RE: Trailer Trash, 64 pt 3

/// Short and sweet fluffy slice of life post today.

    By the time her third period class finally ended and lunch bell sounded, Elena was seething with irritation. The plan had been to start building a rapport with Brett by starting to talk with him after returning his pencil. Innocuous small talk could very naturally morph into casually getting to know each other just by controlling the direction of questions and never falling into the trap of going on and on about herself. She would need to ask him questions to establish interest, and their relationship would naturally elevate from acquaintances to casual friends, which was the yet another stepping stone on Elena’s plan for a normal and natural relationship someday with the boy, where he would eventually ask her out.

    Time is running out, and I really need things to start happening, Elena though in frustration as she stomped down the corridor towards the back quad. But, thanks to VANESSA…

    Shared history in Girl Scouts aside, Elena had never much cared for Vanessa in the first place.

    Thus, Elena’s dismay and disappointment could be imagined when today instead of having time to interact with Brett in the scarce window she got to see him each school day, Vanessa had turned in her seat and was going on and on and on about how she’d been arguing with the cheerleaders this morning. Normally another episode of the cheer drama would have been incredibly interesting to her because of how involved Elena also was in all of that, but the fact of the matter was that Elena didn’t want to continue rushing into conflict with the cheerleaders. Not until she had a firm social foothold in the form of a tall and cute freshman boyfriend who had a major ‘in’ with the basketball guys.

    I know how vicious bitches think, BECAUSE I AM ONE, Elena scowled. Or, I was one. They’re trying to rip into me now because I’m isolated off into a group of three who are ALSO easy pickings—it’s Alicia, Tabitha and myself. Can’t even reasonably count Clarissa and Ashlee in with us, they’re more liabilities than anything else. Bobby is too much of a social butterfly, and until Tabs can quit flip-flopping on her stupid made up future BS and make up her mind about him, we can’t really tie him down to us.

    Making inroads with Lurch—Brett—and therefore tapping the basketball crowd he was in good standing with would help tremendously with giving serious pause to their opponents entrenched in Cheer. Football was still king when it came to high school, but basketball players were a good third of Springton High’s athletics department because of constant Kentucky Wildcats fervor, the influence of Space Jam, and the sport’s simple flexible nature which easily allowed for shooting hoops no matter how few or many people showed up.

    A good number of ‘basketball boys’ were well known and popular with everyone. Every street in Springton had at least one driveway with a basketball hoop, and it wasn’t too much harder to find at least a half court near a public playground or church parking lot somewhere.

    Plus, yeah okay he’s super cute, and I just want him to be my boyfriend! Elena admitted to herself. I don’t care what Alicia says about us getting into Art Club—seeing Matthew and Casey together all lovey dovey all the time just irritates me more and more, and I don’t want to be around them or their art group thing. Not unless I have a boyfriend. I WANT A BOYFRIEND.

    However, things hadn’t progressed with Brett to the point where she could just blow off Vanessa or brush past the shorter girl and go prompt him to talk about himself and then hang on his every word. So, instead Elena had crossed her arms and listened to Vanessa chatter away endlessly, while sending discreet glances over in Brett’s direction and hoping he would approach them and say something. Which, of course he didn’t. That wasn’t to say he ignored them either, because he did glance her way a few times, which gave Elena quite the rush and made her blank out on large swathes of Vanessa’s tirade—but idle looks across the classroom weren’t enough for her.

    I want him to come up and talk to me! Elena thought, growling to herself in frustration. REALLY feel like maybe if Vanessa hadn’t been babbling nonstop, he might’ve felt like he had more room to come say something. As it is, how could he have even gotten a word in? Take a fucking hint, Vanessa!

    She walked on out to the back quad for their usual table at a slow, trudging pace. Alicia was already there, as well as Ashlee, and just like this morning neither of them seemed to be on speaking terms with one another or willing to acknowledge the other’s presence. Clarissa joined them after another minute, taking a tupperware container from her bookbag with what looked like some kind of tuna salad, and Elena began to consign herself to the reality of another long awkward silence where nobody here was talking.

    That is, until with dawning dread and horror Elena saw that the same Desiree and Faith in those preppy Springton Spirit jackets who had been hounding them nonstop were yet again making a beeline for their table—except this time the pair of cheerleaders brought backup.

