The Criminal's Wallflower

Chapter 4

Bender and Clarke are just standing there glaring at each other when my brother walks over to them, "Hey fellas, I mean..." Andrew pushes him away and walks somewhere else, "I don't like my parents either, I don't...I don't get along with them...their idea of parental compassion is just, you know, wacko!" Bender turns and looks at my brother, "Dork, you are a parent's wet dream, okay?" When Bender starts to walk away Brain mutters, "Well that's the problem!" Bender turns back to him and tells him, "Look, I can see you getting all bunged up for them making you wear these kinds of clothes. But face it; you're a Neo-Maxi-Zoom-Dweebie! What would you be doing if you weren't out making yourself a better citizen?" I really didn't appreciate what he said about Brian but most of it was true, and for some odd reason I didn't want to get on Bender's bad side. Just then Clarke came back over and snapped at Bender, "Why do you have to insult everybody?!" Bender looked at him and said, "That's not true, I haven't insulted Wallflower," he cast a wink in my direction "Yet..." Andrew scoffed and Bender turned back to face him with a glare. "And second, I'm being honest asshole. I would expect you to know the difference." Bender finished quietly Clarke looks stumped for a minute before he tells him, "Yeah well, he's gotta name!" "Oh yeah?" Bender asked Clarke, smirking "Yeah, Clarke looks over at Brian, "What's your name." I scoffed at that and Bender, who had heard me, smirked at me. Brian looked up and told him, "Brian." Bender just looked at him and told said, "My condolences." "Well, what's your name?" Princess asked Bender. Bender looked at her, "What's yours?" "Claire." She told him with a smug smile "Ka-Laire?" He asked in revulsion, the look on his face made me give off a little giggle Claire frowned at him in confusion. "Claire, it's a family name." "Noooooo, it's a fat girl's name him." He told her "Well thank you." "You're welcome." He said with a smile "I'm not fat." Claire denied "Well not at present but I could see you really pushing maximum density! You see, I'm not sure if you know this...but there are two kinds of fat people. There are fat people that were born to be fat, and then there's fat people that were once thin but they became fat...so when you look at them you can sorta see that thin person inside! You see, you're gonna get married, you're gonna squeeze out a few puppies and then, uh..." He mimes becoming fat, making noises. Claire frowns and gives him the finger. "Oh, obscene finger gestures from such a pristine girl!" Bender exclaims "Princess growls angrily at him. "I'm not that pristine." Bender bends down closer to Claire, "Are you a virgin?" a beat, "I'll bet you a million dollars that you are! Let's end the suspense! Is it gonna be..." another beat, "a white wedding?" Claire looks at him and says, "Why don't you just leave me alone; go bother her and leave me alone." She points over at me. Bender turns his attention towards me, Hm, you're right cherry. So sweet cheeks, what's your name?" He asked me I keep eye contact with him and wait a beat before answering him. "Nevena..." My answer causes everyone except Brian to take a pause and just stare at me in shock Bender is the first to snap out of it, "Nevena, really? You got Nevena and he got stuck with Brian? How'd that happen?" "Our mother picked out his name, and our father picked out mine." I told them "Does it have a meaning?" Claire asked her intrigued at the unusual name. I paused turning to look at her, "Yes, it means Marigold in Bulgarian." "Hm, Well Nevena, Are you a Virgin?" He waits a second before continuing, "Have you kissed a boy on the mouth?" a beat, "Have you ever been felt up? Over the bra, under the blouse, shoes off...hoping to God your parents don't walk in?" By the end of Bender's speech my face is beat red. "Do you want us to puke?" Claire buts in, her words earning John's attention once again."Over the panties, no bra, blouse unbuttoned, Calvin's in a ball on the front seat past eleven on a school night?" He finishes with a smirk on his face taking in both mine and Claire reactions Andrew gets up and starts to walk over. "Leave them alone." Bender slowly stands and faces Andrew, "I said leave them alone." "You gonna make me?" Bender asks him "Yeah" Andrew tells him Bender walks over to where Andrew is standing. "You and how many of your friends?" "Just me, just you and me. Two hits. Me hitting you, and you hitting the floor! Anytime you're ready, pal!" Andrew yells at him Bender goes to tap him cheek but Andrew gets Bender down on the ground with a wrestling move. "I don't wanna get into to this with you man." Comes Bender's muffled answer Andrew gets up, "Why not?" "'Cause I'd kill you...It's real simple. I'd kill you and your fucking parents would sue me and it would be a big mess and I don't care enough about you to bother." Bender tells him with a shrug coming to stand back up. "Chicken crap." Andrew grumbles out as he turns his back to walk over to his seat, when Bender pulls out a switchblade and opens it. After everyone stares at it for a few seconds, Bender stabs it into a chair right beside where I was standing and where Allison was sitting. I see Allison reach out for the blade but I'm faster and get to it before her pulling it out of the chair, closing it and sliding it into my pocket, causing Allison to pout. I just smirk at her. After Andrew regains his composure and yells at Bender. "Let's end this right now. You don't talk to them...you don't look at them and you don't even think about them! You understand me?" Bender just sighs and gives a shrug, "I'm trying to help them."

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Everyone had gone off to sit down after Bender and Andrew's little showdown.

Everyone was still in their 'assigned' seating except me and Bender; He had dragged me up to the front desk with him and was currently holding my hand and playing with my fingers. We had all been sitting in silence for a good thirty minutes when Carl the school janitor walked in. He went into the librarian's office and emptied the trash can. That's when he noticed us. Carl smiled and said, "Brian, Nina, how you doing?" I smiled back at him and was about to reply when Bender asked sarcastically, "Ya'lls dad work here?" I knew Brian was probably embarrassed. I just elbowed Bender, getting him to let go of my hand so I could get up. I walked over to Carl and have him a hug, which he happily returned. "Hey Uncle Carl, how's Betty, and Trey?" "They're doing well, you still free to watch Trey for us tomorrow night?" Carl asked me as I was walking back over to my seat. "Mhm" I nodded my head with a smile "Uh, Carl?" Bender interrupts, getting over his shock at hearing me speak for so long. Uncle Carl rolls his eyes and turns to look at Bender, "What?" Bender grabs my hand and begins playing with it again, "Can I ask you a question?" "Sure..." Uncle Carl says watching Bender cautiously Bender asks him, "How does one become a janitor?" I was confused as to why he wanted to know. Instead of getting offended, Uncle Carl just smirked at him, "You wanna become a janitor?" Bender gives of a soft chuckle, too soft for anyone else to hear, "No, i just want to know how one becomes a janitor, because Andrew here is very interested in perusing a career in the custodial arts." Bender is smirking at Andrew, and I relies this is probably payback for Andrew tackling him earlier. Uncle Carl replies with a smile, "Oh, really? You guys think I'm just some untouchable peasant? Surf? Peon, Huh? Maybe so, but following a broom around after stupidheads like you for the past eight years I've learned a couple of things...I look through your letters, I look through your lockers..." Bender gives a worried look at this. "I listen to your conversations, you don't know that but I do...I am the eyes and ears of this institution my friends." Uncle Carl goes to walk a way when he looks up a the large clock hanging on the wall, he looks down at his own then back up and tells us, "By the way, that clock's twenty minutes fast!" everyone else groan at that news, wile Bender and I just smile as Uncle Carl walked out.