Chapter 10: Trevor's New Friends
"…and that's what happened." Trevor said, as he finished explaining to Rita, who looked like she was about to go on a rampage throughout the school.
"I see." Rita said, through gritted teeth as she took everything in. Then she took in a few calming breaths and began her explanation.
"First Trevor, thank you very much for helping Carrie. She's really had it really rough for quite a long while now, even before high school began. I think it's a great thing that you helped her when she needed it the most." Rita said, praising Trevor for his efforts.
"Thanks very much, but can you tell me more please?" Trevor asked, and so Rita explained to him how Carrie was bullied by nearly every student in school for no reason at all, particularly since she started high school. She said Carrie was one of the sweetest girls she knew and would never hurt anyone. Her grades were very good, possibly even better than most other students in the school, but she excelled in math and English, despite being bullied by the English teacher: Mr. Ulmann, something Jack had witnessed first-hand that day.
However, from what she could see from the time that she'd been teaching in Ewen High, Carrie's main bullies were a clique of popular girls known in Ewen High as "The Mortimer Snerds" led by Chris Hargensen, a spoilt-rotten rich girl and Ewen High's notorious Queen Bee, who seemed to have made it her own personal mission to torment Carrie, and other outcast and misfit students like her, in school. Trevor always hated the schoolgirls who were the high school Queen Bees, as they always seemed to bully outcast students and do things for their own personal gain.
Chris's father: John Hargensen, was a well-known lawyer within the town of Chamberlain. He was a man who had considerable influence in his job, and Rita had no doubts that Chris used that information as an excuse to feel untouchable by anyone else, as well as to bully and torment others in school whenever she felt like it, whether it was Carrie White or any other misfit. Rita spoke of one particular incident that had happened a little over two years before; Chris had been bullying another girl with a cleft lip and somehow had managed to slip a firecracker into one of her shoes and nearly blew two of her toes off in the process, which resulted in Chris getting a week's suspension.
Trevor's jaw dropped in horror when he heard that and shuddered right down to his very core at the thought of what had happened to the poor girl. However, Rita reassured him that the girl in question survived just fine; the firecracker used had been a very small one and her toes didn't sustain as much damage as originally thought, though she did have her foot wrapped up in bandages for quite a while.
She also mentioned that Chris had been given at least a dozen suspensions, for various reasons such as bullying, as well as 74 detentions within the last four years, most of which she'd definitely skipped, between 50 and 55 altogether, including her most recent one for an incident which had happened within the ladies changing room on Friday morning the previous week. Trevor was astonished and let out a long low whistle after hearing that info.
"You know back home in Ireland, any troublemaker who gets detention or suspended as often as that would probably more than likely be kicked out of school well before their record got anywhere near that high a figure." Trevor said, truly astonished, a girl like Chris Hargensen would still be attending Ewen High School with a questionable record like that.
Continuing with her explanation of things, Rita told Trevor how the other girls The Mortimer Snerds called in the "Ultras", including Sue Snell, Heather Shyres, Tina Blake, Jessica Upshaw, Rachel Spies, Donna Kellogg, Anissa Chen, the Watson twins, Nicki and Lizzy and the Thibodeau twins, Donna and Mary Lila Grace and the others were all just as spoilt as Chris and how many of them also tormented Carrie and other outcasts in the school whenever they had the chance. She also had the feeling they had a level of influence over other students in the school, causing them to bully Carrie as well due to peer pressure.
Trevor was appalled to hear all of this and couldn't help feeling sorry for Carrie when Rita described how hard things were for her in school on a day-to-day basis.
When Trevor asked why the school hadn't done anything to deal with the bullying, either by the "Ultras" or by anyone else in the school, Rita explained that while there had been goodness knows how many complaints made about the matter, there wasn't much hard evidence to back it up.
She had her suspicions that either the parents of the girls involved with the bullying had some sort of influence over the school board or that Chris's father was sweeping everything under the rug so as to not give Ewen High a bad name, and she strongly suspected the latter was the case. She said there wasn't much that she herself could do about it as she'd only started teaching at the school the previous September, and though she tried her best to help bring Carrie out from her shell, she felt she hadn't fully succeeded yet.
