Chapter 17: Carrie got invited to prom
(Later at Bat-Bunker…)
Soon enough Bruce was down in his private garage looking at his Batsuit.
Along with Blake's Robin suit.
Bruce thought back to his previous years as The Dark Knight and yet what little it accomplished him.
And in this matter everything was at stake.
(Later at Wayne Manor…)
Bruce later drove by Wayne Manor which is now an orphanage since the end of Rises…
He watched from a distance of kids playing and going in and out of the building.
Bruce was silent as he watched the mansion he was born in now was used as a shelter for young orphans.
Bruce later drove away.
(Later at Ewen High School…)
It was almost the end of another school day meaning there were only a couple classes left. Everyone was greeting each other in the hallways as they walked by.
Tommy walked like the world was in slow motion, treading across the school like a model on a runway. With his brown hair, his brown eyes, and even a leather jacket for Lacrosse, all the girls smiled and giggled toward him. He'd exchange a few handshakes and some high fives to some students and faculty alike. He's every bit of the embodiment of every teenage heartthrob cliché.
(Later at Cafeteria…)
Walking straight into the cafeteria, it didn't take long for Tommy to spot Carrie. She sat alone, hunched over her telekinesis books. He soon approached her with a tray of food and tapped her shoulder.
"Hey, Carrie." Tommy greeted.
Carrie gasped in surprise over someone talking to her. On instinct, she quickly covered the book as he sat down. She turned toward him and sighed with relief.
"I was looking for you at the library because that's where they said you were." Tommy said. "But, uh, you weren't there, so I figured maybe you were here."
For a moment, Carrie said no more. She seemed to be waiting for another mean comment. Tommy picked up one of her books and read the title.
"'Telekinesis: Unlocking the Mind.'" Tommy read.
Carrie quickly grabbed the book away as he chuckled. A few other students took notice of Tommy sitting right across from Carrie, all of them murmuring as to why this random guy would suddenly be hanging with the outcast.
"No, no. Is that about, uh, hypnosis?" Tommy asked in concern, starting a conversation. "Because me and my friends, we tried that. We actually hypnotized my boy's dog."
Tommy chuckled, yet Carrie retreated herself further. Seeing as being lighthearted wasn't reaching Carrie, he decided to switch tactics.
"How are you doing?" Tommy asked casually.
"I'm okay." Carrie answered, awkwardly.
"Cool. So you know how, um, prom is next week? You know? Um, I was wondering, if you don't have a date already, maybe you want to go with me." Tommy replied.
Carrie looked toward Tommy in utter confusion. True, she really liked this boy, and they were very good friends. But she couldn't help but shake her head, thinking she heard him wrong.
"What?" Carrie asked.
"The prom. Next week." Tommy repeated.
Now Carrie clearly had no idea how to respond. She looked around, seeing all the other students staring at the pair in disbelief. And Carrie could swear she heard a chuckle somewhere in the crowd. In her mind she must be thinking it's another joke, as Tommy leaned toward her.
"Carrie." Tommy said.
Carrie stood up and quickly threw her books in her bag hurrying out of the cafeteria.
Tommy went after her in the hallway and reached for her arm. Carrie whirled out of his grasp, frightfully upset.
"Carrie. Stop!" Tommy called.
"Please, just stop trying to trick me." Carrie begged.
At first Tommy didn't say a word. He could clearly see how vulnerable and used to being hurt Carrie was.
"No, I'm not trying to trick you. I'm not tricking you." Tommy assured.
"Aren't you with Sue Snell?" Carrie asked.
"Yeah, I'm with Sue Snell, but she doesn't want to go." Tommy insisted, as he held her coat.
"I'm sorry." Carrie said.
And just like that, Carrie took off before Tommy could reach out to her.
(Meanwhile, in the girls' locker room…)
In the darkened girls' locker room, Carrie sat while crying her eyes out and saw for a bit between her legs that it was a woman who walked in. She kneed down to her as she spoke to her.
"Did one of the girls try something again?" The woman asked her with concern in her voice.
Carrie realized that the woman was her gym teacher Rita.
Carrie responded to her question. "No."
Carrie slowly lifted her head from her knees and turned to look at Rita who was looking at her with a really concerned and worried face. She decided to tell her about her encounter.
Somehow, Rita doesn't notice the damaged lockers caused by her Telekinesis.
"I got invited to prom." Carrie told Rita.
Rita looked surprised when Carrie said that as she did not expect any boys to ask her out due to all of the bullying and harassment she goes through everyday. Not that it was bad, its just that was unexpected to her. But she was happy to hear that from her.
