Friendzoned (10 page)

The other girl shrugged.

"Got up late, don't have a gig today and was able to finish practice before mid-night. Not perfect, but it could be worse. So, what kind of movie do you all want to see? A nice rom-com?" Her voice actually held hope, as if, naturally, that's what someone like her would want to see.

Becky suspected it was a joke, but they got to watch one that was playing on basic cable, and had popcorn along with it. It was all air popped, and didn't have butter, but she was so hungry that the extra forty calories from the light and fluffy kernels seemed worth it. The show wasn't that great.

"But," Becky put in, pointing at the credits after Eve had said it was a piece of something best scraped off of a shoe. "It serves an important function in our lives. Now we can go forth in to the world, armed with unrealistic expectations. I can just take these glasses off and shake my head, and presto, I'll be a nine." She pretended to grab at her face, but nothing happened, not having eyewear at all. "Well...
darn
."

Then she cracked up.

Hally sighed.

"Wait you mean that
isn't
how real life works? I thought that all I had to do was wait for the millionaire to come and say hello, then step out in front of a bus to be saved from certain death. I guess I'll have to go to my other plan then, and find a hot alien guy. Life is so hard."

They went on like that for a good while, but then settled early. She was actually sort of tired, for all that she'd gotten up late the day before. Wisely enough a bucket was provided for Sue, who woke up long enough to use it. Twice. Becky was in the room with her, and woke each time, but Keeley came in and emptied it, not complaining about the task at all.

That meant they were all up early enough, even Sue. She looked around, her face unsure and a bit wrinkled from the pillow still, and stared at Becky.

"I... Don't know where I am. Again." She didn't sound all that awake yet, but not really drunk. Just miserable.

Becky gave her a single nod.

"Keeley Thomson's house. You were about to have passed out sex in front of everyone at Darren's party, without your consent, but Darla Gibson saved you. Then the police raided, but we got you out. Or, well, Keeley, Hally and Eve did." It was a pretty good explanation, Becky thought, and the girl nodded, then looked at the door.

"Thanks. I guess I don't really need to have everyone see me do things like that. Can I get a ride home, do you think? I'm not sure where I am."

Becky could see that. It would be hard to know where she was at all, having been moved.

"About a half mile from the school. I don't know about a ride, let me see if I can find someone?"

That someone, it turned out, was Keeley, who came with her keys out, already dressed for Church.

"I can do that now. I missed my normal baking for everyone, so want to stop and get some things for it anyway. I know, less than stellar, but I'm young, what do people want from me?" She seemed happy enough, and so awake the Becky suspected drugs had been involved, or at least strong coffee. That last one seemed to be the case, since Darla came out with a pot of it and several cups just after the other two left. It was actually good, and not bitter at all.

Sipping at it, Becky didn't move for a bit, but it was decided that she got the first shower, so she stood up as soon as it was done, and... then sat back down.

"Ow! My legs. That is
not
fun." She let her eyes go wide, while Darla finished her own drink. "Here, I'll help you up. I'm not going in the shower with you, so don't let yourself fall down. That would be a bit too much to ask, party pal or not."

"Fair enough." She took the offered hand though and refrained from crying too loudly as she got to her feet, keeping it to a whimper and then shuffling off to the bathroom. It took a long time to get it all done, but at least Hally didn't seem to be that much better off than she was. Eve on the other hand, just hopped to her feet and got more coffee.

Becky glared at her a bit, but the short haired girl that looked just a bit like she had some other kind of heritage in her background, stretched. Limberly.

"I run. I may not be little miss fitness, but I try to stay in shape. If I go into the military, I'll need to be." It made sense, and she didn't pretend it didn't.

Neither did Becky.

"Right. Well, I guess I should too, but not today. I don't think I can walk enough to go to church, much less lift weights later." She glanced at Darla, feeling bad about letting her down already, but the girl shook her head and looked prim.

"No to both. Get up and start walking and you'll loosen up a lot. We're going to work our arms chest and back today, so it won't be that bad. No wimping out on me
yet
. We haven't even started."

That was true, but the pain was probably going to make a wimp of her anyway. Still, following instructions, Becky got to her feet and slowly started to walk around. Her feet had blisters, and her legs felt like they were malfunctioning, but she really did do a bit better by the time Eve was in the shower.

Hally joined her, pacing around the room so slowly it had to seem like they were trying to reenact the walking dead. The other girl was lighter than she was, and her face was made up just enough to cover some of her freckles. They both had dresses on, because that was the uniform for Catholic Church it seemed. At least for the girls.

When Keeley came back the girl looked at them both, but didn't have to join in.
She
seemed fine. That was probably because she was perfect and too good for things like pain or limping.

Becky smiled, but didn't say anything out loud about it. She was, she knew, just totally and completely jealous. It wasn't fair, maybe, but life wasn't, and she'd deal with it, just like always.