"I see; thanks for telling me all this." Trevor said, as he rubbed his chin and thought hard for a long moment before clicking his fingers as he came to a decision.
"Starting from tomorrow morning, I'll do everything I can in my power to be sure that Carrie's no longer alone. I'll be her friend, her confidence, in fact whatever it takes so she feels there's someone who's there for her. I'll be with her no matter what, and I'll deal with anyone who tries to bully her. That's a promise!" Trevor said, with grim determination. Rita was a bit surprised to hear Trevor speak in such a way, but then she gave a small smile and nodded.
"Thanks, Trevor; I'll do everything that I can to help Carrie too. The more people who can give Carrie the help she needs, the better it'll be I think." Rita said, as Trevor nodded in grim agreement. With that done and agreed to, Trevor and Rita climbed into her car, and they left the school. Trevor was determined to do everything he could to help the girl he'd met earlier that day.
(Meanwhile…)
Trevor smiled as she reached through his hair and pulled out a long thick shirt that looked like one of Native American origin. Even had the headdress to go with it.
Trevor walked and looked down to his phone to his mother.
Trevor's TEXT: Mom, I'm going to the Farmhouse.
Mom's TEXT: Okay, Trevor.
Trevor walked through town.
"Trevor." a voice came.
Everyone just turned toward Trevor, paused and slowly shook their heads. Trevor all quickly turned to walk away when Sue, Tommy, Freddy, Norma and the others raced toward her.
"Trevor, wait up!" Sue yelled.
"Oh, hey. Sue, Freddy, and Norma." Trevor said.
"Yeah." Sue said.
"Hey, Trevor." Freddy said.
"Hey." Norma said.
"You must be Trevor." Tommy said, as he pointed at Trevor.
"Yeah. Who is that?" Trevor asked, as he pointed at Tommy.
"Trevor, this is my boyfriend Tommy Ross. This is my friend Heather Shyres and Roy Evans. This is George Dawson and Erika Gogan. This is Lucky Domingo." Sue said.
"It's so nice to meet you, Tommy." Trevor said, with a smile, as he shook Tommy's hand.
"It's so nice to meet you, Trevor." Tommy said to Trevor as he then shook George's hand.
"It's nice to meet you." George said.
"Thanks, George." Trevor said.
"Welcome to Chamberlain." Heather said, as she took Trevor's hand.
"Is this your first time over here?" Erika asked.
"Oh, yeah. It's my first time." Trevor said, as he then shook Erika, Roy and Lucky's hand.
"But why are you over here in Chamberlain?" Tommy asked.
"Yeah. My mom and my sister arrived in Chamberlain." Trevor said.
"Guys, his grandfather died. His mother says we're here to pick through the rubble of his life." Sue said.
"Wait, is he here to uncover the mystery of his death?" Tommy asked.
"No, It was natural causes." Sue said.
"Are you sure it wasn't unnatural causes?" George asked.
"Yes." Trevor said.
"Pretty sure it was just a heart attack." Sue said.
"Ah." Tommy said.
"The silent killer." Norma said.
"Yeah." Sue said.
"Uh-oh." Freddy said.
"Sorry to hear about your grandfather." Lucky said.
"It's okay." Trevor said.
"I'm sorry." George said.
"Too." Trevor said.
"Hey, if you follow us, I'll show you the way to your home." Norma said.
"We'd love to Sue, but we kind of have something to do really quick." Trevor responded.
"Yeah, too." Freddy said.
"Okay, come on with me." Trevor said.
Sue, Tommy, George, Erika, Freddy, Norma, Heather, Roy and Lucky followed after Trevor.
(Later at the Farmhouse…)
Trevor, Sue, Tommy, Norma, Freddy, George, Erika, Heather, Roy and Lucky walked alongside the gravel road to the Farmhouse.
"Is everything all right?" Freddy asked.
"Yes." Trevor said.
"So, Trevor, I saw you stop them." Norma said.
"Yeah, Something did happen today, but not to me; do happen to know a student named Carrie White." Trevor said.
"Are you meeting Carrie?" Freddy asked.
"Yeah." Trevor said.
"What happened?" Tommy asked.
"The three jocks. I saved her. This morning...and that's what happened." Trevor said.
