Chapter #24The Big Scoop by: Nostrum   “Thanks for the ride, Mr. Miller.” You step out of Kelly’s dad’s car, after he offered Jessica, Claire and you a ride to your homes.
“I should thank you,” he repeats, to Kelly’s dismay. “If you weren’t there, who knows what would’ve happened to my daughter.”
“Dad, I told you – I was at school. I was safe. Plus, Jessica was with me.”
“We’ll discuss this at home,” he claims dourly, as dourly as his daughter’s own expression. “You know you don’t have to lie to me about going to parties!”
“I didn’t--!” She clamps her lips and looks at you. “Sorry about that.”
“It’s alright,” Claire says, leaping to her rescue in her nicest voice. “Sir, you shouldn’t be so harsh with her. She’s confused right now.”
“I know, but I’m still worried. You’ll get it when you have children, miss.”
“Anyways,” Jessica says, moving closer to you and sending you off with a kiss. “Mom’s going to wonder where I was. We should be going.”
“Call me when you get home,” you tell your girlfriend, though only partially out of concern.
“Sure. Bye, Babe. Bye, Claire.”
“Bye.” As soon as you see the car running off at the distance, your big brother instinct kicks in. “Just so you know, we’re gonna talk about this with Jessica.”
“Davey, you’re not my dad.” You see her stomp away, turning towards you mid-way. “Don’t you dare use that thing on Dad!”
“Why would I?”
“That’d be creepy.”
But putting on a cheerleader wasn’t, right? You’re still mortified by her sudden appearance, but you set it aside for the appropriate time.
Dinner, however, had its own set of surprises. Nick’s there, having dinner with everyone, and he’s surprised to see you. “Where were you two?”
“At Jessica’s house,” Claire replies. “One of her friends was acting weird and we called her dad to go look for her; he offered to give us a ride since it was already so late.”
“I see,” your mother exclaims in relief as she sets the dishes for you. “At least you two were together – the streets can be dangerous at night, even if close.”
“That wouldn’t happen if Davey had a car,” your sister Tina exclaims from the kitchen, as she does the dishes. “I mean – can't your friends at that chop shop you work at build you one, so you could leave Davey yours?”
“You know they can’t pay me anything,” he replies. “Gotta finish technical college before that.”
“Not even as a favor?” She looks at you, huffing. “Davey, if you had a weekend job at least, you could maybe convince Dad to--”
“That’s enough,” your dad says, turning away from the show he’s seeing on TV. “We can’t afford another car, Tina – not even one at Delvin’s.”
“I’m not asking you to buy him one at that two-bit scam bait dealer! Just help him with one, then he can repay you with the salary – or use it to pay for the parts to fix it or something!”
You already know where this is going – Tina chewing on Nick, your mother calling for peace – so you tune out until you finish, then excuse yourself into your room, with Claire tailing you. As soon as you get Jessica’s call, you put her on speaker.
“Dave? You good?”
“I’m at my room. Claire’s with me.”
“Good.” She picks up the conversation from where you left it – telling you about her sister. “Gonna have to talk low, because Katie’s grown rather jealous. I mean – she was asking where you were, Claire.”
“I told her I’d be in school.”
“She says she didn’t saw you.”
“That’s not true – I was with her until you called! I had to text Brina to distract her for me but I promised I’d return – she was gone by the time I returned.”
“Well, she was about to check on your parents before I called her.”
“God, she’s so ridiculous sometimes!” Claire slapped her lips, spooked, as she whispered into your phone. “Don’t tell her I said that.”
“Don’t worry – I know her better than you. Anyways – does that mean you’re not gonna rat us to her?”
“And have her hog it all to herself? Nuh-uh! Just remember to consider me every now and then.”
“Yeah, like we agreed.” Jessica sighs, and you can imagine the face she’s making – sneering as she rolls her eyes. “I told your sister we’d take turns keeping an eye on Katie – she keeps an eye when we’re using it, but she gets to use it as well sometimes.”
“Babe, I don’t like the idea.”
“I told her she can only use it if you’re around. And only if it’s for a good reason. I told her that she could help you as back-up whenever you used it, or when we need two girls for the job.”
“Davey could play a girl too if necessary.” You try to hush your bratty little sister, feeling your cheeks red hot. “Maybe with some training first.”
“Claire-bear, stop pestering David.” You’re surprised she called your little sister by the pet name she disgusts – that issue sailed off successfully, you realize. “You want in, you better agree to the rules – only with good reason, always with someone, and don’t get attached to them, alright?”
