Lady Soulcrusher

“Gawd, everyone keeps staring at me,” Bridget said, sliding her tray onto the table as she sat on the end seat. Glancing around the cafeteria, she saw many heads look down or away from her gaze.

With the blonde bombshell having the early lunch hour, she’d only had two additional classes since Home Ec. However, based on the looks and whispers, her actions at the start of first period had spread rapidly around Honey Hollow High.

“I thought she loved being stared at,” Kimberly muttered, picking at her salad from the middle of the cheerleader table.

“Don’t start,” Miranda warned, pointing her finger at the jealous platinum blonde.

“Or you get another rock-socking,” Zita threatened, placing her tray on the table as she joined them.

"Maybe Kimmie likes getting dominated," Haley cracked, sitting beside her good friend. The two juniors immediately descended into a giggle fit while Miranda attempted to shush them.

“Why? Did something happen?” Maura inquired, clueless as she wasn’t one to gossip.

With a mouthful of food, Shayla gestured that she’d explain in a few seconds. However, Bridget continued to feel the eyes of everyone on her as they passed their lunch table.

“Seriously, I feel like an animal on exhibit at the zoo.”

“I don’t think they have rabbit displays at a zoo,” Zita joked, earning an approving nod from Haley.

“Bridget’s more like a tigress,” Sabrina suggested.

“Not bad. That beats explaining the whole going at like bunnies to kids on field trips, which might rile up some of those good-goody groups,” Haley remarked before pausing. “Hey, Gina, who’s that sophomore always tattling about PDA during passing time?”

“Uh, Hester?” Regina responded, unsure if she meant the busybody.

“Yeah, that’s one,” Haley agreed.

“Fuck that annoying little shit,” Tinsley declared, hopping onto the seat directly across from Bridget.

Cassandra followed by sitting down next to the petite co-captain. Despite bringing her brown bag lunch, the redhead usually accompanied her hyper co-BFF in line to ensure she behaved. Left to her own devices, the brunette was known to start arguments over the most trivial things. Picking up a french fry, Tinny immediately scrunched her face up.

“Dammit, I forgot to grab ketchup!”

“Cass rush you again?” Bridget asked, causing the ginger to shake her head at her.

“Yeah!” Tinny exclaimed, reaching over to dip her fry into the captain’s cup, but the blonde slapped her hand.

“No, bad girl!” Bridget scolded, causing several of the cheerleaders to laugh.

“I did not rush you. You’re the one who couldn’t wait to ask Bee about her speech,” Cassie pointed out.

“Whatever,” Tinny responded, scanning the table. “Hey, Sabrina, I need–”

“Oh, no! You’re not bossing my little cheersister around,” Bridget interrupted with a finger wag. “You have your own.”

“But Tanith has lunch next hour, and you know that!” Tinny replied while making eye contact with Regina.

“Not again,” the sophomore groaned.

“It’s not my fault that Rain gets eight Babybees to treat her like a queen during fifth hour,” Tinny defended herself.

“Rain would never boss around the girls, and you know that,” Cassie reminded, mimicking Tinny’s voice from a few moments ago. “You stay and eat your lunch, Regina.”

Although varsity co-captain outranked unofficial student manager, most of the Babybees had already learned in a couple of months to follow Cassie’s orders rather than Tinny’s outside of practices. A relieved Regina resumed eating her lunch.

“I knew I should’ve switched lunch hours,” Tinny complained, looking around the cafeteria. “It’s not fair that Rain, Frankie, and Kendra get waited on.”

“Cass is right. Rain would never order the girls around,” Bridget agreed. “And Frankie and Kendra are probably too busy bickering about boys to boss around the kids.”

“Exactly! Those Babybrats are probably getting away with ****!” Tinny argued. “This batch is odd enough. I mean, we have a Wednesday, Echo, and Orchid. Doesn’t anyone name their kids normal names these days?”

“Don’t forget Vesper,” Kimberly added.

“I like Vesper,” Haley responded.

“You do?” Zita questioned her friend.

“Oh, I meant the name, not the girl with the name,” Haley clarified.

“Be nice, girls,” Miranda ordered.

“Yes, Mommy Rachel!” Haley and Zita sang simultaneously.

“Tinsley,” the blonde den mother of the squad growled.

“What?” the brunette responded, the picture of innocence. Suddenly, she spotted a familiar face leaving the line. “Hey, you, uh, Lemon’s cousin. What’s your name again?”

“Jack,” Jack Hewitt provided, stunned to be stopped while walking past the cheerleader table.