"You're helping Carrie, right?" George asked.
"Yeah." Trevor said, as he nodded.
"You talk to Miss Desjardin, right?" Erika asked.
"That's right. Who are the three jocks?" Trevor asked.
"The boys named Billy Nolan, Jackie Talbot, and Kenny Garson." Freddy said.
"Billy Nolan, Jackie Talbot, and Kenny Garson." Trevor said.
"Yeah." Lucky said.
"Thank you very much for helping Carrie." Norma said.
"Carrie's really had it really rough for quite a long while now, even before high school began. I think it's a great thing that you helped her when she needed it the most." Sue said, praising Trevor for his efforts.
"Thanks very much, but can you two tell me more please?" Trevor asked, and so Sue and Tommy explained to him.
"How Carrie was bullied by nearly every student in school for no reason at all, particularly since she started high school. Carrie was one of the sweetest girls she knew and would never hurt anyone. Her grades were every good, possibly even better than most other students in the school, but she excelled in math and English, despite being bullied by the English teacher Mr. Ulmann, something you had witnessed first-hand that day." Tommy said.
"Yeah, I talked to him." Trevor said.
"However, from what she could see from the time that she'd been teaching in Ewen High, Carrie's main bullies were a clique of popular girls known in Ewen High as "The Ultras" led by Chris Hargensen, a spoilt-rotten rich girl and Ewen High's notorious Queen Bee, who seemed to have made it her own personal mission to torment Carrie, and other outcast and misfit students like her, in school. Trevor always hated the schoolgirls who were the high school Queen Bees, as they always seemed to bully outcast students and do things for their own personal gain." Sue said.
"Ah yes, Chris Hargensen. The Mortimer Snerds. The Ultras, right. Oh, John Hargensen, the lawyer, right." Trevor said.
"Chris's father." Sue said.
"You two know Chris." Trevor said.
"Yes, me and Sue." Heather said.
"How the other girls in the "Ultras", including me, Tina Blake, Jessica Upshaw, Rachel Spies, Donna Kellogg, Anissa Chen, the Watson twins, Nicki and Lizzy and the Thibodeau twins, Donna and Mary Lila Grace and several others were all just as spoilt as Chris and how many of them also tormented Carrie and other outcasts in the school whenever they had the chance. She also had the feeling they had a level of influence over other students in the school, causing them to bully Carrie as well due to peer pressure." Sue said.
"Plug it up." Heather said.
"What? Plug it up? I don't get it?" Trevor asked.
Sue and Heather nods yes. Trevor was appalled to hear all of this and couldn't help feeling sorry for Carrie when Sue described how hard things were for her in school on a day-to-day basis.
"I see; thanks for telling me all this." Trevor said, as he rubbed his chin and thought hard for a long moment before clicking his fingers as he came to a decision.
"Do you wanna be friends?" Tommy asked.
"You will make a friend out here." Sue said.
"Well, but yeah. Yeah, sure. I have new friends." Trevor said.
"Cool, cool." Roy said.
"All right." Heather said, with a smile.
"Yeah." Sue, Tommy, Norma, Freddy, George, Erika, Roy and Lucky all said.
Sue, Tommy, Norma, Freddy, George, Erika, Heather, Roy and Lucky were happy.
"Well, this is me." Trevor said, as he turned his head and pointed.
Trevor revealed the Farmhouse was his stop.
"The Dirt Farmer's house, right?" Sue asked.
"Yeah, he was my grandfather." Trevor said, with a smile.
"No way, Trevor!" George said, with surprise.
Sue, Tommy, Norma, Freddy, Erika, Heather, Roy and Lucky were surprised. Freddy then got out his camera phone and held it horizontally.
"So you're just gonna your body in?" Freddy asked.
"Are you recording me?" Trevor asked.
"Yeah, just in case your body was pulled apart into tiny pieces by an unseen dark force." Freddy said.
"Too." Sue, Tommy, Norma, George, Erika, Heather, Roy and Lucky all said.
Trevor nods.
"All right. Bye." Trevor said, his wave to goodbye Sue, Tommy, Norma, Freddy, George, Erika, Heather, Roy and Lucky.
Trevor going to the Farmhouse.
To Be Continued…