    “Wow Ass-Lee, you found the other scrubs to sit with—that’s uh, cute?” Brittany laughed. “Just look at all of you—all the little buttfaces, banding together? I guess to sniff your own farts??”

    “Well, why don’t you take a picture, it’ll last longer?” Elena retorted with her best unimpressed look. “Were you waiting for a Kodak moment?”

    “Ooh, look at her?” Desiree taunted. “She thinks she’s all that.”

    “She thinks she’s all that and a bag of potato chips!” Faith sneered. “But um, hello? She’s not.”

    “So, you both got so embarrassed this morning you had to run off and find a senior to hide behind?” Elena raised both eyebrows. “How fucking shameless can you even—”

    “Sorry—Wednesday Addams?” Brittany held up a hand. “No one was even talking to you? Get the fuck over yourself, no one cares. I’m here to put my shitstain sister back in her place.”

    “Then, you can fuck right the fuck off?” Elena said as her mind raced for things to say. Fuck fuck fuck…

     She instead felt tight strings of tension strangling off the retorts and comebacks that usually came to her so easily. Going goth had socially painted herself into a corner, and although she wasn’t alone here, her side wasn’t exactly rallying in defense. Talking back to a pair of pestering cheerleaders was one thing, but dealing with one of the pretty and popular twelfth grade girls and cheerleaders? It felt like blatant social suicide and instead everyone was putting their heads down and ready to roll over, because they weren’t going to be able to out talk an aggressive and confrontational senior like Brittany.

    “Oh, excuse me?” Brittany’s you did NOT just say that face was the very picture of confidence. “Hey, did nobody tell you Halloween’s over already? Grow the fuck up, maybe?”

    “Wow, haven’t heard that before,” Elena stuck with dry sarcasm. “So original.”

    “Hey, I don’t know what kind of cry for help, all of that is, but,” Brittany gestured at Elena’s getup. “Whoever told you that you should just be yourself? Gave bad advice. You look like a total fucking clown, and everyone I’ve heard talk about you? Is always laughing at you. Always, everyone I know. I don’t know if you’re supposed to look like some kind of lesbo or necrophiliac or Edward friggin’ Scissorshands, and I don’t care. Go slit your wrists and die please. ‘Kay, thanks!”

    “Hah, exactly,” Desiree nodded in agreement.

    “Total clown,” Faith echoed. “Yeah.”

    Angry rejoinders bubbled up within her but they were too chaotic and unformed to grasp. So, rather than stutter out some mess of a sentence in response Elena forced her expression to remain unbothered and distant. Out of her peripheral vision around the table here she saw Ashlee was hunching in on herself as if hiding, Clarissa didn’t dare to meet anyone’s eyes, and Alicia was frozen up in shock.

    “Ass-Lee, so I heard you were running your mouth this morning?” Brittany focused her beautiful smile now on her sister. “What did I say was going to happen if you kept mouthing off at people here at school? Look at me.”

    “I don’t have to listen to you,” Ashlee scoffed.

    “Hey, look at me,” Brittany demanded. “With both eyes, this time, maybe? You deformed fucking troglodyte. The rule was—you don’t embarrass me at school. Ever heard the saying, ‘don’t let your mouth write checks your ass can’t cash? Yeah, so exactly. They shouldn’t have even let you into ninth grade in the first place, and even then you’re in all the mentally challenged classes for kids who can’t keep up. No one here even wants to put up with your constant retardation, so if any of these girls talk shit on you? You just turn your cheek and say ‘thank you! May I please have another?’ I do not need to be wasting all my precious time keeping these weirdo little outbursts of yours in line, this is not my fucking job.”

    Her words seemed to echo throughout the back courtyard, because much of the surrounding chatter had fallen silent while more and more teens at the nearby tables turned their way. Elena even felt a melancholy pang of regret for mentally disparaging Vanessa the chatterbox so much not that long ago—she would love to have some backup here, any vocal support, because her friends who gathered here at their usual table were all too meek to speak up right now.

    Elena was still struggling to figure out something—anything—to say, when she noticed Alicia jolt to sit upright. When she followed the girl’s gaze, she saw that yet another girl in one of those dreaded Springton Spirit cheer jackets was headed over. Only, this one turned out to be a very familiar redhead, now storming her way across the quad towards them with absolute murder in her eyes.

    Wait, what? Elena couldn’t help but perk up. She’s here today?

