Y2K Pt.12 - I'm your Huckleberry
With the fallout between Betty and Seth still fresh, we were still shaken up. Everything about it made me become more protective over my friends than I ever was—Especially with CC and Betty.
A week had passed and CC, Ryan (the well groomed guy), and I have continued to escort Betty around between classes. Seth has started becoming distant, which is what the goal was all along.
Maybe now he'd finally get it—it was over.
As for Betty, I wasn't sure she'd be wanting to date after this last guy, but I'm still hoping she'd at least give Bear a chance.
Just a chance.
--------
One morning, I was very early and decided to wait in the library for the others to arrive. It was just me, the librarian, the smell of old books and the humming of computer monitors.
My eyes were heavy and gritty from sleepless nights. I was swimming in an endless sea of equations from my multiple math classes and I needed a lifeguard. Who better to help me out than CC.
With a bunch of chatter echoing from the entryway, the misfits entered and looked shocked to see me sitting there with textbooks open instead of doodling or messing around.
"Pinchi Wey! Are you sick?" Victor asked as he put the back of his hand on my forehead.
I sucked my teeth and slapped his hand away.
Boss chuckled and set his belongings in the table they have been running the DND campaign at. "You're supposed to check the temperature from the other end."
Victor snorted into laughter.
I raised my middle finger at Boss. "Okay. You first?"
Bear, James and Nate followed in shortly after and settled their belongings.
"Pickle!" James hollered as he was looking towards the entryway.
I quickly peered over my shoulder to see who James was taunting. To my surprise, it was CC.
She was wearing her class A JROTC uniform —the 3 piece ensemble used for inspections and special events.
Her makeup was very minimal compared to her usual, the black nail polish and the jewelry that she adorned were absent. The different shades of green made the different colors of her eyes more noticeable.
She looked... professional. Sophisticated.
I couldn't help but to stare in admiration.
"Alright. Let it all out." CC giggled and did a turn to model her outfit.
"Pickle!" We all hollered and teased.
"Why the class A's?" I asked.
"Promotions and DAI (District Army Instructor) inspection." She sighed as she took a seat next to me. "Big day."
CC took a look at the mess of notes and scratch paper that was in front of me.
"Whoa. Math kicking your ass again?" She chuckled.
"Does it show?" I sighed. "Just when I think I get the hang of it, they pull some shit from the nether regions of hell."
"Okay. Let's see what you got." CC started clicking her tongue as she glanced over the assignment I was working on. She looked puzzled then looked at some of the other papers scattered before me.
"What the hell?"
Her confusion had me concerned. "That bad?" I asked.
Did CC finally run into an assignment that stumped her?
"No." CC said stubbornly. "You're just completely disorganized. How many math classes are you taking?"
"Umm...3 if you count chemistry," I muttered.
"That explains a lot." She started sorting out the notes as she sang "One of these things is not like the other..."
I was feeling embarrassed by my mess.
"These are from chemistry, this is algebra, and this is geometry." CC chuckled. "You somehow managed to jumble all 3 into one assignment, You goober."
"Seriously?" I looked over to see how bad I had been goofing up.
"Are you doing okay?" She asked concerned.
I shook my head. "Just got a lot on my mind. Between school, home, and the whole...Seth thing, I haven't been sleeping well or thinking straight."
"Oh." CC bit her lip. "Well you're pretty much here all day and night. I bet everything feels like a blur."
"Mhmm. I don't even know what day it is anymore. I might as well bring a tent and camp out at the bleachers." I chuckled.
"Good morning." Betty greeted as she took a seat. She looked as restless as I did.
"What took you so long?" CC teased.
"I was talking to Ryan." Betty said calmly.
"Ah."CC nodded casually.
"By the way, Ms. Davies really doesn't like me." I showed Betty the stack of assignments I was working on.
"Why haven't you turned those in." Betty asked while looking over what I had. "These are previous assignments."
