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Brooke was used to things being weird now.
After everyone took ecstasy at the school play, things became really strange. Strange, but… better.
She was able to patch things up with Chloe. She and Jenna were hanging out. She was in the process of forgiving Jeremy, and she and Michael actually got along quite well.
Weird things just happened sometimes that she didn’t know how to explain. She would randomly get insight into her friends’ lives, things she shouldn’t have been able to know. Or she’d get weird migraines, which she never used to get. Most of all, somehow, everyone actually got along, despite how different they all were, and how frustrated they got with each other.
How? Brooke didn’t know. But they did.
So, all this to say, Brooke had learned to expect things to be less than normal, because sometimes things got strange. But even expecting everything to be weird, she couldn’t prepare for… whatever this was.
“I just think it’s suspicious that suddenly you aren’t asking me for candy anymore, and at the same time, all of my raspberry candies have gone missing!” Christine was there in the commons area yelling. She sounded angry.
Brooke had never seen her so angry before. She felt bad for whoever Christine was yelling at, considering it was so rare for her to get that way.
To her surprise, it was actually Jeremy yelling back, “Are you serious, right now?! I don’t even like raspberry! Why would I take your raspberry candy if I don’t like it? That’s just silly.”
She looked around her, and her friends were watching them fight too. Maybe someone would intervene. She didn’t understand, really. These two were so similar, they never fought. Even when they did disagree, they tended to handle it peacefully, rather than with a screaming match like they were having now.
“Oh, I dunno, Jeremy. Maybe it’s not for you. Maybe it’s for someone else! Someone like… Michael!” Christine’s face got angrier as she revealed her theory.
Jeremy paused, clearly caught off guard by the accusation. Brooke glanced next to her and saw Michael standing there with his arms crossed.
She figured he’d care more, especially now that he was brought into the argument, but he kind of seemed bored, almost uninterested.
Jeremy shook his head, regaining his composure, “For Michael? Why would I steal your candy for him? There’s no reason for me to do that!”
Christine gave a bitter laugh, “Oh, come on, Jeremy! I know what’s really going on between the two of you! You’re trying to get his attention! You don’t love me, you love him!”
Brooke gasped, feeling rage course through her bones. Jeremy had hurt her a lot when he’d cheated on her, and now he was doing the same to Christine? With Michael of all people?!
She glanced at Michael again, who had to have known this was going on, “That’s messed up, you know. I thought you and Christine were cool.”
Michael looked at her and raised his brow, seeming a bit confused before he realized what she meant, “Brooke, you know this is a bit, right?”
Brooke blinked, unsure of what he meant, “What?”
“They’re not really fighting. This is another performance art thing, Jeremy told me all about it last night so I wouldn’t be caught off guard if anyone asked me any questions.” Michael shrugged, “They do this a lot, y’know. Put on a whole show for whoever’s there to see, just for the hell of it. It’s kinda weird, but honestly, I’m impressed with their dedication.”
Brooke nodded, “That’s true. Sorry, I didn’t realize it was supposed to be fake. Makes me feel better, I was getting pretty mad.”
Michael nodded in agreement, suddenly perking up, “Wait wait, here’s the best part!”
Brooke looked over, seeing that Jeremy was now holding a Legend of Zelda lunchbox, clutching it to his chest, and he was yelling back to Christine, “That’s ridiculous, I didn’t touch your candy! You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Christine suddenly snatched the lunchbox from him, clearly catching him off guard, “Oh yeah? Then how do you explain this?!” She cried out, opening his lunchbox and revealing a bunch of red candy stuffed inside, now spilling out onto the floor.
Jeremy reached for it, but she pulled it back, spilling even more candy in the process, “W-Wait! No, Christine, it’s not what you think! I swear!”
Christine shook her head, “No, Jeremy, I don’t want to hear any of your excuses! I’m done with all of your lies. I’m breaking up with you!”
Jeremy gasped dramatically, almost breaking the illusion, “Christine, please! I can change, I can do better! Don’t do this to me!” He got on his knees to beg. Honestly, Brooke was impressed with his ability to not laugh, now that she knew it was all an act, and it was kind of ridiculous.
“You’ve left me no choice. We’re done.” Christine dropped his lunchbox on the floor to add to the effect, and she walked away, leaving him by himself on his knees. As she walked away, Brooke could see her shoulders shaking like she was laughing.
He huffed and picked up all of the candy that had spilled so he could put it back in his lunchbox. As he stood, he scanned the faces until he found Michael, and he walked toward him, “How was that? Did I do okay?”
Michael gave a thumbs up, “You had Brooke convinced.”
Brooke huffed, “I was gonna kick your ass for cheating on Christine.”
Jeremy gave an awkward laugh, “Yeah… probably not the best thing to joke about, we just thought it’d be fun to stage a breakup, and that ended up being where it went. Sorry about that. I am glad it was convincing though, I’ve been trying to get better so I’m on Christine’s level. She’s really good at having a performance on the spot.”
Brooke offered a smile, “Yeah. That’s okay. Just… I dunno, maybe tell me next time?”
“Yeah, of course.” Jeremy held his lunchbox up, offering it to Michael, “Here, Michael, thanks for letting me use this for the breakup.”
Michael blinked, “Oh, yeah, no problem. You don’t wanna keep the candy?”
Jeremy shook his head, “Nah, I hate red, you know that.”
Brooke decided to leave the two of them alone after that. She was still a bit confused about the bit. Obviously the scene was fake, but was any part of it real? Were they really broken up, but they were adding drama for fun? Or were they still together and just messing with everyone?
Either way, the whole situation was crazy, and Brooke saw them sitting together later at lunch, just giggling away as if nothing had happened.
Those two were weird, even more weird than the group’s normal level. She still loved them though.