Chapter 134 – Ambiguous Affiliations – Silver Brooks

Trouble was already brewing upon my return to school on Monday morning. There was a difficult decision that I was being pressured to make. Perri and Casper were both vying for me to join them in their respective hideouts. Our group was torn down the middle with a roughly equal split of members between groups.

Naomi would be returning to school today and so naturally Perri's side was slowly bleeding members. Naomi was suspiciously quiet in ChatCat, having yet to say a single word on the conflict. I suspected that she didn’t want to breathe life into the drama by talking about it over the phone. She’d deal with it upon her return.

Instead of choosing between Perri and Casper I decided to spend my time with a different group. The event committee was back in action now that Christmas was coming up. After talking to Holly about the situation in my group she said it was perfectly fine for me to stay at her side for as long as I needed. I was happy to know I could still rely on someone without my affiliations being called into question.

The event committee was currently busy setting up a brand new christmas tree in the school's main entrance area. We were given time off from class to finish decorating it. According to Holly, Ms. Sampson wanted the resulting images to 'prove' something about student involvement to the PTA.

Principal McMullen was the one most excited about the project. This was his first time seeing the event committee in operation and was happy to be part of it. He was on the side of the room, using a box cutter to open up the boxes of decorations. He was more directly involved with setup earlier, but it was clear he was easily exhausted.

"Do you mind keeping an eye on him?" Holly whispered to Alyssa.

Alyssa nodded at Holly in turn. Holly seemed to notice that I picked up on their conversation since I was only a couple of feet away.

“There’s been something that I’ve wanted to ask you, Silver.” She said.

“What is it?”

“Did any of Black Brittney’s friends accuse you of something serious lately?” She asked me quietly enough that no one other than Alyssa would hear.

I gave Holly a confused look.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“It’s just something that Candace threw out while she was ranting at me. I guess if you don’t know what I’m talking about then it isn’t important.” She said. “If Brittney comes at you and accuses you of something that you didn’t do then let me know. I’ll talk to her on your behalf.”

I shrugged.

“Okay, I guess…” I agreed easily.

I wasn't going to turn down free support in dealing with Brittney and her gang. What was Holly talking about, specifically? Wait! Wasn't Leigha's funeral recently? Going by what Holly just said, was Candace accusing me of having a hand in Leigha's death? Was Brittney accusing me also?

Holly was clearly going out of her way so that I wouldn't worry about this. Why else would she broach this question in such a roundabout manner? It sounded like Holly didn't believe these accusations and was going to defend me regardless of my story. As much as I appreciated Holly's loyalty, she was mistaken.

Holly's line of questioning caused me to stop working as other members of the event committee moved around me. I stared down at the ceramic angel ornament that I was holding in my hands. I was no angel myself and probably didn't deserve Holly's protection. I wasn't going to tell her that of course. I was just grateful that she was willing to help me no matter what.

It was clear that the Killing Cat was having a negative influence on me.

Would my past self be as complacent in the Killing Cat's machinations as I clearly was? Some part of me believed the things she was saying, and some part of me just felt like I was taking the path of least resistance in my dealings with her. Just like Naomi's group, I was currently split down the middle, trying to decide what I really valued at heart.

One of the school's front doors opened during the middle of my quiet contemplation. I didn't recognize the girl that came through and so I paid her little attention. That was until she started walking in my direction with an excited smile on her face. I forced a smile back in return, trying to rid my mind of my troublesome thoughts.

This girl was wearing our school uniform so she clearly belonged here. I was wondering if she had me confused for one of her friends as she walked this way. She had short black hair, dark brown eyes, and an East-Asian skin tone that felt somewhat familiar. It was only as she got closer to me that I finally recognized her.

Naomi's hair was shortened down to a bob cut. The streaks in her hair were mostly washed out, only faint hints of purple remained. It was these faded purple lines that helped clue me in to her identity. She had no piercings in her ears or lips and she was wearing the school's cardigan unadorned with any decorations.

"Naomi...?" I asked in shock when she reached me.

"Silver! Did you miss me?" She asked.

"I did! You look..."

"Beautiful...?" She suggested.

"I was going to say different."

She ran a carefree hand through her short hair.

“Do you like it?” She asked. “I cut it myself so it may not be perfectly even.”

“I think your haircut is cute. It’s just not what I expected to see. Where’s your mask? Don’t you usually dislike being seen without it?” I asked.

“It’s at home, in my desk drawer. I won’t be wearing it anymore.” She said before floating over to Holly.

Holly noticed us talking but wasn’t close enough to hear the conversation. She gave Naomi the same confused look that I did earlier. I followed Naomi over to Holly and she began to realize.

“You cut your hair?” Holly asked in disbelief.

There were a lot of things about Naomi’s current appearance that raised questions, but her hair was just the most obvious one. Her hair was very long before and it must’ve taken her years to grow out. The fact that she cut it so suddenly was hard to ignore. Did she cut it on a whim or did she take the decision seriously?

“I did!” Naomi said excitedly. “I also managed to remove the streaks! That part wasn’t easy!”

Holly and I both gave her a serious look.

“Weren’t you pretty insistent about those streaks being part of our group identity?” I asked. “I mean, I put streaks in my hair because you did.”

“I was.”

“Also, what will the other girls think?” I asked in horror, “Casper is already accusing Perri of trying to take over. What are they going to think when they see you like this? They’ll think you’ve quit the group or something crazy like that.”

“It’s not that crazy.”

Holly and I shared a wide-eyed look.

“Wait…” Holly said, putting down the handful of ornaments she was holding. “Are you telling me that you’re forgoing your position in your gang? What are they going to do without you at the helm?”

Naomi grimaced a bit, but quickly hid the pain beneath a forced smile.

