Start a Revolution

Drew sighs as she shuts her locker door, her mouth tightening as the black, bold SLUT printed on the front appeared in her vision. She slams her fist against the word before stomping off down the hall.

"Whoa, kitten," Joey Rhimes calls out as she almost collides with him during her white-hot anger. "You okay? Looks like someone pissed you off greatly."

Joey Rhimes was the young girl's ex-boyfriend. They dated at the beginning of Junior year, but broke it off before Winter Formal. It was a mutual agreement from Drew's point-of-view, but from Joey's perspective, she dumped him for no apparent reason. He wasn't a clingy ex, but he did stop to talk to her every once in awhile.

"Sorry," Drew mutters. "I didn't mean to run into you."

"It's okay. Why don't you tell me what's wrong?"

His slight Southern drawl was familiar and comforting, one of the things she absolutely loved about Joey when they had dated. And before she could stop herself, she was telling him the whole story of how John trashed her locker the day before.

"Jeez, kitten," he sighs, using his old nickname for her again. "I always knew things were bad between you, but I didn't think he would ever sink that low. Doesn't seem like his style."

The girl snorts. "It's exactly his style. He's always been a jackass to me."

"But he never went to such great lengths like that," her old flame points out, adjusting the backpack slung over his shoulder. His hazelnut colored eyes sparkled.

"But I still think he's a jackass," Drew reminds him, a small smile tugging at her lips. She forgot how easy it was to talk to Joe; comfortable, simple, laid-back. It was times like these that made her wonder why they broke up in the first place.

The boy laughs. "Okay. I'll give you that. You can talk to me whenever, okay?"

Drew nods. "Thanks, Joe. I have to head to Toybox, but I'll text you, 'kay?"

Joey nods, giving her a grim smile. He watches her walk away, his smile sinking. He was worried about her; he knows all about the O'Callaghan business. Everyone does, basically. It's gotten pretty nasty between the parents, but for the teens fight? That's just outrageous. They probably weren't even around for whatever reason makes the families hate each other.

If only Joseph knew what that reason was.



"Sorry I'm late, Sandra," Drew huffs as she shoves her backpack into her cubbie. "I hope the kids aren't getting impatient for their story time." She grins at this, peeking through the window to see all the little children gathered on the floor, waiting.

"Just a little bit," Sandra answers, swinging her bag over her shoulder. "I have to get home. I'm so glad you took the after school shift, or my project would be getting an F."

Drew laughs. "No problem. I love working with kids."

The other girl grins. "Well, the kids love working with you." She waves, taking a step towards the door. "Wait! There's some new guy starting today. And from what I heard, it's unwilling. He's doing some community service to make up for some dirty deed." The blonde shrugs. "Probably some loser who'll slack. Just ignore him."

The short, dark-haired girl laughs. "Will do. We get enough of those. He'll probably work for two days, quit, and just take suspension. God knows it's happened before." The two girls say goodbye, Drew walking into the library.

"Hey guys!" she smiles, spreading her arms wide.

All the kids scream and jump up, attacking the teenage Hemingway in a thousand hugs. She laughs, breathing in the scent of kids Shampoo. They all take turns asking her questions before they sat down, eager to hear their story for the day.

"Who wants to read some Green Eggs and Ham?"

There was a chorus of giggles and yelps from the kids. She grins.

As she starts to read, entering the world of Sam I Am, she hears the door to the library open. Drew looks over, keeping one eye on the book and kids. The back of a guy with his hood up appears, his red backpack slung over his shoulder like he doesn't give a fuck. He asks the librarian something, and then she points to Drew.

Ah, this must be the new kid joining the Toybox program. The girl looks back to the book, pointing at the picture before turning the page. One little girl in the front mouths the words along with Drew, making her smile.

"Hey, this is where Toybox gathers, right?"

At the sound of that voice, the dark-haired girl freezes up. She looks over, her eyes widening. When he sees Drew, his lazy smile instantly drops, but immediately gets replaced by a smirk.

"Well, well," John O'Callaghan rolls out, "this is gonna be fun."