Realistic or Modern Mad House.

[Trignome]

Isadore blinked at the sound of the 4th period bell. Hm. That would be lunch. Getting up from his seat, he slipped through the crowd of classmates gravitating towards the door, and walked over to the teacher's desk, silently waiting for Mrs. Coribal to finish entering assignments into the gradebook. The classroom was completely empty by the time she finally scribbled in the last percentage and looked up at Isadore, lips pursed in a slightly displeased fashion. "Yes, young man. What do you need?"


Clearing his throat a bit, Isadore opened his knapsack and pulled out a blue, ball-point pen. "About the test yesterday, I was absent, so can I make it up now?" Mrs. Coribal gave the bic pen in his hand a stern expression. "Ink is permanent. I'd suggest you use a pencil so you can correct your errors." Yeah, yeah lady. Do I look stupid to you? It's a test reviewing what was learned last year. I know this stuff, so buzz off. Tilting his head to one side, Isadore smiled and gave the old woman a long buzz. "Bz." After a few moments of silence, Mrs. Coribal finally responded to his strange behavior, giving him a peculiar stare as she handed him his scantron and test packet.


As he headed back to his seat, Isadore sighed to himself. I really shouldn't have a habit of skipping class, just my luck there was a course review exam yesterday. Though he knew this was going to be an easy assessment, Isadore still felt a bit chagrined that he had to miss the beginning of lunch. Ah, speaking of lunch, I wonder if Nick has already gotten his schedule? Chewing on his pen cap, Isadore began bubbling in his answer-sheet, barely glancing at the answers before selecting one. A...F...B...E...D...E...D...G...True...True ...True...False...True...D...H...C...E...A...

 

[spectro]

Jodie opened her eyes. At first, she didn't have the strength to move her legs, but as she became more aware of her surroundings; she quickly got up.


She felt warmth underneath her and as she sat up, she realised she was lying on top of Damien Freeman, a Senior she knew the face of well. He was known for sleeping around and Ashley was one of his 'booty calls', but she saw it as more than that. She rubbed her eyes and looked around at where she was.


A dumpster. The fact that she was lying in other people's trash was not the problem-the problem was that she was sitting on top of aa currently unconscious Damien Freeman. She pulled her self off of him and noticed that she wasn't wearing her dress any more. She awkwardly tried to hide herself, although she was wearing her underwear and climbed out of the dumpster. She was almost in tears. How was she supposed to get out of this situation. She knew nothing had happened with Damien, that it was just a rouse to get people talking, but how was she supposed to get to Sunny Brooks? Just stroll down the street in her bra? She sneaked down the alley and stopped when she heard someone speak behind her.


"HEY! You, with the red hair." She knew it was Damien, his mistakable dumb ass deep voice was recognised anywhere. Jodie wasn't even phased by the fact that he didn't shout 'Hey, you, the half naked chick!'. She guessed that naked girls were just an everyday thing for him.

 

[ChronosDesine]

Aaron looked around in the classroom. Not much people were paying attention to what the teacher was saying. Most of them were playing on their phone. I don't have a phone. I don't have a phone... I probably should look for a job. I mean.. Yeah.. I should look for a job.

 

[Pine]

Well, at least I won't have to really do anything in until they fix my schedule... but make up work is going to be a bitch. Guess how you're going to be spending your weekend. Nick glanced over at the girl that was leading him through the halls that were starting to fill up with students after the bell rang. He decided at that moment that she was definitely an eight. She was adorable and not too talkative, but a lot of his jokes were going right over her head. Definitely a hit and run, so if he could just keep enough distance that she didn't annoy him too much...


"Well, this is the math hall. Mrs. Bogee's room is right here." Bermuda rapped her knuckles on the small, plastic sign that held the room number, complete with the braille numbers under it, as though someone would actually use that. One of the bumps had fallen off, anyway, from the looks of it. "Um," she began, but the boy already knew what she was going to ask.


"No, I'm not a freshman," he said, a smile deceptively concealing his impatience.


