Okay, that definitely was not 50 votes. Thanks a lot guys :p Haha but I decided to do a double update anyways. Let me know what you thinkkkkk please <3 I feel like this isn't my best, but it's 4,000 words (((which is A LOT))) and it's a double update. Enjooooyy :)
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Everyone was looking at me, and I couldn't handle all of the rude comments and the laughing. I ran into the bathroom, the one that was right next to the video that was playing on the walls. I went into a stall and took deep breaths. This was not happening. Our plan was not just ruined. This is not happening.
What would the principal think now? Surely, he'll be seeing the video soon and what if he believes Hunter and Cassidy over us? Since they got to him first? He'll think that we're making the stuff up about them, just because they told on us.
I heard the stall door open and I could see those familiar pointy boots walking into the bathroom. I hoped that it was Harry, but I knew it was Scottie.
I opened the stall door, and pulled him in, before locking the door behind him.
"What are we gonna do now?" I groaned, sitting down on the closed toilet seat.
"Stick to the plan. We just, we need to be more convincing with it. We have to act like nothing's wrong with the video okay? He's gonna call you in soon, just act like you have no idea why everyone's freaking out about the video. When he says it's you and Harry, just pretend to be shocked and say that it was me. He will then call me in and probably let you go so he can question me, and I'll do the same thing. I don't know what we're gonna do about Harry, though," he said, sounding stumped. I was too. I knew I had to text him and tell him what happened, but what would he do about telling on Hunter? Would he just go in and tell Principal Lynch, or should he wait until this mess dies down?
But he can't wait, otherwise it wouldn't go with our story. We have to convince the principal that Hunter took Harry's phone and called him off of it to quit. Harry has to pretend that Scottie gave him his phone back and told him everything, so then he goes to the principal. So do we just do as planned? We have to.
"Okay, yeah. I'll just text him and fill him in on what's happening before the principal calls me down. It'll all be fine," I said, mostly to reassure myself. I was having major anxiety about all of this.
I got my phone out to text him, and typed as quickly as possible.
"Hey. We hit a bump in the road. Hunter & Cassidy showed the school the 'proof', so the cat's out of the bag. Plan will go as normal though, so just act like you have no idea what the principal's talking about if he asks. I'll see you later, okay?" I quickly sent. Even when I'm in a hurry, I still text correctly. No abbreviations for me.
I didn't get a chance to wait for his reply, as I heard the intercom go off. I looked above me, praying that they wouldn't say what I thought they would say.
Sure enough, they did, "Miranda Groves, may I please see you in the principal's office?" I heard a man say. Probably Principal Lynch.
I quickly sent another text to Harry, "Don't reply to this. Xxxx," just in case they try to read my texts or something. I don't know, I never get called down to the principal's office. I don't know what their protocol is.
Regardless, I decided to delete all messages that I've ever sent to Harry, as well as his responses, before I turned my phone off.
I looked up at the clock on the wall of the bathroom and the time read 7:39, which meant that 1st hour has already begun and both Scottie and I have missed it.
"I better go," I stated, walking to the mirror to fix myself up. I might as well look presentable when I'm finding out my fate.
I fixed my hair, which had slightly fallen out of my bobby pins, and I wiped off any smudged makeup under my eyes.
I began to walk to the bathroom door and I heard Scottie speak up behind me, "Good luck, Mer. Act convincing."
I nodded my head so he could see it before walking out. The hallways were now empty, except for two people who were leaning against the bathroom door. Cassidy and Hunter.
I kept my head held high, "What are you guys doing here?" I asked them, not being rude but not being nice either.
"Came to see how you were doing. We saw you rush into the bathroom and were worried," Cassidy said sympathetically. But like I said earlier, she's in drama class and wants to be a drama teacher. Of course she's a good actress.
"I'm fine, actually. I just really had to pee," I explained, even though we both knew that wasn't what happened.
"Oh, wow. Okay, well you better get down to the principal's office. He's waiting for you," She smiled at me and I returned one, before walking right past them and into the office. I didn't know where to go from here, as I've never been here before.
I asked the lady that was sitting down at her desk typing away, "Hi, uh, the principal wanted to see me?"
She looked up and when she saw me she didn't exactly smile. Instead she pursed her lips and pointed to the hallway behind her. She was nice.
I wiped my hands on my jeans, something that I've been doing a lot lately. My hands get clammy when I'm nervous.
There were multiple doors and I had no idea where to go next, however I saw a name tag on one of the doors that said, "Robert L. Lynch." I wonder what his middle name is? Lynn? I don't know any guys who's middle name starts with an L.
I ignored it and knocked three times on the door. I didn't think it'd be appropriate to just walk in.
"Come in," I heard Principal Lynch say. I didn't really know what he looked like, to be honest, so it was weird to walk in and see a short guy with no hair and a mustache. I pictured him as a bigger guy, who was taller and had a big gut. But he was the exact opposite.
