Somewhere between the newspaper office and Speedy's
Friday. July 2, 1982
A little after 12:00 PM
Tabby dried her eyes. She couldn't cry anymore. The adrenaline rush she'd been running on finally crashed and reality set in slowly. As she buried her face in her hands again, she felt something tangled in her hair and picked a French fry loose from a matted curl and flicked it across the parking lot.
What the hell was she going to do? Things had gone from worse to unbearable. Tabby was pretty sure that her father was already going to murder her, but this... there were no words to describe it. She was positive she'd managed to get herself fired, kicked off the cheerleading squad, sealed any hope of getting to continue to be in her band... would the Blackwell family even still be in Teal Cove by the end of the summer? Oh, what the hell was the point? Her existence here was over. The whole town would know everything by the end of the afternoon. So much for finally finding a group of friends and happiness. Suddenly, being tied up in a closet by a group of car thieves seemed like the least of her problems.
Tabby stood up. She was pretty sure her face was still red. Her eye began to throb. How bad would the damage be? Tabby rubbed her injury gingerly. It was definitely swollen and it hurt to open it. It was only just now beginning to set in that she'd been keeping it closed. Having realized that Marie's fist had given her a black eye, she looked down to see both of her skinned knees which also burned followed by the fact that her uniform was a mixture of soda, milkshake and condiment stains. Tabby didn't even bother to contemplate if her mascara was running or not.
She had been cowering behind the dumpster in the alleyway behind a business. Tabby wasn't sure where she was exactly, but knew how to get back to Speedy's, but there was no way she could go back there after what happened. The reality began to set in that she was going to have to figure out what to do next. She was too far from home to walk or skate back. Teal Cove didn't have a bus service. Maybe she could find a payphone and call someone? Perhaps Gary?
Shit! Tabby realized that her purse and shoes were back at the restaurant. All she had were her skates and her soiled work uniform. If things weren't bad enough, there was no way she could go in anywhere public. What the hell was she going to do? Tabby took a deep breath and let it out.
It was then she remembered she wasn't far from The Teal Cove Chronicle. Shelley had called in to work so she could focus on the story about that family who had been held hostage. That was the whole reason Tabby had even gone in today. It was supposed to be her day off.
Maybe Shelley was there. It was either find her, or flag down a total stranger. Tabby stayed behind the dumpster trying to calm herself. She wished she had a mirror so she would at least have some idea of how bad her face was. There was going to be no hiding it.
After she was sure it wasn't going to be obvious to anyone she'd been crying, Tabby skated off toward the direction of the office. She was careful to stick to alleyways and stay off the beaten path so she wouldn't run into anyone. The whole time, her mind raced. The events of the morning kept replaying in her head as she contemplated how she'd face Starla, her friends, her parents, Coach North, Riley, the entire town...
It took her much longer than it would have normally to get there, but she finally made it. Several minutes passed before she could muster up the courage to peek around the corner. There was the newspaper building. Tabby didn't see Shelley's Firebird. It took her a moment to remember why. After spending several more minutes to finally get up the nerve, she forced herself to skate toward the door.
Friday. July 2, 1982
A little after 12:00 PM
Tabby dried her eyes. She couldn't cry anymore. The adrenaline rush she'd been running on finally crashed and reality set in slowly. As she buried her face in her hands again, she felt something tangled in her hair and picked a French fry loose from a matted curl and flicked it across the parking lot.
What the hell was she going to do? Things had gone from worse to unbearable. Tabby was pretty sure that her father was already going to murder her, but this... there were no words to describe it. She was positive she'd managed to get herself fired, kicked off the cheerleading squad, sealed any hope of getting to continue to be in her band... would the Blackwell family even still be in Teal Cove by the end of the summer? Oh, what the hell was the point? Her existence here was over. The whole town would know everything by the end of the afternoon. So much for finally finding a group of friends and happiness. Suddenly, being tied up in a closet by a group of car thieves seemed like the least of her problems.
Tabby stood up. She was pretty sure her face was still red. Her eye began to throb. How bad would the damage be? Tabby rubbed her injury gingerly. It was definitely swollen and it hurt to open it. It was only just now beginning to set in that she'd been keeping it closed. Having realized that Marie's fist had given her a black eye, she looked down to see both of her skinned knees which also burned followed by the fact that her uniform was a mixture of soda, milkshake and condiment stains. Tabby didn't even bother to contemplate if her mascara was running or not.
