The last day of Senior year was bonkers. The faculty had completely lost control of the school. Teenagers had everything going on from making out in the halls, to spraying silly string. Detention was definitely going to be full this afternoon. I managed to duck and dodge a soccer ball as I turned to go down the science hall. Just as I regrouped from ducking I slammed straight into Principal Oates, and we both went tumbling to the floor. I landed hard on the wheel of my skateboard with my left ankle.
"Dammit Arthur!" he yelled as we both struggled to get up.
"Mr. Oates I am so sorry" I apologized, as I got up, hobbling a little on my right leg.
"You will be" Mr. Oates growled.
Other teens of the student body began to gather around to watch the spectacle, forming a decent sized circle. Mr. Oates gripped my skateboard in both hands and lifted it from the floor.
"Wait, wait, wait, Mr. Oates what are you doing?" I gasped.
"I've warned you about this board Arthur" Mr. Oates growled, raising the board up above his head.
"No, no. Mr. Oates please no" I pleaded.
The crowd of students grew as people took out their phones to film the altercation.
SMACK!
I watched in disbelief as Mr. Oates slammed my skateboard into the floor hard, over and over again.
"STOP THAT ARE YOU FUCKING NUTS?!" I yelled.
Mr. Oates slammed the skateboard into the floor a few more times, before dropping it, and then stomping it. Done with the ordeal I pushed Mr. Oates with all my strength. This sent him tumbling backwards off the board, making it slip from under his foot and crash into my left shin now.
"FUCK!!" I yelped in pain as I tumbled to the floor holding my leg.
I lay in a fetal position, wincing and holding my leg as I rocked.
"Detention Arthur" Mr. Oates growled, snatching up my skateboard and walking off.
Great, just great, and just hours before graduation. By third period I'd had my fill of the day. I was starving, and lunch couldn't have come sooner. Lunch today consisted of the choice between unevenly cut pizza or dry meatloaf. Even ketchup couldn't save it. Thank God I got a drink from the vending machine in the Freshmen hall, otherwise I'd be stuck with half frozen, nearly expired milk, or some kind of green juice with pulp in it. I sat down in the quad at my usual picnic table under a large Western Redcedar tree. Just as I began to unpack my spoils of the day a set off hands went over my eyes.
They were small, soft, dainty hands, so I knew they belonged to a woman. I began touching them lightly trying to figure out who my guest was. Suddenly, I felt her warm breath on my ear, as she leaned in and planted a soft peck to my earlobe.
"You can't cheat you have to guess" She whispered.
"I don't know, could it be the little girl that's been terrorizing me the last few weeks?" I grinned playfully.
"Little girl? Terrorizing you?" Maggi gasped, moving her hands away from my eyes.
"Yea you heard me" I smiled, grabbing her wrist and pulling her down on my lap.
She giggled, as I buried my face in her neck and blew a raspberry.
"Ahem."
We both looked up to see Shyla standing on the other side of the picnic table. She was dressed in a beige tunic shirt, white leggings and peanut butter colored, open toe sandals. She had on a gray cardigan and her shyly blonde hair was pulled up in a messy bun. In her hands she was holding long, white, wrapping paper that concealed a subway sandwich, and for her drinks was some sort of green boba tea. Maggi slid from my lap and planted herself on the bench beside me. Shyla pulled her shades down on her nose to peer at us, and a devious grin curled over her demeanor. Holding her drink with her other four fingers, she pointed with her index finger.
"Well, when did this happen?" She asked, putting the straw to her drink up to her lips.
I pulled the hood of my black hoodie up over my ink black hair.
"Nothing's happening, we're friends" Maggi chimed in as a matter of factly.
"I'm sure, and you look real friendly" Shyla smirked, sliding her shades up on top of her head.
"Really?" Maggi smirked.
"Does Liv know?" Shyla questioned.
Shit. In the epitome of all of this, I'd completely shrugged Olivia off and unknowingly moved on to the next bee of the hive. But why was Shyla concerned? Did she really care about Olivia, who had disposed of me first, or was she just stirring the drama pot. Maggi let out a confused giggle.
"What does Liv have to do with anything?" She asked.
"Oh you don't know?" Shyla gasped with surprise.
It was quickly replaced with wide mouth laughter on Shyla's end. Her head was thrown back so far I could see her uvula.
"What the hell is so funny?" Maggi growled.
"Coffee boy was dating Liv for like three weeks" Shyla pointed.
If you would call that dating, I thought.
"What do you mean?" Maggi pushed, with one eyebrow raised.
"He's bloody valentine" Shyla giggled.
Who the hell was bloody valentine?
"Wait the guy that she kissed while his lip was bleeding?" Maggi gasped.
It was my tongue actually. So, that's bloody valentine.
Shyla nodded, biting her bottom lip to stifle a laugh that was brewing. Maggi leaped up from the picnic table and spun around like an owl head to face me. I could tell by her face that she was livid.
"Are you kidding me right now, you're Liv's ex?" she growled.
The shit had hit the fan.
"I wouldn't say that we barely dated" I informed.
"Oh bullshit" they said in unison.
I leaned back, taken aback by their animosity.
"You were all she talked about" Maggi explained.
If she talked about me so much, why did she seem not interested when we were together. All she ever wanted to do was make out. She would practically suck my soul out through my mouth.
"Un-fucking-believable" Maggi sneered.
I could hear all the malice in her voice. Shyla stood a few steps behind her with a victorious grin upon her demeanor. Did she get off on ruining people's lives, or controlling the outcomes; I couldn't tell which. All I knew is that it was my last night in Alaska and I didn't want to leave with Maggi thinking she was a rebound or sloppy seconds. I liked her. She turned to storm away, but I quickly hopped up from the picnic table and grabbed her elbow. Shyla had done her job and slowly stepped a few feet back to watch the bomb she'd set go off. I didn't know whether to call her a good friend, or a conniving bitch.
"Maggi stop" I demanded, gripping her whole arm with my hand.
She was so tiny.
"Theo you're hurting me" She said angrily through gritted teeth.
"Yea let her go toxic trait" Shyla snapped.
"Shut the fuck up" I snapped back.
I hadn't realized in my desperation to keep her, that my anxiety kicked in, causing my grip on anything to be almost fatal. Usually, when I felt like this I clenched my fist tight until I could calm down. I guess it was so deeply programmed that even now I did it, but with Maggi's arms between my hands.
"Theo let me go" Maggi barked, unsuccessfully trying to snatch from my grasp.
Let...me...go.
The words felt like someone had taken a burning hot poker and jabbed it viciously in my heart.
Let me go.
SWACK.
Shyla's Michael Kors backpack purse collided hard with my left shoulder. What the hell did she keep in there, bricks? With her background probably gold bars. I let out a pained groan. When my fingers slipped from Maggi's arm to rub my shoulder, I could swear I felt a rip in my body. Like my soul had been torn in two. Shyla picked up Maggi's lunch, locked her arm into Maggi's and they stormed off. But not without Shyla looking over her shoulder and giving me one last sadistic smile and wink. Her face was very similar to that of Michael Jackson's at the end of the Thriller video, when he was the monster all along. Maybe she just enjoyed controlling Maggi's life.
What was she playing at?
Be careful miss Shyla. There was another guy whose girlfriend had obsessive controlling friends. His name was Joe.