Chapter 43
It was 8:30 a.m. and the sound of the first school bell filled the hallways of Peach Creek Junior High, just as it did every morning to signal students to file into their respective homerooms.
On this day in particular, unspoken tensions were felt all throughout room 305. Double Dee was nowhere to be found, even though it had been two minutes since the late bell had rung.
Eddy sat in the back of the room, in his usual place next to Ed. Ed, seemed to have something heavy on his mind, as instead of sipping gravy from his thermos, or reading his comic book, he was sitting behind his desk with his head resting in his hands, staring at the wall. Eddy was sitting behind his desk as well, spinning his pen around in his hand while staring angrily at the front chalkboard.
An equally angry Kevin sat a few rows in front of him. Kevin had made sure to sit as far away from Eddy as possible. Nazz who was infuriated with Kevin, took an empty seat on the opposite side of the room. Kevin attempted to make eye contact with her, but his efforts were to no avail, as Nazz buried her face into a book, effectively ignoring him.
The teacher began taking roll. He quickly passed Kevin and Ed's names on the list, and in no time, he had marked Eddy present. He eventually reached Double Dees name, and called it twice, after which he began marking Double Dees first ever lateness into his record book.
Just as the teachers pen was about to touch the page, the door to the classroom opened, and an emotionally drained Double Dee entered the room. Double Dee did not move his eyes at all as he took an empty seat near the front of the classroom; the teenager who was once enthusiastic about going to school now wanted nothing more than to be home sleeping in his bed. He was heartbroken, and felt sick from all of the stress he had just gone through.
"Look at him," said Eddy angrily, "Playing it up, he's lucky I did what I did!"
Eddy picked up his pencil.
"Who needs him, he just cramps our style with his stupid hat and brainy words!" said Eddy as he began drawing pictures that poked fun at Double Dee on his desk.
Ed continued staring at the front of the classroom, attempting not to pay attention to Eddy's complaints.
The teacher had finished taking roll. The teacher allowed his students free time to do whatever they wished once he had finished roll call. Kevin took advantage of this opportunity; he stood up out of his seat, and walked over to where Double Dee was seated. He took a seat next to Double Dee and put his arm on his shoulder. Kevin told the whole story of how Eddy manipulated him, and apologized whole heartedly to his friend for all of his inappropriate actions. Double Dee had realized long before that the real mastermind behind this brutal assault was Eddy, and had no qualms with Kevin.
"Look at that, big chin is sucking up to him too!" said Eddy as he furiously ground his pencil into his desk. Ed stared intently at Eddy, still puzzled by the wild morning he was forced to endure.
The same unspoken tensions continued to radiate throughout the rest of the day, most notably at lunch time. The group of former best friends who would once never miss the opportunity to eat lunch together, were for the first time eating at all different tables. Eddy and Ed sat at a table near the left side of the lunchroom, while Kevin and Rolf sat in the same row, but on the far right side of the room. Nazz spent her lunch with the rest of the girls from her cheerleading squad.
As Double Dee ate his ham and cheese sandwich, he instinctively looked up towards a single brown table near the lunchroom windows, the table at which his girlfriend and her sisters would enjoy lunch, expecting to make eye contact with Marie's eyes. He was instantly reminded of the tragedy that had occurred that morning when he saw an empty table. He continued eating his sandwich heartbroken, wondering of Marie's whereabouts.
Marie was currently laying on the king sized bed in her trailer bedroom, crying her eyes out. She couldn't believe that Double Dees love had all been a lie, and that she was merely a pawn in a sinister plot to pay her and her sisters back for all they have done. She felt betrayed that she had told him all of her secrets. She had even admitted that she was wrong for doing those things, yet he still took part in humiliating her. She had really liked him, and she was dismayed that the affection she had thought she received was just a joke.
Lee and May had arrived at the trailer shortly after Marie. May entered the trailer first, infuriated while Lee slowly closed the door behind them.
"I can't believe it!" yelled May, "I hate that stupid jerk, he's just like all of the other kids from the city!"
May began walking up the stairs.
"May, where the hell do you think you're going? Get down here!" yelled Lee.
