Chapter 3- Pathetic Principal, I Love You... Tube
I wake up to the feeling of a light tingle on my arm. I'm a very light sleeper- any sound of movement unravels my consciousness. I guess it's because I'm always aware of things. It's good to be, right? You never know what happens to you, especially when you're sleeping.
My eyes flutter open as I rub my eyes and take a look at my arm. Oh hell no. I let out a terrified scream that lasts for about ten seconds, and another ten seconds after I gasp for air. On my arm lays a tiny but still disgusting cockroach. It's hilarious how tarantulas and alligators don't scare me as much as cockroaches do. Nothing scares me as much as cockroaches do.
See, I have a strong hatred towards cockroaches ever since I was young. My family used to be very poor and we lived in suburban apartment buildings with horrible conditions. There were countless amounts of cockroaches everywhere in the apartment, and when I say everywhere, I mean everywhere. I would always find several dead and alive cockroaches in the toilet bowl, in the shower, on my bed, in my cups, and the list goes on.
It is so disgusting, even just thinking about it.
Everything about cockroaches are disgusting. I would be less scared if they're fairly decent looking. What creeps me out the most is how they flip over once they die. People say they do that to see who killed them so they could avenge their death. Creepy? I think yes.
My abnormal hatred for cockroaches has led to Katsaridaphobia, the fear of cockroaches according to a fellow friend. Waking up to a cockroach on my arm does not help lessen this so called fear.
Anyways, my extremely loud scream has Adam rushing into the room, eyes wide open. If it isn't for the cockroach on my arm, I would probably laugh at how panicked Adam looks. Beads of sweat are rolling down his forehead. Jeezus, Adam, it was only a scream.
Well then again, it's only a cockroach, Carla.
"Are you okay? Is anything wrong?" Adam asks, huffing and puffing. He wipes his forehead with his tan arm as he runs towards the patient's bed I'm in.
"T-this!" I sputter as I point to the tiny-sized cockroach laying on my arm, peacefully. It might be dead, considering it isn't moving. Possibly, its death resulted from my deafening scream. I waggle my fingers at the cockroach to indicate further how much the cockroach is affecting me.
"Is that a mole?" He asks, confused. Seriously?
"It's a cockroach! Does that look like a mole to you? " I ask, flabbergasted.
"Oh. Well, no worries," he says casually, flicking the cockroach from my arm. "Sorry. I usually wear contacts, but I'm not right now so I can't really see that well."
So Adam isn't flawless. It relieves me to know of a flaw he has considering I have many. Well, it's only normal for him to not be perfect. Humans aren't perfect. I sigh of relief, after he flicks the cockroach away, and slump back onto the pillow.
"Thank you for saving me- twice, I might add," I say and raise an eyebrow. I open my mouth to question him on how he knew I was in the roof and why he defied Chase Stunner just to save me, but I decide not to.
"It's nothing," he says with a light shrug. "By the way, I helped you get your homework in all of the classes you missed."
"I don't know if I should thank you for being so considerate, or hate you since I could've gotten away with no homework on a Friday." I mutter whilst I lift myself off the bed.
He playfully rolls his eyes and quickly shifts next to me to help me off the bed. "Careful now."
"Jeezus. You're treating me like I'm a dying patient in the hospital; I was just sleepy and exhausted before. I am still perfectly capable of getting off a bed," I frown and slip my converse sneakers on.
"I know I saved you twice, but you don't have to call me Jeezus. Honestly, it's too flattering for me," he says with a smirk. I snort. Even nice guys like Adam can be cocky at times. His face turns serious for a second as he adds, "I guess I'm just worried for you. So you're the wonder girl that got on Chase's bad side?"
"One hundred percent guilty. Remind me not to open my mouth when I'm moody because then, I can't control what I say," I give him a light smile. We are both currently sitting on the bed, side by side.
"Hey, we all do that sometimes. It's okay," he states reassuringly. He glances curiously at me and states, "I admire you for being so upfront about your thoughts. You're a one of a kind."
"I'll take that as a compliment." I smile nervously and shift uncomfortably in my seat.
If you don't mind answering, what did you say to him that made him so angry?"
"I'm not really sure about that myself," I say as I look up at the ceiling trying to remember the details of the unfortunate encounter with Chase. I feel guilty as I think about the pretty rude things I did say to him. "Rude... ugly... frightening... and yeah, I called him a monster."
Adam looks at me as if I just told him I shot someone using a Heckler-Koch HK MG4 MG43 Machine Gun. Heck, I don't even know what that is, but it sure does sound pretty bad.
"Wait. You called Chase a monster?" he asks brimming with disbelief and shock.
