Friendzoned (13 page)

She nodded, getting the general idea. He didn't want to be the first stop for every high school girl that had a broken car, for some strange reason. Well, she could back him up there, especially if he was going to keep helping her. It was a bit mercenary, but she knew that she'd gotten off pretty lucky really. After all, it would have been one or two hundred dollars to have a mechanic do what he'd just done for free.

When she got back in her mother was gone, away in bed, which meant it was probably a good time to consider that for herself. It was hard going to bed, but the school opened so darned early each day. It kind of meant she either gave up valuable television watching time, or sleep. Most of the time the tube won, but today she actually felt like she was drifting off pretty nicely.

It was like she was drugged nearly, except that she dreamed quickly and easily, about a lot of different things. They weren't all good, but there was a definite theme to the whole lineup. It started with Gary, of all people, and the scene had him just finishing with her car, and her feeling very grateful indeed. With her clothing off. Then it was a similar one with Cory, which wasn't unpleasant at all. In fact she woke up, hoping that if there had been moaning, her mom was too drunk to hear it.

After drifting back off she was back at the party, except this time it was her that went to her knees in front of Marty and he
didn't
pass out, meaning that she had to keep going, as Darla watched. She didn't wake up from that one, the whole thing turning into something different. This time with a very good looking boy that she'd never met before. He was a lot like Gary, only better looking. It was hard to describe, but he had a magnetism to him. It was alluring.

After they talked he started to touch her, it held promise and interest, but she woke up, the alarm sounding.

"Oh, sure, it finally gets good..." Well, that was the way things went in dreams. It was pretty clear what it all meant.

She was secretly a perv that wanted all the boys for herself. That, or all the talk from the others about options and moving on was finally starting to take root deep in her mind, and this was her subconscious way of letting that be known. It was something to think about, and none of it had been too troubling at least. Nothing about her and Keeley for instance, or Darla.

Or her and Mike. That would just be
creepy
. Even if he wasn't practically her dad, it would have been. That her own mother had asked about it... Well, that really said something about her, didn't it? Who would even think that? She was darned willing to bet that Mike hadn't.

He was on the couch again, which was a statement all of its own, since he had a bed there. One shared with Maggie. It was like he was avoiding her. Becky wasn't silent getting herself around for school, but it wasn't loud, by any means. Still, it got the man to wake up, his unshaved face covered with a fine silver layer, his bald head shining slightly.

"Sorry, I dozed off out here after work. How are things?"

"Good. How was work?"

"Same as always. Pays the bills, dead end position. Sucks being an adult." He didn't smile, but it was still a joke. Not that it wasn't true, just that he was using the tone that meant he knew what things were, and you either laughed or cried about it and the second one never got you anywhere. He'd taken time to explain that all, more than once.

"I hear you. Well, I'm off. Trying to keep my GPA high enough for college."

The man nodded and started to stand. Sober, it looked like, but tired. His gut hung over his pants, enough that it made him look soft and uncomfortable.

"Need a ride? I know that your car is down."

"Nope! Some friends came over and fixed it last night. I lent my amazing flashlight holding skills to the effort. Well,
I
thought they were amazing. I'm pretty sure that Gary didn't think so."

"Gary, is that your boyfriend?" The man gazed at her, his slightly bloodshot eyes serious, and slightly watery. "If so, I should meet him, I guess."

"Gary is
just
a friend. He likes guys. That and working on cars. I'm currently trying to get Mitch to notice me. You've met him. That isn't going so well yet. I don't really know what to do there. I mean, when a group of
high school
kids keep pointing out all your other options, it's pretty clear that you're messing something up, isn't it?"

Giving her a single nod, Mike sat, his face uneasy.

"Um, I... You know that things haven't been going well, between your mother and I, for a while now..."

It wasn't a question, but she nodded anyway.

"I know." Just because her mother had put the idea in her head she half expected for Mike to suggest they go to bed together.

He heaved a massive sigh and shook his head.

"I'm going to leave. In June. I have a place lined up already. Smaller than this. I... could stay longer, if you need me to? I don't want you to have to rush out of the house and lose a chance at a better life, but..."

