The Story of Him and Her

The room was empty. Paper cups and dirty plates were what's left of the rowdy party that took place in that karaoke room that night. Madi was alone. Gina, Jayden and the rest of the gang had left half an hour ago, talking about continuing the party elsewhere and leaving her to clean up the mess on her own. The consequence of her refusing to fess up about her liking Jayden or not.

Madi had watched as one by one, her classmates stood up and left the room. Ashley and Jayden were the last to walk out the door. She watched as Ashley clung to Jayden's arm, throwing Madi a last sneering smile before the door closed behind them with a silent snap. Jayden didn't even spare her a glance. He continued talking to Ashley in an intimate voice, looking at her from his great height like she was the only thing that mattered to him and no one else.

The silence became deafening. Madi though was beyond feeling anything. She only knew that her humiliation at the hands of the great and mighty Jayden Hayes was complete. Not only did he utterly and publicly humiliated her, he even turned her so-called best friend against her.

Madi slumped on the seat, feeling completely defeated. A month from now is her sixteenth birthday. She was in her third year in high school but she knew that her life and what's left of it in the public education sector will undergo a drastic change after tonight. Jayden Hayes had targeted her as class enemy number one to be avoided at all cost. And everyone will follow his lead; her classmates will put her in a deep freeze after tonight. She's lucky if she could even find one soul to talk to after this debacle.

The door opened and Drum stood looking somewhat perplexedly at her.

"Where did everyone go?" he asked, entering the room. She could smell the faint reek of alcohol as he passed her to slump on the seat.

"Are you drunk?" she asked, surprised. This establishment was very strict about selling alcoholic beverages to underage kids. Thus, they had to make do with streams of fruit juice until they got sick of it yet this kid, who looked to be about fifteen years old, was actually drunk and obviously happy with it.

"A bit," he admitted.

"Where did you get the alcohol?"

"My brother and his friends were in the other room. Hey, where did everyone go?"

"Somewhere. I don't know where," Madi shrugged.

"They left you here?" Drum was surprised.

"I guess."

"Why?"

"Lost a bet in the truth or dare."

"Sucks," Drum said, closing his eyes.

Madi looked at him. His face was damp with sweat and he was turning green around the mouth.

"Hey, are you okay?"

He said one word in answer: "Spit."

Madi looked around, emptied the ice bucket and handed it to him. Drum took the bucket, dropped his head then emptied his guts into it. It took him a while, too, while Madi watched him with increasing amusement.

"That should teach you not to drink," she said with a smirk.

"Kerchief," he muttered, leaning against the seat with a heavy sigh.

Madi shook her head but did as he asked. She took out a clean paper towel from a roll, moistened it with water from a bottle, then proceeded to wipe his face with it until his skin finally returned to its normal pale color.

"Feeling better?" she asked.

"Hmnn."

"Want me to call your brother?"

"He's left," he mumbled.

Madi sighed.

"Come on, I'll take you home. Wait, let me call my dad."

Drum was already snoring and sleeping on the seat when Madi finished her conversation with her dad. Half an hour later, Adam Trent entered the room and stopped, looking askance at the sleeping Drum.

"His brother offered him booze and he went out like a light. We have to take him home, dad. His brother already left. We can't leave him here."

Adam Trent sighed and tried waking Drum up. The problem was that he wouldn't wake up. Adam tried everything, even dousing his face with cold water but Drum stayed dead to the world. In the end, they were left with no choice but to take him home with them. Adam carried him out, Madi following behind with his bag.

Drum woke up when Adam was about to carry him inside the house. He mumbled something, almost tripped on his feet, and went out like a light again. Father and daughter dragged him to the spare bedroom and left him there until he woke up the following morning with a splitting headache. He wasn't even aware he was not in his own house until he went out and saw Madi in her pajamas sitting on the kitchen table cutting vegetables.

Drum stopped and did a double take. He shook his head and when he was sure he was not going bananas he opened his mouth and asked: "What are you doing here?"

"What am I doing in my own house? Preparing breakfast. Go and take a shower. Dad already washed your clothes from last night. You can change into them after you clean up."

Drum didn't understand. He stood still rooted on the same spot, staring at her like she was an apparition or a ghost.

"Hop to it or we'll be late for school," Madi commanded.

Drum hopped and returned a few minutes later wearing his newly washed uniform. He sat down on the table and watched as Madi scooped rice, eggs and ham on a plate and put it down in front of him. She also poured him a cup of brewed coffee and a glass of orange juice.

The two of them sat companionably together and ate their breakfast in silence. It was not, however, an uncomfortable one. Madi was even humming as she poured herself a cup and flipped her toast to butter it.

Drum finished his plate and took a last sip of his coffee. Only then did he sat back and looked at Madi.

