SATURDAY NIGHT, MARCH 24th 1984

WINGER RESIDENCE

Sheila got home from detention at 4:30 PM. She was glad to be home. The first thing she did was go upstairs to take a shower to get the smell of detention off: sweat, dust, weed, and Claire's makeover. She was really dirty after spending eight hours in the library. Sighing, she felt completely relaxed as the warm water and soap washed over her boyish body.

She kept thinking about the crazy Saturday she just had. She was also thinking about Brian. She really wanted to spend more time with him. She thought about his invitation to Stubbie's party tonight.

Once done showering, she went to her room where she was enveloped by the smell of mothballs in her mother's old room where she was staying. She dried herself off, putting on clean underwear and clothes. She lied on her bed; the springs inside the uncomfortably thin mattress creaked obnoxiously. The bed always did with the subtlest movement.

She dug out Brian's number from her Army jacket pocket. Biting her tongue, she reached for the phone and dialed his number. Joseph saw his granddaughter at the phone in the hallway and frowned a bit.

"Little late for calls, don't you think, Sheila?" Joseph said.

"I won't be long, Gramps," Sheila promised.

"Are you calling your mother again?"

Sheila sighed when she thought about her last call with her mother. Honestly she wanted to give up at this point about calling her. Her mother didn't seem interested whenever she called. Sheila could only guess that this was probably her mother's way of saying 'don't call me anymore'. She should have known that when she was only given five minutes to pack and was left at the bus stop in Detroit. Not even a goodbye from them.

"No. Someone else," Sheila said.

"Who?"

"A friend from school. It's about the homework for this week," Sheila explained. "Since I just started on Friday, I'm sure I'm behind on a lot of stuff."

"Make it quick," he said.

The elderly gentleman soon shuffled back to the living room to watch an old war documentary. Sheila began to dial Brian's number, listening to the tone on the other end.

*******

JOHNSON RESIDENCE

Once Brian got home, he went up to his room to study. His mother insisted that he studied before he did anything. He sat down on his bed, reading To Kill a Mockingbird for English class. While he usually enjoyed the quiet, he did not want to spend it doing homework on a Saturday.

He wondered if his new friends had forgotten about the events from detention after they left. He was thinking about Sheila too. He began to doodle her name on his homework, drifting off into a daydream about the red haired Comedian. He reached for his wallet and dug out Sheila's phone number. He stared at the lip print on the paper just above her number, biting his lip on whether or not he should call her. He wondered if this was all a dream. If it was a fake number. What if it was cruel prank?

No! He couldn't think like that. Sheila was far from cruel. Sure, she teased him a bit about his dirty picture, but she genuinely seemed caring and kind. She told him he didn't need to be perfect.

It was then that his thougths were cut off by the sound of a phone ringing downstairs. Knowing that he had to study, he went back to reading his book.

Meanwhile downstairs, Mrs. Johnson was cleaning up from dinner in the kitchen when she heard the phone ring. She turned towards the younger Johnson child who was playing with her toys in the living room.

"Laura, can you get that please?" she called.

Brian's little sister skipped over to the phone and picked it up.

"Johnson residence," she answered. "Who's speaking? Hold on a minute...he's upstairs."

Within a few minutes of reading his book, Brian's thoughts were interrupted by his little sister who stuck her head in his room.

"Brian..." Laura singsonged.

"What?" Brian said, looking up from his book with an annoyed expression.

"There's a GUUUURRRLLL on the phone."

When he heard that a girl was calling him, his heart began to race. He hoped this was a dream. He wondered who it would be calling. Slipping a bookmark between the pages of his book, he got up from his bed and practically ran towards the phone. He was trembling with excitement that he fumbled with the phone—no girl had ever done this before. Sometimes it was merely a prank call that left him completely embarrassed or confused. Picking up the receiver, he squeaked a bit before clearing his throat to his usual voice.

"Johnson residence. Who's speaking?"

"Hey, Captain," said a female voice on the other end.

A smile spread across the blond boy's face as he recognized the nickname. He couldn't help but feel overwhelmed with surprise at the sound of her voice. He didn't think Sheila would ever call him.

"Hey...Lieutenant," Brian responded with a tremor in his voice.

Feeling a wave of excitement, he started muttering to himself. His whole body was so full of joy that he couldn't contain himself. Sheila couldn't help but grin. He could hear a light giggle on the other end of the phone. He could imagine her at the moment, probably biting her lip with a big smile on her face.

