Ree trailed behind the guys as the group flowed into the crowd entering the school. Her protest poster still clutched in her hands, Ree's heart sunk as she noticed how crowded it was even in the hallway. People swarmed into the auditorium, packing in like sardines in order to see the president's speech. Excited conversations overlapping, people pushing and shoving, it was enough to make Ree stop in her tracks and her heart to begin to race. The thought of protesting so publicly was no longer sounding like a pro on her pro/con list.
"YOU ARE SO LUCKY I'M NAKED, PAL!" Kelso was screaming as the rest of the guys dragged him away from Jackie and some guy that had been flirting with her. Kelso's trench coat was practically falling off his body, slipping off his shoulders and leaving his chest exposed, as he thrashed and flailed trying to escape his friends' grip.
Ree had to pointedly look away from his chest. She may not be interested in him anymore, but she couldn't deny that he was quite attractive. She'd only ever admit it to him if she wanted his head to explode from his inflated ego, which definitely had its pros on a pro/con list.
After Kelso was fully dressed once more, the guys headed into the auditorium while Ree lagged behind in the hall. She wasn't sure if she could go through with this. She needed to stand up for what she believed in, but standing in front of all those people? Protesting the presidents' actions right in front of him? Ree wasn't sure if she could do it . . .
Spotting the guys still standing by the door, Ree slowly slinked into the room and stood with them.
"Hey, there's another guy in a trench coat," said Kelso, nodding his head in said man's direction.
"I bet he's a streaker, too," commented Fez.
"No, Fez, he's with secret service," informed Eric with a furrowed brow.
Fez pointed to a different man in a trench coat. "How about that man?"
"Yeah, secret service," Eric confirmed.
Fez pointed to another man. "And that man?"
"Secret service."
"And that man?"
"Yeah," the guys all replied.
"How about that man with the dog?"
"Yeah."
"Oh, the dog is looking at us!" Fez cooed. "Come here, boy," he said, patting his leg in an attempt to lure the dog.
Eric slapped Fez's arm, "Fez, no!"
"Fez, they're all secret service," sighed Ree, before chewing her bottom lip. Protesting was a right that she had, but she really didn't want a scrap with the secret service. Ree's eyes widened; what if it got put on her permanent record?
Hyde gasped suddenly. "Oh! Man, I just thought of something."
"What?" The rest of the group asked.
"What are we gonna do with our trench coats? I mean, after we rip 'em off we can't come back here and get 'em," Hyde spoke.
All the guys let out forced groans.
"Oh, don't worry, I'll hold 'em," said Ree, smirking sweetly.
Their relieved expressions quickly dropped. "Uh, but Ree you've got your protest and your sign and stuff," Eric said.
"I- I don't think I can do it," she admitted. "There's a lot of people here and a lot of secret service guys and this can't end up on my permanent record or i'll never get into a good college and I'll never move out of the house and oh, god, I'm gonna die alone," rushed Ree all in one breath, eyes widening.
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.
Ree's father leaned down to speak into the mic, "Uhm," he spoke uncertainly, the mic giving off a sharp, resounding feedback. He shuffled his notepad around for a moment. "Mr. uh, president," he began, even his voice shaking now. Ree frowned. She had never seen her father so nervous before.
Everyone stared at him as he began to flounder beneath the pressure.
"Come on, Red," Jackie's dad urged, giving him a serious look.
Kelso glanced both at Eric, who stood beside Donna in the aisle, and at Ree who sat beside him, "Your dad is bombing."
Ree chewed on her bottom lip as she watched her father stutter and make a fool of himself, wishing there was something she could do to help him.
"WEE WEE! PEE PEE!"
Ree turned her head to the source of the sound, her jaw dropping as she noticed Eric with his Nixon mask on. Before she was forced to see something that would haunt her for years to come, a pair of hands slammed over her eyes. Eyesight blocked, Ree only could listen as her brother was chased naked from the room by secret service. Once the door shut, the hand slowly pulled away from her, and Ree turned to her right to see Hyde beside her. He stared pointedly at the front, as if he couldn't even see Ree, and Ree turned away, thinking to herself.
