Wear - Chapter 30

After a few days, Wyatt began working at Savvy Threads with Matilda. By the time Christmas came around, Wyatt had finally managed to get that picture frame for Emma, to store that picture that picture that he gave her. “Sorry I couldn’t afford much, Emma” Wyatt tells her.

Emma shakes her head and says “You’ve given enough. I’m sorry I can’t really do anything for you”.

Wyatt laughs and says “It’s YOUR birthday, so don’t worry about it!”.

“Thanks, Wyatt” Emma says.

“Happy birthday, Emma” Wyatt says.

The next day, Thursday of December 26th, The Rejects gathered once again in the school’s courtyard. “Less than two weeks now” Aeris says, “until the next semester begins”.

“Yeah” Wyatt says, “a lot has been happening, but I feel like a lot of good things could happen”.

“Like what?” Jackson asks, skeptically.

“Well, good things don’t just come to you if you wait around for it” Wyatt says, “but at the same time, isn’t that also why we decided to make the club? To turn things around for us?”.

“You’ve got a point, at least” Aeris says, “but it also seems like you’re taking the situation too lightly”.

“Don’t get me wrong” Wyatt says, “I’m worried too… but that doesn’t mean we can’t do something about it”.

“Yeah” Emily says, “I think we’re all worried. However, we also all know that’s not gonna stop us”.

“That’s the spirit” Darren says.

“There’s a lot to look forward to” Jessica says, “but there’s also a lot that needs to be done, right? Isn’t that what you’re trying to say?”.

“Yeah” Wyatt says.

“There’s more to look forward to” Emma says, “but that’s just all the more reason for us to not give up”.

“Can we stop with the motivational quotes” Jackson says. “You’re making me… feel things”.

Finally, the day arrived. Monday of January 6th 2020, the first day of the second semester. “Welcome back to class” Refus says as he enters the classroom, “and good morning! During homeroom period today, we’ll be having the students who are forming their clubs get started on their clubs. So when your sponsoring teacher calls for you, please follow them for further instruction on what to do. Most of this class signed up to make a club, so I guess this homeroom period will be… kind of quiet today”.

Eventually, Rose walks into the class and calls for The Rejects. “Wyatt Bogan” Rose says, “you and the rest of your group, please follow me”.

“The rest of us?” Jackson asks. “Why does she need all of us? Don’t they only need just one representative role for this?”.

“Are you actually arguing about having an excuse to get out of class?” Jessica asks.

The Rejects follow Rose out of the classroom and eventually make their way to the second year section of the building. There, they pick up Darren from his class. “Ms. Weber!” Darren says as he leaves the classroom, “What’s up?”.

“That club, you idiot” Rose says, “remember?”.

“Oh yeah…” Darren says. “I forgot about making the club. The seconds years already have all of their clubs formed but the first years can’t make theirs until this semester”.

“And the reason I needed all of you is because the principal also wanted to speak with you” Rose says. “Normally, I’d only need Wyatt to be here”.

“Why does the principal need to speak with us?” Emily asks.

“He needs to speak with all of us?” Jessica asks.

“Yes, all of you” Rose says, “and I don’t know why he needs to speak with you. Come on, let’s go”.

“I’m glad you’re all here” Ryan says when they all enter the office. “I need to speak with all of you about this club. I’ve heard about your club and everything, but with current events, your club may play a more important role. I don’t want you guys thinking of this club as merely a club, but rather an extracurricular activity of vital importance”.

“Vital importance?” Emma asks. “Why’s that?”.

“Your group, with your goals” Ryan says, “can represent the student body who support the laibah community here at this school. With that in mind, I want you guys to be aware of what that means. If you guys do anything too… thoughtless, then the people around you will believe that is how the rest of the students like you would act. In a short summarization, I want you guys to realize that you’re now representing a group of people that is larger than yourselves, understand? I don’t want this to intimidate you, so make sure you’re still accomplishing the goals you had set up before. Just… make sure you don’t do anything too bold”.

Rose seems to grow irritated as she asks Ryan “Is that everything?”.

