"All clear in the east hallway," Gerard said into his.
"And the west hallway," Bob said.
"The main hall's clear," Ray said.
"This is Hoodlum and Redneck, we're just about to enter the room," Tracy said before putting the walkie talkie back on her belt.
"Okay, go in, get the frogs, get out," Frank said. They opened the door and after making sure Mr. Marcus wasn't still in there, they walked inside. "C'mere little scale-y friends," Tracy said, picking up a frog and putting it in the gym bag she had over her shoulder.
"Don't hop away! We're just trying to save you!" Frank said as the frog started hoping away from him.
"Ungrateful little demons," Tracy muttered as one hoped across the room. "Get back here."
She put her bag down by Frank's and chased the frog. Frank continued putting the frogs in the bags. Tracy cursed the frog. "Hurry up Trace, we don't have a lot of time."
She did a baseball slide across the floor and finally got the frog. She stuffed it in her bag and she and Frank finished getting the frogs.
"Hoodlum! Redneck! Mr. Marcus and Ms. Provence are coming!" Mikey's voice crackled from the walkie talkie.
"They're down the hall, you'll never make it out without them seeing you! Hide!" Gerard's voice came in.
"Where do we go?" Frank said.
"Under his desk, it's the only place they won't see us! Come on, quick!" Tracy said, grabbing the bags and Frank's hand and running behind the desk.
"We won't fit," Frank said.
"Just put the bags there, we'll have to pray that he's not gonna look back here."
They had just leaned against the corner behind some shelves and Mr. Marcus' chair before the door opened.
Mr. Marcus held the door open for Ms. Provence and then locked it behind her.
Tracy turned off the walkie talkie as she and Frank tried hard to do three things: look at the two teachers, loose their lunch, or make noise.
"They were so young Charlotte, they could have done great things. Tracy was going to be a chef, Frank was going to be the Greatest Guitarist of all Eternity...."
"What? What's going on?"
"They.... it's too horrible to say...." Gerard said.
"What?"
"I just... can't bring myself to say it..."
"Well then sing it or something! What happened?"
"This is Hermit and Smartass, someone tell her what's going on, I can't bring myself to say it," Gerard said into the walkie talkie before giving it to Charlotte.
"Smartass? This is Catlover," Bob said.
"What's going on?"
"Okay, plain English is the best way to say it. Frank and Tracy were in there and had to hide because Mr. Marcus and Ms. Provence were coming."
"What happened, did they get caught?"
"No... but they've been in there since you started detention... and Mr. Marcus and Ms. Provence are defiantly doing something in there... that no one, not even Tracy and Frankie, should have to whitness."
Charlotte gasped,"Oh, no...."
Ms. Provence strolled down the hall past Gerard and Charlotte but took no notice of them. She was fixing her make-up.
"This is Redneck and Hoodlum, we'll meet you in front of the school," Frank's voice came from the walkie talkie. They ran out to the front of the school to see Tracy and Frank holding each other, on the verge of tears.
"It was so bad...." Tracy said, her voice cracking.
"It was so disturbing!" Frank said, he looked like he was trying hard not to cry. They were both pale and shivering.
"It'll be okay, you'll be okay," Charlotte said.
"No, we won't."
"My poor eyes!!!"
Josie came over, she was sweating from being in the mascot costume for practice. "What's up? Did you guys get the frogs... what's wrong?"
Ray whispered what had happened to Josie and she gasped.
"You poor dear things!"
"It was like, seeing my Grandpa do it...." Tracy cried, hugging Frank tighter.
Frank ran his fingers through Tracy's hair as he started breathing heavier.
"I'm gonna be sick," Tracy said, letting go of Frank.
"Me too," Frank said. Tracy ran over to a trash can and Frank just kneeled down on all fours on the grass by the sidewalk they'd been standing on.
Charlotte went over and held Tracy's hair back. She and Frank soon got to see their lunch yet again.
"Just let it out Frankie," Bob said, fanning him with one of his notebooks. Josie was patting Tracy's back.
"At least we saved the frogs," Frank said once he was done getting sick.
"Yeah... let's take them down to West Hudson."
"You okay Trace?" Frank said, standing back up shakily.
"Hold on, it's coming up again," Tracy said.
"If it was me, I'd be doing the same thing."
"You guys are my heroes for surviving that," Mikey said.
"We'd better be," Tracy said, taking her head out of the trashcan.
"C'mon, to West Hudson... unless you have to puke again, because I'm Frank's ride," Gerard said.
"Same with you," Charlotte said. She was Tracy's ride.
"No, I should be okay."
"Okay"
Once they got to West Hudson, they decided to let all the frogs free at the pond instead of stuffing them in some cheerleader's locker. They all sat on the grass and watched the frogs hop around.
"You know what I was thinking about?" Josie said.
"What?"
"A few months ago, we weren't even really friends, the eight of us... it was like, you five hung out a lot, Tracy and Charlotte hung out a lot, and I'd occasionally hang out with Tracy and Charlotte... and now we're all buddies."
