REBEL
OWEN’s parents are moving. But he doesn’t want to go and leave his life and his friends behind him. He’s determined to find a way to stay.
I’m not moving. You can go without me. I’m telling you, I won’t go. I know I can’t stay in this house! Duh. I’m not an idiot. I’ll stay with my friends. Yes, for the rest of my life! Well, until I’m eighteen. Then I can just live on my own. Their parents won’t care! They like me, unlike you guys! How come no one ever asked me if I wanted to move? How come I had nothing to do with this decision? This is my life, too! You never think of me. I just some dumb kid who walks around your house and eats your food. Well, if I’m such a pain, then you won’t mind getting rid of me. Of course it’s legal not to live with your parents! Otherwise orphans would be breaking the law. Just let me stay here. I’ll be fine. I just want to finish high school here with all my friends. I don’t want to start over. It’s not fair. I’m just getting adjusted and now you want me to move. You don’t care about me at all!
I’m not going! I don’t care what you say. I’ll find a way to stay.
DRAKE hates his job, and he’s on a mission to get fired.
Know what? I want to get fired from this job. It sucks! I’ve been trying for weeks now, and I just can’t get Jeremy to fire me! My dad won’t let me quit. I’ve begged him. He’s really into this “a quitter never wins, and a winner never quits” crap. In my opinion, a winner quits if he’s doing a sucky job. It’s not like this is like being the president of the United States. We flip burgers! Personally, I don’t think there’s any shame in quitting something that doesn’t even matter in the grand scheme of things. It’s not like someone’s going to die if I don’t flip burgers. This kind of crap food kills people, so I’d probably be doing the world a favor if I quit. But my dad just won’t hear it. What if, like, Einstein was doing this job and wouldn’t quit? Then we wouldn’t have that theory of relativity, whatever that does for the world. I just know it’s important.
So, anyway, I’ve tried being obnoxious and lazy and giving people the wrong orders and setting off the fire alarms. Today I think I’ll pull out the big guns. I just wanted to warn you. Get your lunch from the food court today because I am going to spit in everything!
LAUREN is independent and individualistic. She has no desire to take part in the typical teenage rituals like the prom. Her mother, on the other hand, thinks she’ll look back and be sorry she didn’t go later in life.
The prom is such a waste, Mom. How do you know I’ll regret it? I don’t think I will. It’s just a bunch of idiots grinding against each other in cheap satin dresses and polyester suits. With really bad, cheesy music playing in the background. What’s good about that? What’s so seminal and important that I’m going to miss? Do you think I’m going to be prom queen? News flash, Mom. I’m not going to be prom queen. I’m not one of the beautiful people. I’m not one of the popular girls. And I never could be. Besides, those girls are back-stabbing bitches anyway.
That is so offensive, Mom. I am not jealous of them. I can’t believe you said that. That is blatantly untrue. I can’t believe you said that! Just because you aspire to that crap doesn’t mean I do. I feel sorry for kids like you.
You have to face it, Mom. I’m your kid. You were a loser, and so am I.
HARPER’s father was never there for her when she was younger. Now he suddenly wants to be part of her life.
This is pathetic. You think you can just walk in here and be my best friend? You think just because you show up every once in a while I’m supposed to be grateful? That I’m supposed to love you just because you supplied the sperm that put me into existence? What about all the times you weren’t around, Dad? Birthdays, Christmases, school events—there are so many times when I want you there, and you were nowhere to be found. That hurt me. That hurt me a lot when I was little. But now that I’m older, I don’t need you. I have friends I can rely on. I have a boyfriend. He’s going to take care of me. So I don’t need you.
I don’t know why you bothered to come here today. Why you made time out of your busy schedule for Gillian and me. You know, it would be better for Gillian if you just got out of our life for good. So she won’t sit around waiting for you the way I did. Maybe her heart will be broken now, today, but that’s better than it being broken a thousand times over like you did to me. I hate you, Dad. I mean that. I hate you. Why don’t you go home to your other family and just leave us alone once and for all?
NARINDA has a powerful personality and refuses to be pushed around. When a cheerleader tries to intimidate her at her new school, Narinda goes on the attack.
Shut up. I don’t want to hear anything come out of your mouth. What did I say? I think you have the impression that I am going to take your crap. I don’t take crap from anyone, especially a cheerleader. So you can stuff it, sunshine.
You seem to think that I care what you think. I don’t. Everyone else in this school seems to be under the impression that you are somebody, but I’m not. I see you twenty years from now with two husbands, two divorces, desperate, doing plastic surgery after plastic surgery to recover your lost youth, living off your alimony, having no intelligence or job skills, eating a bag of Doritos while you watch soap operas. You are a sad person. So you can stop telling me what to do. Step back, sister. You do not want to start anything with me.
I may be the new girl, but there’s a new regime coming. Your reign is over, sunshine. The queen is dead.