That was a real thing, she knew. Him leaving would mean that they didn't have rent each month. Not unless she went out and earned it, which would be hard to do, making minimum wage. The man had been there for her though and while it was a bit scary, she really did have other plans in the works. Or she could, if she scrambled, right?

"Thank you. For staying so long. I really appreciate it. I'll be ready by then."

How she didn't know, but she smiled and pretended to be confident, even as her stomach dropped out from under her. Mike was... She hadn't really thought much about it before, but he wasn't just her step-father, but the only person that had ever really bothered to be there for her. At least over the long haul. Still, she was an adult now and needed to stand on her own two feet.

You didn't get to live with a safety net forever after all.

That bit of mental imagery didn't really help her feel better, and Mike laid back down, as if the effort of keeping them all going was just too much for him, and he couldn't take it anymore. And there he was, planning to hold out for months longer, so that
she'd
be able to keep going.

On the way to school she cried. Just a little, and not for herself. It was for him. For the man that had put himself out there for some girl that he didn't have to claim, staying with a woman he couldn't stand, to make it happen. She hadn't ruined his life, but she really wasn't helping him either, was she? She managed to get herself under control before she got into the student parking lot, and settled herself at the far end, leaving the closer places for the people with nicer cars.

It wasn't a rule, but that was pretty much how things went. The people that could afford, or rather whose parents bought them, really nice cars, all had them close to the building. The junkers, and starter cars filled in the rest of the place. No one really told them to do it, or even complained on the rare occasion when someone changed that up, but in the main, it happened.

That meant she walked past Darla's red convertible, which had its white top up today, just as she got out. It would have been perfect timing, if she was actually waiting for her.

"There you are! Today, at five? My place? Lower legs, back and abs! It's going to be so much fun."

Becky blinked. She hadn't forgotten, she just couldn't believe that she'd said that.

"
Fun
? Shouldn't you at least slap some sarcasm into that line?" There was much fake head shaking as she walked, the other girl shouldering her nice black back pack. It was handmade, of real leather, but still kind of similar to what everyone else there had. So something that had been made for her, in particular, no doubt. "To answer your unspoken question,
yes
, I will be there. At this rate I'm going to end up looking like one of those female body builders. All veiny and huge."

The other girl clapped her on the back. Her hand lingered a bit, like she was trying to be reassuring.

"That won't happen. Most of those women use steroids to get that look. You'll end up looking fit, but not much more than that. We need to start getting some runs in too. I mean, I'll have to go in for two a day for a while, so that we can start slow for you. A mile or two at a time. I've been waiting for your feet to heal from the hike."

They were pretty much back to normal, she had to admit.

"I'm not a big fan of running. It hurts. The aching lungs and all that. I don't know how you can take it."

She nodded.

"Oh, yeah,
that
. It's part of a giant plot to make everyone hate exercise. They take you out a few times a year here and make running as hard as you can part of your grade, or in some places part of what you need to do just to pass. That does suck. I'm not even totally certain that the plot part is wrong. It makes it so that a lot of people just refuse to run. If you go slow and build up, it isn't that bad. I won't lie, it's work, but it's just sweaty, and a bit warm, with some minor aching at first, not pain or getting sick." She pointed at the school with one finger, a slightly choppy move, like she was hitting a cat on the nose.

After a moment, as they closed on the place, she continued.

"Reading is the same way, really. Not a physical pain, but they make you read things like the Great Gatsby or Shakespeare. Things that are really boring, like Of Mice and Men or Catcher in the Rye, and then do it at such a slow and plodding pace that anyone that might possibly have found something interesting in them will be bored to tears. Worse, they try to tell everyone that that's the
only
kind of reading that counts. If it isn't boring and dry, then it must be trash. As if the written word conveying information isn't the real point?"

Becky just stared for a few seconds.

"Um, Darla? I'm pretty sure you meant. 'Rah, rah, sis boom bah' didn't you? Maybe with a go team after it, and then a giggle as you say that math is hard in a high pitch voice? You'll ruin your reputation saying things like that." She was kidding, and winked, having got that habit from Keeley.

The other girl just sighed and nodded.

"You aren't wrong. You see what I mean though? Even things like that... A girl should be allowed to be popular
and
smart. Learning doesn't have to be cool, but it should be interesting enough that people
want
to do it. As it is, I kind of dread going to class each day. It shouldn't be like that. Should it?"

