Tos 4 Fiona Bk 2

The Boss was a supercharged Mustang in the tradition of the Great Muscle

Cars and its V8 sounded like thundering music.

Back at the Mansion, Maria took me on a Helicopter ride across the estate

and the city and I saw the shut down immense site of the steel mill with its

rusting machinery and decayed buildings,

“Maria, do we have some sort of economic expert team?”

“Yes we have experts on virtually anything and can hire anyone if we don't.”

“Can a detailed economic study be made about this state and the city in

particular? I like to see a report about the world steel market and an expert

analysis of the causes of the collapse here. I know the general reasons of

course but I like to see it in detail.”

“I arrange for a think tank and an expert panel to produce the requested

paper right away.”

­­””­­

Clara Thompson was a nobody. She thought of herself as ugly. Naturally she

was a red head and had freckles, but she dyed her hair in an unnatural deep

black, wore thick mascara and heav black eye make up. She wore black

lipstick. Her hair fell into her face in such a way that it almost always

obscured much of her face. She was dressed like a goth, ripped fishnets,

shorts, a worn black fake leather jacket and a faded heavy metal t shirt. On

her feet clunky worn boots. Most of her stuff came from Thrift stores as she

rarely had the money to buy new things.

Her father used to work in the mill, but had lost his job like so many others.

When things went financially bad, her mother ran away with another man

and started doing drugs. Her parents got divorced. They had to sell the little

house they had and mother disapeared with her money a few weeks after

the sale. The last time she had heard about her mother was that she had

been arrested in California on Drug charges and stabbing a cop.

Her father got custody over the three children, Over Carla, Stephen her

brother and her ten year old little sister.

Her brother just two years older than her had quit school and lived on

welfare, dealing and theft. Her little sister was one report away from being

taken by CPS.

Her father was a good man and she loved him. He did his best to feed them

and currently worked at McDonald and at a Car Wash. He was working 15

hours and more every day and just barely managed to pay the rent for the

little inner city apartment and to feed his kids.

Cara hated school and wanted to quit as well, but she had promised her

father to pull it through. Besides they gave out tickets for missing school and

she didn't want to go to the youth lock ups or get her father in any more

trouble.

So she went to school every day, despite the hell it represented to her, not

that it meant anything. She was not a good student her future had ended

before it begun. There was no chance in hell she would make it to college,

not that her father could have afforded sending her anyway. She would end

up as a waitress or Walmart sales associate if she was lucky, or as a

prostitute and drug addict if she was not. Strangely she didn't do drugs,

mostly because she had no money and she had an honest streak and did

not want to screw around or steal to get the money.

At least she was not alone in her misery. There was Bianca, her best friend.

She lived in the same apartment block, with a perpetual drunk mother. Not

even Bianca's mother really knew who her father was. Bianca's mother was

a prostitute, but not one of the high priced call girls.

Bianca dressed like a punk,with pink, uneven chopped pink hair.

There was Kim, she was something of a nerd. Looking somewhat

androgynous with stringy thin blonde hair,. She was all skin, bone and

elbows and wore the most un flatering clothing, usually faded t shirts, worn

out sweaters and jeans. While she was actually quite smart and a true nerd.

Only male nerds were sort of cool nowadays, besides Kim was an orphan

living in a catholic orphanage. The Orphanage had closed their own school a

few years ago and Kim had to go to this high school.

She could of course not afford any of the things and gadgets nerds were

known for.

Rosa was hispanic, her mother worked in a render plant and her father did

bone breaking day labor, but only if he got lucky standing on the outside of

Home Depot, hoping for work. Rosa's parents were illegal aliens and lived in

daily fear of being found by ICE and deported.

The last of Clara's friend was actually a guy. His name was Robert, but was

called Rob. His parents ran a run down motel barely hanging on in a town

that was slowly dying. Rob was a feminine boy and had a transgender issue,

he wanted to be a girl. His parents disaproved and he was afraid of anyone

really finding out, except of Cara and the others of course. They knew.

They had found together more or less because they had been excluded from

all the others and were called loosers, bottom feeders and other names and

were the target of bullying and ridicule of pretty much everyone else at

school.

It was Monday morning, two weeks till halloween, it was the time when the

biggest parties happened but no one would ever invite the loosers, not that

they could have afforded to go.

A usual the five friends met before school underneath the stairs of the side

entrance, where the school kept a bicycle shelter. Hardly anyone used bikes

so it was usually deserted.

It stank of urine and was covered with wild graffiti.

The popular kids had cars or were driven to school by their parents, the rest

went to school in the school busses. Sometimes however the black kids

would be here, to smoke joints or crack pipes.

When Carla arrived the others were there already and Rob looked ruffed up

and his nose was bleeding. “Oh dear did you get another beating today?”

He nodded with a sad grin, nursing a bruise on his cheek. “It wasn't so bad

today, they got bored and left.” he thanked Carla for the paper tissue and

handed her a fat black eye liner pencil in a blister pack.

“Oh you shouldn't have. I am allout of money but I give it to you when dad

gets paid.”

Rob waved his hand.”No worries, we had a paying guests and they drank

beer all week. I took the cans to the recycling yard and got six dollars.”

Kim said. “We better get in, Ms. Lodecker promissed to report anyone who's

late. They call the PTA and in my case it is Sister Verona with her stick.”

As they got out of the shelter they heard the rumbling of a V8 and a gray and

red car passed by onto the parking lot of the school. Bianca got big eyes,

she was a nerd and knew everything about cars. “It's a Boss!”

Clara said. “Never heard of that brand.”