I nod slowly. "I really didn't mean it. I guess it just slipped out of my mouth because I felt so angry and moody. I feel bad thinking about it now."
"It's too late to be sorry now. I'm surprised he didn't slice you into pieces. If there's one thing you shouldn't say to Chase, it is the word monster," Adam closes his eyes and rubs his temple. "Out of all the words you could've called him, why did it have to be monster? There's jerk, douchebag, asshole, or you could even get clever and call him a narcissistic nincompoop."
My curiosity overpowers me as I ask, "Why the word monster? And how do you know about Chase?"
He looks at me straight in the eye, his gaze full of intensity and another emotion I can't quite decipher. "Sorry, you'll find out when the time comes."
I nod and he responds by looking down at the floor. I, too, stare at the ground as awkward seconds slowly pass by. I despise awkward situations strongly, because it makes me feel powerless not knowing what to say or do.
Adam breaks the ice by mumbling, "I hate to say this, but there's a part of me that is glad Chase hates you."
I give him a bewildered look. Is he saying that because he thinks I deserve to be treated horribly after calling Chase a monster? Maybe I do deserve it.
"Because if he isn't trying hard to hurt you, I wouldn't be able to have the chances of protecting you."
After a few more minutes of chatting, Adam had to go because it was already way pass school dismissal time. He offered to have his chauffeur give me a lift home, but I refused, because I still had to do something before leaving school.
Now, here I am, right outside the principals office. I put a heavy amount of thought into Chase. Although I did do wrong by calling him a monster, he isn't completely right either. It's a fact that he's a sadist who loves to see Freshmans suffer. It's a fact that he kind of sexual harassed me with his lips. It's a fact that he left me in the roof for two hours, clothes wet and all.
It's a fact that he has some kind of blackmail against the principal of the school.
I knock on the door and after hearing a slight 'come in', I reach for the door knob, first inspecting if a condom is on it. It's funny how the pranks have actually benefited me. I am now more aware of all my surroundings.
As I step in the principal's office, a blast of cool air hits me straight in the face. I then realize that this is one of the few places in school with air conditioner- maybe even the only place. My thoughts on how pathetic the principal is, grows.
I come face to face with the man of (useless) power in this school, and for a second, I feel a pang of sympathy for him. He seems so tired with dark circles forming udner his barely opened eyes. He doesn't look up from his computer screen as I stand in front of him.
I clear my throat and begin to say,"Um, excuse me Principal..."
Dammit. What does he go by again? I'm pretty sure it starts with a H. Hester? Hopkins? I decide to go with Hester.
"...Principal Hester."
He barely glances up at me and says monotonously, "Heffer."
"Oh, my apologies, Principal Heffer," I correct myself quickly trying to sound extremely polite. No matter how much of a sucky principal he is, he still is the principal of the school.
"Take a seat, Carla Rose," he says and gestures me towards a chair right in front of his desk. "I am actually well aware of why you are possibly here."
"You are?" I ask and furrow my eyebrows.
"It involves Chase Stunner, doesn't it?" He questions, raising his eyebrows. His lips form a tight line I nod slowly. He may be a horrible principal, but at least he isn't oblivious. "I heard about what happened between you and him. Everyone knows by now. Let me guess. You want to transfer, now that you've realized that you're probably not going to survive here."
"You're wrong. I need you to help all the students- not only me, in the school. Take action. You're the man of power here! You're the principal, and it's your duty to help your students when they're getting pushed around. His pranks are getting way out of hand," I state, brimming with frustration. His facial expression doesn't change, but I do notice guilt in his eyes.
"I can't. I've tried, but it won't work. All we can hope for is the day he graduates," Principal Heffer says solemnly. He shakes head. "It's the only way."
I hesitate and state, "I know he is blackmailing you with something. Tell me. I can help."
Right now, I really sound like one of those people who believe that they could be the hero and solve all the problems. Those type of people who have confidence and determination to bring evil forces down. Those type of people usually don't end up succeeding in reality; it only happens in fairy tales. I am not a hundred, or even fifty percent sure that I can bring Chase down, but it doesn't hurt to try. Actually, it will hurt to try, but it will also hurt to not try and just let Chase run the school.
"There's nothing you could do about it. You're just a kid," he says, a bit impatient.
"You don't know what I can do if you don't even let me try," I push. "What does Chase have against you anyways?"
He shakes his head and tells me to go, but I stay glued to my seat. If he thinks I'm going to leave with no information gained, he has another thing coming. I think about it carefully before saying what I am about to say.
