Blonde and Confused

Ramsey stood, watching the chaos around her. Her friends and their parents scurried from one place to another as they discussed with the park rangers what to do next. Knowing that Whitney and her rescuer would soon be on their way to the hospital, her initial concern for their well-being found itself relegated to the back of her mind. Then, almost as if an autopilot switch had been flicked to the On-position, Ramsey Swift, scion of the Honey Hollow Daily Flyer, shed her worried friend skin to transform into an eagle-eyed reporter.

A mental notebook flipped open inside her brain; the pencil, sharp and ready. She started to jot down mental notes over what she currently witnessed. Harvey Diamond, showing tremendous calm under fire, asked Jeff and Jared Lockett to help lift his daughter into the chief ranger's vehicle. Bridget Tarver morphed back and forth from concerned parent to cool and collected doctor. Whitney's boyfriend--Note: now ex-boyfriend--stood all alone, appearing shell-shocked over the turn of events. The teenage friends and classmates of Whitney and John--Note: Sean--milled around together, expressing disbelief and anxiety over their health.

The three Wasp Park rangers offered a variety of responses to the ice incident. Chief Zebulon Colburn showed off years of experience by talking charge initially, but then after learning of a doctor's presence, he deferred to her expertise. His focus shifted to logistics and finding duties for his subordinates to perform. Boone Slover, seemingly as take charge as Chief Colburn out on the trail after encountering them, now sulked at some real or imagined slight. The lone female ranger, Apple Vanoy, appeared nervous and uncertain of her role. Note: check out Ranger Vanoy's length of employment.

Swinging back over to the injured teens and their parents, the strawberry blonde reporter watched as Mr. Diamond flipped his keys to Jared, who ran into the garage to back out his SUV. Intriguingly, Chief Colburn pulled aside Clive Stratton, the local district attorney, to have an official-looking conversation. Peyton Tarver hurried over from the garage, carrying what appeared to be a medical bag. John's--Sean's sister...Ugh! How is his name Sean? I could have sworn it was John. Note: could hurt professional credibility.

Attempting to refocus on capturing the event and people's reactions, Ramsey found herself struggling to lock in that focus again. Her mind swirled with questions over how she misidentified Sean Tarver. She thought back to any and all interactions she had with Peyton's younger brother but found it difficult to recall any that stood out. He's definitely in my gym class this year. Coach Grimm often yells at him but calls him Tarver. The same with Mr. Tanner last year in chemistry class. He often found a reason to correct him, but he addressed him as Mr. Tarver.

The junior reporter struggled to recall any classes they might have shared during their sophomore year. Confident that they shared Algebra together, she thought maybe they had another class for a semester that year too. He sat up front in algebra class, but there were so many new faces and names that first year of high school. Wasn't there a John in that class?

Next, her mind shifted to her time at the Stratton home growing up. Peyton Tarver spent a considerable portion of her life there, so she knew Peyton had a little brother. Did Mr. or Mrs. Stratton say his name and I didn't notice? That seems--

"Oh, that's a great idea, Fred," Rachel Stratton said, interrupting Ramsey's thoughts. "But Whitney and Sean don't need them. How about passing them out to the others? They gave up their coats at first to warm up Whitney and Sean, so they must be cold."

Austin and Lacey quickly accepted the blankets as the petite redhead chanted over and over.

"They're going to be alright. They're going to be alright."

The momentary interruption allowed Ramsey's robotic brain to kick partly back in just in time to observe Chief Colburn assigning the redheaded ranger to write up a standard report. Ranger Vanoy appeared uncertain over finding Whistle Cove, which led to Finn Singer stepping forward to offer help. Rewinding slightly, Ramsey noticed that Finn previously watched Ranger Vanoy with interest. Note: possible future announcement in the weekend Society section.

"I thought Sean's name was John," the strawberry blonde blurted out, unable to keep her turmoil inside any longer.

"They're going to--what?" Lacey broke off in mid-chant. "You what?!"

"Oh, damn!" Austin chuckled before catching himself.

Lana and Skye, standing several feet away, turned to look at the three teenagers after hearing Rammy's revelation. Skye wasn't quite sure if Ramsey not knowing was a big deal, but Lana's jaw dropped at the news.

"You did not just say that, Rammy," growled her oldest friend. "Tell me you did not just say that."

"I-I thought his name was John. Oh, no, I called him that when we were leaving the pond!" Ramsey recounted, having forgotten that detail.

"How. The. Fuck!" Lacey slowly said in a menacing voice as she moved closer to her friend. "We go to the same school! For fuck's sake, Sean's been at the cabin with us for days!"

"I'm s-sorry. I don't know how."

"He's Peyton's brother! You know, my sister's best friend, that's always around our house."

