"I'm boooored" said Phil, sighing. He threw a ball against the floor as he had been doing for the last thirty minutes. In the bed that was in front of him, May was lying with her head almost reaching the floor of the room, with her eyes closed and her hands playing with the other ball.
"Well, what do you want to do?" she asked him, opening his eyes and straightening up.
"I don't know... A new horror film premieres today in cinema" he commented, as they threw their balls to each other in perfect synch.
"Really? How do you know?"
"John and Felix were talking about it today" he admitted, shrugging. "Apparently there is a function at one, and I think that tomorrow they were planning on using some girl from communications that happens to have a crush on John to hack the movie and proyect the movie here"
"That'd be great... but do you know what would be even better?"
"Oh, no, you have the face"
"The face?" she replied, not understanding what he meant on that.
"That face" Phil pointed at her with a finger. "The face you make every time you think about something that could get us into trouble"
"Well, we are alone, at my room at night" she remembered him. He slightly blushed, making her laugh. "I'm pretty sure you can get expelled by beeing at the girls room at night"
"That's because John is .. occupying our room. More specifically occupying someone in our room"
Disgusted with the thought, Melinda threw a cushion at his head, giving perfectly on target. It was true, Phil had gone to look at ten at night to her room. She had let him in, because he was her best friend and escape from John and his... guest, was a pretty reasonable request.
"Hey, you asked me... where is Vic, by the way?" he asked, looking at the bed he was sitting on.
It had a blood-red bedspreads, like most of his belongings, including her hair. She and May were roommates and got along pretty well, much better than when they had met. In the last month they had got more close to each other, and now they could be considered as really good friends.
"She's... Who knows? She must have gone to the roof with some guy or something like that" she answered.
"Oh. So... what was the idea you had had?"
"Ahh, so you are as eager to do something as me" May smiled in triumph.
Phil rolled his eyes. He knew perfectly what was going to happen. She was going to drag him into one of her crazy ideas, maybe another nocturne visit to the staff room or some risky prank. At the beginning he would deny to do something against the rules but, as always, he would end up agreeing. After a few minutes or hours of fun maybe they would caught them and they would have to go to the detention room. Again.
"Shot" he said. "I'm too bored to refuse right now"
"Well, it's actually very simple... let's go to the cinema!"
"To the...? what?"
"With our bikes we won't get there too fast, and we'll probably miss the movie" May continued as if she hadn't heard him. "We can take one of the motorcycles. You know how to ride them, right?"
"Well, yeah, but that's not the point!" he replied. "You want to go to the city?"
"Yeah, why not?"
"Why not? Hum, let me see... because it's forbidden, because it is too far away, because we can't just ran away with some stolen motorcycle, and because I don't want to get expelled"
"Gosh, Phil, you are such a drama queen" she snorted. "First, we are not getting expelled for something like that. Students go to the city all the time"
"Yeah, the seniors, because they can actually do it, and still not even in the middle of the night like you want us to! Freshmen don't go, May"
"And why can't we be the first? We'd be legends" she said with dreamy eyes.
"Of course. And I'll be the director of the agency" replied Coulson, resting his back against the wall.
"And why not?" replied his friend, more serious this time. "You can be the director if you want to. What's more, I bet you ten bucks you'll be the director one day"
May approached him with an extended hand. He took it, shaking his hand.
"Sure, whatever you say, Mel. One day I'll be the director and you'll be a legend whose name will be known by the whole agency"
"It's a deal, one day you'll have to pay me. Now let's go"
"Let's go?"
She pulled his hand and Phil stood up.
"Duh, how am I supposed to become a legend if I can't even take you to a movie?"
"Oh, so you are paying?"
She rolled her eyes, playfully smacking his arm. He finally smiled, giving up. They took their jackets, some money and watches. Perhaps there were no modern communications equipment at the time, but at least they could keep in touch, as they also worked like walkie-talkies.
"Now... through the window" May opened it with decision.
"The what?!" he exclaimed. "That was not a part of the deal!"
"Of course. The corridors are full of cameras and lasers and stuff like that"
"We are on the tenth floor!"
"No, Phil... we are on the ninth floor"
"Ah, good to know. Now I'm calmed" he said bitterly.