"Uh, hi, you wanted to see me?" I asked him with a smile, trying to act like I have no idea what's going on.
"Yeah, sit down please," he pointed to the three chairs that were lined up in front of his desk.
I obeyed and sat down in the chair to the far right.
"It has come to my attention that you have been seeing a teacher inappropriately," he stated, folding his hands on the table in front of him. I furrowed my eyebrows together, to make it seem as if I didn't have a clue of what he was talking about.
"A teacher? What do you mean?" I asked innocently. I think I'm doing a pretty good job so far, if I do say so myself.
"Some students brought proof of you and Harry Styles hanging out outside of school, as well as kissing in the hallways. You do realize this is highly appropriate, and definitely against the law, right?! You're underage and he's your teacher," He began to raise his voice and my eyes widened.
"Sir, I don't mean to interrupt you but what are you talking about? Harry Styles? You mean Mr. Styles? We're not seeing each other," I stated confidently, adding on a, "He's old," and wrinkling my nose to show my disgust. He isn't even that old, really, but he's 6 years older than me, so I guess yeah, he's kinda old.
"These pictures beg to differ," he answered me, flipping over the papers on his desk. I knew what they would be before he even handed them to me, but I had to act confused.
"Yeah, but what does this have to do with anything?" I asked, looking through the pictures and then handing them back to the principal. I should become an actress.
"What does it have to do with anything? That's clearly pictures of you and Mr. Styles kissing," he pointed to the one taken in the hallway, "And you at his apartment!" He pointed to the other two pictures.
I shook my head, "That's not Mr. Styles, sir. That's my ex boyfriend."
"Who's your ex boyfriend then?" He asked me, acting as if I was lying. Well, I was, but I mean, he shouldn't be so accusing.
"His name is Scott Gilbert," I explained. "We dated for like two weeks, and then he broke up with me for.." I paused, "reasons."
I hoped he would take that pause into consideration and ask me what those reasons were, so I could explain to him that Scottie is gay. Scottie probably couldn't act straight to save his life, so I know the principal would think something's up if he comes waltzing in, clearly gay but pretending to be straight.
"Reasons, such as?" He asked me and I almost wanted to smile, but I didn't. I acted upset, instead.
"Is that an appropriate question to be asking?" I asked uncertainly. I needed him to buy this, and I don't think a regular student would open up to their principal so quickly.
"Well, given the circumstances, yeah, I think it is," he told me, sounding a bit annoyed.
"Sorry," I said, "Well, I don't think I should tell you, because it's not exactly my secret to tell, but Scottie broke up with me because he's uh, he's gay," I whispered the last part.
"Oh," He choked out, seeming quite awkward. "Well- I-Uh, sorry, yeah, okay."
I nodded, "He told me not to tell anybody, so don't say anything, please."
"I won't, Miss Groves. But you're telling me this is Scott, or Scottie, in the pictures? And not Mr. Styles?" He clarified.
"Yeah, that's Scottie. And now that you mention it, they do look quite alike. I think Mr. Style's even has that shirt," I pointed to the pictures.
"So, you and Mr. Styles haven't ever been together during after school hours?" He questioned me.
I shook my head, "No. I mean, he's helped me after school with calculus like twice, but that's it really. And that was in the school library, not in the hallways."
"You've never been to his house before?" He asked me and I shook my head once again.
"Never," I confirmed.
"Okay, do you know Cassidy Meyers and Hunter White?" He asked me and I tried keeping my poker face on.
"Yeah, I sit next to Cassidy in my first hour, and I've dated Hunter for almost a month now. Except, I broke up with him today," I explained, and he raised his eyebrows at this.
"You broke up with him? Why?" He asked me. These seem like really personal questions for a principal to be asking, but I didn't question it again.
"I dunno, I just didn't see him like that I guess. And Scottie, you know, the gay guy in those pictures, he likes him. And I felt bad dating someone that I didn't really care if I dated or not, when my best friend liked him," I shrugged, stretching the truth a little bit.
"Best friend? So you and this Scottie are close now, even after you guys broke up?" He asked me.
"Well, yeah. That relationship is wayyyy in the past now, we've both moved on," I explained. I hoped that information didn't give anything away.
"You've both moved on to Hunter," Principal Lynch stated more than asked.
"Kinda. I don't know, I never really liked Hunter, and I kind of felt pressured into the relationship, because he seemed really nice and he kept asking me out. So I said yes, and kinda just went along with it for a few weeks. But yeah, Scottie's hung out with us a lot and I guess developed a crush that I've never really had on Hunter, and when he told me about it the other day I felt bad, so I broke up with Hunter today," I told him. I didn't know if any of this sounded fishy from his point of view. I hoped not.