"I'm not bothering you from your chemistry homework, am I?" Sheila joked.

She hoped he would find her joke funny. She heard a soft chuckle on the other end. She could imagine the blond nerd when he laughed. She loved making him laugh. He always brightened up when he smiled or laughed. How his blue eyes sparkled. How his whole person lit up.

"N-no. Not at all," Brian said. "I'm not bothering you, am I?"

"Maybe I like being bothered," Sheila said playfully while she twirled the phone cord on her finger. "Ever think of that?"

The boy fumbled a bit, feeling his cheeks heat up. He imagined the redhead smirking impishly on the other end. How she made him blush.

"I can, uh, call you back even later...if that bothers you more," Sheila quipped.

"No, no! Let's chat now," Brian said; feeling the blush deepen.

"So...are you going to Stubbie's party?" Sheila asked. "You didn't forget, did you?"

"No. I didn't."

"Cool. So are you gonna go?"

"Sounds like I shouldn't miss it," Brian said.

"So...I'll come get you," Sheila said. "I just need your address."

"Y-you will?" The boy fumbled, struggling to adopt a smooth tone. "Nice. Stubbie's house is the big one on Lakewood. You can't miss it."

"You might have to be my co-pilot, Captain," Sheila said with a giggle. "I haven't lived in Shermer since I was 10. I'll honk the horn when I get there."

Brian gave her directions to his house. He figured this would be the time to ask his parents to go out--while he wasn't too fond of lying, but he couldn't risk his mother knowing he was dating someone. Well, he wasn't sure what they were at the moment. They had kissed mostly. Held hands. Plus she showed him her breasts--and boy, that was something he could never forget. And Sheila had told him she wanted to go slow despite her past history. She wanted to fall in love. He did too. He never had a girlfriend before. Yet ever since he got home from detention, his mother had been on his ass about the redheaded girl that his Dad had seen him with and she was asking so many questions.

"Actually, could you...not park in front of my house?" he said. "You know, my mom..."

"Hey, no reason to explain," Sheila said with a shrug. "I'll park down the block. My car is a 1968 Buick Rivera, light blue. Can't be too hard to miss."

Sheila looked over at her grandpa. Judging by his loud snoring, she guessed he was sleeping on the barcalounger. Deciding not to wake him, she grabbed the keys. She figured she'd be back before he knew she was gone. She felt bad lying and stealing the car from him, but she really wanted to go to this party. Plus she felt she deserved the privilege since she helped him care for his chickens--fighting off a crazy rooster in the mix. She painted the porch swing as well after detention. It was too crucial to risk getting her grandpa involved. He was sleeping like a baby and likely would be there until dawn. Sheila plucked the keys from the table next to him and tucked them into her pocket.

When she returned, she wrote down Brian's address. It was only a few blocks from her grandpa's house.

"OK, so I'll pick you up in about fifteen minutes. I'll see you soon," Sheila said.

"You too," he said, hanging up the phone.

Cautiously he went downstairs to speak with his mother, swallowing nervously. How could he explain this to his mother? There was no way in Hell that his mother would allow him to go to a party. She didn't want any distractions in his life. He had to come up with a clever lie that would allow him go out. He didn't like lying, but this was way too important to him. It was his first date with a girl.

"Mom?" he said softly.

"Yes?" she said, busy washing the dishes. "Who was that on the phone?"

While Brian was not too fond of lying, he didn't want to tell his mother that he was seeing a girl. While she had been lenient to let him join some clubs, God only knew how she would react if he were dating.

"It was...Eddie," he said. "He asked me to come over so we could review some things for the physics bowl that's coming up."

"How late are you staying?" Mrs Johnson asked.

"I...I dunno, probably around 11 or so," Brian said with a shrug.

"Just remember your curfew," his mother reminded. "And be home no later."

"I will," he said humbly.

Trembling with excitement, he figured he should get ready. He showered really quick, blow dried his hair and fixed it really nice. He dug through his closet. He couldn't figure out what to wear. He really wanted to impress Sheila and the others at Stubbie's party. He wanted to look really cool. He had a date with a really pretty girl. He wanted to show others that a nerd could get a girl. He found a leather jacket and smiled. He figured he'd look cool like Fonzie in Happy Days. He ran outside and walked down the street to look for Sheila's car. He was so excited that he would be going out with a goddess.

