RE: Trailer Trash 61 pt 3

    Tabitha’s good mood couldn’t be repressed, and the bounce didn’t leave her step even after stepping down off the bus to discover the two cheerleaders from yesterday were waiting for her. Or, perhaps there were three of them, now—it was hard to tell who was standing with who in the crowded front commons with everyone milling about or looking to find their friends fresh off of the buses. The third girl standing near the cheerleaders had darkish-blonde hair and was very pretty, in that unapproachable popular girl sort of way that would normally put Tabitha on edge.

    Today however, she didn’t care. Tabitha let her eyes sweep across them without lingering upon any of them, and she strode onwards. The walkway past administration and then the cafeteria would lead her to her normal meeting spot in the back quad, and so Tabitha made sure to take her typical route at an even, casual pace. She wasn’t harrowed by them or intimidated or in any sort of hurry, although a sour feeling of distaste did well up within her when in her periphery she saw that these girls were walking over to intercept her.

    “Hey, Tabitha,” The one from yesterday with the exaggerated expressions said. “We need to talk to you.”

    Tabitha turned her head and gave them a glance to acknowledge she’d heard them—but she didn’t stop walking on past.

    “Tabitha,” Called the other one, the girl who’d used the obnoxious high rising terminal.

    The cheerleader’s voice seemed to carry a note of warning—perhaps these girls were shocked that Tabitha was brushing them off. The new third girl had approached in lockstep with the other two, in formation, and she was staring. Tabitha didn’t care. She gave the trio a demonstrative wince, one that she’d practiced in the mirror more than she would ever admit—eyebrows raised, cheeks pulling taut towards her eyes in something closer to a grimace than a smile—as if she was embarrassed for them. Then, she carried on with measured footsteps, leaving them behind.

    Most of her good mood had evaporated in a heated flash, but Tabitha forced herself to nod along to the melody of Get What You Give and mumbled the chorus again to herself as if it was a mantra that could ward off evil. Maybe repeating the words enough would somehow save her sinking spirits from whatever nonsense today had cooked up for her to deal with. She had woken up today feeling that rare sense of normalcy and contentment as if she was right where she was supposed to be in her teenage life, and Tabitha was determined not to let anyone ruin it.

    The cheerleaders didn’t follow her. Tabitha still didn’t know their names, and she told herself she didn’t care, didn’t want to know, and that she wasn’t the slightest bit interested. She had nothing to do with them right now, and even if they apologized with sincerity she didn’t owe them any forgiveness. Their encounter yesterday at lunch had made it clear that they had no intentions to be sincere, so Tabitha decided she wasn’t going to waste time dwelling on them.

    Or at least, I’m trying REAL HARD to, Tabitha consoled herself with a bitter smile.

    “—You don’t get to walk away from me,” A derisive voice yelled out.

    Tabitha found herself completely confounded for a moment, because this girl’s voice was a ways distant, and coming from somewhere in front of her. It was someone else’s squabble, something that wasn’t aimed at her and had nothing to do with her. It filled her with a giddy sort of relief to remember that not all of the nasty drama and nonsense swirling around Springton High revolved completely around her, and Tabitha continued forward with interest, trying to peer past the passerby throughout the walkway to see what other confrontation was brewing this morning.

    “Just leave me ALONE!” A familiar voice hissed out, and Tabitha’s expression fell.

    “Turn around and make me,” Brittany Taylor sneered. “Little freak. Pussy. Aw, poor baby wants to run away and cry? What, are you seriously crying?”

    Tabitha took quick steps around the people walking in front of her to see Ashlee and Clarissa trying to scurry forward away from Brittany. Ashlee’s head was already down and her shoulders were hunched up and rigid with tension, Clarissa was half-turned and stumbling, clearly terrified of the upperclassman girl, and just a few spans behind them Brittany was raising her voice even louder as she stalked after them. From the look of those who’d backed off out of the way to rubberneck at the altercation, Brittany had just chased the two girls out of the cafeteria.

    “Oh, wah, WAAAH, cry some more, shitstai—”

    “What the actual fuck is wrong with you?” Tabitha demanded. Ah, fuck me why did I have to even say anything. UGGGH.

