Thursday Tales Presents:
A Fellow Othello:
(Part 3)
Quickly
ducking down, Gale found Rachel’s binder that she had left on the bus. She reached into it and took out the necklace
that she had watched Rachel tuck away in the front pocket of the binder. She pocketed it and stood up. It was then that she saw Jimmy looking
back. She wasn't sure that if he had
seen her but tried to play it off.
“What,”
Gale asked.
“What
are you doing with Rachel’s binder,” Jimmy asked.
“What
do you mean,” Gale asked, acting dumb.
“Oh, that’s hers. I just noticed
that it was open and figured that the nice thing to do would be to close it so
nothing would fall out when the bus moved.”
Jimmy
looked at her skeptically, but he figured that with all the garbage she usually
gave him for stupid stuff that calling her a liar would only make his day
worse.
“Sure,”
Jimmy finally said and headed off the bus.
Gale followed quickly.
***
The
touch tunnel was dark, which was the point of the enclosed space. You had to crawl along the carpeted area in
complete blackness, feeling your way.
Gale had positioned herself in front of Cassie, knowing she would have
an opportunity to get close. The plan
that Gale had come up with was to drop the necklace into Cassie’s pocket.
About
half way she had her opportunity.
Stopping Gale asked Cassie if she would take the lead for her. As Cassie passed Gale, she stuck the necklace
into the other girl’s pocket. Getting
out of the tunnel, the sweaty group of middle schoolers met up with Mr. Breaker
at the hallway.
Gale
met up with Jenny who had been at the back of the line.
“I
thought you were going to wait up for me,” Jenny asked.
“I
couldn’t,” Gale said. “The people here
wouldn’t let me.” She lied “Besides I
had a great idea.”
“What’s
that,” Jenny asked.
“I
think you should pick a fight with Cassie,”
“Why
would I do that,” Jenny asked.
“Well,
because she’s going to be the next vice-president of student council,” Gale
said.
“WHAT!”
Jenny exclaimed, drawing the attention of those closest to her.
“I
heard Cassie bragging about it yesterday in Science, but I didn’t want to upset
you.” Gale said. “And I thought you knew
already.”
Jenny
angrily stormed off towards where Cassie stood, Jenny looked hard at
Cassie. Gale had positioned herself next
to a group of other kids and acted as if she was engaged in talking to them. This enabled her to be able to hear the
confrontation while not seeming to notice it.
“So,
you like to brag,” Jenny said to her.
“You are such a b**ch.”
Jenny
pulled her arm back and swung at Cassie.
Cassie tried to step back, but not fast enough. The top third of Jenny’s fingers made contact
with the front of Cassie’s face, turning the unprepared girl’s head sideways
and staggering her.
A
moment later Jenny was able to slap with the other hand at Cassie’s face,
sending the girl to the ground. Jenny took her leg back as if to kick, but was
stopped by the timely intervention of Rachel who pulled the smaller girl back
from Cassie.
Mr.
Braker came around to the front of the group, surprise covering his face. There was one of his better students on the
ground and another standing over her read to kick her senseless.
“That’s
enough ladies,” Mr. Braker said.
“Neutral corners,” Mr. Braker soon regained control of the situation. “What
happened her?”
“Cassie
has been running around telling everyone that she was appointed to the student
council, rubbing it in my face.” Jenny
said loud enough for everyone in the immediate vicinity to hear.
“That’s
not true,” Cassie said.
“You
told Gale in science class,” Jenny yelled back.
“Is
that true Cassie?” Mr. Braker asked.
Sheepishly
Cassie looked up at Mr. Braker. His face
was a stern mask, filled with anger at his school trips interruption and the
embarrassment this would bring him back at school and from the people at the
Planetarium.
“Well,” Mr. Braker said testily. “Yes or No?”
“Yes, I
told Gale,” Cassie said finally.
“Well,
I’m going to talk to the Vice Principal about this and I doubt he will still
want you to be part of Student Council.”
