2:23 pm
The Library

Everyone seemed to be winding down from the "study break". Sheila and Brian felt a little awkward about their steamy, yet sloppy make out session on the floor.

Sheila admitted it was weird she just made out with Brian after only knowing him a day. Then again, she couldn't say she was surprised by herself as she had kissed a random boy for no reason. Slept with them. But that was many boyfriends ago. Sheila had dated a few guys in her lifetime, but she didn't really love any of them.

Brian was different. She couldn't help but feel like she was...falling for him. She hadn't felt like that towards anyone before. Still, she wanted to get to know Brian better. She feared she would scare him off despite her experience.

The geek glanced over at Sheila. He felt strange that a random girl like her would just kiss him. He wondered if that meant anything. Did she love him? Were they an item? Was this a real or just a drug induced fling that just randomly happened? Was she trying to get into his pants?

Usually girls used guys like him to make their boyfriends jealous or as pretend dates to hide the fact that they were dating bad boys that their parents didn't approve of. He was a toy to be played with and discarded when they grew bored.

Sheila didn't seem like she was using him. But he couldn't be too sure about her intentions. She enjoyed talking to him. Shared some intimate details about herself with him. While he did have a crush on her, after that steamy, drug induced make out session, he wondered about where this was going.

The redhead looked at him, resting the back of her head on the couch, sitting next to Andrew. She had her legs crossed, her hair was tied up in an over the shoulder pony tail with a black jelly bracelet.

"Well...that was pretty..." Sheila began. "Did you enjoy that little promise?"

Brian nodded, tugging at his collar. "Yea...I did," he said.

"Maybe we can do it again? After detention? If you want...that is. No pressure."

"Sure," he said. "I'd love to...I'd have to ask my parents though."

Sheila nodded, decided that was the case, given Brian had told her his parents were strict. She wondered what they would think of her.

"Do you think they'd approve of me?" she asked.

The blond swallowed. He couldn't imagine introducing Sheila to his mother. One look at this bold, foul mouthed, redheaded tomboy would be met with instant disapproval. She would view her as nothing more than a distraction.

"I think they would," he lied. "They'd be ecstatic to know I had a girlfriend...provided it doesn't interfere with my studies."

Sheila frowned a bit. Now she really wondered why was he studying so much? Did he really never have time to do fun things after school?

"Do you ever do anything for fun?" she asked.

"Sometimes. I study a lot though," he said.

"What do you do for fun?"

"I like playing games. And the clubs I'm in."

She smiled, glad to know that he had some interests other than studying all the time.

"Maybe we can study together at each other's houses on weekends too?" she suggested. "Given I've transferred in the middle of the semester, I feel really lost and all."

"Happy to help, Sheila," he said. "You can meet my parents."

"And you can meet my grandpa. I know he'd certainly approve of you."

After a few minutes, they relaxed on the couch. Andrew decided to start a conversation.

"So..." Andrew said. "You got a middle name, Funny Girl?"

"Elizabeth," Sheila replied, moving the annoying strand out of her hair.

Brian smiled. "Sheila...Elizabeth..." he said. "It's got a nice ring to it."

Sheila beamed, her cheeks turning pink. "Thank you. So...what's yours?"

"Guess," Brian said smiling lightly.

"Your middle name is Ralph," said Allison suddenly, who was leaning against the sculpture. "As in puke."

She began to make her way towards the couch where Brian was sitting down, grinning wide. Brian looked at Allison with an expression of shock, along with Andrew.

"Your birthday is March 12th," she continued, wringing the strap of her bag. "You're 5'9'' and a half. You weigh 130 lbs. And your social security number is...049-36-0913."

"Wow! Are you psychic?" asked Andrew.

"Either that or she stole his wallet," Sheila said sarcastically.

Allison dug into her bag with a big shit eating grin, showing everyone the black wallet that belonged to Brian. The geek went wide eyed, patting his pockets.

