Dedicated to Demonicblackcat. I just finished reading the last chapter of The Quirky Tale of April Hale and I feel like my life is complete. It was an amazing, unique and not 'cliche' story and I loved all the characters. I cried, laughed and felt like punching people while reading the story; it simply messed with my emotions (in a fabulous way). If you didn't read the story, I would definately reccomend it. Cheers!
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Chapter 2- Have You Ever Been To Niagara Falls?
I gulp as I stand in the empty staircase, speechless. Am I dreaming? Did I really just get on the bad side of Chase Stunner? If his pranks are already pretty bad towards freshmen, how are his pranks going to be toward a despicable freshman like me? Maybe he'll go light on me, considering I'm a member of the female species. It's possible, but very unlikely.
I groan and mentally smack myself across the face several times. Why did I have to open my big fat mouth? Just why? The last time I decided to open my big fat mouth, I ended up swimming in mud. Don't even ask why.
I sigh and finally decide to head to class. I look at my watch and gasp at how late it is already. There's about ten more minutes until the first period class ends. There's that saying that 'time flies when you're having fun.' I think not.
Quickly, I dash up the steep stairs, and as I reach the seventh floor, I'm huffing, badly. I reach for the railing to keep myself from rolling down the stairs. Bad idea. My arm jolts back as I realize that there is ketchup on the railing. Wow, how clever. See, the stair ralings are red. I groan mentally as I look at my dirty hands. First, a (maybe used) condom, now ketchup?
I stomp towards my first period class, 7C1, and grochily step in. The thing I hate about stepping into a class late is all the heads turning your way. Like damn, it's like people have never seen soemone walk into class late. On top of that, people start smirking and snickering.
"You're late," Ms. Jordan, my geometry teacher, states with a raised eyebrow.
Obviously.
Don't get me wrong. I actually love this teacher, and I've been in this school for only four days. She's the really lenient and chill type when it comes to talking in class and completing homework. Plus, she's the only teacher I have that actually cares enough to teach her students more than just how to sleep in class. It's just that, right now, I'm not in the mood to physically speak to anyone in a decent manner.
I grunt and mumble, "Sorry."
"Since it's your first time being late, I'll excuse you. However, please keep in mind that I absolutely do not tolerate tardiness. Take a seat, Carla Rose."
I'm surprised she actually knows my name considering I'm not that type of girl who participates in class. I just do my work and anticipate for the bell to ring, everyday in all my classes. I nod and look around the room. Our class seats are first come first serve. The only seat left is the seat in the far back corner. I'm actually pretty satisfied with that because right now, all I want to do is isolate myself from everybody.
I scurry to my seat and Ms. Jordan finishes going over her review lesson on linear functions and graphs. When done, she tells the class to have the last five minutes of class to themselves. People instantly start talking to one another, while others just sleep. I really need to make some friends in this school, because I have been really antisocial these days. I literally have not made one friend in the school, but I have made an enemy. Fabulous.
"Hey."
I stare at the clock in the front of the room and watch as time ticks by. I know that time passes by slower when you watch a clock, but I don't really care right now.
"Hey."
4 minutes and 30 seconds left until the bell rings...
4 minutes and 23 seconds...
Fingers snap in front of my face and I snap my attention to my right.
"What do you want?" I rudely snap. I really should stop taking my anger out on those around me. It's going to impact my reputation, not that I really care. I just want to live a normal high school life, have a fairly decent job, marry a fairly decent guy, and have two kids. A normal life. It's not easy to yearn for a normal life if you're born into a prestigious family like mine.
"I'm just wondering if you're okay. You seem a little... mad?" a guy asks, his face masked with concern. He has jet black hair that falls slighty over his big eyes. It's difficult to tell what color it is, for some reason. It looks brown, but at closer look, it looks swampy green.
My face softens as I feel his genuine concern. "Sorry, I'm feeling a bit moody. I've bumped into some quite unfortunate misconviences this morning," I say as Chase's face flashes through my brain.
"You mean the 'condomized' handles and 'ketchupfied' stair railings?" he asks with a light chuckle which leads to a small dimple coming to view on his right cheek.
"Yeah. You fell for the pranks too?"
"No, I just know about it," he responds and adds, "Don't feel so down already. There will be more pranks to come. It is Freshman Friday, after all. This is only the beginning."