"Probably not, but you and I can't do anything about it except serve our time, and keep our heads down. It's just a few more months, so avoid getting into any fights, stop selling drugs to the other inmates and keep your bitches in line. Watch out for stoolies too." She looked around shiftily, realizing that she could actually get in trouble for saying some of that, which got a snort from the cheerleader.

"The irony is in the fact that all that prison advice fits in here so very well."

They got closer to the building, and the girl moved away from her slightly. Not enough that it didn't look like they were together, but not so close they were nearly touching. At first she didn't get what was happening, until she saw Mitch watching them, his face a bit dark and troubled. She wondered why that would be, knowing that it would be hard to find out really, because he turned and walked away, his back a bit rigid.

Had he finally figured out that she liked him, and... What, gotten mad about it? It wasn't until she noticed that Barb was standing there, by the flag pole, that Darla made a face.

"Ah. I get it. Barb! Over here!" She waved and the girl came jogging over, her face smiling and breath minty fresh. Or at least Becky didn't doubt it would be. Her teeth were
flawless
after all. That had to have cost a pretty penny. No one won the genetic lottery that many times in a row after all.

"Darla! Becky!" The girl didn't even pretend to be in trouble for having been mean to Mitch, which probably meant something was up.

It was.

"I was just telling Mitch Barris about the rumor I heard.
You know
how you two both went down on Marty Simmons at the party? I don't know for sure, but I think a certain sci-fi geek is a
little
jealous..."

Becky just blinked.

Now, there were a lot of ways to handle a situation like this one, Becky thought, getting ready to simply double up her right fist and try to change the location of Barb's head for her. She stopped though. Not because the other girl would beat her up, just because Darla was suddenly smiling.

"Oh? That can't hurt then. Are you really telling everyone, or just Mitch?"

 Barb, still oblivious about the fact that Becky was about to start slapping her down, smiled gently, her face nearly pleased looking.

"I just told Mitch, so that it would seem real. Since, you and I are friends Becky. Not that I was there, I was careful to leave you a bit of wiggle room on that one. You can tell him the truth, if you want." She looked around as a few others glanced at them and more than one of the younger boys just stared. "Not that you really should. This
isn't
the eighteen eighties anymore. You have a pretty good bit of rumor left before anyone thinks that you're
really
a bad girl."

Then she did something weird and leaned close, giving Becky a solid hug. "See you both at lunch? Um... I want in on the trip this summer." Then she bounded away like a cartoon character on crack, instead of an evil betrayer.

Darla took her hand, on purpose, knowing that they were being watched and led her into the building.

"A trip? Backpacking through Europe? I was thinking about it, but didn't want to go alone." There was at least a bit of a hint to her words. Like she wanted to be invited along too.

"The Grand Canyon, a road trip, with... I guess everyone that wants to come? It's really Gary's plan. I made a joke and now he's running with it." She looked down the hallway, only to find that the bell had already rung and they were standing there alone.

"Crud. I need to go. Catch you at lunch?" Darla looked worried and scurried off, leaving her standing there alone.

That was almost like a metaphor for life, wasn't it? Or at least her current fears. She was being left all alone in the world. It wouldn't have been so bad, if she'd been ready for it to all come to a sudden stop like it looked to be doing. School would be over, and Mike gone. College or a slave job would have to start really soon, and maybe both. Her little plans to learn to act well, and go into teaching, might very well fall to the wayside.

It was scarier than it should be.

She was also late to class. It was study hall, but Mr. Nevotney would still write her up, if she didn't hurry.

The rest of the day was a wondrous fun time event of snickering and covert glances. She knew why at least. It was the new rumor. Or, maybe not that fresh? It was a week old and for Raintree that was practically ancient now. It wasn't until a girl that she didn't really know well, but thought might be a sophomore, approached her in her last class.

"Hi... Um, I think it's really brave, what you and Darla are doing." She had very short hair and a cute nose, but would have benefited from a bit of makeup. Rene. The name snapped into her mind, since they'd been in the same class all year.

Becky however had to make herself smile. No one would say that them
blowing
a guy together in public was brave, certainly not Rene, who she was pretty certain was a hard core feminist, even if that wasn't a popular thing to be anymore. It got her to give the younger girl a questioning look.

