Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Beyblade, however, I do own the rights to my original character, Autumn Montaque.
Author's Note: Just a warning, the contents of this story may contain some course language, violence and some serious teenage partying and angst. :D !
Hence why it is rated M.
Chapter One
The Verdict
I was minding my own business, doing my own thing at the side of the school, not disturbing anyone when Mr. Harris came up. He stared at my back for quite some time, before coughing to grab my attention. I turned to face him, spray can in my hand, paint splatter across my white tank top. A smile pursed my lips as I innocently sifted my hand through my platinum blond hair.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Harris," I greeted.
He glared and didn't address me with such enthusiasm or welcoming. "Ms. Montaque. . . what the hell do you think you're doing?"
Shrugging, I bent down and started packing up my things into the beat up, black school bag I rarely carried books in. "You know me, Mr. Harris—just spreading some culture and art. You have to admit, it's pretty good." I was talking about the mural I had thrown up on the side of the school, facing the road for everyone to see. It was meticulous and colourful and was quite visually appealing, but he didn't really think so.
Mr. Harris rolled his eyes, motioned for me to follow and I did, swinging my bag over my shoulder. "Oh, I do know you. . . too well Autumn. Why can't you just learn?" He escorted me into the pristine, white school and towards the office. Our footsteps echoed through the empty halls, because class was still in session.
My eyes lifted to the large skylight three stories up which illuminated the atrium. I gave a sigh, wanting the warmth and freedom of the sunshine to last, but it soon ended when I entered the chilly, air conditioned office. It smelled kind of like a hospital, but cleaner. Bottles of hand sanitizer lined the counter and an old lady with silver, permed hair looked up at me with a smile.
"Autumn! It's been a while, how are you darling?" she buzzed.
"All right, thanks. Yourself?" Our conversation proceeded as I was emptying the contents of my knapsack for Mr. Harris.
The same, bright grin remained when she answered. "Pretty peachy. Oh my, that's a lot of. . . stuff?"
On the floor, I had laid out all my cans of paint, paint markers, chalk, nozzles, some spare articles of clothing, a half empty carton of cigarettes, a couple lighters and a notebook.
The principle gave me a look of holy shit. I simply shrugged.
Why couldn't she just shut up. . . Her voice was so boring and everything she was saying was, well, so stupid and irrelevant. Or, it could have been relevant but I wasn't interested. I already knew everything she was teaching me, so it didn't really matter. Advanced functions? Child's play. . .
"This is so lame."
"Excuse me Mr. Hiwatari? Are you having a problem with my class?"
Oh, shit, did I say that out loud? Well, I got myself into this. . . "Yes, actually. I'm bored out of my mind; you are extremely dull."
She huffed. She looked like a penguin when she did that. . . A puffed up, old penguin with bad skin and a small distinction between leg and foot. "What, you think you can do better?"
Finally, an exciting part to the class. What was the worst that could happen? I get kicked out for the day? It gave me something to do, I really couldn't complain. "I probably could. Maybe if I was teaching, your students wouldn't be comotose by the end of the lesson." I gestured to the multitude of students passed out on their desks.
"Hmph, well, if you really think that then you can discuss it with the principle."
This was nothing new. A day where I didn't get sent down for talking back was a rarity, a day to be desired by Mr. Harris. Another detention wouldn't hurt. It saved me from a lunch time with Tyson.
I made my way down the hall, subconsciously directing myself to the office. The white blinds were drawn down, as always, but I could see a few silhouettes bustling about on the inside. Opening the door, the icy air hit me like a wall, but it was refreshing. Then I saw her. That blond girl from enriched English. . . Her hair was in thick dishevelled, kinky waves. She was fair skinned, clad in a white tank top layered over a black one and wore faded blue skinny jeans, torn at the knees. She wore a pair of grey, tattered slip on skate shoes of some sort but despite all her clean yet seemingly grungy attire her eyes compensated for all of that. Emerald eyes, deeper and richer than the stone itself. . .
. . . and I hated her.
"Kai Hiwatari, what are you up to this time?" Mr. Harris rolled his eyes at the blue haired, office frequent.
He shrugged, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "It seems I have yet to learn my lesson."
"Poor Ms. McCarthy. She really does try, that woman. Couldn't you go a little easier on her? With grades like yours," he spun around to face Autumn, "and yours, I'd hate to punish such achieving students." The principle sighed. "In my office, both of you."
The two teens quickly glanced at each other with a glare before following Mr. Harris into the office. They hadn't even stepped inside before they started at it. A simple gesture of bumping into each other set them off.
"Watch it, Hiwatari," Autumn seethed as she passed by, taking a seat on the other side of the maple desk, facing Mr. Harris.
"My apologies. I was distracted by your overwhelming sense of superiority," he mocked, sitting on the other side of her as far away as he could, arms and legs crossed.
She too crossed her arms over her chest, shifting uncomfortably in her seat. "Your bloated, egocentric personality is a huge turn off."
Kai huffed leaning forward on the arm rest to stare her down. "Do you see me trying to make a pass at you?"
"Suck my—"
"—Present it."
They continued to glare daggers at one another while Principle Harris stared in amazement. He coughed awkwardly into his fist. "Uhm, all right then. Can I go on now?" He glanced back and forth, from one to the other. "Hm, well, while you too were arguing, I think I came up with a great idea, the perfect punishment so I don't have to suspend you."
Turning their attention to the authority figure across the desk they waited impatiently.
"Well, Autumn, since you seem so artistic and Kai, you show a flare for dramatics. . . The drama club is putting on Romeo and Juliet for this year's presentation in the spring. You two are going to now be a part of the stage crew. You have to attend every meeting and rehearsal. If I hear you've missed even one of those things; automatic suspension for the appropriate amount of time as well as however many after school detentions it takes to straighten you out. Capeesh?"
They stared blankly, mouths ajar.
"Now, back to class you two. First meeting is after school tomorrow in the drama room."
Mumbling incoherent curses under their breath, Kai and Autumn rose from their seats and slowly dragged themselves out of the office.
"This blows," the blond sighed, picking up her knapsack from the floor. It was virtually empty, now that her paints had been confiscated.
Kai stormed up to her. "Just stay out of my way and this will be easy. I want to deal with you as little as possible. When I exit stage left, you better be heading right."
"Well, I hope a sandbag falls on your head." She smiled.
With one last icy sneer, Kai left the office followed shortly by Autumn. It was going to be a long few months.