"I was kidding," she added uneasy.

"Hey! Give it to me!" Brian exclaimed.

Allison tossed it to Sheila. The redhead caught it and opened it up. She giggled and shook her head in amusement as she saw Brian's ID.

"This is the worst fake ID I've ever seen," Sheila said. "You realize that you made yourself a 68-year-old man."

"Yea...I know," Brian mumbled embarrassed. "I goofed it."

"What do you need a fake ID for?" Andrew asked.

"So I can vote," Brian said.

Sheila continued to look through Brian's wallet, finding only $2 and a very racy nudie photo of a woman.

"Ooh!" Sheila taunted, waving the photo in front of him. "What's this?"

"HEY!" Brian yelled, turning bright red. "Give it back! That's MINE!"

He reached to grab the photo, only for the redhead to jiggle it out of his reach, laughing.

"Didn't know you were such a dirty little boy, Brian Ralph Johnson," Sheila teased, giving a sly smirk.

"What does he have?" Andrew asked curiously.

"Brian's got a nudie shot in his wallet," Sheila said. Then laughed rambunctiously. "Wow! Look at those tits!"

"Alright, let's see!" Andrew said.

Sheila tossed Andrew the wallet. He looked at it briefly.

"Wow! Didn't take you as the type, Johnson," Andrew said smiling.

The blond nerd yanked the wallet out of Andrew's hand, angry and embarrassed. He glared at Sheila with fiery blue eyes.

"You are such a...a..." he spat, trying to find the right insult.

"A bitch?" Sheila finished.

"Yea," he said. "You're a BITCH!"

Sheila was shocked and surprised to hear Brian curse like that. Plus the way he said it was harsh. Brian was surprised himself that he had said this. He kinda felt bad for calling Sheila such a rude name, but she provoked him with her teasing and taunting.

"Whoa!" Sheila said. "I've never heard you curse before, Brian."

"I do. It's just...I don't like it very much. Plus, you started it!" he replied angry.

"C'mon, Brian," she said. "I was just teasing."

"Like I don't get that enough, Sheila," he mumbled hurt.

Brian looked humiliated; his blue eyes became watery like he was going to cry. Sheila saw the geek's expression and felt terrible. She shouldn't have done that. Even Andrew shook his head with disapproval.

"I'm sorry, Brian," Sheila apologized. "I didn't mean it. I do stupid shit like that sometimes. I forget when to stop myself."

Brian looked with wet, yet appreciative eyes. They were blue like after a rainstorm.

"Thank you," he said in a shaky voice. "Just don't do it again."

"You have my word. Don't feel bad if you need to call me out for being an asshole. I can take it," she said.

With a sigh, Sheila looked at her other classmates. She saw Claire and Bender were having a conversation about something. But she couldn't tell what it was about.

"This is going to sound really weird, but...today has been the best day I've had in a long time," Sheila said.

"I feel the same way," said Brian.

Claire laughed. "That's the saddest thing I've ever heard."

"I'm serious. I had a pretty shitty day to start...but now..." Sheila said.

"I kinda agree with them," Andrew chimed in.

"Well, I'm gonna be here every Saturday for the next two months," Bender said. "You're welcome to join me."

Claire looked over at Sheila as something occurred to her. While everyone seemed to know each other, nobody knew about the new girl.

"Y'know, we've been together all day," she said. "But we really don't know anything about you, Sheila."

"Yea. Tell us some crazy shit you've done, Teacher's Pet," Bender said.

"OK..." Sheila said, sitting up. "One time back home, I was at a party at my friend, Zoey Marsh's, house. Someone challenged me to drink an entire bottle of peppermint schnapps."

Claire cringed. "How awful!" she said.

Brian looked over curiously. "What's peppermint schnapps?"

"It's an alcoholic drink, dweeb," Bender said, rolling his eyes.

"Yea. It tastes like a candy cane," Sheila said.