“Right, right. Could you be a dear, Jack, and give me your cup of ketchup? I twisted my ankle yesterday and don’t think I can get up again until lunch is over,” Tinny said, wincing as she conjured up a fake sob story.

“Uh, sure. I can grab another one,” the astonished sophomore responded, handing over the cup.

“Ah, aren’t you such a kind, helpful young man. Thank–OWW!” the petite brunette yelled as a foot slammed down on her ankle. “What the fuck, Cass?”

“Language, Day!” a teacher shouted.

“Look at that. Hewitt is turning into cheer boy,” a nasal voice snickered. “Baking and playing errand boy. When do you get your pom-poms?”

“Get out of here, asshole!” Haley ordered, shaking her head. She shot Lemon’s cousin a sympathetic smile.

Several other male sophomores walking past the cheerleader table chuckled at the insult. However, a sheepish Jack quickly found an older ally as Thane Taulsen walked over to hand him more ketchup.

“You should learn a lesson from this kid, Malloy. Playing nice with the cheer squad has its benefits,” Thane revealed, moving over to kiss Miranda before joining his fellow baseball teammates at a table.

“Who’s the mouthy one?” Bridget asked, watching another sophomore issue Jack a hard shoulder bump after a gesture from the insulter.

“Preston Malloy,” Sabrina supplied.

“Oh, Preston!” Bridget called out, stopping him in his tracks. Then, once she had his attention, she cupped her ample breasts. “Who says that Jack hasn’t earned our pom-poms yet?”

A loud round of oohs and ahhs caused Jack to blush while Preston burned red with embarrassment.

“And that’s why people stare at you,” Cassie pointed out. “However, that was a nice thing to do for him.”

“What the hell? You didn’t have to stomp on my ankle,” Tinny complained, placing her foot on Cassie’s lap so that she could rub the sore body part.

“I have to make you an honest girl one way or another.”

“Good thing you didn’t claim you’d been stabbed,” Zita cracked. The table roared even louder as Cassandra grabbed a plastic fork and shook it menacingly at her co-best friend.

“Wait, so what happened?” Maura inquired again, bringing the conversation back to the original topic.

“Somebody had to play the prima donna,” Kimberly declared.

“So says the girl that wanted Cody Higby’s complete attention at Quillan’s party,” Miranda noted sternly.

“Word is that Bridget went crazy on Coy,” Zita relayed. “People heard her screams several rooms down the hallway.”

“What? No, they didn’t. We were next door,” Shayla reminded.

“Oh, yeah, we were. Maybe the sewing machines drowned her yells out,” Zita suggested. Receiving doubtful looks, she added, “I don’t know! I suffered a serious injury.”

“More like a paper cut,” Haley said dismissively. “Besides, I heard that Bridget jumped on the table to make her speech.”

“I did not!” the cheer captain protested.

“I heard that as well,” Cassie chimed in before clarifying. “Keegan was retelling his eyewitness account in Short Fiction, but Janet corrected him. From what she said, Bee politely asked Mrs. Klunkhemmer for permission before saying that she’d do the asking for a Homecoming date.”

“That’s about the gist of it,” Bridget confirmed.

“We heard you crushed Coy’s soul and left him in tears,” Sabrina reported, with Regina nodding.

“And I bet Frankie or Kendra heard something worse,” Cassie guessed. “These rumors grow so rapidly. I assume by the end of the day, people will claim you inflicted bodily harm on McCoy.”

“What? You didn’t kick Coy in the balls?” Tinny questioned, receiving a headshake. “Aww, that sucks! I loved the part where you clocked that jerk upside the head with a frying pan.”

“Who told you that?” Miranda challenged.

“Who knows?” Bridget responded. Then, she had another concern. “And you better not tell Brandy I did those things, Tin. We have guests over, and Mom won’t want to hear that version.”

“Geez, talk about ruining your chances with the hunk in the basement. But it’s your life,” the petite brunette stated before taking a bit of her hamburger.

“Hunk?” Zita repeated.

“In the basement? What are you hiding from us, Bee?” Shayla challenged, arching an eyebrow.

For the next five minutes, Bridget never got a word in. Instead, Tinny provided a whole report on Clark Hundley’s connection to Pepper Fallon, his longtime crush on Bee, and his buff new body. Cassie incessantly corrected her embellished and meandering tale. Most of the girls wanted to stop by Bridget’s house after school to witness this walking romance novel cover model, as Tinny called Clark. In particular, Kimberly’s interest piqued.

“You can wait!” Bridget shouted to calm down the cheerleaders. “I invited Clark to come around this week to see our float.”

