Chapter 10 Discovery.
The screen shows a big sport field. On the sport field sit some teenage girls.
The girls from Rita Desjardin's gym class look at their future selfes wondering about what was about to happen to them.
Rita Desjardin stands in front of them.
Rita: "All right, stand up! Line up, please".
''What exactly are we watching?'' Asks Billy Delois. Some people nod, wondering the same thing as Miss Desjardin coughs.
''From what we have been shown, I think this is the girls punishment from the shower incident'' Says Miss Desjardin. She watches the scene, wondering what punishment her future self was planning. Beside her Carrie perked up. She could not help but be happy and surprised that some of her tormentors would be punished for once.
Rita stares at the girls when she walks past them.
"You have a big week coming up". Junior Prom".
Freddy Holt watches the exchange on the screen. People were looking a bit more relaxed thanks to Miss Desjardin's calm demanuer. They probably thought they were about to see a milder scene. He could only chuckle. His laughing got the attention of some other students. They gave him a strange look.
Those poor bastards had no idea what they were in for.
"Are you excited? You probably all have your dresses". Rita says as The girls start to laugh and talk with each other.
The students and some adults felt uneasy, their earlier feelings disappearing.
"You have your dates by now". Rita continues as she stops in front off Chris. "What about you, Chris? Who's the lucky guy?"
Chris:"Billy Nolan. You don't know him, He doesn't go to this school".
Chris was looking at Miss Desjardin. She could only shake her head at her future self. The woman was clearly planning something. Did her future self truly believe she would not face any punishment?
Rita:"Are you going to get him a boutonniere? Or are you just going to pin a bloody tampon to his lapel?"
The people in the crowd start to caugh suprised at what they were hearing. Some boys and men couldn't help but wonder how that would look.
The girls start to whisper.
Chris:"I so don't need to hear this". Chris tries to walk away, but Rita stops her.
"Bad move Miss Hargensen". Says Mrs Martina while shaking her head. Rita was on the warpath
Rita:"You're not going anywhere". Rita turns now to Sue. "What about you, Sue? Are you and Tommy busy campaigning to be Prom King and Queen?"
Eleanor Snell wants to tell Miss Desjardin to leave her daughter alone, but discovers that she can't. Her daughter did something horrible to Carrie and she has to face the consequences. She looks at the girl in question. She feels a wave of sorrow They all had to face the consequences of what they had done.
"Its hard, isn't it?" Whispers her best friend Geraldine Jones. She shakes her head to her lifetime friend.
"Sometimes you have to punish them hard, because else they won't know their bountries". While saying that she looks to her nephew Billy Delois.
"I would have voted for you…not now." Rita remarks walks away from Sue.
Sue stares ashamed to the ground.
"You all did a shitty thing yesterday, A really shitty thing; And one of you had the audacity to post a video".
"Yes, Miss Hargenson!" Yells Henry Trennant while standing on his chair. Chris gives him a glare.
"Get of that chair, Mr Trennant". Warns Mr Fromm.
The girls start to whisper again.
"Somebody made a video of it?"
The people in the room looked to Billy Nolan, Tina Blake and Chris Hargenson.
Chris:"This is bullshit".
"Feeling the heat, Hargenson?'' Said Rachel Spies. Chris Hargenson merely kept quiet.
Rita:"That's it, Thanks to Miss Hargensen, you're all running suicides".
"I really need to learn to shut my mouth, don't I?" Asks Chris. The students in the room look surprised at her, knowing how stubborn she could be. Next to her her father and friends look surprised but also a bit relieved. The other grown ups and teachers smile at the scene before them. Maybe this movie wasn't that bad after all. It give them the chance to change things for the better and it seemed to have a good effect on the students.
All the girls start to moan.
Chris:"I'm not doing it".
Rita"That's up to you. That's up to all of you, but anyone who stops running is suspended And if you're suspended, you're not going to prom".
The girls look defeated.
The girls in question groan.
''WHAT!''
''No way!''
''She can't do that. can she?''
''QUIET!'' screamed Principal Morton. The students fell silent.
"While you're running, I'd like for you to think long and hard about what it would be like to be Carrie White".
The room was completely silent. Everyone was thinking about what they had been shown till now. The thought off living that day in and out was horrible. Suddenly their punishment did not seem so bad.
