Going Nowhere Fast

4. Rumors

After my day of stalking Earl, I got back to my house before anyone could notice I was gone. I didn't think it was a complete waste of time, I mean, one of the biggest mysteries in my life was solved and I didn't even get arrested.

My little sister had a cheerleading competition in Los Angeles over the weekend so my mom was gone and my dad had to go in for a work emergency so I just laid out and got drunk by the pool with Jess and Ranee. Clara, being the only white girl who went to the beach on Friday, got way too burnt to spend another day out in the sun. My parents had bought a bunch of cool inflatables for our pool so the three of us had a pretty good time. It was followed by a bon fire at night in our fire pit. Tyler and Jesse came over with guitars and we all just sang songs all night. Grant it, we were all really drunk, but it made it that much better. Sunday was dedicated to hangover recovery and studying for that test I had to make up after school.

The day was going as it usually did. Clara came up to me wearing a simple cotton dress and some moccasin slippers. I always envied her effortless her style was. She did look like a fucking lobster though.

"Hey Scar, how was your weekend," she cheerfully asked.

"It was fucking fun," I responded.

"That's great! Yeah, LOL, obviously only applying tanning lotion was not a good idea for the first beach day," she said half laughing, half whimpering, "How was stalking Earl?"

I decided earlier that I wasn't going to tell anyone the anticlimactic truth regarding the town weirdo.

"I didn't see much, he had his curtains closed the whole time, but I did see him come outside and practice some jujitsu," I lied, "I would show you pictures but my phone died and having pictures of him could've been proof I was stalking if I got caught."

"Yeah, sometimes you're like really weird, but I appreciate how reckless you can be, people around her are too boring and no one ever has the guts to do anything interesting ever," Clara exaggerated only slightly. "Oh, and speaking of crazy shit people do around here, did you hear that that emo kid, Billie Stephens like sexually assaulted Trisha Mink? I think he came to school today even, I'm not sure if it was reported but like everyone knows."

My brain went back to the thought of the scrawny kid with the big dog, he didn't seem the type to do that but you never knew.

"When did that happen?"

Clara, looking ever so eager to gossip, stated, "Apparently Friday, they like left school early and apparently she went back to his place and he tried to assault her and do some weird satanic shit to her."

Now I definitely knew, he was completely alone from what I could tell.

----

I noticed Billie in school for the first time today at lunch. He was sitting completely by himself, slouched over a tiny cup of ice cream or something. He looked super depressed. I wondered if he actually did it, but then I remembered what he was telling me about with that male choir group trying to ruin his life or something. It seemed at little convenient that there was a satanic ritual aspect to Trisha's claims. Trisha was known throughout the school for being an emotionally unstable bitch. I wondered if the choir kids paid Trisha to lie, but what could Billie have done to make them go after him so hard? Saying, "Get bent," wasn't exactly the worst thing you could do to another person.

I really wanted to talk to him. I knew something didn't feel right about the whole thing, but if I talked to him in front of everyone else I'd look like some kind of rapist sympathizer. Also, he would know that I was the one stalking his backyard. It felt unfair. I decided not to say anything, at least for today. If he was still in school that meant that he wasn't arrested and being charged with anything, right? That would make the most sense if my theory about this whole thing was right. If they didn't have any solid evidence besides a he said/she said type situation, then they wouldn't go as far as to try to prosecute him, but it's not like many people are going to believe the emo kid was the center of some big conspiracy either. Everyone already thinks kids like that do everything they do for attention. It did make me wonder what he did after I left. It probably wasn't the best weekend for him. I just hoped nobody tried to be a hero here and report this assault themselves. Everyone should know it'd be the victim's decision to make that choice in the first place.

"Scar, don't tell me you're feeling bad for that emo, rapist piece of shit," Jess said with a little anger to his voice.

"I don't," I lied, "I'm just wondering why he's still in school."

I should've bit my tongue. In that exact moment, the principal walked up to him with a police officer. I'm not sure what they said to him, but they cuffed him and walked him out of the cafeteria. It looked like he was crying. Everyone started cheering as it was happening. Everyone except Trish who just looked shocked and scared and was typing something quick on her phone. I think this got bigger than she wanted it to get. Fuck.

She quickly ran into the girls' bathroom in the cafeteria with the phone to her ear. She was calling someone. By that point Billie was out of the room and the lunch aids were trying to calm down the rowdy scene.

"Well, Scar, he's not in school anymore, so don't worry," Jess said as she started high fiving everyone around the table. I shot her a dirty look but I didn't think she noticed.

------

I got up from the table in one swift motion, leaving all my friends with rather puzzled looks on their faces. I ran up to Lev's classroom where I found him at his desk eating a salad and watching funny cat videos online. He paused the videos as soon as I walked and turned to me.

"Hello, Scarlet. What's going on?"

"Can I take the test right now? I have twenty minutes left for lunch and something just came up that I need to be home right after school for."

He seemed a little confused and slightly concerned and hesitantly stated, "Alright, as long as you think twenty minutes is enough time."

I took the test and finished it in fifteen minutes. I liked his class so I usually paid attention and the material came easier to me.

"May I ask if everything's alright?" Lev said to me as I handed him my test.

He was a pretty good guy. I thought I could ask him for some advice.

"What do I do if I think someone's lying about something that could get someone into a lot of trouble, but it also might get me into trouble too if I say what I know?" I tried not to sound to specific but I don't think I did a good job.

Lev looked at me with somewhat of an understanding in his eyes, "You should always do what you know is right. And if this is about what I have an inkling it may be about, you better be very careful with how you handle it."

He was right.

"Thank you," I said as I was leaving the room.

"Scarlet," he called out. I peaked my head back into the classroom where he gave me a serious look and said, "Between you and me, Billie is one of my favorite students, I don't want to say he's innocent because I don't know, but I really hope he is. Be careful."

I smiled slightly at Lev's statement and finished up with the rest of my classes for the day. I was getting into my Jeep when Ranee and Jess came up to me and asked where I went during lunch and why I was in so much of a rush.

"I forgot that my mom needed me home right after school today because Mackenzie was home, sick, and I forgot she wanted me to take the test during lunch so I left in kind of a rush," I lied way too easily. Clara was my best friend out of anyone, so she was the only one who I told what I actually did on Friday. I had to lie to everyone else. I had to catch her up on all of this when I got home.

"Alright, well see you later then I guess," Jess said as she and Ranee walked away.

I drove down to the street Earl lived on. It was much more remote than all the other homes in town so I parked my car down the road. I cut through a small field and entered the woods on the mountain and walked towards the backyards until I reached the tree I was in before. I had managed to get twigs all throughout my hair and I accidentally touched some tree sap so my hands were like super sticky. I sat in the tree this time watching Billie's house. I needed to talk to him, and I think he needed to talk to me.