Chapter 166 – A Friend of a Friend – Silver Brooks

Sam and I went to one of the other classrooms in the old science wing. We were the only ones in the spare room she chose. When she closed the door behind her I knew that this would be a no-nonsense conversation. Her overall demeanor changed from upbeat to somber.

“So…?” I asked. “What’s so important that you brought me all the way over here? Is something wrong?”

“Yes and no… The casino jig is coming along swimmingly. Our club should have a fair amount of money left over after restocking. I guess I can’t complain about this outcome.”

“That’s great news! What’s the problem then?”

“The problem is that it was supposed to be even larger than what you just saw. I invited Black Brittney and her gang.”

“You what?!” I asked in a barely restrained voice. “Are you trying to start another fight?”

Sam smiled at me and shook her head while waving her hands frantically.

“No, no… You’ve got the wrong idea. I see why you might think that. It sounds wild, given the history between our two groups. A fight wasn’t my goal. This casino thing is about unity.”

I gave her an odd look.

“Why don’t you start from the beginning so that I can understand?”

Sam nodded and leaned back against the wall behind her. She looked up towards the ceiling like she was trying to decide where to begin.

“The moment I became leader I started thinking about how I could smooth things over with everyone. Unity through cooperation, you know? Perri, Jin, and all their friends… I didn’t want there to be any resentment between us. What better way to do that than with a common goal?”

“And that’s why you put Perri in charge of an important casino role?”

“It’s not just that. Everyone participating gets some say in how the money is spent for the future of the clubroom. Now that we don’t have to skulk in the shadows anymore we could use the funds to improve the place… Did you ever see the Occult Club’s hallway before Alyssa left?”

“Once or twice…” I said. “You really want to go that far?”

Sam stopped leaning against the wall to raise her hands up excitedly.

“I want to go even further than that! Our organization is made up of a diverse group of people. We should flaunt it! Our hall and activities should reflect who we are. That’s how we’ll get more members to join the group next year.”

I smiled at her excitement.

This made me happy to hear. Sam was taking her role as our group’s leader responsibly. This weighed heavily on her mind for her to come up with an out-of-the-box solution like this. I always believed that Sam would be a good leader. It was nice to see her live up to that expectation.

“That’s why you tried inviting Black Brittney?” I asked. “To ease tensions between our groups…? I’ve got to say, I’m glad that you’re looking towards the future.”

“Yeah, well… Don’t get so happy just yet. That planned failed. She wasn’t happy to get the message from me. No one, not a single person from their group showed up to the casino. Annoying...”

Her frustration was evident when she began pacing slowly in small circles.

“I mean, is this really what Black Brittney wants?” Sam asked, her demeanor changing once again. “Does she really want our successors to be going around and around in circles fighting like we’ve been doing for the past year?”

“Try the past several years,” I said. “Even before Naomi and Black Brittney attended this school themselves.”

“That’s exactly my point.” Sam said. “It has to stop somewhere. She must realize the opportunity we have here, right? We’re both seniors who will graduate in May. This is the only chance we’ll have to fix things and live up to Valentina’s dream for the school.”

“I don’t think Black Brittney cares about Valentina’s dream. She doesn’t even care about Valentina herself, as far as I know. Keep in mind how egotistical she can be. And don’t get mad at me for saying this, but Naomi used to be similar. This school year has been a transformative experience for her.”

“I can’t be mad at you for saying that because I agree.” Sam said. “Naomi had problems of her own, but at least she grew as a person. Brittney… She feels determined to let things go on as they are.”

“After what happened to Leigha I don’t think she’s inclined to let bygones be bygones. I have no doubt that she wants revenge. She just doesn’t have an easy way to get it, especially since Candace has been in and out of the hospital due to medical issues of her own.”

Sam stopped pacing to think carefully about what I was saying. She stared at the ground for a moment while brushing her hair with her hands. Her blonde hair was coming back strongly now that she stopped dyeing it. Her once short hair was reaching almost down to her shoulder on one side now.