"I know. It's just that the more I think about how the people in the school just let freshmans get pranked all the time disgusts me. I mean, can't someone start a rebellion and stand up for themselves?" I ask, frustrated with how unfair this school is. Not just school, this world, too. This life. This generation.
"Sounds easier said than done, right? Why don't you start a rebellion?
He has a point. I say nothing.
"There's a reason why no freshmen have stood up for themselves," he continues. "They know what they're up against, and it terrifies them."
"Are you talking about Chase Stunner?"
"Yeah," he replies. "You know about him? Wait, that's a dumb question. I bet all the freshmans know who he is by now."
"He's an idiot for enjoying watching freshmen suffer. It's sadistic," I murmer and furrow my eyebrows. "I hate to admit it, but he does give me the chills. Are you scared of him?"
"He's the last person I would be scared of," he says with a reassuring smile. "I mean like, behind every tough guy's exterior is a decent person. Seems delusional right?"
I frown as I think about how a person like Chase could be decent. I shake my head. "Forget about him. What's your name?"
"Adam."
Adam.
"That's a nice name," I say with a smile. It reminds me of those boy-next-door type of guys. He certainly seems like one.
"It really isn't. Your name is nicer."
"Thanks," I say with a smile. "Wait. How do you know my name?"
"Take a seat, Carla Rose," Adam says, quoting Ms. Jordan.
The bell rings and everyone quickly packs their things to get the hell out of the room, including Adam. We walk out the room together.
Just as we are about to go separate ways, Adam says, "I hope you have a change of clothes today. Have you ever been to Niagara Falls?"
"Yeah?" I say, absolutely confused. What is he trying to say?
"I'm just warning you; things are going to get really wet here. Try not to hurt yourself, later." he warns as he walks towards the staircase. "Cya, Carla. It was nice meeting you."
I shout a bye as I watch Adam kick the staircase door open, remembering about the untouchable 'condomized' handles. What does he mean by things are going to get wet? I cannot possibly get wet considering I'm on my period. Do you know how gross it is to be bloody and wet down there at the same time? It's incredibly gross.
At least I made a friend now. My first friend in West High.
I swivel to the right. I swivel to the left and look behind me. I run behind a random pole and look around to see if any suspicious figure is looking at me. Paranoid. That's exactly how I'm feeling. After since the incident in the morning, I've been paranoid. It feels like something, or someone, is going to pop out of nowhere and take my life.
What makes it worst? Nothing bad happened so far. Other than the ketchup railings and condoms on door handles, no pranks occurred. Do you know that feeling how things are just too serene to be real? That's exactly how I'm feeling. It's like I'm supposed to brace myself for something incredibly big that is going to happen.
The bell just rang about five minutes ago, and now it's time for my lunch period. Honestly, lunch is one of my least favorite periods, because a. I have nobody to sit with, b. all grades have lunch together, c. the lunch served at this well-off high school is two pieces of broccoli (what the hell?), and d. my chances of running into Chase Stunner are extremely high.
"Why are you creeping around so suspiciously?"
I freeze at the sound of a voice behind me. Oh no. I've been caught. I whip my head back and look at the confused girl in front of me.
"I uhh wasn't creeping around... uh, I was practicing for a... skit in my, er, theater class?"
Way to go. Any chance of me not seeming suspicious has just been blown away. She gives me an even more confused look and shrugs.
"Oh... Well, I'm Melissa Grace Cleveland, but you could call me Mel for short.," Mel extends her hands and I shake it. She has long, firm fingers; I'm guessing she plays the guitar. Mel's hair is light brown and it lowers to slightly above her shoulders. She has wide hazel eyes and freckles that run across the bridge of her nose. She is more of the slender type, and is about 5'6 in height.
My second friend of the day! I guess that's a bit accomplishment- for me that is. I'm on a roll! I mentally give myself a pat on the head and plan to go home today and eat a bowl of green tea ice cream with a big dash of whip cream on top as a celebration.
"I'm Carla Rose, nice to meet you!" I scratch my head awkwardly. "Out of curiosity, are you a freshman?"
"As fresh as a man could get," she says with a chuckle.
I laugh. "Me too."
"You're really pretty!" Mel exclaims. "I'm jealous.
"Thank you! So are you!" I smile. Don't take me as conceited. I know that I'm decent looking with long brown hair and hazel eyes. It is genetics, since my mom was once a model in her earlier ages.
