Picture Perfect - 3/4
Chapter Three
Shannon can hear the screaming and yelling as she approaches her room, and she sighs. Apparently, West is over again - yippee. She doesn’t understand why her new sister still puts up with his crap. The screaming stops for a second and she puts her ear against the door. She hears a faint thud, and then Claire yelps. There are a few loud thuds, and Shannon hears Claire begging him to stop. While Shannon can’t be sure what’s going on in the room, she’s not going in there to confirm her suspicions. A few seconds later, she hears glass breaking and Claire sobbing, and Shannon knows what she has to do.
She turns around and heads down the hallway towards the stairs. Pulling out her cell phone, she presses one of the speed dial buttons and calls Tiffany.
“Hey, Tif. It’s Shannon. Any chance you can call a special executive board meeting of the sorority? We’ve got something big to discuss.”
“Um… I’ll have to call the president, but I don’t think it’ll be a problem. Is five ok with you? We can grab some supper and have a working meeting. By the way, what’s wrong?”
“I think the boyfriend situation has reached critical mass. We need to take care of this.”
- - - - - - - - - -
Shelby bangs the plastic gavel on the booth table. “As President, I now call this emergency meeting to order. Ooooh, someone throw me a ketchup pack, I didn’t get any for my fries.” She catches the pack Tiffany throws at her. “Thanks, babe. Ok, back to business. Shannon, I believe you have something you need to say?” She catches Shannon unaware in mid-gulp of her milkshake.
She quickly swallows the strawberry goodness, and then addresses the executive board. “We’ve got a code red boyfriend situation with Claire.”
The other girls look at each other, and then back at Shannon. Shelby asks for clarification. “Did you say code red? I thought this was more of a code mauve situation - he’s a dick and he needs to go, but he’s not dangerous.”
“Ok, it might not be code red - I think it is but I may be wrong. It’s at least a code magenta. I overheard them arguing today. I’m fairly certain he hit her. I know for sure that something glass broke during that little discussion and she was sobbing. It broke my heart listening to her. We’ve got to do something.”
The girls start muttering, and they’re out for blood. “Well, we can’t have this!” Shelby declares. “I’d like to propose we start a ‘West has got to go’ campaign. Seconded?”
Shannon and Tiffany both call out “second” at the same time.
“Thank you, girls. Ok, all in favor raise your hand and say ‘aye’.”
Everyone raises their hands, and in some cases their french fries, and there’s a unanimous chorus of “aye!”
“Ok, fabulous! We all agree that he’s going to be history. Now, I’ve got a plan - here’s how I think we ought to do this…”
- - - - - - - - - -
Shannon almost dreads returning to her room. She hopes that West isn’t still there. She can’t hear anyone arguing, so she tentatively pushes the door open. Claire’s lying on the bed, sobbing, and West is nowhere to be seen.
She drops her purse, and sits on the bed beside her roommate. “Claire?”
“Go away.”
Shannon reaches out and slowly strokes Claire’s hair, like her mom used to do for her when she was upset. She pulls her hand away like she’s been burned when Claire flinches away from her, like a hurt dog would from an abusive master. She wonders about West again, but doesn’t want to know for sure. “You know I’m not going to do that. You’re my sister, and it looks like you’re hurting, and I hate to see that. Tell me what’s wrong.”
“West.”
Shannon wants to laugh, but doesn’t. “Now, I already knew that. Why don’t you tell me what’s really wrong?”
Claire’s stopped crying, and is making strange little hiccupping gasps as she tries to get her breathing under control again. “How’d you know?”
“Claire, it’s always West. What did he do now?”
“Don’t want to talk about it.” Claire turns slightly, and Shannon can still see tears glistening on her face.
“Ok, then. How about we order some pizza and have a girl’s night in? You can help me with my hair, and I’ll give you a manicure, and we’ll giggle about how cute Orlando Bloom is. Sounds good?”
Claire sniffles, and nods.
“Great. Plain cheese on your half, right?” Shannon grabs the phone and calls the local pizza place. She just ate a McDonald’s combo during the meeting, but she’s sure that she’ll be hungry again by the time the pizza gets there. She just hopes she can get Claire to open up to her.