"That's a good question." I completely shut off and stared at my overwhelming homework.
Why didn't I turn in my homework?
"It actually helps." Betty teased. "That's probably why she's pissy at you."
"I know," I muttered. "It's just that I only really work on my homework at school, not at home. It's the only time I can actually get help if I'm stuck."
"You know I can help you." CC reminded me. "I did during summer school."
"And I can help because we are in the same class in a way." Betty smiled warmly.
I smiled back. It was still surprising to me how much support I had at school from my friends than at home.
"How about I let you look over my homework so you can check your work." Betty suggested.
"You mean copying?" I looked at her confused.
"No. Referencing. You're still going to do the work, you're just comparing it with mine." Betty added.
"Hmm?" CC tapped her pen. "She has a point."
Betty passed her notebook with her previous assignments that were already graded toward me. "C'mon. I'm trying to help."
I didn't really know what to say by this.
"Betty, can I talk to you for a bit." CC smirked and stood up.
She nodded and followed CC outside the library.
"Girl talk?" Bear whispered over to me.
I shrugged. "I guess."
"Any ideas?" Bear was intrigued.
"Just one." I sat back in my chair. "Seth is officially done."
"Hmm." Bear raised his brow.
I couldn't make a hint any clearer for him.
---------
During the Lunch hour, there was more commotion going on than usual at the Island. I was completely tuned out and getting lost in the creamy goodness of my zebra cake.
Mmm. My one true kryptonite — Little Debbie snack cakes. Very likely the reason I was so chubby.
"I GOT A PROMOTION!"
"AHHH!!!"
I jolted out of my food trance by CC who once again snuck up on me.
Everyone in the island were laughing in amusement to CC startling me...again.
She was very chipper as she proudly flaunted her new rank chevrons on her shoulders. "I'm now a Staff Sergeant."
The Island gave her a round of applause and congratulations.
"That's awesome! I take it the inspections went good?" I asked.
"Always. Those are a breeze. I just needed to remember not to lock my knees while standing at attention." CC giggled.
From my experience in the JROTC class, some cadets have passed out and fallen over because they had their knees locked.
"You know how you should celebrate that?" Teresa jumped in. "Spring fling!"
"Is that a dance?" Betty chimed in.
"Yeah. Student council is hosting it at the Pit (the old basketball gym)." Teresa proudly answered.
Tito, Sadie (one of the pick me girls), Dee (her friend) and Teresa were hyping up about another school dance.
That's probably what all the commotion was among their little group.
"Hmm?" CC looked over at Betty pensively. "That actually sounds like fun."
CC was deep in thought. So much that if you looked hard enough you could see the gears turning. Hanging around with CC and being close for a while, I could almost guess what she was thinking.
"AHEM!"
The sound of a rudely and obviously fake throat clearing was heard as Heather was walking by. She gave CC a cold glance.
CC stood up and saluted. Heather stood there enjoying that attention like the prude that she was.
"You need to make sure you wear your cap outside, Kane." Heather barked.
The group went silent in disbelief.
"Yes ma'am!" CC put her cap on and returned to saluting.
A small curl appeared at the edge of Heather's lip. She saluted back and walked away with her nose up in the air.
CC sat back down flustered.
"What a fuckin bitch!" I exclaimed.
She nodded angrily. "Someone else got a promotion and is now riding on a high horse."
"Can't she get in trouble for being rude?" Betty asked. "That's pretty much hazing."
She took a deep breath. CC was very tense and I could barely imagine what's going through her mind. The way Heather approached her, even as an JROTC officer, was with malicious intent. It was personal.
This was as bad as spitting in someones face.
"Girl talk?" CC looked over to Betty. Her eyes were glossy, clearly from being hurt.
"Oh yeah. Girl talk." Betty nodded and picked up her bag from the table.
"Mhmm." Teressa hummed and followed them. Sadie and Dee wasted no time in joining them as well.