Jenny
leaped up and clapped her hands, yelling “Yay!”
“And as
for you, young lady,” Mr. Braker turned on Jenny. “I sincerely doubt that our esteemed Vice
Principal will want you to participate in Student Council at all. In fact I suspect that both of you will be
spending some quality time suspended in or out of school.”
Mr.
Braker made the two girls walk around with him after that but not before Rachel
had a chance to talk to Cassie.
“I have
to say I’m disappointed,” Rachel said to Cassie.
“Me
too, I never would have thought that Jenny would have flipped out like that,”
Cassie said.
“I
didn’t mean I was disappointed in Jenny,” Rachel said. “I meant you.”
“Why
me?” A completely shocked Cassie asked.
“Because
you were running around blabbing about your appointment,” Rachel said. “Now I don’t know if I can trust you in this
position. Being my vice-president has to
be someone I can trust to keep a secret.
It seems you can’t be.” It was
bad enough that Mr. Fuddles wouldn’t want Cassie as the vice president, but
neither did Rachel now.
Without
another word Rachel turned and left Cassie in stunned silence.
Rachel
didn’t get far before Gale intercepted her.
“What’s
the matter Rachel, you look so upset,” Gale asked.
Rachel
looked at Gale, again unsure if Gale was being sincere or trying to upset
her. Rachel still wasn’t sure what had
been Gale’s intention on the bus.
“Nothing,”
Rachel said, figuring that it was better to be safe rather than sorry later.
“Good,”
Gale said. “I was afraid it was about
the necklace thing.”
“No, I
figured you were just trying to be helpful back on the bus,” Rachel said.
“Oh,”
Gale said, her face innocent. “I didn’t
mean that necklace thing.”
“What
do you mean,” Rachel asked.
“I
meant the necklace thing with Cassie,” Gale said. “I figured that’s what you were talking to
her about.” Gale made it look like she was trying to hold something in. “I couldn’t help but overhear what you just
said to Cassie and I thought it was related to the necklace.”
“What
are you getting at,” Rachel asked.
Gale
hesitated, appearing unsure how to proceed, although she knew exactly what she
was doing, creating drama and scoring some attention points while getting back
at Rachel for her friend Jenny. If Gale
felt any remorse at her friends loss of the vice president job on the student
council, Gale didn’t show it. She knew
that in any plan there needed to be sacrifice, and after all this plan was to
get revenge on a girl who was trying to steal Jenny’s boyfriend, not
Gales. It was only fitting that Jenny
have some difficulty come from the plan.
“Let it
out,” Rachel said, her patience clearly growing thin.
“Well,
you didn’t hear this from me,” Gale began.
“But I heard that Tommy had given your necklace to,” Gale held up her
left hand blocking her right hand from Cassie’s view, who still looked
dumbfounded. Gale’s finger was pointing
at Cassie.
“No
way,” Rachel said firmly. “I don’t
believe it.”
Gale
looked over at Cassie, noticed a piece of the necklace hanging out of Cassie’s
pants. Rachel followed Gale’s look and
saw the same chain. By that time Cassie
noticed the two girls staring and also followed to where they were looking and
saw the same chain. Cassie reached down
and pulled the necklace from the pocket, unsure how or what she was looking at.
Rachel’s
face instantly contorted into rage. With
an anger she didn’t know she had in her, she yelled and headed towards the
crowd of her fellow students. Rachel saw
Tommy standing next to his friend Jimmy, she headed straight for them. When she got there she didn’t even hesitate,
she through first one punch and then a second.
Tommy
blocked the first and then the second.
Jimmy tried to intervene and was shoved back by the enraged girl. Jimmy banged his head against the ground and
yelled out. Rachel finally connected
with Tommy’s forehead, sending him back a step.
It was
then that the surprisingly strong Mr. Braker was able to hold the struggling
girl back from any further punching. Mr.
Braker idly thought that it was the last time he would be coming to the
Planetarium with anyone. It was moments
like this that made him hate not taking an early retirement.