“It is a Ford, special built, very expensive and rare.”

to their dismay they also saw the oppsoite of their group entering school

Led by Kelly Horton, the richest and perhaps prettiest girl in school. She

was the captain of the Cheer leaders, a good student and at the center of

school popularity. Her father owned a Iron cast products factory, one of the

few still working and he showered his daughter with expensive gifts and

money. She had her brunette hair tied up in pig tails and wore of course the

cheerleaders outfit, and over it the High School Football team jacket, the

fancy version made of real leather panels. It cost over 200 dollars in the

school catalog. Next to her walked Liz Pabst. Liz father owned a big

hardware store.While they were not anywhere as rich as the Horton family,

they were still well off and Liz had anything she wanted. Liz was the tallest of

the Horton squad and a sports ace. She swam fastest, run faster and

everyone knew she was doing karate and could beat up even boys. Liz had

her pale blond hair in a french knot, also wearing her cheerleader outfit.

Corina Baker on the other side of Kelly was the daughter of a very rich

dentist. She had red curly hair and was just as pretty and dolled up like the

others. The fourth girl was Gladiola Ellensworth, her father was a Police

Captain in the local police. While she was nowhere near as wealthy as the

others, everyone knew her father listened to her and regardless of laws often

bend the rules to cause troubles to those Gladiola didn't like. It was a silent

rumor that he also, let evidence disappear that implicated the Kelly squad in

a very dubious accident that killed a girl last year. The last girl in Kelly's inner

circe was Crystal Lipton, her father was the major and she acted as if she

was the daughter of the President. She too was a blonde and also somewhat

overweight.

Those five girls were the very center of everything, they were the terror, the

real bullies. They destroyed others with cold cruelty and enjoyed every

minute of it. Everyone knew they caused the death of Sybil Carington and

the cause why Angela Norton hanged herself.

They decided the social order of anyone, decided who was in and who was

not. Almost every girl in school dreamed to belong to the Kelly Squad or at

least declared acceptable by them. Itmeant invitations to parties and boys

and being cool.

The boys swooned about the Squad and only the best looking jocks,the

sports heroes and rich kids had a chance.

Of course the current quarter back of the Cleveland High Bulldogs, Chad

Gordon was Kelly's declared boy friend. He was handsome as could be and

his father owned a trucking company.

Clara and her friends were so far down the social order, that Kelly no longer

really even saw them and that was actually a good thing, as she still liked to

be cruel and do evil things to them.

Something had happened and Kelly's squat was chatting and talking

away,ignoring everyone and thankfully also Clara and her friends.

Most of the other classmates were already there and it didn't take more than

five minutes after Clara and her friends had entered class, when Ms.

Lordecker came in.

She slammed her favorite big ruler on the surface of her desk and said with

her authoritive voice. “May I have your attention please?”

The class did settle down, of all teachers Ms. Lordecker was the one they

respected and perhaps even feared most of all their teachers.

The math teacher said. “Before we begin, I want to introduce to you a new

student. She comes from New York, her family has just moved here and she

is new in town. Her name is Fiona Rockford.”

Clara paid attention now and lifted her head, just enough to see past her

curtain of hair as she wanted to see the new student. The only free desk was

right beside hers.

There was a dead silence in class and the reason was the girl that had just

stepped into the room.

Carla was certain that new girl could not possibly exist. She was like an

angel, a heavenly creature, no one she had ever seen was a perfectly

beautiful as her.

She was tall and had long blonde hair,thick and in a precious shining shade

that made gold look pale. She wore a form fitting black turtle neck sweater,

a butter soft cute looking leather jacket and a short pleated brown mini skirt.

She had long legs in gray panty hose and wore almost knee high chic

looking brown boots. She wore thin leather gloves and on her wrist sparkled

a small watch,in golden luster. Her hoop earrings had the same gold color.

She had a Louis Vitton handbag and a matching laptop case.

Chat was the first who found words and said with a deep sigh and a dreamy

look on his face. “Angles, they do exist!”

It earned him a deadly glare from Kelley.

Ms. Lordecker pointed at the free bench. “Please have a seat Ms. Rockford.”

The girl peeled out of her jacket and removed her gloves and sat right next to

Clara. While she did that, Clara could smell a heavenly scent of a

fresh,flowery perfume, fine soap and lotions. She smelled as she looked.

Ms. Lordecker then said. “On behalf of Cleveland High,I like to welcome you.

I hear you come from the Jackson Brown Private High in Manhattan and

from your transcript I learned you are a good student, but I don't expect you

to be up to our standards and our circulum. We have a math test today and

you are of course excused.”

The teachers announcement caused the rest of the class to boo and groan.

It caused a grin that was nothing but evil, in Clara's opinion. Ms. Lordecker

said.”The test counts towars your SAT scores of course. That means that the

sports team members among you won't play Sunday if you fail. These are

the requirements of High School Sports after all, and I intend to make sure

they are upheld.”

The new girl spoke for the first time and her voice was clear like a silver bell

as she said. “I don't want to be excused and do not mind to participate in this

test. Maybe I am able to change your preconception about the standards of

Jackson Brown standards, Ms. Lordecker.”

The teacher raised an eyebrow and her smile did not fade. “Very well then,

but this is Cleveland and Virginia and not New York.”

The girl answered.”Thank you for pointing that out, Ms. Lordecker. Me being

blonde and all get so easily confused and mistake Cleveland for New York

City.”

Even gloomy Clara chuckled at that and others also giggled at that remark.

Much to the obvious dislike of Ms. Lordecker. “Well Ms.Rockford, here is

your test. Let us see if you are still in such a cheerful mood after I graded it.”

The teacher handed out the test forms to everyone. Clara only saw numbers

and questions and silently groaned. She did not want to repeat class, but if

she failed she would have to.

Without a GED diploma,her chances of finding a job would be ver limited and

even City College became a very distant dream.