"Oh, okay. That's what I thought," she piped. The hall had mostly emptied out at that point, save for the occasional kid that was still filing out to lunch a little late. "Well, the cafeteria is just down this way. Come on, you can sit at my table."


Nick had been peeking into the classroom, which was decorated mostly with very bad math puns on various posters, when suddenly he was being yanked away, the sharp tug catching him off guard and making his head knock roughly against the door frame. Okay, lady, now you're a seven. Still trying to be somewhat positive, he complied with an, "Okay, okay." Pulling his arm free from her grip, he rubbed his head where it was hit and looked off to the side in an effort to hide the disdainful look that had crossed his face. However, continuing down the hall, he suddenly got a glimpse into a classroom with a boy - stopping in the hallway then to get a better glance, he was able to recognize Isadore's clothing from the morning - hunched over an assignment. Oh, perfect. As much as his stomach protested any delay on his meal, he needed some way to cope with this girl, and it definitely wasn't by being introduced to her friends. He had stopped just a little past the classroom, and now his smile was finally genuine out of relief. "Actually, you can go on. I'll just wait for somebody here."


Bermuda lifted her eyebrows in surprise, and when she swung her head around to see who it could be, her eyes only grew wider. "Him?" she asked incredulously, her voice dropping to a whisper. "Don't you think he's a little... odd?"


And you're a little stupid, aren't you, Beautiful? Nick silently grinned at her, trying to contain his temper. It was only when her jaw dropped and she looked at him wide-eyed that he realized he had actually said that out loud, instantly wiping the smile off of his face. Before he could properly recover from his mistake, she gave an indignant scream from inside her mouth that had snapped shut and struck his roughly across the cheek, the slap echoing clearly down the hall. She passed him by, shoving him into the lockers before stomping back down to the cafeteria. Nick had managed to not make a noise the entire time, even as he felt his skin sting from the smack. Once he started prodding the angry red mark, however, he couldn't help but give a quiet, pained, "Ahh." Yeah, he was just going to stand here and hope that the teacher inside didn't hear any of that.

 

[spectro]

"Why the hell were we just in there?" She heard him coming closer and she turned around, trying to act like she wasn't at all embarrassed by the fact that she was half naked.


"Obviously it was something to do with Ashley." Jodie said, putting her hand over her tattoo.


"We didn't-" Damien scratched his head. Jodie rolled her eyes.


"No."


"Good. I mean, well, it wouldn't have been bad if we had; but, you know." Jodie shook her head, slightly offended. "Take me jacket." He pulled off his big grey hoodie and held it out to her. She could see his muscles now. His tee was tight and pulled against his biceps. Jodie had to pry her eyes away and grab hold of the jacket. "Thanks." She wrapped it around herself. It smelt like aftershave and was fluffy on the inside. It was silent for a second.


"Imma go now." She turned around and already started planning revenge on Ashley, running ideas through her mind.

 

[Trignome]

Hearing voices in the hallway, Isadore quickly bubbled in his last answer before getting up and handing his test form and packet to the teacher. I wonder who it is? It sounds like- The unmistakable, sharp clap of hand meeting cheek echoed from just outside the doorway. Glancing down at Mrs. Coribal, who was manually grading his scantron with an imperturbably focused expression. I guess she won't mind if I... Sidling over to the classroom door, Isadore peeked around the corner just in time to catch a glimpse of some girl marching angrily down the empty hallway.


Well, almost empty. He looked up at a familiar face, and couldn't help but grin at the red welt beginning to show on Nick's jaw. "Hey, look at you, Cassanova! Getting and breaking a relationship all before lunch. It must be such a blessed curse to be such a good-looking guy." Still snickering, Isadore waved a hand into the classroom. "Come on in, I'm waiting to get my test score from Mrs. Coribal. I can show you around the school after lunch." Seeing the teacher look up with a mildly disapproving manner, Isadore smiled and walked over to the teacher's desk. "So, how did I do?" I don't think I missed anything, did I? That calculation on wave-particle trajectory, though...





