Chapter #33Try out the store room by: rugal b.   "So I see that the whole ordeal with Kelly has been taken care of," you state plainly to the assemblage of female gossips and snoops nicknamed, both derisively and admiringly, the Rumoratti by the rest of the student body the next morning. You decide it's best not to play the role of paranoid freak for now and give Keith the benefit of the doubt. Alyssa views the world in a much more structured and calculated manner so having her viewpoint has helped keep you cool in a situation that, in the past, may have caused you to act more rashly.
"Well like you said yesterday, it's not like it's anyone's business," replies Maddie Caron in her usual "whatever" manner.
"Yeah, all we really had to do was basically tell 'em that and they backed off," Tina Branson adds in her distinctive drawl, "Kelly's sweet and adorable so who cares if she's datin' Liam. He's a nice guy so we should be happy for 'em, ya know?"
"He's also pretty cute," Natalie Dawkins jumps in, "Those steely blue eyes, that accent... he's totally got that cute introspective British dude thing going on."
"Nat, dear, he's Irish," says Lisa Rickover in her cool and icy demeanor.
"Pfft, same difference," Natalie replies rolling her eyes, "He's a hunk, that's what's important."
"Yeah yeah, Liam's a nice looking guy and Kelly's lucky to have him if that's what's going on," you butt in, "But we don't want people thinking Kelly's some slut hooking up with the cute foreign exchange student because she got the luck of the draw or something. Becky would jump all over that and we've done a good job of keeping her from the upper echelons socially," you continue referring to Becky Torres, the drop dead gorgeous cheerleader whose social standing lower than her looks wound indicate mainly due to a bitchy personality that's been kept in check by Alyssa's efforts. "I mean, can you even imagine what would happen if she was more popular?"
"You mean, like, Westside?" asks Mandy Simpson finally entering the conversation... probably after daydreaming over Nick Drummond.
"Westside?" asks Summer Nguyen, seemingly echoing Mandy but being a little more genuinely out of the loop.
"Chelsea Cooper, Summer," Lisa replies taking a sip of her Diet Coke, "Yes, that WOULD be bad..."
You nod an affirmative, "Exactly," you state, "So good job on squashing the Kelly/Liam thing buuuut..." you let the draw out for a moment making sure you have everyone's attention, "Our work's never really done is it? There's always stuff going on so you all know what comes next: has anyone heard anything interesting?"
There's silence and contemplation for a moment before Maddie speaks up, "Looks like the dog's already trying to get out of the yard," she says vaguely before continuing when you give her a look, "What I'm saying is that jacked up doofus you've been trying keep on his leash is trying to slip out of his collar."
"What exactly are you trying to tell me, Maddie?" you ask giving her another queer look.
Maddie gives a shrug but continues, "Just that you probably should talk with Rhianna and Kevin since Rhianna texts me yesterday evening saying, and I quote: 'Shit nearly went down between Patterson and Kevin. Tell Alyssa Patterson's an asshole.'"
You give it a moment of thought. "Kevin" would be Kevin McIllroy, star player on the football team and Rhianna's boyfriend. Kevin's usually a laid back guy so for him to nearly get into something with Patterson, Patterson must have really gotten under his skin. You'll definitely have to talk with all three involved parties at some point in the day and Kevin will probably be your first chance. "One last thing." you say. You procure a set of keys from your purse and dangle them in the faces of your posse, "I got us a better place than the closet if you wanna have a little fun with a boy. Or girl. Whoever really." you grin. You think back to yesterday and how you left Steve a little high and dry with a quick handy and nothing else. You weren't in any hurry to actually sleep with him... neither was Alyssa as she was waiting for someone else: a guy named Geoff. You think that might have something to do with Patterson's behavior as he was a little annoyed by the time you two separated. "Just spread the word that the storage room in the gym's a go."
Afterwards you congratulate everyone once again on the Kelly Trask situation before dismissing them.
* * * * *
Your chance to talk with Kevin comes during the 2nd period study hall class the two of you share together. Of course "Study hall" in this case basically means the teacher being absent doing other things knowing that trying to corral a bunch of teenagers into studying is a fruitless endeavor. You manage to get some alone time with Kevin about halfway through the period and waste no time in getting to the issue at hand. "What went down between you and Patterson yesterday?" you ask bluntly.