    “Brittany?” Tabitha warned. “Don’t ever talk to your sister that way.”

    “Yeah?” Brittany asked, turning to see who it was. “Or, you’ll what?”

    “Oh wow, look who decided to show up?” Desiree chortled. “It’s Tubby Tabby. In the flesh.”

    “She must have been hiding from us, this morning?” Faith guessed. “Aww, poor baby, was she scared?”

    “Or—I’ll introduce you to the consequences of your actions?” Tabitha ignored the cheer girls and instead just sounded honestly bewildered by Brittany’s brazen attitude. “What makes you even think you can get away with talking like—”

    “Um, news flash, no one fucking cares what—” Brittany was quick to try to simply talk over Tabitha, but this time Tabitha was bulling on ahead regardless.

    “Erica at least was able to say she was bipolar, so what’s your excuse for acting like a fucking psychopath?” Tabitha’s voice rose in volume until she held the attention of the entire back quad. “Ashlee’s your little sister. You treat her this way at school, so I can’t even imagine how bad you are at home, where no one’s watching! Yeah, so maybe it’s not just Erica—maybe you should be separated, too. Separated from each other—for Ashlee’s peace of mind and safety?”

    “Are you threatening me?” Brittany all but scoffed, donning a mask of disbelief. “Are you for real? You think that just because you—”

    “Normal people don’t go around attacking their little sister, so if you think the natural fucking consequences of being a vicious shrieking shitwhistle are a threat, then—”

    “Yeah, so it’s none of your fucking bees-wax, ya stupid cuntwad!” Brittany bristled. “She’s my sister, I’ll talk to her however I want! Yeah, who the hell do you even think you are?”

    Elena felt stunned—and not only because Tabitha didn’t seem to be backing down here at all.

    Brittany had started off here launching into each of them like they were all young naive underclassmen and beneath her, and yet partway through her tirade here now it was like the older girl was forced to reevaluate and treat Tabitha on more equal terms. Which felt… bizarre. Just a few short months ago, the tawny haired Tabitha had been shrinking back in fear from has-beens like Carrie, yet now she felt comfortable squaring up against one of the most intimidating upperclassmen girls? The situation felt strange and discongruent, and the sudden brash defiance from Tabitha now made her think back to when she had seen the girl verbally sparring with Ziggy at the Hot Topic.

    What’s changed? Elena still found herself bewildered. Not that long ago, Tabitha was the meek quiet weirdo girl who was hiding in the library every day at lunch, while all of the other girls ran ramshod over her. Not too long ago, I was the only one who would even stand up for her. Now, she’s like this all the time? What happened?

    “Just—leave us alone,” Ashlee finally found the courage to speak up. “Go away.”

    “Make me, twat waffle,” Brittany shot back. “Sniveling little shit smear. Wah wah wahh, what are you gonna do, cry about it some more? Aunt Kim already told you to stay away from flabby McFatass here, yet—here you are?? Sucking up to her and her whole little turd squad??”

    “She told you to stay away from Tabitha,” Ashlee floundered for a comeback. “You’re already gonna be in trouble.”

    “Oh NO!” Brittany let out a fake gasp. “Twouble?! I’m gonna get in twouble!?” 

    “Turd squad alert!” Desiree laughed. “Like wow—Ashlee if you love Tubby Tabby so much, why don’t you marry her?”

    “Queers,” Faith snorted.

    “Why don’t you all go eat a bag of dicks?” Elena stood up from the table. “Buzz off, you fucking psychos.”

    That… hadn’t been her best line, but Elena had felt the rise of panic within her that compelled her to stand up and say something, because it felt like they were losing momentum again. Especially whenever Brittany and the cheerleaders began to just pile in on them like that, because Ashlee still seemed terrified of her sister and Clarissa and Alicia both went quiet and still the moment everyone started really raising their voices. To her growing dismay, the simple act of standing up from the table didn’t give the cheerleaders pause, not this time.

    These two were bolder now that they had a senior like Brittany here with them.

    “As if!” Desiree shot back with glee at the new target presented. “Oh look, little wannabe Lydia miss Deetz thinks she has something to say! Uh, barf?”

    “Barf!” Faith joined in. “Excuse me while I gag??”

    “Yeahhh, you don’t even want to start with us?” Brittany gave Elena a look of ridicule that burned. “With your lame little Addams family getup. Get real.”