    “Uh, how about we mind our own fucking business?!” Brittany turned to see who had the gall to talk to her that way, and she seemed surprised that it was Tabitha. “Are you for real?”

    Tabitha felt pretty surprised by it herself.

    “Some sister you are,” Tabitha retorted. “Just leave her alone.”

    It… really wasn’t her best comeback, but she couldn’t think of anything else right now, and she was already striding past Brittany in a hurry to catch up with Ashlee and Clarissa. Tabitha already didn’t want to deal with cheerleaders this morning, and squaring off against Brittany Taylor would be even worse! To her immense relief, when Tabitha moved to head down the walkway and catch up with Ashlee and Clarissa, Brittany instead stopped following them.

    Is there power in numbers, here? I just… yeah, I just kind of want to get away from her, and the cheerleaders, and way over to where MY friends are. Where it’s safe.

     She heard Brittany yell something else in their direction, but Tabitha’s mind was thankfully too discombobulated with other thoughts to even make out the words—which was good. Because, Tabitha did not want to be reflecting over and over again on whatever parting zinger Brittany had shot them and have her unfortunate fourteen-year-old brain trying to think up comebacks or things she could have or should have replied with for the next several weeks.

    “Hey,” Tabitha called, and her insides seized up a bit as Ashlee visibly flinched at her voice. “Hey, um. She’s just being a stupid bitch! Don’t listen to anything she says.”

    “What.”

    When Ashlee whirled to face her, there was so much raw outrage and hatred in the girl’s expression that for a moment Tabitha could only think Ashlee was confusing her for Brittany. Tabitha’s footsteps stalled for a moment, and between them Clarissa looked back and forth and opened her mouth as though unsure of what to even say.

    “I said…” Tabitha carefully softened her tone. “She’s just being a bitch. So, uh—ignore her. It’s insane that she uh, the way she treats you, really. Come sit with us? We have a um, usually we sit at a table in the back quad?”

    Ashlee’s livid expression only twisted further, incredulous—as if whatever dramatic turn had happened here this morning was all Tabitha’s fault to begin with. Tabitha’s first thought in response to that was yeah, because of course it is, but right now her mind was rabbiting in several different directions and she wasn’t up for parsing out the hows and whys of which particular rumor mill narrative nonsense had spurred on this specific series of events. Was it the cheerleader thing? No, it wasn’t that. The making out with Michael rumor that supposedly started from Ashlee? Tabitha wasn’t sure and couldn’t help but doubt it—after all, Ashlee had been there at the party and witnessed firsthand that Olivia was there with them.

    None of it makes sense right now, Tabitha held Ashlee’s furious gaze without retreating.

    “C’mon,” Clarissa spoke up, making a gesture as if to reach for Ashlee’s shoulder but afraid of actually touching the girl and startling her. “Let’s uh. Let’s go sit?”

    For a moment, Ashlee’s upper lip pulled back from her teeth in a snarl and it seemed like the girl was going to go off on her. Tabitha wasn’t even sure what for or what she’d done wrong, and some part of her just immediately wanted to flake off and try to put this encounter behind her and out of mind. She wasn’t sure why she’d gotten herself involved in the first place—Ashlee wasn’t really her friend anymore, and Tabitha felt like she was running out of olive branches to extend in this direction.

    Finally, Ashlee opened her mouth as if to launch into a tirade—only to be cut off by Clarissa.

    “Can we just go sit?” Clarissa pleaded. “Please?”

    “Yeah. Fine,” Ashlee said. “Let’s.”

    The glare Ashlee gave Tabitha was unsettling, because one eye seemed to be locked upon her but the other was staring off in a different direction. It being difficult to read where Ashlee was intending to look at made the subtle unspoken body language cues of the situation hard to determine, and Tabitha couldn’t help but pause for a moment before continuing onward so that she could lead the girls towards her usual morning spot.

    To her utter dismay, Tabitha could no longer recall the lyrics of the song she’d been singing to herself all morning.

              *

    “Alicia!” Tabitha felt a surge or relief upon seeing her friends. “Bobby. Hey.”