“That’ll be all for now, at least” Ryan says.

“Alright, you kids go to your club… roof and I’ll meet you there to talk about setting up your club” Rose says. After all of The Rejects leave the office, Rose looks back at Ryan and asks “What the hell are you planning?”.

“There’s a chance people from outside the school will look at us with a sense of distaste, Rose” Ryan says. “With this bill proposition, a lot of people from the inner city have been taking… offense to the idea. There’s not a very big chance, but if there’s any chance at all that anyone would look to those students for an excuse to incriminate laibah, then I want those students to be prepared to handle such a situation”.

“What makes you think people would use students like that?” Rose asks.

“Some people tend to do crazy things when they feel their way of life is threatened” Ryan says.

“I don’t like this…” Rose says.

“None of us do” Ryan says. “But it’s better to be prepared than to sit and wait for trouble. I can’t bring myself to tell those students that they might be in danger, but I also won’t allow them to give those people an excuse to challenge this bill”. As Rose begins to leave, Ryan says “Don’t take this personally. I don’t want to put all the weight on your shoulders, Rose”.

Rose looks over her shoulder at Ryan and says “It’s been personal. Whether or not I wanted to be a part of this, you ended up getting involved. Of course I’ll be taking this personally, but not in the manner you’re likely thinking, gramps. Leave those students to me… I’ll take care of this from here”.

After Rose leaves, Ryan pulls out more notes sent to him from people around the city and puts them in the paper shredder. This time, death threats from people who take up arms against his proposed bill. “I’m depending on you, Rose” Ryan says to himself. “Unfortunately, I also have to put some of the weight of this task on our students this time too. Please don’t put yourself in danger for me…”.

“What was all of that about?” Emily asks.

“I believe he wants us to be responsible” Jackson says.

“Representing a group larger than ourselves, huh?” Wyatt asks. “Maybe he’s depending on us to help the rest of the school accept laibah”.

“And here I thought I was getting out of responsibility” Darren says. “Looks like it was a trap…”.

“Still” Emma says, “Principal Schafold recognized what we’re trying to do. Isn’t that… a good thing?”.

“Depends on how you look at it” Aeris says.

“It seems like it’ll be a lot of work” Jessica says.

“It is what it is” Rose says as she finally arrives on the rooftop. “Now, as for the state of your club spot, what are we going to need to make this a club?”.

“What do you mean?” Darren asks. “Isn’t it all basically already here?”.

“Chairs, tables, anything of that sort” Rose says. “Seriously, have you not planned any of this?”.

“Chairs and tables would definitely be a start” Wyatt says, “but we’ll also need Emma to bring her sewing kit. That way, we can have her design a badge sewn into our uniforms as our mark as a club. Each member can wear this badge as a sign of being a member. If we can actually get enough influence, we can even start making buttons for other students to wear as a show of support for the group without being a member. This way, it’s shows the school that we’re here to stay, and refuse to leave”.

Rose snaps her fingers and says “Actually, I like that idea. That’s not too bad”.

“What should the badge look like?” Emma asks.

“We’ll have to leave that up to you, Emma” Wyatt says. “Whatever you come up with is fine”.

“Well, you guys start planning that much” Rose says, “and Refus and I will take care of the club furniture”.

“Mr. Maloney too?” Emily asks.

“I’m the sponsor of this club” Rose says, “but Refus will be assisting”.

Throughout the day, Rose, Refus and The Rejects carried chairs and tables up to the roof. The next day, Emma brought her sewing supplies to start working on a badge for their club. The Rejects gathered at their club spot, the rooftop which they usually eat lunch at, and watched Emma as she worked on a badge design. Working on her old uniform first, she eventually came up with a simple design. “How’s this?”

Emma asks as she holds up her old tattered uniform with the badge on the left shoulder. The badge was a red circle with a black outline and a black, backwards letter R.

“Why is it just a backwards letter R?” Jackson asks.

“I-I’m not so good with complex designs…” Emma says.

“I think it’s good” Wyatt says.

