6th Grade, Third Street Elementary
Age: 11-12
June 2004
...
Gus races out the door and into the recess yard, upset that it was his duty to dismiss the class today. Their teacher has this thing where one student has to make sure the class is being silent before they can go to recess and as the students quiet he is able to dismiss them out the door. It was implemented both as a way to instill leadership in the students and as a punishment for the excessive chattiness their class can't seem to stop. Gus is convinced that Ashley B and Ashley Q use his turns as the dismisser to torture him. They love to keep giggling, even minutes after the recess bell has rung and everyone else in their class is outside enjoying the short period they get to play.
But, finally, he's free. Now he just needs to find his friends.
Instead, he finds Butch. The boy stands against the wall, looking forlorn out at the schoolyard. Gus should keep moving. He knows he should. But he doesn't.
"Hey, Butch, why the long face?"
Butch sighs and adjusts the toothpick in his mouth. Then he looks down at Gus, shakes his head, and turns back to the playground.
"Look, Gus. No one on this playground has any idea what's ahead of us."
Gus clasps his hands together and debates asking Butch to explain. On the one hand, Butch is known around the playground for his terrifying, and often exaggerated, tales. On the other hand, Gus hasn't seen Butch look this freaked out since he caught his older brother kissing a girl.
He decides to risk it. "What do you mean?"
Butch opens his arms, gesturing toward the playground.
"See this stuff? That's the past," he says. "We only have three more days left until summer vacation."
"I know," Gus cuts in excitedly. "I'm so pumped for camp!"
Butch turns to glare at him and Gus swallows the rest of his thoughts, allowing the other boy to continue.
"We only have three recesses left until summer vacation," Butch says, starting over. "And, for the majority of the kids on this here playground, that's great. They get a few weeks off, go to camp, and then right back here they come. But not us, Gus. Not us. We're going to middle school."
Gus gulps. He has been nervous about moving onto seventh grade. They all went to the open house last week at Spiro T. Agnew Middle School with their parents and everything seemed so...big. There were more kids per class. They would have more than one teacher and have to move between classrooms to learn. Plus, there was going to be all sorts of new people – kids from two of the other elementary schools in town, 13th Street and 98th Street. That meant more Gelmans, more Lawsons, more Ashleys. Gus doesn't even like dealing with the bullies he and his friends already deal with at Third Street. Adding in more of them? He shivers.
They have been fairly successful on their little playground keeping everything orderly. But, with more bullies and mean girls, how on earth are the six of them going to keep everything going smoothly?
TJ and the rest don't seem too concerned. In fact, they've been trying to prepare him and help him settle his nervous energy by talking about what makes them excited about starting middle school. Vince is excited for the sports teams. Mikey can't wait to join drama and chorus. Gretchen is convinced she will have more fun doing science club with other people than having the club all to herself like she does here.
"I heard middle school isn't that bad," Gus says.
"Not that bad, huh?" Butch shakes his head and pulls out his toothpick, tossing it to the ground and stomping on it. "My big brother Joey says middle school is a whole lot different than elementary school."
The way Butch says it gives Gus the chills. "Uh, how different?"
Obviously the structure is different. There are only two grades, seventh and eighth, compared to Third Street that teaches students from kindergarten to sixth. There are teachers for each subject. They no longer have recess. But, he worries about what isn't obvious, about what Butch seems to think is so important.
"Well, you see, Gus, Joey told me all sorts of stories, trying to prepare me and everything. Spiro T. Agnew is a beast in and of itself. With no recess and weird class schedules, you may not see your friends all day long. You go from class to class with random new people and then, when you get on the bus, you find your seat taken by some other kid."
"Some other kid?" Gus breathes.
Butch nods his head slowly.
"Yup. Middle school just makes you replaceable." He turns back out to the playground. "Look out at all these friend groups. In a year, I bet half of them won't even talk to each other anymore."
"That's a lie," Gus shouts. He can't afford to think anything else.
"That's what I said too," Butch says, sighing and kicking a pebble with the toe of his sneaker. "But then Joey made a good point."
Gus crosses his arms, not believing him but falling for the bait anyway. "What point?"