I didn't know exactly what went into "girl talk", but the way they flocked together—This was a war room meeting and they were the council. Even if they weren't the closest of friends, they were part of the Island of Misfits, they stuck together.
"Should we be scared?" Bear asked.
"Probably." I chuckled. "Those are some pissed off girls. I've learned to fear them when they're angry."
"That bad?" Bear was skeptical.
"Yeah. You don't have an older sister." I stood up and patted Bear on his thick shoulders. "Let's go to the field."
Bear smirked. Any time one of us mentioned the field, it was time to blow of some steam with friendly hand-to-hand combat.
Sparring and play fighting was surpringly a good form of therapy. It was excercise, it developed skills, trust and strengthened our bond among friends.
The practice field at the south end of the school was always an ideal place. Dry and beaten grass, completely open yet not many bystanders. Simply perfect
We started stretching and warming up the moment we picked a spot, Bear was a bigger guy compared to me, but could hit like a truck. I, on the other hand, was very defensive and light on my feet.
"So, why the sudden urge to spar." Bear was curious.
"I've had a lot on my mind and needed to blow off some steam." I answered casually as I put up my guard for slap boxing. "I also wanted to talk to you about some things."
"Hmm. Like what?" Bears face shifted and squared up.
"Betty." I threw a few slow slaps toward his face.
Bear leaned and weaved around my attacks. "C'mon man. You know that's not going to happen. She's with that Seth guy, right." His heavy hands came swinging.
I parried into his attack and slapped his belly playfully. "Was."
"Really?" Bear dropped his guard. "When? Why?"
"She finally saw that he was a creep, so she dropped him." I fibbed.
I made that promise I wouldn't reveal too much about what went on that day with the restrooms. It was the only way to not make the situation bigger than it already was.
"What matters now is that you have this wide open opportunity...kinda like your guard." I quickly slapped his cheek while he was exposed.
"Oww. Fucker." Bear giggled and instanlty brought his guard back up to charge into me. We clashed and locked in like a couple of bulls, chuckling as we dragged each other around while grass tossed up from beneath our feet.
The weight he put into his charging made me lose my footing and tumbled backwards into ground. I couldn't help but laugh from the rush of it all.
"And how do you suppose I do that? I haven't had the guts to ask her all year." Bear sighed.
I snapped my fingers. "What about that dance Teressa mentioned?"
"You want me to go to a dance?" Bear grumbled.
"Sure, why not? I don't know how, but I'm going to help you make it happen." I got up from the ground, swatting off the dirt and grass stuck to my jeans. "I'm your Huckleberry."
"Huckleberry?" Bear laughed.
"Do you prefer Luigi? Hadji?" I was trying hard to think of other well known sidekicks. "CHEWBACCA! Roo-Arrgh Agh RRRaaar.
Bear chuckled as I was making the iconic Wookie calls. He replied back with similar sounds.
"Fine. Fine. I'll do it." Bear laughed and put his guard back up.
Whatever it was we said in Shyriiwook, the Wookie language, Bear agreed with whatever I had in store and was excited for it.
Our friendly sparring continued on until the bell rang after the lunch break.
Now that I was exhausted, yet refreshed and hyped, I was off to my French class. To my surprise, Seth was waiting at the top of the stairs. I wasn't sure exactly for who or what reason, but his eyes were on me.
He didn't seem agressive or confronting, but I wasn't happy to see him.
"What the hell you looking at?" I growled.
Seth raised his hands and took a step back. "Hey dude, look. I don't want to start anything. I just want to talk."
My hand tightly gripped at the strap of my backpack as I glared coldly at him.
Did I really want to start something right then and there? Absolutely.
I knew he was already scared of me by the way he ran away the last time I tried confronting him, but he wasn't running this time.
"Okay. Talk." I stepped up to him to meet face to face.
"I'm sorry." He whimpered.
"Don't fuckin' apologize to me!" I barked and pointed into his face. "You know who you did wrong to!"
