𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐚𝐧 [s. harrington]

THE BITCH

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(the weirdo on maple street)

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"When alpha particles go through gold foil, they become..." Beth read off of the flashcard.

"Unoccupied space," Barb answered quickly. Beth flipped the card over, and sure enough, Barb was right. She nodded in approval.

"A molecule that can-" Beth was cut off as Steve walked by, ripping the flashcards out of her hand. "Hey!" Beth's voice was laced with annoyance, and she reached forward, grabbing for the cards. Her fingers brushed against one, but Steve quickly pulled them out of her reach, flipping through them haphazardly.

"I think you've studied enough, Nance," he said, standing with Carol and Tommy. Beth locked eyes with the boy, who smiled mockingly at her. He wanted a reaction out of her, she could tell, so instead she just looked over at Barb, whose face was one of pure annoyance.

Neither one of them liked Tommy or Carol very much, if at all, and not just because of Beth's drunken mistake (as she would call it) with Tommy that summer. The two juniors were just plain assholes, always picking on the less popular kids and spreading rumors about those that they were jealous of. Beth had thought that Nancy shared in her and Barb's distaste of the bullies, but nowadays, as Nancy hung out with Steve more and more, she wasn't quite so sure about it.

"Steve-" Nancy began to protest.

"I'm telling you, you know, you got this," Steve patted the notecards. "Don't worry. Now, on to more important matters. My dad has left town for a conference and my mom's gone with him, 'cause, you know, she doesn't trust him."

"Good call," Tommy smirked.

"So are you in?" Steve said, looking at Nancy, who seemed confused. Beth, on the other hand, knew exactly what he was asking.

"In for what?"

"No parents? Big house?" Beth could tell Carol was mocking Nancy's naivety.

"It's a party, Nance," Beth whispered in her ear.

"A party?" she asked out loud.

"Ding, ding, ding!" Carol chimed, and Tommy laughed.

"It's Tuesday."

Tommy looked way too amused by what Nancy said for Beth's liking. "It's Tuesday!" he mocked. "Oh, my God."

"Lay off, Hagan," Beth snipped. Carol shot her a look, which she returned, but her words went ignored by the boy, who was too busy sniggering at his own joke.