The screen changes. It now shows the front off the school. In front of the school stands an old car. Inside of the car sit Carrie and Margaret.
The crowd looks with anger at the screen. Earlier Carrie had looked fierce while confronting Margaret. There had been a fire in her eyes the students had not seen before. That fire was all but extinguished. Now Carrie was looking so submissive that it made many mothers sick and some of the girls want to cry. Tommy Ross looked at the scene in front of him and felt pity for Carrie. It looked like all the strength had been beaten out of Carrie. With a sinking feeling he understood that was probably what had happend to Carrie.
What had that woman done to her for her to look so beaten?
Carrie:"I'll be okay, Mama".
Margaret:"I'm going to leave work early today and pick you up after school".
"Fucking bitch". Mutters Norma Watson. She gasps, surprised at her own language.
Margaret gives Carrie a kiss on the check. Carrie staps out of the car and walks inside the school. During this Margaret watches her.
"I think it would be handy for Margaret if she had the neck off a giraffe". Said Vicky Hanscome. The thought of Margaret with a giraffe neck made some students snicker. Carrie giggled at the image.
The screen changes back to the sport field. All the girls are running rounds around the field.
Chris:"She can't do this to me".
Tina winches at those words and turns to Chris.
"Yes, she can Chris. She has everyone behind her". Tine shoots back as Chris smirks.
"Damn right she can". Answers Chris.
Sue:"Just let it go, Chris". "We're almost done".
Chris:"Then every day this week? All because of Carrie White?"
''No because of our own actions'' Said Lizzy Wilson as Her twin Nickky nodded. It had no use fighting, this time they would face consequences. Or better said their future selves so they saw no use in arguing.
"Like hell I will". Chris stops running.
Rita:"Keep moving, Hargensen! Keep running or you're not
going to prom."
The people in the room watched the screen intensly, feeling something was about to happen and hoping Chris would not screw things up too badly.
Chris:" Fuck you!"
The people in the room groaned at Chris arrogance and stupidity.
''Chris'' Moaned Sue as John Hargenson felt a headache coming up.
Rita and the girls stare at her in shock.
"This is child abuse". Chris snapped.
People look uncomfortable at the mention of child abuse the scenes with Carrie and Margaret fresh in their mind.
"What did you say to me?"
"I'm not going to run another goddamn inch because Carrie White got her period and was too stupid to know what it was".
"Carrie is not stupid". Says Sue towards Chris. "It is not her fault Margaret did not tell her".
''I know now Suse' Says Chris.
Rita:" You're suspended. You're out of prom and you're out of my class; Now".
" No". Chris said As The two stare each other in the eyes
Everyone in the room watched the two woman going face to face against each other.
"Bitch fight, bitch fight, bitch fight". Screams Billy Delois.
His best mate Henry Trennant slaps him against the head.
"Idiot! They can't hear you". He says. Billy looks at him for a few seconds.
"Ohhhhhhh". He says.
Rita:"No ?"
Chris:" You can't decide that".
"It is times like this I wish I regret becoming a teacher". Whispers Mrs Martina to Mrs Rennie.
''Amen''. Said Mrs Rennie.
"She can't do this to us".
The room watched as Chris got more desperate.
Rita:"Goodbye, Chris. The rest of you, keep at it".
The rest of them start to run again.
Chris:"Someone could die of dehydration, Tina, you have a heart condition, right?"
Tina's father and mother look worried at those words. Tina's mother turns around and faces Mrs Desjardin. Mrs Desjardin looks kind at them.
"I know about Tina's heart condition and I always watch her". Desjardin said as Tina's mother relaxes visible after this.
Tina stares at Chris.
"If we all stick together, they're not going to suspend all of us. They're not going to keep us all from prom…There would be no prom".
"Is that true?" Asks Mr Wilson to Principal Morton. He shakes his head, but has a feeling in his stomach that Chris wasn't totally wrong. If this had happened before, would he have sought justice for Carrie White or chosen the easiest way? He did not want to think about it.
"Nik, Lizzy?" The twins shake their heads.
The twins did the same in the current time.
Rita:"Let's go, ladies!"
Chris:"Heather?" Heather hides her face behind her cap.
Heather did not dare to look at Chris.
"This is bullshit! We didn't do anything wrong".
The room looked at Chris Hargenson. Did the girl truly see no wrong in everything she had done till then? John Hargenson felt himself becoming ill at his daughter lack of empathy and lack of wits.
