This is a continuation on a previous "Pepper" post I made. I didn't really like that one much, so I rewrote it and also added a bit on. Let me know what you think. Nitpicks are welcome, of course, and any other kind of criticism you can think of. Compliments inflate my head, so, you know.
I put this under "novels" because it definitely isn't a short story. But who knows whether I'll actually finish it and make it a novel. I've never actually done that. If you like this and think I could make something out of it, be sure to tell me. Otherwise I'll never motivate myself to work on it. That sounds bad but we all have our human tendencies. Mine is to be excessively lazy. Summer starts next week, so hopefully I'll be more motivated then. But now I'm in the middle of finals, so don't expect too much of me.
Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to read this. And if you review I promise to return the favor. Danke, and have a lovely evening. <3
ps, I just 'previewed' this and read over my little intro and ughhh. Sorry for the choppy sentences, kids.
~
“And so we move on to chapter 19. Hold onto your hats, kids. This one’s about Jeffy.”
Elliot moved to adjust the iPod in the speakers, almost knocking his water glass all over the blue shag rug. The floor creaked under him.
“I actually did really well on this quiz, so I’m kind of like an expert. Somewhere in the 75 range, I think. Impressive, huh? Yeah, Thomas Jefferson is rather a specialty of mine.”
“I love you,” said Alex, smiling affectionately at the iPod.
There was a pause, they could hear the shuffling of papers through the speakers. Then she cleared her throat.
“So if I’ve assumed correctly, you’re listening to this less than an hour after I’ve posted it because you’re in love with my heart-stopping voice.”
The boys looked at each other, smiling sheepishly. Alex reached into the bag of Doritos, wincing as the bag crinkled loudly and almost overpowered what the girl in the iPod was saying.
“That’s okay, no need to feel bad. I feel the same way about myself sometimes. It’s hard not to. That’s why I don’t do vlogs. You wouldn’t get any work done if you were staring at my face all the time. Well, you might get some work done in the basement, if you catch my drift.” Elliot thought he heard a vacuum cleaner somewhere in the background.
Jude choked on his coke. “She knows us so well,” he said, grinning widely around at the rest of the boys. The glared and shushed him.
“So enough about me. Let’s talk about you poor little darlings out there. It’s Sunday night, isn’t it? And you’re crowded around an iPod speaker listening to my pathetic little podcast and hoping that there’s a snow day tomorrow. I’d give you all hugs if I could, especially because I know that there are girls out there dreading Monday because they have to look Karen Clutchinson in the eye after having been accused of sleeping with her boyfriend.”
This time, Alex had to thump Jude on the back to get him to stop choking. Elliot reached out to pause the iPod.
“She means Karen as in the Karen that goes to our school,” Elliot said slowly, leaning back against the bed. “Has anyone heard anything about someone hooking up with Jake Pritchard?”
“Who?” Jude said hoarsely, still trying to clear soda out of his throat.
“Jake, Karen’s boyfriend. Has anyone heard anything?”
The three boys shook their heads.
Elliot reached for his cell phone. Downstairs, he could hear his mother yelling at his younger sister.
“Angie might know,” he said, dialing his girlfriend’s number. “Hey, it’s me. Have you listened to Pepper yet? I know! Yeah, that’s what we were just trying to figure out. Do you know anything?” He listened for a while. “Yeah, I know. Gotta love this school. Yeah, talk to you tomorrow. Love you.”
“She says she’s not sure,” said Elliot, hanging up the phone. “She says everyone heard a rumor, but no one knows who the girl is.”
“Which means that Pepper has to be the girl that was ‘accused of sleeping with Karen’s boyfriend’!” Alex grinned triumphantly.
“Not necessarily,” said Elliot. “Pepper could be this girl’s best friend, or someone who just happened to see what happened… Pep probably isn’t the type of person to blab, so if she was one of the only people to know firsthand, it most likely wouldn’t have traveled around the school like it would have if, say, Angie knew.” Elliot spoke as if he personally knew the girl who posted podcasts every Sunday night. Truth was, he had no idea what Pepper was really like. He just knew her as a cool, funny girl who helped him with his APUSH work.
“I bet she’s hot,” Alex said, ignoring Elliot, who rolled his eyes.
“She’s got to be, if Jake hooked up with her when he’s got Karen,” said Jude, sipping more of his coke.
“Boys?” Elliot’s mother rapped on their door. “Can I get you guys anything?”
Elliot looked around at his friends. They shook their heads. “We’re fine, mom,” said Elliot. “Thanks.”
“Good,” his mother said. “Well I’ve gotta go out for a while. Your sister is home. Keep an ear out for her, okay?”