"Really?" Rita asked as she gasped with happiness.
Carrie nodded her head.
"That is… that's great news." Rita told Carrie in a cheerful voice.
Rita then sat down next to Carrie on the floor to talk more about it.
"With who?" Rita asked as she wanted to know who could have the lucky gut that got Carrie's attention and asked her from prom.
Carrie slowly turned to her gym teacher that was sitting next to her now on the floor and kind of hesitated to say who the person was. But decided to say his name.
"It's Tommy Ross." Carrie answered.
Rita tried to retain the happy facade, but the answer set off a red flag.
"Wow. Tommy Ross?" Rita asked, still not believing still, she tried to keep the conversation positive for Carrie. "He is pretty dreamy, huh?" She asked with a smile on her face so Carrie could see that she was looking away from her.
"Yeah." Carrie agreed as she had a crush on him ever since she saw him and wanted to approach him and tell him her feelings. She was suppose to but happy when she got asked to go to Prom.
Though Carrie knew who Tommy hung out with and stopped herself from doing. "I know who he goes around with." Carrie said to Rita smile immediately drops as she knows too and could see why Carrie was so sad and upset and what Carrie may be thinking about this encounter. "They're just going to trick me again. Right?" Carrie told Rita now looking at her.
Rita gave her a sad look, seeing her suffer like this. It broke her heart seeing how damaged Carrie was. How much she has suffered through her life. She just wanted to her, take her somewhere else, somewhere far away from this place, and protect her. Protect her forever.
Though right now, she didn't want to let her down and tried to encourage Carrie. Maybe what Tommy said could be true.
"Maybe he really meant it." Rita said to Carrie, trying to keep things positive.
Carrie really wished that was true. She hoped that was true. But she wasn't gonna take any chances. If this was a prank, this could possibly be the biggest humiliation they had ever done to her and felt like she wasn't gonna hold back if that was the case.
"No." Carrie said in a hollow voice.
Rita looked at her with a pained expression.
"Yes, of course he did." Rita said to Carrie.
But if that is the case, then… Why her? Why now after all of this time? This was all so sudden if he really meant what he said.
"Why?" Carrie asked, really confused about this.
Out of all girls, why her? And what happened with Sue?
"Why would he want to go with me?" Carrie asked Rita.
Rita decided to do something to keep Carrie positive since she was seeing her being so down and low on herself.
"Come here." Rita told Carrie, gesturing to her to follow her to one of the sinks in the girls locker room.
Carrie got up from her seat as she began following Rita to one of the sinks. Once she got close to the sink, she saw a mirror above it where she could see herself in it.
As Carrie looked at herself, all she could think of was how disgusting, ugly, and disappointed she looked. She didn't look like at all like the other girls who were beautiful and attractive. Her clothes were so old and rugged. She had no modern clothing and things girls wear when they are out in school or some other public place.
Carrie wanted to cry because of how out of place she looked and felt. She looked more old school, living in the past.
"Do you know what I see?" Rita asked Carrie.
"I see a beautiful young woman." Rita answered for her.
"Maybe wear a little make-up." Rita said pull a little of Carrie's hair softly.
Carrie gazes upon her reflection, daring for a moment to hope. Rita pulled her hair back and poked Carrie's cheek, getting a smile from the girl.
"Pinch your cheeks a little bit." Rita said to her pinching Carrie's cheek which made her laugh a little.
"Put some color in there." Rita said to Carrie, referring to her face.
"Curl your hair." Rita said as she curled up Carrie's hair.
"Stand up straight." Rita said to Carrie can stand up straight.
Rita told her all of this, Carrie looked at herself in the mirror again and felt different. Looked different. It seems like there was spark in her or something because she felt... normal. It's like if something changed in her at that moment. Carrie had a smile on her face.
"There you go." Rita said to Carrie, seeing her smile.
And as Carrie looked upon her reflection, she began to see someone worthwhile looking back. Rita wanted to be. Maybe Tommy wasn't lying to her. Maybe things may go well from now on.
(Meanwhile at noon…)
Later that noon we get Bruce's arrival to Ewen High School from Chamberlain.
With Bruce out of the car like a student.
The students seeing Bruce's arrival and still walking, the students were shocked and gasped.
"Oh my God." The student girl asked.
"Is that Bruce Wayne?" The student boy asked.
"I can't believe it." The student girl 2 said.
"But he died one year later." The student boy 2 said.
To Be Continued…