Lying in my bed that night, I began thinking of nefarious plots to undermine Beau. Filling his locker with wet toilet paper was out of the question, I did that last week and I liked to be innovative with my efforts. I could spread some rumours about him, but I wasn’t the most well-trusted person at my school so I don’t think anyone would believe me anyway. I had already messed with his car and I didn’t feel like getting pulled into the principal’s office again for defacing another student’s property. Mother was pretty upset about the last one, she had to get off work early for the meeting and Beau’s mother also joined us.
What I will say about the Barnes family is that they are all very well-composed during stressful situations. Unlike my mother who went fully off the hinges and began slapping me around my head with her purse. I had a headache for a week after that escapade of mine.
By the time morning rolled around I still hadn’t thought of anything creative enough for me to even want to claim my name to. Mother noticed my contemplation.
“You alright sweetie?”
I was circling my spoon through my cereal, staring at the kitchen clock ticking away.
“Fine mom, just thinking about stuff”
“Well I hope it has nothing to do with that Barnes boy. Every time you get in trouble at that school it always winds up being about him”
I was offended at her accusation, she made it seem like I spent all my time thinking about Beau. I thought about other things, like Bess and…myself, I guess.
“Don’t worry mom, messing with Beau isn’t even in my thoughts”
I smiled at her sweetly, taking one last slurp of my cereal and tipping the rest in the bin, swishing out the remnants in the sink.
“Anyways, I better get heading off, don’t want to be last for Miss Snyder’s class again. That women doles out detentions like it’s nothing”
Swiping my backpack, I sprang out of my doorway and head left down the street, making my towards Bess’s house. It was nearing summer and I could feel the heat of the sun blaring down through my t-shirt and into my back. I enjoyed nature, just not in the heat, I didn’t do well with heat. After the near 5-minute walk to Bess’s house I was already leaking sweat down my forehead and onto my chest.
I didn’t bother knocking, Bess usually watched out the front window for me and sure enough she was already walking down the steps of her porch. Her mother was half a step away behind her, whispering in her ear. I wouldn’t like to say that Bess’s parents were crazy, but they weren’t far from it. They’d pretty much sheltered Bess all her life, home-schooling her for a few years till they finally let her join public school. By the time our friendship began, Bess hadn’t even drunk Coke before, let alone done anything else.
Every morning I was treated to the sight of Bess’s mother whispering the many different rules they had set out for her at school in her ear. She wasn’t allowed to walk anywhere by herself, which is why I made it a point to walk with her every morning, giving her relief from her mother trying to walk her to school. She wasn’t allowed to eat lunch from the cafeteria, only what they packed, which might be a saving-grace. School lunch was a little funky on the best of days. She also wasn’t allowed to talk to anyone of the opposite sex, which I thought was damn-near impossible. Our school was mix gendered, what did they want her to do? Play dead if a male specimen came around the corner? Bess hasn’t followed that rule in years though, not that it granted her any more confidence around said male specimens.
“Promise me you’ll follow our rules Bess”
Miss Delaney held onto Bess’s shoulders, staring right into her eyes. It was like a routine now, like brushing your teeth.
“I promise momma”
“That’s a good girl. Annie make sure to take care of her”
I nodded in agreement as Miss Delaney gave Bess one last kiss on her forehead, leaving a bright red lipstick mark that Bess will inevitably rub off on our walk.
To be honest, I was surprised Miss Delaney even liked me. From a young age I had always been known as a problem child, I got in fights at every school I’d been too, and I admit to being a pretty nasty kid when I was younger. Parents told their kids to stay away from me, not ask me to take care of them. Miss Delaney was a god-fearing woman though, must be all that forgiveness in her.
Bess and I trotted off from her house, sweat now pooling down my legs.
“Feeling the heat Annie?”
“You know it, why can’t St. Liapa be like other creepy, small towns and bring in mist and fog? Why do we get the humidity from the devil’s playground?”
“Don’t go speaking about devil’s in front of me, I get enough of that from momma”
I rolled my eyes at Bess’s response and trudged onwards, ending up on main street just down from St. Liapa High School. The school wasn’t big, only 2 floors and covered in this hideous red brick that most of the houses were also made from. The sign of the school stood in big, block red letters against the side of the building.
I could see the rest of the students gathering in groups outside the main doors, talking amongst themselves. I was only looking for one person and he sure did know how to make an entrance.
Beau’s big, black range rover began pulling into the school carpark, just as Bess and I were making our way up to the main patio. It was the same every morning, Beau parked and out jumped his crew while flocks of girls watched his every move from the side-lines.
“I’m guessing you’ve got something big planned?”
“Not as of yet, I just wanted to get a look at my victim, helps with inspiration”
Beau and his gang all looked like the same Abercrombie and Fitch model, only multiplied by five and the gender for some changed. Beau wore what he wore every other day, black jeans and tight, grey crew neck shirt. Sometimes a jumper if it’s cold enough. The other group members all seemed to wear some combination of black and grey, never stepping out of monotone colours. Sheesh, would it kill them to be a bit more exuberant?
Beau had his arm wrapped around some blonde witch with 6ft legs. I think her name was Adele, she followed Beau like a puppy dog with the rest of them.
And all of them were heading right our way.
“Annie, shouldn’t we go in?”
As Beau began turning his head, his eyes dropped right towards me, his nostrils flaring and his expressions becoming hardened. I made sure to never drop my stare.
“You know you can’t fear him your whole life Bess? Someday you’ll have to face him”
“I know, but I’d rather that day wasn’t today”
Bess tried to grab onto my backpack and pull me up the steps and through the main door, but I was having none of it. I enjoyed Beau’s and I’s confrontations too much to miss one, where else would I get my daily dose of excitement?
Soon enough, the Abercrombie’s were in front of us both, mainly acting nonchalant, like our presence was of no importance.
“Been damaging anymore cars this morning Annie?”
Beau smirked at me, the smirk coming off nasty and hateful.
“Not yet Beau, but I think I do have a few more tricks up my sleeve”
“Whatever”
Adele pushed right between Bess and I, dragging Beau with her by the hand. The rest of the puppy dogs following close behind.
“That wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be”
Bess almost sounded relieved from Beau’s leaving. All it did was get me fired up, all I need to do was come up with a plan.
ns 15.158.61.6da2