"You wanna sit with me and my friends? They're all freshmen too, well, because upperclassmen don't enjoy sitting with us." Mel frowns slightly.
"I'd love to," I say, trying not to sound too eager.
We walk to the lunchroom together, cracking up at small, light jokes on the way. We step into the cafeteria, or should I say, five-star restaurant with crappy food (our school cafeteria is very large and it contains circle-glass tables with glass stools. There are vast, shiny, expensive chandeliers hanging from the velvet ceiling, and light Beethoven music playing in the background. [Don't ask me why they serve broccoli at a fancy place like this]).
The cafeteria seems extra empty than usual. It's not surprising for it to be empty because there is too much space to fit 200 students, but today it just seems extremely deserted. I shrug my thoughts away as Mel tugs on my shirt and she leads me towards a group of students at a table.
I'm not really a shy person, so meeting new people isn't exactly an uncomfortable thing for me. I just don't have too much friends because people piss me off really easy. As I reach the table, I take a clear look at Mel's friends.
"Hey guys, meet Carla. She's a- 'surprise much?', freshman just like us!" Mel exclaims with a laugh.
Mel introduces everyone to me, and I try to keep up as best as I can. I'm not really great at remembering peoples' names. I usually just classify them by how they look. 'Girl with red hair', 'big nostrils', etc, etc.
"That's Jay, Angie, and Liz," Mel states pointing to several people.
Jay, with tousled brown hair and black eyes, looks like the type of person parents would want their child to date. He nods and smiles at me. Angie, who is seated next to Jay, is wearing a red beanie that covers the top of her brown hair and black rimmed glasses. It doesn't take a great amount of knowledge to deduce that Angie and Jay are probably a set couple. Needless to say, the vibes that surround them are all rainbows and flowers.
Then, there's Liz, with long black hair and bangs that covers her eyes, who sits next to Angie. She doesn't seem to acknowledge my presence. She just glances at me and continues to read the book on her lap.
"Nice to meet you guys," I say with a smile as I take a seat in between Mel and Liz. I feel a wave of tension coming from Liz.
"Nice to meet you too," Jay and Angie says at the same time. They look at each other and smile. They're totally in love.
"So have you guys touched the door handles and stair railings yet?" Mel asks with a disbelieved face expression.
"Yeah! It was totally gross!" Angie exclaims with a frown. I nod in agreement and Jay just laughs looking amused.
"I don't mind touching condoms. The ketchup part was pretty gross, though," he says with a playful smile. Angie smacks him lightly on the head. Boys will be boys.
"I heard that there was someone that pissed Chase Stunner off this morning. Word is that it was a freshman girl and that she is going to get in big trouble," Mel states with wide eyes.
"Yeah. People were talking about it in the hallways. I wonder who it is," Angie says curiously. "I feel bad for her but I also admire her for getting on the bad side of Chase. It isn't easy to. He freaks me out even he is is good-looking and all."
"Is it just me or is it awfully empty here today? Where did everyone go?" I gulp, trying to change the subject. How did everyone know about what happened this morning? Rumours do spread like wildfire.
"It is really empty," Angie says and adds, "I heard the upperclassman are on a trip or something."
"Yeah. Apparently, it's a welcome back to school kind of things exclusively for them and not freshmans. How fair is that? They get to have fun and we're stuck... here, eating brocolli," Mel says scrunching her nose.
Julius chuckles. "Why are girls so overly dramatic? Broccoli ain't that bad, right Liz?"
Liz looks up from her book and shrugs. Then, she looks back down and continues reading in the little bubble of hers. Why is she so reserved (not that it's any of my business)?
Just then, I hear commotion coming from the entrance of the cafeteria. I, along with all the other freshmen in the cafeteria, glance over and see a bunch of upperclassmen walking in. Guess who's in the front, leading the crowd? No one other than the sadistic, cruel, horrifically monstrous Chase.
"This does not look good," Mel mutters with a worried look. Julius slings an arm around Angie, and even Liz, glances up from her book. I just stare stupidly at Chase, frozen in my seat. Uh oh.
In the hands of the upperclassmen behind Chase are hoses. That's right, hoses- flexible tubes conveying water, usually used especially for gardening and in firefighting. Only thing is, these hoses are going to used on completely innocent, oblivious freshmen.
Chase snaps his finger and walks over to the side, probably to avoid getting wet himself. Wow. Way to go, Chase. The upperclassmen point their hoses towards the freshmen, and water shoots out, instantaneously. That actually sounded extremely sexual. Hoses. Water. Haha, get it?
