Beverly Hills: Season 1

Season 1, Episode 5: The Truth Sets Me Free

~~~(Stay by Jesse Thomas)~~~
   Instead of going to school, Brooklyn is curled up in a ball as she lays under the covers of her four poster bed, wishing she could be tired for eternity so all she would have to do is sleep. She doesn't want to get up, check her phone, or even eat. She decided to skip school today in order to not see Jonah or Cambridge both. How can she after she admitted to using Jonah to make Cambridge jealous the night of homecoming? That's so humiliating. Cambridge probably thinks of her as a fool and Jonah sees her as a joke. There's no way she's going to school to face either of them.
   Brooklyn swings her legs over the edge of her bed before getting to her feet, stumbling into the bathroom and seeing black stars as she goes. She braces herself against the sink in her bathroom, staring at herself in the mirror. Her long purple hair dye is fading and the strap to her blue bra is slung down her shoulder while her red short shorts are pulled up over her belly button. Wow. She's never seen herself look so bad... ever. Brooklyn opens the medicine cabinet, eager to find those anti depressant pills her mom's ex-boyfriend used to have prescribed to him. Maybe they'll make her feel a little happier. Brooklyn pops open the bottle, dropping a few white pills into her palm before tossing them back into her mouth.

   Harrow sits in the window seat of her bedroom, resting her head against the glass and watching the rain outside. She hasn't left her room a whole lot for the last few days. When she sees her dad leave the house, that's her cue to get dinner and use the restroom. It's like being in jail. She hates her dad for doing what she did to Israel. He didn't deserve to get treated like that.
   "Hey, you better get ready." Kai opens the door to her bedroom. "We're going to be late."
   "I'm not going." Harrow doesn't look at her brother.
   "What's wrong with you?" Kai crosses the room to his sister. "You look all gloomy."
   "I'm sick." Harrow lies. "Go without me."
   "Feel better." Kai doesn't spend too much time asking questions before leaving the room and gently closing the door behind as he goes.
~~~(END SONG)~~~

   Case gets to school that same morning with his books being held to his chest. His smile from last week is no longer on his face, considering things with Eric didn't work out. He doesn't really blame Eric for not waiting around anymore because Case is annoying himself at this point. The only opinions he should care about is Israel's and his. Who cares what everyone in this school thinks? Who cares what his brother thinks?
   "How's the fake girlfriend?" Israel comes up to Case, trying to sound like he's in a chipper mood but Case reads the sadness on his face.
   "Still fake, I guess." Case shrugs as he looks closer at Israel. "How's everything on your end?"
   "Not that great." Israel admits. He glances around the hallway then back to Case. "I'm dating Harrow Evans, kind of."
   Case's eyebrows shoot up to his hairline. "You're kidding."
   Israel shakes his head. "But her dad knows and he's not letting us be together or whatever."
   "Forbidden love at it's finest." Case speaks his mind before thinking about his own drama. Whose situation is worse?
   "Now she's not even coming to school." Israel says, looking down at his phone screen. "I'm going to try calling her."
   "Good luck." Case sighs, feeling bad. He knows the difficulties of having a secret relationship and knows the stress of wishing for things to be more simple. He faces his locker and turns the combo to the door before popping it open. Case's eyebrows pull together when he sees a folded piece of lined paper fall to the floor of the hallway. He picks it up, opening the paper to read the words scribbled in black ink: Drowning in your own confused sexuality? Don't worry, Eric will save you.

   Rhyannon uses the library computer at the school to look up his grades online. He knows that blackmailing a teacher can get him in loads of trouble but so can screwing a student. Kai and Mr. Gilmore can't get away with what they're doing. It's not fair so why not use this to his advantage and try to bump up his grade a bit? Rhyannon squints at the computer screen as he scans his letter grades. Rhyannon clenches his jaw when he realizes his grade is still an F. Rhyannon growls, signing out and getting to his feet.
   "Do you have short term memory loss or something?" Rhyannon marches into Mr. Gilmore's classroom. The room is empty but the teacher is writing the day's lesson on the board with a thin piece of chalk.
   "I'm not talking about this." Mr. Gilmore glances at him over his shoulder.
   "Yes you are." Rhyannon declares, coming down the aisle of desks towards the front of the room. "I'm still at an F."
   "I'm aware." Mr. Gilmore dusts off his hands and faces him. "You're dealing with a very serious situation."
   "I'm aware." Rhyannon echoes. "But so are you. Sleeping with a student won't look too good on a record."
   "Just because you feel like you have some sort of power, doesn't make me want to cheat your grade." Mr. Gilmore walks over to his desk.
   "You might want to think about that again." Rhyannon follows close behind him. "I am in power, remember? I know that you and Kai are doing stuff together. I know about that night on the beach and I know that you guys know what you're doing is wrong."
   "Rhyannon, you're accusing me of a lot." Mr. Gilmore sits in his chair. "Kai and I aren't in any sort of relationship except a teacher student one."
   "That's not what his story says." Rhyannon flares his nostrils, growing more and more annoyed at this conversation. Why can't this dude just take the easy route and boost his grade? It would save him a lot of fighting.
   "I'm sure it's only a crush." Mr. Gilmore picks up his pen and smooths out the opened page of his planner. "I'll see you in class."
   "You're an idiot." Rhyannon hisses before marching out of the classroom, prepared to raise hell.