As I exited the principal's office Zachary passed me, an ice pack now pressed against his cheek. He winked as we crossed paths and I gritted my teeth yet again. I plopped back into my seat in the waiting room, the office assistant watching me carefully. As I pulled out my cell phone to text my grandfather I heard a sharp tsking noise.
"No phones, put that away!" the assistant barked.
Slightly startled, I hesitated. "I was just going to call my grandpa," I said weakly.
"No phones."
"Okay, okay," I muttered, shoving it back in my skirt pocket. I decided to read the note the principal had given me. It was a standard form explaining my suspension, how long it was for, and a list of what was considered acceptable behavior during my time away from school. I groaned under my breath and stopped reading, it was just too depressing.
After about ten minutes Zachary strolled out of the principal's office and out the door, grinning like an idiot. I was guessing he wasn't getting in any trouble, which wasn't that surprising, albeit still infuriating. I crossed my arms across my chest and slumped down further into my chair. I was tempted to pull a book out and read but was afraid the assistant would tell me no reading was allowed either. I could only hope Grandpa got the school's phone call and would come soon. The minutes ticked on and I watched, bored, as the office assistant plugged along, answering phones and typing at her computer. The principal came out several times to talk to her, but never looked in my direction. The bell for the last period came and went and I was still stuck in the office.
I was re-reading the signs plastered around the office for the thousandth time when the final bell rang and school was officially over. I watched as a wave of students exited their classrooms, the hallway filled with the sounds of the end of the week excitement. It only took a few minutes for Casimir to be standing at the large window of the front office, Azar, Maayan, and Zola following close behind him. I smiled weakly at my group of friends and waved as they stared on in confusion. I'm sure they were dying to know the whole story.
The office assistant did not appreciate my entourage waiting at the window and went over to close the giant blinds in an attempt to block their vision. Undeterred, Casimir walked in through the open door, heading straight over to me, concern etched on his face.
"Diana, what's going on? Someone said you were fighting?" Casimir asked, getting straight to the point. I was about to answer when the office assistant, named Sharon, as I learned from her desk placard, went to cut him off.
"Do you have any business in the office young man?" she asked, placing her hands on her hips.
Casimir looked at her, never pausing. "I have business with Diana, thank you, I don't need your help."
The look on the assistant's face was priceless and I had to stop myself from laughing out loud. "What is your name?" she hissed.
"Casimir Reynolds."
"Mr. Reynolds, you need to leave, Ms. Massey is waiting for her guardian to come to pick her up," she snipped.
"I see," Casimir replied simply, looking back over at me.
I tucked my head down, pretending to look defeated. "I'm fine, call grandpa, get him here," I said in a hushed whisper, knowing that with Casimir's advanced hearing that he would catch every word.
It only took ten more minutes for my grandfather to burst into the room. He came straight over to me.
"Are you okay Diana?"
"I'm sorry Grandpa," I blurted out, upon seeing his worried face my emotions went into overdrive. He knelt down at my side grasping my hand and I flinched in pain. I had been so worried about the fight that I hadn't even realized that I hurt myself. He noticed me grimacing and quickly released my hands.
"You're hurt."
"I'm fine, I just might have... slapped someone a bit too hard."
"That's not like you," he began, giving me a quick look over, I assume for any more injuries. "You haven't gotten in a fight with anyone since grade school. What did this Zachary do to you?"
"He-"
"Mr. Hartmann, the principal will see you now," Sharon the assistant cut in. She didn't approach my grandfather like she did Casimir, only eyed him warily from her desk.
"One moment please, I need to speak with my granddaughter," he responded. The assistant made a face but covered it up quickly as she picked up the phone to make a call. We had barely begun to talk when the principal stepped out of his office, I was betting he just received a call from a certain assistant named Sharon.
"Mr. Hartmann sir," Mr. Williams said, attempting to catch my grandfather's attention. Grandpa sighed and stood up to his impressive height of 6' 5", the principal's eyes widened as he watched him rise. "Could you please step into my office, Diana can come too."
We followed Mr. Williams back into his office and I sat back into the chair I had occupied only a few hours ago. My grandfather stared down at the small armchair and sniffed, knowing he wouldn't fit into its tiny frame. The principal stopped short when he noticed my grandfather was lingering at the edge of his desk, arms crossed, just staring.
"I'm s-sorry, I can find another chair if you'd like," Mr. Williams said, stumbling over his words.
"No need, I can stand," Grandpa grumbled, he sounded angry. "I'm sorry it took me so long to get here but please tell me what is going on. I'm afraid your secretary was short on the details."
"Yes, well, unfortunately, there has been an incident involving your granddaughter. The fact is that Diana has been fighting with a fellow student," Mr. Williams began, pulling my file out from under a stack of papers. "She hit a student in the face after a verbal altercation."
"I see," my grandfather responded simply, his eyes never leaving Mr. Williams. I could feel how nervous Grandpa was making him and I had to stop myself from smiling. "Diana, why did you hit this person?"
"Zachary was saying something very rude and then he held me down in my chair, so I asked him to stop. When he didn't I got mad and hit him," I said, trying to look remorseful. I was too embarrassed to describe his disgusting sexual comments.
"He put his hands on you?" Grandpa asked, bristling slightly. He knew Zachary was being controlled by the Dark King's minions so the bully was already on my grandfather's radar.
