Chapter Text
The week after Regina’s return was a tense and confusing time for everyone involved. On the Monday of, the entire student body were on tenterhooks waiting for the inevitable clash between Regina and Cady, unaware that the two had somewhat called a truce while alone together in the gymnasium washroom at Spring Fling.
Despite Regina’s nearly month-long absence, or maybe because of it, ultimately nothing had changed with how people viewed her. It was almost like the past school year had come full circle; people went from worshipping (or fearing, depending on who you asked) her, to hating her, to being stunned by her accident, to respecting her will to live, then back to worshipping and fearing her.
If there was one thing different, though, it was that it now felt safer to observe her, like she was a majestic yet fearsome beast, held in captivity behind shatterproof glass. People were back to being fascinated by her every move and knowing to give her a wide berth wherever she walked. Anxious that, even while injured, her bite could tear them apart without warning, they still preferred to whisper behind cupped hands and watch her from afar.
And from afar was also how Janis noted these observations. She shared them with Damian midway through the week, in a way that called back to their plotting months ago, but he had promised his grandma to be more gracious toward Regina after the news had spread to the PTA. “After the ass whooping I got from Nana? I am not sending a single bad thought Regina’s away, no thank you.”
Cady was even worse. The overwhelming guilt she still felt for causing Regina to step onto the road that day still stifled her sense of humour, though she appreciated Janis’ continued use of the ecological analogy. “Interestingly, in The Serengeti Lion, there are mentions of opportunistic hyenas taking advantage of injured lions and actually reversing their predator-prey relationship in specific cases.”
“Cute.”
“It’s not cute if you’re the lion.”
“What’s cute is that you think it’s interesting, honey,” Damian said in jest. To her credit, Cady just rolled her eyes and chuckled. The two-week suspension had definitely scared the mean girl out of her.
But for once Cady’s lion fact was actually interesting to Janis, who suddenly realized what some of the distant stares and whispers toward Regina might have been about. People were beginning to see an opportunity.
Janis’ theory proved correct by the end of the week, during what she would later call The Locker Incident. Having overslept after a night of nonstop embroidering, she was in a rush to get her locker combination right in one go. The morning bell wouldn’t ring for another few minutes, but considering she would have to sprint across campus to get to class on time, every second wasted was equivalent to one heartbeat per minute, and her un-athletic ass wasn't willing to get the rate any higher.
Out of the corner of her eye, a pair of girls she recognized from the varsity soccer team entered through the doors at the end of the hall, and Janis suddenly understood what it meant for someone to enter menacingly . The air around the girls felt charged, and when Janis focused her eyes she saw that they were tailing Regina, who had just walked in a few paces ahead of them. Stiffly upright as was customary after her accident, Regina walked directly to her locker, her eyes hooded and unreadable underneath perfectly-applied makeup.
By virtue of their last names, Janis, Damian, and Cady all had their lockers in the same building, and today Janis was reminded that so did Regina. They never clashed before because Regina always timed it perfectly to be fashionably late to class.
Regina’s locker was closer to the entrance doors than Janis’ was, so Janis managed to open hers and hide behind its thin metal door to watch what was about to happen without making her presence known. Evidently, Cady wasn’t the only one with lingering feelings of guilt.
The soccer girls planned their approach carefully, hanging back by the water fountain as they waited for Regina to expose a vulnerability. In her mind Janis saw hyenas crouched in the tall grass while an unaware lioness licked her wounds behind the safety of a dying tree. When Regina was nearly finished organizing her things, the girls moved in for the attack. The one on the right knocked her shoulder deliberately into Regina’s and the books resting on the crook of Regina's arm cascaded to the floor.
The commotion turned heads and the air was instantly vacuumed out of people's lungs at the sight of books all over the floor at Regina’s feet. The reactions were mixed: while some cowered instinctively to protect themselves from being caught in her retaliation, others hungrily perked up over the dramatic show of power dynamics. Janis held her breath and turned away. She could easily see Regina’s expression in her mind’s eye anyway: shoulders tensing before rising slightly as Regina took a deep, exasperated breath; jaw clenching; the fold between Regina’s brows creasing as she rolled her eyes behind closed lids.