"I'm going to help my sister!" said May, continuing her walk up the stairs.
"May, get down here!" yelled Lee.
May disobeyed her and continued walking up the stairs,
"I'm gonna give that wimp a piece of my fist." yelled May.
"ANNAMAE LYNN KANKER-LONERGAN!" yelled Lee in an intimidating breathy whisper, as to not alert Marie, with an angry expression, "Get your ass down her on this couch right now!"
May appeared as if she was a young child that had just been scolded for trying to grab something they shouldn't. She began descending the stairs, with a saddened expression on her face, and took her place on the couch. Lee followed suit and sat down next to her sister.
"Now May, before ya go up there and add fuel to this fire, I want ya to listen to what I gotta say." said Lee quietly.
May shook her head as if agreeing with Lee.
"I really don't think that Double Dee had anything to do with this thing that happened this morning," said Lee in a calm voice.
"But Lee, you saw the pictures!" yelled May.
"Come on May, cut the crap." said Lee, "Do ya really think that shy Double Dee would jump for freakin' joy to volunteer to be the one that buttered us up?"
May thought about Lee's statement for a few seconds. Her older sister was right, Double Dee would have been much more nervous than he was around them if his feeling weren't genuine. He would have never made himself as vulnerable to her and her sisters if he wasn't doing it on his own accord, and would had definitely blown his cover if he was faking it.
"But what about all of the flyers?" asked May.
"Marie must have given the pictures to Double Dee as a gift or something, and somehow they ended up in the wrong hands." said Lee.
Lee paused as she looked into her sisters eyes.
"I really don't see Double Dee acting as the mastermind behind something like this." said Lee.
"So what do we do?" asked May.
"Well, if we go up there and try to talk to her now, she won't listen." said Lee, "She is way too thick headed to even let us get a word in edge wise. We're gonna have to wait for her to cool off for a little while."
"But if it wasn't Double Dee, then who could have done it?" asked May.
Lee grinned at her baby sister and put her hand on her shoulder.
"Don't worry May," said Lee, as she leaned into Mays face.
"It just so happens that I have a good idea of who is responsible for this crap." said Lee.
Lee moved away from her sister and stared at the wall.
"I smell a rat," said Lee, "A short, loudmouthed, conniving rat."
Although Eddy was the self proclaimed master of all scams, he had not taken into account that Lee was just as clever, if not even more so than him. Lee was a smart girl deep down inside, and with a little analysis, she had developed a theory that was remarkably close to the truth.
"So now what?" asked a concerned May.
"We're gonna have to get him alone to have a little chat with him." said Lee while snickering,
"We'll wait outside his house until he comes home from school and we'll nail him good."
"But Lee, beating him up won't get Double Dee and Marie back together!" said May.
"I know that dingbat!" said Lee, "We're just gonna get a confession out of him, and make sure that he never does anything like this again, if ya get what I mean."
Lee paused.
"Relax sis," said Lee, "I got a little plan of my own that will put the little runt in his place, as well as hopefully get out two lovebirds back together."
Lee and May smiled at each other as they spent the rest of their day discussing the intricate plot Lee had come up with to reverse Eddy's damage.
Before they knew it, it was 3:00, and Peach Creek Junior High had most likely dismissed all of its students.
"Alright, let's go!" said Lee.
Lee and May stepped out of the trailer and walked to the fence that acted as the border to the lane. The girls quickly hopped the gate, and then hopped another gate into Eddy's yard. They concealed themselves behind the bushes near his house, as they wished to initiate a surprise attack.
Just then, the girls heard Eddy's raspy voice approaching.
"Here he comes!" said Lee, "Keep quiet, until I say so."
As Eddy approached his house, the girls were surprised at what they saw. Eddy was not alone as they would have expected and hoped for. Walking next to him was the object of May's affections, Ed. May was somewhat heartbroken herself seeing her Ed paling around with Eddy after what he had done to Double Dee.
"Shit." said Lee in a drawn out and annoyed tone.
"Now what?" asked May. "Let's just hang out and see if he says anything, if not we'll get him later." said Lee.
