Chapter sixteen: The Beginning of the End

Today was not starting out well. Monday, June. The beginning of the end you might say. Kate, Stephanie, Eva, Belinda and Adriana were asked, that is to say forced to, come in to school early to speak with Todd Brooks, the principal, and Janie White, the guidance counselor.

She was a very sweet woman, him not so much. To be perfectly frank he was a horny sexist bastard with a bit of a thing for Kate. 'Lesbian?' he'd often thought 'Who cares? I'll set her straight' See told you he was a bastard.

"I think you all know why we're here" Mr. Brooks announced

"No please enlighten us" Stephanie remarked dryly

"I'd watch yourself Miss. Black" Brooks replied "Under the circumstances you'll need all the help you can get"

"Thank you for your concern Mr. Brooks but honestly you're one of the last people who I'd want help from."

"Stephanie!" Eva exclaimed. Miss. White was really nice and they needed someone in their corner. To get some kind of support they had to kiss some ass for lack of a better term.

"According to Belinda's accusations Eva here has cheated on the SAT's with the help of her cousin Miss. Scots"

"I never cheated on anything. I don't need to and even if I have the high score would mean nothing because I would not have earned it. Furthermore my cousin has never slept with Stephanie"

"It's disgusting that you call us in here and basically accused us of allegedly cheating and having sex based on some girls accusations on Facebook." Stephanie added "While we're on that subject, just what exactly were you doing on Belinda's, a student, Facebook?"

"Yes well Miss. Scots is a self-proclaimed lesbian" Brooks said pointedly ignoring that last bit of Stephanie's short monologue.

"Yes because obviously lesbians have no self-control and will screw any girl that they see" Stephanie said sarcastically. "I'd have thought that an educated mature adult such as yourself would know better than to stereotype people Mr. Brooks"

"Are you patronizing me, Miss. Black?"

"Of course not" Stephanie said sweetly "I'm mocking you"

"Stephanie please!" Both Kate and Miss. White said together

"Fine" Stephanie relented. After Stephanie had considerably calmed down they; Eva and Stephanie, had argued their case well, eventually they won over Miss. White who was on their side all along. Even so they now had her to argue their case along with them. By the end of their long rants they had won.

"Miss. White could you send Belinda and Adrianna in? I wish to speak with them. Alone." Miss. White nodded towards Belinda and Adrianna who sat just outside the closed office door. They entered the office quite smugly.

"Eva come on we need to finish that project" Stephanie said sensing the need for the two adults to be alone.

"What? Why now?" Stephanie grabbed Eva's forearm and dragged her around the corner, her heels clicking ominously amongst Eva's protests.

"Talk to me Kate" Janie said "What's going on?"

"I don't know Janie. I just don't know" Suddenly looking panicked she quickly added "I didn't sleep with Stephanie. She and I both know better than to jeopardize anything"

"I know you didn't" Janie assured her "But you do love her don't you?" Kate looked at her in surprise and terror.

"I- I have to get ready for today" Kate started to leave but Janie held her back.

"Kate, don't go yet"

"I'm sorry" Kate began to tear up "I always fall in love with the wrong people"

"We can't choose who we love. I know you fell in love with me when you were in school." Kate stared at her. "It's odd. We're so different; Stephanie and I. She's headstrong and so sure of herself. I'm more the quiet type. Even our names, Black and White" Janie laughed at the irony of the situation.

"I guess you both made me feel… needed"

"You never know until you try"

"You think that after this week I should try?"

"I never said that" But the smug look on Janie's face betrayed otherwise.

"Even if I did what are the chances that Stephanie would want someone like me?"

"I wanted someone like you once. Intelligent, beautiful, driven"

"Oh who?" Kate scoffed

"Oh for god's sake, for someone so intelligent you really can be dense sometimes. It's was you" Janie gently pushed Kate towards the corner that the two girls had disappeared around. "Now go! Find your girl"

Just before Kate turned the corner she ripped her hair from its conservative bun and shook it out. She turned the corner and almost immediately bumped into just the girl she was looking for.

"God! Were you listening?"

"Eva was trying but apparently she doesn't have the hearing range that I possess" Eva glared at Stephanie but slipped away unnoticed. Stephanie led Kate to the one place that they'd be alone. To get there thought they'd have to pass right by Janie. Stephanie nodded to Janie; both had the same slight smile on their faced.

"Talk"

"Stephanie-"

"I told you my story, now you tell me yours. They raped you didn't they. Your parents I mean" Kate tried desperately to change the subject. She looked around the sparse basement.

"You really lived here for three years?"

"Kate I know it's hard. If you really don't want to tell me then you can leave now. I'm not stopping you. I'd like you to talk but I know what it's like to have trust issues"

"I don't have trust issues"

"Yes you do"

"No I don't you do"

"Oh please my sister does, never mind which one. Besides I had to have trusted at one point in order to have issues with it"

"Ok fine I have trust issues"

"Do you trust Eva?"

"With some things"

"You trust me" Kate looked at Stephanie though not in her eyes, that was deadly. Kate nodded and began.