"So, what happened after that?" Andrew asked.

"I ended up puking halfway through," Sheila said. "According to my friend, she said I yelled 'It's a Christmas miracle!' And kept going anyway. I ended up getting a wicked hangover and my friend's house smelled like peppermint vomit."

Everyone groaned as they heard the Comedian's story.

"Cool," Allison said with a grin.

"Yea. Zoey's mom was really pissed," Sheila said. "We lied and told her we ate bad candy canes. I don't think she bought it though."

"Well, I know something..." Allison suddenly said. "...about Sheila that she's not telling us."

All eyes went on Allison when she said this. Sheila's eyes widened as Allison pulled out a crumpled piece of paper from her bag, dangling it in front of the group.

"What's that?" asked Andrew.

"Sheila's transfer letter," Allison said.

"HEY!" the Comedian yelled, getting on her feet. "Give it back! It's mine!"

She tried to grab the letter, but Allison held it out of her reach. Sheila's temper began to flare up as the basket case teased her. She didn't want anyone to know her shameful secret about why she was at Shermer.

"Seriously, Allison! It's not funny!" she said.

"Uh-huh..." she said, grinning.

"What gives you the FUCKIN' right to go through my shit?!" Sheila yelled, her face turning red. "That is my personal business! Who the FUCK do you think you are?!"

Everyone stared at the two girls, especially Sheila's terrifying temper. Allison stared wide eyed, looking sheepish. She was about to hand back the letter...only for Bender to pluck it out of her hand.

"Less talking, more reading!" he said with a smirk and quickly scanned it over.

"BENDER!" Sheila shrieked.

"Ahhh..." he said with a grin.

"What is it?" Claire asked.

"According to this letter, seems the rumors are true. Our friend Sheila was expelled from her last school."

Sheila groaned in exasperation as her secret was exposed to her classmates. She turned red in the face, hiding her face in complete shame. She wanted to cry, but she had to keep that Comedy Mask on. If there was one thing she didn't want anyone to see was her crying. That meant weakness.

"Whoa!" Brian exclaimed softly, looking at Sheila. "Even Bender hasn't been expelled."

"Yet," Andrew reminded.

Bender began to read the letter out loud, making up sentences with 'blah blah blah'. It sound worse with each sentence.

"...'Sheila was expelled from Dewey High on the grounds of...'"

"BENDER! LOOK!" Sheila said, pointing to the back of the library.

Instinctively, the criminal turned around; Sheila plucked the letter out of his hand while he was distracted, then tucked it in her pocket.

"I can't believe you fell for that," she said laughing.

Bender smirked. "Well...at least the rumors were mostly true," he said. "Good thing you're not just a poser."

"Mostly?" Sheila said with an arched eyebrow.

"Well, I'd also heard you were a bitch, but I'd say you're more of an asshole."

"Gee, thanks," she responded deadpan.

"What's the difference?" Brian asked curiously.

"There's a very fine, but definite distinction," Bender said.

"Which would be...?"

"Look, dweeb, I don't have the time to get into the subtleties of derogatory diction with you right now," Bender responded annoyed.

"Now see, Brian, THAT is a fine example of an asshole," Sheila said, pointing to Bender.

"And THAT'S a fine example of a bitch," Bender retorted, pointing to the redhead.

Brian sat there, looking confused as he tried to work out the logic of what was going on as he listened the two of them bicker.

"So...what's the story, Teacher's Pet? Spill it," said Bender.

"You don't have to tell us," Claire said, seeing how uncomfortable the Comedian looked.

"I know why," Allison chimed in.

"Give it a rest, Allison!" Andrew said annoyed.

"She'll tell us when she feels like it," Claire said.

"Why are you so freakin' weird?" Brian said.

"To conform is to die a slow death," Allison answered.

"So, you're weird because you think not being weird is a slow death?" Claire said, raising her eyebrow.