She had been cowering behind the dumpster in the alleyway behind a business. Tabby wasn't sure where she was exactly, but knew how to get back to Speedy's, but there was no way she could go back there after what happened. The reality began to set in that she was going to have to figure out what to do next. She was too far from home to walk or skate back. Teal Cove didn't have a bus service. Maybe she could find a payphone and call someone? Perhaps Gary?
Shit! Tabby realized that her purse and shoes were back at the restaurant. All she had were her skates and her soiled work uniform. If things weren't bad enough, there was no way she could go in anywhere public. What the hell was she going to do? Tabby took a deep breath and let it out.
It was then she remembered she wasn't far from The Teal Cove Chronicle. Shelley had called in to work so she could focus on the story about that family who had been held hostage. That was the whole reason Tabby had even gone in today. It was supposed to be her day off.
Maybe Shelley was there. It was either find her, or flag down a total stranger. Tabby stayed behind the dumpster trying to calm herself. She wished she had a mirror so she would at least have some idea of how bad her face was. There was going to be no hiding it.
After she was sure it wasn't going to be obvious to anyone she'd been crying, Tabby skated off toward the direction of the office. She was careful to stick to alleyways and stay off the beaten path so she wouldn't run into anyone. The whole time, her mind raced. The events of the morning kept replaying in her head as she contemplated how she'd face Starla, her friends, her parents, Coach North, Riley, the entire town...
It took her much longer than it would have normally to get there, but she finally made it. Several minutes passed before she could muster up the courage to peek around the corner. There was the newspaper building. Tabby didn't see Shelley's Firebird. It took her a moment to remember why. After spending several more minutes to finally get up the nerve, she forced herself to skate toward the door.
When Shelley and Felicia were back in Felicia’s car and on the way to the Chronicle’s office, Shelley said, “Well, I think that went well! I was worried that they’d tell us to get lost as soon as we arrived, but they were quite welcoming. And I’m a little surprised that there were no other reporters there, but I’m glad; I don’t think we could have had such a good conversation if there had been other reporters there too. By the way, I hope you didn’t mind me introducing you as my friend.” Shelley didn’t know how Felicia had felt about that, but she hadn’t objected at the time, so Shelley hoped that meant Felicia was okay with it.
*tag Felicia*
“I think I’m going to ask Mike and Cindy about getting some business cards when we get back to the office. Thanks for pointing out that I should give the Falwells the number for our office. If you hadn’t said something, I might have just given them my own phone number, but the office phone number makes more sense.” It was true; Shelley had been about to write down the number for the phone at Gary’s house on the notebook page. It actually hadn’t occurred to her to write down the Chronicle’s number until Felicia spoke up, but when she did Shelley wrote down the number Felicia recited and labeled it “Chronicle”. Under that she added “Shelley” and wrote Gary’s phone number so that Falwells could reach her either at the office or at home, and then tore the notebook page out and handed it to Dr. Falwell. Shelley didn’t mention to Felicia that she’d added her own number. “I still need to memorize the office’s phone number. I have it written down in my notebook, but I really should commit it to memory.”
*tag Felicia*
A few minutes later, they had arrived in the parking lot at the Teal Cove Chronicle office. As Felicia was pulling the car into a parking spot, Shelley noticed someone skating towards the main entrance to the office. The skater, seeing the newly arriving car, seemed to be hit with a moment of indecisiveness. Shelley noticed the long red hair and the carhop uniform, and immediately recognized the skater. “That’s Tabby!” she exclaimed without further explanation for Felicia’s benefit. But what was Tabby doing here, of all places? Something was definitely wrong; even from this distance Shelley could see that Tabby looked disheveled, and her uniform appeared to be stained and dirty. Suddenly filled with concern, Shelley opened the door and hopped out of the car as soon as Felicia had put in “Park”, not even waiting for her to shut off the engine. “Tabby?” Shelley called out as she shut the car door. She hurried towards Tabby, jogging awkwardly in her high-heeled sandals as they made a noisy “click-clack-click-clack” sound on the pavement. “Tabby, what’s wrong? What’s happened?”
*tags*
*tag Felicia*
“I think I’m going to ask Mike and Cindy about getting some business cards when we get back to the office. Thanks for pointing out that I should give the Falwells the number for our office. If you hadn’t said something, I might have just given them my own phone number, but the office phone number makes more sense.” It was true; Shelley had been about to write down the number for the phone at Gary’s house on the notebook page. It actually hadn’t occurred to her to write down the Chronicle’s number until Felicia spoke up, but when she did Shelley wrote down the number Felicia recited and labeled it “Chronicle”. Under that she added “Shelley” and wrote Gary’s phone number so that Falwells could reach her either at the office or at home, and then tore the notebook page out and handed it to Dr. Falwell. Shelley didn’t mention to Felicia that she’d added her own number. “I still need to memorize the office’s phone number. I have it written down in my notebook, but I really should commit it to memory.”
