Chapter 124 – Scores to Settle – Holly Hayfield

Naomi didn’t want me leaving but there were still other houses to visit. She tried keeping me tied up in conversation to make it hard for me to go. She held me by the hands, then by the arm, and then put one arm around me as she spoke. She wasn’t used to being this touch-starved and needed some affection. I wasn’t here to be her toy doll.

I was sympathetic to her plight but I had work to do and told her as much. She started talking about her bunk bed in response, which I thought was complete nonsense. I didn’t understand until she got to the point of the story. She used to have a little brother that passed away several years ago. It pained me to hear that, but it also pained me that she was using this as a lure to get me to stay longer.

That was the point where I decided that enough was enough. I knocked at the door for Mrs. Su. Even as Mrs. Su was opening the door for me, Naomi was desperately clinging onto the cuffs of my shirt. I wanted to laugh it off playfully, but it was impossible when I saw the look on her face. She was truly desperate for companionship. I had never seen Naomi so weak and vulnerable.

Naomi’s mother was completely unsympathetic and was quick to swat her daughter’s hand away quite forcefully. The slap was so loud that Val came around the corner to see what was going on. When Naomi noticed Val she tried calling out to her to no avail. Mrs. Su pushed her daughter back into her bedroom and promptly bolted the door.

Val and I didn’t linger around any longer after that. We left in a rush, saying that we had more houses to visit. Outside, I explained the full details of Naomi’s imprisonment to Valentina. Val just said that Naomi’s situation was pitiful and that we should move on to the next house.

The next few houses were all Naomi’s girlfriends. I used a clever ploy to get them to answer the door for me. Since I was already in their ChatCat group I could explain that I had news for them regarding Naomi. All three of the houses we visited after Naomi’s place ended up opening the door for me.

Some were more welcoming than others, but they were generally happy to see me. They were not happy to see that I was dropping off a homework packet sent by the vice principal. The conversations all tapered out after that. Still, this method was producing more productive results than the houses we visited before Naomi’s place.

I was able to meet a few of their guardians, get some insights into their living conditions, and have a short conversation with students that I didn’t know very well. It gave me a little perspective about how to properly hold these types of personal interactions. I planned to hold these types of parent-counselor meetings in the future so this work experience was valuable to me.

“Let’s do one more house.” Val said as I climbed onto the motorcycle. “My brother just sent me a text. He was asking if I could come into the shop later. I could use the extra gas money, especially after today.”

“Alright, the last stop may take a bit more time though.”

“Oh? Which house is it?”

“Silver’s house,” I said, “I’ve tutored there so her family might keep me tied up.”

“Hopefully not as much as Naomi did.” Val said.

“Yes, probably not that much,” I said. “You should come in with me this time.”

“Eh? I don’t know…”

“Come with me!” I insisted, “I think you’ve met Silver before, right?”

“I have.”

“Then she’ll probably be happy to see you.”

“Fine, fine, you win. I just hope her room isn’t locked up like Naomi’s.” She said with an evil grin.

Having met Silver’s parents before, that was a real possibility. Her father didn’t leave much of an impression on me but her mother was more open about her irritation for Silver. It was no secret they had a strenuous relationship due to Silver’s performance in school. I’d be less surprised about Silver’s bedroom being locked up than Naomi’s.

It was late in the evening by the time we arrived and I was beginning to feel guilty about recruiting Val for this job. I knew she worked part time with her brother from time to time so this was probably eating into her schedule. Also, her motorcycle was probably taking considerable wear and tear from all this time on the road.

“Don’t worry about that,” Val said to me after I voiced these concerns, “My brother has fixed my bike up several times now. The old thing is hard to kill. As for my part-time job, well… It isn’t that serious. My job there is unofficial and he pays me out of pocket. My brother will be shorthanded until I get there but he knows I have school responsibilities too.”

“Thanks for your help anyways.”

“It’s a change of pace.” She said. “Besides, I can’t let Alyssa go stealing you away just because she has a fancy new moped… I’m actually surprised she got one. Those things were more popular back in my home country than they are here.”

I laughed.

“I think it suits her. It’s a cute little thing. I’d like to have one like it if I had my license.”

“Cute, but not cool like a motorcycle.” She said. “Mine’s better.”

“Oh boy… Don’t tell her that... I listened to her monologue about her scooter for half-an-hour once.” I said.

“That’s how I was when I first got my own ride.” Val said.

Silver’s mother must’ve heard us pull up because she opened the front door before we made it to the porch.

“Holly!” She said and then pointed at Val, “And… Valentina, right…?”

“Yep, that’s me. I’m surprised you remembered me.” Val said.