"If you want to know why I'm so weird, then look inside my bag," Allison said.

"No!" Brian and Andrew said together.

"Alrighty. Let's take a look," Sheila answered. "It might be interesting. After all, a woman's purse is often very telling."

Allison grinned, then took a hold of her bag by the bottom and dumped out all the contents on the couch next to Brian. Sheila sat on the table, looking at the tons of stuff that came tumbling out: socks, underwear, a shirt, shampoo, toothpaste, tampons, etc. Sheila picked at the stuff with her red painted chipped fingers.

"Do you always carry this much shit in your bag?" she asked.

"Yes. I always carry this much shit in my bag," Allison echoed.

Sheila found one thing that was interesting among the mess. She picked up a bus pass that was to NY. One way. She examined it for a moment, then looked at Allison.

"Are you going somewhere?" she asked. "NY, perhaps?"

"Maybe. Depends," she answered.

"On what?"

"On how far I wanna get away from here."

"So...what's the deal?" Sheila asked. "Why are you carrying all this shit in your bag?"

"You never know when you may have to jam," Allison said.

"Are you going to be like a shopping bag lady?" Brian said in a condescending tone. "Y'know, like sit in alleyways and talk to buildings. Wear men's shoes and that kinda thing?"

"I'll do what I have to," Allison said.

"You're saying that you'd subject yourself to the violent dangers of Chicago streets because your home life is unsatisfying?" Brian asked with raised eyebrows.

"I don't have to run away and live on the streets," Allison said. "I can run away and go to the ocean. I can go to the country. I can go to the mountains. I can go to Israel. Africa. Afghanistan. Where would you go, Sheila?"

"Probably somewhere fun like an amusement park or maybe join the circus," Sheila answered. "I love roller coasters."

"I love the Ferris wheel," Brian said.

"Yea. That's nice too," Sheila said smiling.

"What job would you want?" Allison asked.

"I dunno..."

"I'd say you'd be a clown," she said with a grin.

Sheila shrugged. "Probably." Then paused, looking at the mysterious girl. "So, why do you want to leave home?"

"My home life is un...satisfying," Allison said, near tears.

"Everyone's home life is unsatisfactory," Andrew said. "If it wasn't, people would live with their parents forever."

"Yea, yea, that I understand," Brian mumbled to Andrew. "But hers goes beyond what, you know, guys like you and me consider normal unsatisfying."

"What's THAT supposed to mean?" Sheila said to Brian frowning. "What do YOU consider normal unsatisfying?"

He looked at Sheila with a mixture of confusion. What did he say that upset her? Judging by the angry look he was getting, it was pretty clear that he offended her. Allison also looked pretty hurt by this statement.

"You know what, forget it!" Allison said, pulling all her stuff back in her bag. "Never mind. Everything is cool."

The basket case wiped a tear from her face; her black eye liner became smudged. Her dark eyes became wet. She clutched her bag to her chest.

"What's the deal?" Andrew asked confused at this reaction by the Basket Case.

"There's no deal, sporto! Forget it! Leave me alone!" Allison hissed.

"Wait a minute...if you're carrying around all that crap in your purse, either you want to run away OR you want people to think you're going to run away."

"Eat. Shit!" Allison hissed, getting up to walk away.

Andrew followed behind her to talk to her. Sheila looked at Brian with an angry glare. What he had said earlier disgusted her. She never saw this side of Brian before: how he acted like a condescending prick who looked down on others. Or was it because he was trying to be cool in front of Andrew? She didn't know. But what he said was pretty hurtful.

"You...are an asshole, Brian Ralph Johnson!" Sheila said, getting to her feet and stormed away.

Brian looked super confused. He didn't understand what he said. With a sigh, he got up to his feet to chase after Sheila. She was sitting alone in one part of the library sulking. She was trying to hold back her angry tears. She had been stuck in this fucking hellhole all day and yet the pressure was getting to her. Brian was acting like a complete snob.

