John Dandy Boys Club

Chapter Forty-Four: Reactions

The next day...

"OMG! Mr. Westley and his son are not going to be happy about this new weblog that's ready to discredit the John Dandy guys! Newbie's really asking for it!"

"That new kid's not even in school for a whole week and he's acting like a damn fool for starting a diss-website slamming Westley and Thompson's creds, man! I bet he's been hypnotized by that Halliday girl that's now in town who's ready to cause hell!"

"Vion's not in his grave cold yet, and this new kid's ready to trash-talk about De'Andre and his membership into Westley's social circle. I don't like this one bit at all! Fordham and Talbot need to rein him in!"

Those were some of the statements made by students and faculty alike at Trotter's Ridge High School as word of The Star of Bavier's debut continued to spread like a raging wildfire. And for the newly-minted Guardians who were meeting with the principal and vice-principal during study hall, the feelings of contempt and hatred towards one Nathan Bavier were mutual. "This is some messed-up bullshit," Tahira spat lowly as she reread the inaugural blog post on the blogging app through her phone. "What the hell was on his mind when he started this rag?"

"Mainly because of jealousy, I'll bet," Mr. Talbot replied gruffly. "The Westleys and the boys are absent for today since they went undercover for an assignment in London, but they're aware of the situation. Needless to say, they're not happy with what's been written, more so for De'Andre and his father since they strongly believe that Kenya has something to do with this."

"Where's Hag Halliday, I'd like to know?" Felicity asked, a frown marring her perfectly made-up face.

"Last time that I've heard, De'Andre's grandpa said that she's still at the Green Rose Motel and Apartments still in hiding," Fordham answered. "We've got some eyes surveilling her for a good while."

"This is getting screwy and shit," Quintarrus said, looking up from his phone. "This is why I'm glad that Kenya's in hiding and that Bavier kid's not in school for today. If it was up to me, I'd give him a punch to the jaw and make him shut it down."

"No," Damon said. "We need to keep cool and leveled heads right now, especially for Vion. You guys, you may not know this by now, but Vion's birthday is coming up soon, and it'll be the first one without his parents."

"Damn," Tahira hissed, shaking her head. "I almost forgot to ask him when his birthday was. Does he know about this?"

"He does," Quez, who remained quiet until now, said tersely as he looked up from his computer. "He and Mr. Booker as well as Mrs. Booker are pissed off as are the Newmans and Halliday's parents. I gotta meet up with them after school today myself to talk about this mess, but I've been working on something to counteract with Bavier's rag. I was intending to take him on as an apprentice for the Daily Siren out of goodwill, but he just burned that bridge."

"Do it anyway," Fordham advised him.

All the student Guardians and Talbot turned to her as if she'd grown to heads. "Why?"

A small smirk formed on her face. "What better way to snare a spy than to recruit a spy?" she suggested. "Think about it, we can make the offer to him as a gossip/opinion columnist and then hack into his computer to counteract his posts with one of our own."

"Genius, if not risky," Felicity hummed. "Nice one, Mrs. Fordham."

"Suicidal move, if you ask me," Tahira huffed. "I'd say that we let the football team have at him and scare him out of his blog completely."

"Fordham's right," Quez breathed as he finished typing on his computer. "We can't do anything to cause attention and give Bavier something to use against us, so we'll need to use her plan to catch him in the act and demand him to tell us what he knows about Halliday. But right now, y'all, my article is now live. Tell me what you think."