by Power, P. S.
The idea that her mother had mentioned, all of them, kept coming back to her, as she tried to double check her work. It wasn't really needed, but she had the time, so she forced herself to try at least.
Chief Benson and his wife had sex with a lot of people? Worse, if she was going to be honest, it had sounded like her mother had all but said that she'd had sex with them, personally. The bit about Mike... Frankly, it was kind of gross. The man was fifty-three, and hadn't bothered to take care of himself for a long time. Showering was something that was sort of optional for him, and while he went to work regularly, his job at the warehouse didn't pay much. Not that being poor was some kind of sin, or anything, but she'd wondered more than once if he might have made more of himself if he'd been sober the whole time?
There was also that scratch on her mom's face. She hadn't mentioned it, since things happened to people when they got drunk. Sometimes they couldn't remember it at all, but that didn't make her feel better about it. It could have been anything, from a fight, to falling into a bush or even having a run in with her own fingernail. It was just the kind of thing that Becky had to live with, and had her entire life.
The next two classes went by quickly, and the fourth one of the day just didn't do that at all for her, dragging, since there was a lot of talking about Darren's party. Mostly by people that hadn't been there. The rumors were pretty thick on the ground, and a lot of them were just wrong. Most of them, in fact.
A few rows over, before class even started, two boys whispered, and kept looking her way.
"I heard that she and Darla Gibson double teamed Marty Simmons. Just right there, in the middle of the room, with everyone watching..." That got a few more whispers, but before she could turn around to correct the guy, who she didn't really know, the bell rang.
The entire rest of the class she felt like everyone was looking at her, judging her. Worse, it was for something she'd had absolutely nothing to do with at all. A thing that never happened. That didn't seem to be stopping anyone. When the bell rang, the other people all scurried away, before she could talk to them, or say anything.
Then it was lunch time, which, if she had it right, was going to be humiliating and horrible. She went to her normal place, next to Maria, at the long white table they sat at each day. It was their new place, the one that they'd had for months, with the cheerleaders and the guys from whatever sport was being played at the moment. Right now that meant basketball, but when they'd started it had been football.
Quince bounded into the room, like he had far too much energy for a real boy, and after getting a tray filled with food, he plopped into place next to her, before she could do more than ask Maria why she hadn't been at church the day before. She sniffled and replied, sounding weak and a bit under the weather.
"I'm sick. I shouldn't be here, but I don't want to miss any days."
From the other side of her, the blond boy looked over, and then, without saying anything, held the back of his hand to the tiny girl's forehead. That meant reaching right in front of Becky, his arm going across her chest. To his credit, all of his attention seemed to go to Maria.
"You're hot. Burning up." Looking at her sandwich and the orange she had in front of her, he stood. "You should have liquids. I'll get you something."
Then he practically ran to the line again, just cutting to the front as everyone else came. It was a bit of a slow progression, since everyone had something different going on. Keeley, Darla and Barb all brought their lunches from home, for some reason. It probably wasn't to save money, so it might be diet related. Becky hadn't brought anything at all, since... fat. Maria brought her own, but that was to save funds. She worked at her family restaurant, and they did well enough, but the girl remembered when she was younger and they'd really had to pinch every penny. The rest of the guys just ate there. It was decent enough food, she guessed.
No one said much to her, but Darla started to move Quince's stuff, which got the boy to look at her doing it with suspicion. His hands were loaded with supplies, mainly drinks, but also more fruit.
"Trade with me Becky." He glanced at Darla, and then the rest of the table, his face more serious than she was used to seeing it. "Maria is sick. We need to care for her."
It was a simple statement, but no one called him on it, or teased him about liking Maria. She was cute enough that it would have made sense, even if the boy had barely even said two words to her before that day. Becky made the switch for him, wondering what he had in mind, but the basketball team captain just opened an orange juice for the tiny girl and carefully stuck a straw in it.
"Here. How are you getting home?" It was a bit blunt, but the girl answered, surprised.
"I walked. It's all right..."
He shook his head, and his eyes narrowed. Then he looked down the table.
"I have to be at practice directly after school. Who's driving her home?" It wasn't a question at all.
Barb waved, her pretty face looking down the table. She was easily the most nicely dressed girl there, and her body was just the perfect level of thin and fit. It was annoying, Becky realized. Keeley was just about there too, but she wasn't as perfectly proportioned through the face as the other dark haired girl.
"I can run you home. You live towards my house anyway."
Becky didn't know if that was true, but the Maria ducked her head, while Quince made plans for them to meet, and then, clearly not getting that the tiny girl might be left feeling uneasy about it all, got Barb to promise to pick her up in the morning too. Just so she wouldn't be walking in the chill.
Next to her Darla leaned in and brushed her shoulder against Becky's. When she spoke it was loud enough for everyone to hear, which had to be on purpose.
"So, did you hear about both of us getting lucky at the party this weekend? Right in the middle of the room too. Well, good to know what we're getting up to, isn't it?" Then she stopped, without defending them at all, or claiming they hadn't done any such thing.