Butch turns back, his eyes wide, the white streak in his hair more prominent than usual.
"None of his friends went to Third Street," he says. "Not a single one."
Gus's heart stops beating.
As soon as it starts again, he takes off, sprinting toward the playground. He has to find his friends and tell them what Butch just revealed. His palms are sweaty. His stomach is queasy. He needs them to tell him that this is just another one of Butch's crazy stories – like the kissing story or the time he told them about Stinky Peterson's fatal fortune from the paper fortune teller.
But, as much as Butch's stories are far-fetched, he is too scared by the possibility of this one to disprove it himself.
First, he checks the Ashleys' clubhouse, thinking that he'll walk in late on a prank, but there is no sign of either the Ashleys or his friends. The doors are locked and he can't see any of the telltale signs of his friends anywhere nearby. He takes a look around the playground. They're not at the tetherball pole nor are they at the four square. He highly doubts they would be at the Fifth and Sixth Graders' Club. Despite TJ being king with access to the code in and out, none of them have been welcomed there since the fiasco the previous year.
He looks to the giant jungle gym in the center of the schoolyard. Mikey and Vince's official spots at the bottom of Old Rusty have been occupied all week with new junior guards, fifth graders in training for next year. And, if Gus is being honest, TJ has spent less time on his throne than King Bob ever spent off of it. King TJ has played more games of kickball, dodgeball, and baseball than any king in the history of Third Street, often times making playground rulings from the pitcher's mound rather than from the old beaten-up armchair at the top of Old Rusty.
So, where is everyone?
Finally, he spots one of his friends. Mikey sits in the sandbox with Hector and Tubby, so Gus starts to make his way over there. He can tell Mikey and then once Mikey is in on the tale they can go out and gather the rest.
"Mikey!" Gus shouts. "Mikey!"
All three boys turn as Gus runs closer. They are in the process of building a sandcastle. Each of the second graders has some figurines that Ms. Finster would confiscate in two seconds if she saw. Mikey is a pushover when it comes to the little ones, but as Gus's official title is Overseer of the Younger Grades, a title created and given to him by TJ on the first day of school when the newly appointed king chose Mikey and Vince as bodyguards, Gus has a duty to warn them.
"Hector! Tubby! What have I told you about bringing toys from home?" Gus asks the two second graders. The redheads both try to hide the figurines behind their backs. "Those toys aren't allowed and if Randall sees, Ms. Finster will take them away for the rest of the year. Do you want her to do that?"
"No, but–"
"No buts, Hector," Gus says. "You should put them away or you won't have them until summer vacation."
The two younger boys sigh and put the toys back in their bags. Tubby looks up at Mikey.
"How are we going to tell the story now?" he asks.
Mikey shakes his head.
"With our imagination," he says. Then he turns to Gus. "Come join us, my friend. Tubby and Hector are helping guide the story of this grand castle. They've just named the great brigade of knights that protect this burgeoning structure, the castle of–"
"That's great, Mikey," Gus says, cutting him off. This is important. "But, Butch–"
"Gus, sit down and listen," Hector whines. "Mikey was just getting to the good part."
"Yes, Mikey, please continue," Tubby insists. "What happens next?"
"But, Mikey, it's important!" Gus says. "Butch said–"
Mikey pats the sand next to him as he cuts in.
"Gus, my friend, you're hysterical," he says. "I thought we all decided last year after Butch told us that story about girls and the full moon that we were not going to listen to him anymore."
Gus kicks the sand. That is right. Butch told the boys a crazy story last year about girls and the cycle of the moon – they weren't too sure on the exact details – and they spent the whole week leading up to the upcoming full moon waiting for Spinelli and Gretchen to turn into angry, possessed monsters. The four boys even hid out in the bush under Gretchen's window to spy on them during their sleepover the night of the full moon. But they made too much noise and Spinelli spotted them.
The girls had been so angry. Gretchen actually yelled at them for being...what did she call them? Dim-witted and ignorant of the scientific process of the female anatomy he thinks may have been the words she used. Regardless, the boys promised to never believe anything else Butch said again.
