it, Frida and Cleo left the class feeling no smarter than when they went in.
Frida then notices Abe rushing towards them. He still has his face covering on, but she could tell that he looks concerned. "Frida! We gotta talk to you!"
Abe wasn't alone. Behind him was a red haired student who goes by the name of Mark Antony. Like Abe, he too was frozen back in 2003.
Cleo raises an eyebrow. "Mark? Is that you?"
"It's horrible, Cleo." Mark looks distressed. "It's just so horrible. I still can't believe it!"
Frida sighed. Abe and Mark are about to tell her some unpleasant news. She didn't expect it to happen this fast, but she's glad people are stepping forward and saying something.
"Your art on the south side of school. The one you JUST worked on." Abe continues. "Somebody just… They had spray paint of their own. Mark and I figured we had to tell you directly. I'm sure Glenn will be receiving the news soon."
Glenn is the school janitor. He also had been frozen in 2003. Before Glenn, Clone High didn't employ any juniors and a Japanese-inspired 'cleaning time,' had been required from all students.
"Why the hell am I not surprised?" Frida exclaims. "Anyway thanks for letting me know. You two… are doing a great job, by the way. Especially you, Abe. How is JFK, by the way?"
"He's doing better. Still a little shaken up, but we're still working on that." Answered Abe. "I've been helping him out with his homework and… He'll be back on Wednesday."
"I'm glad to hear it." Frida nods. "You deserve a reward, Abe Lincoln. For everything you've been doing." She looks at her girlfriend. As somebody who used to be student body president, she'd understand where she's coming from. "Cleo?"
"I'll get in contact with the yearbook club." Cleo looks at Abe. "No promises."
Abe looks away from her. "I really don't care. The only thing I care about is putting to stop to all this. Put an end to RR. By any means…"
They all went silent for a bit before Mark spoke up.
"Easier said than done, pal."