“Better keep Annie away from him,” Zita suggested, earning a frown from Miranda.

“Do you think the chicken coop will last if she starts fucking him inside it,” Halley wondered, fighting to hold in her laughter.

“Don’t you start too,” Miranda warned.

“Wait, where is Slut Pierre?” Tinsley questioned, looking down the table.

Cassie and Miranda admonished her for the crass nickname.

“I saw her talking to Archie Zahn while on my way here,” Maura recalled.

“Why’s she talking to that geek?” Zita questioned.

“I can’t be sure, but I thought I heard him mentioning where and when the Sci-fi Club meets tomorrow,” Maura added.

“Huh, that’s weird. Annie asked Ira Elkin last hour about the Math Team,” Shayla recalled. “Actually, she was quite talkative in class. Kendra overheard her asking Ronnie Severson about his work hours tonight.”

“Why does she care when he works at the **** store?” Tinny asked.

“Ronnie often does the one-hour photo processing,” Cassie noted.

“Oh! I can’t believe I forgot. Sally asked me if we wanted to borrow her camera. I didn’t understand, but she mentioned that Annie was pestering Darrell Liddle about taking pictures,” Haley recalled.

“Why does Annie want pictures–”

“Ohmigawd!” Tinny exclaimed, cutting off Shayla. “Don’t you see, the bitch is putting together a queen campaign!”

“Holy shit! She wasn’t joking about running against Bridget,” Zita realized.

“Is she?” Kimberly asked, sounding excited.

“Don’t look at me. I don’t know anything,” Miranda insisted.

“Yeah, right,” Tinny shot back, not believing a word. “So, Annie is trying to win the geek and nerd vote. You better move quick, Bee.”

“Paula probably has those groups locked up. She’s actually nice every day,” Bridget pointed out.

“What does that mean?” Miranda challenged.

“It means that your bestie is a stuck-up bitch most days,” Tinny replied.

“Okay, let’s not get nasty,” Cassie said, throwing her arms out. “Still, you might want to consider some campaign ideas.”

“Yeah, you don’t want to be like Midge by expecting everyone to vote for you,” Shayla remarked.

The comment about the head Bumble Girl got Haley and Zita going. They pointed out how Midge failed miserably to pull off the aristocratic aloofness that always seemed to work for Sela. Regina mentioned how the two Bumble Babybees, Orchid Amming and Dulcie Golphin, couldn’t stand Midge’s condescending attitude.

“I doubt she’s going to be a threat,” the sophomore concluded.

“Gemma’s the biggest threat,” Tinny proclaimed. “And she needs to go down hard.”

Haley and Zita agreed, with the latter pounding the table to emphasize its importance. Shayla added that Bridget might need a little something to help her candidacy, but she also noted how the squad was busy with the float change and teaching the younger girls. Tinny grew more heated by questioning Miranda’s loyalty to Annie.

Eventually, as the voices rose, Bridget had to yell at them to shut up.

“Seriously. I’m not launching a big campaign. I already won Prom Queen last spring. I don’t need to win the Triple Crown. If Annie wins, great for her. My preference would be Paula if I don’t come in first. It would be cool for a winner who wasn’t one of us, a Sugarbee, or a Bumble Girl. When was the last time that happened?”

“Hmm, that’s a good question,” Cassie mused. “I’d say several years at least.”

“I know that look,” Tinny remarked, meaning the redhead’s expression. “We’ll all know by the end of the day.”

“Fine. If you don’t want to organize a campaign, it’s your call,” Shayla said. “However, you still need a date, no matter what.”

That sent the cheerleader table into another frenzy of suggestions and demands.

---

“I heard what you did today,” Pepper announced.

The mother cooked while her middle daughter puttered around, helping the best she could in the kitchen. Although Pepper often had to fix Bridget’s mistakes in the kitchen, she appreciated the effort. In her mind, she hoped her offspring would eventually pick up enough to avoid poisoning her own future family.

“Whoa! Whatever Mrs. Day or Brandy told you isn’t true. I didn’t jump on the table, scream threats at the top of my lungs, kick Coy in the balls, threaten to cut them off, vow to cut out Connie’s heart, screw all his friends, or hit him in the head with a frying pan,” Bridget rattled off all things she’d heard over the course of the day.

Pepper paused while checking on the chicken inside the oven. With a quizzical expression, she asked the needed question.

“What did you do?”

“What did you hear?” Bridget countered, not willing to give her mother any ammunition.

“Just that you told several boys not to bother asking you to Homecoming. Instead, you’d do the asking,” Pepper recounted.