There was a sly look from the girl, her blonde hair and perfect skin making it seem unlikely that she'd have to do anything of the sort, unless it was what she wanted to do for fun. Unlike Becky, who people would probably assume just did whatever any guy told her to, being hopelessly desperate for any crumb of attention. That probably wasn't what they were really thinking, but she noticed the people watching them and blushed.
The others all looked on, interested, but not really seeming concerned at all. Then again, Keeley, Eve and Hally had all been there and knew for a fact what had happened. They'd been helping to save Sue. Which, she realized, before she could say anything at all, why they weren't talking about it. To protect the girl, who seemed to have a hard enough life as it was.
Becky sighed.
After all, it wasn't like she could get away with the same things that Darla did, was it? She was rich and pretty much had the whole school wrapped around her little finger like a bow. Still, Becky could see what her part in it all was supposed to be, and she was good at acting, if not perfect at it.
"It really is good to know." Acting or not, she didn't have a clue what to say next. Luckily, she didn't have to, since Keeley had the next line, or so it seemed.
Her voice was pitched to carry too.
"Oh? I saw you two carry Marty off to the back. You had that guy with you? The redhead?"
Darla nodded.
"Right, I don't know him. I think he said his name was Steve?" She looked at Becky, but didn't have more than a questioning look on her face.
She screwed her own up, just a little, trying not to over act.
"Nooo... Eh... Seth? Something like that. I don't know him either, but he and Marty seemed to be getting along." She shrugged, hoping that wasn't too much info, all at once.
Darla leaned into her again.
"Well, at least the story is that you and I were taking turns with him in the living room. That makes us look good, if nothing else." Then, as if it really wasn't a big deal at all, she started to talk
about cars. "What's wrong with your car by the way?"
"I need to replace the drive belt. I have no tools, or know how, but I do have the new belt. Setting it up that way probably means that I'm an idiot, but..."
Gary tapped the table, sitting about five places away.
"I can fix that. It will take about half an hour, as long as nothing is stripped. I have practice after school too, which means working in the dark. Call it seven tonight? I'll need you to hold the light for me." Then he knocked on the table again. "I'll see about bringing a friend to help too, so you won't have to get your hands too dirty."
Before she could protest, or even tell him where she lived, since she wasn't really going to say no to having help on the project, not being a moron, he hopped up.
"Off to class then. See you later, Becks. Feel better, Maria." Then he was off, as if someone was chasing him. That, or he had something to run to.
After that it was all just conversation about what they were doing for Valentine's Day.
Maria just looked a little sad, since, as Becky knew, she wasn't really allowed to date at all. Her strict parents again. Darla didn't say much either, but just ate her food, looking at it instead of at the rest of them. Quince however threw his left arm around her shoulders.
"I forgot about that. Will you be my Valentine, Becky?"
That got a laugh, but only from Keeley.
"No can do. Becky already has a date. With a total hottie too. A double date, with my boyfriend. We're going to the game first though, since, you know, someone has to show that school spirit."
Instead of getting Quince to laugh too, he sighed and shook his head mournfully. It was a bit overdone, but not teasingly so.
"I should have asked earlier. Well, you know, if that doesn't work out, then I'm here for you." He smiled and shrugged a bit. "We can go to prom together, maybe? I know you like that other guy, but if he's too stupid to notice you... Well, my gain, right?"
That got a raised eyebrow from Darla.
"Yeah, that would work. Still, you need to make sure to keep on top of it, Quince. Becky isn't going to be around forever, just waiting for the right guy to show up."
It was a strange bit of conversation, and all said loud enough that she got the idea. They were announcing to the room that people actually wanted to date her. Making her seem valuable. Mitch wasn't there, having the second lunch period, but news would travel. Or might at least. If anyone cared. Then, the Captain of the Basketball team asking you out at lunch, and you turning him down... That might get some action in the rumor mill.
In drama class later, in the last period, Darren looked miserable. Totally and abjectly despondent, to be accurate. He was sitting off to the side, holding his arms, and not making a lot of eye contact. It was bad enough that Becky went over, before Mr. Harris could start the class. It wasn't like they had assigned seating.
She didn't say anything at all to the boy, but he explained, his words just pouring out suddenly.
"I'm so grounded. Like, for years. The police called my parents and they came back from Fuji early. It would have been fine, except that Marty Simmons was crying in the mud room, half naked, talking about some guy named Seth. Thanks for trying to get everyone out. It could have been a lot worse. At least this way I just have to cover for Scott, and not try to explain seventy-three drunk people and five hundred dollars worth of beer. Poor Marty. I guess he and that dude were, you know, having sex or whatever just before the cops came. I didn't even know he liked guys. He's so, you know, big and all that." There was a hint of a gleam in his eyes at least, at the last words. "Well, if you don't see me in class tomorrow, tell them to check the desert for shallow graves. I did mention the part where my parents are not happy with me, right? In case I go missing?"
"You did. That kind of sucks. I agree though, I'll definitely use my contacts with the police to check for shallow graves, if it comes up."
He nodded, managing to make it glum.
"It was totally worth it. I mean, even after it all went wrong. You should always take a chance at making memories. Someone said that to me once. I can't remember who." Then class started and they both had scenes to work on, with other people.