“What should I do?” Sam asked bluntly. “I wanted to talk to Holly and Val about this together, but they’re both busy. When I talked to Naomi about it she just expressed her distaste for trying to break bread with Brittney. What a pain.”

I stared into Sam’s concerned eyes.

“I wish I had an answer for you. I tried to help Holly with a problem recently and I think I only made things worse. I’m reluctant to speak with authority on anything along these lines. All that I can say is that I genuinely believe you’re doing a good job for facing down these problems rather than leaving them for the next generation. That takes a certain level of empathy, more than most people have.”

“Thanks, I guess…”

She went back to staring away from me in deep thought.

“And Sam,” I called out to her.

She turned back to face me.

“Hmm?”

“Come closer.” I said.

I threw my arms around her and pulled her close to me. She thought that I just wanted to hug her. She started to wrap her arms around me. Before she could close the distance between us, I planted a kiss right on her lips. She pulled away in bewilderment. I laughed when I saw that shocked expression.

“Haha! You should see the look on your face right now!”

She laughed with me.

“That’s a first!” Sam said. “I’ve kissed a few of our girlfriends, but never you.”

“You deserve it.” I said. “You’re going to make a great leader. I don’t hand out kisses lightly.”

“Neither do I, usually… Aside from a couple of our girlfriends and Naomi, the only other person I’ve kissed this school year was Holly.”

I gave her a suspicious look, waiting for the punch line of this joke.

“I’m serious!” Sam said defensively. “You don’t believe me? Ask her yourself!”

I laughed.

“Okay, I will!” I said.

“Let’s get back to the casino.” Sam said. “I’d better keep an eye on things before Jin tries to pocket some of the winnings for herself.”

“Right. I’ve should keep an eye on Zara who might try something similar…”

It turned out that Zara didn’t need to do something like that. Upon our return to the casino event, Sam and I found a dozen people crowding behind Zara to watch her play. To my shock and horror, Zara was having the winning streak of a lifetime.

There were so many tokens stacked up on her side of the table that the other players at the table were getting upset. Brianna had to force Zara to take her winnings and leave. Zara had so many plastic tokens that she had to carry them in her arms like a baby.

They splattered loudly across the prize table when Zara dropped them in front of Perri.

“I’ll take that lava lamp please! Oh! And I’ll take those wireless ear buds too! Hey, how much for that jar of candy?!”

“Leave some prizes for other people!” One of the other girls at the prize table said. “You’re going to take everything!”

“How did this even happen?” I asked. “You didn’t have any money when I left… We were only gone for about five minutes!”

“I gave her a few tokens…” Casper said meekly. “Only a few… I regret everything…”

Zara laughed excitedly.

“Also, I want a prize for my friends Silver and Casper! Give me those two stuffed cats over there in the back.”

Perri looked between Zara and Sam, unsure of how to proceed. Sam shrugged.

“We’ve got more than enough money to restock the prizes. Investing in more rewards was always part of the plan… Give the girl what she wants.” Sam said.

“Hell yes! And darling…” Zara said to Perri. “Why don’t you pick out something nice for yourself too? Consider it a gift from yours truly.”

“Uhh…” Perri said to Sam.

Sam shrugged lightly in assent.

Once Zara had her prizes, I escorted her out of the old science wing. My girlfriends demanded it. The other students enviously watched Zara as she proudly marched out the room with an armful of prizes. She started stuffing them into her bag as we left.

“So where to next, captain? I guess I could say that this is my first time being dismissed from a classroom at this school.” Zara said with a smirk. “The casino bouncers told you that I won too much, didn’t they?”

“That, and there’s somewhere else I need to take you. There’s someone special that I want you to meet if you’re going to join our group.”

“And who might this VIP be?”

“A girl named Naomi Su, our group’s former leader. She’s in the library.”