"There were no witnesses who saw that," Mr. Williams cut in. It was my turn to look angry as I don't know how the principal would know any of this. No one else besides myself and Zachary told our story. Although I knew that if Scott or Will had been asked they would lie. It seemed like Mr. Williams was just ready to side with Zachary regardless of the facts.
"Diana says it happens, so I believe her," Grandpa shot back.
Mr. Williams scoffed slightly. "Even if this student had done what Ms. Massey said he did, we have a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to violence. She should not have escalated the incident, but instead called for a teacher to help."
Grandpa stared at the principal for a beat before speaking. "So what happens now?"
"Ms. Massey will be suspended for four days, I have given her a sheet for you to both look over," Mr. Williams replied weakly.
"So she is not allowed back to school for four days? What about her lessons?"
"She will have to get zeros for the day, but she can still turn in any homework, it's all in the information sheet," Mr. Williams grumbled, as he took off his glasses to clean them with his handkerchief. "This will also go on her record."
"And what of the boy that harassed her?" My grandfather challenged.
"We have no evidence of harassment."
I could tell my grandfather was biting back some more scathing comments. I was grateful he was sticking up for me so much but I wasn't sure how much it would help. The men stared at each other in silence before Grandpa relaxed his stance to look over at me. I watched him quietly from my chair hoping this would all be over soon.
Grandpa sighed deeply. "If you don't need anything else, I'll be taking my granddaughter home."
Mr. Williams seemed stunned by his comment, I was betting he never had a parent or guardian challenge him so much.
"No, nothing else, thank you for coming on such short notice. Make sure you both read and sign the paper I gave Ms. Massey," he said, relief pouring off of him. I wondered if he thought Grandpa was going to continue to fight him on the harassment issue.
I too was relieved when we were finally walking away from the office and out the front doors of the school. I took in a deep breath of fresh air as I followed my Grandfather towards the visitor parking lot. Once in the truck, we sat in silence for a moment, lost in our own thoughts. I hugged my backpack to my chest, emotionally drained and ready for a nap.
"I'm sorry," I groaned, hiding my face in my bag.
"We need to do something about that Zachary boy," Grandpa pronounced, he muttered something in Terrarish, and from his tone, I assumed it was nothing good.
"Grandpa, you can't just make Zachary disappear! He is the son of a very famous and wealthy businessman, they would look for him," I insisted, looking over at him.
Grandpa grumbled under his breath as he started the engine, pulling the truck out of his parking space and heading down the drive towards the main road.
"I'm just saying we have a very large farm and I could make sure they would never find the body," he threatened. I wasn't sure if he was joking, but I laughed loudly.
"They never think people will find the body, but they always do."
Grandpa chuckled but the tense silence from before slowly crept back into the cab. I could tell he wanted to ask me something but was fearful. He finally found the courage to ask when we turned onto the main road leading to Mandeville.
"What did he say to make you so angry, Diana?"
I nervously traced the buckle on my backpack, debating on how to respond. "Something that should never, ever be repeated."
"Diana..."
"No it was gross and terrible and I just want to forget all about it!" I said, my voice growing stern. "I should have punched the jerk."
"You know, it might not be him talking, he could be possessed by a wraith," Grandpa reasoned.
"I don't think he is," I muttered, staring out at the mountainside as we drove.
"Well, I can't believe no one else saw him touch you, that principal is a liar," Enki grumbled.
"Oh, he is and there were witnesses. They were all Zach's friends so there is no way they would tell the truth either."
"I knew it!" he said, smacking the steering wheel lightly. The car drifted slightly and I tensed up. Grandpa apologized sheepishly and we continued our drive in thoughtful silence until we reached Mandeville.
Once we returned to the farmhouse I was besieged. Maayan barely let me take my coat off before wrapping their arms around me, their face pushed deep into my hair. Casimir and Azar were close behind the watar fairy, both with tense looks on their face.
"Dai-dai," they sniffled. I could feel Maya's worry and relief upon seeing me.
"Okay, can't breathe," I groaned and Maayan immediately released me with an apology. I wrapped my one arm around them in a quick side hug before turning my attention to the rest of the group. "I'm fine, it's fine."
"What happened?" Casimir asked.
"Did you really punch the jerk?" Azar added, almost talking over Casimir.
"No I didn't punch him," I replied, shrugging, "but I should have."
Grandpa sighed loudly as he hung his coat on the rack by the door. "Diana," he chided
"When I tell you what he said, you might change your tune," I challenged, pushing past the group to head to the kitchen.
"What did he say?" Casimir pressed.
"You all have to promise not to overreact," I begged, pulling out a can of soda from the fridge. I popped the top and took a sip, eyeing the group of silent eyes watching me from the edge of the kitchen. I paused as I stared at them. "On second thought, I'm not telling any of you. Just know that he deserved it. He was being a jerk so I slapped him and now I have a four-day suspension and a mark on my record forever."
"Agh, you tease," Azar grumbled.
"I don't want this to escalate any more than it already has," I said. The four Terrarin's exchanged glances between them, muttering softly in their own language. I got the feeling they didn't appreciate my decision to not share.
"Why don't you go relax Diana, you've had a long day," Grandpa said, glancing nervously to the side. "And I still have some work to do outside..."
I raised my eyebrow at him. "Okay then," I replied as I watched my grandfather walk past me and towards the mudroom. Casimir, Azar, and Maayan trailed behind him, all with very determined looks on their faces. A thought crossed my mind as the screen door slammed shut. "No making any plans to kill anyone, please!" I shouted, only half-joking.