"Well, two of us are more then buddies," Mikey said, pointing to his brother and Charlotte.
"Exactly... we're having so much fun, all of us hanging out... it's a shame that we never hung out like this before," Josie said.
"Yeah, especially since after this summer we're all splitting up," Bob said.
"Well, we enjoy it while we can," Ray said.
"And come back home for breaks."
"Right."
"Okay, who's the dead man who nominatated me for prom queen!?!" Josie said when they all sat down at lunch. They were eating inside today, since it was raining.
"We all nominated you, aparently we weren't the only ones that thought you'd make a better queen," Frank said.
"But now I have to actually go to the prom," Josie said.
"It's Senior Prom, it's like the law, you have to go.." Tracy said.
"Yeah, but now I have to get a dress and a date and... ugh.... I probably won't even win anyway."
"Who knows? We sure like you more then the other nominations."
"I suppose. Well, I guess I should start keeping my eyes open for someone to go with."
"Go with Ray," Charlotte said, both Ray and Josie kicked Charlotte's shins from under the table.
"What?"
"Don't ask people out for me Charlotte," Ray said.
"Okay then, didn't have to kick me to say that," She said.
"Shit... Hi Lila."
"So, the Prom's coming up."
"Yeah."
"Be my date?"
"Oh! I would Lila, but I'm already going with..." He reached out and pulled Bob over without looking,"Um, Bob."
"Bob?"
"That is... I'm going with Bob and... his date!" Frank said, shoving Bob back over to where the band, Charlotte, Josie, and Tracy were standing. "I'm going with..." He pulled Tracy over,"Tracy. Yes, Tracy and I are going with Bob and his date. Isn't that right Tracy?"
Tracy nodded and smiled at Lila,"Yep, Frankie's my date."
Lila gave Tracy a glare that said,"You've just made a huge mistake," before turning her heal and walking away.
"I don't have a date," Bob said, glaring at Frank.
"Look, Bob, just because you can't get a date is no reason to take it out on me," Frank said, hiding behind Tracy.
"You think I can't get a date? Watch and learn, my dear friend," Bob said. He looked side to side. "LOLA!" he yelled.
Lola, who was putting something in her messenger bag at her locker down the hall looked up. "WHAT?" she yelled back.
"WANT TO GO WITH ME TO PROM?"Bob said.
Lola looked back at her locker for a second, a small smile coming across her lips. "OKAY!"
"GREAT! I'LL PICK YOU UP AT SEVEN!!"
"Great job Bob, you've got yourself a date with Weird Lola," Frank said.
"Lola's nice, no more strange then you or me," Gerard said to Frank.
"You relise, saying she's about the same amount of strange as us, is actually making her seem more strange then she was before."
"He's got a point," Charlotte said.
"So, I guess we're going together?" Gerard said to Charlotte.
"I guess," She said with a smile.
"Don't expect a limo or anything though.."
"Dude, you could pedal me there on a bike and I wouldn't care. Just as long as I don't have to walk."
"Deal."
"You," The captian of the lacross team said, walking over to them with a few of his team mates.
"Us," Frank said.
"Equiptment Geek told us that you were the ones who messed with the locker room."
"Well-"
"You want a piece of us? Tomorrow, 2:00, main hall. Bring your wimpy croquet mallets if you want to have even a slight chance."
"Wait-" Ray started.
"We'll be there," Mikey said.
"We will?" Bob said.
"You'd better," He said before he and his teammates walked off.
"Um.... I got caught up in the moment?" Mikey said nervously.
"So.... want to go to prom with me?" he asked over the rain.
She looked up. With a smile and a nod she said,"Yeah, sure."
"Okay, cool," Ray said. He looked over to the field of grass that they usually played croquet on and saw Tracy and Frank sliding across it. He laughed. Josie looked over too.
"C'mon, let's go," She said, walking over to them. Ray fallowed.
"We're soooo gonna catch a cold or something," Charlotte said.
"We need to enjoy the rain," Tracy said.
"Right, cause this is Jersey and it never rains here," Mikey said sarcastically.
Frank ran over and tackled Charlotte, Mikey and Gerard to the ground. They all slid a good three feet across the wet grass. "This is fun," Frank said. Bob laughed at them from under a tree that was keeping most of the rain off of him.
"You know what you get when you're dry? A big hug from someone who's soaked!" Frank said, standing up. He and Josie went over and hugged Bob.
"Yeah, I love you guys too...."
Tracy started spinning around in circles. "Spin with me Charlie!"
"Okay." She went over and spun around next to Tracy until they both fell over into the puddles.
Some other students walked by with umbrellas and glanced towards them. "Freaks..."
Gerard helped Charlotte and Tracy up. "You look like a lost puppy," Charlotte said, moving some of his wet bangs from his face.
"Am I one of the cute lost puppies or the ugly ones?"
"The adorable ones that you want to take home with you."