They’re halfway through Pirates of the Caribbean 2 when Claire admits that West had cheated on her. Shannon chokes on her piece of pineapple pizza. “He did what?” She sputters once she gets her breath back.
“We argued a few weeks back, about me joining the sorority and about how my grades are higher than his, and he stormed out. Apparently he ran into someone a bit more… friendly than me.”
“No, seriously, he did what? He actually found another girl who was willing to come within ten feet of his skanky ass? Wow.”
Claire lobs a pillow at her. “Thanks.”
Shannon smacks her back with the pillow. “Come on, it’s not a dig against you. You’ve been with him for years, I’m sure you fell in love with him before he got so… icky… and you just can’t see it now. I can’t believe he found a random stranger who’s just as blind. Was she drunk?” Shannon asks.
“I didn’t exactly ask. I don’t want to know. It’s over now, he’s promised not to do it again.” Claire doesn’t look entirely convinced.
Shannon doesn’t understand her roomie. “Why are you still with him? Why are you staying with someone who cheats on you and then yells at you? You can do better! I know you can.”
“I can’t just break up with him; we’ve been together since high school.”
“Sure you can!” Shannon encourages her. “It’s really easy. Say after me - ‘get lost, West’. I’m sure you can do it.”
“It’s not that easy, we’ve got so much in common and he was there for me when I really needed him a few years ago.” Claire tries to explain.
“So, you’re staying with him out of gratitude? Wow, what a great reason to date someone. You know, you haven’t said that you loved him this entire evening.”
“I haven’t?”
“Nope. Think about that for awhile.” Shannon hopes that she’s finally gotten through to Claire. She doesn’t want to pester her too much; she’d hate to drive Claire further into West’s arms. “Now, who’s cuter - Orlando or Johnny?”
Claire pretends to think for a minute, and then both girls yell out “Orlando” at the same time. They dissolve into a fit of giggles, and Shannon’s glad that she’s able to do something to make her sister feel better, even if it’s not permanent.
- - - - - - - - - -
West glares at Claire. “It’s all your fault, you know.”
“I’m sorry - what? You flunking that test has nothing to do with me. I don’t even take that class.” Claire doesn’t understand why he’s upset with her that he didn’t study enough.
“If I wasn’t so busy arguing with you over this stupid sorority, I’d have done better.” West whines.
“Oh, grow up.” Claire’s sick of being blamed for everything. “Why don’t you blame the weather, or the price of gasoline, or something else? Here’s a thought - you can even blame yourself for not studying.”
“Don’t talk to me like that. Hey, why don’t you get me a beer out of the fridge?”
“Don’t talk to me like I’m a moron or stupid or your slave. You want something out of the fridge, you get it yourself. Maybe if you didn’t drink so much, you wouldn’t have had trouble in class.”
“I was just playing, you know that. I liked you better before you got in with that sorority.” He says ‘sorority’ the same way most people would say ‘pack of criminals’.
She wants to yell at him that she liked him better back then too, but doesn’t. “Well, that’s funny. I actually like me better now that I’m part of them.”
“What happened to my sweet little cheerleader who needed me to save her? You were a lot nicer when we were in high school.”
“I grew up.” She can’t stop herself from throwing in another dig at him. “Why didn’t you?”
“You know what, I don’t need this crap from you tonight.” He gets up and heads to the door. “Maybe if you were nicer to me, I wouldn’t have to hit you or cheat on you.”
Claire’s officially had enough, and she wonders what’s taken her so long to wake up from the fog that she’s been in. “That’s it. Everyone’s been encouraging me to do this for so long. Get lost, West, and don’t come back. We’re over.”
He quickly crosses the room, pulling her tight against him, so tightly it hurts. “Now, Claire, be reasonable.”
“I am reasonable. Perfectly reasonable. Get out.” She’s expecting the blow that follows, and it doesn’t hurt as bad as it could.
“Now, would you like to change your mind?”
“Get lost. I’m not giving in this time. I don’t care how badly you beat me, I’m going to heal and I’m still going to tell you to get lost. I’ve had enough of this.”