It was a slow trudge home after that, while she still had light, and she was still sore. That didn't speed her footsteps up at all. Mike was gone, when she got there, and her mother was there, but just sitting in front of the old TV, watching something on a news channel. Her eyes were a bit glazed over already. That would explain the scent of pot in the air at least.
Becky did her homework first, then at about five ate a few hundred calories and started to clean the place as well as she could. She did that often enough they didn't live in total disaster, but she was being pretty good about it this time, which finally got her mother to glance at her, a loopy expression on her face.
"Hey. You having a boy over?" Then she blinked slowly for a bit. "Or a girl?"
She shrugged, "sort of. My friend Gary is coming, and might bring someone with him. To help me replace that belt on my car?"
Maggie didn't seem all that impressed with the idea, but at least didn't suggest that she pay for it in her normal fashion.
"Okay. Well, you know, let me know if I need to get out of here. I was planning to stay in tonight and just rest, but I could go and sit somewhere and do the same thing."
She kept cleaning.
"Gary's gay, but I'll let you know if he changes his mind." She meant it to be funny, but her mother grinned.
"That's the spirit. Don't let a little thing like that stop you. We're so much alike, you know that?"
Becky didn't answer, just hoping that it wasn't really true. How could she think that though. They weren't alike at all. Were they? Worrying about it, Becky just worked harder and faster, which meant she was shocked a few hours later when a knock came at the door.
It was Gary, along with Keeley and Cory. It was a bit startling, but she invited them all in. Gary took the lead, glancing around.
"I have the tools we'll need, in Keeley's car. I borrowed them from my dad. He likes the idea of me doing auto repairs for a girl. As if that's going to 'un-gay' me. I invited Mitch over, but he couldn't make it. Even though Keeley was coming too. That probably means he really had to study. Cory volunteered though, and it really is a job that's easier to do with two sets of hands." His voice was deep and he was wearing a tan jumpsuit made of heavy material over his clothing, though with old running shoes, ones that had seen better days.
Cory nodded.
"I know nothing about this kind of thing, but we're friends, so I figured that...' He went a little red faced, and Keeley moved in, standing near the door, her arm snaking around his shoulders casually.
"That's guy for; 'I like you and want you to notice me. Possibly in a bedroom way'." That earned a sputter from Cory, but she shrugged, squeezing him a little. "Don't worry, if she doesn't know, she won't ever think of you that way. You're worth telling her about."
That got Maggie to turn and look at them all, her face so clearly wasted that it had lost any semblance of cuteness at all.
"Damn straight. Little cutey. You should jump on him, sweetie." With that ringing endorsement, Gary waved them all out, patting Cory on the back a few times, showing support.
Becky didn't know which part of it all she was supposed to be more mortified over. Her mother, who was actually being tame for her, but had said that in front of her friends, or Keeley, who was both right and so over the top in what she'd just done that it was hard to believe it had happened at all.
Poor Cory followed along, but didn't look at her.
Not at first. Finally as they got to the car he managed it.
"It's true. We should go out. I know you like Mitch, but, I mean he's my friend, but, you know, not really right for you."
Keeley nodded, but her words just seemed cryptic, at least to Becky.
"But the heart wants what the heart wants, and you have to let him have a chance to screw up before you sw
oop in and take the girl. Not that you shouldn't if he doesn't step up, but like you said, he's your friend."
The rest of them seemed to get it at least, even if she didn't.
Chapter seven
It made the next forty minutes pretty tense. Not for Gary, who was a real pro when it came to working on cars, apparently. He had to remove a few things to get at the belt, but had it on and tightened, with only a tiny bit of help from Cory, inside the half hour that he'd promised. Then he spent time checking and replacing all of the fluids, mainly using things that Keeley had in her car, packed carefully in a little plastic bin that was in her trunk. When he noticed the state of her oil, he gave her a look that seemed almost unfriendly.
"This, is not good. Not at all Becky. We need something to use as a catch pan and probably a new oil filter."
It was true and a good idea, but it would take money, which was a thing that she didn't really have much of at all. Keeley seemed to pick up on that first and offered to take her to the parts store, before it closed. She didn't say it any particular way, but it was clear that she meant to leave the boys behind for it.
That seemed really rude, since they were helping her out. She froze for a bit, trying to come up with some way out of the whole thing, one that wouldn't involve being embarrassed, but she knew it wouldn't work. Not really. Finally she just went along with Keeley, getting into her little rattle trap.
It was a bit of a surprise, to look at, the car being beaten up and having primer spots showing. It ran pretty well, not making a lot of noise when it started, which meant she actually cared for it. Hence the box of stuff in the back like that. It was hard to remember that Keeley's dad had just taken off one day, near Halloween. It wasn't even a proper divorce, or running off with another woman. He'd literally just packed up and moved to a different country, as far as Becky had heard.
Leaving Sherri and Keeley to fend for themselves. The floral business was a new thing too, and while it was keeping them in food and paying the rent, it was probably sort of amazing that Sherri had managed a car for her daughter at all. She worked constantly, to keep it all together, but it was impressive. The woman was always nice and sweet to everyone too. Even when it was clear that she was exhausted from working all the time.