"So, what happened last night?" he finally asked.

"You got drunk. We couldn't wake you up. I didn't know where you live so we decided to bring you home with us instead," Madi shrugged.

"We?"

"My dad and I."

"Your father knows I'm here?" Drum was aghast.

"He drove us home. Of course he knows you're here. Or would you rather we left you there the whole night?"

"No..no. I'm very grateful."

"I tried calling your brother but you didn't tell me his name so..."

"I already called him when I was in the bathroom. He didn't know I wasn't home because he and his friends ended up driving to the beach. He's still there nursing a hangover."

Madi grunted a response.

"Thank you for doing this," Drum continued. "At least now I know alcohol and I don't mix very well. Where's your dad? I have to thank him, too."

"He went out. But he'll be back to drive us to school, don't worry. Make yourself comfortable. I'll clean up here then change. I won't be long."

"No, better go and change now. I'll do the clean up. The least I could do."

Madi didn't argue just hopped out the door and upstairs.

When she came down half an hour later, the kitchen was spotless. He also watered the spice plants sitting out by the window, drained the cubbyhole she uses as a planter on the sink and was now sitting down playing a game on his phone.

He looked up when she entered and quirked an eyebrow.

"Ready?" she asked.

"Pretty much."

"Dad will be here in five. Let's wait for him outside."

"Does your dad work?"

"We bought the adjoining property years ago. He's converted the house into his office so he pretty much own his time."

"What does he do?"

"Construction."

They went out the gate just as a car pulled in front of the house. Adam Trent peered at them from the window, watching as Madi got in front and Drum opened the door to the backseat. Adam and Drum's eyes met on the rear view mirror.

"Hi. Feeling better now?" Adam asked, turning the key to life.

Drum looked slightly embarrassed.

"I'm fine now, Mr. Trent. Thank you for taking care of me last night."

"No problem. Just don't do it next time. If you do, make sure you have someone to cover your back."

"I will," Drum said then suddenly realizing what he just said, he added hastily. "I'm never doing it again but if I find myself in the same situation in the future I will be sure to have someone cover my back if I get drunk again."

Adam Trent laughed.

"Don't punish yourself too much for making a small mistake. Sooner or later, you're bound to do it anyway. Better now than later. At least you know what to expect next time."

The drive to school was thus spent in perfect harmony by the three people in the car.

When Madi and Drum waved goodbye to Adam and walked side by side to their class, they didn't realize that this unexpected series of events would set off an ugly reaction which would reverberate and polarize class A1 for the rest of the term.

Madi had an inkling of this impending viciousness when she went to the canteen during lunch and heard Ashley talk about a "tramp and a slut who likes to steal other girl's boyfriends" in a loud voice.

She then realized with a frisson of fear that she was actually talking about her, Madi. She knew it was directed at her because the vicious talk stopped when she passed by Ashley then resumed again when she took a seat at a table some distance from the crowd.

Nobody spoke to her. Nobody even acknowledged her presence. Nobody shared the empty big table with her. She had been left adrift to swim on her own, surrounded by angry sharks masquerading as her friend and classmates. Madi ate her lunch, a piece of the fluffy and delicious scrambled eggs she had cooked for Drum that morning, and it tasted like sawdust in her mouth. The hostile eyes staring at her, isolated and alone on the big round table, was too much for even her to bear.

It was worse when she returned to class and found her chair had been pushed way back to the back of the class. Her desk had been vandalized and painted with the word "slut" on it written in bold red ink.

Madi stared at the word and honestly didn't know what to do next when someone entered the room and broke the tense silence. It was Jayden. Ashley and her entourage eagerly surrounded him, their voices loud as chipmunks.

Looking at them, Madi felt dazed and alone and very scared. Her thoughts were in a whirl. How could this happen? What the hell did she do? Did he organize all this to punish her for daring to fall in love with him? She was actually on the brink of losing it, her lips trembling but before she could completely give in to despair, somebody threw her a hand and pushed her relentlessly back to the edge of sanity.

"Hey, Madison! My brother is here to pick me up. He wants to meet you."

Drum's voice sounded penetrating and sharp. It cut through the thick of bullshit that surrounded Madi. Jayden Hayes narrowed his eyes, his glance piercing and intense as it zeroed in on Madi. Madi's head snapped back in shock as she stared at Drum, her mouth open in an O. Drum walked to her desk and started grabbing her things.

"Hurry up," he said. "He wants to take us to dinner. I'd order steak if I were you. That's his favorite."

"But what about class?" Madi protested, grabbing her books and pushing them inside her bag.

"I already told the teacher. This is a special time because Dave is leaving tomorrow for L City. He'll be gone for a whole month."

"But why does he want to meet me for? I don't understand."

