Zest Mess

Chapter 2

Chester stared up at the giant marbled doors in front of him. Above the door, showed an intricate engraving stating, Zestique Academy, where knowledge and brilliance converge to shape the minds of the future. Normally, he would have admired the beautiful craftmanship of the school's exterior but his mind was focused on stopping his trembling hands. Although the solid gold handles were attached to the door, Chester felt as if the entire chunk of metal was weighing down on his hands.

Well... with a density of 19.3 g/cm^3 I guess gold is wayyy too heavy and I'll go home instead! He spun on his heels before looking down in disappointment. He took a deep breath and stared so hard at the door that he could see his own reflection staring back. Who am I kidding, I lifted more than that when I was making my battle bot! He thought, Yes! I can solve anything and I will solve high school too!

"High school, here I come!" He yelled, gripping the doors with all his might. Suddenly, he flung open the doors revealing a bustling crowd of students. The students, previously engaged in conversations or running around trying to find their first class, all immediately dropped their activities to stare at the newcomer.

"OWWW!" yelped a voice on the ground. "Hey! The doors hurt!"

Chester quickly directed his gaze to the person on the ground. The girl was dressed head-to-toe in a western fashion. She donned a plaid shirt, jean shorts, cowboy boots. As she got up from the floor she flicked her well-worn cowboy hat out of her eyes before reaching out an outstretched hand.

"The name's Humphrey Clutterbuck," she said as a smile crossed her face, seeming more interested than annoyed at the accident, "Now what's up with flinging the door in people's faces?" Seeing, that Humphrey was not in need of medical assistance, the students resumed their previous activities.

"Uhhh... I was just nervous?" Chester said flustered, "And— my name is Chester! Chester Danksworth!" He stood with his chest puffed out, proud of his family's name.

"Now way!" Humphrey gasped. "Your family helped mine fully automate our cheese business!" It was a well-known fact that the Danksworth family were a lineage of successful engineers, inventors, and all in all trailblazers for the technology industry. A long time ago, the Clutterbucks were just a simple rancher family that happened to save the great-great-grandfather of the Danksworths from a buffalo stampede. This heroic act, and their amazing cheese products, propelled them into becoming one of the largest dairy producers in America!

She placed her elbow on Chester's shoulder and winked, "Hey, if you ever need help around here just ask me!"

"I appreciate it," Chester thanked. He slipped his hand into the pockets of his slacks and pulled out a small piece of paper. "Now can you help me find my first cla—" Chester froze, his class schedule fluttering to the ground.

"Why are you dropping your papers?" Humphrey asked as she looked down to see Chester gawking at something in the distance, his mouth and eyes wide open. She followed Chester's gaze trying to see exactly who he was ogling at. 

"Oh. That's Exton Bonefat, he's pretty popular here at the academy. He's a bit of a mystery though." Humphrey looked back at Chester, "Oh don't tell me you fell for him!"

The 'Exton' in question was the same man Chester met outside that saved him from falling down the tree hollow. Although he was only slightly shorter than Chester, Exton's baggy clothing paired with being far in the distance made him seem even tinier. His curls were now fastened in a low pony tail that accentuated his downward-pointing eyes. His eyes were full of gentleness, yet there was something inexplicable in its gleam. If only these eyes could stare back at Chester, he would solve the puzzle surrounding that intriguing shine. 

Chester snapped out of his daze and quickly denied, "No, of course not!"

"Well good! Because he's already dating someone." Humphrey pointed to the person who walked up to Exton and began to chat with him. "That's Reginald Zestique. Yup, Zestique. A.K.A the child of the principal!"

Reginald sported short, fiery red hair that teetered the edge of being mid-length. They were entirely androgynous, styled in baggy cargos and layers of sweaters. Exton and Reginald easily slid into conversation with one another; Exton looking down lovingly into Reginald's eyes. They seemed to be in their own world despite a numerous amount of students raving over how perfect of a couple the two of the most popular kids at school are. Waves of students fought to catch front row seats to the two's PDA (public display of affection, don't worry Chester knows his acronyms). Students fanned themselves at the sight of the two and some even fainted when Exton and Reginald interlocked hands to walk to class.

"How am I supposed to compete with them!" Chester shouted, frustrated. "They are literally perfect and fashion icons! They're basically the idols of the school!" 

Humphrey hurried caught one of the fainted students, "I don't know Chester, maybe you only think they are fashion icons because they are the only students besides us that are not wearing the school uniform?"

"What?" Chester questioned not really hearing the other.

"Nothing." She replied.

"Forget it! Let's just get to class. Math always cheers me up." Chester huffed as he picked up his fallen schedule and started walking.

"Wait! That's the wrong direction!" Humphrey yelled. She quickly grabbed Chester's shoulders and dragged him to the correct classroom. 

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"Morning class. Not 'good' morning because if it was a good morning, I would not working this crappy job." A gloomy, drained voice echoed throughout the classroom. "First of all, I run this class like I run the army. If you step one foot out of line then you can say bye-bye to your grades this year. The average of my class is a fail and only a small, elite group of genius students can pass!"

Suddenly, a boom resounded as a Chester opened the door with such haste that he tripped and faceplanted onto the class floor. Humphrey walked in soon after; seeing the face of the teacher beginning to twist into disgust, she slowly tip-toed to an open seat and slid in. 

The teacher was an opposing force, her body was rotund, yet gave off the feeling of a brick wall, unwavering and impenetrable. Her bobbed hair was so sleek that it could easily double as a mirror. Her gaze was piercing as she stared daggers into Chester's soul. 

"You're LATE!" she screeched at him, her eyes almost bulging out of her skull. "Not to mention you also had the audacity to TRIP in my class."  

Chester stared, his lips trembling as he hurriedly crawled to the nearest empty seat. "I'm sorry, I got a little lost, Miss Teacher, it's my first day here!"

"Miss teacher? It's Señorita Nelson to you! And first day?" She scoffed, a cruel smile slowly spreading across her face. "I don't appreciate the excuse... MINUS 5 POINTS OFF YOUR NEXT TEST!" 

Chester's eyes widened "Wait we didn't even learn content yet! And I thought this was a math class!" His jaw dropped. 

"Did you just question me, peasant?" She hissed. "Detention!"

"Wait, is she even allowed to do to this?" Humphrey accused. 

"Detention! For you too!" Señorita Nelson shrieked. "Now if you horrible students actually bothered to read the syllabus that I did not post yet, then you would've known this class is a Spanish and math blended class in which the grade you earn will count for both subjects!"

Chester swiped the sweat forming on his brow, well aware that that Spanish is his most challenging subject. How was he supposed to relax and enjoy math when the Spanish language is breathing down his back at the same time!

"As you can see I don't give extra credit, I give negative credit. So do not give me a reason to take away your points. ¿Capiche la clase?" She said, her fingers forming an 'ok' symbol. 

The entire class fell into a collective hush, and nodded their heads like crazy.  Sweat beading down their faces and staining their clothing. 

"Okay, now let's get to learning. We have a long day ahead of us class." Señorita Nelson smiled, striking fear into the hearts of the students.