Freak Show Page #5

that needs scrubbing, flossy.

Nothing around here

needs scrubbing

except for your mouth.

My angel.

- Where's Daddy, darling?

- Hiding.

Junebug.

Be a lamb and make

your Muv another drinkie.

Do you want

a Tequila Mockingbird?

Or a Sunset Boulevard

Bourbon on the rocks?

Surprise me.

Voila!

Put that thing out.

Happy?

Billy, go to your room.

No. I'm not

going anywhere.

Please, son, just go upstairs.

You're just upset

because Muv's

come back for me

and we're getting out

of Satan's strip mall.

You know what, honey,

I think

your father's right.

- No. You know what?

- You better go up...

Stay here.

Well, that didn't

take long, Miriam.

I just stopped

the payment on Thursday.

It's Mauveine, Bill.

Actually, it's not.

You know what,

I'll go start packing.

Goddammit, wake up!

She's not here to take you home!

Yes, she is. Tell him.

We're going home, right?

Is that why you're here?

Mom?

Don't call me that.

The deal is, son,

Oscar had it half-right.

The truth is rarely pure

but it's often very simple.

Ah..

Look, I need that money.

I deserve it.

I deserve it!

I'm not paying you child support

for a child you don't support.

Support him?

Christ, I was gonna flush him.

You wanted a son.

I gave you a son.

So pay up.

Checkie!

Just write the check

and I'll be out of here.

- You cut the crust off?

- Mm-hmm.

- Thank you.

- You bet.

Well.. Hello!

Hi, ma'am.

Is, uh, is Billy home?

Drink?

Something to drink?

Oh, no. No.

No, thank you.

I just, I just really

need to, to see Billy.

I'm Mauveine.

Enchante.

You're, you're Muv?

Wow! Wow, ma'am!

It's... it's a pleasure

for me to meet you.

I've heard so much

about you from Billy.

Friend of Billy's?

That's how they do it in Paris.

I've never been to Paris.

Football player too, huh?

- Yes, ma'am.

- Huh.

Isn't that

a co-in-ki-dink?

You know, I was

a big-time cheerleader.

I was.

Rah. Rah.

Rah!

Ms. Muv, ma'am, it's been

it's been real nice

getting to know you,

Ms. Muv.

- But I've really

got to go see Bi...

- Shake it to the left.

Shake it to the right.

Hit 'em to the left,

hit 'em to the right.

Stand up, sit down,

fight, fight, fight! Ah!

Oh, God! Oh!

Ms. Muv! Ms. Muv!

Let's get you up.

Come here, alright.

Here we go.

Here we go.

Oh!

Oh!

- Oh, Junebug? Junebug?

- Billy?

June... bug?

With all due respect,

ma'am, you're drunk.

That's the smartest thing

I've heard you say

since I met you, son.

You know what,

I have cleaned the toilets

and now it's time

to take out the trash.

Oh, simmer down, slugger.

My Uber... awaits.

Sometimes, I dream I can fly.

But I'm so exhausted

from flapping my wings

and the higher I soar,

it reminds me

of how little I fit in

with them on the ground.

So..

I rise..

And I rise, and I realize that..

I don't wanna fly anymore.

They never knew

what they were

looking up at anyway.

And so, it is

with great excitation

and an okay from the Almighty

that I announce my candidacy

for homecoming queen!

Over my dead body!

Look! We've got a jumper!

It's Billy Bloom!

I'm not killing myself,

you philistines!

I've never been

more determined

to live in my life.

I'm not gonna let some

bible-humping debutante

make a mockery of everything

I hold dear in this life.

Glamour, pageantry

and good hair.

I am announcing my candidacy

for homecoming queen!

Lynette! Help!

Are you dead?

It's time to put a real queen

in charge of things around here.

Wait, wait. What happened?

This is my interview.

Give me a second

please, Lynette.

It... it's Bloom,

isn't it? The coma kid?

Now, how do you wanna

be identified on camera?

Gay? Straight?

Transgender?

Transvisionary.

Gender obliviator.

Freak!

Okay, yeah, well,

I was gonna reclaim it

as my own anyway.

Works for me.

Wait, uh, now, this is my dream.

I'm standing here

with Billy Bloom

self-proclaimed freak

here at

Ulysses S. Grant Academy

where history is being made.

And this young man,

that's right, I said man

just announced his candidacy

for homecoming queen!

Billy? Thank God.

Oh, I was so worried.

You didn't text me back.

You don't need

to be afraid. They do.

Tell us about

your platform, Billy.

- Him? What about me?

- Well.

My platform is simple.

I am pro-glamour,

I'm anti-khaki.

I am pro-any-artistic-risk

and I'm against

any attempts

at categorization.

I am here to bring an end

to the hatred

I've found

at Ulysses S. Grant

and the world at large.

What do you think you're doing?

I'm going to watch golf

in peace.

Don't give me that look.

- What look?

- That look!

Oh, I know the world

is a horrible place

for rich, handsome,

entitled men.

Cry me a river.

I didn't ask him to come here.

And that was your first mistake.

I love my job, Mr. Bloom.

Lord knows I love this family.

But I'll walk

straight out that door

right here and now

if you don't stop

acting like an ass.

That's enough.

Oh, but I haven't even started.

Did you forget that

this is the child

that you prayed for?

Well, I remember,

because I'm the one

who taught you how to pray.

Well, I didn't pray for this.

It's all over the news.

He's running

for homecoming queen.

He is telling the monsters

who put him in a coma

"I will not let your abuse

and your insults

"define how I wear..

My tiara."

I'd rather be with my son.

But he doesn't want me.

I tried.

I tried in Darien

but Muv shut me down.

I tried here

and... he shut me out.

So keep trying.

You have more

in common with that boy

than you think.

Hey, girl, hey!

Billy, what do you

think you're doing?

Be gone, you have

no powers here.

Homecoming queen?

Billy?

Are you serious?

There's nothing

I can do for you now.

Don't you get that?

You've done quite enough, Mark.

Okay, you know what?

Fine.

You do what you want.

But don't expect me

to bail you out.

From now on, you're on your own.

Actually, I'm not.

How would you like

to be my sidekick?

Billy, I... I have been

waiting my whole life

for someone to ask me that.

N... no, I mean

your name is really Mary Jane?

Yeah.

What did you think it was?

Uh, it's not important

right now.

We have bigger problems

to solve.

And I don't want to do

this one alone.

You won't be alone.

I mean, we'll all

be there for you!

- So.. We?

- Okay, Billy.

I have wanting to tell you

about them forever.

But I was bound by oath

to keep their secret

until they told me

it was okay to let you in.

Who?

The shadow people.

- The who?

- The shadow people.

It's a secret population

of students

who survive on the fringes

of the academy.

They live

under the radar,

out of the spotlight.

They're just

regular students,

like you and me.

I mean, you see them everywhere.

You just don't notice them

because they know

how to blend in.

You see, the trick

is you have to be

attractive enough

as to not draw attention

but not attractive enough

as to stand out

in a sea of physical perfection.

You have to be,

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