"Well, you've definitely outdone yourself, Cameron." Rose pat my back as we all stared at the board with my rules on it. "What do you want us to do about this?"
"Like I just said, I need you guys to add." I murmured, staring at each one of them. "We all had our fair share of discrimination issues, might as well share your opinions and give us your point of view."
There was silence that followed the classroom. Mr Dale and the other teachers had a meeting, but asked for clubs to continue as long as we are under control. Currently, we're discussing the rules that I made on How To NOT Be Straight, and that's all I could come up with for the time being. Per Alexis's request, I shared it, and now we're stuck figuring out what the fuck we should add.
"C'mon guys, let's help each other." I sighed. "Look at rule 4, be strong enough to say what you want, no one will disagree with you."
"Well, except me though." Rose laughed, and high fived Terry. When the fuck did they become buddy buddy? And how did it happen before I could become buddy buddy with her?
"Roseanne." I rolled my eyes at her, my voice thick with frustration. "That's not what I needed you to say."
"Oh, what did you want me to say? How anyone should speak up and make a fool out of themselves-"
"Maybe you should try being more encouraging instead of bringing someone down." I scoffed. "Just be kind."
As if inspired by my lasting words, Emily snatched the whiteboard marker out of my hand and began to write on the board. Her handwriting was in cursive, and I admired that she could write that neatly while I write like the devil was forcing my hand down onto the paper against my will.
She finished writing and faced us, "I think this should be the next rule."
Felix laughed. "Be kind? That gets you nowhere in this modern day and age."
"Actually, Felix, kindness gets you further than you've ever known." Alexis defended Emily, making the young girl smile. "People may be rude to you, but you shouldn't retaliate with the same anger rather show love than hate."
Rose gave Alexis a smug look. "I guess you're a church goer, huh?"
"That was not necessary, Roseanne." I stepped up to defend Alexis. "I mean, hell, I go to church but I'm not kind because a book tells me to be kind."
"You're understandable because you're anything but kind." Rose waved me off. "What I don't understand is why the shy girl is telling us to be kind always."
"It's because it's the right thing to do." Emily said with the upmost confidence that shocked me as well as the others. "People may treat you like shit, but don't treat them like shit in return, rather treat them like a fucking human being."
"How do you do that, huh Emily?" Rose didn't seem convinced, turning to mock Emily. "By turning the other cheek when they slap you? Huh?"
"By letting go." Emily said firmly. "Not everything needs your attention, Roseanne, because not everything matters." She shrugged, her tone changing considerably. "But you wouldn't know that, would you? Considering you ditched those that loved you to the moon-"
"Shut up." Rose gritted, and I remained silent.
"And let them be torn down by those animals alone, all because you couldn't accept the fact that they're a lesbian." Emily continued. "You let that small detail affect your fucking friendship, so when I tell you that not everything needs your attention, I mean it."
"Don't speak on a situation you know nothing about, Emily." Rose warned her, hands forming into fists. "It won't end well."
"I think I have the right to say whatever the fuck I want, Roseanne." Emily cocked her head, her mass of dark hair falling onto her face and shoulder. "So don't ever try to silence me."
"For a quiet girl you do have a big mouth." Rose took a few steps closer to her, the height difference establishing the contrast between them. "Do you know how to back it up?"
I stepped in between them, and staring at Roseanne in the face. "Be kind, Rose. Not everything needs your attention."
"So you're going to let her talk all that shit in front of my face like it's nothing?" Rose scoffed. "That's what you're going to do?"
"Not everything needs your attention." I repeated, standing firm. "Let it go."
"Cameron." She said.
"Roseanne." I addressed her. "This isn't you. You aren't the type to conform to what the society tells you that you are, so don't do it now. Really, not everything deserves your attention, let it go."
We stared at each other for a while before she finally backed up a little. I turned to Emily, who had a nonchalant look on her face. I gave her a small tap to the shoulder before erasing the rule.
"Hey!" She protested.
I rubbed it off and wrote the actual rule, turning to give Emily a small smile. "This should come before being kind, Emily. I'm not saying you're wrong, you're very right."
I finished writing and everyone stared once again. Darren put his hand up, and I picked on him to speak.
"I second this rule." He smiled, the dimples showing on his dark skin. "It's definitely before the be kind one."
"So it's the next one?" Emily asked, still wanting the first rule she wrote to be mentioned as rule 5.
"Nope, before you become kind, you definitely need to make sure that you know what should get your attention, and what you should spend your time dwelling on." Terrance explained, a grin stretching on his face. "You can't spend your time thinking about petty shit and giving a reaction, so I think you definitely need to take a step back and really think, 'Is it worth my time?' and once you figure that out, you're good to go."
"Sometimes you can be an intellectual jerk that it freaks me out, T." Roseanne chuckled and Terry hid away a smirk. "Let's leave this for rule 5."
The bell rang, and I rubbed the board as they began to leave. In the corner of my eye, I could see Roseanne packing up her stuff.
"Rose, can I talk to you for a sec?"
A brief silence, and then, "What do you need, Cameron?"
"Close the door." I put the duster down and watched her close the door. "Come here."
"Woah, Cameron getting bold and ordering me around like she's some boss." Rose chuckled. "What's on your mind?"
"I saw the way you and Terry were looking at each other." Her face fell. "I also noticed you two flirting with each other. Is there, perhaps, something going on?"
"Cameron, I wasn't flirting with him, I was giving him a compliment." She brushed it off, her voice a little shaky. "Chill."
"You rarely give compliments." I pointed out.
"No I don't, I always compliment people, like you..." She looked me up and down, then spoke. "You look average today."
"See what I mean?" I smiled. "You don't give compliments unless you-"
"Cameron, I don't like Terrance, okay?" She shook her head. "You know that we've been friends for years, why would I start liking him now?"
"I don't know, Rose. Maybe you've liked him for a long time and you didn't want to tell me." I teased. "If you two like each other, go for it."
"Won't that be awkward? Say if I did like him the way you think I do." She frowned. "You and I aren't really friends."
"But we were." I pointed out.
Seemingly knowing where I was headed, she shook her head. "We're not having this conversation, Cameron." She picked up her bag from the floor, "Nope."
I grabbed her arm as she turned, and she looked at me like she'd seen a ghost. "We have to talk about it at some point, Roseanne. It's the only way we can co-operate."
"If we're ever going to talk about it, it's going to be on my own terms." She tore my hand from her arm. "Not on yours, Cameron." She turned around and made her way for the door.
"Pussy." I murmured as she continued walking.
"I heard that!" She yelled, opening the door as I smiled a bit.
"That was the point you pussy!" I yelled back, and when she was out of sight, I watched the door a bit. She showed her middle finger before fully disappearing, making me chuckle, and go ahead and start packing up.