Fall Out Girl

The bell rang and I walked with Pat, Andy, and Pete to our next classes. Pat and Pete peeled off, leaving Andy and I to walk the rest of the way alone. We got to know each other better. Cait flew up to me.

“Emmy, you cannot be serious about this Saturday! We cannot ruin our good name with those losers!” she shrieked. She took one look at Andy and pushed her nose further into the air. “Seriously, Emmy, what happened to you? You’re ruining your image by hanging out with them.” She spat the last word with venom. “The competition is this Saturday, you do realize that?”

“Cait, I spoke to Coach Hollins this morning. We’re not going to the one this weekend. We’re going to the one next weekend because of recent events.”

“Oh, please! Just get over it, Emmy! He’s dead. D-E-D-”

I pushed her into the lockers. I grabbed her by her shirt collar and lifted her up. “No more. You try to pull this stunt again, and I’ll make sure that the next time you dawn your pom-poms, they’ll be strewn throughout your over-bleached out hair, and I’ll have you stripped bare of all dignity- not like you have any left anyways. It’s best that you remember who the alpha-female of this school really is. Now go to class.” I put her down and she ran to her third period, tail tucked and heels clacking.

I sighed in relief and pushed the classroom door open.

“Wow, so, you’re one of them.”

“No, I’m not. I don’t belong to a certain group and I hate stereotyping.” I said as I sat down in my seat.

“Emmy, get me out of fourth. I want to help you and Angie plan this.” Jake said

“Ok, sure. I have a feeling we’re going to need all the help we can get.” I replied. I saw him give Andy an odd stare. “Jake, Andy- he’s the new student that no one told me about.” Jake looked down sheepishly. “Andy, Jake- Jake is my vice president.”

“Nice to meet you.” Jake said politely.

“You, too.”

We watched “The Three Faces of Eve.” I’ve seen it countless times and memorized everything by heart…even though the ending was bullshit. You cannot get DID from kissing a corpse! Idiots… So, instead of watching it, I listed the details of the event, down to the number of extension cords needed. I just needed to put everything into perspective. The bell rang. I showed Andy to his next class and bade him farewell before going into the office. I grabbed a pink pass and sent a runner to Jake’s class.

Angela and I had already started making up a schedule of activities when Jake arrived. He threw his bag down and got right into the thick of things. The bells chimed. The end of first, second, and third. Jake looked at us expectantly after the last bell.

“We can’t afford to go to lunch. There’s still too much to do. I’m going to have to get excused from Patel’s class- I already know what we’re doing. What about you two?”

“I say we order fast food. I’ll be here next period if you need me.” Angela stated.

I looked over at Jake. He shrugged. “Same here. I’m not leaving until this gets completed-”

I groaned as my phone went off. I excused myself and went into a different room.

“Emmy,” it was Darla. “I know that you’re busy and such, but I just wanted to tell you that his service is at 8:30 Saturday morning at St. John’s church. And…I know this is a lot to ask, but will you speak for him?” Her voice was still weak. I knew she had been crying.

“Of course, Darla. How are you holding up?”

“As best as possible, but I’ll leave you to plan. Talk to you later.”

“You, too.” I hung up the phone and plunged further into planning. I didn’t say a word about the call. We missed all of fifth and half of sixth.

“It’s nice of you to finally join us, Ms. Stump.” harsh much?

I smiled over to her and gave her my note.

“SGA business, again? I highly doubt that.” I wasn’t in the mood to argue. I just sat in my usual sit. I felt a twinge of guilt when I noticed the vacant seat in front of me. Pete slid his chair over to me.

“Don’t worry about it. We’re reading the first part of Beowulf. Basically, the dude fights Grendel- a big beastie- and gets the throne.”

I smiled over to him. “Thanks. For everything.”

He smiled warmly. “Don’t mention it.”

I nodded my head and cracked open the epic. As I was reading the fight scene, realization struck me full force. “Shit!” I quickly covered my mouth. I didn’t mean it to come out that loud. I looked over at Pete, he had an amused expression. “I forgot that Pat still has the car keys! Fudge monkeys!” I said in a hurried whisper.

“I don’t see the problem.”

“I need to go to the park immediately after school- to smooth out the rough edges and get a sense of where I want everything.”

“No problem. I’ll take you.”

“Thank you, Pete. You’re a life saver.”

He shrugged. “It’s what I do.” I nodded and returned to the book. When the bell rang, Pete waited patiently for me to gather my things. I smiled up at him as we made our way to the car.

As he drove, I scribbled away in my notebook. I planned out everything.

“What are you doing?”

“Planning. Watch the road.” I replied bluntly, adding items that I had forgotten. When we got to the park I jumped out and place everything. It wasn’t a rough sketch, either. I walked where the make shift stage was already being set up and examined it.

“Amelia, I didn’t think you would be out here!” I turned around to see Mayor Thomas.

“Why, hello, Mayor Thomas! I’m just sketching out where I want everything to be. There’s only two and half days left. Oh, this is Peter Wentz. He’s a member of my brother’s band.”

They shook hands. “Well, it was good to see you but I need to return to my office. I’ll see you Saturday morning.” He smiled before looking at the stage workers. “And, Men, listen to this beautiful young lady. This is her event.”

“Yes, sir, and thank you again for letting this event happen.”

“It’s no problem, really.” He nodded to both of us before turning on his heel and leaving.

“Amelia Stump?” one of the workers asked.

“That’s me. Is there a problem?”

He stretched out his hand. “I’m Paul. Here is the layout of the stage. We can raise the back for the drummer if you want.”

I looked over at Pete. He just shrugged. I rolled my eyes.

“That’s fine, but will the entire thing be able to hold roughly 500 pounds? My brother and my best friends are going to be on that stage with all of their equipment. Will it hold?”

“Yes, it will. We won’t be able to finish until tomorrow, since we started really late, but the band can test it out tomorrow if they want.”

“That sounds good. Be ready for us at 4pm sharp. I don’t want any nails or any other hazards sticking out of this contraption. If a single board falls, then you need to repair it right then and add extra support. Is that clear?”

“Yes, ma’am. I’ll see you at four tomorrow.”

I shook hands with him.

“You were absolutely no help.” I whispered harshly to Pete.

“I’m sorry? It looked like you had everything under control.”

I rolled my eyes and scoffed. “Whatever.”