"I'm glad. And we are not jumping, for God's sake" she said, passing both legs gracefully to the other side of the window. "We are walking through the balcony to the fire escape that leads to the first floor"
"You are insane, you knew that?" Asked Phil, following her resigned. "For real"
With a smile on her face, she disappeared into the darkness. Coulson went out the window, turning off the lights and closing the curtains before daring to look down. If May hadn't lied, they really were on the ninth floor, but it seemed a thousand-foot drop to him. May was waiting for him on the little balcony that had the girls bedrooms. Ever had been home to a series of beautiful flower. But now, apart from some occasional withered shoot, seemed transformed into a real dump.
"This is absolutely disgusting" complained Phil, trying to remove a liquid of dubious origin from the edge of his sleeve.
"Shh, if they hear us, we are dead"
They continued crawling on the balconies, crouching as much as they could so they wouldn't be detected in case someone gave a peek through the window. Occasionally some girls's laugh was heard, even a couple of snoring slipped through the curtain. Whenever they heard someone awake they would hurry to reach the next room, especially when some of the noises threatened to disturb them to death.
"This is funny, isn't it?" May tried to cheer him up, as she knew he wasn't the biggest enthusiast of heights.
"Yeah. Ha, ha. I'm about to die of laughter" he replied. That didn't occur very often, but the mordacity if his voice prevented May on keeping on talking.
At the end of the balconies, they began to fall rapidly by the fire escape. It was risky, as well as it squeaked slightly with each step he took, as she made no sound, it was possible that someone could see them from one of the windows. Finally on the ground Phil jumped several times on it
"Earth! Finally, earth!"
"Shut up, dumbass!" she snapped in a low voice, hauling him to the wall. "Shit, Phil, they'll catch us because of you"
"Sorry" he whispered.
"Now... here, this way. We need to reach the professors's parking lot to take one of the motorcycles..."
"What? Do you wanna steal some professor's motorcycle? Do they even use those?"
"It's a freaking agency, of course some of them do. Besides, of course there is no way we are stealing... we'll borrow"
"And why can't we borrow someone elses's one?
"Because motorcycles don't fit through the gate the seniors use to pass their bikes, and if we want to leave we must go through the entry of teachers. Motorbikes and cars of and teachers have a special code the door recognizes by a sensor" she told him, as both ran through the dark gardens of the Academy.
When Phil Coulson remembered that night in the future, he would laugh about it, saying that the excitement of youth had driven him to follow his best friend in that risky adventure. Bullshit. At the time, all he could do was following her with his heart in hand, cursing under his breath and praying that the hunting guard dogs were just a myth.
""You're a psychopath, May" he said. Both reached the parking through the concierge door, as May knew the key was hidden under a flower pot, It was almost empty, but some vehicles were still there. "Don't get me wrong, I usually like it. But how is it that you remember all of this, and you fail theory?"
"Because this is funny and actually useful in real live" May approached to one of the motorbikes. It was large and painted a glossy black, a frankly impressive vehicle. "Hey, this one's Fury's, isn't it?
"Yeah, but it's a Harley Davidson Duo Glide FLH made in 1960" he replied, not even daring to look at it.
"... So? Can't we take it?"
"Melinda, is a Harley Davidson Duo Glide FLH made in 1960" he repeated, rolling his eyes. "And I'm pretty sure Fury got her some things from the tech division, I mean, I seriously doubt other motorbikes have those guns" said Phil.
"Got her?" Melinda asked. "Her, really Coulson?"
"Yeah, her"
"Oh, you guys are insane" she muttered. "Come on, Phil, I know he would lend it to you..."
"Yeah, she and his lungs. It's not a joke, Mel"
"Dude, it's just a motorbike... Uhm, a really nice one. I need to ride one of those"
"I'll teach you to, I promise. Other day. Now let's go"
"Now way" May knelt in front of the bike, inspecting her alarm system. Finally she pulled out a clip from her pocket and inserted it into the padlock. "It's a quarter to twelve. We can still reach the film"
"As if you could open it with that" he murmured, looking around them somewhat nervous. "I don't know why you wanna see a horror film, this fucking subterranean looks like one"
"Hey, it's gonna be awesome" she crooned, still focused in her task.
"You don't even like those movies... don't you remember Sycho?"
"Bah, this is going to be different. Do not be a spoilsport, Phil. We can leave the Academy for a couple of hours, it will be fun"
At that time a click is heard, and the chain that held the bike fell.