I tried to explain Naomi’s situation to Zara in as little detail as possible on the way to the library. I was only bringing her to pay her respects. She didn’t need the full tome and history. The only detail I emphasized was that our group held things together after all our troubles.

“This school will be more exciting than my last one.” She said with a remorseful sigh. “If only I could’ve come here sooner…”

I massaged one of my stiff shoulders while thinking over this tense school year.

“To be honest I think I’ve had enough ‘excitement’ for one school year. The school has already changed so much… I wouldn’t mind the next few months being smooth sailing. Let’s hope the student council feels the same way. You’ll have the chance to talk to them soon. Their office is here in the library.”

“Student councils, yuck.” Zara said in distaste. “One of my friends was always snobby about being the student council president. I hope the president here isn’t like that.”

“She isn’t.” I said. “I’ve only recently started interacting seriously with Valentina. I’ve got a good sense of her personality. She’s an iron woman with a heart of fire.”

Zara excitedly leaned in against me.

“You mean like a robot…?”

I pushed her away.

“No!” I said in vexation. “I mean like a strong leader! You think we have any robots around here?! This is a high school.”

Zara dejectedly pulled away with a frown.

“True, but most schools don’t have a casino either. I figured that maybe anything is possible here.”

I put a hand on my forehead.

“What was I even saying before this…? Oh, yeah…! Naomi spends a lot of her time with the student council these days. That’s why I’m bringing you to their office.”

Zara folded her arms and nodded sagely.

“Hmm… Yes… I should meet with them. If this turns out to be like my last school then I should at least be on a first name basis with the people I’ll be regularly butting heads with.”

“Please don’t.” I begged.

Naomi was in the student council room, along with several others. She was only partially lying on the couch at an awkward angle, tossing a baseball upwards. Lilith and Jay were both on laptops working on something. Zoe was doing the same in Holly’s usual seat.

Valentina was the only one standing up. She was standing off to the far corner of the room, staring out the window. She was the first one to turn towards us and raise an eyebrow at me.

“Silver,” she said curtly. “I thought you were Charlotte for a moment. She left to get something from the cafeteria. Who’s your friend here?”

“This is Zara. She’s a transfer student that just started today.”

Everyone looked up from what they were doing to give Zara a look. Zara scanned their faces in turn. She stopped when she saw Naomi and smiled.

“You look like a punk with daddy issues, just like Silver and the others! You must be Naomi!”

I slapped Zara in the back at nearly full strength.

“Zara!” I shouted. “When I said that you should introduce yourself to her earlier, this wasn’t what I had in mind!”

Naomi laughed and sat up straight.

“It’s okay! She’s got a certain flare to her.” Naomi said.

“She does…” I said miserably.

I didn’t suspect she’d be this difficult when I met her outside. Zara gleefully bonked her fist against her own forehead.

“Doh! Silly me! Me and my big mouth, always landing me in trouble… When will I ever learn?”

Zoe folded her hands together on the student council table and rested her head against them.

“Judging by her grating and childish behavior, I’m guessing that she’s another one of your ‘girlfriends’…?” Zoe asked dryly. “You girls sure know how to integrate them. You’ll make a great company manager someday.”

“I should slap you for that.” I said.

“Why bring her here?” Lilith asked. “We’re sort of in the middle of something right now. Does she need help from the student council specifically?”

“Actually…” I said and turned my attention to Naomi. “I brought her here to pay her respects, but she already mucked that up.”

“Guilty,” Zara said.

Naomi grinned and stood up.

“I like your energy, new girl!”

“And I like what Silver told me about you! You sound like the sort of troublemaker that only a fellow troublemaker can fully appreciate.”

“Finally!” Naomi said. “A kindred spirit!”

“Oh god…” Jay said. “What have you unleashed upon this world, Silver?”

“Birds of a feather fly together…” I said with a guilty shrug.

Valentina smiled at the interaction before returning to her seat at the student council table.

