"All of you people, there is a big world out there…bigger than prom, bigger than high school and it won't matter if you were the prom queen, the quarterback of the football team, or the biggest nerd in school. Find out who you are and try not to be afraid of it." - Never Been Kissed
Saturday...March 24, 1984. Shermer High School, Shermer, Illinois.
Dear Mr. Vernon...we accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it was that we did wrong, what we did was wrong. But we think you're crazy to make us write this essay telling you who we think we are, what do you care? You see us as you want to see us...in the simplest terms and the most convenient definitions. You see us as a brain, an athlete, a basket case, a princess, an outcast and a criminal. Correct?
That's the way we saw each other at seven o'clock this morning. We were brainwashed...
High school.
The final years of compulsory education and notoriously known as the most grueling of all. Georgia could definitely attest to that. Setting aside needing to achieve good academic grades to get into college, it was the social system that tended to make or break you. It didn't matter where you stood on the social ladder, each step had its own set of rules to navigate and if you didn't tow the line then you'd find out just how easy falling down it was.
Another thing she could attest to.
She had come into high school standing quite comfortably in the middle of that ladder, perhaps even top middle on a good day, but that had changed overnight. One incident, one moment was all it took and she had been cast down to the bottom. It was only after she was able to find her footing that Georgia had been surprised at how relieved she felt. Being on the bottom meant less expectations and virtually no attention.
Exactly what she needed.
Now all she wanted was to get through high school with her sanity still intact.
Something that might just break after today.
Saturday detention. Georgia knew it existed but never in a million years thought she'd land there herself. On the rare occasions she did get detention it was usually held at lunchtime or afterschool. Saturday detentions were for serious cases, which unfortunately now included her. Excessive tardies or skipping, insubordinations, physical confrontations or even just to force students who had been given a lot of detentions to get it all done in one day.
The cold air stung her face as soon as she left the house that morning. She had to leave a whole hour before it started if she had any hope of making it on time and that meant nearly freezing her ass off in the process. Her parents were out of town and her brother had his own things to do and said that there was no way in hell he was getting up any earlier than he had to.
'Jerk.'
As she finally began approaching the concrete institute she noticed several cars pulling up to the entrance. Slowing her pace Georgia hung back to observe her fellow detainees.
First was Claire Standish, a girl she used to be friends with during their first year of high school. Looking back now, Georgia found it quite hard to believe that they used to run in the same circle. It felt like a lifetime ago when they were both giggling together at lunch over a guy or when they'd spent hours on the phone trading gossip like it was currency.
Her stomach twisted uncomfortably as she remembered just how quickly her so-called friends deserted her.
Shaking her head she saw Brian Johnson making his way up the steps. She had him as a partner for an English essay once and was a little taken back by his presence. He was very straight-laced. High academic grades and a typical teacher's pet. Georgia liked him though, he was shy and a little awkward but very nice once you got him out of his shell. She wondered what he could have possibly done to get a Saturday detention.
Next came Andrew Clark, sports jersey and all. She had no opinion of him in all honesty, they'd never interacted so anything she knew about him was hearsay. He looked just as unhappy to be here as she felt and maybe a little pissed about it too judging by the way he was trudging up the stairs.
'Great.'
With a sigh, knowing she couldn't really delay the inevitable, Georgia decided it was time to start heading towards the school entrance only to pause when someone brushed past her. Seeing an oncoming car speeding towards the entrance, Georgia was about to yell out when the car screeched to a halt just as it was about to make an impact. The guy, completely unbothered, kept walking.
'Is he insane?'
The sound of the car door opening brought Georgia's attention to Allison Reynolds. Someone she'd like to be friends with but Allison's active avoidance of social interactions made it difficult. Georgia often wondered if Allison experienced a sort of thrill out of pushing people away because she really wasn't as weird as she liked to make herself out to be. It was like she used her 'weirdness' as a tool to push people away and Georgia couldn't quite figure out if it was because she didn't want to expose any vulnerability or simply because she enjoyed it.
They sat together in art class but neither made any moves to engage the other outside of it. Was it because Allison used her weirdness as a deterrent or was it because her own fear of being hurt again that kept Georgia from initiating? Another question she liked to ponder in her free time.
Despite their limited interactions, Georgia had learned that the two had similar home lives when the topic of parents came up. Both their parents tended to be neglectful when it came to their children. She didn't know why Allison's parents ignored her, it was an uncomfortable topic for the girl, and Georgia's own parents liked to call themselves 'free spirits' who didn't like being tied down for too long.
Georgia preferred the term selfish. She wasn't even sure where they were exactly but had long ago stopped caring enough to ask.