“Oh, okay. That’s actually what happened. I swear!” Bridger insisted after noticing her mom’s expression. “Those other things are what the rumor mill embellished.”

“Let me guess,” Pepper began after a sigh. “Tinsley concocted the frying pan hit.”

“I think so. It sounds like her imagination,” Bridget agreed.

Nodding, Pepper announced that the chicken was ready. She directed Bridget to lower the oven’s temperature for the rolls. Then, she called for Brandy to come to the kitchen. While they waited, Bridget started scooping corn and mashed potatoes into large serving bowls.

“I didn’t do anything,” Brandy insisted, entering the kitchen.

“I didn’t accuse you of doing anything,” Pepper pointed out.

“Yet,” the older sister mumbled under her breath while their mother instructed Brandy to warm up several items in the microwave.

“I have to serve these people, too?” Brandy exclaimed. “What the hell–I mean, what the heck? First, I have to watch my language. Then, I need to act like a proper little lady. And now, I have to wait on them. You invited them here. So, why am I the one who’s having their style cramped?”

“Your style will be grounded if you keep embarrassing your father and me,” Pepper warned as Bridget stifled a laugh over her kid sister’s rant.

“Dad’s not embarrassed. Only you get offended,” Brandy muttered, slamming the microwave door shut. Ignoring her mom’s warning to be careful, she raised her voice. “You know, attempting to brainwash and control me can cause serious developmental issues. Do you want that? Maybe we should jump straight to the lobotomy.”

“I’d like it if you stopped copying how Wrenn argues with her parents,” Pepper replied.

Brandy’s offended gasp didn’t help her argument.

When their mother wasn’t looking, Bridget nodded at her sister. She’d clearly repeated one of Wrenn’s arguments.

“Now, I applaud you for taking control of your destiny–I’m talking about your sister,” Pepper informed Brandy after the grade-schooler threw out her arms. “However, Homecoming is fast approaching. You probably should decide on your date soon.”

“I know. I’ll decide by tomorrow,” Bridget acknowledged as Etta Hundley entered the kitchen.

“Did I hear right? You don’t have a date yet?” Pepper’s childhood inquired with a shocked expression.

While finishing the remaining touches of dinner, Pepper explained Bridget’s circumstances. Etta clucked her tongue sympathetically as she heard about the Coy situation. The conversation carried on as everyone sat down at the dining room table. Eventually, Bridget had enough and repeated what she’d told her friends at lunch.

“Wait, you already had your prom and was voted queen?” Clark questioned in confusion.

“Sweetie, you know about junior prom around here. Honey Hollow High voting is juniors for Prom Queen, seniors for Homecoming, and Snowflake Ball. You’ve heard about this many times,” Etta reminded her son.

“I guess you’re right. It just seems weird.”

“Your school is the weird one,” Brandy shot back.

“It might not be the standard for most parts of the country, but it’s the norm around this area,” Bridget admitted, but her little sister wasn’t finished defending their traditions.

“Our way is the best. Yours sucks.”

Pepper growled her youngest daughter’s name, but Etta found her defense amusing.

“Are you planning to be Prom Queen someday?”

“Nah, the school would never allow it. I’m already on too many lists,” Brandy stated cryptically.

“No, you’re not, Dee,” Seamus chimed in.

“I wouldn’t be so sure, Dad,” Bridget remarked, earning an approving nod from the youngster.

“Now, I have a wonderful idea!” Etta exclaimed suddenly. Both Pepper and Brandy frowned at her fake enthusiasm. “Clark, you wouldn’t believe this, but Bridget’s struggling to find a date for Homecoming.”

“What? Seriously?” Clark responded, pausing a forkful of food outside his mouth.

Pepper’s frown deepened as she realized where her old friend was headed. Brandy caught the expression, leading her to jump in.

“Bee’s not struggling to find a date. She’s got so many offers she can’t decide which hottie to take.”

“She does?” Etta responded, looking over at Pepper.

“Oh, yeah! Coy is a dumbass–well, he is, Mom. Rick Trask is sniffing around, but he’s a wannabe player and not a very good one. I bet Hoyt Magruder would love to whisk Bee to a hotel room afterparty, since she’s got the kind of body he loves. I still think my sister should steal Grant Harlow away from Didi. It screws over Tinny’s rival and is a great mind..uh, mindgame to his twin sister Gemma. She’s the Sugarbee captain and Bee’s hated rival, you know,” Brandy informed Mrs. Hundley.

“Oh, I think your mother has mentioned her.”