"So if I were to ask Scottie who was in these pictures, would he say it's him?" He asked me and I nodded my head yes.
"Yeah, I mean, he was there, so he should," I laughed awkwardly near the end.
He grabbed the phone on his desk, pressing some buttons before asking me for Scottie's last name again.
"Gilbert," I answered.
"Scott Gilbert, please come down to the principal's office immediately," he stated into the phone, and I also heard him in the intercom of his office just a second later. It was weird.
He hung up the phone before looking back at me.
"Would Hunter know this is Scott in the picture, or does he think it's Mr. Styles?" He questioned me.
I shrugged, "Well, he knows who Scottie is. We've hung out a lot, and they were good friends so I would assume that he'd know that it was Scottie. But they do kinda look alike, so maybe he was mistaken?"
"Was Hunter upset after the break up?" He asked me and I looked down, pretending to be sad. Girls' are normally sad after they break up with a guy, right?
"Yeah, he, uh, he seemed really upset. But he ran off before I could say anything else," I played with my fingers so it looked as if I were uncomfortable.
"When did you break up with him?"
"Before school, it was in the parking lot outside at around, 6:45? Maybe 7ish? I'm not sure, but it was right before I walked inside."
"Okay," he said, and right after, Scottie came coming in.
"Heyy, what do ya need?" He asked the principal, sitting down in the chair next to mine. "Hey, Miranda," he smiled at me.
"Hi," I grinned back at him. This plan seemed to be working, if you ask me.
"Scott Gilbert?" The principal looked at him.
"Oh, just call me Scottie. I mean, yeah, Scott," he said, and I gave him an A+ on acting. He definitely seemed like a gay guy in the closet.
"Okay, Scottie, or Scott. Which is it?" The principal asked, seeming frustrated.
"Either or, it doesn't matter," Scottie replied.
The principal simply nodded before getting back to the matter at hand.
"Okay, we have some pictures here. Could you tell me who it is in the pictures?" He began, holding the pictures in his hands.
Scottie nodded, so he put the pages in front of him.
"Oh, that's me and Miranda. Why do you have those?" He looked violated and I wanted to laugh, but refrained myself. I love Scottie.
"That's you and Miranda?" The principal clarified, and Scottie nodded his head.
Principal Lynch then began to analyze Scottie, looking at his hair, and then his clothes.
"Wow, you really do look like Harry Styles," he stated, looking quite shocked. I allowed myself to smile just a tiny bit.
"Who?" Scottie asked, acting as if he were confused.
"Oh, Mr. Styles, sorry," the principal said and Scottie responded with an, "Oh."
Just then the door opened, and speak of the devil. There, standing in the doorway, was Harry himself.
He looked in the chairs and saw Scottie and I. He quickly flickered his eyes away before he spoke to the principal.
"Hey, Principal Lynch, can I uh, can I talk to you for a second please?" His eyes flickered to us again, as if signaling to the principal that he wanted to speak in privacy. Good work, Harold, good work.
"Yeah, sure, but while you're here, can I ask you something?" The principal said, signaling him to sit down next to Scottie in the remaining chair. He looked confused, but sat down nevertheless.
"Sure," he said, and he didn't look nervous, except I could see his knee bouncing up and down which gave him away. I prayed the principal wouldn't notice, as there was a massive desk in between them.
"Who is in these pictures?" The principal asked, and I interrupted him, "Um, don't you think that's a bit inappropriate? I mean, those are, kind of private pictures, and he's my teacher. That's a little awkward, don't you think?"
The principal looked over at me, "I need to get to the bottom of this, Miranda, so I need to see what Mr. Styles says about these pictures." I sunk back in my chair and nodded my head, not replying.
Harry picked up the pictures and scrunched his eyebrows as he looked at them. He then flickered his eyes to me and then Scottie, before looking back down at the pictures.
"That's Miranda, and Scott, sir," he handed the pictures back, "But uh, what does this have to do with me?"
Principal Lynch leaned back in his chair, "So that's not you, then?" He clarified.
"Nope," Harry answered and then he must have realized how casual that sounded, "I mean, no, that's not me."
The principal nodded, "Okay, so can I ask you why you quit so abruptly last night?"
"Yeah, that's what I wanted to talk to you about, sir, you see-" He was interrupted by Scottie speaking.
"Oh, I know about that!" He exclaimed, raising his hand too. I laughed at his obvious gayness, covering my mouth with my hand. I couldn't give us away, not now.
"What do you mean?" Principal Lynch asked and this time Harry answered.
"A student stole my phone last night, and then another student called in pretending to be me and quit. I didn't even know what was happening until I walked into my classroom and there was a substitute in there. I ran into Scott in the hallway, and he gave me my phone back and told me everything that happened," he explained and I was so happy all of this was falling together. The principal had to believe us, this was a solid performance.
