Leave Quietly

You leave quietly.

This whole situation has just gotten a whole lot weirder. While Miss Stoller having a crush on you could be an asset, you're not sure how it could be used effectively. So far it's caused nothing but trouble. Better to figure out your next move and not to complicate things.

God, she's hot, if a little confused.

Six years ago... yeah. Your aunt had a garden and was always pressing to you give her flowers away to people, so you gave them to everyone you could find and for any reason. Miss Stoller. Unbelievable.

The next day, you're walking the halls before class, ruminating. If she's giving four weeks notice, then the main problem is self-correcting. Stoller looks nice... more than nice... far more than nice, but she's still a bitch. Just because she has feelings for you doesn't mean that-

One of the other guys in the school jogs up to meet with you. "Man, did you hear? Detention for the week is being put off until Monday."

Man that IS good news. So that'll leave three weeks of Hell instead of four.

"Yeah, it was kind of a decision from 'higher up.' Looks like that cuntish slut-whore Miss Stoller isn't-"

You whip around and deck him.

You're as surprised as he is.

"Why am I in trouble!?" he demands, while the school nurse applied an ice-pack to his eye. "We weren't fighting. He was fighting; I didn't do anything!"

"I... kind of have to agree with that," you say from the doorway. "I don't really know what came over me, but it was my fault and not his."

"He isn't in trouble for fighting," she nurse explains. "He's in trouble because he was heard using vulgar profanity in our sacred hallways. Now, then. Doe, you get 5 demerits for fighting and you get 8 demerits for profanity. Don't argue; that's non-negotiable."

Thursday late afternoon. You're walking down the halls alone after studying. With all the penalty hours you have piled up, you've decided to put as much time as you can into your assignments now, before things get harsh again. There haven't been very many new demerits handed out lately, but they're still building.

A notice was posted announcing Stoller's resignation yesterday. She doesn't have much time left here. A few boys seem to think their demerits will disappear when the new faculty head arrives. Idiots. You figure whoever arrives will probably feel like they have something to prove and be just as strict, if not worse than Stoller was.

Way, way in the distance, you hear a faint CREeeeAK sound that seems to rise in pitch, like something's about to break or fall over. You're not sure where it's coming from exactly, but you start running towards it. There's a sickening moment of silence, the an enormous CRASH!!! that seems to shake the walls. You run in the direction of the noise and come to a stop in front of the tipped-over display case you ran into earlier. It's fallen foreward and shattered against the opposite wall, strewing glass everywhere. The frame is mostly intact, but some of the trophies have broken. On the other side of it from you is a female student standing there looking at you in horror.

"I... I didn't... I just..." she says, then turns and runs off. She has black hair with faint bluishness to it. The color seems to stand out... you're positive you haven't seen her before.

You look down at the wreckage and hear footsteps behind you. Looking quickly back, you see Rebecca run up, looking worried. "John, are you okay? I... OH My god..." her voice trails off.

The two of you stand there, stunned. It's like looking at a train wreck. The mess is huge. You don't want to touch anything: you might break something. You don't want to leave it like it is: it can't stay like that.

Then a crowd of students and teachers shows up.

Although nobody asks it, the unspoken question hangs in the air. Who did this?

It looks like people are looking at you.