!!!Trigger Warning: School Shooting!!!
"YOU GUYS DID WHAT?" MANNY ASKED. Baby Roberts had told her friend what had occurred the other night, knowing the Santos girl wouldn't judge her for it
"Be quiet. It was sweet, okay? A little awkward, but perfect." Baby smiled, thinking about the other night
"I'm happy for you, Baby. As immature at JT is, I know he makes you happy." Manny congratulated her friend, "Besides, it's not like I'm little miss innocent or anything."
"Thanks, Manny. Now, I gotta go find Emma. She wants me to help her make notecards for some challenge thing." The girl groaned, dreading any kind of studying
"Sounds boring. Have fun." Manny joked, waving to the girl as she walked away
The Roberts girl laughed, before spotting her tall friend in the opposite hallway, rushing to catch up with her, "Emma! Wait up."
"Thank goodness. I was beginning to think you didn't come today. Anyways, I already made the cards but you can help me find Rick and Toby." Emma said, taking the girl's hand before dragging her down another hallway
"Rick? I thought you didn't like him." Baby asked, confused by her change of heart
"I know, but he's getting help, and I think it's only fair if we give him a chance." Emma explained, "Look. There they are."
"Maybe." Baby whispered, as Emma dragged her over to the two boys
"Hey guys, I made flash cards." Emma smiled, "Want me to quiz them by category or should I shuffle?"
Neither of the boys answered. Toby because, he was waiting for Rick to respond. Rick because he was looking at the Roberts girl, confused, "Oh, Sorry. This is Baby. She's my best friend."
"Hi." Rick smiled, holding out his hand for the girl to shake
"Hey." Baby greeted, giving him a soft smile and shortly shaking his hand, still a bit uncomfortable around the boy who put Terri in a coma
"I'm quitting." Rick decided, replying to what Emma had asked him earlier
"Rick, the finals are tomorrow." Emma complained
"We have a new teammate - Jimmy Brooks." Rick said
"Aw, I love Jimmy." Baby smiled, making them all glare at her, "Sorry, wrong timing."
"Aka, my daily tormentor." Rick continued, making the girl realize how bad her timing really was
"I told you, man. Just go to Simpson. Ask him for a re-think on his decision." Toby suggested
"If Jimmy's booted now, he'll know it was me." Rick argued
"Jimmy and them? They don't like you cause they don't know you." Emma insisted
"Really? I thought it was because of last year." Baby whispered to herself
"So?" Rick asked, ignoring the whisper he heard the girl behind him speak
"So, you came back to Degrassi to show you've changed, right? So work with Jimmy on the team. He's helping Baby with science, maybe she can put in a good word." Emma suggested
"Maybe." Baby said, avoiding all eye contact with Rick
"Think they want to know who I am?" He asked, pointing to his vandalized locker, "They want to torture me."
"We need you on the team, so you need to do something." Emma finished, removing the signs before leading Baby down the hall, again.
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"WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT RICK?" Baby asked Jimmy, as the two worked on science after his brain quiz practice
"Uh, I don't know. I thought he was a jerk, but today he showed me he might be trying." Jimmy sighed, doodling on his textbook
"I don't think doodling in your textbook is going to help me learn science." Baby laughed at the boy
"Sorry, Baby. I'm just a little distracted." He admitted, before shutting the notebook
"Scared about tomorrow?" She asked, knowing the brain competition was tomorrow
"Yeah." Jimmy nodded in confirmation
"How about this? I quiz you for the competition, and then you can just tutor me after you guys win?" Baby offered, smiling at the older boy
"That would be amazing. Thank you, Baby." He grinned, before taking out a giant stack of note cards. The Roberts girl laughed, knowing they were going to be there for a long time.
The next day, Baby sat in the audience with Manny, watching the two schools compete for the prize. Degrassi was trailing by one point, until Rick tied it up at the end for a lightning round.
Rick stepped up to answer the question for the round, and everything seemed to be going well.
He easily won the challenge, and stood in the middle of the stage basking in his win, when all of a sudden he was soaked in yellow paint and feathers falling from the ceiling.
Baby sat there in shock, while the kids in the audience began to laugh at him.
The teachers quickly dismissed the students for lunch, trying to kill the situation before it got any worse for the boy.
Baby sat at a table discussing what had just occurred with Toby and Emma, while Daniel and JT sat besides them, playing some kind of game, "They can't air the quiz show, Toby." Emma complained
"Yes, they can. They just cut before the paint pours on Rick." Toby insisted
"Which is now officially my new favorite image." JT said, making Baby kick his foot
"You know what? You wouldn't think it was so funny if it happened to you." Toby argued
"I would." Daniel laughed
"What's Rick doing back at school?" Baby asked the group, noticing the boy walking towards the entrance, still covered in the paint and feathers
"We should go talk to him." Toby suggested, getting up to follow the boy, while JT and Daniel continued to laugh
☼ ☼ ☼
WITH EXTRA TIME LEFT IN LUNCH, and a free period next, Baby left her table of friend to go look for Jimmy. He still owed the girl tutoring time after she helped him last night.
