Fall Out Girl

For the next week, Pete hung out with Pat and the gang at our house. I was either staying in my room, hanging with Mrs. Whittaker, at Parker’s house, or I was seeing my shrink. Let me enlighten you. When I was ten, my father sexually harassed me every time Mom and Pat weren’t there, and he nearly raped me the day he walked out on us. Ever since then, I would just black out for indistinguishable amounts of time and wake up randomly. It stressed mom and Pat out to no end since they thought I was lying to get out of doing things and the “consequence” of my behavior. Last year, they had had enough of it and took me to see my therapist. He, Dr. Bennington, is really cool. He told me that I have Dissociative Identity Disorder after only a few one-hour sessions. In case if you didn’t know Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) is more commonly known as Split Personality Disorder.

Apparently, there are two others inside me. One is the sexually explicit twenty-three year old whore, Janet, and the other is a scared ten year old, Elle. The only people who knew were Pat, Mom, Mrs. Whittaker, and of course Dr. Bennington. I didn’t have the heart to tell Parker. Luckily, I learned how to somewhat control the others so I didn’t get “flares” as much as I used to.

The week passed by quicker than expected. I groaned as my alarm woke me up at 7:00. I trudged into Pat’s room and woke him up after I had a quick shower. I managed to bribe him, Andy, Joe, and Chris to be tour guides at the Freshmen Open House today. Trust me, it took a lot of persuasion and bribery. Pat grumbled, but got up anyways. Mom was already off to work, so I put on a pot of coffee and snacked on a pop-tart. When it was done, I poured two cups. Pat stumbled in and grabbed a cup. I smiled and grabbed my keys.

“C’mon, Patty-Boy. We gotta pick up the troops.”

“Meh,” he said following me. As soon as he got in the car, he curled into a ball and closed his eyes. I laughed and drove to the guys houses. We got to the school at 8:00.
“Alright, Troops, let’s go!” I yelled, yanking them out of the car.

“Welcome, Freshmen and Family, to Glenbrook South High School. I’m Amelia Stump, President of SGA for the 2001-2002 school year. On behalf of the faculty, staff, and upperclassmen, we welcome you into our family and hearts. Glenbrook prides itself on three facts: our facilities, our faculty, and the spirit of the students. In its forty-year existence, it has been an institution to be rivaled. I can only hope that the freshmen class this year take an equal pride in this institution as former classes. Together, we can make a difference. Glenbrook encourages pregnant thought by engaging the students in thoughtful discussions, assigning critical work, and by offering once in a lifetime experiences that expand the mind. I look forward to the upcoming year.

“Please note that school tours will leave from the Gym commons in five minute intervals. The tours should only last from ten to fifteen minutes. Our guides will be happy to answer any and all questions that you might have.” I briefly looked at my paper. “There will also be a club fair held in the gym. Feel free to look over and sign up for any clubs or organizations that interest you. Schedules will be handed out shortly following this assembly in the auditorium commons. Are there any questions at this time?” Silence. I took a breath and continued. “If there are no questions at this time, then we will disassemble. Thank you and I hope you have a lovely day.” I gathered my papers and stepped down from the podium as the auditorium filled with applause.

“Emmy, can I see you for a quick moment?” Dr. Green, the principal, asked. I nodded my head and allowed him to lead me. “Here she is.” He said gruffly, standing in front of an elderly man. “Mayor Thomas, this is Amelia Stump, this year’s SGA president. Amelia, this is Mayor Thomas.”

“It’s an honor, sir.” I said, taking his hand in mine.

He nodded and walked off.

“Oooh, someone just met the mayor.” Will said from behind me.
I squealed and hugged him tightly. “Oh, I’m sorry, Mama Beckett! How are you?” I asked, addressing his mom.

“I’m good. That was a lovely speech, Emmy. I only wish that William will take it to heart.” I laughed as Willy scoffed.

“Are you enjoying the Open House?”

“Yes, it was wonderful, but I’m afraid we have to leave now. I’ll see you later. Would you mind driving him to school in the morning?”

“Not at all. I’ll talk to you later.” She waved good-bye and dragged Will away.
I wandered around, seeing who everyone was fairing.

“…there are three levels to every sport here: freshmen, junior varsity, and varsity. You can only skip the freshman component if you’re good and the coach allows you to. JV is reserved for the sophomores and juniors that aren’t yet ready for varsity. Varsity is strictly seniors and juniors only. Even if you are good enough, freshmen and sophomores are not allowed on the team. But, don’t worry, that’s only because we want well-rounded teams every year. By allowing an underclassman in, we risk the stability we need for future years.” Parker explained to the freshmen boys in front of him. He flashed a quick smile to me. I waved to him and continued to the cheer booth.

“…there are three squads in Cheerleading: JV, Varsity, and Competition.” Cait explained, counting them off on her fingers. “It’s quite simple. JV cheers for the JV games, and Varsity cheers for the Varsity games! The Homecoming Game is the only time that the JV and Varsity cheer together. You don’t need any experience- we’ll teach you everything you need to know.” I stepped behind the table and sat down.

“Ok, so what about the Competition squad?”

Cait looked over at me. “The Competition squad is only for upperclassman. We try out in the spring for the next year. You must be extremely good and dedicated. The reason that we try out in the spring is because we use the summer to choreograph and practice our routine. The first competition is usually in the third week of school. But, don’t worry, if you’re really dedicated to the program in the first year, we- the upperclassmen- will nominate you to try out.” I explained.

“Ok. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. There will be an informational meeting for the squads sometime in the next two weeks.” The freshman girl nodded and walked away.

“Thank god you showed up!” Cait exclaimed. I laughed and patted her back.

“Just say what I just did every time that question comes up. I need to get to the SGA booth.”

“Kay.”

I stood up and made my way to the booth.

‘This is going to be a long-ass day.’