“Yeah, it doesn’t need to be complex” Emily says, “it just needs to be able to show what we support”.

“Good enough for me” Darren says. “Now we just have to get that on everybody’s uniform”.

“I’ll need to borrow everybody’s spare uniform” Emma says, “because it’ll take a long time to finish putting it on everyone’s uniform. Just leave one of your spare uniforms with me, and I’ll work on it at home”.

“What about you, Emma?” Wyatt asks. “Other than your old uniform, you only have one uniform. Do you want me to help you buy a new uniform?”.

“I guess I’ll just work on mine first after changing clothes at home” Emma says.

“We also still have to continue looking for more members” Jackson says. “If we are supposed to be representing a group of people, that’s easier if we have more… diversity, I guess. It might just be me, but when I look around at the group we have now, all I see are misfits and weirdos”.

“Jackson…” Aeris says in an annoyed tone.

“Don’t get me wrong” Jackson says. “I wouldn’t trade this group of friends out for anybody, but at the same time, we still have the responsibility of making an impression on people. To do that, we’ll need an angle… a point of which we appeal to other people. That angle just might be having more people like us. Sure, our group may seem even weirder, but we’ll have numbers… that was the plan, wasn’t it?”.

“Yeah, and it’s still the plan now” Wyatt says.

“Good” Jackson says, “then… how are we going to do that?”.

“I don’t know quite yet” Wyatt says. “We’ll likely need many different approaches to accomplish that”.

Emma worked late into the night on everyone’s uniforms. Eventually, she had finished making a badge on each uniform, and they passed out the finished uniforms the next morning before classes. That morning, when The Rejects return to their homeroom class, they stop to talk to Refus before taking their seats. “We need to ask about some help for the club” Wyatt asks.

“What do you need?” Refus asks.

“We’re hoping to recruit more members in order to help with influence” Emma says, “but we need to find ways in order to do that. Would you be able to help us advertise the club?”.

“Posters, announcements, whatever works” Jackson adds. “Anything around the school that lets the other students here know about our club, in case we can spark any interest”.

“Y-Yeah, I can do that” Refus says. “Did you guys already talk to Ms. Weber about this?”.

“Darren is doing that now” Emily says. “Since she’s his homeroom teacher”.

“I see…” Refus says. “Well, I’ll get in touch with Ms. Weber after class and we’ll discuss it”.

“Thanks, Mr. Maloney” Wyatt says.

“No problem” Refus says.

As they all went to take their seats, most of the students in their class had their eyes fixed on them, including Marcus. Some of the class started mumbling about the badges on their uniforms and then about The Rejects’ newly formed club. However, as much as people talked, Marcus was silent this time. When Jackson looked up at Marcus, Marcus squinted and slowly turned his head away from the group. “Looks like, so far, this badge is working like a charm” Jackson says with a laugh.

“Just make sure you don’t start trouble again” Aeris says.

“Don’t worry about that” Jackson says. “I don’t think they’ll be willing to try anything anymore. Our club is recognized by the school staff. They know they’ll find trouble if they keep digging their nose where it doesn’t belong”.

“That was the plan” Wyatt says.

“Can’t believe it worked out so well” Jessica says.

“Yeah, but for how long?” Emily asks. “It won’t take long until they try challenging us again, just to see our reaction. And you remember what Principal Schafold said. We can’t respond to whatever they do, otherwise… well, I don’t know what’ll happen. He didn’t mention that part. We’ll probably get expelled”.

“Fair assessment” Aeris says. “They’ll likely not take very long to realize that we have a weak point like that. So once that time comes, Jackson, don’t pull anything”.

“Alright, alright” Jackson says. “I promise I won’t do anything stupid”.

“Good” Aeris says.

“Now for the next part of the club” Wyatt says. “Recruiting more people. Hopefully we can pull this off well enough to get a strong numbers game. If we can do that, then they’ll likely refuse to keep interfering with us after that. If we have enough people in the club, we’ll no longer be the minority. That alone can intimidate those people like Marcus”.

“We can do this!” Emma cheers.