He looks dumbfounded. “Claire, you don’t mean that. Don’t make me have to hurt you.” His lower lip trembles on command, like he knows that she’s a sucker for his pouting. It’s always worked before.
“Yes, I do mean it! We are through. Caput. Finished. Finito. You need to leave. Don’t call me, I won’t call you. By the way, the pout - really unattractive. I’m giving you three seconds to get out before I call campus security.” She points at the door, and hopes that he’ll leave without a fight. She doesn’t want to have to call the cops, but she will.
He leaves without causing a scene, and she feels better than she has in years. Lighter, happier, freer, and it’s absolutely fabulous. She wonders where she got the strength to finally tell him to go; she hopes she’ll have the strength not to take him back when he inevitably comes crawling back.
- - - - - - - - - -
“She did what?!” It wasn’t often that Bob Bishop lost control, but this was one of those notable times. “What do you mean, she just dumped you?”
“She told me to get out, that we were through.” West is glad that he finally goaded her into dumping him. “I didn’t know what to do so I just left.”
“Get her back somehow. Crawl and beg if you have to, don’t let her get away. How could you let this happen?”
“I dunno.” Another lie, but Bob doesn’t catch it.
“I swear West, you are a complete failure. I’m starting to think there’s no future for you here at the Company. If you can’t get that girl back under your control, I’m done with you. Do whatever it takes, stalk her, beat up anybody she tries to date, cry to her, whatever. Damn it, West, how could you lose Claire Bennet?”
- - - - - - - - - -
Shelby smiles benevolently at all the girls in the pledge class. She’s done such a good job at picking out the perfect girls for her group. “Darlings, I’m sure you know we pride ourselves on our longstanding traditions, and I’m sure you’ll be ecstatic to help us with this next one. I’m going to divide you into two teams, and we’re going to have a little scavenger hunt.”
The girls look at each, and then back to their president. She knows that their a little bit wary, but she’s positive they’ll have fun. “I promise you’re going to love this. Ok, this side of the room,” she waves at the girls sitting on her left, “you’re going to be the green team. The rest of you, you’re the white team. Group together, now.”
She waits for them to move their chairs into position. “Ok, ever since that disastrous hunt back in ’73 - and I’m sure you’ve heard about that by now, we’ve decided to have team leaders. Hmm… how about…” She looks them over as if she hadn’t already made her decision. “Jessi for the white team and… Claire for the green team, okay? Great! Everyone, let’s give them a round of applause.”
She’s so happy when all her little pledglings do exactly as she tells them. She motions to Tiffany and Danielle, and they pass out the list of scavenger items to the teams. She gives them a chance to look over the items and then asks “Any questions? Better ask them now; it’s your last chance.”
Claire looks over the list, and has a few questions. “Are you kidding me? Is this some sort of hazing?”
“Of course not! This is supposed to be a fun bonding activity with your sisters!” Shelby smiles at Claire, and then continues. “If it was hazing, we’d get you drunk and then leave you naked in the middle of nowhere. Duh! Any more questions?”
There aren’t any. “Great, you can all go… oh, wait. I forgot to tell you about the extra credit list! I’m so forgetful; I swear I’m going to leave my head behind one day. Ladies, if you would please?” She motions to her helpers again, and they hand a separate list to Claire and Jessi. “Now, about the bonus points - you only have to have one girl on each team perform these tasks. However, you have to tell us as a team if you want to attempt the task, and then Tiffany and I will pick who actually has to do it.”
Jessi looks over the list, and then confers to her team. They quickly reach a decision. “We’ll do it.”
Claire looks at the list, and is hesitant. “Are you sure you want to do this?” she whispers to her team. “I’m not sure about some of these tasks.” She’s the only one that doesn’t want to do it, but she caves in to her team. She addresses Shelby. “Ok then. Anything they can do, we can do better.”
“Fabulous! Ok, we pick… oh, let’s just go with the team captains. You two girls get to do the special tasks, and you can let the rest of your team take care of the regular list. Start now!”
Claire can’t help but feeling like the entire scavenger hunt is a setup when she looks over her task list again. She doesn’t think it’ll be a problem to find five hundred yellow Skittles, but she’s not so sure about the last two tasks.