The other soccer girl giggled loudly, going out of her way to stamp a grassy shoe onto one of Regina’s notebooks -– Janis suddenly remembered the girl’s Burn Book entry being something about her smelling like a wet dog. The hyenas caught Janis’ eye as they skipped triumphantly past Regina and approached Janis, who silently begged them to ignore her.
“Hey, Janis! Love your eye shadow!”
Shit.
The students who hadn’t scarpered to avoid the fallout gave themselves whiplash turning their heads toward the opposite end of the hallway.
Although Cady had been the one to replace Regina (momentarily) as head of the Plastics, everyone now knew that it was Janis who broke the entire school out from under their spell. And after the truth about the “revenge party” came out, she was known -– for better or worse — for being the mastermind behind Regina’s downfall. Janis laid the trap that wounded the mighty lioness, but graciously stopped short of finishing the job so that others could have a go. In their eyes, she was a hero.
Out of the corner of her eye, Janis saw a freshman shakily close their locker and take a few backwards steps away from her. From her . Like, what was she going to do, snap at them for rattling around like a vibrator? When has she ever done anything like that?
She was beginning to understand why Damian’s grandma felt the need to smack some humility into him.
Janis murmured a thanks then quickly turned back to her locker to make it obvious that she wasn’t in the mood for conversation, which thankfully the girls understood. They left her with a cheerful, “See you around!” as she mindlessly gathered her brushes into a neat pile, wasting as much time as she could to let the moment, and the crowd, pass without further ado.
With the door to her locker blocking her view of Regina, Janis didn’t know what to expect when she finally shut it.
Regina had one hand gripping the edge of her open locker and was carefully lowering herself to her knees, doing her best to keep from straining her lower back. There were a few people still in the vicinity, on their way to class or using their lockers, but every single one pointedly looked away from Regina’s struggle.
Janis played the moves in her mind. If she of all people helped Regina, witnesses wouldn’t hesitate to spread the word. She would be lauded as a symbol of forgiveness and compassion, a venerable saint of North Shore High School. And Regina would be humiliated for having to accept help from her mortal enemy, her original sin... Janis was disgusted with herself even thinking about it in that way.
Even if Regina wasn't between her and her destination, everyone already knew that Janis had witnessed the incident. It was almost like they were waiting for her to make a move before deciding themselves. Nevertheless, with every step she took, she hoped that someone else would take on the mantle, that someone else would step up and be the kindhearted person who saw beyond petty school politics...
But if there was a selfless soul out there, they were probably already in class or stuck in a ditch somewhere, because Janis got to Regina in time.
Her feet stopped moving. It would be so awkward if she just kept walking. She was doing this.
Deciding that it would be more dignified for both of them, Janis crossed her feet over the ankles and plopped herself into a sitting position beside Regina. Avoiding distrustful blue eyes, she started gathering Regina’s books, stretching to reach the ones that fell farther away. When the muscle on her forearm twitched in protest, she wondered aloud before she could stop herself, “Why the fuck are you bringing so many books to first period?”
“You don’t have to help,” was the answer she got.
“Yeah, well, these are a tripping hazard and I take my job as hall monitor seriously.” She was not serious, their school had no such position. Making a joke was easier than explaining a motive she didn’t even know herself.
It was a stupid joke, and she wasn't surprised that Regina saw through it. “I don’t need your pity.”
“And I don’t care.” She still wouldn’t look Regina in the eye and it was probably what emboldened her to snap back like this. “It’s what a decent fucking human being would do. Not that you would know anything about that.”
When Regina didn’t say anything, Janis gathered the books in one arm and pushed herself up off the floor with the other. She offered her free hand to her reluctant rescuee, but Regina was already pulling herself up. She underestimated how much strength there was in Regina’s arms and legs, and she started to feel foolish. Maybe Regina really didn’t need her help after all.
Regina slammed her locker door shut and turned to Janis with her own hand held out. “Thanks,” she said curtly. Janis didn't think too much about it but took it as her vindication.
Janis passed Regina the stack, but not without another warning. “You’re not helping your back carrying this much stuff.”
“Like you care.”
And just like that, Regina the Ingrate walked away, leaving Janis simmering in a cloud of her baby prostitute perfume, the morning bell ringing in her ears like a siren. “Fucking bitch.”