Setosolace- "The Past Bites Back"

Chapter Five

The principal held the microphone close to his mouth, turning in a circle to catch a good look at the crowd. The teenagers whispered amongst themselves for a moment longer, before coming to a hush when the man repeated the word.

"Good morning! For those of you who don't know, my name is principal McCullin."

McCullin was a tall man in his late thirties, with short styled black hair and eyes that seemed to gleam amber, adding to the fact he seemed cat-like. He was thin, and wore a black button up with gray dress pants, matching his monochromatic wardrobe with a white tie. Five o'clock shadow stuck out against his pale skin, and he looked far from well-rested.

"I don't have much to say, so let's just get into it!"

McCullin aimed a point at the band, which was settled off to the side. A woman with dark brown skin and natural hair stood up, and then flashed a paper at the teens. A burst of drum echoed throughout the air, and then the rest kicked off. Teens in the bleachers began stomping to the beat, and it soon settled in to Seto that this was the school's fight song. The woman held up another paper as the song came to its' final notes, and cheering erupted from the crowd as the next song began to play.

Funny enough, it seemed to also be considered a spirit song.

The upbeat tune of "Hollaback Girl" soon rang through the auditorium, and a large amount of students sung along. The happiness in the air was spread around; and soon Seto found himself trying to hide a smile of his own as sports teams were introduced, each shouting as they came out onto the floor. They'd huddle, and then begin spinning around as they yelled out "fight!" over and over again, before breaking apart and running wild. Some of the teams even managed to lift McCullin off the ground and hoist him into the air, and McCullin would grin and struggle uselessly as the crowd went absolutely insane.

Clubs were introduced, each having a shopping cart decorated as a float to represent their club. Seto hears Brice snort beside him as one falls apart out on the floor.

Halfway through the clubs, a group of upperclassmen begin chanting "anime", only for McCullin to announce that the anime club didn't have a float and wouldn't be attending; much to the dismay of the teens, who let out a chorus of boos and began to stomp at the bleachers.

Seto felt tired when it finally came to a close, standing and gathering his stuff. He was nearly out the door when he's grabbed by the backpack, coming to a halt as Brice catches up to him.

"Hey so, I was wondering..." Brice is looking opposite of Seto's direction, and he seems flustered. Seto quirked his brow, waiting for him to continue.

"Would you like to hang out on Friday?" Brice finally turns to meet Seto's eye, before his face suddenly flares a shade of red. "Oh, fuck, sorry that was really sudden! I meant um, shit-"

"It's cool." The calm in Seto's voice shocks even himself, and Brice stops dead in the middle of his sentence. They look at one another, just studying the others' face as they walk; and Seto's the one to break the silence.

"I'm free Friday. Would the park be cool?"

He watches as Brice nods, obviously trying to seem less excited than he actually was. It wasn't working very well, but Seto wouldn't say that aloud.

"After school is good." Brice clarifies, sticking his hand up and waving to Seto as he begins to walk in a different direction. "See you then!" He calls, smiling.

Seto inhales loudly, vowing to himself that he was going to slam his head into a brick wall later. Why did he just agree to that? He feels exhausted now, and thinking about meeting Brice in the park in two days only makes it worse.

The fact that Tyler and Jason practically interrogated him at lunch didn't help his exhaustion much either, but he couldn't help but get swept up in the excitement the two boys seemed to share as he retold what had happened a couple times. Tyler assured him that it was just so he could catch every single detail, and then Jason cut him off by joking that he was going to write a play about it. The table broke into laughter soon after, and it hit Seto all at once that for the first time in a long time; he felt like he belonged somewhere.

He swore to himself to never let that feeling go, before tuning back into the conversation just as Tyler began to talk animatedly about the musical the theater kids were rehearsing for. Seto remarked that he didn't know Tyler could sing, only for the other boy to just smile shyly.

Just for a moment, Seto seemed to forget about why he was so exhausted to begin with.

~

Kinda a filler chapter?? Whoops

AnywAYS

That entire pep rally scene is based off of my actual schools pep rally. Yes, the anime club thing actually happened. As did the Hollaback Girl thing.

The only thing made up were the teachers and the principal (since I honest to god don't even know my principals name,,,)

In case ya'll haven't noticed apparently me updating this story at 5 am is a trend now