Mrs. Coribal sighed, pulling a black pen that was tucked in her gray updo before handing him his graded scantron. Giving Nick a distrusting glance, she leaned closer to where Isadore stood and spoke in a lower tone. "You scored extremely well. As expected of you, Mr. Gyles." The teacher paused, tapping her pen against the test sheet. "I have reviewed the transcripts of all my students this year, and this level of academic performance is qualified for a graduatory class advancement. I've heard this was an option you also refused in past years?" Isadore frowned. Why are you being so nosy. lady? My answer's the same as before, I don't want to skip. He glanced nervously in Nick's direction, hoping the other boy couldn't hear what was being said. This is bad. He's going to think I'm one of those condescending, honor-roll asses.


Seeing that her student remained stone-silent, Mrs. Coribal sighed and turned to enter his score into the online database. "I don't mean to make you feel obligated in any way to accept the school's offer. I just want you to understand that there are only so many academic levels a student can skip while remaining in their year, before it becomes counter-productive." Taking Isadore's score sheet and filing it away in her dossier, Mrs. Coribal gave the boy a stern look, returning to her normal tone of voice. "I do believe it is lunch hour for you, Mr. Gyles? Then please excuse yourself from my classroom. I have a tutoring session in a few minutes for another student. Enjoy your lunch." With that, the teacher herded the two boys out into the hallway and closed the classroom door behind them.


Isadore could feel the burning of his ears, still red with embarrassment. He feigned a casual air as he turned to Nick. "So, ah...I guess this is where I show you the school cafeteria?" I'm not an ass, Nick. I'm not an ass. Trying to distract the other boy from any questions he might have of the teacher's private conversation with him, Isadore nudged Nick in the ribs. "Hey, so who was the chick you were with?"

 

[spectro]

Jodie got to the front door of Sunny Brooks. She had managed to avoid most public areas by taking back alleys and hiding under the shadows of trees. She climbed straight into the house and ran upstairs, into her room and pulling on her thick Ramones sweater and some plain black leggings. She felt a lot better when she was clothed. She looked down at Damien's jacket that led on her bed. She smiled a little at the fact that he had actually showed he had a gentleman side to him. Offering her his jacket and all. She folded it up and hung it on the end of her bed. Now it was time to plan revenge on Ashley. And she had just the plan.

 

[Pine]

Nick contemplated making his escape in that moment. It shouldn't take too long for the red mark to go away. Maybe he could even catch up to her and apologize... but at the same time, did he really want to apologize? It didn't matter anyway, because in the next moment, Isadore had peeked out of the classroom. He scowled at the other boy. It would be funny within the next hour, probably, but at the moment, the taste of a sudden bitch slap was still fresh in his mind.


Brewing over recent events silently, he hesitated to enter the teacher's classroom. I guess Isadore didn't hear what she said about him. He must have muttered under his breath again, he realized. It definitely wasn't the best habit to have in the world... but he supposed it would be best that he focused on his academics for now, anyway, until he caught up on things.


Nick finally entered the room, albeit cautiously, trying to make the way he was cupping his face as casual as possible by resting his elbow on the arm folded around his chest. However, the teacher's face looked anything but welcoming when he entered, which made him re-think his decision very quickly. He gave an annoyed sigh when the teacher narrowed her eyes at him and started whispering to Isadore. Fine then. I'm turning my head away now. Not eavesdropping. See how disinterested I am?


That was a lie, however, and the boy only strained his ears all the more when he looked up at the ceiling, pretending to admire the art on the occasional ceiling tile. What did they have to be so secretive about, anyway? Did he fail? That was how teachers had called him over in the past when he suddenly bombed a test, anyway. Nick could see Isadore being that same brilliant but lazy sort kind of like him. However, the words he did manage to pick up on didn't make it sounds as much like a concerned lecture. Expected... Mr. Gyles... transcripts... class... refused... obligated... levels... productive...