“Alright, alright!” You glare at Claire as she raises her voice. “I get it. And keep an open ear in case I hear about ‘mystery faints’.”
“Exactly. Now, I need to talk to my boyfriend, so scoot off!”
“Yeah - I bet you wanna talk about what happened this afternoon.” Your sister stretches her legs – noticing how tall she’s gotten since entering high school – and storms off. “Bye, Jess! Tell Katie I’m sorry I couldn’t see her again!”
“I already told her. Sleep tight, Claire.” As soon as she leaves, her tone grows feisty and playful. “So - how about playing like if we were Ally and Ash?”
--
It’s eerie how empty school is on weekends. There are a couple cars, though, probably because of weekend team practices as well as some weekend extracurriculars you’re unaware of. You walk through the front gate when you see one of the guards stopping you. “Where you’re going, kid?”
“I’m in the school newspaper,” you tell him. “I’m supposed to meet with--”
Like a ghost, Ashley White shows from out of nowhere, flanking you. “He’s with me, sir. We’re working on Monday’s issue.”
“Alright,” the guard says in a bored tone. “Just remember – you can’t be here by four.”
“Got it.” She drags you inside by the arm. “We’ll try to finish everything today, then.” As soon as you’re out of sight, she rolls her eyes and hardens her mood. “You heard him – make it quick.”
“I was a quarter of the way through,” you tell her as you move towards the newspaper room. “Speaking of which – I got an idea for my free choice, but I haven’t been able to write it just yet.”
“Alright. What is it?”
“It’s related to yesterday’s party at Mackenzie Flannigan’s home.”
“Is it about the stuff that happened with the cheer squad?”
“Uh, no.” You’re shocked, but not surprised, that Jimmy’s prank got into her ears. You maneuver things carefully to see if she knows more. “What about that?”
You enter the room, and she locks the door before continuing. “Seems someone drugged them and stole their clothes. Mackenzie found them naked with some guy clothes on top.”
Jimmy, you think to yourself. I hope you didn’t do something regrettable.
“Apparently it was their dates. I heard even Ryan Chambers was involved, but no one can confirm it – all they say is they had some hoodies but acted like jocks, and their dates disappeared shortly before it happened.”
Was that their plan? You wonder. Does that mean Jimmy has a pen just like mine?
“Anyways, they later found them drunk and only in their underwear. Everything’s hazy, but it seems they weren’t harmed. It’s the talk of the school. Plus, not all of them were pranked – apparently Kelly Miller left shortly before it happened as well--”
That must’ve been Claire...
“--and Lindsey White didn’t have her clothes stolen, even though they saw her going in with some guy.”
Seems Jessica’s plan worked. You cling to that last bit of info for your proposal. “I think I know why.”
“Know what?”
“Why they didn’t get Lindsey.” You fire up the desktop at the layout booth before sitting down. “I was hoping I could write about it.”
“You know we’re not allowed to write about that kind of gossip.” Though she says that, you know it’s not true. More than one occasional hit piece has slipped through – often for favors or because of personal vendettas.
This isn't a hit piece – you're not writing about the party, after all – but it caught her attention. “But if you can give it a good spin, I’ll see if I can pass it through. So, what happened?”
You squat on your seat, leaning forward. “Seems the guy took her someplace else. Uh... Upstairs, I think. The one who told me knows of at least two people that saw them up close – maybe a couple more.”
“David, you know we can’t rely on second-hand info. But let’s assume for a moment it’s the real deal. You know who’s the guy?”
“Not directly,” you admit – though you could say you got “intimate” yesterday. “But my girlfriend does. I think his name’s Mike Reyes.”
“Mikey?” She chuckles, wiping off her glasses. “Get out. I know the guy, and I’m sure he’s not the one to go to parties.”
“That’s what I heard.”
“Can you confirm your sources?”
You know you can – you are the primary source – but you need to play your cards carefully. “Sort of. Like I told you, there are several people that saw them. I know Mackenzie can prove they saw them together.”
“Alright. Anyone else?”
A second source would be much more useful, but you know the issues with your sources. You could say Kelly saw them, but you know that was Jessica who saw them. You could also say Ashton and Allison, as they saw you and Jessica enter, but they’ll probably know the faces – not the names.
But what if you could secure another witness? One that none of you tampered with? | Members who added to this interactive story also contributed to these: |
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