The Denizens of the Pit

When Caleb arrived in the Pit he was surprised to find Kathy wasn’t there yet. Her third period class was closer than anyone else’s so she was almost always one of the first to arrive. He sat with Zack at their usual table and talked about what to do about the deal with the cheerleaders while they waited. Angie, Gabbie, and Chris showed up over the next few minutes but there was still no sign of Kathy.

Caleb looked up from his lunch when Angie perked up and said, “Oh, there she is.”

Kathy did the usual greet and grope with the ladies. She gave Caleb a bigger kiss and said the conversation she wanted to have would have to wait. She had something more important to take care of right now. She then climbed up on the table and loudly said, “Can I have everyone’s attention please? And Zack, No looking up my dress.”

"Hey, I would never!" Zack exclaimed.

She waited for conversations to end and continued, “I would like to invite Heather into the Pit as a guest."

This caused an immediate grumble from the Denizens. One in particular, a freckle faced boy named Jeremy, loudly shouted, "You have got to be kidding us. Why the hell would you wanna do that?"

She spoke over the grumblers and explained, "Some of you may not know, but she is being bullied by the cheerleaders. She left the cheerleading team and now she is being treated like crap by them."

Again Jeremy called out, "Yeah well, she fucking deserves it!"

"Jeremy, the Denizens of the Pit have always welcomed anyone that was being bullied. Heather's entire life has been torn apart. I’m asking all of you, as your friend, please allow her to find a safe place here."

Michelle, a petite brunette with very thick glasses, called out, “So you want us to forgive her for everything she has done? She stole my freaking phone and threw it in a piss filled toilet!”

"I didn’t say to forgive her. I haven’t forgiven her myself. All I’m asking is that you let her come here and sit with us in peace. We are the odd balls of the school, the 'uncool' yet we have always stuck together and protected one another from the bullies."

“You want us to protect that bitch? I heard she made up the whole story about her ****.” Jeremy called out. Several Denizens had also heard the rumor and agreed with Jeremy.

Before Kathy could respond Chris stood up. She glared at Jeremy and said, “Shut up and let her finish.”

Jeremy was gobsmacked. He looked at Chris like she had two heads. "What the hell? You're actually going along with this? You hate Heather more than anyone."

Chris said, "You're right, I do. But Kathy has more reason than I do to hate her, and she is willing to let her come here. None of you have more reason than Kathy. If she's is willing to set aside her anger and give Heather a place among us where she is safe from bullying, and the whispers that follow her everywhere, then I will too."

Kathy spent a few second looking around the group and said, “The rumor you heard is a lie. Brock really did attack and **** Heather. We don’t know who started the rumor, but it’s total crap. We’ve heard what is in the police report. The Marshals that protect Caleb confirmed her story matches the evidence.”

“Kesha is the one behind the rumors!”

All eyes turned to look at the entrance to the Pit to see who it was that had shouted. Megan and Alice stood there.

“Hey, no fucking cheerleaders allowed!” hollered Michelle.

Megan stepped forward and smiled, “I guess it’s a good thing we aren’t cheerleaders anymore then.”

Chris stomped to Megan and Alice and growled, “You really quit the cheerleading team? Why?”

Alice held up a slip of paper, showing it to Chris as she explained, “Here’s the proof.”

In Alice's hand was a copy of a letter to Mrs. Morten, the teacher in charge of the cheerleading team, showing they had turned in their uniforms and would no longer participate in team activities. It had both theirs and Mrs. Morten's signature.

Megan said, "We quit because Kesha is way worse than Heather. She convinced the squad to turn on Heather to snag the captain's spot. She told us all kinds of lies about Heather and encouraged us to spread them around, just like they did to Kathy. Only we didn't know they were lies. Not till Caleb told us the truth in Mrs. Lee's class."

Chris turned back to the group and announced, "It's legit. They really did quit the team."