After all, it really looked like everyone thought that she and Darla were coming out or something.

"What's that?" She didn't want to be mean, but there was no need to leave the girl thinking something that wasn't true either.

"The way that you both are letting people say that you,
you know
, with Marty Simmons, so that he won't be outted. For someone like him that could cost him a lot. Scholarships and stuff. It's brave, taking the heat for him." Then, as if that was the actual case, the girl walked away.

For the second or third time that day, Becky found herself just standing there, blinking. It took her a minute to recover, but it seemed to be the common thought in class. It was so confusing she didn't even know what she should be endorsing now.

It wasn't until later, when she got home and the phone rang, that she decided that her life was getting really weird however. The slick and old fashioned light green thing had a curly cord on it, and somehow still managed to work, so she picked it up and held it to the side of her head, trapping a bit of her brown hair in place. It was getting longer now than she used to keep it.

Like an adult or something.

"Hello?"

The voice that answered was old sounding and female, but no one that she really could recognize off the top of her head. Thankfully the lady on the other end was used to things like that.

"Darlene Gibson here, for Rebecca... Hoader? Regarding a job and potential scholarship." The words were matter of fact and had a slightly hurried air to them, as if making a call herself like that was asking just a bit too much of someone with as little time as she had in life.

It probably was, since Becky hadn't even considered that Darla would actually ever mention anything to her. She'd figured it would be more about her being handed a twelve page job application.

"Hi! This is Becky." she managed not to sound too shaky, or out of place at least, and the woman didn't leave her there, stewing in silence. Not for long.

"Excellent. So, it was suggested to me by my granddaughter that I give you a better than average job and then money for school. First, what are your grades, and area of interest? Darla just said it was in the arts?"

Her breath tried to catch, but she cleared her throat and pretended to be on stage. It helped a bit. She wanted to come across as anything but a lost and shocked little beggar after all, even if it was pretty much how she felt at the moment.

"Drama. I also do set design, but my goal is to go into teaching. I mean, yes, I'd love to act first too, but that's a craps shoot." The language was too informal, and she winced, but went on. "My grades aren't that perfect. Three point two, overall GPA. So Harvard and Yale are right out. They aren't big acting schools anyway."

There was a cough from the other end of the line and for a moment Becky thought the woman was just going to end things there, since her grades weren't really worth bothering with.

"I see. Well, you have that right about acting. I'll tell you what... I have an opening at the local office there in town. It's in the Public Relations department. We used to have a girl, another friend of Darla's, in on that, but we had to let her go, due to no fault of her own. It pays base rate, and you'll only get about twenty hours a week. We don't have any current major events planned, so you'll be shadowing someone there. I don't know who yet. I want at least three acceptance letters from different institutions on my desk before June. The early letters have already gone out, so you'll need to hustle to make that happen. If you really want it, you can create the needed openings. Do that and I'll pick the school. Is that a deal?"

Becky felt the blood rush from her face, and started nodding. It was still a long shot, but... Yes, she could do it.

"Yeah. I mean, yes, ma'am! I'll get right on that. Do I need to go and get paperwork... Or, how do I set this up from here?"

"Give me your address and I'll set that up for you. Is Friday evening good for you?"

"I... yes, if it's early, I work the late shift. I don't want to leave my boss, my old boss I mean, hanging." She waited for the inevitable laughter, but the old woman actually sounded happy about it.

"
Very
good to hear. If you'd flaked out on Taco Bell, I would have rescinded the offer. Do put in your two week's notice however. Remember though, Miss Hoader, Darla may have gotten you lined up for this, but it's up to you to keep it. It's only a chance, but a very good one that few are ever offered. Don't let it slip past you." Then, without saying goodbye, the woman hung up.

That meant just sitting for a bit, her face tingling. Actually everything was doing that, as if something very special and powerful had just taken place. It was
real
. If she could do it. Becky was going to need help though, if she was going to get accepted anywhere. She'd applied a few places, but only one had taken her up on anything, a tiny college back east in the middle of nowhere.

They did ceramic engineering though, and their drama section was small and not very good. They had a teaching program however, so that was in the mix.