"I knew she had a brother! I'm not a moron, you know," Ramsey remarked, getting defensive.

"Wait, all three of us even had Geography together back in tenth grade!"

Geography! That's the other class we had together. Ramsey remembered. "Unlike you, I don't spend all my time in class socializing. I'm there to learn."

"Oh, no. You are not going to pass this off as your bullshit about 'zeroing in on the goal at hand,' or whatever you like to call it," Lacey snapped back. "You might like to claim that it's going to make you a great reporter someday, but I got some real news for you, Rammy. Not fucking knowing the names of people around you will make you a shitty reporter."

"Don't you talk to me like that! I said I was sorry," Ramsey shot back, growing even more defensive. "Maybe if Sean were worth noticing, I would have remembered his name.

"Not worth noticing? How dare you! He's a great guy; kind, smart, caring. Or don't you pay attention to guys like that? Do you need someone to be a star athlete or class president to be worth your time? Or maybe you only notice troublemakers. Tell me, Rammy, do you have a bad boy fetish?"

"My life doesn't revolve around dating or my boyfriend. Clearly, he never made an impression on me."

"Our sisters are best friends; our moms are close friends too; how did you never put two and two together around my house?"

"It's not like he's ever there! I don't see him lounging around in your living room, nor at those dumb parties you throw. The ones you make me suffer through. If anything, this is your fault," Rammy responded.

"My fault?!" Lacey screeched. "I invited him to many parties. It's not my fault that he never came. Yeah, I feel like crap for not doing more after he admitted to liking..."

"Admitted to what?" the strawberry blonde challenged as the petite redhead trailed off. "You act like he's family, but wouldn't family be at your house at least once in a while?"

"Oh, hell. It's my fault. It's my fault, girls," Peyton quietly said, causing both redheads to turn their heads in her direction. At this point, none of the teens in their group noticed the two SUVs pull away. "I banned him from Lacey's house about four or five years ago."

"Why?" Lana asked from behind her sister.

"Because of you. Sean suddenly started riding his bike over to your house all the time. Hmph, I think it was the summer after we were out here last," Peyton recalled. "You know he had that crush on you, and it got so annoying to see him riding past your house over and over." Looking at Ramsey, she added, "Don't sweat it. As long as you apologize and explain why, Sean won't consider it a big deal."

"No, no, no. You have no clue--any of you--what you did," Lacey remarked, shaking her head over and over.

"Jeez, Lace, it's not that big of a deal," Lana told her sister. "Sean's not the type to hold grudges."

"No! Sean can't just forgive and forget. Not when it's the girl he's had a crush on for five fucking years!" Lacey shouted before slapping her hand over her mouth. "Oh, no. What have I done?"

"Holy--" Austin started to laugh but caught himself quicker than his girlfriend managed to do.

"What?!" exclaimed Lana and Peyton simultaneously.

"Crush? On me?" Ramsey meekly repeated. All the guilt she'd already felt over the name mistake felt even heavier after Lacey's revelation.

"Jared, no!"

Everyone's attention shifted to the cry. They saw Jeff Lockett holding his son back as Owen backed away.

"You don't hit my friend and get away with it! You hear me?!"

"That's enough; all of you!" shouted Rachel and Gabriela simultaneously, before the red-haired mother continued on solo. "Did any of you even notice that your friends just left for the hospital?" Seeing their sheepish looks, she nodded. "I thought so. I realize this has been emotional and scary, but let's not take it out on each other. That won't help Whitney and Sean."

"It's cold out here, and some of you have wet jackets. So let's go inside before anyone catches pneumonia," Gabby ordered everyone before turning her attention to her son. "And no fighting, buster. You're already grounded when we get back home."

"And you, young lady, come with me," Rachel said to her youngest daughter, who looked ready to fight someone.

"Oh, man. This is a shitshow," Lana declared. "Wait, where's Finny going?"

"Uh, he's helping that new ranger find the spot where Whitney fell in," JoJo reported as she walked over. "Um, Peyton, can I talk to you?"

Seeing her next-door neighbor and brother's best friend close to tears, Peyton wrapped her up in a hug. "I know, Jo. I'm worried about him too. If my mom doesn't call soon, I'll take her car to the hospital, and you can come with me."

"I am worried about Sean, but that's not what I wanted," JoJo responded, gesturing behind her. "I'm worried about him."

Peyton to see Newt standing catatonic, his eyes staring in the direction of the road. For a moment, the blonde wondered if Newt had been hurt too somehow, but then her stomach dropped as she realized the issue. Her heart went out to her brother's friend. The poor kid's been through enough death in his life. Sean and Whitney nearly dying must have brought up memories of his dad. I--no, we need to keep an eye on him.

"Give me a hand, JoJo. We need to get him indoors."