"Hey, Jerry," said Red, practically exuding confidence now. "Here's my question: How the hell could you pardon Nixon?"
The crowd cheered, Ree shouting louder than the rest for her father.
After the speech and Q&A ended, Ree spotted Everley and Chris heading for the hall. Saying a quick 'see you later' to her friends, Ree slipped away and marched up to them. She tapped Everley on the shoulder and crossed her arms over her chest as the elder girl turned around, Chris following suit.
"What do you want, Forman?" Everley sneered, her arm looping around Chris' own.
Ree glared at the couple. Chris stood taller than both the girls, the top of his head at least a full head above the girls' own. His stupid blond hair in waves to his shoulders, his stupid brown eyes gazing down at her, Ree was having a hard time not stomping on his stupid feet. Everley stood beside him with a stupid expression on her face and Ree had to count to ten in her head before she could speak.
"Is this why you haven't published my articles?" Ree spoke, raising a questioning brow. "Is this why you hate me?"
"I don't publish your articles because they aren't up to standard, anything else is against school rules," said Everley, shrugging. "And I hated you before Chris and I even started seeing each other, but it's just an added bonus now."
"My articles are better than half the crap you do publish," Ree spat. She nodded her head at Chris, "And Farrah over here will tell you he loves you, but will just cheat on you with Pam Macy when he gets bored."
Everley let out a fake chuckle, "He won't be getting bored of me like he did you. I'm not some square loser that he's pretending to like because he feels bad."
Ree pushed past Everley, shoving her roughly as she did so. She quickly headed out of the auditorium, deciding to walk home instead of waiting for her streaker brother to come back.
As long as Everley was editor of the paper, Ree was never getting an article published, she thought to herself as she walked. Unless she could figure out a way to get on Everley's good side, she was stuck with a gap on her college applications.
Later that evening, Ree headed downstairs to the basement. The rest of the gang was sitting around like usual, laughing about the day's events - specifically the show that Eric put on for everyone at the speech.
"Ugh," Ree groaned loudly as she sat down on the couch between Eric and Fez. "I don't know what to do about Everley, you guys."
The gang let out a simultaneous groan.
"This again?" Hyde sneered. "Just jump her and be done with it already."
"What'd she do this time?" asked Eric, curiously.
"She's dating Chris." Ree leaned her head back to stare at the ceiling as she sighed.
"Chris? Like, cheated-on-you-with-Pam-Macy Chris?" asked Donna, sitting up in her seat with renewed interest.
"That's the one."
"That bitch!" Jackie exclaimed, shaking her head. "I've always hated her."
"Um, thanks, Jackie," said Ree, uncomfortably, not knowing exactly how to interact with Jackie as friends still.
"Oh, man," Kelso giggled from behind the couch where he stood tossing a baseball to himself. "I remember when you and Chris broke up!" He exclaimed with a loud laugh. "You burned him so good!"
Ree shifted in her seat, "I did not."
Kelso, oblivious as always, continued laughing, "Oh, yes, you did! You called him stupid, you made fun of his hair, then you dumped him in front of everyone - it was great!"
"Pretty sure I even saw the poor guy tearin' up," added Hyde with a shit-eating grin.
"It wasn't that bad, guys!" Ree exclaimed, rolling her eyes. "Besides, he deserved it. I mean, he was kinda stupid."
"I'm sure that kind of defense'll hold up in court," commented Donna.
"I'm impressed, Ree," said Jackie. "I didn't know you had that in you."
"He just made me so . . . mad. I didn't mean to say all that with an audience."
"Sure you didn't, Cruella," said Eric with a grin of his own.
"I don't kill puppies! And that's a lot of talk from the guy who was chased through the school naked."