"What the hell was that about?" Brian asked furrowing his brow.

The redhead glared at him with emerald daggers.

"You honestly think because your home life is normally unsatisfying," Sheila began with anger in her voice. "You think that everyone else doesn't is abnormal. You have no fucking idea, Brian Johnson."

A frown came to Brian's face. "What are you saying, Sheila? That your home life is ABNORMALLY unsatisfying?"

"There's no such thing as normally or abnormally unsatisfying. You wouldn't know because your fucking parents adore having you in their lives!"

Brian got angry. Sheila had no idea about his home life. Why did everyone assume that his parents were normal like everyone else's?

"What is your problem, Sheila? What did I do?" he snapped.

"You are such a condescending fucking snob, Brian Johnson. That's what. Because your parents are normal."

"You don't even know me, Sheila! If you think I have normal parents, you're wrong!"

"Bullshit!"

"Why don't you just tell me what's going on instead of lashing out at me?"

"OK, mister! I'll tell you what's going on. There's a reason I don't like talking about my family. They're so fucked up that you wouldn't understand because you just see things as normal and abnormal."

"Then tell me what is going on instead of acting like a bitch!" Brian said getting angrier.

"FINE! You wanna know? Here it is! I was an unplanned pregnancy as a result of my parents during the 1960s," Sheila said. "THERE! You happy?"

Brian stared with wide blue eyes, blinking a few times. While he had known about Sheila telling him that her parents fought a lot, but this was completely out of the ballpark.

"My mother...she was into the whole 'Make Love, Not War' movement. She wasn't in love with my Dad. She wasn't even dating him. What she loved was..." Sheila said.

She stopped herself short, uncertain whether or not she should share this with Brian. Would he think she was some freak or loser if she told him about how fucked up her parents were?

"So if they weren't dating, they were just..." Brian said.

"Fucking," Sheila interjected. "They were fucking. And it wasn't just with him. She was with random guys as well. My Dad just happened to be the one who got her knocked up."

Brian sat there in stunned silence as he heard the redhead tell him that her parents were just two complete strangers who had no emotional connection between one another. Her mother just enjoyed having casual sex with random guys.

"My grandparents didn't approve of her behavior," Sheila continued. "So when she got pregnant, they insisted that they get married. My Dad agreed to go through with the marriage."

There was a silence between the two of them. Brian was absolutely blown away by Sheila's family: they were so screwed up he had no idea. His family was just as fucked up. His father was barely there in his life. His mother was a nagging Nancy who pressured him to study all the time and wouldn't allow him to have fun. Their marriage was pretty messed up considering his mother emasculated his father a lot as well.

"You never talked about your Dad much. Is he absent from your life?" he asked, tilting his head.

Sheila swallowed as the pained memory came to her mind. Her comedy mask was slipping off. The man she once loved and adored. It was true. He was. Yet, she couldn't let anyone know that yet.

"Actually...he was very much in my life since my mom worked a lot," Sheila said. "I loved him and adored him. He taught me everything: how to ride a bike, fight, play ball...even all of his tricks."

"He sounds like a really nice guy," Brian said now smiling.

"Wanna see a picture of him?" she asked.

Brian nodded. Sheila dug into her pocket, pulling out the crinkled photo of her and her dad. It was a Halloween photo of them from 1974. The year she and her Daddy dressed up as the Marx Brothers. He was dressed as Groucho Marx: black hair, a painted on mustache, black duct tape eyebrows, donning round glasses and a cigar between his teeth. Sheila was only six years old and was dressed as Harpo: a curly wig, an oversized plaid shirt, a trenchcoat and a top hat, wearing a bicycle horn around her neck. Brian laughed as he saw the two of them.

"Wow..." he said. "Who are you guys supposed to be?"