She raised her voice suddenly. Great. I'm not intruding anymore. The teacher sounded more annoyed than anything, but looking down from the ceiling (good, his neck had started to hurt), Isadore clearly seemed flustered. Nick couldn't tell if the other boy had just bombed a test, got caught cheating, or... did exceptionally well. He supposed those would be the three things that they would want to keep quiet.


He was almost eager to leave when they were ushered out of the room. With Isadore's quick attempt to change the subject, basically repeating what he had said before, he relented, deciding not to bring it up... for the moment. Nick gave a little nod, following after the other day. Rubbing his cheek, the prickling, stinging feeling he was experiencing before finally beginning to subside. "Dude, I don't even want to talk about it," he said, sounding exasperated, but went on anyway. "The office aid, Bermuda. Totally hot, but... she was getting annoying pretty quick." Finally, an almost bitter, ironic smile came to his face, and he laughed a little, letting his arms fall to his side. "Wouldn't be the first time I accidentally told a chick that. For future reference," he began to advise, poking Isadore in the shoulder, "they don't take criticism well. That is my wisdom bestowed unto you." Nick snorted a little, smile broadening somewhat.

 

[ChronosDesine]

Aaron looked up and saw a teacher standing in front of him. He told Aaron that the rest of his classes were cancelled because of reasons Aaron didn't bother listening to. So Aaron quickly called Natasha, with a phone he borrowed from a teacher, and asked her to pick him up. Lucky for him she said yes and not much latter Natasha arrived in what Aaron liked to call her 'batman car'.


''So school out early?'' asked Natasha once Aaron got in the car. ''Yeah, but can I ask you something?'' Natasha raised an eyebrow and smiled at the road. ''Of course you can angel mouse'' ''Well.. I kind of need a job.. You know so I can buy things'' ''Why? I mean if you want something, just ask'' Aaron smiled at her and shook his head. ''That's nice of you Tasha.. but I want money that I earned myself.. Do you get that?'' he asked with an uncertain voice. ''Of course I get it'' she smiled at him. ''You can work at the company if you want'' ''Really? But I don't have a degree yet..'' ''Don't worry I make sure you get a job. I own the place remember?'' Aaron nodded at that. ''So do you want to go to the company to get the job today or?'' ''No today sounds fine''.


With that Natasha drove to the company. The ride to the company was filled with talks about nothing but video games and before they knew it they were there. It was a gigantic skyscraper. Nice, but kind of intimidating.


The elevator ride to the top of the building was long. Lucky for them the elevator was empty other than the two of them. But that was probably because Natasha didn't like sharing elevators with strangers. So she just asked them to wait for the other elevator. I mean she is the owner of this place.


When they arrived at the top of the building they got greeted by almost everyone. They walked to the back of the room and knocked on the door. Realizing that they work for her Natasha just opened the door. Aaron just followed and smiled at the man behind the desk.


''Well It's nice to see you again Natasha'' said the man with a smile. Natasha smiled at him and nodded. ''Do you think you can give him a job?'' she said. She looked at Aaron and than back at the man. ''Of course I can. Any'' ''No'' Natasha cut him off before he could say anything. ''Well that's difficult but I think I can think of something'' After an awkward pause the man finally spoke again. ''What about helping around the office? You know bringing people their coffee'' Again Natasha cut him off. ''So he'll just help around the office? That sounds fine'' The man nodded at her. ''Now about hours. How many hours do you want to work a week?'' Aaron looked at Natasha and she thought for a second. ''A hour a week sounds fine'' ''Isn't that a little bit.. well short? How am I supposed to make money if I just earn 3 pounds a week?''


''Who says you'll be making 3 pounds a week?'' Natasha raised an eyebrow at that and Aaron frowned. ''Isn't that the minimum wage a 16 year old should get?'' ''That's true'' said Natasha.