Chapter 4
Shannon can hear the screaming and yelling as she approaches her room, and she sighs. Apparently, West is over again - yippee. She doesn’t understand why her new sister still puts up with his crap. The screaming stops for a second and she puts her ear against the door. She hears a faint thud, and then Claire yelps. There are a few loud thuds, and Shannon hears Claire begging him to stop. While Shannon can’t be sure what’s going on in the room, she’s not going in there to confirm her suspicions. A few seconds later, she hears glass breaking and Claire sobbing, and Shannon knows what she has to do.
She turns around and heads down the hallway towards the stairs. Pulling out her cell phone, she presses one of the speed dial buttons and calls Tiffany.
“Hey, Tif. It’s Shannon. Any chance you can call a special executive board meeting of the sorority? We’ve got something big to discuss.”
“Um… I’ll have to call the president, but I don’t think it’ll be a problem. Is five ok with you? We can grab some supper and have a working meeting. By the way, what’s wrong?”
“I think the boyfriend situation has reached critical mass. We need to take care of this.”
- - - - - - - - - -
Shelby bangs the plastic gavel on the booth table. “As President, I now call this emergency meeting to order. Ooooh, someone throw me a ketchup pack, I didn’t get any for my fries.” She catches the pack Tiffany throws at her. “Thanks, babe. Ok, back to business. Shannon, I believe you have something you need to say?” She catches Shannon unaware in mid-gulp of her milkshake.
She quickly swallows the strawberry goodness, and then addresses the executive board. “We’ve got a code red boyfriend situation with Claire.”
The other girls look at each other, and then back at Shannon. Shelby asks for clarification. “Did you say code red? I thought this was more of a code mauve situation - he’s a dick and he needs to go, but he’s not dangerous.”
“Ok, it might not be code red - I think it is but I may be wrong. It’s at least a code magenta. I overheard them arguing today. I’m fairly certain he hit her. I know for sure that something glass broke during that little discussion and she was sobbing. It broke my heart listening to her. We’ve got to do something.”
The girls start muttering, and they’re out for blood. “Well, we can’t have this!” Shelby declares. “I’d like to propose we start a ‘West has got to go’ campaign. Seconded?”
Shannon and Tiffany both call out “second” at the same time.
“Thank you, girls. Ok, all in favor raise your hand and say ‘aye’.”
Everyone raises their hands, and in some cases their french fries, and there’s a unanimous chorus of “aye!”
“Ok, fabulous! We all agree that he’s going to be history. Now, I’ve got a plan - here’s how I think we ought to do this…”
- - - - - - - - - -
Shannon almost dreads returning to her room. She hopes that West isn’t still there. She can’t hear anyone arguing, so she tentatively pushes the door open. Claire’s lying on the bed, sobbing, and West is nowhere to be seen.
She drops her purse, and sits on the bed beside her roommate. “Claire?”
“Go away.”
Shannon reaches out and slowly strokes Claire’s hair, like her mom used to do for her when she was upset. She pulls her hand away like she’s been burned when Claire flinches away from her, like a hurt dog would from an abusive master. She wonders about West again, but doesn’t want to know for sure. “You know I’m not going to do that. You’re my sister, and it looks like you’re hurting, and I hate to see that. Tell me what’s wrong.”
“West.”
Shannon wants to laugh, but doesn’t. “Now, I already knew that. Why don’t you tell me what’s really wrong?”
Claire’s stopped crying, and is making strange little hiccupping gasps as she tries to get her breathing under control again. “How’d you know?”
“Claire, it’s always West. What did he do now?”
“Don’t want to talk about it.” Claire turns slightly, and Shannon can still see tears glistening on her face.
“Ok, then. How about we order some pizza and have a girl’s night in? You can help me with my hair, and I’ll give you a manicure, and we’ll giggle about how cute Orlando Bloom is. Sounds good?”
Claire sniffles, and nods.
“Great. Plain cheese on your half, right?” Shannon grabs the phone and calls the local pizza place. She just ate a McDonald’s combo during the meeting, but she’s sure that she’ll be hungry again by the time the pizza gets there. She just hopes she can get Claire to open up to her.
