Wear - Chapter 26

When Wyatt showed up to work after school that day, he tried explaining what happened the day before to his boss, Jim Haggard. After hearing his explanation, Jim still told him “Failure to show up to work without a notice is still a punishable offense. I’m sorry, Wyatt, but you’re fired”. Wyatt came back home to Emma, explaining what happened at work.

“I’m sorry” Emma says. “It’s all my fault”.

“No, it’s not” Wyatt says. “It’s my fault really. Besides, I’m sure I can find a new job, don’t worry”.

Emma thinks for a while, then says “You could try asking Matilda. Her boss might be willing to hire you. We can go there next weekend and ask her”.

Wyatt thinks for a while and says “That could work. I’d at least know one person who works there”.

“Alright!” Emma says. “Then lets go talk to Matilda together on Saturday!”.

The next morning, before class. “So are you and Aeris not going to be able to see eye to eye anymore?” Wyatt asks. “Don’t you think there’s a better way to handle this?”.

“I dunno” Jackson says, “there probably is. I can’t really work something out unless she’ll let me though, and seeing as how she won’t even let me talk to her…”.

“Maybe we can help?” Emma asks.

“Nope” Aeris says. “This is all on him. It’s not just the fact that he started a problem for us that one day. It’s the fact that the problem he started is now turning into a problem for the entire school, because he failed to think about his actions”.

“I mean… that’s true though” Emily says. “It’s probably going to fall on all of us sooner if not later”.

“W-well the best way to handle it would be together” Jessica says. “R-right?”.

The rest of The Rejects didn’t answer. After a short pause, Wyatt says “I think Jessica is right… I get that it’ll take some time to fix, b-but we should be able to-“.

“And just how do you plan on doing any of that?” Jackson asks in a disappointed tone.

“I’m not so sure…” Wyatt says.

During lunch time, The Rejects gathered to eat lunch. Suddenly, the door to the rooftop swung openly with a loud thud. Standing in the doorway was Rose Weber. “So… you’re the club?” Rose asks.

“M-Ms. Weber!” Jessica panics.

“I heard you guys are supposedly using this rooftop as the designated spot for your club” Rose says.

“Yeah” Emma says.

“Well, lucky for you, I’m the sponsor for your club” Rose says. “I’ll be the teacher that helps host your club”.

Jessica leans in close to whisper to Emily and says “I don’t feel very lucky”.

“Yeah, she’s kinda… scary, isn’t she?” Emily asks.

“Why do you all seem like somebody died?” Rose asks. “C’mon, I need to know a few things about this club you guys are starting soon. Tomorrow is the last day of the semester before your winter break. You guys get an entire month off school, but us teachers still have work to do during the break. So out with it, I need to get everything ready”.

“Like what?” Emma asks. “What did you need to know?”.

“Let me see if I can guess this right” Rose says. Rose then points at Jackson, then Aeris, then Emma and Emily. “Laibah, laibah, laibah, and laibah. The rest are humans, correct?”.

“Actually, I’m human too” Emily says. “You were close though. My parents are laibah”.

“Congrats, now I’m more confused” Rose says.

“W-well” Emily says, “it’s a long story. Basically I-“.

“That’s not what I’m here for” Rose interrupts. “I just wanted to try a guessing game because I was at least a little curious about this group of mischiefs. Now, I’ll need a club name, the goal, purpose of the members, your roles, yadda yadda…”.

“Did we… decide on a real name?” Jackson asks.

“Come to think of it, I don’t think we did” Emily says.

“The Rejects” Emma says.

“The Rejects…” Rose says, “that’s the name you’re going with?”.

“Wait” Jackson says, “can’t we come up with a better name?”.

“The Rejects” an unfamiliar voice says as footsteps were heard coming up the stairs, “I like it”. Darren shows up on the rooftop next to Rose. “It’s like admitting you’re different, but refusing to give up simply because you’re not like the rest”.

“Oh, I remember you!” Emma says. “Didn’t we run into each other after school before?”.

“D-Darren!?” Wyatt asks.

