Jules sat alone on the toilet, Rob's enforcer having been banished from their group for the time being and sent to prey on the geeks in their little after school clubs. He was so preoccupied with his thoughts, of how he felt friendless, the only person in the group that he counted as a 'friend' was Rob, who was more like his boss. The rest of the bullies were assholes, other dead-enders in life whose futures were most likely dotted with long stretches of jail and prison time, much like any future Jules hoped to have if he continued down the path of being Rob Bolstrum's errand boy.
A giggle of laughter from two indistinct female voices floated into the restroom and Jules felt a throb of pain as the hard, cold toilet seat grew even more uncomforatble.
Rob. Everything that had gone wrong with his life so far seemed to have stemmed from Jules association with the cruel neanderthal. And it wasn't as though he could say anything to Rob without either getting further 'punished' like he was being now or worse...getting the absolute crap knocked out of him by Rob's fists. Was Jules just meant to suffer? To forever serve at the whims of the larger, more powerful boy until one of them ended up moving away, in prison or worse, dead? A dark thought entered his mind, about how much Rob had been drinking since they'd been doing jobs for Alexander Ingerman, Joanna Ingerman's little brother. Maybe if Jules got Rob shitfaced and the gorilla tried to drive back to the trailer park...
"Jesus, what the hell am I even thinking?" Jules hissed to himself. He may have been angry at Rob but that wasn't any excuse to want him dead! But then then the conversation from the giggling girls swam into focus as they grew closer to the restrooms.
"Girl, you HAVE to show him who's boss! You're the one in charge! Tell him that he's got a choice; he can either buy you whatever you want, or YOU can get another boyfriend!" Came a voice that Jules immediately recognized; Gloria Vanapolous, the 'bitch' of the high school's cheerleading team. She was hot, sort of rich, and everyone knew she was crazy. About the only person that seemed to stand her was her boyfriend, and even that seemed like a stretch at times.
And you knew it was bad when the bullies occasionally felt sympathy for her long suffering boyfriend Tom Ackerton, even if the sports star liked to stick his face into other people's business. Like Rob's.
"Just because YOU like drama doesn't mean I like it, Gloria! He doesn't have to pay for everything I just thought it'd be a nice gesture!" another feminine voice said, clearly annoyed. Jules only vaguely recognized it, but it had the tell-tale accent of another cheerleader. The sounds of clicking footsteps stopped for a moment and Jules heard the -clunk- of the water fountain's pressure bar being activated, followed by the gurgle of water as one of the girls was clearly getting a drink.
"That's why you never get good boyfriends Courtney! Meanwhile, I can get Tom to do whatever I want!" Gloria said, her voice haughty and very 'holier than thou'.
"Is that why he said he wished he had a better girlfriend this morning after Joanna beat up Rob Bolstrum?" Courtney said, her voice filled with smugness as the sound of clicking heels resumed down the hallway.
"Bitch! How fucking dare you! I'll-" Gloria's harpy shriek of a voice faded into echoed indistinctness as the two girls passed the bathrooms.
Jules couldn't help but smile despite the weird tightness in his chest. Gloria Vanapolous was such a bitch and everyone knew it and it was good that at least he wasn't the only one getting dunked on by his so-called 'friends'. But if there was ever someone that embodied #FirstWorldProblems, it was Gloria. The raven-haired former queen of the school liked to flaunt her family's upper middle class wealth, and before the shift in reality that had changed Jonathan Ingerman into Joanna Ingerman, had been the richest chick in Shermer and liked EVERYONE at school to know it. But even after the change she still liked to let others know that she was better than them, but this time, without having to play second fiddle to the infinitely more wealthy and the infinitely more kind Joanna, Gloria clearly couldn't get away with as much as she did before.
And Jules definitely thought she could stand to be knocked down a few more pegs. It was nice to see, or at least hear, someone who deserved it getting dunked on by their so-called friends. If only Jules could do that to Rob...But again the idle thought passed as the bitter tightness in his chest squeezed tighter.
"What is this, fuckin' anxiety?" Jules hissed and gave the bathroom stall a pound with his fist, unaware of the small, steady glow in his tightly closed fist. He didn't want to be here, he wanted to be out having fun or home relaxing, but no no, here he was because Rob was more than capable of bossing him around, force him to continue being at school after hours and having to hear Gloria Vanapolous's stuck up bratty thoughts.
He grunted in pain as his fist struck the metal latch of the stall door and he recoiled, frowning at the peeled skin.
"Fuckin' great" he hissed. And that was when he muttered the words...
"I wish..."
Option 1: "I wish I could boss Rob around for a change!" In a flash, Jules vanishes from the bathroom, reappearing in his bedroom. Disoriented, he suddenly realizes there's someone else in the room with him! Was that Rob!?
Option 2: "I wish Gloria could see what it's like to be on the bottom for once!" There is a flash of green light that surprises Jules, but nothing else appears to happen. Jules eventually goes home to the trailer park and discovers Gloria is now his neighbor!