''So how much do you think he should earn for that one hour a week?'' asked the man. He looked at them with a raised eyebrow. Natasha just walked to the desk to stand next to him. ''I guess.. this would be enough'' she scribbled a number on a piece of paper on the desk. The men eyes looked like they would pop out of his skull. ''But Natasha isn't that a little'' ''Yeah it is not that much isn't it.. how about'' Natasha quickly wrote down something else. ''Natasha! This is ridiculous'' ''Ridiculously low.. I guess you're right'' Aaron walked towards the desk to see what's wrong. ''How about this?''


Aaron looked at the piece of paper and he just knew that if he would be drinking water. He would've spit it out. ''Natasha, this is ridiculous'' he tried to not yell at her. ''I know right'' She quickly grabbed another piece of paper. ''So final offer'' She wrote down the number and placed it on the table.


He first looked at the paper with the denied sum. One thousand, that was scribbled away. Two thousand a big x on it. Three thousand, nothing. But than he looked at the new piece of paper. Two hundred fifty thousand. Aaron quickly looked at the other numbers and realized that they all had more zero's than he thought they had. ''Natasha... I mean thanks I guess.. That's probably MORE than enough for one year... Thanks.. Although I don't think I'll be working here for a year'' '''Who said that's per year?'' Natasha smirked at that.


''Wait what?''


''That's per week'' said the man. Aaron's face paled and he quickly focused on Natasha again. ''PER WEEK? What the?! Natasha I appreciate the money and all.. But'' ''No, if the company couldn't afford it I wouldn't do it. So a quarter of a million a week it is''


After everything was done and Aaron signed the contract Natasha drove him home. The whole ride Aaron tried to convince Natasha that it was too much and that he shouldn't have that much money any ways. Natasha just said that it would be good for later and all. Aaron argued that he didn't even had a debit card. He thought he won until she tossed him one with his name on it. Aaron knew he lost and couldn't help but feeling like crap the whole ride.


When he finally got home he quickly got out of the 'batman car'. ''It really is okay'' said Natasha. ''Really?'' ''Really angel mouse'' Aaron smiled at that and waved Natasha goodbye. He ran to the kitchen and poured himself a glass of water. When he realized how much money he would be earning a month Aaron spat out the water he had in his mouth and sighed.


A million a month. What the?

 

[spectro]

Jodie lay on her bed, she looked at her watch. God I wish they would come home soon, she thought. It was boring without the others. It was boring without Isadore being there to annoy her and say stupid unthoughtful things. She thought about going to school but decided against it. She knew she would just have endless lectures about pretending to be ill. She closed her eyes and went to sleep, dreaming of her revenge.

 

[Rise]

Ava wiped at the stray tears that had escaped quickly and let out a shaky sigh. She wanted to forget this happened at all, wanting to put it behind her. Hating that everyone wanted to bring this up, why couldn't they just let this go? Justice was the last she wanted at this point. She didn't care what they did to her, she was a just a ragdoll in her eyes, fit for anyone to do whatever they liked to her. All she felt was either anger, misery, or feelings she never wanted for Ben. If only I could turn the hands of time backwards...


"Go ahead. Ask what you want..." Ava said, her voice hinting an icy tone, as she crossed her arms, awaiting the questioning.

 

[Wiggle]

"What did you see when Benjamin was jumped?" She asked. "Last question, I promise."

 

[Rise]

Ava clenched and unclenched her jaw a bit as she thought about what happened. Her face screwed up a bit just at the thought of it, trying to keep her emotions in control and not letting more tears spill. "... I saw a group of guys just attack him with steel pipes and I don't know how many there were, I was too busy being hysterical over the phone with the emergency operator. One of them said he was Ashley's brother though and he looked a lot like her..."


Ava sat there stiff and her eyes looked down at the tape recorder. "... Can I go now?" She added, "please?" hoping she could just get out of there.

 

[Wiggle]

"Not yet, I have to admit that I haven't been very truthful with you guys. This is bigger than both of you. Ashley and her brother's father is someone we need to take down. He's a crime boss, and Ben isn't the first person they've treated like this. It wasn't Ashley who ordered them to jump you. It was her father, this case is part of a bigger one aimed to take him down." Ms. Donaldson said.