When he spotted the 1963 Buick, he ran a bit too eagerly. Sheila rolled down the window to see Brian dressed in a leather jacket.

"AYYYY!!!" Brian said, pointing his fingers like Fonzie.

Sheila sucked her lips in, trying not to laugh. He looked so dorky that this would guarantee he'd get torn apart if anyone saw him like this. Unfortunately, an audible snort slipped out, which prompted her to hide her face. This made Brian's pride fall, feeling overwhelmed with embarrassment. Great! His first date with a girl and she was already laughing at him. His face turned scarlet.

"Go ahead and laugh," he said humiliated.

Sheila cleared her throat, trying to stop her laughter. She felt bad for laughing at him. He went through all that trouble just to impress her, only to end up embarrassing himself. She had to be gentle with him.

"C'mon, get in the car, Fonzie," Sheila said, giggling lightly.

The blonde boy rushed into the car, feeling despondent. God! Why couldn't he just be normal? He was such a loser nerd and yet, this beautiful goddess was with him. He wondered why he deserved someone so beautiful and kind like Sheila.

Sheila saw how embarrassed Brian was. Poor guy! While she was flattered that he had tried, she decided to put his mind at ease.

"Brian, honey...look, I still like you," she assured. "I'm going to guess you're new to this whole flirting thing, right?"

Brian swallowed, combing his fingers through his hair. His first date and he already made a complete ass of himself by wearing this stupid leather jacket. He wished the ground would swallow him up already to end his misery and embarrassment.

"Am I that obvious?" he sighed. "The truth is that no girl has ever gone out me, let alone talked to me before. They usually ignore me."

"Have you tried talking to them?" Sheila asked.

Brian looked down at his shoes. He recalled a few humiliating experiences where he tried to talk to girls. There was an incident where a girl pretended to like him, but she just used him to not only get a good grade, but to humiliate him. But Sheila didn't need to know about that.

"A few times..." he mumbled. "But...I just couldn't...I'd freeze up or they'd laugh at me."

"Well, you talked to me in history class on Friday," Sheila said. "Why was that? How am I any different from the other girls?"

Brian played with his fingers as his brain began to think of why he could easily talk to Sheila. He recalled that first day in History class, how he greeted her politely. How she smiled at him and spoke to him without a hint of disgust or disinterest. She saw past his flaws, being a nerd and a geek.

"You're...you're nice," he said.

Sheila looked flattered. She placed a hand on top of Brian's, rubbing the palm soothingly. The blond looked at her with a small blush on his face. It felt nice to be touched by someone who genuinely cared for him.

"Brian, you don't have to go out of your way to impress me," she said. "I like you the way you are."

"This is my first party. I want to impress everyone."

"Well the key to being at a house party is to just play it cool. Just be yourself, but not all of yourself," Sheila said. "You don't have to impress everyone. Just try to relax and enjoy yourself."

"Cool. Got it."

He slouched and combed his fingers through his hair as if he were imitating James Dean.

"What's up?" he said in a smooth tone.

Sheila chuckled. "That's...an improvement, I guess."

It was then Brian looked down at his clothes. He still could see Sheila laughing at him. Then he began to imagine the worst case scenario: everyone laughing at him, calling him names, throwing beer at him. While he was used to the teasing and had his fair share of cruel pranks, he didn't think he could endure more of it at his first house party.

"Should I go change?" he asked.

"No. Don't do that. Let's just fix it a little bit," Sheila said. "First, let's trade jackets."

She unbuckled her seatbelt and slid over. She pulled the leather jacket off of him and handed him her brown jacket--it would make him look less of a dork. She was wearing an oversized black shirt that hung off the shoulder, a pair of jeans with holes in them. Sheila put the leather jacket. Brian's heart sped up when he saw the redhead in his jacket--it made her look hot.

Sheila looked Brian up and down. The jacket fit him a little bit, but he did look better than before.

"Another tip," she said. "Untuck your shirt."

Brian was about to do it himself until he felt Sheila's hands by his waist while she untucked his t-shirt. The backs of her fingers brushed the soft skin of his belly. Biting down on his lip, his breath hitched when he felt this new sensation. It sent a shiver up his thin body. No girl has ever been so...close to him before let alone touched him. Even when he and Sheila were making out earlier in detention, she didn't get that close. He felt his shirt untuck from his pants and the ends fall to his sides. He hoped Sheila would touch him more.