They weren't actually due at church for the early mass for a while, half an hour, but they still needed to go out and get in the cars. They'd take two, since the van was half filled with donut boxes. It was a thing that Keeley did. Normally she made things herself, but they'd played too much the day before for that. Instead people would have to suffer just having the free food come from the bakery.

Or at least the others could.

Her stomach growled, but she just let it, trying not to let herself seem grumpy. They'd all gone out of their way to help her, and, she suspected, that Darren's party had been about helping her let go of the abject failure that was her life after the hike went so far south. People didn't do that for casual acquaintances, did they? Plastering a smile on her face, she decided to act her way through it all. It was her job after all. Or might be, someday.

The service was just as confusing as always, but she and Hally sat in the back, and slowly got to their feet when everyone else did, though they didn't take communion or anything. No one glared at them or shouted about the infidels, so it was all good enough. Then, after the rather long and boring thing was finally done, she slowly and painfully helped get the donuts in. They smelled so good, but she didn't let herself have one at all. The Priest didn't question her being there, just shaking her hand after she put her box of things down on the large table in the back.

"So nice to see you. All you girls. Is Sherri all right? I notice that she isn't here today?" He sounded both probing and concerned, but Keeley fielded that one, since it was her mother.

"Called out of town on business. Unavoidable for her really. I'll make sure she knows that you asked after her though. We should have you over for dinner soon. I can cook. I promise, I won't give you food poisoning." She smiled and the man took her right hand and patted it with his left.

"That sounds wonderful. Thank you. Girls."

The man was polite, but also busy, having real work left to do that day.

In all it took nearly three hours to have the whole thing done, but they were out of there without too many problems. The only one that came up happened just as they were leaving, when a nice looking man walked up, with a thin and slightly wide eyed tan woman on his arm. They both looked to be in their forties or so, at a guess. Becky knew who they were, and so did everyone else, since the man was Eve's father. It came up that he'd be around. She hadn't really understood that he was the Chief of Police, until the night before, however.

"Eve! I was wondering if you'd make it. Good to see you here. I was a bit worried. We picked up about forty kids last night, most of them from Raintree. Drunk. You seem... fine." He looked at her closely and then the others.

Eve nodded.

"See,
this
is the kind of trust I get at home. Yes, I'm sober
and
not hung over.
We
," She gestured at the others then made a big circle with her right hand, to show she meant all of them. "Went on a hike yesterday. Out at the Groves? Then later we went to Darren's party, and prevented some date rape, then got out of there before your guys could ruin it all. No drinking or anything. I did get to second base with Billy Moore though, so, you know, rest assured, you can judge away in peace and with a contented heart, about how evil I truly am."

Becky froze, expecting real trouble, but the others all laughed. Including the Chief of police.

"Well, no laws broken then. Good to hear it. You'll be home later?"

She actually smiled, seeming nearly happy.

"In time for Sunday dinner prep. Or are we going out, for the tenth Sunday in a row?"

Her step mom, who Becky knew only as Karen, pointed at her suddenly.

"That one. Great idea.
I
should have thought of it. Are the rest of you finally coming too? You know that you're always invited."

That got everyone to look a bit bashful, except for Darla, who seemed to like the idea.

"Just Becky and I then."

That was news to her. First she was going to be the other girl's work out buddy, and now they were heading off to dinner with either the Chief of Police or Eve's parents. Possibly both. It depended how they looked at things. She didn't have a clue how to pay for it either.

Darla fixed that quickly enough.

"I'll pay. I can get us in at La Circe. Say at about seven?"

Mr. Benson nodded.

"That sounds fine. Should we all meet there?"

They decided that sounded like a good plan and then let the girls go, with the other two actually seeming totally fine with it all. It was only Becky that felt half panicked. After all, the man was a cop and while she wasn't going around breaking laws all the time or anything, the idea of going to dinner with him just seemed like asking for trouble. Beside she hadn't been home for days...

Which meant nothing, she was willing to bet. She wondered if her mother had even noticed she wasn't there at all? It was way too early in the day to call anyway. Being before three in the afternoon on a weekend.

On the ride back she was tucked in the van, Freida, as they called her, with Darla and Eve, since Hally was headed home for the day, actually planning to do her homework. Becky had some too, but it would take all of twenty minutes and she had a study hall first thing in the morning, so it would be done before class time.

"So, planning to sell me out to the coppers, eh?" She made her voice sound like a gangster from an old black and white movie, which at least made it seem like she wasn't serious. Not very at least.

Eve was in the front passenger's seat and turned around to talk to her.

"Don't worry, it's not like they bite. A girl could do worse than make friends with the Chief and his lovely wife. Think of things like recommendations for colleges and all that, if nothing else. Besides, have you ever been to La Circe? I haven't. I hear it's decent."