"The Marx Brothers," Sheila said. "My Dad is Groucho and I'm Harpo." She began to tell the funniest story about her father. "My Dad has red hair like I do. So he used an entire thing of shoe polish to color his hair black and paint his mustache on. Then he used duct tape on his eyebrows."

Brian sniggered as he listened to the memory.

"By the end of the night, he ended up smelling like shoe polish," Sheila said, starting to laugh. "And he had no eyebrows for a month!"

Brian laughed along with Sheila.

"Well, he had a great sense of humor though," Sheila said. "He'd make every day an adventure for me and make me laugh. My favorite memory of him was whenever I had a nightmare, he'd let me stay up and watch old comedies. He also loved to put on shows for me when I was sick: he'd do funny voices and puppet shows. I'd always feel better when he did this."

Brian smiled as he heard the redhead's reminiscing. Brian felt envious of Sheila. He would give anything to have a Dad who would be so loving and caring. Unlike his who didn't want to spend any time with him. Yet he was curious as of what happened after her parents got divorced.

"Until what changed?" Brian asked.

He leaned forward, seeing the redhead's eyes starting to brim with tears. He frowned. He wondered what could've happened. She felt a pang of hurt, fighting her tears. She just couldn't hold them back anymore as the memory of her father stung her heart.

"I was ten," Sheila said. "One day, I came home from school, thinking he was hiding so he could scare me like he always does...but he wasn't there. I thought he had to have gone to the store or something."

Brian listened with intensity. More tears rolled down Sheila's freckled cheeks. She looked at the geek, feeling embarrassed that she was crying in front of him. Her mask had completely fallen off.

"All I remember is sitting on the porch step all day...until it got dark," Sheila said in a choked voice. "Then my mom came home and told me he wasn't coming back."

She had completely lost it. She lowered her head, shaking and began to cry. Brian held his arms out to offer her a hug. Sheila pulled herself into Brian, gripping his sweater; her tears soaking the green material.

"He didn't even say goodbye!" she wept. "He didn't even say why he left either. I mean, who the fuck does that?!"

Frowning, Brian felt the redhead's body shudder. He rubbed her back with his hand in a soothing way. He couldn't imagine someone's father who loved and adored their child would just walk away like that. He couldn't imagine being in Sheila's shoes as a ten-year-old, waiting and wondering where her father went, not knowing where he was or when he'd come back. She cried into Brian until her tears were spent.

"Sometimes...I feel it was my fault he left," Sheila said.

"I don't think it was," Brian assured. "From what you told me, it sounded like he loved you very much."

"Yet, he still left!" Sheila said angry. "A loving father wouldn't just leave without an explanation!"

"Why do you think he left?" Brian asked.

"My parents were always fighting when I was little. Mostly it was because he couldn't find work. And he wasted money on shit. He bought things for me to make me happy...and stuff for his acts. I told you he was an entertainer for kids, right?"

Brian nodded, listening to Sheila.

"My Dad had big dreams about being a comedian," Sheila said. "I think he just couldn't handle the fact that he failed. Despite that he had odd jobs, his real passion was comedy. While he entertained kids at special events, I think he felt it wasn't enough."

"So you're saying he left you because...he wanted to follow his dreams?"

Sheila shrugged. "Maybe. Maybe he loved his dreams more than me. Maybe he pretended to be happy about being a father when he really wasn't. But in the end, he never said why."

"When was the last time you saw him?"

"Three years ago in Detroit," Sheila said, wiping the snot and some tears away. "I was out with some friends and I saw him washing car windows for money. He was in dirty clothes. He saw me and waved to me, but I pretended not to know him."

"He's homeless?"

Sheila nodded, feeling her cheeks flushed.

"So why didn't you wave back?" Brian asked.

"There's a part of me that is angry that he left without any explanation," Sheila said.

"You have every right to be angry that he left," he said. "What he did was unfair to you."

"I know," Sheila answered sadly. "But I can't help that there's still a part of me that still cares about him."