This is not the time to be making sexual innuendos.
Liz's 'oh my fucking god' is the last thing I hear before I get drenched in water. There is water flying everywhere and people running around looking to hide somewhere. Above all the screams (including mine), I hear all the lunch ladies shouting for the chaos to be put to an end. I can't see him, but I bet my green tea ice cream that he has a smirk on his face right this instant.
"STOP! Stop this instant!" A man booms. The upperclassmen hesitate, but surprisingly, they do listen to whoever just told them to stop. I rub my eyes to get a clearer view. In the middle of the cafeteria is a man standing in a puddle. He is probably around his forties with gray hair and glasses, and boy, does he look mad. Actually, mad is an understatement. He looks completely furious and aggravated with steam coming out of his head.
"Someone explain to me, your principal, what on earth is going on!" The principal demands. This is the principal? In some sense, I find him extremely annoying since he has never even done anything about the pranks up until now.
Nobody speaks. Out of the corner of my eye, Chase grabs hold of a hose and walks to the middle of the cafeteria. Everyone, even the other upperclassmen, gasp as he sprays water in the principal's face- for a set 10 seconds, I must add.
The principal stands, frozen as stone, before he begins to turn boiling red with anger. "Y-you imbecile! You delinquent! You good for nothing child! You-"
"You what? Is that the best you can do?" Chase interrupts with a sly smirk. He honestly looks like he doesn't give a damn about the principal. He terrifies the heck out of me.
"This has to stop!" The principal bellows as he wipes his wet face with wet hands. What logic.
"Or else what? Don't forget..." Chase begins to pull something out of his pocket but the principal grabs his arm. Chase's smirk grows wider. "That's what I thought. Now let's continue the fun."
The damn principal storms out the cafeteria and all hell breaks loose again. My mind doesn't stop thinking about what Chase did. Does he have some kind of... blackmail against the principal? Is that why he could do whatever he wants?
By the time the upperclassmen stop spraying water with the hoses (because they hysterically run out of water), all the freshmen are dripping wet. The girls are all disgustingly hideous with their smudged mascara, eyeliner and lipstick and wet hair, while the guys look pretty decent with their shirts clung onto their chests and hair hanging into their faces.
I could tell that all the freshmen are extremely furious, but they don't dare to say anything because of Chase's existence. I mean, even the principal is afraid of him. How can we not be?
Just then, he catches my eyes and stares at me. A frighteningly smug smile forms on his lips. In a slow pace, he walks over to me and places a hand on my shoulder. "Fancy meeting you here. Why are you so wet?"
Is he trying to piss me off? However, I know better than to open my mouth this time. I just stare at him, hoping that he would go away. I could feel all eyes on me.
"Carla Rose. Why aren't you talking? You couldn't keep your mouth shut this morning," he says amusingly with a smug smile. He touches a strand of my wet, brown hair and asks, "What happened to all your confidence?"
Why am I not surprised he knows my name even though I didn't tell him it? He's like some sort of mastermind of this school.
I begin to shake because being wet is making me feel cold, but also because I am so afraid right now. His smirk is telling me that he is going to do something to me. Something horrible. And no matter how brave I can be sometimes, right now, I'm so frightened. You would be too.
As if on cue, he motions to some people holding hoses to come towards us. They drop their hoses and walk over to me, grabbing my arms and legs. They carry me towards the exit of the cafeteria. I'm so afraid and shocked that I can't even scream.
As I am dragged out of the cafeteria, I begin to come to my senses. I struggle to be freed, but the upperclassmen hold me tight.
"Let me go!" I shout, as I kick my legs and flail my arms. "He's not even looking! No one will know if you let me go."
They let me down, but keep their hands on my shoulder to make sure I don't bolt. I don't even try to run. I'm too tired to fight against four people- who are older than me.
"We can't let you free. He will know. He knows everything, and if he finds out, we will be in some deep shit," one of the upperclassmen- a girl, replies. I groan.
"Where are you guys taking me?"
They hesitate before one of them says, "He told us to take you to the roof and lock the door." They shoot me sympathetic looks. "You shouldn't have gotten on his bad side."
"Too late to tell me that now. I was pmsing, and he kept annoying me. He's like this annoying fly that I just wanna squish," I say furiously. A male upperclassman chuckles.