"But, Mikey, this seems real!" Gus insists. "This is actually scary!"
Mikey again pats the sand. "Sit down, my friend, and give your mind over to creative energy. Let the fear seep out of your pores and indulge in the–"
"Mikey!" Tubby shouts. "The Queen and her Lady are still trapped in the castle by the evil Lord Randy. King Theo and the Knights of the Playground Rusty need to get them out!"
Gus turns and raises an eyebrow at Mikey, who shrugs.
"When you're strapped on time, it's easier to use characters with set personalities." Mikey gestures to the two younger boys as he adds the next bit. "It's sort of a choose your own path story. They're filling in the characters as we go with actual kids just so we know how they should react."
Gus sighs and sits next to Mikey. He might have to sit through the rest of this story before he can tell his friend about Butch.
"Okay, so Randall's the villain. Who are the other characters?"
Hector actually rolls his eyes and Gus is surprised by the attitude. His former kindergarten buddy is growing up quickly.
"You, Mikey, Vince, and TJ are trying to save Spinelli and Gretchen from Randall," he says. Then he repeats himself using the character names. "So, King Theo and his knights – the fast Sir Vincelot, the strong Sir Michael, and Sir Gustav the Brave – need to hurry up or the recess bell is gonna ring before they can save Queen Spinelli and Lady Gretchen from the evil Lord Randy."
Gus looks over his shoulders for the girls before turning to Mikey.
"If Spinelli finds out that she is trapped by Randall in your story, she is going to murder you," he says through his teeth so the younger boys won't hear. "Gretchen won't be happy either actually."
"Well, the plan was that when the King and the Knights of the 'Round Rusty got to the top of the castle to save them, they had already escaped and saved themselves," Mikey reasons.
Hector shrieks. "No! You ruined the story!"
"I didn't want to know the end!" Tubby shouts, covering his ears with his hands. "I didn't want to know!"
Mikey throws his arms up, ready to calm them down before they revert to their former kindergarten ways. Gus uses this time to slip out, well aware that at any second they could throw a full-on tantrum and that it's kind of his fault.
But, then again, if Mikey had just come with him in the first place, this wouldn't have been an issue.
Once Gus is far enough away, he stops to glance around the playground in order to find the others. Swinger Girl is swinging. Upside Down Girl is upside down. The Diggers are digging. Randall is snooping near the water fountain. The fourth and fifth graders have a game today on the kickball field, so his friends wouldn't be there. How come he can find everyone else but his friends are in none of their normal spots? This is one of their final recesses. He would think everyone would be together.
Maybe Butch is right.
Gus sees Gretchen at a picnic table and breathes out a sigh of relief. Gretchen knows everything, so she'll know whether what Butch said has any truth to it and she'll have the statistics to back up her opinion. Even if for some reason she doesn't know, she will know where the others are to talk about it. Gus races over, ready to have her debunk the crazy theory Butch told him.
She has Galileo out, fiddling with it and looking down at a manual about the size of a phone book. Occasionally, she shoots a look down the table at Judy Wertz. The other girl sits at the far end of the picnic table, her dictionary in front of her, spelling words aloud like she always does. It seems to be annoying Gretchen because she keeps looking up and glaring, probably having a hard time concentrating with the constant hum of Judy's mumbling.
"Hey, Gretchen!"
She doesn't look up from Galileo as she presses a few buttons in what looks like a specific order.
"Hello, Gus."
"Whatcha up to?"
She presses a few more buttons, glances at the manual, presses another couple of buttons, and then looks up. Behind her, Judy spells obsessed – "O-B-S-E-S-S-E-D, obsessed."
Gretchen rolls her eyes.
"I'm attempting to update the software on Galileo," she says. Gus looks down and sees the little green frog on the screen flipping in circles. "You see, Vince asked if Galileo could create an optimized nutrition plan for him to follow over the summer in preparation for fall football tryouts. However, I needed to install an additional software package that included specifics for..."
The rest of her explanation just sounds like jibberish, so Gus tunes her out until he sees her lips stop moving.
"Wait. If you're doing that for Vince, where is he?"
She shakes her head.
