Chapter 2

Trope Two: The Popular Girl Doesn’t Have a Happy Home

Bill’s POV

“Dude, what are you doing?” Rodman asked while looking around.

“What? Did I do something wrong?” I asked.

“You literally just shouted you read romance stuff,” he looked at me like I was crazy, “Well, I think it worked.”

“What worked?”

“Look around.”

I looked around, and I could see people pointing at me and whispering.

“What a wuss!”

“Did he say he reads romance novels?”

“Seriously? Even as a boy?”

“He’s probably gay.”

“Who is he?”

“Oh, look he’s with Rodman.”

“What a perfect pair.”

“Ha-ha, freaking weirdos.”

Rodman sighed and took out his books and closed the locker, “Look, man, I don’t know what you want, but I’m sure I can’t help.”

“You actually can,” I said then stretched my hand toward him, “I’m Bill… Bill O’Hare.”

“I’m Dennis… Dennis Rodman,” he said as he shook my hand, “Pleased to be your friend.”

“Pleased to be as well, Rodman or Dennis,” I said, “Wait… what are you okay with?”

“Just call me Dennis,” he said, “Come on, I’ll give you a tour.”

***

Kate’s POV

Just a little more… Just a little more…

Come on…

Faster…Faster…Faster!

I sped through the finish line.

My sports teacher clicked on the stopwatch and stared at it, a smile forming on her face. She turned the stopwatch to me, “New record, Katie. Congratulations.”

“Thank you, Mom,” I said before realizing what I said.

“Oh, I’m not your mom, but I’m sure I can be if you wanted me to be”, my teacher smiled.

Some of my teammates heard what happened and burst into laughter.

“You okay, Kate?” Rosa asked.

“Just a slip of tongue,” I laughed, “Where’s Hilda and Helen?”

“I don’t see them around,” she said while looking around, “Maybe they woke up late again.”

Rosa, Hilda, and Helen were my friends. They weren’t aware of what was happening at my home, but at least they were a good distraction.

“You look happier today, anything happened lately?” Rosa asked.

We were in the locker room, had a shower, and were changing into our regular clothes for class.

“Oh, nothing much, going out with my parents for dinner,” I replied.

“You get excited over that?” she asked, “Isn’t that like a normal thing?”

“Well, it’s been a while since I went out with them,” I replied, “It doesn’t hurt to have this kind of thing once in a while.”

“Is that so?”

Well, to be honest, I was excited about this. Despite what happened during breakfast, my parents didn’t cancel the plans we had for dinner outside. When we were outside together, they at least tried to keep up appearances so there were no quarrels or anything.

It was the only moment of peace I could achieve with them as a family.

Hilda and Helen came into the locker room.

“Whaddup, girlfriends?!” Hilda greeted.

“Whaddupppp!!!” Rosa and I replied.

“Hey, guys, sorry, we’re late, Hilda overslept,” Helen said as she walked in, “I’m assuming morning practice is over?”

“Yeah, it is, and Kate broke her record,” Rosa informed.

“Really? Again?” Hilda looked impressed and then turned to me, “Girl, are you sure you don’t want to make this a career path?”

“No, I just run because it’s fun,” I lied.

“She also called the teacher ‘mom’,” Rosa said.

“People still do that?” Helen asked as she handed me my bag, “I remember calling the math teacher ‘daddy’.”

“Yeah, not a fun day for you,” Hilda said, “This is why I call my dad ‘dad’ and not ‘daddy’.”

“I’ll call him what I want!” Helen replied.

Helen and Hilda were twins but nonidentical, and they were the comic relief to our group. Both playing straight man to each other.

“Hey, we heard something in the hallway,” Hilda said.

“Yeah, there’s a new kid in school,” Helen added.

“New kid? Is he cute?” Rosa asked.

Helen and Hilda looked at each other and then nodded.

“Good, finally more cute boys. Widens the scope, eh, Kate?” Rosa asked.

“I’m not really interested in all that,” I replied honestly, “Romance is…”

“Romance is a distraction and waste of time,” the three of them chorused.

“Girl, we really need to get you checked,” Hilda said and groped my chest, “Look at this wasting away. If you don’t want boys having them, lemme have them for a little bit.”

“Don’t forget about her well-toned calves and thighs,” Helen said as she hugged my thighs, “I just want to die between these.”

“Would you two knock it off?” Rosa said, “What else did you notice about the boy?”

“Well, he seemed to be friends with Rodman,” Helen replied.

“Rodman? The Puberty Boy?” Rosa asked.

“Why call him that?” I asked, “He’s the only kid named Rodman, so why not just stick to that.”

“Well, he looks like he’s going through puberty,” Helen snickered, “But, yes, the new kid is friends with him.”

“Not only that, but the new kid is weird as well too,” Helen added, “Get this, he shouted that he enjoys reading romance novels.”

“No way, aren’t those for girls?” I asked.

“Right?” Helen and Hilda chorused.

“But maybe he has his reasons,” I said as we started leaving the locker room

While we were outside, we saw the new kid and Rodman; they walked past us, and the new kid and I made eye contact, we were still looking at each other after we had passed. I couldn’t help but admit that he was good-looking.

***

Bill’s POV

“So, the key is to always look weak,” Dennis advised.

I noticed a girl, probably my age, and a posse of 3 girls. She was obviously the leader.

I was trying to gauge what kind of character she was when we made eye contact…

I don’t know why, but for some odd reason, I felt a little fluffiness in my chest.