Sheila stared at the t-shirt in her hands, recalling all the times she had done this with boys in cars: pulled off their clothes, kissed them...she wanted to do this with Brian. Her cheeks heated up when she touched his skin.

Yet...why couldn't she do it? Brian was so nice. And he was innocent. She couldn't do that to him. She wanted to fall in love. She had made so many mistakes with her previous lovers. They hurt her. Used her. She couldn't do those things like she had done to her previous lovers.

Brian cleared his throat as well, rubbing the back of his neck as Sheila now got back up, and turned to the steering wheel.

"You look much better now," Sheila said.

The blushing blonde nodded his head, adjusting himself in his seat and began to put on his seatbelt, glancing over at her. Being so close to a girl, though they didn't do anything, made him extremely flustered.

"O-OK. Um...t-thanks" he said a bit shyly.

They drove to Stubbie's in silence for a while, Brian occasionally pointing out directions to Stubbie's house. Neither of them could think of anything to talk about. Soon, she arrived at Stubbie's with her grandfather's Buick, parking it down the street. Stubbie's house was exactly as Brian had described: it was a beautiful mansion with tons of Shermer kids on the lawn, chatting and drinking.

Once she stepped out of the car, she held hands with Brian and walked towards the house. Sheila stared in awe. Clearing her throat, she figured she should ask Brian about those who lived at Shermer. Especially the host in this case.

"How will I know who Stubbie is?" she asked.

"You'll see," he mumbled, feeling nervous.

Despite Brian was 5'9 1/2'', Stubbie was a few inches taller than him, rippling with muscles. He had been bullied by Stubie and his group of jocks.

Soon a huge meathead flanked by jocks starting to approach the two of them. Immediately, Brian dove into an azaleas bush nearby. Sheila watched in completely confusion and was about to speak when her thoughts were cut off by the meathead's voice.

"Hey!" the meathead said. "Who the hell are you, Ginger?"

Sheila's green eyes widened for a moment while she sized up the meathead. Lord! He was pretty scary looking, yet Sheila wasn't afraid...much. The meathead was rippling with muscle with an intimidating air. His brown hair was cut into a mullet. She glanced at the bush where her date had just jumped in, then back at meathead who was staring at her with beady blue eyes that looked mean, yet vacant and stupid.

"Um..." Sheila said, swallowing. "Sheila. Andrew Clark invited me."

The meathead sized up the redhead that stood there, arching an eyebrow upon mentioning the Athlete's name.

"How do you know Clark?" Stubbie said suspiciously.

"We had detention together today."

It was pretty obvious that this moose was pretty dumb, but he wasn't exactly THAT dumb enough to think some random chick on the street who claimed to know Andrew Clark and that he invited her.

"Listen up, Sheila," he said. "This is my place and my party. And it isn't open to just anyone. So..."

It was at that moment, Andrew passed by and cut Stubbie's thoughts off.

"Relax, Stubbie," Andrew said. "Sheila's cool. I invited her. She just started at Shermer yesterday."

Stubbie looked at Andrew for a moment when he heard him confirm that she was invited by him.

"Alright, man, if you say so," he said with a shrug. "Just don't fuck anything up."

Stubbie turned and headed back inside to the party, flanked by a group of jocks wearing matching letterman jackets that were hanging out on the porch. Andrew looked over as one of them called out his name. He waved for a moment before turned back to Sheila.

"You should go check out the party, Sheila," Andrew said. "I think I saw Claire inside..."

"Cool. I'll see you around," Sheila said.

The jocks called for Andrew again and he goes off to join them. Sheila looked over at the bushes where Brian had dove into.

"Brian, what are you doing back there?" Sheila asked, squatting down. "Why'd you do that?"

"I...I'm having second thoughts," he said nervously.

"About what? Hiding in the bush?" she quipped.

"About going into the party," he said. "I-I know you invited me...but now I'm thinking I should've stayed home."

Sheila sighed. She had to think of a way to try and coax him out of the bushes and hopefully, his shell. She wanted to be with him tonight.

"We can walk in together, Brian," Sheila said smiling kindly. "Nobody will bother you if you're with me."

"Y-you'd do that for me?" Brian said.