"I'm not just doing it for Vince," she says. "This software will be very beneficial for next year's science laboratory projects as well as tracking specific data points..."
Again with the jibberish.
She jerks her head toward the kickball field.
"As for your actual question, Vince is over there, attempting to train the fourth graders how to – how did he say it? – 'excel Vintastically,'" she uses air quotes as she says it.
Gus frowns. Sensing his confusion, Gretchen elaborates.
"Essentially," she explains. "He is trying to make it so they do not lose every single game next year."
Okay, that makes sense. The fourth graders this year are really bad kickball players. It is like having an entire team made up of Guses and Gretchens. That means Vince will be there all recess and maybe even after school and into the evening if he wants to impart all his wisdom onto them. But, Gus figures, Gretchen will be busy that long too, based on the frog hopping on her screen. He decides to just ask her here and now, rather than waiting for the software update to complete – whenever that might be.
Judy spells obsolescent. O-B-S-O-L-E-S-C-E-N-T. He waits until she moves on to ask.
"Hey, Gretch," he says. "I need to ask you something."
She looks up from the manual and smiles. "Of course, Gus. What is it?"
"Well, you see," he says. Then he pauses. How does he start this? Mikey is right. They all decided not to listen to Butch again. "Let's just say that someone told me this thing–"
Galileo interrupts him. "Why, Gretchen! It appears the reboot didn't work properly."
"It didn't work?" Gretchen exclaims.
Down the table, Judy spells a new word. "Obstinate. O-B-S-T-I-N-A-T-E, obstinate."
Gretchen glares at her and makes a frustrated noise in the back of her throat.
"I'm so sorry, Gus," she says, grabbing Galileo with one hand and flipping back through the manual with the other. "I must figure this out. Just give me five minutes."
Gretchen goes into her own head, flipping through pages of the manual and muttering to herself. She and Judy sound like a chorus of mumbled words that go right over Gus's head.
With a sigh, he starts heading toward for the kickball field. He doubts Vince will want to listen. Like Gretchen and her smart-people activities, Vince is always so focused when it comes to sports and when he is coaching someone it is almost worse than when he is playing himself. His coaching the fourth graders will be just like when he coached Spinelli for the beauty contest. When Vince coaches someone, he coaches to win at all costs and these fourth graders are terrible. They need all the coaching they can get.
He stuffs his hands in his pockets and keeps his head down as he walks. Maybe he is wrong. Maybe Vince will want to listen. He is TJ's left-hand man, so maybe that is a good sign. If anyone would want to listen it would be Vince. Then Vince would tell TJ and TJ would get everyone together.
Yeah, that's it! That's –
He slams into someone.
"Like, watch out, Griswald!"
He looks up and holds his hands up, ready to apologize to whatever Ashley he just barged into – Ashley A, by the looks of it. Ashley B is hoisting her back up to a standing position and the other two have their arms crossed, glaring at him. He gulps, ready to spew out a thousand apologies, but then he looks around and frowns. They are in the middle of the blacktop. What are they doing just standing in a circle in the middle of nowhere?
"What are you all waiting for?"
Ashley A crosses her arms like the others and glares. "Like, your stupid friend. His new guards sent us away, like, what?"
"We were told that our deed to the clubhouse would be signed over to the Tylers today and it totally hasn't been," Ashley B explains. She sighs dramatically. "We had priority status."
"What is he even doing up there?" Ashley Q whines. "Ugh, it's a disgrace."
He grins. So TJ is up on his throne. He is almost never up there, so that's good for Gus. That makes him easy to find. Now, rather than go to Vince, he can go straight to TJ.
Ashley A flips her hair over her shoulder. "Like, wait a minute. I have, like, a totally awesome idea."
She takes a folder out of Ashley T's hand and shoves it into Gus's chest.
"Like, Gus," she says, her voice just a little too sweet to be genuine. "Be a dear and bring this up to King TJ for us, using your, like, totally unwarranted special royal privileges and I'll totally forgive you for scuffing my shoes."
"Uh."
Ashley Q pushes Gus forward. "That's not a request, Griswald. That's an order! Go!"