We enter the elevator and get off the twelfth floor. They lead me towards a door, one that leads to the roof I'm guessing.
"Here we are. He said to just leave you out there in the roof and he'll come to let you free later on. He just wants to prank you since you annoyed him before," one of them says with a sad smile. "Don't worry. He's not going to let you die out there... I mean, I guess."
The upperclassman guy who chuckled from what I said before, handed me a granola bar. "Just in case you get hungry, freshie."
"Thanks... I guess," I say as I take the granola bar from him. Although these people are being awfully kind, I still despise them for listening to Chase's order. They have to stop letting him boss them around.
"We're juniors by the way. Just pointing it out," the girl upperclassman says. She and the rest of the people mutter a bye as I open the door and step out into the roof. The door shuts from behind and I hear it get locked.
You must think I'm crazy for willingly stepping in to the roof. I am crazy for doing it. I don't know why I did. Maybe it's because I'm too tired to fight back. Maybe it's because I stand no chance against Chase. Maybe it's because I want to see if he will actually leave me here to die. No matter how cruel he is, he won't leave me here to die, right?
I shiver as wind blows against my face. It is freezing cold, and even more cold since I am in soaked clothes. I sit down and hug my knees, waiting for time to pass by slowly.
As an hour passes by, I am on the verge of sneezing for the hundredth time. I grab the granola bar I got from the upperclassman guy from before and rip it open. Quickly, I eat everything. Still, I am extremely hungry.
As another hour passes by, I begin to question what I thought from before. Maybe he is cruel enough to let me die here. It's already been TWO hours. Because of him, my teachers are probably going to think I'm skipping classes. Well actually it doesn't really matter, because, quote from my mother, "We have enough money to live for three generations. You don't need to succeed in school."
I want to fall asleep, but I feel as if I'll never wake up if I do. That's what happens in movies, right? I start to shout.
"SAVE ME! Is anyone there?"
After repeating that several times, I slump back down and give up. Just then, the door swings open, and my heart beats fast in anticipation and shock. Is he here? I slowly turn around and who I see isn't Chase.
"Are you okay?"
It's Adam, my first friend in this school that I met in Geometry class. I'm a bit shocked as to him being the one to save me, but I'm also relieved. Part of me wishes Chase came instead, so I know that he isn't as bad as he seems. Maybe I'm wrong. The other part of me is know set on believing he is a monster.
"Y-yeah," I stutter, as I try to stand and walk over to him. I wobble and fall back down on my butt. Ouch.
"You must be cold and hungry," he says as he walks over to me and helps me up. "Wrap an arm around my shoulder."
I do what he tells me to do and he helps me walk out the roof. "Thanks."
"No problem. Let me take you to the nurse. You're a mess, and umm... the back of your pants is kind of red," Adam mutters scratching his head.
My face turns beat red. "Aw shit. Well isn't that great..."
He slowly leads me down the stairs, and when I say slowly, I mean very slowly. It's taking me three seconds to take a step. Adam is really patient though, and he doesn't complain at all. We can't touch the stair railings, which even slows the process of walking down the stairs more. The nurse's office is on the seventh floor. If you're wondering why we don't take the elevator, it's because coincidentally, the elevator shut down. Why do I feel like Chase is the one who did that?
By the time we reach the seventh floor, I am surprised I'm still alive. Adam kicks the staircase door open. My eyes begin to droop down. Right before my eye lids close, on the corner of my eye, I think I see Chase running up the stairs from the sixth floor.
Although I'm tired and hungry and cold and moody, I feel a hundred times better knowing that Chase wasn't going to let me die there. He is still a douche bag, but he's not completely all bad.
Still, he did come a tad bit too late.
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A/N:
That was more dramatic than I intended it to be. This story isn't supposed to be on the dramatic side! It'll be more on the humor and light romance in upcoming chapters. There will be a few dramatic parts, I guess, to spice things up and make it more interesting. It won't be way too dramatic and unrealistic though!
I hope you enjoyed reading the second chapter! Vote only if you think I deserve it! Leave a comment below! Do you like the characters so far? Why is the principal so scared of Chase? Why is Chase so, I guess, bad? What's up with Liz? Suggestions and thoughts on the story? :)
Oh. I'm still deciding on the cast at the moment. All I know is that Bethany Mota is going to Carla, because she is simply fabulous and wonderful and I love her!
Thanks for reading! :D