The Cat That Went to Homecoming (17 page)

When I reached the steps, he moved over and
motioned for me to sit next to him.

“You never struck me as liking the jock
type,” he said. Apparently he had seen me with John, and here I was
carrying that pink dog. So what! Walking around a park with someone
didn’t mean anything at all. Boy, that irked me!

“And you never struck me as a coward,” I shot
back, “so it looks like we were both wrong.”

“Touché,” he said. We sat in silence for a
few minutes until I grew impatient. I had already decided when I
was hanging out with John that I was no longer going to be a mousy
little wimp.

“What are we doing here, Brandon? Do you want
to say something, or do you want to go bury your head in the sand
again?”

“Wow, that jock must have gotten you all
fired up,” he said with a hint of jealousy. “You’re more confident
than you were the last time I saw you.”

“Well, let’s see. The last time I saw you was
the night I got my first kiss, ever. The boy I kissed dropped me
like a hot potato and stopped speaking to me. I could take that as
a testament to how badly I kiss, or to what a jerk he is,” I said.
“Which do YOU think it is?”

“Given the fact that you kiss great, I’d have
to say the guy is a jerk,” he replied.

I smacked him with the head of the pink dog.
“He IS a jerk!”

Brandon laughed a little bit at that, and
sighed. “Yeah, I am a jerk. I guess I deserve that.”

“Do you mind telling me just why the hell you
disappeared? Was it me? Did you regret kissing me?” I needed
answers.

“No, absolutely not! I was ashamed of how I
lost my temper and showed you my ugly side.” He was wringing his
hands in agitation, “My parents took me to the hospital that night
and admitted me to the psych ward. I was released a week later and
decided to avoid everyone, including you. I didn’t want to hear
that you were afraid of me, or see it in your eyes.”

“Why would I be afraid of you, Brandon? I’m
not saying violence is right, but Jason did have it coming to him,”
I said, putting my hand on his knee. He looked at me and
half-smiled.

“Ellen, I’m in anger management counseling
right now. The court ordered it at my hearing last week. Jason’s
parents filed charges against me. I have to pay his doctor bills
and undergo counseling, which I’m okay with. I’m not happy with my
temper and I don’t know how to control it. Hopefully this will
help.”

“I’m so glad to hear that,” I said. “I will
help you in any way I can.”

“Do you mean that?” he asked.

“Of course I do! Brandon, I care about you
very much. I was devastated when you wouldn’t talk to me.”

“Trust me, I was also devastated. I finally
found the girl of my dreams and I lost her,” he said.

“You found the girl of your dreams?” I
repeated.

“Yes,” he said leaning in towards me as if to
kiss me. “I finally found a girl who is kind, gentle, and
compassionate. A girl who is low maintenance and whose eyes seem to
look right into your soul,” he whispered across my neck.

My phone went off and abruptly broke the
moment. I stood up and said, “Brandon, THIS girl has to get back to
the park and meet up with her friends and her mom. Would you like
to join her?” I asked holding my hand out to help him up.

“Do you think her friends and her mom would
accept me?” he asked.

“Without a doubt,” I said. I put the pink dog
down on the steps of the library and Brandon and I took off for the
park, leaving the dog behind.

I spent the rest of the afternoon with Cindy
and Brandon, just like old times. We went on rides, ate roasted
corn, and played games. Brandon played the balloon/dart game
insisting on replacing my giant pink dog. It only cost Brandon four
dollars to win me the dog!

We all sat with Mom and watched the
fireworks, and I shared my turkey sub with Brandon. Brandon and I
held hands at times. We joked and laughed with Sarah, Margaret, and
Cindy, and danced with Mom to the radio she brought along. We
celebrated the end of the summer with the friends we could be
certain of.

Chapter
Twenty

On the first day of my junior year I woke up
earlier than I normally would. Never before in my life had I been
this excited to go to school. Today was different. I was going to
fix my hair and put on makeup. My jeans fit well, my t-shirt was
cool, and I had actual Nike shoes to put on. I felt terrific.