He tosses a look over his shoulder at them as he starts walking. He hopes Butch's theory is correct when it comes to the Ashleys. That is one friendship he wouldn't mind seeing break up.
When he makes it to the bottom of Old Rusty, there are two fifth grade potential guards-in-training standing at the base of the jungle gym. Gus doesn't recognize them, but they recognize him.
"Go on up, Overseer of the Younger Grades," the one on the right says, using Gus's official title that TJ gave him at the beginning of the year. "The King and Queen are up there."
The two guards chuckle under their breath.
Gus frowns. He doesn't know what they mean by Queen. There is no Queen at Third Street. Who would it even be? Both girls in their group of friends were also given titles by King TJ, who insisted on giving each of his friends their own titles rather than just picking two of them to be his bodyguards and leaving the other three out of it. Everyone knows their titles. Gretchen is the Royal Brain, using her knowledge of the playground rules to help TJ with punishment decisions. Spinelli became the Royal Warden and helps oversee the punishments TJ and Gretchen decide on for the crime committed.
Since Gretchen is down with Galileo, he figures the girl on the top of Old Rusty with TJ must be Spinelli. He can't think of any other girl that TJ would have hanging around with him there. Gus just finds it odd that the two fifth graders messed up her title so badly and even odder that they laughed about it, as if they messed it up on purpose as some sort of joke.
Gus puts it out of his head and climbs the rungs, careful not to drop the Ashleys' folder. He does not want to face their wrath with only days left until the end of the year, when he gets ten glorious weeks of summer vacation without the four girls nearby. Poor Vince and TJ will be stuck with the girls for part of the summer since their baseball camp is across the lake from the cheerleading camp the Ashleys attend. It makes Gus all the more pleased that he never joined baseball when he moved to Arkansas, despite TJ and Vince both asking him to join their little league team.
He ascends to the top of the jungle gym. TJ and Spinelli are both up there, just as he figured. Finally, he has found some of his friends who don't look too busy to talk to him.
"Gus!" TJ exclaims, a happy smile curving onto his face. "How's recess so far?"
"Someone bugging you?" Spinelli asks. She raises a fist. "We can give them the ol' one-two."
Gus shakes his head. "Oh, uh, no. Nothing like that." He doesn't want Butch beaten up, just the theory debunked. "Just trying to find my friends."
"Well you found us! Take a seat," TJ says.
He gestures to the small podium that holds the king's throne and Gus walks over. It provides decent seating for the gang when they hang out at the top of Old Rusty. Spinelli and TJ have both managed to squish into the oversized armchair itself. Since Gus's last growth spurt a couple of months ago, the two are now firmly the smallest of the crew but still they just barely manage to sit side-by-side with Spinelli sort of half sitting on TJ's lap. Gus doesn't think it looks comfortable, but he supposes it must be because Spinelli isn't someone to sacrifice comfort.
He takes the seat on the podium, dropping the Ashleys' folder.
"What's that?" Spinelli asks.
He quickly attempts to grab it. "Oh, nothing. Just the, uh, something someone made me bring."
Both of them are now looking at him suspiciously and he sighs, handing the folder to TJ. He might as well just get that over with and then he won't have the Ashleys breathing down his neck. TJ opens the folder and Spinelli looks over his shoulder, rolling her eyes and glaring at Gus.
"When did you become the Ashleys' messenger boy?" she asks.
TJ gives her a look.
"Don't attack Gus," he says, pulling off his hat and removing a small pen he keeps there for safe keeping. He signs the paper and hands it back. "There. That should keep them quiet."
"I thought we were gonna make them grovel for it," Spinelli grumbles.
"We were. Until they brought Gus into it," he tells her, putting his cap back on. Then, to sway the conversation away from the Ashleys, he turns back to Gus and says, "So you couldn't find anyone else all recess? Where are they?"
"I mean, it isn't that I didn't find them," he mumbles. "But they were all busy with other stuff."
"I'm sure they weren't too busy for you," TJ insists, trying his hardest to ensure Gus feels included as always.
TJ is always doing that, not just for Gus but for everyone in the group. The sentiment lifts the corners of Gus's lips just a smidge.