She wanted to fly into things, and get it all done as soon as possible, but there was an order needed to it all. First, she realized, looking at the clock, she needed to go and work out with Darla, since she'd promised that she would. It was Wednesday, and they both agreed that the next day, Valentine's was going to be too busy for it. They were going jogging, so Becky got some old sweats, and some layers of things, so that she wouldn't get too cold. It wasn't freezing out or anything, but they were going in the dark, or at least part of it would be, so she made a point of getting a white shirt on over the top of it all.

The trip over was one of those things that had weight to it. She was excited, but a bit scared at the same time. What if no one wanted her? It was... Really the whole thing was so big that she didn't know if it was real anymore, even though the rich woman had said so over the phone. At Darla's house she tried to only knock lightly, but the door was pulled open almost instantly anyway, and a smiling Darla head popped out.

"Yay! Gran just called! She was really impressed with you on the phone and wants me to help make sure you do all right. I was really hoping it would go this way. So... Let's get that run in? Just two miles. Follow me!" There was a happy bounding to her first steps, but then she calmed down and barely shuffled along, so that Becky was just breathing a little hard the whole time.

"You can do it. This is fun. It won't hurt at this speed." She didn't keep going like that however, just chatting after a bit. "We'll build up over time. By the end of the school year you should be ready for Hollywood. If nothing else it will help you get some of the leads in your college productions. So, are you getting excited to meet Kyle tomorrow? I know that Keeley said it wasn't a real date, but you should take him seriously. I wasn't kidding about wearing cute underwear either. He's... a
dream
. You'll see. If you miss out on taking a shot at him, you're... You know, just don't. Make sure you don't miss out." It sounded like she was selling the guy a little too hard.

People only did that in the movies if the blind date wasn't going to be that great at all. Still, it was a date, and Darla was right, wasn't she? Becky needed to give him a chance. After all, Mitch was being so stubborn about it all. Worse, the boy hadn't even called her to chat in weeks, even with the hiking trip, and all that. To the best of her knowledge he hadn't tried to make a play for Keeley either, though that could just be the girl not telling her about it, trying to be nice.

The footfalls were just starting to get heavy when they worked their way back around to Darla's door, going in through the garage, since that meant they could get to the shower on the lower level without traipsing across the all white and cream colored front room. It looked nice, spotless in fact, but it took constant care to keep looking like that, Becky was willing to bet.

"That, or you don't live with drunks, who spill things all over the place." She spoke out loud, and then looked at Darla. It wasn't like she'd explained it or anything. "Um, how you can keep a white room?"

"That has to help." She grinned and opened a door that Becky had never seen before. It was a full bathroom, with a giant tub in it. One big enough for several people. It had a separate shower too. "You can clean up in here. I'll get you something to wear home. You're staying for dinner, right? I mean, you don't have homework?"

"I do have some I need to get done. I normally would just wait for study hall, but Mrs. Gibson pointed out that I can't let my grades drop."

That got a nod, and the girl moved back, leaving her the very nice tiled room to herself. When she got out of the shower, making it quick, since she didn't need to use all the hot water in existence, she found some jeans and a t-shirt waiting for her. They fit, which shocked her. After all, the idea that Darla would have anything larger than a size four around at all was amazing. They were older things too, and even though they were clean, they had wear on them.

She didn't have dry underwear though and two miles was enough for her to soak those, and her socks too. She just went without, hoping that wasn't too creepy for the other girl. People varied that way. It felt funny, but it wasn't the first time she'd had to do that. Between laundry days mostly.

Darla had kept herself busy and for all that Becky had thought she'd hurried, she found a clean and changed girl standing at the mouth of the hallway, holding about an armload and a half of college enrollment forms, booklets and catalogs.

"Here. I put the most likely ones on the top. The ones that might take you at short notice, when you call and explain that you have a full ride scholarship, if they do. That will open a lot more doors than you might think. They're businesses after all, right? They want the cash, just like everyone else." She pushed the heavy and awkward bundle at her and smiled hugely. "Oh, here. I printed this out for you? It's your resignation letter, giving two weeks. I left it a little vague, since I don't know everyone's name there. Is that all right? You can rewrite it if you want." She looked a little wide eyed and manic, which was catching it seemed.