    “What’s even your play, here?” Tabitha intervened. “Harrass us here every morning and every day at lunch? Go whine to Coach Baylor while she’s trying to run class? It’s not going to work. You two are already off the team, you’re not cheerleaders anymore, so is this just you guys being sour grapes, or something? Lashing out, out of spite?”

    “We’re still cheerleaders if we say we’re still cheerleaders,” Desiree retorted. “Like you’d even know. You didn’t earn that jacket like we did, hello? You’re just all wahhhh, some big meanie took my freshman piss rag, oh wahhh.”

    “Yeah, grow up,” Faith sneered. “Grow the actual hell up.”

    “Okay, cool?” Tabitha gave them a performative wince. “So—you both already got booted from the team for being total dumbasses, you have your warning and your write ups, and now you’re just—fishing for suspensions, or something? Good plan?”

    “Aw look, the little crybaby’s already coming out and admitting she’s just trying to snitch on us,” Desiree made a face. “Yeah, guess what, pussy? That’s not gonna work. Principal Edwards already dismissed all those bogus write ups, so—how about THEM apples?”

    “Pssh, yeah,” Faith laughed. “Trying to cry wolf to the school about made up stuff? In your dreams.”

    “That’s all she ever does,” Brittany laughed. “Run off crying to the teachers over everything, like a little bitch. Like a total pussy.”

    “As opposed to what, pointlessly taking abuse?” Tabitha countered. “Weren’t you and Erica the ones who pushed me off a trampoline last summer, and put me in the hospital? Oh huh, yeah, that was you two. Then, suddenly all the seniors and sophomores are spreading the rumor that I was talking shit about some running back kid I’d never even heard of before, and so I get pushed from behind and break my wrist? Erica even loses her fucking marbles, and outright attacks me with a baseball bat at a party? When I’m just trying to be me and do my own thing??”

    “Tch, yeah whatever,” Desiree’s response to that one was weak. “Like anyone even knows what all really happened, there. Just the—”

    “I’m way past being out of patience for this stupid confrontational BS, and all the adults have wised up by now,” Tabitha gave them a shrug and a bitter smile. “Everyone knows who was behind the rumor mill about me back then. Everyone’s paying attention to what you’re doing here. Listen, you’re all out of warnings, and write-ups, and second chances. Keep harassing us like this, please, so that you can just be suspended for good, and then we won’t have to see you ever again.”

    “Whatever!” Faith made a ‘W’ sign with both thumbs and forefingers.

    “Um sike, nice try?” Brittany’s expression didn’t falter. “Except, everyone knows you’re completely full of bullshit, about everything?? Did you forget about that one simple fact there, retard? The fact that you’re a total fucking liar? No one’s buying any of the sob story shit, especially not from you.”

    “Yeah,” Faith said. “News flash, turd nugget? We just went and got everything cleared up with Principal Edwards already—and, he already knows you’re full of shit about everything. There’s absolutely zero percent chance you or your weirdo friend will ever be in cheer. Ever. Especially not now, because now everyone knows you’re a fucking liar.”

    “Fucking liar,” Desiree agreed. “Yeah. I never even touched your stupid piss baby towel in the first place, you fucking bed wetter.”

    “Okay, whatever?” Tabitha shook her head as she beckoned for her friends to get up and follow her. “I don’t even have time for this. I need to find Grace and Tiff, because I am having a party this weekend to celebrate with my friends. Whatever all of this is? It’s just a waste of my time and completely pointless. So like—bye?”

    “Like anyone even cares,” Desiree laughed. “Yeah right, some party. With who? You don’t have friends. You have losers. You’re all just a bunch of absolute nobodies.”

    “Maybe they’ll all wear party hats, and play musical chairs!” Brittany snickered. “Clap like retards for each other, while they play pin the tail on the donkey. Like a bunch of fucking grade schoolers. Like—durr hurr hurr!”

    “A bunch of losers!” Faith chimed in.

    Elena grabbed her bag and tried to look cool as she walked over to stand beside Tabitha—she didn’t want to look like she was running away or give off any appearance that Brittany and the cheerleaders had ever had the upper hand. Clarissa beat her there however, scurrying over in a hurry to hide behind Tabs and followed a moment later by Alicia. Ashlee huffed and looked out of sorts by what was going on, but obviously was forced to join them. Because the only alternative was remaining behind at the table alone, and there was no way she was going to volunteer herself up to become a verbal punching bag.