"I told him about last night. He was more worried than he lets on it seemed. Shouldn't have allowed me to have that drink. So, he's feeling guilty and wants to treat his brother and his friend to dinner."

The two of them had not stopped talking since Drum walked up to her and started helping her with her things. He glanced at the writing on her desk and as casually as he took her hand, smashed the chair with a hard kick of his long and sturdy leg.

The entire class watched as the desk crumbled to the floor. It actually resembled like an Ikea puzzle, ready to be put back again as easy as one, two, three. Ashley casually extended her leg when Madi passed by her but Madi had by then been possessed of an unusual rage that finally let itself out when she saw her desk crumble to the floor.

She feinted a drop then let her grip fall on Ashley's waist. Her claws tightened on the band around her waistline and pulled, hard. The buttons popped and the short skirt that encircled Ashley's slim waist started to drop. Madi's other hand then pulled at the tiny scrap of clothing encircling the hipbone. It too, went the way of gravity, and shimmied down the long, slender legs until it stopped and pooled around her ankles.

Madi feinted another move that caused the near-naked Ashley to fall on the ground. Madi accidentally tackled her body, trying to steady herself from falling down. Along the way, she accidentally, again, leaned her weight against Ashley's legs, which fell wide open and exposed her gaping mons veneris to Jayden, Drum and the rest of her classmates.

Madi didn't let her down until she had Ashley in complete hysterics though. She still leaned on the open legs, apparently trying to steady herself, but in actuality, giving everybody, especially the boys a chance to snap their Instagram pics.

The move, however, was so smoothly made, so coordinately natural that all the class could see was that Ashley tried to trip her best friend up. That Madi saved herself from a bad fall by instinctively grabbing at her tormentor. It was just a damn shame that when she grabbed Ashley, not only did she pull her skirt down but her panties as well. Ashley, who was in hysterics by now, pushed and kicked at Madi. Madi had no choice but to again save herself by toppling Ashley down. She tried to get up but was attacked by Ashley. What could she do but grab at the flailing legs and by plain accident without malice forethought, accidentally exposed Ashley's gaping vagina to the entire world.

The tables had turned. Madi had made a complete fool of her former best friend by preying on the base instincts of the watcher at bay: by exposing skin. This time, however, the exposure was more than the expected outcome of the viewer. Madi had in fact, showed herself to be more cunning and savage than her former tormentor. And she did it naturally and in public, without the messy confrontation everyone was expecting.

Madi left the battleground entirely vindicated, with Ashley prostrate on the floor near-naked, humiliated and screaming her lungs off. Drum added a tiny coda to the ending by picking the tiny scrap of clothing on the floor with a stick then twirling it round and round until it landed on Jayden Hayes' immaculate head.

There was stunned silence then laughter, loud, booming, and mocking.

"Suits you," Madi quipped, meeting Jayden's angry eyes full on. "Better wash it though before wearing it. Crabs."

And with that, Drum and Madi left without looking back, the sound of laughter, screaming and all-around chaos getting dimmer as they walked away.

The two of them didn't speak until they were out of the gates.

"You, lady, are fucking evil," Drum said, looking at her with shining eyes.

"Defense 101, dude," Madi shrugged. "Learned it from dad since I was five."

"But wasn't that going too far? She's completely exposed herself and humiliated."

"Drum, cut the bull, kay? You loved seeing her slit and her bush as much as everybody did, especially the boys. What are you complaining about?"

"Just saying," he shrugged.

"You like her, don't you?"

"Of course not," he said, not meeting her eyes.

"Of course you do. But I'm not going to apologize for what I did. She and that Jayden person wanted to destroy me. I just showed them I'm not that easily destroyed. I take it seriously when other people try to harass and bully me, you know. I fight back."

He was silent.

"What do you think will happen now?"

"By now, it will be all over the social media. I didn't leave her space to retreat so she won't be coming tomorrow or the next day or the next. I doubt we'll be hearing from Ashley Patton ever again in this lifetime."

"Seriously, Madison, you are scary."

"No, I was scared shitless this morning. I wanted to hide and was seriously thinking of leaving school."

"You were?" he said, very surprised.

"But you came and pulled me out of that shit hole so I am very thankful to you. You saved me, Drum, and for that, I owe you."

He stopped, looking at her consideringly.

"No, I'm not going to kiss you or fuck you," she said, smiling. "None of that shit between us. I'll be your best friend though, if you'll let me," she said, her voice low and suddenly unsure.

The two of them looked at each other then a smile blossomed on their fair, young faces.

"Come on, let's go and meet Dave. I'm suddenly very hungry," Drum said taking her hand and pulling her alongside him.

They exited the gates and walked outside where a big, black car stood waiting patiently for them.