"A chain" he growled. "We are in a real-life-not-movie-like secret agency full of weapons and no, he could no chose some laser, he had to use a chain attached to the clutch... Wait, what if it's a trap and it explodes?"
"He wouldn't blow his Harley Davidson Duo Glide FLH made in 1960" she mimicked his voice in a girly tone. May introduced the clip into the slot where the key is supposed to go and the bike and lit after a few seconds. "You really know how to ride one of these things, right?"
"Of course I do" Coulson sighed and climbed into the bike.
May climbed into the back, holding on with both hands at the edge of the seat. It was a little uncomfortable, but nothing she couldn't handle. Phil hit the gas and drove off, giving a full round around the parking lot before daring to climb up the ramp that would take them to the surface.
"You better be right about that sensor shit" he suddenly said, seeing the giant steel door in front of them. "We don't even have helmets..."
However, when they were nine feets away of what could have become a fatal crash, the doors opened quickly, and the agents reached the road.
"We did it!" exclaimed May, raising her arms.
Phil let out a cheer, finally caught by the enthusiasm of his best friend. They walked into the deserted dark, silent except for their laughter, with the only guide and companion of moonlight. They chatted animatedly all the way, wondering how their friends and the other students would react when they found out their getaway.
"It's gonna be awesome" she said with a radiant smile. "Vic and John will never believe it"
"I bet they won't... They will die of envy" agreed the other.
"How much longer?"
"We've been for almost forty minutes now... look, there are the lights of the city"
Half an hour later they had parked the bike. Missing almost five minutes to the start of the film, and with a ticket in hand and a package of popcorn in the other, the two friends were ready to go. The audience was mostly young people their age, in pairs or small groups of friends waiting impatiently. The night was pretty warm to be the end of november, but because of the excitement nobody seemed to focus on climate.
"Give me this" May took the cup of coffee he had in one hand.
"I thought you didn't like it"
"And I don't" she drank two long sips before giving it back to him. "Puaj" she wrinkled her face helplessly, making him laugh. "This is the worst thing ever"
"Why did you drink it, if you hate it so much?"
"Because I need to. To stay awake and hot" she replied, swigging some water to get rid of that bitter flavor.
"Okaaay... hey, look, we can get in now"
The movie was fine. Fine... Or so they both would say forever, swearing by their lives that they would never, EVER, reveal to anyone the terror that the film had caused them
"Oh my fucking God" said Coulson, as they went out of the cinema followed by another half hundred of traumatised teenagers. "That was..."
"The worst thing ever" said May.
"Are you shaking?"
"I'm cold" she lied, but in such an unconvincing way he just rolled his eyes.
"Sure... WHY ARE YOU CARRYING A FUCKING POSTER"?!" Phil asked scared, pointing at the paper she held in her hand.
"Chill, Phil, it's just a prove"
"Melinda Qiaolian May, I swear to God that, as you hang that in my room, that's it, we're done. I'll never talk to you again nor let you copy my answers in theory exams" he threatened her.
"You know something? I hadn't even thought about it, but thanks for the idea" she said. "I'm kidding, Phil. Damn it, how did you let me see that movie? I'm sixteen, I can't see it. Don't you remember Sycho?"
He glared at her, but said nothing. He put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. It was not a romantic gesture, just his way of saying that it was not her fault and that he was there for her.
"Thanks" she whispered.
"Your welcome. Now let's get on the bike and get the hell out of here. We need to go through a forest and I want to do it quickly"
"Oh, damn it" she said and moaned. "I'm sorry, Phil, this was such a stupid idea"
"A little bit, but it was still funny" he said softly and they both got in the bike. "We'll hang the poster and nobody will believe what we did"
"Fine..." this time
"Fine ..." this time she didn't hold on at the edge of the seat, but grabbed his waist and rested her head on his back. She was exhausted, and it didn't really appealed to her to fall down the hill they would have to pass-
Arriving at the Academy they left the bike in the same place where they had found it, and May made herself the secret promise to learn to ride it someday. Then they ran to the cafeteria. It was almost four o'clock, and in a couple of hours life at the Academy would wake again. They were exhausted, terrified, and they knew that there was a long day ahead waiting for them. But it was worth it.
"Do you have tape?" May whispered.