    “Yeah, wow, I forgot that to you girls, people only count as ‘friends’ if they have value to you,” Tabitha said, appearing unphased. “So—they’d better have money, or be popular, or have some way of giving you social leverage, because you’re all stone cold calculating fucking sociopaths, who don’t care about anything else. Well, great. Aren’t you all just too cool for school? Why don’t you go have fun with all of that and leave us be, then? ‘Kay, thanks!”

    “Hey, so she realizes she’s in with a bunch of losers?” Desiree tittered. “Wow, for real? Wake up call?”

    “Wah wah wah, yeah cry some more,” Brittany taunted. “Pathetic little freshman bitch babies. Skedaddle on and run away now, I guess?”

    “A bunch of looo—sers,” Faith crooned in a mocking voice, making an ‘L’ hand and putting it to her forehead. “Yeah okay, who even cares if—”

    “Ohhh, she was looking kind of dumb—

    “With her finger and her thumb—

    “In the shape of an ‘L’ on her forehead!

    “Yeah she ain’t the sharpest tool in the she~d!”

    To everyone’s surprise, Tabitha’s parting shot for them wasn’t just a simple comeback, she had a whole clever mocking limerick of some sort prepared for that specific hand gesture Faith made. The tailor-made singsong nature of it even had a peculiar way of tickling at their brains, as if they should know that little poem from somewhere. But, when Elena took in everyone’s somewhat startled expressions, she saw they were arriving at the same conclusion she had—they had no idea where Tabitha had pulled those lines from, and they were good lines. New ones which they definitely would have remembered.

    “Wh-whatever, even,” Registering the words a moment too slow, Faith quickly dropped the ‘L’ she had thrown up with a flustered scowl. “Losers. Yeah right.”

    “Oh, she thinks she’s so funny,” Brittany scowled. “But hey, guess what? She’s not.”

    “Yeah,” Desiree agreed, crossing her arms. “She’s not, like at all.”

    Brittany and the two cheerleaders with crossed arms tsked as they left, but made no motions to follow after them.

    There was finally some blessed silence as their small group strode across the back courtyard, through the doors, and then started down the hall together, but Elena’s mind was churning and she felt a vague sense of dread forming like a pit in her gut. Finally, because no one else was apparently going to bring it up, Elena forced herself to ask.

    “So uh,” Elena cleared her throat. “What was that from? The shape of an L on her forehead bit?”

    “Smash Mouth,” Tabitha answered in a brusque tone. “All Star? I’d be real damn surprised if I managed to get ahead of that one.”

    Elena wanted to retort with sarcasm, because smashed mouth, all star was just a series of random meaningless words with no way for her to even chew on, but instead Clarissa spoke up.

    “Smash Mouth?” Clarissa asked. “Like—the band? The guys who do the one that’s like, ‘might as well be walkin’ on the sun?’”

    “Um, maybe?” Tabitha shrugged. “All Star is their big earworm mega hit one, and it comes out like—now. A few months from now, tops? Mystery Men uses it. Freakin’ Shrek uses it. Shrek is—shit. Okay, Shrek’s a bit further off, I guess. Very early two thousands?”

    “So, it’s from a song,” Alicia said, turning a knowing smirk towards Elena. “A song from the future.”

    “Barely—if it’s even from the future, it’s not far off at all,” Tabitha said with a dismissive tone. “Probably out already or at least on the radio. Why would she do the L hand thing, if not from that?”

    “I… thought that was originally from Ace Ventura?” Alicia wondered out loud. “The L hand thing. Pet Detective?”

    “It’s been around way way longer than that,” Elena said, scrutinizing Tabitha closely. “So. Those were song lyrics, from some band in the future? Where are we going, anyways? What’s the plan?”

    “Looking for my other friends Tiffany and Grace,” Tabitha said. “I think they might be in the lunchroom? I was serious back there, I want to have a big get-together with everyone this weekend.”

    “Wait…” Clarissa looked from face to face as she tried to grasp what was going on. “How would you have heard it though, if it’s from the future…?”

    “It’s probably already out!” Tabitha said again, frustrated. “Not even what we should be focusing on. Were they bothering you this morning, too? Those cheerleaders. I went and got my cast off this morning, by the way. So. Celebrating.”

    “Oh, cool,” Alicia commented. “Nice. I thought that was this weekend?”

