Chapter 40
Betty
Part 2 of 4

In what could be any high school across the country, a girl overhears several cheerleaders talking about her:  making fun of her weight, her looks and her interests.  Only this time is different.  This girl is Betty.  And she’s just found out she can create terrifying images with the power of her mind…

In last week’s installment, we met Betty, an outcast at her high school who suddenly discovered that she had the ability to change what people around her see.  After having some fun with some of her “popular” classmates, she discusses with her friend Ren how much they dislike the “in crowd”.  Betty gets a mischevious smile on her face, thinking about the things she can do with her newly discovered powers…

This week, we open in the guy’s locker room after football practice.  As they begin to file out of the room, one guy, Crash, is left by himself.  Suddenly, behind him, a demonized version of his father appears.  “You call that defense, boy?  No son of mine plays like that on the field!  You’re a damn disgrace!”  He continues to demean him until Crash is reduced to a crying wreck.

The next day, Crash’s breakdown is the talk of the school.  He has gone completely insane, and doesn’t even know his own name.  Ren and Betty are talking about it during class, and Ren says how much he thought that Crash deserved what he got.  “Whoever had the means to send his soul into the abyss has my respect, big time.  I’m talkin’ national hero…my hero, anyway.”  Betty smiles sheepishly, since, of course, she’s the one responsible.

Seeing how she’s on such a roll, Betty returns to the girls bathroom, this time in the form of a cute blonde so that she can fit in with the hot girls there.  She pretends to be a new girl at school, just trying to get a feel for what’s been going on with Crash.  The girls go out of their way to bash Betty again, which causes her to lose her temper.  As a subtle threat, she asks them how they know it wasn’t somehow brought on by her “alt crowd”.

Like all rumors, this one spreads like wildfire.  Speculation becomes assumption, and slowly the school begins to believe that it was the alt crowd that was out to get Crash…possibly one member in particular.  Betty’s plan of revenge backfires when the blame comes to rest completely on her best friend, Ren.

I like where this is heading…it seems to be developing the makings of a very tragic love story.

The easter egg this week is a behind the scenes shot of Jack Coleman, Hayden Panettiere, and Allan Arkush.