Serendipity & the Serpent

Cracking Skulls

He rolled his eyes and turned to face forward again, not saying another word. After a few taps of his pencil, he eagerly turned back to you.

"I have something that will cheer you up."

"And what's that?"

"You should come watch the boys and I practice after school." He put on his best puppy dog eyes, but you wouldn't crumble under the pressure.

"I... can't."

"Oh come on! You promised last night!"

Your eyebrows snapped together harshly. "I did not promise anything! You just told me I should go. And I can't."

He nodded his head in annoyance before huffing and turning back to face forward yet again. Mumbling under his breath, he rolled his eyes. "Coward."

"What was that?"

"I said you're a coward!" He raised his voice.

You hadn't realized how loud your voices had been raised until a stern voice from the front of the room called out both of your last names.

"You two. Detention!"

You immediately sunk back in your chair. Pressing your tongue into your cheek you rolled your eyes skyward.

"Well, princess," he hissed, "looks like neither one of us are going to make it to practice today."

"Rule #1: don't call me princess."

He shrugged, "well, it looks like we're breaking the rules already, aren't we?"
•••
After school detention was an absolute nightmare. There was only a total of five of you sitting in the library, two of which included you and Johnny. There was a whole library you could explore, admire the books, and read until the hours slowly slipped away.

But you had to stay put at your table.

You took a good look around at your fellow classmates. There was a jock, clearly a major one at that. You sat in the empty seat next to him and looked him over.

He wore a West Valley High School letterman jacket, and an ego on his shoulders the size of a weight bench. There was the brainiac at the next table over, top of the class, nerd who had nothing better to do then wear his sunglasses inside. You wondered what he was hiding behind those rims. Toward the back was the outcast girl, you recognized her in passing. She was quiet and shy, but her habits and tendencies made it known that she was used to being alone.

And then there was Johnny.

And you.

Luckily for you, he chose a completely different table to sit at. Of course it was the one behind you, but you wouldn't have to see him. You only had to look forward, paying no attention to anyone else in the room.

It was an odd bunch, but luckily you didn't feel the need to make friends with any of them. You had a lot on your mind, and you planned to let those thoughts consume you the rest of the day. You needed a way to take down Kreese from the inside, without telling Johnny or the other boys the truth.

There was just something about Kreese's story that didn't add up. Something your mother and Mr. Miyagi weren't telling you.