“Just what we needed, another troublemaker at a time like this…” Valentina said. “Well, I doubt things could get any worse.”

“You take that back right now!” Lilith said animatedly. “Why are you tempting fate with that cliché line?!”

I walked over towards the table, with Zara staying close behind.

“Why? What’s going on?” I asked.

Jay ran her hands through her hair and sighed.

“With Ms. Sampson gone, her duties have shifted to us and the senior administrative staff. We’re doing double duty to make sure the school functions normally.” Jay said.

“Isn’t that the principal’s job?”

“The principal is old and more than a little forgetful.” Valentina said. “On top of that, he was gone for months. He still isn’t used to doing his job properly. If it wasn’t for his legacy and reverence with the district school board, they might be smart enough to replace him…”

“As it is, we’re left to pick up the slack.” Lilith said, returning to the work on her laptop. “Not just his job, but Ms. Sampson’s too. The staff is routinely checking in on us, but they have their own extra duties to fulfill with Ms. Sampson gone. They’re facing the wrath of the PTA in her absence.”

“Wow! Having kids do an adult's job…? Sounds like slave labor.” Zara added unhelpfully.

“Sounds like it,” Naomi agreed.

“It is.” Zoe confirmed.

Zara’s attention was drawn to Naomi.

“Are you here to help them?”

“Yes.” Naomi said.

“No.” Valentina scoffed. “All you do is laze around. In which way are you helping? Remind me.”

“I’m helping with emotional support!” Naomi said. “Consider me your official cheerleader!”

“How do I join?” Zara asked gleefully.

Valentina said something incomprehensible in her native tongue. Whatever it was, it didn’t sound nice. It was the first time I ever heard her speak another language.

“Holly can’t get back soon enough…” Valentina said with a drawn-out sigh.

That offhand comment caused a dramatic reaction in Zara. She grinned from ear to ear as she pushed herself in front of me. She slapped her hands against the table, causing everyone to turn to her in surprise.

“Did you just say Holly? Are you talking about Holly Hayfield?!” Zara asked.

“You know her?” Lilith asked curiously.

“Know her…? Of course I know her! We went to school together for years! I was always her favorite delinquent!”

The group looked around the room at each other, unsure if this was another one of Zara’s jokes.

“I’m telling the truth!” Zara said. “I met her way back in middle school! We shared a lot of classes together since then!”

“Which school did you say you were from earlier?” I asked.

“Cherry Vale Public High School!”

“She… She’s telling the truth.” Lilith said reluctantly. “That’s the same school that Holly came from.”

“Yep!”

Naomi ran around to Zara’s side, pushing me out of the way. She put an arm around Zara and pulled her in close.

“Your name was Zara, right?”

“That’s my name!”

“You wouldn’t happen to have any super interesting and embarrassing stories about Holly’s past, would you?” Naomi asked. “Something that would make her blush red if I randomly brought it up!”

Zara’s face lit up.

“Well, there was that one time when we went on a school camping trip and Holly had way too much water on the bus ride over! The bathroom stalls were full, so we went out to the woods and…”

Valentina threw a pencil between the two of them. Naomi and Zara barely dodged it.

“Don’t even joke about that.” Val said. “Naomi. If you make Holly mad you’ll never be allowed to sleep on the council room’s couch again. Don’t forget who talked me into letting you hang out here.”

Naomi laughed nervously and backed away from Zara.

“It was a joke! A joke! I’d never…” Naomi said apologetically.

She winked at Zara. Zara winked back. Lilith rolled her eyes.

“Of all the times for Holly to miss one of our meetings…” Lilith said.

“I notice Alyssa isn’t here either.” I said. “Normally she’s so quiet that she blends into the background, but since Holly isn’t here…”

“Your suspicion is correct.” Valentina said. “She’s with Holly.”

“Where’s Holly?” Zara asked excitedly. “I’ve got to go see her!”