Astoria: Part One

Arya: Chapter Three

       "Ms. O'Neill?" A female voice calls, clearly annoyed.

"Yes?" Arya answers.
"Answer the question, if you will."
"Yes, ma'am," Arya says sarcastically, "I...may have seen it."
"That was not the question," the annoyed voice states.
"What was the question?" She asks.
"Did you do it?" The voice asks again.
"Do what?" Arya asks.

Principal Williams grunts in frustration.

"Vice Principal Lyons wants to know if you were the one who spray-painted the profanity on her car windshield," he says with calmness in his baratone voice, "I suggest you answer honestly."

"No, sir, I did not do that." Arya says with a small amount of respect.

Arya liked Principal Williams, even if he was an authority figure. She knew he used to be the bass player in a local band, and there was a rumor that he would play in his office on occasion.

"You do know that we can search your hall-locker, gym-locker and bag, yes?" Vice Principal Lyons asks, viciously.
"Yes, I do," Arya spits back, "I don't understand why you always come get me first when shit like this goes down. You've never caught me doing anything like that before."
"Language, Miss O'Neill," Principal Williams says with authority, "Word is you are quite the street-artist, Arya."
"I thought that we were 'supposed to consider rumors to be false rather than true,' Principal Williams?" Arya says snidely.

        Of course Arya was referring to the video about bullying every class is made to watch at the beginning of the school year.
It was only the second week of school, and already Arya had been called into the office three times, and one of those times resulted in her getting detention for this weekend.

"I wonder what you could accomplish if even half of that wit was saved for your school work," Principal Williams sighed, "Alright, Karen, we don't have anything on her."
"But...just look at her face, Jay! She knows she's getting away with it!" Vice Principal Lyons sputtered, "just let me search her locker!"
"We can't prove anything, Karen," he says with finality, "let it go."

Vice Principal Lyons walks out of the room, trying to maintain her dignity.

"I'll walk you back to your class, Ms. O'Neill."
"That isn't necessary, Principa-"
"I insist." He cuts her off.

The pair walked out of Vice Principal Lyons' office, and through Principal Williams' to get to the hallway.
Arya was almost certain she saw an old amp tucked away behind the former musician's desk.

The two walk in silence for a time, before Arya breaks the silence.

"Alright, well it's right around the corner, so I think I can-" Arya doesn't finish on account of Principal Williams hand raising to quiet her.

They stopped walking, so Arya knew she was in for an earfull.

"If it were the case that a certain student did that graffiti to Vice Principal Lyons' car, they should know there was a new security system ordered at the beginning of the school year that will go up next week, making it almost impossible to not be seen defacing school property," Principal Williams states matter-of-factly.
"Oh, well, Principal Williams-" again Arya stopped mid-sentence because of the man's hand.
"I didn't say you did it, Arya,  but we both know you did. I like you, I think if you put your mind to it you could accomplish great things, but petty crimes will be your undoing. Please don't get caught when the new security system is installed," the man stated, "If you are, there will be no refuting these accusations and I won't be able to steer her off."
       On that note, he turned on his feet and marched off. Arya took the 'her' in his last sentence to be Vice Principal Lyons, although she didn't know why he would warn her.

"The fuck was that..?" Arya mumbled to herself.

Instead of going to class, Arya went to the girl's restroom and quietly opened the door.

On the far end was a girl with black hair, wearing what looked like a dark, depressing school uniform, though no uniform was required at Astoria High, crying quietly to herself in front of a sink.

Arya went to the nearest sink and washed her face with cold water, and gazed into the mirror.
Her pale skin shined with the water, and her pale blue eyes looked back at her. The piercing in her left eyebrow glistened with moisture.
Arya's face was feminine, her skin smooth. She had eyes that smiled with defiance, and a scar going went through her right eyebrow that said, 'I've seen some shit'. Her smile was one of mischief, and her overall vibe was positively independent, and possibly a trouble-maker.

Arya pulled out a lighter and cigarettes, and lit one.

Arya took her black wool beanie off, and ran her slender fingers through her short purple hair.
She looked at her Beatles shirt, and wished she had worn her Deff Leppard tank-top, as well as a bra.

Arya took a long drag.

She pulled the neck of her shirt away from her and looked down.
        Arya was small in every way except height, but even then she was only five-foot three. Her breasts were almost non-existent, and she hated it.
She untied the green and black flannel from around her waist and put it on.
She again gazed at the dark-haired girl crying nearby.

She had almost finished her cigarette.

"Are you okay?" Arya asked the crying girl.

She got no answer.

She took a black grease marker out from her pocket and drew a mustache on the mirror, so if you stood in it you would appear to have the 'stache.

Then she put out her cigarette in the sink.

Arya then walked to the door.
She glanced at the other girl one last time, and left the bathroom.