Alice held her hands in front of herself and half whined, half begged, "But now that we quit we have nowhere else to go. Kesha will want to punish us for leaving. We were hoping we could join you guys at lunch to prove we really aren't like the others."

“What the hell? Are we just gonna let anyone in here now?” Jeremy shouted.

“Oh stuff it Jeremy. Alice isn't a bully. I've tutored her in math and she actually pays what she say's she will.” Everyone turned to see who spoke. It was Carl, one of the AV club members that was obsessed with chess. It was an open secret that the cheerleaders often paid for tutoring with sex, and Alice had paid Carl in enthusiastic blowjobs. She even took his virginity after she got an A last quarter.

Martin spoke up and said, "Yeah, and Megan is nothing like Kesha. Kesha is degrading and condescending even when you give her what she wants." He didn't say that Kesha wanted to get ass fucked a lot. The only reason Martin did her homework was because he was afraid of her. He really didn't like the sex, and she was terrible at blowjobs. He'd only had sex with Megan once, after helping her study for a history test, but in his opinion it was a thousand times better than sex with Kesha.

Chris looked around and asked, "Does anyone have a legitimate gripe against these two?"

Michelle answered, "Well, they laughed at me after Christie and Wanda took my panties and ran them up the school's flagpole."

Angie offered, "To be fair, they weren't actually laughing at you. They weren't there for the first part. Megan and Alice only got there after they had finished. And there were a lot of people laughing. At the time, I don't think anyone but me and Gabbie knew they were yours or how they got them. It wasn't until after the janitor took them down that word got out."

Kathy got their attention and said, "Ok, we've gotten off topic. Show of hands, how many people will let Megan and Alice come to the Pit and watch out for them around school?"

Nearly all the Denizens voted to let them in. Jeremy was the only guy that voted no, along with three of the girls.

"Ok. That's settled. Now what about Heather?" She looked around and less than half raised their hand.

Kathy begged, "Come on guys. I know some of you hate her, but I'm not asking you to like her, or forgive her. All I'm asking is for her to have a place she can feel safe. A place where no one will treat her like shit. Is that too much to ask? She was **** for fucks sake. She's miserable. More miserable than she ever made any of you. She made my life hell and I'm willing to give her that. We are supposed to be better than the bullies. This is our chance to show we really are." As she spoke, slowly, a few hands at a time, the rest of the Denizens raised their hands.

Jeremy wasn't done though. He hollered, "Don't any of you remember how her boyfriend tried to fucking kill me my sophomore year?" He was referring to the time Brock stole his inhaler the same day he had a massive asthma attack. He had to be taken to the hospital in an ambulance.

Chris flexed her arms and retorted, "Do you even hear yourself? You don't want Heather around because her fucking **** nearly killed you! Is that really the argument you're making?"

"Fuck!" he exclaimed, and raised his hand.

Kathy looked around and saw the vote was unanimous. She held out her hand to Caleb and he helped her down off the table. "I'll be right back," she said as she ran out of the Pit.

All conversation died when she returned. The Denizens simply stared as Kathy and Coach Katie led a bruised and broken Heather into the Pit. Most of them hadn't gotten a good close look at her since she returned to school. Her black eye, bruised neck, and broken arm made her look far worse than any of them had assumed.

Kathy said, “Hey guys.” Turning to Heather, she said, “Sit right here Heather.”

There was more than one gasp when Heather sat. The seat Kathy offered her was between Chris and Caleb. That was Kathy seat. Whenever she sat with Caleb and Chris’s group she always sat between those two, even before she became their girlfriend.

"Ok, so here's the thing..." For the rest of the lunch period they talked. Kathy and Katie told them what had happened that morning. Everyone but Heather already knew Kesha wanted Caleb to be the cheerleaders personal cum dispenser. Then Kathy outlined her plan to put Kesha in her place and rub her nose in the fact she would never have Caleb. She even modified it now that Megan and Alice were no longer on the team.

Somewhere in all the talking Zack asked Megan out on a date.