    “Faith and Desiree came by again, yeah,” Elena confirmed. “Ashlee told them to fuck off, and they were all spooked. It was funny. Guess that’s why they sought out Brittany to come with them this time.”

    “They’re just a bunch of psychos,” Ashlee sniffed, visibly uncomfortable at having anyone’s attention on her. “I barely even said anything.”

    “Well, thank you for telling them off this morning,” Tabitha nodded her acknowledgement. “And—I’m sorry your sister is like that. You shouldn’t have to put up with any of that.”

    “She’s always been like that,” Ashlee scoffed. “They both always were—you’d already know that if you were Tabitha. Which, you’re so obviously not.”

    “Uh… what?” Clarissa blinked.

    “Yeah, what?” Alicia asked.

    “Ashlee refuses to recognize me as the same person since my, ah, ‘summer transformation,’” Tabitha explained with a leading tone. “She was just about the only person who really knew me that well before. If you catch my drift.”

    “Oh,” Alicia mouthed. “Ohhh. Okay.”

    “No, she’s not,” Elena refuted. “I knew you from Laurel Middle. We had classes together?”

    “Then, you surely noticed that I changed from one person to another, basically overnight?” Tabitha sounded almost indifferent. “Listen—I don’t want to keep arguing about it. I’m obviously not going to change your mind, not at this point.”

    “No, like I mean—” Elena wasn’t even sure how to respond to that.

    “Wait, so you know that this isn’t the real Tabitha,” Ashlee took Elena by the arm. “So, it’s not just me. Together we can prove it, somehow. Or—at least find out what the fuck is going on.”

    “I am so lost,” Clarissa admitted.

    “I’m a Returner, Tabitha said. “I went on almost fifty years into the future, and then looped back. It’s not all that important, and I guess don’t even bother taking it too seriously. Since I can’t really prove it, and there’s no reason to believe me. I just have to learn to live with all of this high school bullshit all over again. So fun!”

    “Wait,” Clarissa blinked at them. “What?”

    “She’s joking,” Elena clarified. “It’s a thing she does.”

    “Or, is she?” Alicia teased. “She definitely knows things.”

    “That all sounds like the stupidest thing I’ve ever even heard,” Ashlee scoffed, releasing her hold on Elena in exasperation. “Like, yeah right.”

    “Yep,” Tabitha agreed. “It is stupid. You’re definitely preachin’ to the choir, there.”

    “So, like a time traveller?” Clarissa asked. “Like Back to the Future?”

    “More like some kind of cosmic accident,” Tabitha shrugged. “It doesn’t even really matter. It’s so stupidly hard to even change anything, and half the time everything I do seems to just make everything worse. Like all of the advantages I should have always seem to monkey’s paw me instead, come back around somehow to bite me. Drives me crazy.”

    “Her thinking she’s from the future is some kind of coping mechanism she has that helps her deal with certain trauma,” Elena explained. “She’s not literally from the future.”

    “You sound less and less convinced of that each time you try to say it,” Alicia giggled. “But—we can just write down all the stuff she’s said. Smash Mouth, All Star. Big hit song, apparently coming out soon.”

    “Bullshit,” Ashlee shook her head.

    “I… don’t think I’ve heard of it?” Clarissa mumbled. “It’s ‘All Star?’ By the same dudes who do Walking on the Sun?”

    “Alright, well then, don’t hate me for this!” Tabitha cleared her throat and then began to sing for them. “Listen up, I guess. Some-BODY once told me, the world was gonna roll me~”

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/// I lied, at 4,600 or so words that wasn't short or sweet at all. As we say in the nineties—SIKE!

Think this section might feel incredibly authentic to those who lived through those times, and like absurd nonsense to anyone who didn't? Writing these kind of arguments is 20% cringe, 60% oppressive 90s-specific dialect, and 20% pure viciousness, so probably not going to do any more like this. Super exhausting to put together, and I think I've put enough of them in that we can realistically escalate past that now and just choose violence going forward!

And yes, we're still in January of 1999, here. All Star won't release until May!

As to why she didn't bring it up before, if she knew it was one of the pop culture 'proves' that arrives soonest? She didn't think of it! She's a total conflicted mess with other major issues to worry about, and can't reasonably sort out random pop culture knowledge or order everything by which came out exactly when, or google the dates of things from the other timeline.