I was trying hard not to punch his nose in.
He flinched then pleaded. "Then talk to her for me. Please."
"Fuck no!" I snapped. Some of the students stopped to watch the commotion I just started, hoping to catch a fight. "Walk with me." I whispered angrily.
Seth followed nearby. "Why not?" he asked in desperation.
"Because you are done talking to Betty. Move on." I growled.
"Seriously?" Seth scoffed.
"Does it look like I'm fuckin' playing?" I stopped to face him again. My jaw was clenched and hardened like stone, eyes focused and sharp like daggers. "Don't even think about approaching her any more. Hell, you are done talking to me, to CC...in fact anybody in the group."
"Why?" Seth asked again.
"Because you're a fuckin' creeper, that's why!" I shouted. My face was getting red and hot. "I want you out of my face before I do something I'll regret."
Seth went silent and distanced himself from me.
I stood there and watched Seth pace down the hallway without looking back. The late bell had rang and I became the only one left in the now vacant hallway. I didn't even care at that moment.
What I really needed—was a smoke.
---------
Throughout the remainder of the day, that confrontation with Seth was constantly playing back in my head.
I was in disbelief that I actually stepped up the way I did.
Do I dare mention anything about it or keep it as a secret victory?
With so many secrets already going on, what's one more to add to the pile.
Even during night school I remained silent—especially when Betty was around.
That night after class, I sat at the front ledge and waited for Betty to join me. We both looked tired from all the long school days finally starting to wear on us.
"Did you turn in your homework?" Betty asked.
"Yes," I chuckled. "She was actually surprised to see me handing something in for once. I thought she was going to have a stroke by the way her jaw was just hanging there."
Betty laughed. "See. That wasn't bad, was it?"
"No. It was bad," I muttered. "Thank you."
"It was nothing." Betty smiled. "CC told me about your struggles with math. Figured another helping hand could go a long way and you can avoid repeating more classes."
I blushed. Not because of having support, but now knowing that I actually came up in their girl talks.
It made me curious as to what else they said about me.
Betty noticed I had gone quiet again. "You've been shutting down like that lately. What's up?"
"Huh?" I didn't realize I had spaced out until Betty mentioned something. "Oh...just...thinking about a lot of stuff."
"About CC?" She asked curiously, trying to pry through the walls I had set up again.
"Yeah." I muttered.
(And other things)
"What do you think about that dance she mentioned?" Betty hinted. "CC seemed interested in it."
Betty seemed just as interested. It was a perfect opportunity. Not just for me, but for Bear.
"I'd like to go, honestly." I smiled. The warm feeling of butterflies in the stomach was very strong thinking about it. "And I happen to know someone that would really like to go with you."
"Really?" Betty bit her lip. "Who?"
"Bear." I smirked.
Betty chuckled. "I knew it. Why the hell hasn't he asked me?"
"Well...There's a lot me and Bear have in common." I was feeling vulnerable getting ready to admit a weakness. "It's the same reason I haven't opened up to CC. We're both shy. We're afraid to ask and don't know how."
Even in admitting that, the weight that just lifted from my chest was instantly relieving.
"I see." Betty said softly.
"When CC mentioned the dance, I figured I'd give Bear that push he's been needing to ask you out." I admitted.
"Hmm" Betty hummed in thought. "CC did say she wanted everyone to go as a group. Maybe you can finally make your move, too."
My ears went hot and I looked to the ground to hide the blush now glowing across my cheeks.
Betty giggled softly and placed her hand on top of mine in confidence. "You can do it. You're braver than you're giving yourself credit."
"You think so?" I bit my lip and chuckled under my breath. "Maybe...you can give CC that same push I'm giving Bear. I don't know if I can do it alone."
"I have a feeling this dance is going to be a great night for everyone." Betty smiled and took in a deep breath.
God. What I'm getting myself into?
Is this going to be the moment I finally step up?