"Of course. You're my date. I don't care what anyone thinks of us together. After today, we're all in the same boat: you, me, Claire, Andy. As far as I'm concerned, if they're welcome here, we are too."

The blond boy warmed up to the idea, smiling as he saw Sheila's kind smile. It was good to know she didn't think of him as a loser.

"Y-yea. We are. Aren't we," he said.

"As someone who's an outsider," Sheila said. "It really sucks. It'd be good to be with a local native of Shermer."

Brian began to step out of the bushes, but then spotted Stubbie and the other wrestlers crowding around the front door. He slunk back behind the bush again like a spineless coward.

"I appreciate it, Sheila, but you go on ahead," Brian said. "I'll see you inside. "

Sheila's face fell in disappointment. She was really looking forward to spending time with Brian as her date and here he was, hiding in the bushes. Usually, she would've told a boyfriend to grow some balls, but she didn't want to be mean to him. This was her first nice boyfriend she ever had. Pushing him might make him feel pressured.

"Oh. Well...um...I guess, I'll see you in there," she said disappointed.

Brian sighed when he watched the redhead go inside alone. He felt like such a loser and a coward for hiding here, letting this beautiful girl go in all by herself. Why couldn't he just grow some balls? He sat on the ground, feeling sorry for himself. Hearing the disappointment in her voice really broke his heart.

Eventually Bender strolled up to the party with a cigarette between his fingers, looking for a way to sneak in when he saw Brian sitting outside alone.

"Hey, Dweeb!" he said. "What're you doin' out here?"

Brian looked up to see Bender standing there in the same clothes he had worn earlier today. He couldn't say he was surprised that he'd show up as is.

"Oh, h-hey, Bender," Brian mumbled, hugging himself.

"So the question remains: what're you doin' out here like a bump on a log?"

"Um...well...Sheila invited me to come to Stubbie's party," he answered.

"Oh yea? Cool! So why are out here and not in there with her?"

"I..."

The nerd couldn't find the right words to describe the situation. Bender leaned against the fence with a cocked hip, waiting for an explanation. It was pretty clear what had just happened. He could read the little Dweeb like a book.

"What, you let her go in all by herself?" Bender said in disbelief. "You dumb ass! Why would you do that?"

"I got...well, if everyone saw me, they'd laugh..."

Bender rolled his eyes at this weak ass excuse.

"That is so fuckin' pathetic, Dweeb," he said, shaking his head. "You get a hot girlfriend in detention, she invites you to a party, and here you are, hiding like a fuckin' pussy."

Brian swallowed, his face flushed with shame. He really wanted to be in there with Sheila.

"S-Stubbie...he scares me," Brian stuttered. "He'd probably kick me out."

"Fuck Stubbie. And fuck what everyone thinks of you, Dweeb," Bender said. "WE got invited! Who gives a shit? Your hot girlfriend is in there all by herself, probably some dudes are flirting with her..."

Brian frowned as he heard this. He didn't think that was true. Despite Sheila had a sordid past, she wouldn't do that to him...would she?

"That's not true," he said feeling miffed.

"Maybe not," Bender said. "But she COULD be." He paused for a moment, flipping his dark hair out of his face. "Dweeb, you need to grow some fuckin' balls and get your skinny ass in there before some jockstrap steals her away."

Bender pulled Brian up to his feet roughly; his gangly frame wobbled.

"C'mon," Bender said. "I'll sneak you in. Just keep your eyes forward. Don't talk to anyone."

Bender took Brian by the wrist and dragged him towards an off-beaten path that was away from Stubbie's house. He looked through the bushes to survey the backyard. Bender held up a fist to stop him.

"Now just walk," Bender said. "Don't look at anyone...just blend in," he said. "And quit moving your eyes so much! You look like a fucking Magic 8-Ball!"

"S-sorry," Brian apologized.

Eventually Bender made it inside the house with Brian in tow. Bender stopped at the punch bowl, then pulled out a flask from his pocket to dump the contents in the crystal bowl. He gave it a quick stir with the plastic ladle.

"What are you doing?" Brian asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Making the party more fun," Bender said with a grin. "I'm gonna go find Queenie. You better find your girlfriend before she decides to go home with some dude."

*********

Sheila went inside to join the crowd, pressing through the front door. Some jocks that hanging out on the porch were looking at her. They made some comments, but Sheila didn't hear them since it was too loud.