"I was never loved, even as a child six, seven, eight. I was never good enough. Top of the class in everything but still never enough. I lost my virginity at thirteen; I suppose it's not so outlandish in this day and age but when it's your parents age doesn't matter. I was so afraid when Carolyn said that she was also being abused. I thought- well it doesn't matter now. We have to help her, she can't end up like me, she just can't"

"Kate you're a beautiful intelligent woman"

"We need to help"

"And we will as soon as we can, she'll be free soon I promise" The bell rang signaling for everyone to get to their designated testing area

"Go" Kate said "I'll be there soon" Stephanie nodded and left. Kate let out a breath and waited before she too ventured out into the unknown.

Typical really that Kate had been assigned to proctor the 12th grade forensics final. Even more typical that Adriana Bennett, Belinda Prince and Stephanie Black just happened to all be in that class and right now currently at each other's throats.

"Hey Stephanie why don't you tell us about your various rendezvous with Miss. Scots?" Belinda sneered "I thought for sure you'd have better taste in people but evidently not if you're shagging a pathetic, ugly-" Kate cleared her throat from the door.

"You were saying Belinda? Because if you just go down to the end of the hall turn left, about five doors down you can say whatever you please"

"Oh look little Katie's growing a backbone" Belinda taunted

"Belinda you have three options. Option A, go to ISS. You know the room that I just gave you directions to. Option B, I could pretend that I never saw a thing and leave Stephanie to deal with you. Or option C, my personal favorite, you can sit down, shut up and we can start the test." Belinda was rendered speechless to say the least. Kate raised her eyebrow.

"Well you're half way there, just need to sit down" The bell rang signaling for the proctors to begin.

Forensics was second nature to Stephanie and she whizzed through that test faster than Belinda went through makeup. Now with five minutes until they were released from their confined torture she was getting anxious. Her phone was tucked inside her left boot and set to vibrate. It had been going off for several minutes now. Someone needed her badly. There was only one person that she knew who would be this frantic. Not many people knew her number and those who did currently didn't have access to a phone. Arissa.

One minute now, finally the bell rang, Kate collected the tests and they were free to go. Stephanie snatched up her phone and felt a stab of victory. It was Arissa. She immediately hit call.

"Arissa? Where are you?"

"Outside the school on the front step"

"God, stay there, I'm coming"

"I need your help"

"Alright calm down" she hung up and motioned for Kate to stay put before running out.

"Arissa!" Stephanie called spotting her sister. Even after three years of separation, Stephanie recognized her sister at once.

"Arissa, what's wrong?"

"Not here please" Stephanie nodded

"Come on just let me grab Eva and Kate" They walked back to where Kate was waiting. Eva had also turned up. "Eva, Kate this is my sister Arissa. Arissa this is Eva and Kate. We all live together. Come on we can talk there" Why is it that every car ride they took was always in complete silence.

Well anyway I'm not going to insert a bunch of fluff that bears no great importance to the major plot. Although I have done it already… in short they got to the house, Arissa explains how she ran away to find Stephanie and penguins invade the earth. Ok fine ignore that last one be that way.

The Scots cousins had left in order to give the Black sisters some sense of privacy. Of course good things never last. If there was one thing that Arissa agreed with her family about it was homosexuality. So when Stephanie let it slip that she and Kate might eventually become something more, Arissa lost it.

"Are you frickin serious Stephanie? In almost three years you run off, turn gay…" Kate and Eva opened their door to see what the commotion was all about. "… and you shack up with your dyke teacher!"

"Get the hell out Arissa! I can't fucking believe that I thought you were different then they are. Go home to your family" Arissa stood and headed for the door, at the last second she turned and spoke.

"You're nothing. As far as I'm concerned you don't exist"

"Just get the hell our" Stephanie yelled throwing the nearest book at Arissa's head but Arissa had already left leaving the book to slam uselessly against the closed door.

"Stephanie" Kate grabbed Stephanie's hand and held her back.

"Kate let me go!" Stephanie struggled to free herself. "I don't want to talk about it now let me go!" For someone with such a mild demeanor Kate sure had a strong grip.

"No I'm not letting you go!" Kate was risking a lot. She knew that is Stephanie really wanted to it wouldn't be hard to escape. Stephanie knew it too. All it would take was one kick or one punch and she would be free to run. She could run forever, but she loved Kate too much to hurt her. Kate pulled her into a hug and Stephanie lost all the fight that she possessed. If fact she began to cry.

"It's alright just let it out" Kate led Stephanie to the couch and sat her down. Eva had watched the entire situation play out. Stephanie's sobbing had to be just about the worst sounds in the world. She too sat down next to Stephanie ad together she and Kate comforted the previously indestructible girl.

Stephanie's phone rang once, twice, a third time, voicemail. It rang again, no one made any move to pick it up. Then Eva's phone rang, still they ignored it. Kate's phone went off as well. Then it stopped. Silence, then Stephanie's rang again and this time she picked up.

If you think today started out bad, well it was about to get a whole lot worse.