RE: Trailer Trash 55 pt 6

The bus ride home was much more rowdy than the trip to school had been, but Tabitha had apparently already earned her in—after picking a vinyl bus seat for herself, Jacob and then Gary came and chose seats across from her.

“‘Sup, Tabby,” Gary said, tossing her his basketball.

To her credit she managed to catch it—barely—grabbing at it with one hand and managing to trap it against the front of her camouflage hunting jacket. It seemed like Gary was about to laugh at her near fumble, but she smirked at him and cradled the ball in her lap for a moment, rapping her knuckle against her opposite sleeve to reveal a knocking sound.

“...Sup.”

“Ah, shit—I forgot your arm’s broke,” Gary looked genuinely apologetic. “My bad, my bad. Here.”

“Smooth,” Jacob scowled at him, spreading his hands for her to throw the ball his way. “Hey girl, here!”

“Tabby,” Tabitha corrected him.

“Tabby, right,” Jacob said, flicking his fingers with impatience. “C’mon.”

With a scooping motion, Tabitha got one palm beneath the ball and then managed to lob it in an underhand throw that should have gone right to him. Instead, Gary intercepted in a smooth motion, swiping the basketball out of the air and stealing it back just as it was passing over the aisle. Tabitha couldn’t help but be impressed, but when the pair of teen boys saw her big smile, they both looked away and had that caught in the act body language going on, as if a teacher was about to reprimand them.

Oh, wow. RIGHT. Teen boys, and a halfway cute girl smiling at them—that’s gonna be SUPER EFFECTIVE and do CRITICAL DAMAGE. Gotta watch where I point this thing.

With conscious effort, she schooled her expression down a grade to a look of mild bemusement, and aside from a subtle second glance Jacob sent her way, they were past that awkward hiccup. Small talk while other kids were still boarding the bus progressed as far as new classes suck and you have homework? Yeah me too, it sucks. By the time the bus engine rumbled to life and they were underway, Gary twisted in his seat to deliver an elaborate retelling of the basketball match he’d played during lunch today to Jacob. Although since Jacob had apparently also been there playing in that same game and was offering corrections and commentary, Tabitha suspected the story was more intended for her to overhear.

She kept her small smile up, but was too distracted in her own thoughts to really follow the court slang of what they were talking about.

Because—she’d done it. Tabitha had experienced her first day as a semi-popular girl, rather than an obese nobody or even an isolated thin social pariah. Unlike her attempt at the very start of the school year, this time it felt like things were working. She was getting to know people, maybe making friends, and perhaps most importantly, she was taking the initiative to talk to people herself.

It’s still a little terrifying sometimes, sure, Tabitha thought as she watched Jacob and Gary heckle each other with a wry smile. But—it’s not THAT bad. This was a success, a big success! Feels like a huge step forward for my whole life. It was stressful and SUPER taxing at first, but it’s like I invested a fair bit of thought and a whole lot of courage, and then the returns are all just… confidence?

Feeling this confident among her peers was honestly intoxicating.

All of the sudden SO MUCH of all of this nonsense makes so much more sense, Tabitha thought. If THIS is what popular girls are feeling, no wonder it gets them creating madhouse hierarchies and battlefields of drama and all of the absurd vain focus on image I used to pretend I could scoff at. It’s all in pursuit of this CONFIDENCE HIGH, these teenage SUCCESS ENDORPHINS. The ones that surge through like adrenaline saying YES YES YES, the ones that make you feel validated. Powerful.

If she could be popular, but without it going to her head and making her petty or cruel or a bully, Tabitha decided that it would be just about the best thing ever. Elena and Alicia were great friends and could maybe help keep her ego in check if it ever started to grow out beyond her kindness and compassion. She would be popular but not mean to anyone, she would be cute, but not play with boys’ hearts!

Except maybe like, I could PROBABLY tease Bobby some, and that’d be okay, Tabitha told herself. Because… he maybe wouldn’t take it all THAT seriously anyways!

*     *     *

Like a true latchkey kid, Tabitha produced her own key upon arriving at the Macintire home and let herself in. Though the neighborhood here was just as nice as the Williams, Sandra wasn’t so comfortable that she would allow the doors unlocked here, and it was a sentiment Tabitha agreed with in full. Better safe than sorry!

The borrowed hunting jacket with its orange highlights was removed and, and when the left sleeve turned inside-out attempting to follow her cast, Tabitha held the collar in her teeth and managed to find the errant cuff and turn it rightside-in again with her good hand before hanging the coat on the hooks in the entryway. It was warm enough that her hoodie soon followed, and she struggled her way out of it in an exhausted—but contented daze as she walked the rest of the way inside and cast a vacant look across the empty living room.

The elementary school day here was a half hour shorter than the Springton High’s school day, but the elementary also started an hour later, so there was still plenty of time before Tabitha would walk back out to the bus stop to pick up Hannah. Mrs. Macintire would be at work for another few hours, and since she couldn’t hear the TV playing over in the master bedroom it meant that Officer Macintire was likely taking a nap.

It had been a great day, but presenting herself as an extrovert for that long was also just plain tiring, and it was an enormous relief for Tabitha to drop her bookbag and then simply fall face-first across the length of the couch. Here with the Macintires it was actually a home, it was a bastion of comfort that could wick away her stress and help her decompress in a way that her actual family’s battered old mobile home never could.

After all, Tabitha hummed to herself, groping across the couch for a spare cushion to hug against herself. They have the HEAT on here. They just—KEEP it on, practically at full blast. All winter! I’m getting so spoiled, here.

Reminding herself that she didn’t have a bracelet-PC or a smartphone, Tabitha made herself as comfortable as she could, and instead kept an eye on the digital clock readout on the VCR. She’d met so many new people today that it was difficult to sort out all of their names! But, mentally sorting through them all now would be for the best, because for once in her life it was the good kind of overwhelming.