Once Sheila pushed her way inside the crowded house, she saw Shermer kids everywhere, standing around and talking, dancing, sprawled out on the couch...hell, there was a few make out sessions going on. The music was throbbing. It was very hard to hear anything.

Sighing as she stood among the throng of unfamiliar faces, she felt like the odd one out. She didn't know anyone here.

While she tried to make sense of the chaos...something large shoved into her from behind, nearly knocking her off her feet.

"Watch where you're going, asshole!" Sheila said angrily.

"Watch where you're standing, Ginger Bitch!" the voice of Stubbie said.

She turned around to find Stubbie flanked by a row of his wrestling buddies. She swallowed, feeling kind of uneasy. The meathead crossed his arms and stepped toward her, forcing her backward. While she wasn't scared of Stubbie, but she had to admit he was quite intimidating due to his size and rippling muscles.

"Just so we're clear, my parties are invite only," Stubbie said. "The only reason I let you in here is because of Clark. So you better not fuck anything up or cause trouble, Ginger."

Sheila tried to hold back a huff from the petty insult. She didn't want to risk getting kicked out so she decided to be polite.

"I won't fuck anything up," Sheila promised. "Look, I know it was pretty shitty of me to just show up here without knowing the host, but everyone says you throw the best parties in town."

Stubbie softened at the compliment when he heard the redhead.

"People say that about me?" he said.

Sheila nodded lightly with a polite smile. "Uh...yea. I just had to come and check it out myself."

A loud whistle came from the back that got Stubbie's attention. He excused himself and went to the outside.

"Yo, Stub!" said a jock named Rogers. "Some of the guys are ripping up a rose bush outside."

"You IDIOTS! My mom loves those flowers!" Stubbie snarled.

He lurched past Sheila and scrambled after Rogers with his wrestling buddies in tow. Sighing with relief as she watched Stubbie head towards the backyard, she was glad to be alone. All around you, smiling strangers brushed past her, barely paying any attention to her. She stood on her toes, surveying the room and hoped to spot a familiar face. Sighing, she went to sit on the couch alone. A couple was making out next to her.

She wished Brian was here. She was hoping to have a nice time with Brian: maybe have drinks with him, make out with him somewhere, get intimate with him since he said he wanted to try things. But unfortunately that wasn't going to happen since he was hiding in the bushes outside.

When the music got louder with some heavy metal, she thought about stepping outside when she saw Bender and Claire storm past her, deep in a heated argument.

"You're being fuckin' ridiculous!" Bender said angrily.

"Let's talk about this later, John, OK?" Claire said uneasy.

"I don't give a shit what your stuck-up friend Becky thinks of me."

"You may not care, but I do! I've known Becky since kindergarten."

"She probably still eats paste, am I right?" Bender derided.

"You are being an asshole again!"

She stomped off to join her preppy friends in the living room. Bender yelled after her.

"I am right! She DOES eat paste!"

He stormed off to the kitchen, brushing roughly past anyone that got in his way. Sheila frowned a bit. Usually she wasn't one to get involved in people's relationships, but Bender was like a big brother to her. They shared similarities: they both hated Vernon, their abusive male parents and they loved pranks.

While she didn't expect Claire and Bender to stay together after detention, but given that they had a strange chemistry, she figured she'd talk to Bender about what's going on anyway. Sheila went into the kitchen, hearing angry muttering of curses and boots stomping there. She recognized those sounds of the delinquent. He definitely sounded pissed.

Upon finding Bender in the kitchen raiding the pantry, stuffing food in is pockets, the redhead chuckled at the sight.

"Hey," Sheila said.

"Oh, hey, Teacher's Pet," he said.

"You and Claire having problems already? I saw you guys fighting."

"Was it fun to watch?" he remarked.

"How would YOU define fun?"

The delinquent shrugged. "I gave her a chance," he said. "But all of her stupid little judgy, snotty, shitty bitchy little friends...just couldn't keep their mouths shut."

"How mean could they have been?" Sheila asked, leaning on her elbow. "Girls are pretty cliquey. In my experience, there's only one way to get past it."

"You absolutely never met these girls."

"Maybe, but I mostly played with boys," Sheila said. "I didn't know any girl that would ever go near mud....well, Zoey Marsh was an exception. In my experience if a girl was acting bitchy, I would just make her eat dirt or throw mud at her."