That was like saying that Paris had some okay museums. It was the ritziest place in town. So much so that most people never even tried to get a reservation. That Darla could meant...

Really, it was probably just that her grandmother was just that rich, wasn't it? School girls, even really pretty ones, didn't have that kind of pull on their own, did they?

The idea was kind of exciting, though she didn't have the right clothing for it. When she mentioned that Darla finally spoke.

"What you have on now will be fine." Then she winked, her right eye visible in the rearview mirror. "It's nice, but people still wear clothing to it. It's just a restaurant after all. But first, our work out! We need to burn enough calories so that we can both eat after all. Eve?"

The other girl shook her head, like she was a five year old rejecting the idea that there was no Santa.

"Oh, no, I'll pass today, thanks. You two go and have fun doing that. I'll muddle on alone."

Becky realized something. If Eve worked out, getting ready for the military, there had to be a reason why she didn't want to exercise with Darla, didn't there? It couldn't be a good thing, either.

It was after the awkward feeling dinner that Becky got the idea. The exercise earlier had been hard, because Darla pushed her to do things that she never would have without prompting.
Everything
hurt now, not just her legs. She'd made it for a while, but when she was dropped off at home, carrying her one small bag, she felt like she was about eighty. Maybe older.

Limping into the little apartment, she noticed that Mike, her step-dad, was passed out on the couch. It was an old and well worn thing that they'd picked up second or third hand. This showed in the stains that were on it, as well as the bit of yellow foam that showed where the seams had split in places. They had a pretty broken down easy chair too, that once upon a time had been nice, she guessed, but that had been at least a few years before they'd found it on the street. Nothing they had was new or nice. Not even the man sleeping there.

That probably wasn't fair really. Mike
was
broken down, a drunk and certainly would have been splitting at the seams if human beings didn't stretch as well as they did, being pretty overweight. He also smelled more than a bit. He was also a way better parent than her mother ever had been. An older guy that, as she'd thought before, really should have decided that living alone was a better bet for himself than being with her mom.

She, fortunately enough, wasn't home at all. It was Sunday, but that was just another night out partying for her. It meant that Becky could hobble to her room without bothering to explain that no, she wasn't limping like that because the gang bang lacked proper lubrication. Okay, so her mother had never said anything like that to her, but she probably would have if she'd noticed the limping around. Instead she got to her room without having to talk to anyone, and climbed onto the single mattress that she had, which just sat on the floor.

It wasn't until early in the morning that she heard sounds coming from the front room. At first she tried to imagine it as a group of very disappointed burglars coming in, but she knew it was just that last call had ended. Looking at the clock, which had glowing numbers on it, she blinked. That had been a while before, actually. It was nearly time for her to get up for school.

Fighting to her feet, feeling sore still, but not as much as she had, at least through her legs, Becky stumbled out into the other room. It was just her mother, who was rummaging through the cupboards, looking for something to eat.

She was heavy, but only about like how Becky used to be, and looked like she'd slept on her face, since there was a slightly red line down it. After a few seconds she got that it was a scratch, not just a line. It hadn't broken the skin. The woman didn't really notice her for a long time, until she turned, a waxed paper package of round crackers in her hand. They were the knock off brand, since that's all they ever got.

The thing was waved at her tiredly.

"Oh, hey sweetie. Want some crackers?" It was an attempt to be nice, but Becky shook her head. She was hungry, but that was a constant thing now. She had a goal to keep.

"No, thanks. Dieting. So, how are things?" It was her normal question, since asking about work was right out. The hard part was that she never knew what her mother might say in return.

Sometimes it was a very normal sounding "fine", and others it would be a blow by blow of her evening, including everything she'd had to drink, and what she did with each of the guys she'd met.

Today it seemed she was splitting the difference.

"Not bad. I met up with some guys, and you know..." She seemed to assume that Becky just
would
. It made for some awkward conversations, but not nearly as bad as when she assumed that her daughter wouldn't. Those conversations were cringe worthy.

Mike was still on the sofa, snoring softly, which got her to look over at him. Maggie noticed her looking too, and shrugged.

"He knows the score, honey. He knew when we got married."

"And that makes it all right? I..." She'd never actually told her mother how she felt about everything, but for some reason it was like she just couldn't keep her mouth shut anymore. "Mike should leave you. It would make his life better, in the long run." She wanted to wince, knowing that the words would almost certainly start a giant battle.

For once her mother surprised her, just looking at her coldly and eating a single buttery round. After she swallowed, she nodded gently.

"I know. I think he's just waiting for you to leave home, so he won't be abandoning you with me. That's sad, isn't it? He really loves you though. Not me." She ate another cracker, before going on. "Um, so... are you two sleeping together?"