“Yep. Where are you going?”
“Nowhere important,” his mother said dismissively. “I’ll see you later.”
When her footsteps receded, Elliot grumbled, “She’s out to fuck the mailman.”
Alex laughed, but Elliot looked at him, unsmiling, and he stopped abruptly. After an awkward pause, Jude reached over Alex’s outstretched legs to turn the iPod back on. Pepper’s heavenly voice returned to the room.
“Oops, I’ve said too much. Don’t try too hard to figure out who I’m talking about, because you won’t. Knowing what school I go to should be enough for your curious little heads.
“I’ve been told that I’m really self-centered. But it’s hard not to be when you’re a 17 year old girl with 17 year old girl self-esteem and basically your alter-ego is a small-town celebrity. My name isn’t really Pepper, in case you were wondering. And no, I won’t give you a hint. And we should really get back to history. Thomas Jefferson was pretty much a beast. I’ve been in love with him for about a year now.”
As she read the chapter to them, each boy was comforted in ways that he couldn’t describe to anyone else. And it wasn’t just about knowing that he was going to do well on the test, or knowing that he wouldn’t have to cram Thursday night, it was about knowing that someone out there was helping him out, keeping him from drowning. Pepper certainly wasn’t just a tutor, she was way more than that. To her audience, she was the Jesus of high school. She knew how to fix every problem, and if she didn’t fix it directly, her voice in your ears was enough to give you the confidence to move houses. And that’s why every girl wanted to be her, and every boy wanted to be with her. She knew it, too.
---
“Have any of you heard of this ‘Pepper’ character?”
The principal of Haywood High School was nervously adding sugar to a steaming cup of coffee.
“I mean,” he continued. “I’ve been hearing lots of rumors about her… And I’m not sure what to do about it… or if we need to do anything.”
“Who’s Pepper?” Ms. Meli, a biology teacher asked. It was early Monday morning in the Teacher’s Lounge, and the principal was getting the usual advice from his staff.
“Pepper is this girl who makes weekly podcasts about APUSH—Advanced Placement United States History—work,” Ms. Grillo, a history teacher, told Ms. Meli. “She’s like a tutor, only friendlier I guess. From what I’ve heard from my kids, they adore her. The thing is that no one actually knows who she is.”
“Well it shouldn’t be difficult to figure out,” said Ms. Meli, turning towards the counter to put sugar in her tea. Her shoes squeaked on the tile. “She must go to this school if she’s helping them with homework.”
“It’s not that simple,” Mr. Tillo, another social studies teacher rose from an armchair and strode over to the sink to wash his hands. “She doesn’t necessarily have to go to this school. All APUSH classes teach to the AP exam, she could just be some student who’s taken or is taking the class in another school who has the same textbook as we do and is explaining things to our kids. And a lot of schools across the country have the same book as we do.”
“It sounds to me like she’s helping them cheat,” said Ms. Meli, wrapping her spidery fingers tightly around the coffee mug and turning around to look with raised eyebrows at the other teachers.
“That’s my concern,” the Principal piped in. “If she’s helping them cheat, we need to put a stop to it. Right?”
“I wouldn’t assume she’s helping them cheat,” Ms. Grillo shook her head. “In fact, I’d say the opposite. My kids are not only doing better on homework assignments, they’re also doing better on tests and even pop quizzes. I think this Pepper is probably another high schooler who took the class in a previous year and knows her stuff. She’s most likely just a study buddy for them. They like her, I know that. She’s probably funny and cute and probably talks about more than just academic stuff. I think we should just let her do her thing, and if something comes up, we’ll look into it.”
---
“Clara Jones, would you do me the courtesy of putting your phone back into your pocket?”
Clara looked up, smiled sweetly at Ms. Brentson, and slid her cell back into her pocket. On her left,
Aubrey looked over and smirked, then ripped off part of the notebook page in front of her. Moments later, a folded up piece of paper landed on Clara’s desk.
Clara unfolded it carefully, keeping her eye on Ms. Brentson. ‘christian?’ it read.
Clara smiled and zipped open her pencil case to pull out a pen. ‘good guess,’ she wrote. ‘he wants to see me after school.’ She passed it back to Aubrey, who grinned when she read it and pressed her heels together in glee like a second grader.
“Girls,” said Ms. Brentson sternly. “Unless that’s homework, put it away. Next time I have to speak to you, it will be to send you to the office.”
“Sorry,” said Aubrey, shoving the note into her back pocket.
When the bell rand and students were gathering their books, Aubrey stood and clutched Clara’s arm, her pink nails digging into Clara’s pale skin. “Are you going to?”