Bender laughed as he imagined a little Sheila playing in the mud with the other boys.

"Well, they made comments about me, so I made comments about them," Bender said. "Not my fault her friend Becky is such a crybaby. If dating Claire means I have to put up with those bitches, I might have to reconsider."

"Why do you give a shit what Becky thinks?" Sheila said.

"I don't. Not one little bit."

"But Claire cares a lot."

"Too much if you ask me."

"And that probably won't change. "

"So what are you sayin', Teacher's Pet?"

"I'm saying fuck her friends. Figure out what you want out of this relationship. I mean, what exactly happened?"

"Thanks for the advice, Teacher's Pet." Then, his face showed his familiar sneer. "Is this where I'm supposed to sob and thank you?"

"Um...sure?" Sheila said arching an eyebrow.

"OK. B-O-O H-O-O. Hug," he deadpanned.

The delinquent went silent for a moment. He looks thoughtful and a little vulnerable. The redhead decided to tease him a little bit. She knew how he operated.

"Careful, Bender, if you keep up that look, you might develop feelings," Sheila teased.

Bender snapped out of it and returned to his usual defensive stance.

"No feelings here, Teacher's Pet," he said.

"Oh really?" Sheila teased. "I'm pretty sure I saw tears at detention during lunch..."

"Shut the fuck up, Teacher's Pet!" he snarled. "If you tell ANYONE that, you're dead meat! It's all ice baby. Pure ice."

"Good thing I'm no snitch then. So go get Claire to warm you up then."

He laughed with a grin.

"I think I will, Teacher's Pet."

Sheila laughed as she sat with Bender. He saw Brian outside all by himself, but didn't think nothing of it when he snuck in.

"Say, where's your dorky boyfriend?" Bender asked, looking around.

"Oh...he's outside...hiding," she said embarrassed.

"Hiding?" Bender said.

"Well...it's his first time at a house party," Sheila said. "He got scared."

"And he just let you go in by yourself? You should've picked him up and dragged him inside."

"Bender, I'm not doing that."

"Why not? You're a big Amazon. You could easily pick up that little twig."

"I don't think forcing Brian to do something he doesn't want to do will help him get over his fear."

"That's fucking bullshit!" Bender huffed. "That little pussy needs to grow some balls." After a beat, he got to his feet, pulling out a flask "By the way, I helped him sneak into the party. So you're welcome. Now get over there and get Dweeb out of Cherryville, USA."

"Dream on, Bender. I'm not going to have sex with him. We'll decide when that happens."

"You are such a cock tease, Teacher's Pet," Bender said pouting. "If you want to get things started, let's go to get him a drink."

"Sure."

Sheila got up from her seat to find Brian. Her eyes scanned the crowd until she spotted his blond head standing alone in a corner, looking awkward. Sheila approached him. His face lit up when he saw the redhead.

"Hey, Brian!" she said smiling. "You made it inside."

"Yea...I really appreciate what you said earlier," he said. "Trying to give me a boost. I finally worked up the guts to come in."

Sheila smiled. She secretly knew that Bender helped him sneak in.

"Sure thing, Brian," Sheila said.

Eventually Brian started bobbing his head to the music. He grinned and started pointing finger guns at some passing girls. Sheila couldn't help but chuckle. He was kind of adorkable, but he was...well himself.

"Lookin' good, ladies," he said in an attempt to be smooth.

The girls respond with a mixture of giggles and eye rolls. Sheila knew she had to say something or else he would get his ass kicked by acting like a complete...well, dork. Not that she cared if he behaved like that.

"Brian, what are you doing?" Sheila asked. "This is a house party, not a dude ranch."

"Huh?" Brian said confused.

"Let's holster the finger guns, OK, pilgrim?" Sheila said, putting her hand on his arm. "I take it that this is your first time at a house party."

Brian just frowned, stuffing his hands in his pockets. He felt rather insulted. Did Sheila really thing that he had never been to a party?

"I'm not a total loser," Brian defended. "I've been to parties--slumber parties, birthday parties and I even went to a bar mitzvah."

"OK, fair enough," Sheila said. "But regardless, the same rules apply--don't do anything that will get you kicked out. I'll be your survival guide to a house party. First things first, let's get a drink. Relax a bit."

Sheila walked with Brian towards the punch bowl. She spied Claire talking to her popular friends nearby. After pouring herself and Brian some drinks, she pointed to Claire.