He nods. "Yeah, you're probably right."
"King TJ! King TJ!"
The three stand and look over the side of Old Rusty. The two fifth grade guards are somewhat successfully holding off a small group of third grade boys. The boys seem to be trying to climb the ladder up to the throne, each of them more panicked than the next.
"You can let them up!" TJ shouts. Then he shakes his head and talks to Gus and Spinelli. "Some of these new guards-in-training take their jobs a little too seriously."
They back up as the boys climb over the top of Old Rusty and take their stances. A few of them kneel down, bowing their heads, while one who is clearly the leader of their group steps forward. He lifts his head and holds out his hands, a typical stance for the younger members of the playground when they approach royalty. TJ shakes him off, but the boy keeps up the traditional stance as he addresses the king.
"Oh, King TJ," he says. "We've traveled the vast expanses of the playground in search of our friend, but we're afraid he has been captured by the kindergarteners."
Gus winces. He remembers when the kindergarteners kidnapped TJ a few years ago. They kept him hostage for so long TJ forgot he was a big kid and was taking naps. He wonders how long the poor boy has been lost. Recess must be nearly over by now and if they don't find him he may be lost for good.
TJ turns to Spinelli. "Come on, Warden. Let's go solve this hostage situation."
"Sweet," she says. Then, noticing the glares from the boys, she bites her tongue. "I mean, shucks. Poor kid."
TJ steps forward and puts a hand on the leader of the group's shoulders. "Spinelli and I will go solve the hostage situation personally. So, rather than come with us and get involved, why don't you all wait somewhere for him?"
"Thank you, King TJ! We'll wait near the water fountain!"
Then all the boys thank him profusely as they climb down the side of Old Rusty and out of view. Once they're out of sight, Spinelli kicks her boot into the side of the throne.
"Perfectly good last few minutes of recess and we're stuck dealing with kindergarteners," she grumbles, crossing her arms and scowling. She groans. "When will the little kids ever learn to stay away from the kindergarten gate?"
TJ shrugs and gestures for her to start down first. She disappears down over the side and TJ turns to Gus.
"Feel free to hang out on my throne or I think Vince might be over at the kickball field if you want," he says. "We'll be right back. Hopefully. Keep your fingers crossed that they're being cooperative today."
Then TJ disappears as well.
It is only as Gus watches TJ and Spinelli walk toward the kindergarten area that he realizes he should be the one to go. He is Overseer of the Younger Grades. This is his domain of the playground, dealing with the youngest kids, but TJ didn't even think to bring him along. Instead, he brought Spinelli, who as Warden probably should have gone as well in case they needed to threaten the kindergarteners with punishments to get them to release the hostage, but not more than Gus.
He sighs and starts down the side of Old Rusty, just like the rest of them did. Maybe Butch's theory isn't so bogus after all. He isn't even in seventh grade yet and he can't help feel like he is already being forgotten.
He waves to the two fifth graders at the bottom of the jungle gym and then heads off to find the Ashleys. He needs to give them the papers before he loses them. Once he finds the girls and hands off their sacred documents, he looks around the playground for somewhere to go.
He ultimately finds himself on the playground roundabout, memories of the Ashleys' crazy rating system flooding into his head. The pigeons beside him are probably not the same ones he called his peers when he was told he was a zero. He shivers at the memory but, in that moment, when he had accepted that he had no value at all, TJ and the rest were there to take down the system.
Now, here he sits. Again. The pigeons cooing beside him. TJ and Spinelli ditching him. Mikey and Vince playing with the younger kids. Gretchen so focused on Galileo. Maybe Butch really is right. Maybe next year their little band of negative-fives in the Ashleys' crazy rating scale, the kids that stuck together through thick and thin, will be nothing more than has-beens and what's-his-names.
This is the only place he has ever felt like he belonged and now...
He sniffles, embarrassed but also too sad to care. He doesn't want new friends. He wants to keep the ones he has.