"My parents have connections; they know top lawyers from around the world. What would they think when I tell them that I was locked up in the roof for two hours, clothes wet, and no one, including the principal, did anything about it? They wouldn't be too happy, I'm sure." I cross my arms and lean back on my chair, my eyes fixed on his eyes.
"Are you threatening me right now?" Principal Heffer asks in a demanding voice.
I swallow and state, "You may think so, and it might look that way, but all I'm trying to do is help."
"I have had complaints from hundreds of parents, but they usually don't do anything after hearing Chase Stunner's name. His parents are even more richer and more powerful then all the other parents of students in this school,. They end up changing their minds and saying that the pranks are harmless. The most they would do is allow their students to transfer," He explains in an irked tone. "Are your parents richer than his? No."
"That's not the problem right now. I'm not afraid of him, or his petty little money and pranks. I just want to have a normal and decent high school experience. Is that any wrong?"
He looks at me, this time with pity present in his eyes What he says next shocks me. "He has a photo that could cause me to lose my job as a principal. Heck, I could lose everything."
I hesitate before asking, "What kind of picture?"
He looks away and mutters, "It was a Wednesday afternoon, and supposedly, all the students have left the building. It was around five and I was still in school finishing with some paperwork, when Ms. Jordan-"
"The geometry teacher?" I interrupt with wide eyes. I have a feeling where this is going.
He looks at me, annoyed for being interrupted, and continues on,"Yes, the geometry teacher. Well, she was also staying after school to finish grading her students work. What a hardworking teacher she is; always trying to get the work done and not procrastinating like all the other teachers. Schools need diligent teachers like Ms. Jor-"
I clear my throat. "Stay on topic please."
He gives me an annoyed look once again, but suffices. "We were talking about school related issues when I leaned in to give her a... kiss. We are grown ups after all, and I thought that there was no one else in the school. We were kissing-"
"That's gross!" I interrupt once again as I picture the principal and Ms. Jordan getting it on in the principals office. I shudder. It's a horrid image. "Don't you have a wife and kids? That's horrible!"
"My wife died and we never had children." He glares at me, and continues on,"As I was saying, we were kissing when all of a sudden, there was a camera shutter sound. Chase, the horrible, good for nothing child, was standing right in front of us with his phone in his hand. He was chuckling when I ran over to him to grab his phone and missed it by a millimeter. He shoved it back in his pocket and by then, it was already too late."
He pauses before continuing. "He said that he would show his parents the photo and tell them to sue the school and me. He also said that he was scarred for life and I ruined his innocent eyes."
I snort. Innocent eyes? He probably sees even more rated r scenes than that, on the internet, everyday. Still, I agree with the 'scarred for life part'. I would die if I saw Ms. Jordan and Principal Heffer kissing.
"This happened in the beginning of his junior year. The seniors of the school has always pulled Freshman Friday pranks like once or twice a year, but ever since that photo, he started to pull harsher pranks every week or so. Even the seniors listened to him, a junior. He has great leadership, I'll give him that."
"So basically, Chase Stunner has a photo of you, the principal, and Ms. Jordan kissing in school, and he's been blackmailing you with it ever since..." I say, summing up the whole crisis. I look at him straight in the eye and close my eyes for a second. "That's the lamest and most pathetic thing I've ever heard in my entire life, and trust me, I hear a lot of lame and pathetic things. This one is just way over the top. How could you be so... weak? You're a principal. You're in charge of making sure your students are in a friendly high school enviorment. Aren't you supposed to sacrifice yourself for the benefit for all of us?"
He opens his mouth to say something, but I cut him off.
"All of this is bullshit, I have to say. Regardless, I am still going to help you. I will get Chase to stop the blackmailing and make him sit the hell down. Period."
I get up and walk out the room, saying nothing more. I don't look back or say bye as I shut the door. However, I do open the door back so that the cool air conditioned air could be shared with the rest of the school. Principal Heffer does not deserve cool air.
"That's a dramatic high school life. I feel like you're living in a television show or something," Ethan Gray says through the phone, after listening to my long rant about my first week in high school.
I sigh. "It sucks so much. I miss middle school, and everyone there. I feel like I'm in a state of depression."
"Now, now, don't such a ball of sadness. You have to keep your head high for tomorrow," he says cheerily. "What happened to the hyper, mentally crazed girl I met in first grade?"
We've been best friends since first grade. I used to be a gamer, and we played the same video games. He would always call me "noob", which is a word I strongly despise, but we did bond over our love for games. We got into the same middle school, but now, our roads have gone in different directions. His family is rich, but his parents are the generous type of rich people. They believe that everyone should have equal rights- rich or poor, black or white. Thus, Ethan goes to an average priced high school with average people.