They had briefly met before at one of the PTA meetings. Despite Silver’s lack of academic interest and her mother’s vocal disdain for our school, she had actually attended a few of the meetings. She was one of the more critical members of the PTA as well. Ms. Sampson often joked that only the most difficult parents were members of the PTA. Then again, she probably wasn’t joking.

“Why are you two here?” She asked bluntly, “Don’t girls your age usually have weekend plans? Don’t tell me you’ve come to ask if Sylvie could go out… She’s grounded.”

“Actually, we’re here to drop something off. We’re here on school business for Ms. Sampson.”

“That woman…” Mrs. Brooks said irritably, “What is it now?”

I took Silver’s homework packet out of my bag and showed it to Mrs. Brooks. A brief smile flashed on her face and then she nodded. She opened the front door all the way and waved us in.

“She’s really not going to like that.” Mrs. Brooks said, “You can come on in and hand it to her yourself. I want to see the look on her face when you do.”

Val stifled a laugh as we walked in. Addison, who had been sneakily watching from behind a corner, took the time to run up to me and throw herself into a hug. She clung around my neck like a monkey, picking her feet up off the ground and wrapping them around me. Funnily enough, this was exactly the same move Naomi did but at least Addison was lightweight enough for me to hold.

“Holly!” Addison shouted, “You came to visit me?”

“I came to visit your sister.”

“Why her…?” Addison demanded, “Why do you never come to just visit me? I thought you said we were friends but you haven’t called me once since I gave you my cell phone number.”

“Addie…” I pleaded.

Mrs. Brooks took hold of Addison and wrenched her away from me.

“Get off of her! You’ve got friends your own age! Why don’t you call one of them?”

“It’s not fair!” Addison shouted childishly. “Why does Sylvie always get people visiting her and I get none? No one even comes over when I invite them.”

“Aw, I wonder why?” Val said playfully.

I felt the desire to smack Val since she probably just made things worse. Fortunately, Addison didn’t react to Val’s comment. The comment did cause Mrs. Brooks to smile a bit.

“Me too… Why is Sylvie popular all of a sudden? She has people visiting her all the time!”

Mrs. Brooks put an exhausted hand to her temple and shook her head.

“Addie, what the hell are you going on about? Sylvie has been grounded. She hasn’t had anyone visiting her since-…”

“Nuh-uh! She has people visiting her upstairs right now!”

“What?” Mrs. Brooks asked in a demanding tone.

“I heard them! I was listening to their conversation through the wall!” Addison cried.

“Move,” Mrs. Brooks said, brushing Addison aside.

Mrs. Brooks didn’t hide her fury as she stomped her way upstairs. Valentina and I followed close behind. Addison snickered from behind us as she followed the three of us up the stairs as well. Mrs. Brooks threw open Silver’s door just in time to see two girls trying to leave out of the window.

“Cassie!” Mrs. Brooks shouted at Casper, “How many times have I told you to use the front door?”

She turned to the other girl queued beside the window.

“Violet…?” She asked in confusion, “I talked to your mother over the phone earlier and she assured me that you’re grounded! How the hell did you sneak out?!”

Violet smiled cheekily.

“Ah… Well… About that…” Violet started to say.

“Doesn’t matter,” Mrs. Brooks said in a suddenly serene voice. “I can call your parents right now and let them know where you are. They can come and pick you up to deal with you themselves.”

They both came dropping to their knees and begging, pleading for Mrs. Brooks not to do that.

“We’re sorry! We’ll use the front door next time!” Casper said.

“We just wanted to see how Silver was holding up and… Hey… Is that Holly Hayfield behind you?” Violet asked.

Silver stood up off the bed to get a better look. Mrs. Brooks took a step back so the three of them could see me and Val watching all this from the hallway. Each of them had confused looks on their faces as they processed this. They all turned to Mrs. Brooks for an explanation.

“They’re here to deliver the bad news…” Mrs. Brooks said sorrowfully. “Apparently your suspensions have been doubled… TRIPLED… for being involved in that fight. It looks like the three of you are going to have to repeat the grade.”

Their jaws dropped in horror and Val burst into laughter.

“That’s not true!” I said quickly from the side, “We’re just dropping off some homework that the vice principal asked us to deliver.”

They all exhaled in relief, except for Silver who still looked dumbfounded.

“Wait, more homework…? Is that part of the joke?” Silver asked.

Fortunately Mrs. Brooks was willing to leave things to us from here. The fact that three of the people on our list were here together would save Val and I some trouble. Mrs. Brooks agreed to let things slide for that reason alone. She warned Casper and Violet to use the front door when they left. Mrs. Brooks grabbed Addison and went back downstairs as Val and I walked into the bedroom.