She looked to Benjamin and smiled.


"Before I let you guys go, did you want to voice how you felt and what was going through your mind when it was happening?" She asked.


Benjamin looked at Ava with a pleading look and looked back at Ms. Donaldson.


"Yeah, I'll say it. I was afraid, really afraid. But not for myself, I was scared for Ava. I didn't know what they'd do to her after they'd knocked me out.....or killed me. I don't know what I'd do if she got hurt because of me, that's why I was afraid."

 

[Rise]

Ava started laughing, but not because she thought this was funny to her. It was because she didn't understand. "I-I'm sorry, but..." She took a breath after she stopped laughing. "I don't understand what's going on or why this is happening. We're just ordinary teens. We're just orphans..." She then quieted down, a look of sudden realisation ran over her face. Was it... the money and that's why...? She remembered the day that Jodie and Ben found the bag of money and the gun. Were those guys apart of that? She hoped it wasn't true, that it was some coincidence, that the attack on Ben meant nothing.


She suddenly felt lightheaded and her face visibly paled. She held her head in her hands, shaking her head a little. No, no, no... Her breathing was shaky and she felt like she was going to vomit all over the place. Please don't let it be true...

 

[Wiggle]

Ms. Donaldson nodded and sighed.


"As far as we know now, it happened because of Ashley's crush on Ben and her being jealous. Which escalated into your assault and then Ben retaliating with words, and ending with his assault. We don't know if there's anything other than that and it may just be a case of big brother protecting his little sister." She said.


She began to pack her things up and smiles at them both.


"Thank you for your time, guys."

 

[Rise]

Ava picked her head up, eyes wide as she watched Ms. Donaldson pack up. She looked over to Ben, panicking.


"You have to tell her, Ben!" Her voice came out in a worried shout and she covered her mouth with her hand. She didn't mean to yell, thinking her voice would come out in a loud whisper at the most, but her emotions had gone haywire unfortunately.

 

[Wiggle]

Benjamin looked at Ms. Donaldson then to Ava. He nodded and took a deep breath.


"Miss, Jodie and I found something a few days ago. There was a big duffel bag that we found in a bush outside. When we opened it, it was full of paper money, and there was a.....pistol inside. We took it and one of our own decided to spend it. I tried to stop her, but she did it anyway." He said.


Miss Donaldson looks at Ben with a concerned look.


"Okay, I'm not allowed to mess with that stuff, so we'll have to get an officer here. I appreciate your honesty." She said.

 

[Rise]

Ava closed her eyes momentarily, letting out a small groan. Why did I have to open my big mouth...? When she opened her eyes, she refused to look at Ben. She thought he was going to be so angry with her. I wouldn't blame him if he was mad with me, I'm such a fuck up... She didn't want to be here. At all.

 

[Wiggle]

Benjamin nodded and smiled.


"I wanted to do that in the first place...it wasn't our money to begin with and spending it could've been way bad for us."

 

[Rise]

"Are we going to be in trouble...?" Ava asked in a small voice, mentally smacking herself. She was all over the mood chart today. I really need a grip on myself...

 

[Wiggle]

Ms. Donaldson shook her head.


"You did what any kid would do, especially if they found a duffel bag FULL of money. I know what I'd do if I came into a ton of money like that."

 

[Rise]

"I wanted to turn it in, I swear. I didn't touch a penny of it..." Ava started to wring her hands under the table again. She thought the worst when the police were involved. I don't want to go to jail. I'll die...

 

[Wiggle]

"You guys aren't in trouble, you're just innocents in an unfortunate series of events. Don't worry your pretty little head over it, darling. I told you, I'm your friend. I'm not here to put you in jail or charge you, I'm here to help you get justice and feel safe, okay?" She said.


She smiled a reassuring smile and closed her brief case.

 

[Rise]

Ava nodded that she understood and looked down at her hands. It didn't calm her nerves at all, but it gave her some reassurance for her mind. She let out a breath that she had been holding in and relaxed in her seat.