"Let's go say hi," Sheila said. The two of them walked over to the princess. "Hey, Claire!" Sheila said waving.

Claire gave a friendly, polite smile when she saw Brian and Sheila. She felt a bit awkward meeting her new friends in front of her popular friends.

"Hey," she said. "Glad you guys made it."

Sheila noticed some of Claire's friends were looking at the two of over. A brunette girl who appeared to be the leader of Claire's clique gave the two a look.

"You know these two, Claire?" She asked, wrinkling her nose.

"Um...this is Sheila and Brian," Claire said. "I told you I met them in detention. Um, Sheila and Brian, this is Becky."

Brian waved with a smile, earning a dirty look from Becky.

"Oh....of course" Becky said flipping her raven hair. "Well, love to stay and chat but I'm going to find Stubbie, bye bye."

Sheila frowned as well as Brian. Becky seemed to not like them.

"What's got her panties in a bunch?" Sheila said.

"Oh I'm sure she's just making sure Stubbie isn't flirting with any girls," Claire said shrugging. "She's probably wanted to make sure he's not talking to any other girls here or something. She gets a little jealous."

Soon there was movement by the front door and they looked over. Allison had arrived to the party. It seemed everyone was staring at her.

"Everybody's really into Allison's new look, huh?" Brian said, holding his cup. "I'm sure people are staring at you too. I mean...cuz, you're...well, you're with me."

"It's cool, Brian," Sheila said. "I don't care what anyone thinks."

"Right..." he said quietly.

Eventually Andrew appeared beside Sheila and Brian, also staring at Allison.

"Damn. Would you look at her," he said.

Allison walked towards Andrew, Claire, Brian and Sheila, painfully aware that all eyes are on her.

"Hey, Allison!" he said. "You showed up!"

"It's not like I was doing anything else," Allison said with a shrug.

"I'm glad you're here. This is awesome," Andrew said.

He stepped towards the brunette girl and gave her a light kiss. Brian and Sheila smiled at the whole scene.

"It's like a Klmit painting," Brian said.

"You know his work?" Allison asked.

"Yea. I saw it in an art book once."

"You want a drink?" Andrew asked. "I'll get you some punch."

"I'll come with you," Claire said. "I gotta find John too."

"Oh I'm sure he's hanging around the punch bowl," Sheila remarked.

Before Allison could answer, Andrew hurried off towards the punch bowl with Claire. Allison stood there with the three of them.

"You enjoying your makeover, Allison?" Sheila asked.

"Everyone is staring at me," Allison said. "I feel like a freak."

"Don't worry, they'll adjust," Sheila assured. "They're just not used to seeing you like this at all."

"Doesn't mean they have to stare."

"Well, imagine if Andrew was wearing all black," Sheila said. "Would you take a few seconds to check out his new look?"

"Well...sure, I guess."

"Would you think he's a freak?"

"Of course not."

"That's what everyone is thinking about you right now."

Allison smiled and relaxed her stance. "You're right. I'm just being paranoid. Thanks, Sheils."

Sheila giggled at the nickname. She looked around and noticed the crowd was pressing towards them. Andrew's wrestling buddies were in the crowd as well as Claire's preppy friends. They appeared to be pointing and whispering at the three of them standing there. Sheila shook her head, thinking nothing of it.

"Who wants to play Seven Minutes in Heaven?" Rogers announced.

Sheila rolled her eyes. Yea. She was not going to play. She was going to try and make herself scarce as possible. Maybe take Brian somewhere private and be more intimate with him.

"But we need a couple of volunteers," Becky said.

Her eyes scanned the room and fell up on the redhead that was talking to Brian and Allison.

"I think we got a volunteer here..."

"Um...what?" Sheila said, raising her eyebrow.

"Right! But who's gonna go with you, Red?" Rogers said.

It was at that second...Andrew returned, holding two cups, looking confused.

"What's going on here?" he asked.

"Oh! Andrew's a good choice!" Becky chirped.

"Good choice for what?" the athlete asked confused.

"C'mere, Clark!" Rogers said as his wrestling buddies grabbed Sheila and Andrew.

Brian and Allison stood there with a shocked looks on their faces as the two of them were thrown into the closet.

"Oh God..." Sheila groaned. "And then, the clouds opened up and God said...I hate you Sheila Donovan."