“And you are?” Darren asks. Darren then walks a little bit closer towards Wyatt, studying his face, trying to recognize him. Suddenly, Wyatt stands up and the two of them shook each other’s hand. “Wyatt!” Darren shouts. “It’s been so long! Why didn’t you tell me you moved out of Durley!?”.

“How the hell am I supposed to know how to get in contact with you?” Wyatt asks with a laugh. “We haven’t seen each other for about eleven years!”.

“And now I’m even more confused…” Jackson says.

“Wait” Emma asks, “is this your old childhood friend?”.

“Yeah” Darren says. “I didn’t think we’d ever see each other again. If you’re here, then where’s Kemal?”.

“Kemal isn’t… going to college” Wyatt says.

“Excuse me, Darren” Rose says with a stern voice, “we were in the middle of something. Don’t you have other things to do?”.

Darren shrugs his shoulders and says “I got bored. When I heard some rumors about this first year student practically announcing that he’s a laibah, and some club was involved, I got curious”.

“Don’t you have friends to go play with, ya little brat?” Rose asks. Darren responds by simply scratching the back of his head and laughing.

“Ms. Weber is kinda mean” Jessica says.

“Mean?” Darren asks. “No, not at all! Ms. Weber is actually a really nice teacher when you get to know her!”.

“Silence” Rose says, “I’m busy”.

“She even helped me out when I needed a dorm” Darren says.

“Are you done?” Rose asks.

“A-ah, yes ma’am” Darren says.

“Good” Rose says. “Now back to the matter at hand, what are your assigned roles so far? Who’s the leading member of this club?”.

“Wyatt is” Aeris says.

“Any other representative roles assigned?” Rose asks. The Rejects exchange looks between each other. “I’m taking that as a no” Rose says. “Now the goal and purpose of this… club?”.

“The club is meant to be a relaxing safe spot for people who don’t really fit in” Wyatt says. “But most importantly, the goal is to help each other find what we want to do with our lives after college. That way, we can-“.

“Good enough” Rose interrupts.

“I’ll join this club” Darren says.

“For real?” Jackson asks.

“Yeah, I’ll actually agree with that student over there” Rose says. “Why would you join? For a laibah, you fit in really well. You’re kind of popular amongst your class, and you even have people asking you to join several other clubs… so why?”.

“Seems like fun” Darren says. “Bedsides, it’s not often you meet an old friend that you never expected to see again”.

“So… you’re a laibah?” Jackson asks.

“Yep” Darren says. “Second year here, too!”.

“And you haven’t already joined a club?” Jackson asks.

“Nope” Darren says. “I like spending my time relaxing, and most clubs involve work… that’s not really my forte”.

“Anyways” Rose says, “I’ll have to get everything registered during break. If you’ll excuse me, I’d rather not be stuck in your conversation”.

As Rose begins to walk away, Darren waves at Rose and says “See ya tomorrow, Ms. Weber!”.

“Yeah yeah” Rose says, “whatever”.

Darren sits down with the rest and asks “Mind if I join you guys?”.

“N-not at all!” Wyatt says. “If you want to join the club, that’s fine!”.

Darren laughs and says “I meant join you for lunch… but yeah, that too”.

“So what’s the real reason you’re joining the club?” Jackson asks.

“Well, if I’m in a club, people will stop asking me to join their clubs” Darren says. “Easy way to get out of extra work!”.

“That’s one way to look at it” Emily says.

“Anyways” Darren says, “don’t be so intimidated by Ms. Weber. She may seem mean, but she really is a nice teacher. Besides, she’ll likely be one of your teachers next year anyways, so may as well get used to her now”.

As the rest of the day passed, then the next day, The Rejects couldn’t seem to get past this tension that built up amongst the group. However, it was finally the end of the semester. Their break between semesters, winter break, finally arrived. When they would return to school the next semester, it would be time to finally start their club activities. Before that, there were other things Wyatt and Emma had to take care of. On Saturday of December 7th 2019, Wyatt and Emma went up to Savvy Threads like they do every Saturday.

“Emma! Wyatt!” Matilda says as the two of them enter. “So you did keep your promise of bringing Emma back after all!”.

“Y-Yeah” Wyatt says.

“I’m sorry” Emma says to Matilda. “I’m sure I made you worry”.