As expected, the three girls weren’t happy to learn that we were 100% serious about the homework packets. In addition, the homework was meant to be turned in on the day they returned to school. Violet, who initially feigned a look of casual disinterest, became increasingly annoyed at this. She tried to leave but was stopped by Val.

“There’s still more to talk about.” Val said.

“And…?” Violet asked, “Tell me over ChatCat, madam president. Miss Holly has my contact.”

“You’re actually one of the few people that I wanted to talk to personally.” Val admitted. “I heard that you had a run in with one of my SCA...?”

“It didn’t end well for them.” Violet said in a haughty tone. “They strut about like they own the school because they’ve got some fancy hall monitor badges.”

They were still standing close to each other, giving each other intense glares. Violet was a member of Naomi’s group that I wasn’t too familiar with. I knew she was a bit hot-headed and always maintained an air of superiority over those around her. As far as I knew she was one of the more troublesome members of Naomi’s group.

On the outside she didn’t look that intimidating. She was roughly my height and had a surprisingly feminine charm despite her confrontational attitude. Her attitude seemed to stem from her massively overinflated ego and practically royal self-image. She was pretty and popular and she knew it. She wasn’t as obnoxious as Megan Schwinn, but definitely more aggressive.

While she probably wouldn’t stand a chance in an actual fight against Val, she seemed too proud to back down on her own. Val wasn’t intimidated by Violet’s act. In fact, the amused smirk on Val’s face looked genuine. She probably found Violet’s behavior legitimately comical. Violet’s attitude didn’t at all match her girlish looks.

Violet, like Silver, had an easy to remember nickname that was made evident by her appearance. Her hair was dyed a violet-purple mix, being lighter at the top and darker at the bottom. She wore a flower decoration in her hair that matched her flamboyant makeup. She was blessed in terms of bodily figure, looking very mature and womanly for her age.

Her glare softened as she took a step closer to Val.

“You know… You’re quite the cutie now that I get a better look at you.” She said in a seductive drawl, “We could put that whole nasty business with the SCA behind us if you’re willing to work things out with me privately.”

I rolled my eyes at this. I wasn’t the only one. I could see Silver rolling her eyes as well. She was probably used to this. Violet reached out for Val but Val stopped her by grabbing her hand.

“We’re not here to mess around.” Val said seriously before letting her go, “The only thing I want to talk about is putting an end to the fighting between you and Black Brittney’s group.”

“Not gonna happen,” Violet said without hesitation. “Besides, this has been going on for years. You ought to know.”

“I never understood why back then.” Val said. “I still don’t know why your groups are fighting.”

“Cause they crossed us.” Casper said unhelpfully, “And we crossed them.”

“This didn’t even start with Black Brittney and Naomi specifically.” Silver said. “From what I’ve heard the two were part of other groups back before they formed their own. When the older students graduated, the two of them climbed higher in status. They inherited the inter-group conflict as they absorbed the old members into their own respective groups.”

“So this is a generational conflict then?” I asked. “That makes this much harder…”

“We’ve had multiple ‘truces’ with them in the past but they always break down.” Violet said. “They’re a pack of lying, scheming, conniving, rotten little brats that always…”

Silver raised a hand to stop Violet.

“I think what Violet is trying to say here is that they’re hard to trust and that they probably feel the same way about us.” Silver said.

Violet sat down into Silver’s lap and put her arms around her.

“You just complete me, don’t you?” Violet said, giving Silver a kiss on the cheek.

Casper pulled Violet away from Silver and Violet didn’t fight it. She just went to sit in Casper’s lap instead.

“What, are you jealous?” Violet asked. “You want some love from me instead? Typical…”

Violet went in to kiss Casper this time. I interrupted this by coughing into my hand.

“We were hoping that the three of you could tell us how to enact another truce.” I said. “Ideally, I’d prefer something more long-lasting. I don’t want this generational conflict to go on for years and years after Naomi and Black Brittney have graduated. Their seniors left this problem for them. We shouldn’t put our juniors in the same position.”

Violet smiled cheekily and waved one of her hands in Val’s general direction.

“Oh! Oh! I know… Why don’t you just completely ban Black Brittney’s group?” Violet asked. “That’ll shut them down permanently and we win by default.”

Casper laughed.

“Can she do that?” Casper asked curiously.

“No…?” Silver said tentatively. “How is the SCA supposed to control who students interact with, especially outside of school?”

Valentina put a finger on her chin.

“Hmm…” Val said. “Of course we can’t do anything about this outside of school, but maybe inside of school…”

This made me raise my eyebrows.

“What are you thinking?” I asked Val.

“I’m not sure yet… But… I think Violet just gave me an idea.” Val said softly, lost in deep thought.

I wasn’t sure what, but something in the tone of her voice made me certain that this would be another risky plan.