They’re halfway through Pirates of the Caribbean 2 when Claire admits that West had cheated on her. Shannon chokes on her piece of pineapple pizza. “He did what?” She sputters once she gets her breath back.
“We argued a few weeks back, about me joining the sorority and about how my grades are higher than his, and he stormed out. Apparently he ran into someone a bit more… friendly than me.”
“No, seriously, he did what? He actually found another girl who was willing to come within ten feet of his skanky ass? Wow.”
Claire lobs a pillow at her. “Thanks.”
Shannon smacks her back with the pillow. “Come on, it’s not a dig against you. You’ve been with him for years, I’m sure you fell in love with him before he got so… icky… and you just can’t see it now. I can’t believe he found a random stranger who’s just as blind. Was she drunk?” Shannon asks.
“I didn’t exactly ask. I don’t want to know. It’s over now, he’s promised not to do it again.” Claire doesn’t look entirely convinced.
Shannon doesn’t understand her roomie. “Why are you still with him? Why are you staying with someone who cheats on you and then yells at you? You can do better! I know you can.”
“I can’t just break up with him; we’ve been together since high school.”
“Sure you can!” Shannon encourages her. “It’s really easy. Say after me - ‘get lost, West’. I’m sure you can do it.”
“It’s not that easy, we’ve got so much in common and he was there for me when I really needed him a few years ago.” Claire tries to explain.
“So, you’re staying with him out of gratitude? Wow, what a great reason to date someone. You know, you haven’t said that you loved him this entire evening.”
“I haven’t?”
“Nope. Think about that for awhile.” Shannon hopes that she’s finally gotten through to Claire. She doesn’t want to pester her too much; she’d hate to drive Claire further into West’s arms. “Now, who’s cuter - Orlando or Johnny?”
Claire pretends to think for a minute, and then both girls yell out “Orlando” at the same time. They dissolve into a fit of giggles, and Shannon’s glad that she’s able to do something to make her sister feel better, even if it’s not permanent.
- - - - - - - - - -
West glares at Claire. “It’s all your fault, you know.”
“I’m sorry - what? You flunking that test has nothing to do with me. I don’t even take that class.” Claire doesn’t understand why he’s upset with her that he didn’t study enough.
“If I wasn’t so busy arguing with you over this stupid sorority, I’d have done better.” West whines.
“Oh, grow up.” Claire’s sick of being blamed for everything. “Why don’t you blame the weather, or the price of gasoline, or something else? Here’s a thought - you can even blame yourself for not studying.”
“Don’t talk to me like that. Hey, why don’t you get me a beer out of the fridge?”
“Don’t talk to me like I’m a moron or stupid or your slave. You want something out of the fridge, you get it yourself. Maybe if you didn’t drink so much, you wouldn’t have had trouble in class.”
“I was just playing, you know that. I liked you better before you got in with that sorority.” He says ‘sorority’ the same way most people would say ‘pack of criminals’.
She wants to yell at him that she liked him better back then too, but doesn’t. “Well, that’s funny. I actually like me better now that I’m part of them.”
“What happened to my sweet little cheerleader who needed me to save her? You were a lot nicer when we were in high school.”
“I grew up.” She can’t stop herself from throwing in another dig at him. “Why didn’t you?”
“You know what, I don’t need this crap from you tonight.” He gets up and heads to the door. “Maybe if you were nicer to me, I wouldn’t have to hit you or cheat on you.”
Claire’s officially had enough, and she wonders what’s taken her so long to wake up from the fog that she’s been in. “That’s it. Everyone’s been encouraging me to do this for so long. Get lost, West, and don’t come back. We’re over.”
He quickly crosses the room, pulling her tight against him, so tightly it hurts. “Now, Claire, be reasonable.”
“I am reasonable. Perfectly reasonable. Get out.” She’s expecting the blow that follows, and it doesn’t hurt as bad as it could.
“Now, would you like to change your mind?”
“Get lost. I’m not giving in this time. I don’t care how badly you beat me, I’m going to heal and I’m still going to tell you to get lost. I’ve had enough of this.”