“Child, I told you before didn’t I?” Matilda asks. “If you’re not honest, bad things happen”.

“I-I’m sorry…” Emma says.

“That doesn’t matter anymore” Matilda says. “What’s important is that you’re fine. So, you have more clothing for me to sell?”.

“Yeah” Emma says, “and a favor to ask”.

“What’s the favor?” Matilda asks.

“W-When Wyatt came for me…” Emma says, “I-I costed him… his job. S-So I was wondering if you guys would be able to help him?”.

“So Wyatt lost his job after all?” Emily asks as she approaches from the back of the store.

“Y-Yeah…” Emma says.

“Don’t worry so much, Emma” Wyatt says. “Worse things have happened”.

“I don’t know if we’re hiring” Matilda says, “but I’ll definitely be sure to ask Dylan about it later tonight”.

“Dylan?” Emma asks.

“Dylan Freud” Emily says. “He owns this store”.

“Yes” Matilda says, “he’s the one who’s scared of hiring laibah because he’s afraid they’ll scare away all of our customers. I’ve told you about him, haven’t I?”.

“You have” Emma says, “but I don’t think you ever told me his name”.

“Well, I’ll let you guys know as soon as I find out” Matilda says. “We may be able to hire you to be my assistant alongside Emily here”.

“I didn’t know you got paid to work here, Emily” Wyatt says.

“I don’t” Emily says. “I just come here after school because I get lonely and bored at home. Ever since my parents left town again, it’s been quiet. So I’m helping Matilda out here again”.

“Oh yeah” Emma asks, “did you ever talk to your parents about that one thing?”.

“Y-Yeah” Emily says. “Although, I knew they’d be understanding about it. They were always too nice to me…”.

“That’s Jay and Lyra for you” Matilda says. “They’re a couple of sweethearts, those two”.

“Aren’t they scholars?” Wyatt asks. “Does that mean that jobs like those hire laibah now?”.

“Ah, yes and no” Matilda says. “They act as scholars on their own merits, so yes they are scholars. They aren’t working as scholars though for a profession. They collect information and publish books under an alias name. That’s where they get their money”.

“If only we could have their books in our schools” Wyatt says. “I’d like to learn more about laibah history, as well as it’d probably help people understand more about laibah, and make people less afraid of them”.

“That’d be one way to help move the world forward, Wyatt” Matilda says. “Why don’t you guys try to find a way to make that happen. After all, your generation is the next one to take charge of this world in a manner of speaking. Why don’t you try to be something like a teacher, and try using those materials to help people understand what laibah really are?”.

“I don’t know…” Wyatt says. “I’m not sure if I’d be any good as a teacher”.

“Well, give it some thought” Matilda says, “but don’t rush it. You’ve still got a couple years to go until you have to make your decision”.

“Yeah, you’re right” Wyatt says. “I’ll definitely think about it”.

Emma and Matilda do their exchange of selling clothes for the store. After that was done, Matilda says “I’ll find a way to let you guys know about job openings here”.

“Thanks, Matilda” Wyatt says as the two of them leave.

After Wyatt and Emma return to the dorm, Jackson asks “So you guys are back already?”.

“Did you miss us?” Wyatt asks with a laugh.

“Yeah… no I didn’t” Jackson says. “Because every time you guys are here, it’s always the same mushy bull crap”.

“Geez, I’m sorry” Wyatt says. “Did you want to do something this weekend?”.

“I’m actually planning on just relaxing” Jackson says. “But then I remembered that you guys also live here, so…”.

“You could at least lighten up a little…” Emma says. “Look, do you want to… try hanging out this weekend or something? We have a while off of school, and you really need to work on your attitude”.

“Whoa” Jackson says. “Since when did Emma get the courage to criticize people?”.

“I don’t know what you mean…” Emma says.

“She also threatened you before, when you called me a girl” Wyatt says.

“Oh yeah… I remember that” Jackson says.

“I’ll still do it too, if you don’t learn how to be less of an ass” Emma says.

“Okay, okay!” Jackson says. “I get it! If you guys can find something interesting to do, then I’ll go with, I guess. Until then, I’ll be laying here in bed. Deal?”.

“Good enough” Wyatt says.

“Deal” Emma says.