"Patterson?" Kevin asks, his handsome dark features furrowing for a second before lighting up, "Oh shit, right. Yeah, so like... we get done with practice right? And this nigga comes over pretty much with his dick all hangin' out and starts tryin' to talk shit. Talkin' about 'Oh nice grab ass practice boys. Must've loved having a bunch of big, burly guys just slam you huh McIllroy?'" In spite of his generally laid back attitude Kevin's notorious for having one of the foulest mouths in Eastman... or maybe it's BECAUSE of his laid back demeanor and the fact he (as he often would say) "gives no fucks" that the words just slip out. "So I'm like what fuck is this motherfucker's problem right? Like I know he's never seen a real football team so maybe he's jealous that he'll have some competition for top or somethin'."
"You said that to him?" you ask.
Kevin shakes his head. "Naw man. Well like I did but I was, ya know, jokin'. Patterson's one smug motherfucker man but I wasn't gonna let his shit get to me... then he made a pass at Rhianna."
You look a bit surprised by this but say nothing, only motion for Kevin to continue. "Rhianna was watchin' and he just starts talkin' shit like 'blah blah blah real man' and all that. Actin' like he's some big-dicked motherfucker and maybe Rhianna should go home with him. He's gettin' all touchy-feely with her, runnin' his fingers down her cheek and shit and she's not wantin' any part of this so that's when I put him on blast, right? Tell him that he might've thought he was hot shit over at Westside but this ain't Westside and he ain't shit here so don't go walkin' around with a chip on his shoulder otherwise someone's gonna knock it off."
"And what happened afterwards?" you ask, feeling more than a little irritated yourself; how much of that is you and how much of that is Alyssa you're not sure.
"He just goes like 'Oh hey man, calm down. We're cool, right?' and slinks off like the pussy-ass motherfucker he is."
* * * * *
You never get the chance to talk to Rhianna since it turns out she stayed home, not wanting to deal with Patterson's harassment you guess. Rhianna's at home as the center of attention but is also a bit of a sensitive sort and can react pretty harshly to the wrong kind of attention. A talk with Patterson closer to the end of the day proves fruitless as well. You basically take him somewhere private so you could yell at him, telling him to act a little more natural but not like some neanderthal; he responds by saying you left him wanting a little "dark chocolate". When you ask him about Gordon and Keith he once again tells you that while he hung out with Gordon, Seth and Lynch after the Kevin incident, Chelsea clung to Gordon the entire time and he couldn't separate them. Likewise, apparently Keith has been pretty elusive and Patterson hasn't had any luck figuring out where Keith's holed up for now.
But it sets off a spark in your mind. Patterson should've acted like you told him and not like a complete scumbag like he did towards Kevin and Rhianna. Likewise after two days he should've found Keith. Keith was upset but he was never this much of a jerk and would've revealed himself already to continue the next step unless...
Fuck! It's a paranoid thought, you think, but who's to say Keith is still at Westside? You don't want to think of the idea that Keith's gone behind your back and snuck his way into Eastman to get back at you but, well, it's very much a real possibility... a possibility you're fairly sure of. But if he's in Eastman, then who is he? Patterson's out because of the golemization process of the mask. More likely he used the Cindy mask and connections she might have to Eastman, especially via the cheer squad, to get in if he did and from there...
The Rumoratti... inside one of them he could've heard your concerns over Becky and from inside the group could build her up. Lisa's an obvious choice as the schemer and Alyssa's right hand but all of them have their points: Tina's a sweet southern gal and well-liked, Maddie is lusted over for her beauty and chest, Mandy's unassuming due to being vacuous, Being mischievous is Natalie's forte and Summer's innocence would put people off guard.
But even outside of that, there are many choices for Keith to spy from: anyone on the basketball team, Hannah Chamberlain, Kyle Lakewood, Jenny Taylor, Dana Pak (due to being Yumi Saito's cousin), Chris Yves, Adam Karter... even a freshman with influence like Carrie Carmichael (because who'd suspect a freshman, you think). If your belief is right, then Keith could be anywhere and anyone and you need to try and root him out.   indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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