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“Fleur de Lys just transferred—”
“It’s Fleur Dis Lee.”
The teacher looked down at the roll. “I’m pretty sure it’s Fleur de Lys. Oh. They misspelled it. I’ll fix that.” She grabbed a pen from her desk.
Fleur snatched it before it reached the paper. “My name,” she said, loud and clear, “is Fleur. Dis. Lee.” She turned and walked towards the empty seat at the back.
Awestruck, Bubbles stared as she approached.
The teacher’s brain finished rebooting. “I’ll be sending a note to your parents about this.”
Fleur ignored it, pulling out her books.
Bubbles leaned over, whispering, “Je m'appelle Bubbles.”
Fleur turned her head, blinked. “What?”
Bubbles frowned. “Did I say it wrong?”
Staring until Bubbles pulled back, she took out a pack of chewing gum and popped a piece in her mouth. “I have no idea what you were saying.” She held out the pack in her hand towards Bubbles.
“Oh.” Taking a piece for herself and slipping it into her jeans pocket, Bubbles turned back to the teacher, jotting down some notes. She snuck a glance at Fleur. When the teacher turned to write on the board, she leaned over again. “Could you teach me?”
“What?” asked Fleur, still taking notes.
“Teach me French?” She smiled slightly, not wanting to overdo it.
Fleur looked over, chewed her gum, blew a bubble, and popped it. “Sure.”
———
Bubbles sat across from Fleur on the stage, their legs folded, the other kids already gone to lunch. She smiled effusively as Fleur flipped through a notebook.
“Okay,” she said, finding her page. “So I didn’t know any French—”
“You don’t?” Bubbles’s smile sagged a little, confusion creeping in.
Fleur looked up, grinning. “Didn’t. I looked some up after first period.”
“Oh,” she said, smiling again bouncing happily in place. “You can still teach me then.”
“Okay, so the first thing you need to learn is Merde.”
“Murd? What’s it mean?”
“Shit.”
Bubbles wrinkles her nose. “Where did you say you were from?”
“Didn’t.”
“Oh.” Her smile dipped again then bounced back. “Where are you from?”
“Down south.” She looked back down at her notes. ”Ok, next word is putain. I think it’s Canadian french fries.”
“Putain.” Bubbles puckered her lips grandosely as she tried the word. “Putain.”
“It also means fuck.”
Choking on the word that had been forming on her lips, Bubbles recoiled slightly. “Do you have any words that maybe aren’t cuss words?”
Fleur ran her finger down the page. “Uhhhh no.”
“Oh.”
Fleur looked up. “You wanna do this or—”
“Well well well, look who it is here.” Neighsay entered through the auditorium door, followed by his two hangers-on. “Ditzy Doo. You trying to hide from me?”
“No.” All the bubbliness in her voice from earlier had been replaced by tar, miring the word down.
“Well it’s time to pay up.”
Bubbles sighed, taking out her wallet. Fleur scooted over, whispering, “What’s going on?”
“They beat me up if I don’t give them my lunch money.”
Fleur swallowed that thought. “Well what do you do for lunch?
“I still have that gum you gave me.”
“That’s fucked up.”
“I ain’t got all day here,” said Neighsay.
Bubbles pocketed her wallet. Leaning to the edge of the stage, she reached out with a bill in her hand.
Fleur sprung to her feet, snatching the note.
“What do you think you’re doing, bitch?”
The troglodytes beside him laughed as if it were a joke.
“Helping a friend, putain.”
Neighsay snarled, “What did you call me?” he turned to his gang. “What did she call me?”
They shared a glance, then shrugged.
Neighsay turned back. “You better hand that over to me.”
Bubbles tugged at the bottom of Fleur’s pants. “Just give it to them.”
“Fuck that noise.” She motioned Neighsay forward. “You want it? Come and get it.”
Neighsay jumped up on stage, stalking towards her. He pulled back his fist, swung—
Fleur sidestepped, grabbed, and twisted his arm, laying him out on his stomach. Still holding the arm at an unnatural angle, she pressed a knee to his back. Looking up at the other two, she called out, “What about you? You want everyone to hear you got beat up by a girl?”
They looked at each other. One flicked his head towards the stage. The other nodded. Climbing up, they approached, widening their stances and circling around Fleur.
Bubbles, standing with her back to the wall, barely saw the sweep of Fleur’s foot. Bubbles blinked, he was on the floor, and she flinched in surprise.
Fleur now stood with the two boys on the floor separating her from the third. “Go get a teacher.”
“But—”
Fleur glanced over briefly. “Go!”
Bubbles ran. Through the wing, around to backstage, and out the door there. Kids still trickling towards the lunch room paused, watching as she flew past.
“No running in the hallways,” called the teacher at the lunchroom door.
Bubbles stopped, panting. “Come quick. Fleur is being attacked.” She turned and took off, retracing her steps, paused to look back. “Come on,” she motioned. “Hurry up!”
After glancing at the other students, the teacher finally hustled after her. A flock of students grew behind them, following at a distance.
Bursting through the door, Bubbles held it open, panting while she waited for the teacher to catch up. When he did, she motioned him towards the stage. “Up there.”
“What’s going on here?” called the teacher as he rounded the corner to the stage, Bubbles following.
Fleur leaned against the prop she’d acquired in Bubbles’s absence—a stilt. Her foot rested on the back of one of the three kids on the ground. “I beat up these boys.”
The teacher turned to the crowd in the wing. “All of you get back to lunch.” He turned back. “Why would you do that?”
Fleur shrugged. “Felt like it.”
He chewed on that thought.
Fleur popped a bubble.
“Alright, you four, principal's office. Now!”
Bubbles watched as her tormentors stood, filing out, heads hung low.
As Fleur passed, she winked at Bubbles.
“You too, miss Hooves. Back to lunch.”
———
As Fleur exited detention, Bubbles jumped her, hanging on her neck briefly before touching back down. “That was so awesome!” she said, arms still encircling Fleur. She blinked, looked down, and blushed, releasing her hold. “Come on,” she motioned as she started down the hallway.
Fleur fell in alongside her.
“How did you do that?”
“Would you believe I wrestled alligators?” She looked over, gauging Bubbles’s skeptical reaction. “I had four brothers.” Less skeptical now. “I know a lot of Tai Chi, which uses an opponent’s own force against them.”
“Ahh.” Bubbles glanced down and grabbed Fleur’s hand. “Come on.” She took off running, dragging Fleur behind.
“Where are we going?”
“Back to my place. I told my mom I was staying late at school to do a project with you. So you really don’t know french?”
“No. My parents thought this name sounded cool. They couldn’t even spell it right.”
Bubbles stopped at an intersection, looking around in confusion.
“Lost?”
Bubbles looked up at Fleur, smiled, shrugged. Turning slowly, she stopped to stare down one corridor. “I think it’s this way.” They walked now, Bubbles constantly glancing around. “Why didn’t you tell the teacher what they were doing?”
“I figured that was your story to tell,” said Fleur. “Didn’t want to get you in trouble.” They stopped at the next intersection. “Why didn’t you tell?”
Bubbles let go Fleur, ignoring the question. She walked to each connecting hallway in turn, staring down them. “I am completely lost.”
Fleur took Bubbles’s hand, leading her down a hallway. “Good thing I’m here to show you the way.”