Little did May know that Ed was dealing with intense emotional issues at the moment himself. He felt as though he was being forced to choose between his two best friends in the whole world, a choice which he had thought he would never have to make in his life.
Eddy was once again complaining about Double Dee and talking down about him. Even though he wanted to keep their friendship together, Ed couldn't help but be infuriated with Eddy. Ed finally decided that it was time to do the right thing.
As Eddy attempted to open his front door, Ed stood in front of him, blocking his path.
"Yo lumpy, I can't open the door if you're standing in front of it!" yelled Eddy as he fumbled with his keys.
Eddy looked up into Ed's face. The dopey smile that he usually displayed was nowhere to be found. Instead, Eddy saw a face that he had only ever seen one other time.
"Hey Ed are you alright?" asked Eddy.
Ed said nothing, and continued staring at Eddy.
"What's the matter?" said Eddy fearfully, as he reached down towards Ed's shoes, "Ya got a pebble in your shoe again?"
Ed kicked Eddy away from him and leaned down into his face.
"Geez Ed, where is this coming from!" said Eddy
"I never wanted it Eddy!" yelled an angry Ed, "I watched you making up that stupid plan up all week and never said anything about it, thinking that you weren't mean enough to be able to do it. Boy was I wrong. I may not be the best at math and a laid back guy, but I know what's right from wrong, and what you did to Double Dee was just wrong!" yelled Ed, surprising Eddy.
"Whoa there Ed calm down." said Eddy, "Don't turn on me like those other losers!"
"Double Dee was our best friend, and you turned on him." said Ed. "I needed to get away from it all so I faked being sick this morning. I didn't want to hurt my friend's feelings."
Ed paused for a few seconds.
"I'm leaving!" yelled Ed.
Ed began walking away from Eddy, stomping angrily.
"Hey, Lumpy!" yelled Eddy, "Get back here!"
"My name is not lumpy!" yelled Ed at the top of his lungs.
"Where are ya goin!" yelled Eddy.
"I'm going to help my true friend," yelled Ed as he walked towards Double Dee's house, "And until you are ready to say sorry, and make this up to Double Dee, you should sit down and think about what you did mister!"
Although his vocabulary and speech skills were not as proficient as Double Dees, Ed sure did leave an impression on Eddy with his words. Eddy could not believe that Ed had finally stood up to him, demonstrating a thinking capacity that Eddy did not think he was capable of. Eddy was now lost for words, as he had lost his final friends trust. He entered his house and slammed the door behind him.
Lee and May were still in their place behind Eddy's bushes, surprised at what they had just witnessed.
"Yo May?" asked Lee surprised, "Did we just see Big Ed get angry?"
"I think we just did Lee." said May.
Even though May was surprised that Ed, who was usually a gentle giant, managed to express anger, she couldn't help but feel proud for her crush. Ed had stood up for his friend Double Dee, and in his case, his anger was very much warranted. May began to melt inside at her crushes stunning display of loyalty and bravery.
"So it looks like we got a confession." said Lee.
"Yep," said May, "Thanks to Big Ed!"
"I never knew he had it in him!" said Lee as she snickered. The girls shared a quick giggle before sneaking out of Eddy's yard just as quickly as they had been able to sneak in. They returned to their trailer, and decided that it was best if they returned to Eddy's house later that night when they knew that he would definitely be alone.
"Let's go check on Marie," said Lee, "Get her something to drink, she's probably thirsty."
The girls proceeded up the stairs and walked towards the bedroom door, opening it. Marie had slammed the door so hard that the "Employees must wash hands!" sign Tabby had brought home as a souvenir from her old restaurant was jarred off of its mounting. It was currently lying on the bedroom floor.
Marie was lying on her side in the bed sleeping. She had apparently cried herself to sleep, heartbroken. May and Lee exchanged sorrowful looks with each other, as they hated to see their sister in such a miserable state.
Lee placed a can of soda on the dresser for her sister to drink when she eventually woke up. Lee walked over to the bed, and gently placed her hand on Marie's hair, stroking it gently so as to not wake her up.
"I love you baby sister." whispered Lee, "Don't you worry about a thing, we'll clear all of this up for ya."