“I’m sorry, Hershey, but I have to get ready
for school. What’s that, Hershey? You never thought you’d see me
actually want to go to school? Me, either!” I said giddily to my
cat that had lain across my vanity in an attempt to distract me, up
until he saw me pick up the blow dryer. In his mind, the blow dryer
was the cousin of the vacuum cleaner, and they came from a family
that cats greatly feared.

Once ready, I filled my backpack with my
school supplies and bid Hershey farewell. I waited at the end of
the driveway for my bus, hoping to see Janet behind the wheel. When
the doors opened, I was disappointed to see she wasn’t at the
wheel. I stepped on and went to sit in my usual seat behind the
driver. I stopped and looked towards the back of the bus. I saw
John Peck sitting in the back seat, and was pleasantly surprised
when he waved at me. He motioned for me to sit in the back with
him, so I boldly went where I had never gone before, back by the
beautiful people.

“Hi, John,” I greeted him. “I’m surprised to
see you taking the bus now that you have your own car.”

“The parking spaces for students are very
limited and I didn’t get my application in on time. They told me
that in a few weeks, there will probably be spots available.
Usually some students give up their parking spots because gas and
the parking fees are too expensive.”

“Cool,” I replied. I was getting a little
anxious as the bus made its way to Darcel’s side of the
subdivision. It must have shown on my face.

“Darcel has a parking spot,” he said, “I
heard it through the grapevine.”

I just nodded and watched for Cindy’s stop.
When she climbed on, she was excited to see me in the back of the
bus. She sat with John and I and we became bus buddies for the next
month and a half.

In mid-October, John finally got his parking
spot. He offered to drive Cindy and me to school from then on. We
said no because of his football schedule. Brandon was not fond of
my friendship with John, despite the fact that John and Cindy were
now dating. Riding to school every morning with John could cause
problems in our relationship. Also, Janet was back to work driving
us to and from school and I looked forward to seeing her every
day.

Three weeks before Homecoming weekend I
discovered why John received a parking spot. Our bus stopped in
front of Darcel’s house and the Queen of Mean walked on. That
familiar lump of fear filled my chest as I saw her approach the
back of the bus, looking sullen and sour. She didn’t notice me
until she was right in front of me.

“What the hell is this?” she said,
“Watermelon, you’re sitting in the wrong spot. MOVE.”

I ignored her, trying hard to hide the fact
that my heart rate had raced to about one-fifty! I was too afraid
to respond, so I went back to my old habit of acting deaf.

Cindy spoke for me, “It’s no one’s fault but
your own that you lost your driving privileges. Find yourself a
seat and shut up,” she said to Darcel who didn’t take it well. She
leaned in toward us and said, “Well, isn’t this cute? It seems the
old childhood friends have reunited. Cindy, are you gay now like
your friend Brandon?”

“Oh, for crying out loud, Darcel, you’re
pathetic! Can’t you find a better insult than that? You’re losing
your touch,” Cindy said.

“Sit down, please!” Janet yelled to
Darcel.

“Bitch,” Darcel muttered to Janet under her
breath and took a seat.

Cindy and I talked about shopping for our
Homecoming dresses. She was John’s date and I was bringing Brandon.
I tried to get Cindy to talk quieter, but she ignored my
suggestion. She didn’t care if Darcel heard any of it, but I needed
Darcel to hear this like I needed a hole in the head.

On the bus ride home, I discovered that
Darcel had indeed heard our conversation and she was all too eager
to use what she had learned against me. She was sitting where I had
sat that morning and was pretending to be deep in conversation with
the kid next to her when I boarded.

“Oh, look everyone; it’s the girl who thinks
she can turn a gay guy straight,” Darcel said loudly. People turned
to stare at me and then began to whisper.

I no longer had the confidence to sit in the
back of the bus. Cindy was riding home with John so I was on my own
and it seemed Darcel was intent on making it a long ride home. I
took my old seat in back of Janet and tried to ignore all of
Darcel’s insults, but she was pissing me off.

“Hey, maybe Ellen and her date will both show
up in a dress!” she said, and peals of laughter filled the bus. I’d
finally had enough.

I stood up while the bus was still moving.
This was a big no-no and would normally make Janet raise her voice
to tell the perpetrator to sit down. This time, however, Janet
didn’t say a word. She pulled over to the side of the road while I
walked down the aisle towards Darcel.