“Yeah, but my money for the seniors is on Brett Strongarm. He’s a real stud who knows how to treat a woman like a lady,” Brandy praised. She caught Bridget’s confused expression as she’d never heard of anyone with that name. With a wink, the eight-year-old carried on. “Besides that, Bee could have her pick of any junior. However, if she wants to play the mystery guy card, she can take River. He already offered.”

“River Sandberry asked you?” Pepper inquired.

“Yes. He made the offer yesterday after Sela told him about Coy,” Bridget revealed.

“All the girls went gaga over him at the farm. Annette made a move, but Bee blocked it. Even Kimberly got mouthy and out of line, but I put her in her place,” Brandy declared, causing Pepper to look at her other daughter.

“Kimmie’s going with an old friend. Brandy’s just embellishing what happened.”

“No, I’m not. I told you what I did to that bit–”

“Bridget, I’m sure Clark would love to experience a Honey Hollow Prom if you needed an arm for the night,” Etta offered.

“I would? Oh, yeah, sure. That’s if you had any more drama and needed a replacement,” Clark said after his mother kicked him under the table.

“Oh, um, thanks. I’ll keep that in mind,” Bridget responded, knowing her mother and sister weren’t happy with the offer.

Dinner continued awkwardly for some time. However, Seamus picked up on the tension, leading him to lessen it with a few stories about past cases that he could share. Etta and Clark found Brandy’s occasionally acting out aspects of the case amusing. Usually, Pepper didn’t care for the reenactments, but she seemed preoccupied by her friend attempting to play matchmaker. Eventually, as dinner wound down, Etta suggested Bridget join Clark in the basement to watch a movie. She hastily added that they’d likely be bored as she wanted to go through some old photo albums.

“Sure. See if anything we have interests you. I have a little homework to do, but it shouldn’t take more than forty-five minutes tops,” Bridget said.

Going up to her room, Bridget almost expected her mom to follow. Yet, Pepper didn’t, and after almost an hour, she finished her homework simultaneously with the phone ringing.

Quickly changing into some more comfortable clothes, Bridget headed down to the first floor. Her parents and Mrs. Hundley were looking through old photo albums in the living room. Not wanting to disturb them, she moved toward the kitchen.

“I know. Being a captain can be tough. However, I’ve observed and listened over the years,” Brandy said, talking on the phone. Assuming she talked to Fawn, the older sister grabbed a soda from the refrigerator. “Yep, I took a little from each captain and co-captain. That allowed me to deal with a few malcontents this weekend. No, I didn’t use one of your techniques. What? Why not? Tinny is a co-captain!”

Suddenly, Bridget perked up as she realized that her sister might not be on the phone with Fawn.

“Not on your life. You’re too nice a captain. I’d probably say Shelly, but I only heard stories about her captaincy.”

“Who are you talking to?” Bridget questioned.

“It’s cheer captain business,” Brandy responded, turning her back to her sister.

That didn’t stop Bridget, who yanked the phone away from Brandy.

“Hello?”

“It’s about time. Are you really letting Brandy run wild with advice from Tinsley?” Rachel questioned.

“Don’t start because you won’t want to know what happened this weekend,” Bridget replied, pushing her sister out of the kitchen. “I wish you’d been able to come down. We could’ve used you.”

“That’s what you get for changing the theme so late,” Rachel scolded.

“I thought you’d love the new theme and using the younger girls.”

“I do,” last year’s cheer captain said before covering the phone as she argued with another person in the room. “I’ll get to it!”

Bridget rolled her eyes while smiling as she assumed correctly that the other person was Gabriela.

“Look, I can’t wait to see the younger girls and your setup. We can get to that in a few minutes, but first, you have a problem,” Rachel declared.

“Fucking bitch!” Gabby screamed in the background.

“Yeah, yeah, I know. It sounds like Annie’s launching a full campaign. It’s okay, Rach. I’m cool with her trying,” Bridget reassured.

“Oh, we’ll get to Annette’s queen play in a couple of minutes–”

“Traitor!”

“Gabs, I can’t get to the news if you keep interrupting. Knock it off,” Rachel ordered her best friend. “Okay, like I said, you have a big problem. It turns out that Sela wasn’t the only local visiting home last weekend. Freddy Singer stopped at Shanty Point on Saturday night with a girl he wanted to show around.”

Bridget cringed as she had an idea about what he might have seen or heard.

“Slut!”

“I warned you, Gabs. Behave, or you’re sleeping out in the lounge again,” Rachel reminded sternly. Then, softening her voice, she returned to the phone. “Do you know who he saw Annette with?”