The gray sedan sped away and when Allison's eyes met hers the girl only shrugged, her face showing a rare glimpse of hurt before her features shifted back into its usual apathetic mask as she turned around to head into the building. Georgia quickly matched her pace and was grateful that Allison slowed down enough for her to catch up.
The warmth that filled the normally crowded hallways was a welcome reprieve from the crisp March air.
When they reached the threshold of the library Allison marched out in front of her towards the back tables. Georgia followed but instead chose to sit at the table across from Allison, knowing enough about the girl to discern when she wanted to sit alone. Taking a seat, she began removing the outer layers she had piled on earlier that morning, leaving her in only a dark orange turtleneck sweater, a high waisted black a-line skirt that reached her knees, black wool tights and her favorite pair of ankle boots.
She faintly heard snickering coming from Andrew and Claire's table but adamantly ignored them. Her goal was to get through this day as quickly and quietly as humanly possible.
When she did look up her eyes met with none other than John Bender's. He winked at her before going back to fiddling with a loose string on his scarf. Georgia rolled her eyes away. Previous classroom experiences with him had taught her to just ignore him. Though she was a little curious about how this day was going to go with their mismatched group all trapped in one room for nine hours.
She almost groaned when vice principal Vernon sauntered into the room, looking as smug as usual. She really did not understand the man, he went around spouting about respect and discipline when he himself couldn't control his temper.
Yes Bender was obnoxious and rude but continuously berating him wasn't exactly the best way to go about handling it. It wasn't exactly a secret that the man had a huge chip on his shoulder when it came to his own image and how others perceived him. Something that guys like Bender loved to pick at.
"Well...well." He stopped just in front of the first set of tables, "Here we are. I want to congratulate you for being on time."
Claire's hand slowly shot up and Georgia couldn't stop the groan from escaping this time. Luckily it wasn't loud enough for the others to hear but Bender's lips tilted up indicating that he had most certainly heard her.
"Excuse me, sir? I think there's been a mistake. I know it's detention, but...um...I don't think I belong in here…"
'Geez did I ever sound that spoiled?'
Vernon didn't bother acknowledging, "It is now seven-oh-six. You have exactly eight hours and fifty-four minutes to think about why you're here. To ponder the error of your ways…" Georgia's eyes caught Bender coughing out a loogie, spitting it into the air and letting it land back in his mouth. Turning her head away from him she tried to stop herself from gagging. That was gross, a little impressive but gross.
To his credit Vernon continued unperturbed, "...and you may not talk. You will not move from these seats." Georgia noticed Brian pausing mid shift out of her periphery as Vernon moved towards Bender, "And you," Aggressively pulling the chair out from underneath Bender's feet to get his full attention, "will not sleep. Alright people, we're gonna try something a little different today. We are going to write an essay of no less than a thousand words describing to me who you think you are."
'Oh Lord.'
Bender asks the question that probably crossed everyone's mind, "Is this a test?"
Vernon ignores him while handing out pencils and paper, "And when I say essay, I mean essay. I do not mean a single word repeated a thousand times. Is that clear Mr. Bender?"
Looking and sounding entirely bored with the conversation Bender droned out his response, "Crystal." He's probably going to do that regardless. Heck, even Georgia wanted to do that if only to spite the man. Was this even allowed? He's technically here just to supervise them, not give them homework though she supposed it was within his authority to make them do something like that as part of their punishment but what could he do if they didn't complete the essay.
'Why bother writing it if he doesn't really care anyway?'
Deciding to set it aside for the moment her attention went back to Vernon.
"Good. Maybe you'll learn a little something about yourself. Maybe you'll even decide whether or not you care to return."
Georgia's eyes moved to Brian as he stood up, "You know, I can answer that right now sir. That'd be "No", no for me. 'cause-"
"Sit down Johnson."
"Thank you sir." Well props to him for trying.
Vernon points to the office outside the library doors, "My office is right across that hall. Any monkey business is ill-advised. Any questions?"
Georgia could only sigh as Bender's voice rang out, "Yeah, I got a question." Vernon looked rightfully suspicious as he waited for Bender to continue, "Does Barry Manilow know you raid his wardrobe?"
A snort passed through Georgia's lips before her hand could come up to hide it. Bender gave her a brief glance which caused her face to flush and clear her throat in an attempt to cover up her slip.
"I'll give you the answer to that question, Mr. Bender, next Saturday. Don't mess with the bull young man, you'll get the horns." She thanked her lucky stars that Vernon ignored her little outburst.
"That man is a brownie hound."