"Scottie?" The principal raised his eyebrow at him.
"Okay, so I was at Hunter's last night and we were doing homework right? So then his neighbor, a girl named Cassidy, came running in talking about having a teacher's phone and stuff, and I didn't really think anything of it until they decided to prank the contacts on the phone, and I kind of thought that was crossing the line, like he's a teacher. So I was like "give me the phone" and they were like "no" and then they dialed a number and I was like not again. It was all really immature, if you ask me. But then I heard them say "Principal Lynch" and that really caught my attention, because you're the principal! So I began listening, and then they said that they quit and I tried getting the phone, I really did, to tell you that it was fake and that whosever phone it was, wasn't quitting, but have you seen Hunter? I'm tall, but he's taller. And I asked who's phone it was when they hung up, and they said Mr. Styles, and I was annoyed then because Mr. Styles was a new teacher, and he didn't deserve to lose his job over a childish prank. So I grabbed the phone then and kept it over night, since I didn't know how to get it back to him, and I just gave it back to him this morning before 1st hour and told him everything that happened, and yeah," he finished taking a deep breath. "Whew, that was a long story."
"Yeah, what he said," Harry butted in, pointing to Scottie.
"How did they steal the phone from you, Harry?" Principal Lynch asked him.
"One of my students, Cassidy, she somehow knew where I lived and she came to my flat last night and barged in, and then when I kicked her out, she grabbed my phone and ran. I tried catching up to her, but she was already in her car and long gone," Harry explained.
"How did she know where your flat was?" Principal Lynch asked. I rolled my eyes.
"I honestly don't know, I was watching tv and there was a knock on my door and when I opened it, it was her. She knew the exact door I lived in too, it was weird," he told him.
I swear, if this doesn't work, I'll be convinced that Principal Lynch is Cassidy's dad or something, because this is flawless.
"So she just showed up one day, out of the blue?" The principal asked. Uh oh, he didn't sound convinced.
"Well not just 'one day', it was yesterday. But yeah, it was completely random," He stated, and it sounded believable to me but from the look on Principal Lynch's face, I don't think he bought it. Harry must have thought the same thing, which is why he carried on, "Which is why I came here to tell you about it. I got the security tape from my flat here, to kind of prove my story, because I know we had the uh," he looked over at Scottie and I, "talk at the beginning of the year and I knew you probably wouldn't believe me. We probably shouldn't talk about this now, though, we should wait until this issue is resolved and we have privacy."
"No, they're all involved now. I have a feeling this all links together. Where's the tape?" I flinched. I hope by links together, he means Hunter and Cassidy are evil teenagers who want to ruin our lives, and not that we're making all of this up to save Harry's job and our relationship.
"Um, if you say so," he said, standing up and handing Principal Lynch the flash drive. He plugged it into his computer, and I wanted so badly to watch it, but it was facing their direction and not ours. I guess that even though this all 'links together' he doesn't exactly want us to see the video.
Harry returned to his seat, and I could only look at Principal Lynch's expressions, which pretty much remained the same during the entire video. His eyebrows were scrunched, his eyes were squinted, and his mouth was set in a frown.
"Hmph," he stated, as I assume the video came to an end.
"Yeah, I also wanted to talk about switching Cassidy out of my first hour, sir. She makes me a little uncomfortable. And frankly, I don't want her stealing my phone again," Harry said.
"We can talk about that later. For now, Miranda, Scott, you two are free to go. I need to speak to Mr. Style's privately, and I also need to talk to Cassidy and Hunter to get their sides of the story. I'll call you back down later in the day to discuss what's going to happen," he explained to us, writing down passes to give to our teacher's when we walk in late.
I nodded my head, "Thank you."
I heard Scottie say "Thanks," before he followed me out of the room.
I sighed in relief as we exited, "I think that went well."
"I agree. I think we have him convinced. I don't think Hunter and Cassidy have a chance, if we're being completely honest here," he laughed and I laughed with him.
I stopped walking and turned toward him, "Thank you Scottie. For everything."
He stopped walking as well, turning toward me and bringing me into a hug.
"I'd do anything for you, Miranda. You're my best friend," I heard him say and I smiled before squeezing him back.
"You're my best friend in the entire world. But if you ever ask me to go on a double date with you again, I'm not going," I stated and he laughed, letting go.
"I wouldn't dream of it," he said, and he turned left down the other hallway to go to his class while I remained going straight.
I walked into the classroom late, with everybody staring at me. They all saw the video, and they all think I did stuff with my teacher. Which, I did, but like, they're not supposed to know that, so.
I ignored them, walking to the teacher to hand them the late pass, before going to my desk.
All I could do now is wait. Wait until Principal Lynch talks to Harry, and then Hunter and Cassidy. Wait for him to call Scottie and I back down to the office. Wait for him to decide all of our fates.