Vanessa. Gary. Marisa. Uhhh… Jacob. Stacy. Eric. Coach Baylor, and Mr. Peterson—I want to get to know them both better, Tabitha decided. For Cheerleading and art club. I… don’t remember the names of those other two girls from personal fitness who were talking with us. The one had glasses, the other was a bit more stocky. And then… there was that older girl Alicia tried to introduce me to? I’m totally blanking on her name. It was… Jenny? Jessie? Maybe… um. Nope, I lost it. Jay-something, I think? Or maybe—

“Tabitha?” A male voice almost startled her off of the couch and onto the carpet.

“Oh! Sorry,” Tabitha blushed as she flailed. “I—uhh—I kept my shoes off the sofa! They were hanging off. I’m, um, I’m just getting off my feet for a bit, before I head back out for Hannah.”

“Hey, it’s cool, it’s cool,” Officer Macintire chuckled, holding up his hands. “Just wanted to check on ya.”

He was wearing just pajama pants and an undershirt, and although he was either a lot older than her or a lot younger or both, the man had a pretty nice physique… and Tabitha had to admit to herself that he looked pretty good. Or, at least he did when he had a shirt on—whenever he was bare chested, Tabitha found herself focusing in on the bandages and remembering the bullet wound and unable to think of much else.

It was strange being around a guy, living in the same house as one. In the past week he was up and about more and more frequently, and Tabitha had no idea how to treat him. Darren Macintire was like some sitcom fantasy father figure, and she had a lot of trouble reconciling that with her own ideas of what a dad was to her personally. For one, he was attractive, but despite Sandra’s smug looks and personal assumptions, Tabitha had never fantasized about him or anything like that.

I’m more just—jumpy around him, or intimidated? Tabitha thought to herself with a sheepish smile as she sat up straight and tried to straighten out what felt like her slovenly appearance. I DO NOT know how to act around a ‘proper’ father figure. At all.

“Heard you come in,” Officer Macintire remarked, opening up the fridge and taking a long, idle look at the contents without seeming to decide on anything before letting the door swing closed again. “Was worried that—I dunno. Kids that age are mean, guess I was jumpin’ at shadows and thinking you mighta had a bad first day back or something. But, you seem okay?”

“Oh! Yes,” Tabitha nodded. “Thank you, but—yes, today was fine. It was better, much better.”

“Good! Good,” The man nodded, giving her a thoughtful look. “Well, hey. Don’t want to impose, or nothin’, but if it’s cool, I’ll walk down to the stop with you? Been cooped up for too long without any exercise and I’m startin’ to go a bit stir-crazy, here.”

“Of course!” Tabitha agreed. “And—yeah, I understand what you mean. Soon as I can get this cast off, I’m getting right into jogging again, and I want to try out for cheer, and—and be active again.”

“Ooph, yeah, I’m used to keeping up with PT,” the Officer shook his head in dismay. “Didn’t ever want to be the cop people’re makin’ donut jokes about all the time, you know?”

“I-I think Sandra would make those jokes just regardless,” Tabitha said with a wincing smile.

“Hah, yeah—well, even worse, comin’ from her,” Officer Macintre laughed. “My uh, home stay here is no reason to let myself start gettin’ love handles. And then, having you in here cooking full meals every day sure hasn’t helped!”

“I cook healthy meals!” Tabitha protested with a smile. “More or less. Those cookies… well, they just sort of happened!”

“Yeah, yeah,” He chuckled in response. “Holiday season, and all that.”

Damnit, Hannah! Tabitha felt her face heat up. Your dad has your eyes! He’s supposed to be a DAD, he’s not supposed to be A CUTE GUY! I absolutely, positively REFUSE to let Mrs. Macintire be right about me crushing on him, ever. I refuse! Because, I’m not. That’s just too—weird! So, that’s not happening, period. I’m FOURTEEN, and he’s… I don’t know, THIRTY-SOMETHING.

I should… I should get Bobby’s phone number, or something—it’s SAFE for me to crush on Bobby, because we’re both young enough that obviously none of that will go anywhere, Tabitha decided, oblivious to the torment and suffering that mindset might inflict upon boys in the near future. And, there’s that WILLOW tape! We can maybe watch it together this weekend. Definitely. It’s a plan.

( Previous, 55 pt 5.5 | RE: Trailer Trash | Next, To be Continued... )

/// RIP Bobby.

Just kidding, Bobby's not all THAT ready for real dating yet, either. Freshman year? Pssh, get outta here with that stuff. I do think this'll be the chapter 55 conclusion, as we're already quite a bit over my intended wordcount. Will organize and rework into a full chapter 55 soon.

Hopefully the weird attraction to Officer Macintire makes sense, I'm aiming to make readers uncomfortable there rather than genuinely disturbed or grossed out. Tabitha has weird complexes about her own father, and having a 'traditional' father figure suddenly appear in her life would be somewhat like this. To clarify, TABITHA DOES NOT HAVE A REAL CRUSH ON OFFICER MACINTRE, she just feels very weird about it and feels weird about him in general. That weirdness was easier for her to ignore weeks ago, when he was still recuperating / under bed rest, but will be harder to do so now. DO NOT START SHIPPING THESE TWO CHARACTERS, and if you do so, I don't want to hear about it.

I know not all readers are happy I'm wasting time with the pointless high school stuff, but I am trying hard to show a crucial stage of Tabitha's personal development. When that also gave me the opportunity to run a parallel story of her mother's personal growth for contrast, I had to take it. We WILL start seeding in some time skips soon, but before we do that I want to have it feel like Tabitha has established a solid new life routine here with school so that we have that as a baseline.