“My parents gave me an ultimatum.” She explained. “They’re demanding that I change my ways or they’ll kick me out and cut me off… As much as I love visiting my girlfriends, I can’t imagine living with them on a permanent basis. At least not until after high school and I have my own job. My gang was fun while it lasted, but maybe too much trouble in the end.”

My jaw dropped. I put my hands on Naomi’s shoulders and shook her. She laughed playfully like this was just a game but I was feeling completely mystified by her behavior.

“What about…” I started to say, “You can’t just…”

I stopped shaking her and thought about it. Thinking about it more carefully, she had a point. She couldn’t afford to be kicked out during her last year of high school, regardless of our group’s current predicament. Our group culture was important to me, but her living circumstances came first by necessity.

Putting my sole interests aside for now, what did this mean for the future of our group? Was it even 'our' group anymore? It sounded like Naomi was quitting altogether, not just stepping down from her role as leader. Perri's faction was going to take the ball and run with it!

"How are you going to explain this to the others?" I asked.

"I was hoping that you and Holly could come with me to the old science wing during lunch." She said meekly.

Hearing her speak without her usual confidence was discouraging.

“I’ll go with you.” Holly immediately volunteered. “If anything, I want to ensure that things won’t fall out of control the moment they hear about your decision.”

“Thanks,” Naomi said to Holly before turning to me.

“I guess…” I said hesitantly. “I hate to see you walk out on the group like this but it sounds like you have no other choice…”

She smiled weakly, still trying to mask whatever her real feelings about this were. The fact that she was failing to hide her true feelings from us gave me a glimmer of hope. She wasn’t taking this lightly. The need to reinvent herself didn’t destroy her love for her friends at least.

“While you’re here you might as well help us finish setting up the decorations.” Holly said. “I’ll write you a pass since you’re working with the event committee.”

“That sounds like what I need to clear my mind.” Naomi said.

The event committee continued setting up decorations but I hardly contributed after that. My mind was stuck on Naomi’s bombshell of an announcement. She helped decorate the Christmas tree in earnest, talking with Holly as she worked. I couldn’t do that. Perhaps she benefited from the additional time she had to think about this, but it wasn’t easy for me to cope with it.

So much of my high school life was defined by my group’s culture. I wasn’t the only one. I understood more than anyone that our group culture wasn’t perfect. It was no secret that some of our members were guilty of serious crimes such as stealing and vandalism. I was never personally involved with any stealing, but I was guilty of graffiti myself.

Holly and Valentina frequently spoke about changing the school’s culture and, for the most part, they managed to accomplish that goal. I never expected the results of this change in culture to hit home so personally. It was a stretch to say that Naomi was solely influenced by Holly and Val, but I felt like their insistence in changing cultures contributed to her final decision.

I was against this, but what was Naomi’s other choice? As much as I hated it, it was her decision to make. In fact, I had little ground to criticize her on in light of my recent situation with my mother. My mother never threatened to kick me out, but it wasn’t hard to imagine. If I were in Naomi shoes I’d probably behave similarly.

During lunch we went to meet with others in the old science wing as promised. Apparently Naomi had already talked with some of the others about this because they were waiting for us upon our arrival. They were formed into a semi-circle as we walked in. It looked like they had formed a jury to judge things for themselves.

They didn’t agree with Naomi’s decision of course. Things quickly got heated and the conversation descended into a one-sided shouting match. The girls wanted to convince Naomi that she was making a terrible mistake and betraying everything they stood for. Naomi wanted to convince the girls that this was something she just had to do.

Naomi tried to maintain a stony façade of serenity as the others accused her of betraying them. It was clear these small insults were chipping away at the façade and it wouldn’t be long before she snapped back at someone. Holly tried to provide damage control, but was largely ignored. Both sides tried to get me to speak on their behalf, but there was little I could say.

Eventually a number of the girls got fed up and left. Naomi still tried soothing the concerns of the girls who remained, but they turned silent. She took this as a sign that the conversation was over and it was time for her to leave. She and Holly left together, saying they were going to continue working on decorating with the event committee until lunch was over.

“I can’t believe it…” Casper said softly now that she had finally calmed down. “After everything we’ve been through…”

“It’s not about that,” I said. “I don’t like it either, but she has to do this in order to appease her parents. It sounds like this is her last straw.”

Another one of my girlfriends plopped herself down into a nearby chair dramatically.

“Still, I wish she would’ve talked to us before she went through with that.” She said. “Now look at us. We’re split in half and Naomi won’t be able to stitch things back together again. What the hell do we do now?”

“Maybe we should just let Perri come back and take over.” Another one of my girlfriends said. “I mean, at this point is there a better option?”

“No!” Casper said defiantly. “Not Perri… I can’t forgive her for causing this split in the first place.”

“Sure, but you have to admit it’d be the easiest way to return things to a semblance of normal.” She said.

“We’ll think of another way.” Casper said. “I want the group back together again, but not like that.”

“Even if that’s possible who will be our leader? You…?”

“Will the others rally around you?” Someone else asked. “I mean, Perri has way more support…”

Casper bit her thumbnail and gave me a desperate look. I looked around at the other girls in the room.

“I’m going to try talking to Perri about this.” I said. “I’m sick of the infighting. With Naomi’s position being compromised we should gather together to discuss things as a whole.”

“What do you plan to do?” Casper asked.

“I don’t know.” I admitted. “But I’m going to visit the others after school. Apparently they have a new secret hideout. I’m going to go there.”

Casper gave me a confused look.

“They wouldn’t tell us where their new place is.” Casper said. “They’ve gone off and formed a new ChatCat group of their own.”

“Perri told me about their new hideout, but I don’t know the exact location.” I said. “It’s a place called the Discipline Hall.”