Then There Was Maverick

Chapter 23

~ Mason ~

By the time Friday evening had rolled around, everything had seemed to calm back down. Classes seemed to be going well, Katie was back to her normal, bubbly self, and football was great. However, there was still one weasel that I had to take care of: Zach Wesley.

He had quietened down around me since I beat his ass that day at practice, but I had heard whisperings of him running his mouth around campus. Boy, was he going to be surprised when I ruined the so-called "street cred" that he had built up over the past few weeks. The theatrics had gone on long enough, but I knew that I needed to wait for the perfect time to set my plan into motion. The rough waters between us had been seemingly calm for the short time since our altercation, so I knew that he was sitting comfortably thinking that he was getting off easy with the few bruises he came out with. However, I was only just getting started.

My buddy Luke was studying to be a technical engineer and had hacked into his high school's database more times than he could count (or care to admit). When I called him up to tell him about my issue and my plan to resolve it, he was scarily open to the idea and jumped at the opportunity to put his hacking skills into use again. When I brought him the video, he wore this evil-looking grin that made his eyes look like slits in his face. He obviously got entirely too much joy out of what he was about to do. With the promise of success and retribution, I left him to work his magic.

Sure enough, by the time the lunch rush was beginning to find seats in the cafeteria the televisions in the dining room came to life as the screen displayed a countdown with a title that read "The show will begin shortly." A hush quickly fell over the room as the students and faculty began to recognize the screens. I could hear people at the tables around me becoming overcome by curiosity. The school never used the screens in the dining hall unless there was an urgent message that needed to be spread throughout the student body in a timelier manner than was permitted by a mass email; so, the thought of entertainment had confusion and excitement coursing through the room.

By the time the clock had ticked down to only a minute remaining, Zach had entered the room with his entourage of ass-kissing dweebs and claimed a seat in the middle of the room. Conveniently, giving me a front-row seat to the hell that was about to ensue. The countdown cleared from the screen, and a drumroll sounded throughout the room – silencing all voices and drawing everyone's attention to the screens.

A clear picture of Zach and one of the pledges that was sitting with him appeared on the screen with the message "One of us is lying...". I glanced at Zach's face and was amused by the look of confusion that I found. The sound of a drum roll began to play over the speakers, building the anticipation of what was to come. "Greek Life Bylaw 1.002.3," read the screen in bolded letters, "Hazing of any means will not be tolerated and, if reported, suspected, or uncovered, will result in suspension from Greek Life and possible termination." The drums ceased and the screen flashed white before fading into the video footage from the security camera inside of the house. "I've gotta figure out which one of these desperate sorority girls I'm going to ask to our Formal," the voice of Satan's spawn rang throughout the cafeteria, "I honestly don't care who it is as long as we end up in my bedroom at the end of the night."

"What about that girl from the party a couple of weekends back?" the pledge asked.

"Eh, I don't think she was worth the trouble that she drags along with her," Wesley retorted.

"Bro, she must've been good though if you got with her after one dance," the pledge sitting next to Wesley at the lunch table finally dropped his phone as he realized what conversation was being aired.