Broken Promises

Misfits

*25 Years Ago*

"Hey, gorgeous. Wanna shack up later?"

"Shove it up your ass, Hank." The teen mumbled under her breath.

"What was that, hoe?" The tall, blonde senior boy moved in closer to the freshman girl, cornering her between the wall and her locker in the hallway of Southside High. "Penny, you better watch the way you talk to us upperclassmen." He leaned his chest up against hers as she longed to get away.

"Show her who runs this school, Hank." Butch, another senior demanded from Hank's group of friends watching nearby.

Hank looked back at his friends, winking at them before making sure no teachers were around. "You sure you don't wanna meet up later?" He tried seducing her, rubbing her cheek with the back of his hand. "We all know what you did with Tony." Fourteen year old Penny Peabody opened her mouth to say something, but Hank grabbed her face in his hand, keeping her mouth shut. "And I don't wanna hear another lie about how he raped you." He let out an eerie laugh. "We've all known since you moved here that you're a little slut. And you probably liked it." He moved in to steal a kiss from her, but he was interrupted by someone putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Hank Spencer. What the fuck do you think you're doing to the poor new girl?"

Hank rolled his eyes as he turned to look at the disrupter. "Alice Smith...what's it to ya?"

"I think you owe her an apology." Alice demanded with her arms folded over her chest.

"Doesn't mean she's gonna get one." He moved in closer to Alice. "Maybe you just want the same treatment."

"Oh? I do?" Alice smiled and nodded with a laugh just before kneeing him right between the legs. "Get to class, jackass." She turned and saw his group of friends staring at her in shock. "What?" She asked them. "Do YOU want the same treatment?" Before she could say another word, all the senior boys ran in different directions toward their next class while Hank stood, hunched over, still in pain. The sophomore girl moved in closer to him, bending over to make threats in his ear. "If I see you bothering her one more time....you're gonna get a lot worse than what I just gave you. And trust me....it won't be the type of pain that you like." She stood straight up again and watched him limp down the hall toward the nurse's office for an ice pack.

"Why did you do that?" Penny quietly asked from her position against the wall. She tugged at the sleeves of her shirt, holding them in her tight fists with timidity. She let out a pained chuckle. "You know what everyone says about me."

"Yes. But I don't care about them. Even if the rumors are true or they're not...no one deserves to be treated like that." Alice watched her bite her nails, still never moving. "Are you okay?" Without even a nod or a smile, Penny averted her eyes from Alice and looked down at the floor beneath her. "I don't know why I asked that." Fifteen year old Alice continued. "Of course you're not." She took ahold of Penny's hand and pulled her out of the corner. "Hey...some friends and I are sneaking out of school early. Wanna come with us?"

Afraid it was all some trick so more kids could bully her, Penny was reluctant to respond. "I...I don't know." She shook her head. "Thank you for saving me just now, but I don't need a pity party or people pretending to be my friends."

"Good thing that's not what this is." Young Alice smiled, pulling Penny down the hall with her toward one of the school's back doors where they were greeted by five of Alice's other friends.

They all ran away from Southside High, sneaking off in the hopes that no teacher would spot them in the parking lot. Making their way across town, they found themselves walking along the train tracks. Alice and her friend, Naomi, tried to walk on the tracks like a balance beam while the guys, Beau, Tall Boy, FP and Gash, spoke about football and wishing their school had enough money for a team. Penny tagged along behind, keeping to herself as she silently laughed at jokes they all made.