*tag Felicia*
A few minutes later, they had arrived in the parking lot at the Teal Cove Chronicle office. As Felicia was pulling the car into a parking spot, Shelley noticed someone skating towards the main entrance to the office. The skater, seeing the newly arriving car, seemed to be hit with a moment of indecisiveness. Shelley noticed the long red hair and the carhop uniform, and immediately recognized the skater. “That’s Tabby!” she exclaimed without further explanation for Felicia’s benefit. But what was Tabby doing here, of all places? Something was definitely wrong; even from this distance Shelley could see that Tabby looked disheveled, and her uniform appeared to be stained and dirty. Suddenly filled with concern, Shelley opened the door and hopped out of the car as soon as Felicia had put in “Park”, not even waiting for her to shut off the engine. “Tabby?” Shelley called out as she shut the car door. She hurried towards Tabby, jogging awkwardly in her high-heeled sandals as they made a noisy “click-clack-click-clack” sound on the pavement. “Tabby, what’s wrong? What’s happened?”
*tags*
When Shelley and Felicia were back in Felicia’s car and on the way to the Chronicle’s office, Shelley said, “Well, I think that went well! I was worried that they’d tell us to get lost as soon as we arrived, but they were quite welcoming. And I’m a little surprised that there were no other reporters there, but I’m glad; I don’t think we could have had such a good conversation if there had been other reporters there too. By the way, I hope you didn’t mind me introducing you as my friend.” Shelley didn’t know how Felicia had felt about that, but she hadn’t objected at the time, so Shelley hoped that meant Felicia was okay with it.
Felicia nodded when Shelley commented on how smoothly the interview went. She had to admit, she was half expecting the family to not want to talk to them or ask them to leave. Their cooperation had been a pleasant surprised. The second part caught Felicia off guard. "Yeah, sure," Felicia replied. Putting her feelings about Miss Higgins aside, it would have been better to introduce her as a colleague, not so much because their personal relationship was in question, but rather it was more professional sounding. She debated a moment about correcting her, but decided against it. While she still didn't fully trust Miss Higgins, she was beginning to wonder if maybe she wasn't the scam artist she believed her to be. For now, she'd give her the benefit of the doubt. This was a good chance to find out more about the mysterious girl from Pennsylvania.
“I think I’m going to ask Mike and Cindy about getting some business cards when we get back to the office. Thanks for pointing out that I should give the Falwells the number for our office. If you hadn’t said something, I might have just given them my own phone number, but the office phone number makes more sense.”
Felicia nodded again. "They have an answering machine and that way Mike or someone else can follow up if we are unavailable," Felicia explained. "He ordered me some. I'm sure he'll order some for you as well if you ask."
It was true; Shelley had been about to write down the number for the phone at Gary’s house on the notebook page. It actually hadn’t occurred to her to write down the Chronicle’s number until Felicia spoke up, but when she did Shelley wrote down the number Felicia recited and labeled it “Chronicle”. Under that she added “Shelley” and wrote Gary’s phone number so that Falwells could reach her either at the office or at home, and then tore the notebook page out and handed it to Dr. Falwell. Shelley didn’t mention to Felicia that she’d added her own number. “I still need to memorize the office’s phone number. I have it written down in my notebook, but I really should commit it to memory.”
"Yeah, probably a good idea," Felicia agreed. "Keep it written down and with you just in case in the meantime." Right now, Felicia's focus was getting back to the office as fast as possible so she could get to work on the story. Despite the notes and recording, it was always easier to write when things were fresh on her mind.
Felicia nodded when Shelley commented on how smoothly the interview went. She had to admit, she was half expecting the family to not want to talk to them or ask them to leave. Their cooperation had been a pleasant surprised. The second part caught Felicia off guard. "Yeah, sure," Felicia replied. Putting her feelings about Miss Higgins aside, it would have been better to introduce her as a colleague, not so much because their personal relationship was in question, but rather it was more professional sounding. She debated a moment about correcting her, but decided against it. While she still didn't fully trust Miss Higgins, she was beginning to wonder if maybe she wasn't the scam artist she believed her to be. For now, she'd give her the benefit of the doubt. This was a good chance to find out more about the mysterious girl from Pennsylvania.