We will try to hang out as much as possible during the weekends, and talk on the phone everyday at night, like we are doing in this current moment.
I groan and slump back on my pillow. "She's dead. I can't believe tomorrow is Monday again! The weekend passes way too fast. It's like time does this on purpose; let me just speed up the weekends and slow down the weekdays!"
He chuckles. "Now, don't be over dramatic. Your hatred for high school is going to lead to school phobia, or formally known as school refusal."
"How do you even remember all these phobias and stuff?" I ask in disbelief. I am not keen on memory; I struggled to remember the multiplication table during 3rd grade. Sometimes, I feel like I am secretly related to Dory from Finding Nemo.
"It's important to know when you want to become a psychologist," he says casually. "Why are you complaining about high school when I'm not even complaining? At least your parents didn't force you to join the mathletes."
I chuckle and tease him. "You're in the mathletes? That's great!"
He huffs through the phone. "My parents went like; if you can't be an athlete, be a mathlete!"
I crack up, but I do feel pity for him. Ethan is actually very fantastic at sports, and in middle school, he was in the football team. It's just that during the summer, he injured his arm quite badly, and for a few months, he has to have a cast on. Poor guy.
"If it makes you feel better, at least you didn't have tarantulas crawling all up in your school. Plus, your principal seems pretty decent."
"I'd rather have a dramatic high school life than a boring one. Isn't there a saying, 'high school is the best thing you'll experience in your life; it's more delicious than nutella cupcakes with sprinkles on top'?" He says enthusiastically.
"Uh, I've never heard of it. What kind of saying is that?" I ask with a with a hint of confusion. "Nothing is better than nutella cupcakes."
"There is no saying. I was just trying to make you feel better, curly fries," Ethan admits. I chuckle at the nickname he has for me after knowing that I have a weird obsession for curly fries. "Look, I have to go now. Just remember that even though you're extremely annoying, and ugly, and stupid, and horrible, I'll be here for you. If anything way out of hand happens to you in school, I will personally shove my cast down that Chase dude's throat."
"I don't know if I should love you or hate you for calling me stupid and ugly and annoying and horrible. Thanks, though. Bye. I love you..." I say and hesitate before continuing on. "-tube. I love YouTube. Not you. Who the heck would love you?"
It's our joke that we normally say to each other ever since the 1st grade. We have that kind of relationship where we tease and insult each other even though we're best friends. I can never see us in a relationship, if that's what you're wondering. Neither can he. This is not one of those cliche 'oh I'm in love with my best friend' type of relationships.
"I love you 'too'...be (tube). Good night," he says as phone goes dead.
I put my phone on the desk next to my bed and lay down flat on my back. It is going to be a long week, and I'm definitely not looking forward to it. Just as I am about to close my eyes, my phone buzzes. Annoyed, I reach over to grab it, assuming that it is probably from Ethan. I furrow my eyebrows as I see that I received a text message from not Ethan, but a private number.
My curiosity gets the best of me and I click the message.
I'm looking forward to tomorrow, Freshman. I heard you're afraid of living creatures known to be cockroaches. You're in for a treat. This should be fun ;)
My eyes bulge out. Judging from instinct, the private person is no other than Chase Stunner. How did he get my number? How does he know I despise cockroaches? I have no idea. I shudder as I think of his creepy and stalkerish ways.
What is the point for him to prank Freshmen every single week day? That totally defeats the purpose of Freshman Friday.
I swallow and push away my fear. If I want to bring him down, I'm going to have to do whatever I can. I do have a perfect plan to stop him from blackmailing the principal, and I look forward to taking action as soon as possible. I slowly close my eyes and drift off to sleep.
Game on. You're going down, Chase Stunner.
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A/N:
Hey guys! So, that was more of a filler chapter, but it is a very important chapter. It is basically the foundation for the upcoming chapters, where the real drama begins. Thanks for reading :)
Vote, follow, or drop a comment below if you want! Here are some questions (you could choose one) for you to answer and think about, if you don't know what to say:
What do you think about Adam so far? How about the principal? And Ethan?
Do you think the problem with the principal is pathetic? It's supposed to be pathetic and unrealistic in a way, which makes it more disbelieving to the reader. Things like this normally wouldn't happen in reality, which makes this story more interesting and simply mind blowing. Haha... I'm pushing it.
CARLA HAS A FABULOUS PLAN??? CHASE HAS SOME EVIL PRANKS UP HIS SLEEVES (like always)??? IT'S MONDAY TOMORROW (IN THE STORY)??? Oh no! Keep reading for the juicy and fruity drama!