He looks dumbfounded. “Claire, you don’t mean that. Don’t make me have to hurt you.” His lower lip trembles on command, like he knows that she’s a sucker for his pouting. It’s always worked before.
“Yes, I do mean it! We are through. Caput. Finished. Finito. You need to leave. Don’t call me, I won’t call you. By the way, the pout - really unattractive. I’m giving you three seconds to get out before I call campus security.” She points at the door, and hopes that he’ll leave without a fight. She doesn’t want to have to call the cops, but she will.
He leaves without causing a scene, and she feels better than she has in years. Lighter, happier, freer, and it’s absolutely fabulous. She wonders where she got the strength to finally tell him to go; she hopes she’ll have the strength not to take him back when he inevitably comes crawling back.
- - - - - - - - - -
“She did what?!” It wasn’t often that Bob Bishop lost control, but this was one of those notable times. “What do you mean, she just dumped you?”
“She told me to get out, that we were through.” West is glad that he finally goaded her into dumping him. “I didn’t know what to do so I just left.”
“Get her back somehow. Crawl and beg if you have to, don’t let her get away. How could you let this happen?”
“I dunno.” Another lie, but Bob doesn’t catch it.
“I swear West, you are a complete failure. I’m starting to think there’s no future for you here at the Company. If you can’t get that girl back under your control, I’m done with you. Do whatever it takes, stalk her, beat up anybody she tries to date, cry to her, whatever. Damn it, West, how could you lose Claire Bennet?”
- - - - - - - - - -
Shelby smiles benevolently at all the girls in the pledge class. She’s done such a good job at picking out the perfect girls for her group. “Darlings, I’m sure you know we pride ourselves on our longstanding traditions, and I’m sure you’ll be ecstatic to help us with this next one. I’m going to divide you into two teams, and we’re going to have a little scavenger hunt.”
The girls look at each, and then back to their president. She knows that their a little bit wary, but she’s positive they’ll have fun. “I promise you’re going to love this. Ok, this side of the room,” she waves at the girls sitting on her left, “you’re going to be the green team. The rest of you, you’re the white team. Group together, now.”
She waits for them to move their chairs into position. “Ok, ever since that disastrous hunt back in ’73 - and I’m sure you’ve heard about that by now, we’ve decided to have team leaders. Hmm… how about…” She looks them over as if she hadn’t already made her decision. “Jessi for the white team and… Claire for the green team, okay? Great! Everyone, let’s give them a round of applause.”
She’s so happy when all her little pledglings do exactly as she tells them. She motions to Tiffany and Danielle, and they pass out the list of scavenger items to the teams. She gives them a chance to look over the items and then asks “Any questions? Better ask them now; it’s your last chance.”
Claire looks over the list, and has a few questions. “Are you kidding me? Is this some sort of hazing?”
“Of course not! This is supposed to be a fun bonding activity with your sisters!” Shelby smiles at Claire, and then continues. “If it was hazing, we’d get you drunk and then leave you naked in the middle of nowhere. Duh! Any more questions?”
There aren’t any. “Great, you can all go… oh, wait. I forgot to tell you about the extra credit list! I’m so forgetful; I swear I’m going to leave my head behind one day. Ladies, if you would please?” She motions to her helpers again, and they hand a separate list to Claire and Jessi. “Now, about the bonus points - you only have to have one girl on each team perform these tasks. However, you have to tell us as a team if you want to attempt the task, and then Tiffany and I will pick who actually has to do it.”
Jessi looks over the list, and then confers to her team. They quickly reach a decision. “We’ll do it.”
Claire looks at the list, and is hesitant. “Are you sure you want to do this?” she whispers to her team. “I’m not sure about some of these tasks.” She’s the only one that doesn’t want to do it, but she caves in to her team. She addresses Shelby. “Ok then. Anything they can do, we can do better.”
“Fabulous! Ok, we pick… oh, let’s just go with the team captains. You two girls get to do the special tasks, and you can let the rest of your team take care of the regular list. Start now!”
Claire can’t help but feeling like the entire scavenger hunt is a setup when she looks over her task list again. She doesn’t think it’ll be a problem to find five hundred yellow Skittles, but she’s not so sure about the last two tasks.
Chapter 4