“I think I’m going to ask Mike and Cindy about getting some business cards when we get back to the office. Thanks for pointing out that I should give the Falwells the number for our office. If you hadn’t said something, I might have just given them my own phone number, but the office phone number makes more sense.”
Felicia nodded again. "They have an answering machine and that way Mike or someone else can follow up if we are unavailable," Felicia explained. "He ordered me some. I'm sure he'll order some for you as well if you ask."
It was true; Shelley had been about to write down the number for the phone at Gary’s house on the notebook page. It actually hadn’t occurred to her to write down the Chronicle’s number until Felicia spoke up, but when she did Shelley wrote down the number Felicia recited and labeled it “Chronicle”. Under that she added “Shelley” and wrote Gary’s phone number so that Falwells could reach her either at the office or at home, and then tore the notebook page out and handed it to Dr. Falwell. Shelley didn’t mention to Felicia that she’d added her own number. “I still need to memorize the office’s phone number. I have it written down in my notebook, but I really should commit it to memory.”
"Yeah, probably a good idea," Felicia agreed. "Keep it written down and with you just in case in the meantime." Right now, Felicia's focus was getting back to the office as fast as possible so she could get to work on the story. Despite the notes and recording, it was always easier to write when things were fresh on her mind.
Tabby finally found the courage to skate across the parking lot toward the door. She had calmed down enough to come out of hiding. At this point, she was no longer crying and hoped her face wasn’t red. However, her eye was beginning to swell shut. Since she had bolted from Speedy’s, she had not been able to put any ice on it. Her knees were beginning to burn, too.
About halfway toward the Chronicle’s front door, a car pulled up. Tabby intentionally didn’t look toward it. She heard the slam of a car door followed by a familiar voice.
“Tabby?” Shelley called out as she shut the car door. She hurried towards Tabby, jogging awkwardly in her high-heeled sandals as they made a noisy “click-clack-click-clack” sound on the pavement. “Tabby, what’s wrong? What’s happened?”
Instinctively, Tabby turned to face Shelley. As she did, the first thing Shelley noticed was her work uniform was covered in numerous stains, all of which had turned dark making it hard to tell what they were. The next thing was the girl’s knees were covered in scabby, dried blood but the most obvious and concerning feature was one of her eyes was surrounded by a huge bruise and had swollen shut. The injury resembled the one Shelley had received when she’d been hit by one of their captors on the farm.
Tabby took a deep breath. She was fresh out of tears but still filled with fear as well as a touch of rage. Where would she begin her story? She was still processing everything that had happened earlier.
“Marie Evans,” she blurted out. “That’s what happened. I’m pretty sure my life is over now. Not that I wasn’t completely fucked before after the whole farm situation. I don’t know what I’m going to do…”
Felicia was watching from inside her car. She couldn’t hear what was being said and wanted to. Would Miss Higgins share everything with her? It might come off as uncaring if she didn’t go over there. Clearly, Miss Blackwell had been in some sort of altercation. Still, Felicia wondered if she should give the pair some space for a moment or two before approaching.
About halfway toward the Chronicle’s front door, a car pulled up. Tabby intentionally didn’t look toward it. She heard the slam of a car door followed by a familiar voice.
“Tabby?” Shelley called out as she shut the car door. She hurried towards Tabby, jogging awkwardly in her high-heeled sandals as they made a noisy “click-clack-click-clack” sound on the pavement. “Tabby, what’s wrong? What’s happened?”
Instinctively, Tabby turned to face Shelley. As she did, the first thing Shelley noticed was her work uniform was covered in numerous stains, all of which had turned dark making it hard to tell what they were. The next thing was the girl’s knees were covered in scabby, dried blood but the most obvious and concerning feature was one of her eyes was surrounded by a huge bruise and had swollen shut. The injury resembled the one Shelley had received when she’d been hit by one of their captors on the farm.
Tabby took a deep breath. She was fresh out of tears but still filled with fear as well as a touch of rage. Where would she begin her story? She was still processing everything that had happened earlier.
“Marie Evans,” she blurted out. “That’s what happened. I’m pretty sure my life is over now. Not that I wasn’t completely fucked before after the whole farm situation. I don’t know what I’m going to do…”
Felicia was watching from inside her car. She couldn’t hear what was being said and wanted to. Would Miss Higgins share everything with her? It might come off as uncaring if she didn’t go over there. Clearly, Miss Blackwell had been in some sort of altercation. Still, Felicia wondered if she should give the pair some space for a moment or two before approaching.
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