    “Hey hey hey,” Bobby intoned—but if he was referencing something or if that was a quote of some kind, it was going over Tabitha’s head.

    “So, uh,” Tabitha nervously turned to gesture towards Ashlee and Clarissa. “Right when I was getting of the bus! Buncha cheerleaders tried to corner me. Then um, then I walk right into Brittany, Brittany Taylor, and she’s throwing some kind of psychotic hissyfit at Ashlee! So. Yeah? It’s that kind of morning.”

    “What’d they say?” Alicia sat up, flipping her art book closed.

    “Don’t know!” Tabitha laughed again. “Don’t care. Who cares. You uh, you all remember each other from the party, right?”

    “Yeah buddy,” Bobby greeted the girls with a jerk of his chin. “Sup?”

    “Hi,” Clarissa gave a timid wave.

    “Hey,” Alicia said.

    “I had this great song stuck in my head, like all morning,” Tabitha found herself blurting out words just to keep awkward silence at bay. “But then, poof. Now I can’t even think of the words. Or the band. Totally blanking on it.”

    “Sublime?” Bobby guessed. “No, Offspring. Offspring? No? Uh, lemme say—Bare Naked Ladies. Sugar Ray? Red Hot Chili Peppers.”

    “No…” Tabitha considered each of the names. “It was a different one.”

    “I had that one that’s like, Balthazar, Balthazar, stuck in my head,” Alicia spoke up with a shrug. “The other day. But then, turns out that’s not even what they were saying! I guess it’s actually ‘how bizarre, how bizarre.’ My dad thought it was just hilarious, but, well. That’s what it sounded like they were saying! Balthazar, Balthazar.”

    “Ooh, I know that one,” Tabitha remarked. “Yeah. Every time I look a~round! That one?”

    “Yep yep,” Alicia sighed. “Dunno who that one’s by.”

    “I’ve uh,” Clarissa spoke up. “I’ve been listening to that one by um, Natalie Imbruglia? Torn.”

    “Oh, I love that one!” Tabitha encouraged. “That’s a classic!”

    “How about…” Bobby sized each of them up. “Inside Out. I would swallow my pride, I would choke on the rinds~”

    “Yeah, yeah,” Tabitha nodded along. “Okay, that helps.”

    “It was that one?”

    “No… but that’s a good one, too. It helps!”

    “Everyone’s saying that Olivia was at the party,” Ashlee said, giving them all a flat stare. “That birthday party.”

    “Sh-she was!” Clarissa interjected. “Actually. She’s uh, she’s the one who was there with Michael. Her and Michael are a thing.”

    “I didn’t see her there,” Ashlee refuted, shooting a look at Tabitha as if daring her to counter her words.

    “Olivia was the one who gave Tabitha the hand lotion,” Alicia reminded them. “Burt’s Bees.”

    “I… haven’t even really tried it out, yet,” Tabitha remembered with a wince.

    “You watch Willow yet?” Bobby asked.

    “I haven’t!” Tabitha gave a half-hearted little kick in his direction. “Uh, I haven’t listened to any of the CDs yet, either. Sorry, Clarissa. I’ve been—things have been crazy at home, lately. Night before last, my mother came over to visit. And uh. Last night, we were over at Matthew’s place, and Casey was there. Finally got me set up with an email and a messenger. Uhhh—any of you have Yahoo! Messenger?”

    “I do!” Alicia chirped. “Well, sorta. I have to use my dad’s. CcyberViper. Two ‘C’s.’ Not allowed to have my own ‘til they’re sure it won’t be all like, I dunno. Internet creeps or whatever trying to chat me up.”

    “Damnit,” Bobby thumped his fist against the tabletop. “I’ve got AOL. I can go home and make a new account, though. Right?”

    “I have messenger,” Clarissa chimed in. “Uh. NiceSpice with… an underscore before and after it.”

    “My aunt doesn’t even have a computer,” Ashlee scoffed in a sullen voice. “Which sucks.”

    “It’s okay!” Tabitha shared a look with the girl. “The family I’m with doesn’t, and my real family doesn’t have one, either. I’ll probably have to go to a library to check my emails or message people.”

