Nicole, an ambitious but overlooked student at elite private school, Waterbridge Academy, is ready for her junior year to be all kinds of fun.
While her focus should be classes and homework, they take second string to Highjinks, the epic prank battl...
Our elation over the prank and the opening of the war didn't last long. There was an assembly called at 10; something which never occurred before the first day of classes, and most definitely never on a weekend. Those of us who had executed a stealth mission in the early hours of the morning could hazard a guess.
Headmaster Sorensen paced on the stage, while we all filtered into the auditorium, looking less than his normal self. He was an older man, salt and pepper hair, piercing blue eyes and eyebrows that made it appear that he was always angry. At odds with his appearance, he was the kindest, most compassionate, though authoritative person I'd ever met in my life. His mood today was clearly off, and I had a feeling it had to do with my part of the previous night's prank.
Approaching the podium he glared out at us all. "Do you know," he bellowed, waving a roll of fabric at us, "that I got a call this morning from the groundskeeper regarding the state of the school flag?" He was borderline purple, he was so angry.
In the front row, Kellen looked at Katia, almost as if he were wondering if she had done something.
"Do you know what I found when I went out there to check on it?" He unfurled the flag, revealing lacy babydoll pajamas taped over the school crest. The student body gasped in shock, and a wave of snickers washed over the room. Jess pinched my arm and I twitched, flicking my eyes quickly to her to catch her shocked expression, as I tried not to shrink down in my seat.
"What were you thinking?" Headmaster Sorensen addressed the entire student body, unsure of who might be the culprit. "Be glad all new students have already arrived, and this is not the representation or first impression of the Waterbridge Academy their parents got!" After a few flustered attempts at saying more, he balled the flag up and tossed it aside, gesturing at the counselor, Ms. Penzant, to continue.
She gently took the microphone from him and turned to face us, "In light of this event, there are some issues I need to address with you students..." She continued for what seemed like forever about sensitivity and gender and how some students—male or female—might be uncomfortable with things like tiny lacy sleepwear.
Jess pinched my arm again and then continued to do so throughout the lengthy lecture, making me regret my actions. In the night, it had seemed funny, but with the way the Trifecta all sat rigidly, I knew that if they found out it was my doing, I'd be dead.
Surprisingly, no punishment came from the school; they didn't want to make everyone pay for one person's actions. We were dismissed for what was bound to be a long day of school club recruitment activities. Outside the auditorium, students scattered for the gyms, fields, or designated classrooms. Throughout the hallways, cell phones announced the arrival of a new hijINKs update.
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-.-
The strong sterile smell of sanitizer and the ripe body odor of the boys sitting beside me on the bench that edged the blue padded floor burned my nose. But as gross as it was, it was a somewhat comforting smell. As were the sounds echoing in the large high-ceilinged room; the slap of flesh hitting flesh, grunts and sharp kiai, rhythmic thumping of running and the thwack of hands hitting wood and feet planting heavily into mats, the squeak and snap of rebounding spring floors.
