Boseman High School Shenanigans: Episode 1

"That's an idea, Freddie but it's just prolonging the inevitable. Let's get Priya to the hospital. Decide what to do after that.

What the boy had said was kind of ironic. She used to be that girl. No glasses and long blonde hair. Maybe back then Freddie would have been pawing at her at the first opportunity.

"Just go to the emergency, Emily, Lily and I can take care of those assholes while you drag her inside. Just tell them she was exposed to a lot of parasites, swallowed some, and needs to be dewormed or something."

To Lily, he says, "If we fuck up their shit, they'll run I bet. Bats to headlights and door windows." He winks, "Unless they're undercover agents in which case, this was all your idea and you blackmailed me."

"Jesus, a parasite. It's not far off is it? Ok, if we are all on board, I am too. You going to sit in the van with your bats ready and come out swinging if they come over then? You sure you're both good with that plan? I mean what if they have guns?"

Coming out of the asylum alive had given everyone a bit of swagger, it seemed.

"We're not going to assault anyone!" Zach protests. "And we're definitely not going to be swinging around Gromn's murder weapon in public. It's the hospital. They won't attack us in public. And I can always let the security staff there know that these guys attacked me before and to keep an eye on them."

"Im mighty sorry, officers! That Freddy Solomon is just so gosh darned handsome, ain’t he?" she says, fluttering her eyelashes. "He had me acting the fool, yes he did! He led me astray. I thought… Well, I thought he liked me! I guess I was trying to impress him." she follows on, taking on a southern drawl for the whole thing.

Then she drops the act, and responds to Zach:

"We can’t go around trying to be best friends with everyone! Gromm tried to kill us, and these guys, what… beat the shit out of you once already? Well, they won’t do that to me!"

"We're just going inside!" Zach tells his friends. "Nobody try anything stupid with those guys in the black car. There are cameras and people everywhere. They'll leave us alone."

He checks his phone and if Rose hasn't sent another message, he quickly writes her another text.

Zach: At the ER. Meet me here as soon as you can
Zach: Don't talk to anyone, especially not some mob-looking types in a black car

Fred takes a deep breath and picks up Priya as the van stops and the side door opens. He says lowly, "Here goes," and carries her toward the doors. "Help, someone, please!" he calls, as he stumbles (not entirely feigning) into range of the automatic entrance.

Emily tenses as they pull into the hospital, quickly glancing in the rearview mirror to check on their tail, if it really was a tail and not them being paranoid.

"The SUV just turned into the parking lot, guys." Stopping the car she turns to the group. "I'm not going to drag Priya in there by myself and we need to get our stories straight. She swallowed a parasite. They're going to ask where and how and maybe even why she was such a dumb moron to do that."

"Look! Why don’t we just talk to the guy at security while Fred deals with Priya?" Lily asks, trying to console Emily.

"We tell him that these guys have been following us… two young women… since we left school. They could be predators or anything. Plus, they already attacked Zach.

One thing at a time."

Emily bangs the palms of both hands above her ears in frustration.

"Why don't you talk to the guy at security." Her irritation is very evident at the barrage of suggestions being hurled at her.

"I'm the wheels and I need to stay right here." Craning her neck around she adds, "No one is getting out of the SUV. Go on Lilly. Talk to the security people although my experience of them is they are useless as tits on a bull."

Zach's attention is divided between the SUV and his phone. He's getting worried about Rose after everything that already happened today. She's usually pretty glued to her phone so it's strange that she hasn't written him again yet.
As they're sitting and waiting - and as Lily and Emily are starting to argue - he opens his Contacts and selects Rose' name, giving her phone a call. He puts it up to his ear, his eyes on the SUV as he listens to the dial tone.

Freddie begins sweating. He's strained himself overtly this day and every instinct says that he has to go back, look for the others.Belinda, Kelly, even her father, and who knows how many. But he's just a boy, he knows nothing about anything, least of all defeating slug based puppetmasters.

The questions come too fast. "I don't know," is too common an answer, and he knows they don't believe him. He tries to sound honest. "Parasites everywhere. Worms in her mouth!"

"Well, of course I’d be the one to talk to them. With social skills like yours, he’d probably end up calling the cops on us!" Lily barks back, rising to the bait.

"I’ll talk to him. I’ll fight the teachers. I’ll save us from the axe murderer. I’ll just do everything!" she angrily pushes open the door of the car, and rummages in her coat pockets. She puts her hand to the camera there, and pulls it free.

She steps out, looking back at the SUV. She waves, and holds the camera up. She walks closer, snapping a photo as she goes, shooting from the hip.

She gets closer, though careful to keep her distance so she can run if needs be.

"Say cheese, assholes!" she says, bringing the camera up to her eye, and lining up a shot on the occupants!

Suddenly, the tension in the car explodes as Lily snaps. Zach turns his head around to look at his friends, phone still to his ear, but Lily is already getting out of the car. "No, Lily, wait!" he calls, but she's already doing her thing outside.
Zach doesn't feel good about it, but he stays in the car, watching. If those guys freak out and attack her or something, he promises himself, he's going to intervene.