The very first thing that she thought of to do was deny it. With a lot of vigor, possibly yelling about it, or at least whispering darkly, so that Mike wouldn't have to hear about it. After the initial shock and feeling her face start to tingle as the blood rushed away, she just shook her head.

"No. That's a weird question. Why would you even
think
that?" It really was, and Becky didn't have a clue as to what was going on in the woman's mind.

"Oh... It's just that he's sticking around, for
you
. I was just thinking that might explain it. Not that you aren't great, but if it isn't that, then why would he bother? You aren't his kid."

"I don't know either. Maybe... Really I don't know. But he's never even said anything to me like that, or suggested anything about, you know, at all."

"Oh. Well, damn. That probably means he's just a better person than I am." There was a pause, and the slow munching of food for a while. Finally Maggie broke the silence again. "So, I noticed that you weren't here this weekend? What are you getting up to these days?"

That was nearly as shocking as being asked if she was sleeping with her step-dad. Her mother had actually noticed that she wasn't around? It was something to write on a calendar as a red-letter day, wasn't it? Instead of being a pain about it, Becky just shrugged.

"I went over to Keeley's house. Worked out with Darla Gibson, and totally failed at getting the boy I liked to notice me. Then I ended up having dinner at La Circe last night with the Chief of Police and his wife. They're nice people." It sounded like she was joking, almost and it was clear that her mother was taking it that way, at first.

"La Circe? How did you pay for that? Did you blow the guy or something?" The casual way she said it sounded off. Not just because she was talking to her own kid, either. There was more to it, somehow. Something that resonated in the simple words.

"
Darla
paid for all of us. Her grandmother owns Cortechs. Before you ask, Chief Benson is my friend Eve's dad, and I was just there at church when he and Karen, his wife, asked everyone if they wanted to go out for dinner. That was all." She fixed her mother with a half glare, ready to turn up the heat on it, if she asked if she was sleeping with Darla.

The woman just blinked for a bit.

"Wait... You're serious? You went to dinner with Roy and Karen? I..." Then she nodded, her face set. "You... might want to avoid them. The Bensons. I mean, socially. They're swingers, and you're good enough looking that it will have occurred to them that you might be down for a good time."

"What? They're
swingers
?" Becky had a rough idea what that was, wife swapping and group sex parties, that kind of thing. The police Chief and his wife though? Poor Eve. That...

"I know, it seems unlikely, but we've been at the same parties, more than a few times. They're well known in the scene around here. So, you should be a bit careful there. They're good people, but... Not the ones I'd want watching my girl at a sleep over." Then she grinned, a bit wickedly, her hooded eyes seeming heavy and tired. "Unless you're in to that sort of thing?"

That got her to make a face at her mom and leave, to go get ready for the day. It was a lot to take in, finding that sort of thing out, plus the implications weren't all that wonderful for her either. Poor Eve, but her own mother was involved in that sort of thing enough that she knew what the other girl's parents were getting up to, so that probably meant she was doing a lot more than just watching, or bumping into them occasionally. So poor her, too.

It was enough to make her feel slightly ill. Didn't her mother know that parents were required by law to never, ever, have sex? She was nearly sure of it.

She left half an hour early, since it was going to take time to walk to school. The blisters she'd had were gone, but her feet still had sore spots on them in places, and her car, which was an old station wagon with fake wood paneling, needed a new drive belt put on. She actually had the part, but she didn't know what to do with it. That meant her vehicle was just sitting in the parking lot, and she had to hoof it everywhere for the time being.

It was slow going, but she doggedly powered through the discomfort, getting to the building just in time for the bell to start ringing. She had a study hall for first period, but that didn't mean Mr. Nevotney wouldn't take attendance. She sat just in time for the second bell, it literally ringing as her butt touched down on the hard blue plastic. The older man at the front of the room smiled at her and adjusted his glasses.

"Good morning. You all know the drill. Work on something, read a book, whatever. I'm grading papers up here, but if you need help with anything... Yadda-yadda." It was about what he said every day, but the man wasn't lazy or anything. This was actually his free period, but the math teacher took the job anyway, so that they could have the time to work. It was probably a sign that he was really dedicated to his career.

Becky didn't actually have a lot of needed classes. She had one that she had to take, for a specific credit, and she needed to pass all of the others, but doing that was enough to graduate. She actually had two periods of Drama, both in the later part of the day.

She did her work, making it look tidy and presentable for her next class, which was Senior Sociology. That class was designed to make them actually show up, or something. You weren't allowed to take it until you were in your last year, and you
had
to pass it to graduate. Luckily it wasn't hard. She had some papers to write for it, and some maps to color in, as well as some reading. That was all. It wasn't the kind of thing she particularly liked to do, given a choice, but, well, she
wasn't
. That meant she'd do what she had to in order to get out of the place, like everyone else.

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.