Wait… could it be that-

“Are you listening?” Dennis asked.

“Sorry about that, I think I just raised a flag,” I said.

“A flag?”

“Yeah, in Japanese romance light novels, when a flag is raised, it means that the main character has unlocked the chance to be on a romantic route with the heroine,” I explained.

Dennis stared blankly at me for a few seconds, “You know, I was going to advise you to change the way you speak, but don’t worry about it.”

“Huh?”

“With the way you speak now, remaining unpopular will be a cinch and as icing on the cake, you’ll be regarded as weird,” he said.

“Very good then, Dennis,” I replied with a satisfied nod, “When do I get a bully? I want someone dumb and big just like that Kevin.”

“No, no, student Bill, you aren’t ready for a bully yet,” Dennis said as he stroked an invincible beard.

“But, Master Dennis, I am ready,” I replied.

“You are not. One does not simply ask or seek for a bully, when it is time, the bully will come to you,” he said.

“Thank you, Master Dennis,” I said as I bowed.

The bells for the class went off. We both had English, so we went together.

“Good morning, students,” the teacher greeted, “Welcome to the second week of your sophomore year. Are there any new faces?”

I was the only one who raised my hand.

“Oh, that’s nice, could you please tell us your name and a little about you?” he asked.

“I’m Bill O’Hare. I’m a romance novel lover, and I really have no interest in the background characters in this class,” I said. “Hope we all enjoy learning together.”

“Did he just call us background characters?”

“The new kid got some balls.”

The murmurs increased.

“Quiet, everyone,” the teacher said, “Uhm, thank you, Bill, for that presentation. I’m Mr. Scott, your English teacher. Now, class, open your textbooks to page 29.”

At the end of the school day, rumors about me spread around the school; I could tell because everyone kept giving me weird looks.

“I don’t believe it, you’ve become unpopular,” Dennis said as he faked a tear, “It would seem I have nothing else to teach you.”

“Thank you, Master Dennis, I wouldn’t have been here without you,” I said as I bowed again.

“Raise your head, student Bill, for your journey would be long and hard,” he said.

“How about we hit the local diner and have something to eat? It will be my treat,” I offered.

“Doesn’t sound bad,” he said, “I’ll meet you there by 6.”

At home, while preparing to go out, I discovered that I was a little more excited than normal. Honestly speaking, this was the first time I had a friend. I had always wanted to hang out with one, but in my last school, because of my status, no one would approach me.

Things were looking better already.

It was 5:53 p.m., and I was at the diner, Dennis was already there.

“You’re early,” I said.

“Well, this is the first time I’m hanging out with someone,” he said.

“What about Kevin? Thought you two were thick as thieves?”

“We are. He steals my lunch, I steal his time,” he said.

We placed our orders for burgers and fries when we heard the door open.

The girl I saw with the posse came in with what seemed to be her family.

“That’s true, I promised to give you the details about the popular girls in school,” Dennis said as he watched them come in. “You’re looking at one of them.”

“What’s the source of her popularity? Cheerleading?” I asked as I received our orders.

“Track and field, she’s the goddess of the track,” he replied. “Fastest girl in our school. Rumor has it that she’s beaten her own record 3 times but shows no interest in following a career path in the sport.”

“Why does she run then?”

“For fun, I guess.”

I took a look at her and her family. There was something off about her parents. In my eyes, she was the only one excited to be there, but her parents didn’t seem to be.

Read about this before, signs of divorce but still trying to keep up public appearances and acting normal for the sake of…

“Wait, what’s her name?” I asked.

“Hmm? Oh yeah, Kate Andrews,” Dennis replied before taking a bite out of his meal.

They were just trying to act normal for the sake of Kate Andrews.

I turned to my meal, “So, who are the other popular girls and why?”

“Well, there’s Catherine, she’s a cheerleader, classical kind,” he informed.

“Proud and rude?”

“Yep, and going out with Kevin the bully.”

“Classic. Who else?”

“There’s Matilda, used to be friends with her till puberty hit me, and she became popular because she had boobs. Won last year’s local teen model of the year,” he continued.

“Well, that’s-”

“Every time, Damian!!” We heard a woman yell.

We turned to see Kate’s mom yelling at her dad.

“Calm down, Mom, you’re causing a scene,” Kate said.

“Don’t tell me what to do and shut up,” her mother said.

“Could this wait till we go home at least?” her father tried to calm her down, “We’re in public.”

“Great, now you get to play the victim, and I play the crazy one, right?” she spat, “You spiny little infidel.”

“Yikes, this isn’t good,” Dennis said as he looked around.

“Why, what happened?” I asked.

“Nothing, just making sure we’re the only ones from school here,” he said as he continued to look around, “Doesn’t seem to be anyone else here.”

“Oh, I get it, you don’t want rumors going around about her,” I said.

“Yeah.”

“Why? Do you like her?”

“Wait, what? No,” he said in a way that convinced me he wasn’t lying. “I already have someone I like. I don’t want rumors spreading about her because she’s the only one who calls me Dennis and not Rodman or Puberty Boy.”

“Puberty Boy? Do I get a nickname too?” I asked.

“Not the time, bro,” he sighed.

“Sorry about that,” I replied.

Well, the Andrews and the both of us were the only ones there at the diner. We didn’t have to worry about rumors.

Kate got up to leave as her parents continued arguing.

She didn’t make any sound, and her face remained normal, but the tear on the side of her cheek convinced me that this popular girl didn’t have a happy home.