I heard Janet’s voice in my head, ‘Never
stoop to a bully’s level,’ so I tried to choose my words
wisely.

“What did I ever do to you, Darcel?” I asked
her in front of the entire bus. She looked surprised. Her lack of a
reply gave me more strength. “Just because I weigh twenty pounds
more than you doesn’t make me a bad person. These twenty pounds
give me a shape. Is that what the issue is? Or is it because my
hair is soft and touchable because it isn’t over processed?” Darcel
flushed angrily, but would not look at me. “Should I apologize for
the fact that my skin is clear? Does that bother you, too?” I
turned and pointed to the front of the bus. “Janet has a big mirror
up there to watch us. I think you should go stand in front of it
and look at yourself. You have flaws, too, Darcel. I dare you to go
look at yourself. Since I’m not a bully, I won’t point them out.
You’re the best bully around. Go show us your bullying skills and
point out all the flaws you see. ”

Not knowing how to respond, Darcel started up
with the gay thing again.

“At least my boyfriend isn’t gay,” she
shouted at me. “Apparently you have a penis.”

“First of all, Darcel, you should stop making
judgments about people you don’t know or you’re going to be a very
lonely person. You certainly don’t want me to be able to say ‘I
told you so’ someday, do you?”

“Fuck you,” she said.

“Oh, and another thing. I don’t have a penis,
Darcel,” I said laughing, “That’s the dumbest thing you’ve ever
said. You’re usually pretty clever, but I think Cindy was right.
You’ve lost your touch!”

Darcel stood up and rushed at me, pushing me
to the floor. Her attempts to kick me were stopped by Roy Wilson.
He pushed her back until she too was on the floor.

“That’s enough!” Janet yelled. “Darcel, get
off my bus NOW.”

Darcel stood to grab her book bag and purse.
She stepped over me as she headed for the head of the bus, but
turned back and said, “This isn’t over, Watermelon.”

She stopped next to Janet and began shouting
at her.

“After my father hears about this, you will
be standing in line at the unemployment office. That’s a
promise!”

When she exited, people clapped. I sat in her
vacant seat and looked around at the people on my bus, people I had
known of all my life but had never gotten to know. When we reached
my stop, Janet said, “You did well, Ellen. I’m proud of you.”

“Did I get you into trouble?” I whispered to
her.

“Oh, please! I’m not worried at all.” She
said. She leaned toward me and whispered, “There’s a camera on this
bus. Besides, who does she think her father is, the Mayor?”

Chapter Twenty
One

The weeks after the bus episode flew by
without incident. Darcel stopped taking the bus, and avoided me in
the hallways. I was fine with that.

The week of Homecoming was Spirit Week and
for the first time ever, I participated in the themed costume days.
It was a blast dressing up for eighties day. I chose to dress up as
Madonna. Unfortunately, so did Darcel. We passed each other once in
the hallway, and she smirked, but didn’t say anything. Cindy
dressed like Boy George, which tells you how much confidence she
had! I’m sure I would have gotten a lot of gay harassment over that
one, but Cindy was the confident one and she could do anything.

In the middle of the week, we cast our
ballots for the Homecoming Court. At our school, the Homecoming
Queen and King were always seniors, and juniors would be elected
Prince and Princess. John and Cindy were both nominees for Prince
and Princess since they were now the “Brangelina” of the school. As
expected, Darcel was nominated for Homecoming Queen. It shouldn’t
be a secret who did and did not get my vote!

During the pep rally on the afternoon of the
game, our Homecoming court was announced. Cindy and John were the
Prince and Princess. Darcel was Queen. There was to be a parade
that evening before the game. John and Cindy would have to be on
the Homecoming Court float with Darcel and the Homecoming King.

Their royal duties wouldn’t allow Brandon and
me to spend any time with them during the game, but that didn’t
bother us. I was not a fan of football or the cool weather, and
Brandon really didn’t want to go. We chose to stay in at my house
and watch a movie with Hershey.

“Are you sure you’re okay with staying in
tonight?” Brandon asked one last time during the previews.