    “You’ve got one, though?” Alicia opened her artbook back up and leafed through to find a spare page she could jot things down on. “What’s your username?”

    “Brittlestar,” Tabitha answered. “I got lucky—no numbers or years or underscores or anything. It wasn’t already taken.”

    “Dangit,” Alicia pouted. “That’s a super cool one.”

    “Super lucky,” Clarissa sighed. “All my friends… well, my old friends, they all went with their username and underscore and then their birth year. I um. I had to have mine a certain way so that it looked more symmetrical… I’m weird about stuff like that, I guess! Hah...”

    “I can’t even think of a good name,” Alicia admitted. “Was probably gonna go with something like uh, ‘Alicia_Art’ or something. Someone help me think of a cool one!”

    “Well, my AOL is Roughneck20, like ‘Roughneck two zero,’” Bobby said. “It’s from Starship—”

    “No one cares, you’re on the wrong messenger!” Alicia rolled her eyes and swatted his shoulder. “Switch to Yahoo! with us. And, help me think of a cool one!”

    “I’m gonna! Geez, gimme a minute, hah.”

    “Alicia Art is pretty good,” Clarissa said. “That’s cool.”

    “Oh hey—Elena!” Tabitha waved down the approaching gothic girl, who was eyeballing Ashlee and Clarissa’s presence here with the group with open suspicion. “Um. Do you have a Yahoo! Messenger?”

    “I have a new one,” Elena nodded, dropping her backpack on the table as she arrived. “Darkthorn_Lonely_Rose. With underscores.”

    “Wow, just—wow,” Alicia was speechless.

    “Nice!” Tabitha responded with a beaming grin. “That’s, uh, that’s—”

    “I think that’s cool,” Clarissa offered.

    “Darkthorn Lonely Rose?” Ashlee started to make a face. “Seriously?”

    “I like it,” Bobby gave a thumbs up.

    “It’s whatever,” Elena didn’t seem to care. “I just made it a little while ago. It doesn’t have any friends on it, so I can change it whenever. No big deal.”

    “Add me tonight, I’m Brittlestar,” Tabitha said. “Alicia’s Ccyberviper.”

    “With two ‘C’s,’” Alicia groaned. “It’s my dad’s. Technically. I’m gonna think up a better one.”

    “You have a computer, now?” Elena arched an eyebrow at Tabitha.

    “Nope! Not yet,” Tabitha smiled. “I will someday soon, though. For sure.”

    “You heard about the rumor going around with you and Michael?” Elena asked. “About stuff that didn’t actually even happen at your party? Everyone won’t shut up about it.”

    “Yeah—” Tabitha sighed.

    “Brittany started it,” Clarissa blurted out. “She started that one. I know she did. A couple mornings ago, she came up to Ashlee and I, and um, asked about who all was at the party. She had a yearbook and was pointing people out and asking. Except, Olivia’s old picture doesn’t look anything like her now, so. Yeah.”

    “I didn’t see her at the party,” Ashlee refused with a scowl. “Like I keep telling everyone.”

    “She was, um,” Clarissa looked around for support. “Olivia, she was the one who, uh well in real life she looked super pissed off. Even if she wasn’t, actually. She just looks cross all the time like, naturally.”

    “Damn, really?” Bobby was surprised. “I for real thought she was mad.”

    “She gave Tabitha the lotion set!” Alicia repeated. “She was there.”

    “I don’t remember her,” Ashlee frowned. “But yeah, okay? Whatever.”

/// Bobby's Hey hey hey is a Fat Albert reference, those were on everyone's lips in the late nineties and then they vanished like a bad dream in the 2000s. Wanted us to have Tabitha's cheery mood take a hit but not like a total gut punch, just a blow that she stumbles and tries to walk off and then distract herself from with chatter.

I know a lot of the pointless back and forth seems inconsequential to what's going on, but I do feel like it's necessary to give the scenes some authenticity and make it so that they're not just all totally dwelling on only the immediate drama. Because that gets super stuffy! And Tabitha is trying real hard to have today be a good day.

Think we have one more RE:TT on the way, then I'm rotating back towards work on Renfaire Fantasy sections for a bit.