Spinelli who goes to Kelso's with him when he is feeling bad and races him in milkshake drinking contests. Mikey who can make him feel better about anything in a matter of seconds with his fancy words and fantastical stories. Vince who works as hard as he can to help Gus, even when Gus is beyond help – which he is more often than not, especially when it comes to the sports Vince loves so much. Gretchen who is always there to share her knowledge with him, even if he doesn't understand it, and then dumbs it down so he can. And, TJ, the leader, and the kid Gus thought would be the glue to them all.
"Gus, what are you doing?"
He looks up and quickly wipes his eyes. TJ stands in front of him, the other four just slightly behind.
"I, uh, I'm getting used to next year." They all frown. So, Gus elaborates. "You know, when I have no friends."
"What do you mean when you have no friends?" Mikey exclaims.
"Yeah, what are we? Chopped liver?" Vince asks.
TJ sits down on the roundabout beside Gus. "What made you think next year you're not going to have any friends?"
"You're not moving away, are you?" Mikey asks.
Gus shakes my head. "No, no, uh, I'll be here. At least, I haven't been told I won't." He clasps his hands together. "It's just that I was talking to Butch–"
"Oh, brother, not this again," Spinelli groans. "I thought we decided that we weren't going to listen to Butch."
TJ puts an arm around Gus, ignoring her and focusing on him. "So, what did Butch say?"
Gus recounts the story and tells them Butch's theory. Then he looks up, hoping that they'll tell him that he is just being dumb. But they all turn to Gretchen, wide-eyed, who shrugs.
"Statistically, the probability of all six of us staying friends for the remainder of our schooling experience is low," she says. "I can't give you an actual number without Galileo, but Butch's story is more likely than not."
If Gus wasn't so bummed, he might have found it comical watching Vince, Spinelli, and Mikey all turn in unison from Gretchen to TJ. Gus turns too. TJ adjusts his hat and shakes his head, the only one of them appearing unconcerned.
"Seriously?" he asks. "Butch gives one lousy example and the five of you are ready to toss our friendship to the kindergarteners."
"But, Teej," Vince says. "Statistics."
He stands and crosses his arms. "Statistics aren't about us. They don't mean anything – no offense, Gretch."
She shakes him off, unbothered by his statement, and he continues.
"Look, if I can stay friends with Menlo – Menlo – then our friendship is going to be easy to maintain."
Gus looks up. "Really, TJ? You think so?"
"I know so," he says. "We've ruled the playground. We've saved the school. A little study hall isn't going to take us down. All we have to do is promise not to leave each other behind and fight for it."
Gus nods his head as the others all declare that they're in. They put their hands together in the middle and suddenly Gus feels a lot better. Sure, Butch's brother may not still be friends with his Third Street friends, but what's that to say Gus won't. The six of them are in this together.
"Nothing to worry about," TJ says, looking right at Gus.
The bell rings and everyone starts heading into the building, Ms. Finster standing with her arms crossed watching as they all go. Only two more recesses now. Two more days of elementary school. But, as Gus watches his friends head up the stairs, he is not afraid. Or, at least, not for the next few minutes.
...
Notes:
Episodes/Movies Referenced: The Experiment, Gus' Fortune, The Beauty Contest, The Legend of Big Kid, The Ratings Game, Recess: School's Out, Recess: Taking the Fifth Grade
This story will span through middle and high school (and potentially beyond) and, as I said in the notes last chapter, will be written as an ensemble just like the show. Each of the main six will voice parts of the narration.
I already have a fair amount of this written, mostly 8th grade through 11th grade, and my friend and I have thousands of emails back and forth where she has helped me build this universe (Thanks, Abbie!). Once I've finished actually writing 7th grade, I'll feel more confident of a timeline for updates, but there is another update coming, so stay tuned.
For those of you who may have read my one-shots, you will see some similar themes, however this universe has drifted from the timeline/universe those are set in. The only one that currently fits okay into this fic universe would be "Goodbye, Third Street" and it would take place two days after this chapter. Otherwise, like I said, similar themes will be explored but the other fics I have written don't quite match this particular storyline any longer. I just don't want anyone to confuse those one-shots as tagalong fics to what this will inevitably become.
If anyone has any thoughts, suggestions, or feedback, please don't hesitate to let me know.
I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! Now, onto Spiro T. Agnew Middle School.