"A promise is a promise." Baby teased, after Jimmy groaned when she had found him and asked him about it
"Okay, okay. Fine. Just follow me so we can go get my stuff out of my locker." He admitted to defeat, leading the girl down the hallway to where his locker was
Baby watched him sort through his stuff, looking for his science text book. She tapped on the shoulder him when she noticed Rick, still covered in paint and feathers, approaching the two with a backpack.
"How are you holding up?" Jimmy asked the boy
"Good." He replied
"That was awful what they did to you. No one deserves that." Baby added, getting a small nod in return
"Kind of surprised to see you here this afternoon." Jimmy admitted, taking in the messy appearance of the boy
"Yeah. I bet you are." Rick quietly laughed, staring at the ground, starting to make the girl uncomfortable
"Look, I'm really sorry about everything, okay?" Jimmy continued, "And if those guys give you any more problems, I got your back. Or Baby, because she usually has to knock common sense into Spinner."
"Like you stabbed me in the back?" Rick questioned, taking the older boy back in surprise
"What?" Jimmy asked
"You set the whole thing up." Rick snapped
"Rick, come on, I defended you." Jimmy promised, confused at the boy's accusation
Both of the teens stomachs dropped, when Rick reached into his backpack and pulled out a pistol. Jimmy gently pushed Baby behind him, as the two both began to panic and fear for their lives. Baby felt the color from her face drain, when she saw the look of anger and betrayal in Rick's eyes.
"Is that real?" Baby softly asked from behind Jimmy
"The whole time you pretended to be my friend." Rick said, lifting the gun and pointing it at Jimmy, who began to back up while keeping the girl behind him.
"You made me do this." He continued, closing his eyes and placing his hand on the trigger
"Run." Jimmy whispered
Neither of the two hesitated, turning to sprint down the hallway. The blonde halted to a stop when she heard the loud ring of the gun go off, and a cry of pain come from Jimmy.
His body slumped against her own, and she gently put him on the floor as Rick ran off. "Jimmy. Jimmy? Jimmy! Come on, please wake up." Baby sobbed, placing pressure on the wound on the older boy's back
Students began sprinting down the hallway to get away from Rick. Blood seeped through Jimmy's jacket and covered Baby's once spotless hands.
She continued crying as she sat there, clueless on what to do. There was no one close enough around to help. No one ever thought a shooting could occur at a school like Degrassi
"Somebody help! Please!" Baby cried to the seemingly empty hallway
"Jimmy! Baby!" Craig screamed, noticing the two's position on the floor, and the petrified girl's face
"Craig, I don't know what to do. He can't die." Baby sobbed, taking off her jacket, using it to put more pressure on the gunshot wound
The police and ambulance arrived soon after, and EMT's put Jimmy's body on a stretcher. Craig held Baby close to him as they both cried for their injured friend. One of the cops told the two teens that Rick was injured, and they had him secured.
It wasn't until later that they'd tell them the shooter had actually died.
Blood stained Baby's pale white hands and clothes. She couldn't shake away the shock of the situation, as cops escorted all the kids who came in contact with Rick to rooms where they could ask them questions.
Baby quickly hugged Sean and Toby when she saw them both in the room the cops escorted her to. Sean tried to ask the girl questions about the blood on bed clothes and hands, but she couldn't seem to form any words.
The cops questioned the Roberts girl as much as the could, before the EMT's asked bed to come with them to the hospital to check for any possible injuries. It was clear nothing was going physically wrong, except for the momentary shock. When Baby asked them where her parents were, they told the girl they'd meet them at the hospital.
After being cleared of all injuries, and requesting a counselor for her parents to check out, Baby sat in the waiting room with Hazel and Paige, waiting for any news on the fate of Jimmy Brooks
After hours in the waiting room, Baby's moms convinced her to go to the candle light ceremony, where she quickly found Emma standing with Toby and JT.
The girl approached them, and JT immediately held his girlfriend in his arms. She remained silent as they admired the candles and pictures students had set up for Jimmy.
She didn't stay for long, requesting her moms to take her back to the hospital so she could wait and check up on Jimmy's condition, feeling a responsibility towards the injured boy.
The Roberts girl was now connected to Jimmy in a way she never thought or wanted to be. The situation would haunt the girl, as well as the rest of the school forever, shaping the way anyone would continue on from that day.
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This chapter was a lot and was very difficult to write. Shootings are a tricky and triggering thing to cover, and I hope I did proper justice to this story line.