Clara slid her books into her bag and slung it over her shoulder, letting Aubrey zip it for her. “I don’t know… I’ve got a lot going on. And I’m not sure if I even like Christian very much.”
Aubrey rolled her eyes. “Every girl in this school likes Christian very much. You’re an idiot if you don’t at least go and see what he wants. Maybe he doesn’t even want to ask you out.”
Clara smiled. “Yeah, you’re right. He probably just wants to rape me.”
They headed out of the classroom and pushed their way into the crowded hallway.
“Clay,” said Aubrey. “I’m serious. You can’t just blow him off… You’re always doing this. I know you’d like to think so, but the whole world does not depend on--”
“Shut up,” Clara hissed, elbowing Aubrey hard in the ribs.
Aubrey smirked.
“I get over 100,000 downloads every week,” said Clara. “There are a lot of people out there that are depending on me.”
“Yes Clara, but does that mean you aren’t allowed to date?”
Clara didn’t say anything. Someone banged into her.
“Oh, sorry. Clara! Hey, do you have the math homework?”
“Hi Alex. Yeah, I’ll give it to you in study hall?”
“Awesome. Thanks babe.”
“He’s so adorable,” said Aubrey, looking over her shoulder at Alex heading down the hallway.
“Eh,” said Clara. “Not really my type.”
---
“But who else could it be?”
“Pepper is not Clara Jones,” Karen shoved her jacket into her locker. “She just said what she said to annoy me.”
Maria leaned against the locker next to Karen’s, pressing her head against the cool metal. “But… why? How would she even know?”
“Look,” Karen slammed her locker shut and looked at Maria. “Aubrey Goldsmith hooked up with Jake. I now that. Clara knows that, but why the hell would she announce it to an audience of thousands? I know Clara. I don’t especially like her, but I know she’s not an idiot. Pepper is obviously the type of person who knows what goes on behind the scenes. It doesn’t surprise me that she knows about Jake and Aubrey, even if she doesn’t even go to school here.”
Maria sighed, twisting her fingers in the straps of her backpack. “But then who is it?”
Karen shrugged and began strutting down the hallway. Maria hurried ungracefully to catch up with her. “I don’t know, and I don’t really care. I listen to Pepper for help passing APUSH. She’s funny, but I’m not one of those drooling idiots who hang on her every word like it’s a message straight from God. So… I don’t really mind not knowing who she is. It makes things a bit more interesting, don’t you think?”
“I guess,” said Maria slowly. “It’s just that… I can’t think of anyone else in this school who might be her.”
Karen rolled her eyes and snapped her gum. “Clara is the only possible candidate? Come on, Maria. If Pep hadn’t dropped that hint last night about Aubrey, you would never consider Clara.”
You could see the wheels turning in Maria’s head as she weighed what Karen had just said. “I guess so…”
“So just put it out of your head,” Karen said. “And hurry up. We’ve already missed 1st and 2nd periods.”
---
“Clara,” said Jude, grinning when she walked into his chemistry class.
She smiled at him and walked over to the teacher. “I have a note from Ms. Dobsen. I’m supposed to sit in here because the other students are testing.”
Mr. Coachella nodded, and Clara headed over to Jude.
“Hey,” he said, as she sat in the desk next to him.
“Hey,” she said, pulling out her laptop. “Difficult class you’re in.”
Jude glanced around at the rest of his classmates, who were all either sleeping or texting. “Yeah,” he said, grinning. “It’s hard to maintain my A average.”
“Hey, Clara,” said Elliot, who had just come back from the bathroom. He sat down opposite her.
She smiled at him, then looked back at her laptop.
“Hey, Elliot?” She asked, looking up.
He looked at her.
“Um, this is going to sound odd but what were you and Angie doing last night?”
Elliot gave her a strange look. Clara smiled.
“Yeah, I know. Sorry. Never mind,” she said.
“No, it’s okay. We, uh, went to see a movie. I think. Yeah, that’s where we were.”
“Really?” Clara asked. “Huh.”
“Why?” Elliot asked.
Clara shook her head. “A friend told me they she saw you two at a supermarket yesterday night. I was just wondering if it was true.”
Elliot shrugged. “Must’ve been someone else.”
“Yeah,” said Clara. “I’ll tell her.”
Jude watched Clara tuck her hair behind her ear. She was pretty, he’d never really noticed it before. Her eyes were beautiful; he’d never seen eyes that shade of green before.
He shook his head suddenly. Don’t get caught up in every girl who actually talks to you, he told himself.
