Edge of Seventeen: Steven Hyde/OC

ten.

The guys all stared at her.

    "So, yeah, I'll hold your trench coats from right here."

    The guys thanked her dimly, frowns reappearing on their faces.

    "I just thought of something, too," said Kelso. "We're naked . . . and there's a lot of dogs here."

Ree crinkled her nose at the images she was forced to imagine.

"Maybe we should just sit down," Kelso added.

The guys all agreed and the group shuffled over to the open seats in the back row.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Jackie's father spoke from the podium, which now donned the President's seal. "The president of these United States, Gerald R. Ford!" He announced to a rush of applause.

The president walked out onto stage, before tripping over air and falling flat on his face. The crowd cringed in sympathy, but cheered as he got back onto his feet. With another thump, he fell to the ground again. Somehow, he finally made it to the podium mostly unscathed, addressing the citizens of Point Place, Wisconsin.

As the president gave his speech, Ree, guilt over chickening out on her protest swarming her, began to scan the room as she tuned him out. Just one person standing up can make a difference, Ree knew, but she was too scared to be that one.

Ree's thoughts came to a halt as she noticed a certain girl standing off to the side of the room. Everley Simmons, now renowned as Ree's nemesis - mostly by Ree herself - stood watching the speech. Her long black hair was tied into a plait that ran down her back, her blue eyes seemingly captivated by the president's words, but it was her hand that Ree was distracted by. Her hand that was clasped around a boy's hand - a boy that Ree knew quite well, Chris Anderson.

Ree's jaw dropped. Everley and Chris were dating? If there was a God, he or she surely hated Ree. That had to be the case, as putting her nemesis and her ex-boyfriend together was only something someone did to someone they hated.

Could they truly be dating? Maybe it was all just a ruse to make her miserable, but that seemed like a lot of effort for someone to put in just to spite Ree. Was this why Everley hated her? Ree's eyes widened as she realized that Hyde had been right. Everley wasn't putting her articles in because of this?

She had to confront them after the speech, thought Ree to herself. She had to find out the truth, didn't she? But confronting them could cause more problems itself . . .

Pros, Ree began to list to herself.

Find out the truth to what is going on

Possibly can get Everley to leave me alone and publish my articles

Can make fun of Chris' hair again

It's always good to stand up for yourself

You need one win today after chickening out on the protest

Cons, Ree continued,

Might cause more problems between Everley and I

Might cause more problems between Chris and I

Might get kicked out of the newspaper

    Nodding to herself, Ree tuned back into the speech as Jackie's dad spoke. "Now, it's time for the Q&A portion of our program. First up, I'd like to introduce Red Forman." Ree searched out her father's bald head in the crowd before her and began clapping loudly for him. "Red is the father of three wonderful children and how he's managed to keep them clothed and fed while being cut back to part-time at the plant is beyond me. But, he doesn't blame the president for his misfortune, no siree, he only blames himself." Jackie's dad smiled and gestured toward the crowd, "I give you Red Forman!" The rest of the crowd began to clap as Red walked to the floor-level podium, his hands shaking as he placed his notepad and question card down.