"Whatcha gonna do with him once you take 'im home?" Frank said suggestively as he walked over to them, brushing his own wet bangs out of his eyes.
"....Frankie, you're a pervert," Charlotte said.
"You're the one who called him erotic," Frank said.
"Yeah, well, you are the one who kissed his cheek performing your song," She said.
"...touche."
Gerard rolled his eyes. "You all know I'm sexy."
"Oh yes, we swoon at your feet, Gerard," Tracy said, putting her hand to her forehead and swooning so drastically that she fell backward. Charlotte and Frank did the same.
Mikey, Bob, Ray, and Josie laughed at them. "Gosh, Gerard already has groupies."
"I'm a one woman man, sorry," Gerard said with a grin and a shrug as they got back up. They were all shivering a bit from the rain.
Gerard put his arms around Charlotte and kissed her cheek.
"She took Gerard from us! Get her!" Tracy said dramatically, pointing to Charlotte.
"Oh, no, run!" Gerard said, grabbing her hand. Frank and Tracy started chasing them as they ran. Ray, Bob, Mikey, and Josie ran after them too.
Eventually they were tackled again and fell into the mud.
"This is so pathetically fun," Charlotte said, wiping mud from under her eyes, only resulting in her smearing even more mud across her face.
"Yeah, and to think Mindy pays fifty bucks to get a mud mask and we just got one for free by accident," Tracy said, her face covered in even more mud then Charlotte.
"I don't think this is gonna do anything for our complection," Josie said, flicking her wrists, trying to get the mud off her sleaves.
"Me neither," Gerard said.
"Bob looks like a dalmation," Ray said. Bob had spots of mud all over his face.
"Does he?" Mikey said, his glasses were covered in mud. He took them off and tried to find a part of his glasses not covered in mud. When he did, he wiped them off and put them back on. He still couldn't see very well because they kept getting wet from the rain that continued to fall.
"Mom's gonna kill us for tracking mud into the house," Gerard said.
"Yep," Mikey said.
"Mine too," Frank said.
"Ditto," Charlotte said.
"Rinse off with the hose when you get home," Tracy said.
"Or the rain and sprinklers now," Ray said, pointing to the sprinklers that were on regardless of the rain.
"Your 'fro's sagging," Bob said.
"Yeah, I know."
They walked over to the sprinklers and in a matter of minutes were soaked to the bone, but no longer covered in mud.
"We should go home," Ray said.
"Probably."
"See you all tomorrow."
"What? Why not?" Frank said.
"Aparently some cheerleader convinced her that this other band would be better," She said. "It's going to be the jocks lip syncing to the tape we recorded."
"Isn't that illegal?" Mikey said.
"We don't have a copyright..." Ray said.
"Well, you'll just have to show them up... after prom," Tracy said. "A free show of your song. Just as everyone's ready to leave."
"How are we going to pull that off?"
"My dad's best friend runs the hall where we're having prom," Josie said. "I'll arrange it."
"Alright then that'll be better anyway."
"Yeah."
Gerard, Frank, Mikey, Ray, and Bob walked down the hall with their croquet mallets in hand. The last class had let out twenty minutes earlier, so the hallway was abandoned. Frank straightened his sunglasses and put his croquet mallet over his shoulder for a moment before swinging it back by his foot. Gerard swung his croquet mallet around with a twist of his wrist.
Down the hallway, coming towards them was some members of the lacross team with their equiptment in hand. A freshman who had stayed after school for a few minutes was walking down towards them. One of the team members shoved him against the wall threateningly as they walked by.
Once they got to the main entrance of the school they stopped a few feet away from each other. All of them glaring at the others.
They lunged at each other.
Gerard, Frank, Mikey, Bob, and Ray each had bruises, and scratches all over them. Frank's sleeve was ripped, Ray and Gerard's noses were bleeding. One of the lenses of Mikey's glasses was cracked down the center. Bob had a black eye. She walked in and said,"Oh my gosh.... you guys actually went through with it?! Are you okay?"
"Yeah, we're great," Frank said, putting his sunglasses back on and rubbing his ribcage.
"You should see the lacross team."
Bob held up his croquet mallet, it was covered in blood. "That's not any of ours."
"Oh my God..." She said.
"He's talking to the lacross dudes right now, already talked to us, told us to wait here," Ray said.
"What if you guys get expelled?" She said. "If you do, I'll be so pissed off at you..."
"We aren't getting expelled, don't worry," Gerard said, kissing her cheek. "Oh, sorry," He said, whipping the blood off her cheek.
"He's giving us three weeks detention starting week after next," Bob said.
"Why week after next?"
"Oh, we got suspended a week," Ray said.
"I'll get you guys notes and stuff," She said. "Got to keep up with stuff..."
"Thanks."
The door to the office opened and the Principal and lacross team walked out. They weren't kidding, the lacross team did look a lot worse.
"Ms. Miller? What do you need?" Mr. Morris asked.
"Nothing," She muttered. "I'll see you guys in the parking lot."
of
"Trust Me"