''You are lucky Miss Hargenson that this hasn't happen yet, else you would be in a lot of trouble'' Said Agent Maggie McGregor. Maggie McGregor could not help herself from speaking up.
''Do you understand miss White could take you and the other girls to court for this, what you would have done falls under assault''.
The room erupted.
''Now wait a second...'' Said John Hargenson. Before he could say something Chris interrupted him.
''I have not done any of those things and I have said I am sorry!'' Said Chris. The other girls, mostly Ultra's voiced their agreements.
''So that makes everything right?''
''If miss White's situation had been different, would you have still felt regret?''
'If she had been another regular student, would it have been justified, what you have done?'' Said Agent Maggie McGregor. Chris tried to answer but found out she couldn't. Seeing this Agent Maggie McGregor softend.
''You should always treat people with decency''.
''You don't have to like them, but just treat them like a human being''. Said Agent Maggie McGregor. The Ultra's fell quiet. The agent had given them a lot to think about.
Rita:"All right, let's go".
Chris:"Right, Sue? You're with me on this, right?" Sue stares at Chris with shock. Chris tries to walk away with Sue.
"Come on".
"Sue".
Sue looks at Chris and shakes her head. Chris looks stunned.
Rita:"Come on, Keep going, ladies".
Chris:"This isn't over, This isn't over by a long shot".
At those words Chris looks at her hands. What would her future self do? Dread went through her.
The screen now shows Carrie walking in the school. People stare at her and some laugh.
People looked at the reaction of the student body and felt anger at their lack of compassion.
Girl:"That's Carrie White".
The Thibodeau twins watch the scene with self loathing. Billy Nolan was right, how could Carrie forgive them for everything they had done?
Carrie walks further and tries to ignore them.
Carrie watched the students laughing at her. Oh, how it hurt to be strong and ignore them but it looked like her future self did not have the strength to confront her fellow students. That was most of the time after she had butted heads with momma. It was exhausting, fighting both them and momma. She shook her head, trying to chase away these thoughts and put her small hand in Miss Desjardin's bigger one. It made her feel safe.
She walks to her locker. She stares with tears in her eyes to her locker. In big letters is writing: Carrie White eats shit!
Cindy Young looks at the grafetti with mixed feelings. To think that she and her other classmates would have found this a few hours ago hilarious. Now it only made her sick to see Carrie getting kicked down again.
A janitor tries to remove the graffiti as Carrie runs to the girls bathroom. When she is inside, she walks to the mirror. She stares at it and looks miserable. Suddenly, the mirror starts to crack and it breaks.
The people in thr room stare with confusing at the screen.
How did that happen?" Asks Jessica Upshaw. All the while Carrie looks at the screen and feels a headache coming up. There is something but what?
Carrie looks a few seconds at the now broken mirror. She then looks at the pieces of the mirror. The pieces start to float .
Carrie feels her headache becoming worse. Flashes of windows that open without anyone one touching them flash before her eyes…
(Stones, stones are falling. Hands around her neck, she can't breath, why can't she breath? Momma ?).
The people in the room stare with their mouths open at the screen. Most of them can't believe what they are seeing.
"What is that?!".
"How does she do that!?"
"What the hell is going on!?".
Carrie looks at it and smiles.
(Just a little push, push, push).
When she turns around, she sees Heather Shrys coming out of the toilet.
She stops the pieces from floating and runs out of the girls bathroom.
The room erupts. People start talking about what they have seen. Rita Desjardin looks at the screen, not quite believing what she just saw. How was that possible? She turns around to look at her student. Dread creeps on her once she sees Carrie. Carrie is pale and has both her hands around her neck like and her eyes are glassy.
''Carrie?''
When the girl does not respond she tries again, but no reaction. Panic overtakes her and she starts to shake her student.
''Carrie, snap out of it!" Says Rita Desjardin.
She shakes the girl again. but again she does not respond. The rest of the room hear the noise coming from the two woman and turn in their direction. They see Miss Desjardin shaking Carrie and start to panic too. The group of adults that earlier helped Carrie stand up but before they reach them, Carrie reacts. Carrie stands up. Her eyes are once again clear and she lifts her hands from her neck. She looks down trying to get her breathing under control. Once she has calmed down she looks around, everyone is watching her, but that doesn't matter. She remembers.