"No, but we can attach it to the bulletin board" he replied, pointing at it. "It's in the middle and everyone will have to see it"
"Good idea"
They held a poster as they could, hiding things without importance as the timing of the tests or the menu for the week. It was larger than they had thought and covered most of the space, but that was even better. Coulson pulled out a black permanent marker from his pocket and wrote something on a corner. When he departed May could read what it said:
"THE SHINING: Review; awesome. A little gift from a couple of fresnmen"
She laughed, thinking it was hilarious. Then they parted and each returned to his room, promising to repeat their adventure and go look the other one if the nightmares were attacking them at night.
Almost five hours later, at eight thirty, students began to go to breakfast. The news quickly spread throughout the school; some freshmen had escaped to see the latest horror movie. That was something not seen every day.
"Hey, we totally need to do this one day" said John excited, pouring himself some eggs.
Victoria, John, May and Phil were at their usual table, having breakfast as they used to. Well, two of them ate, because the other two were using all their willpower to avoid falling asleep on the table.
"The what?" asked Melinda, yawning.
"Didn't you hear it? Some guys from our grade went to the city to watch The Shining" he told her.
"The shining? Where?" exclaimed Phil, lifting his head and looking around.
"Geez, Coulson, calm down" said Victoria, rolling her eyes when she noticed some students looking at them. "What's wrong with you two? Last night you were at the bathroom for more than half and hour, Mel, and then you whispered asleep and woke up screaming something about an ax"
The girl blushed. It was true, she had been at the bathroom and under her sheets whispering. It hadn't been because May was a sleepwalker but because she had talked with Coulson until six by their watches, and the ax thing had probably been a nightmare.
"I just had a bad night, it's nothing" she said. "You were saying, John?"
"We should go to the city some day..."
"May, why don't we go and get some orange juice?" asked Phil.
"Eh... sure" she seemed a little hesitant at first, too tired to react, but when she felt a blow below the table just stood.
"I'm so tired. I think that maybe we should..." Coulson stopped abruptly in mid-sentence.
May turned to see what had left him speechless. This was worse than any horror film. any Academy legend or Psycho and The shining together. It was Nick Fury, looking deathly enough to scare a serial murderer, with a gun in his hand and seeking revenge.
"How did he even realise something happened?" Phil whispered.
"Well, he can't prove anything" she replied, and both took refuge behind a pillar.
"Anyone would please explain to me who took my bike, scratched the back, left the Academy and returned near three on the morning?" roared the instructor.
A series of whispers spread through the students. And then, one by one, from the first year to last, all of them pointed the poster.
"Shit, he knows how I write" said Phil, and May gave him a strong stomp.
"A Freshman ..." said Fury. "First year students, up"
Everyone obeyed. Maybe he was not a teacher and maybe he wasn't using the most appropriate educational method, but nobody cared about it. He was an undisputed authority in the agency. Plus, he had a gun.
"Coulson" he bellowed. "That's your handwriting"
The boy swallowed and walked from behind his hiding.
"Where were you last night?"
"With me" May took a step forward. "He was helping me with the theory exam"
"It's true" said John. "I saw them"
Victoria nodded eagerly, ready to help her friend and roommate, who had covered her countless times.
Fury shot them a death glare. It was obvious that he didn't believe a word, but he wouldn't have more proves until checking the security cameras, and didn't want to form a scene so early in the cafeteria.
"I'll see you two at my office at four" was all he said before leaving.
The cafe was silent for a few moments, then the matter was quickly forgotten and everything returned to normal calm. However, when Phil and May rose to leave their trays, a group of sophomores applauded them. Things like that happened again several times throughout the day; some guys gave them a high-five, a pair of seniors came to congratulate them on the sly, and some guy from third year even asked May to go on a date with him.
"Hum, I'll call him later" she commented, after staring confusedly at the number for a few seconds.
"Are you for real?" asked Coulson.
"Yeah, he was hot"
"He wasn't hot" he muttered to himself.
"Anyway, can't you see it? We are legends now" May smiled as they both headed to Fury's office.
"Yeah, dead legends" he said.
Both entered, pretending to feel as calm as they could. Fury was already waiting for them in the office the s.O shared, though of course it was completely empty at the time.
"What on earth were you thinking?" he yelled, as soon as the door was closed and they sat in front of them. "You really thought I wouldn't realise that my bike was gone? It has a tracker, you idiots"
The other two exchanged a quick panic look.
If I got expelled, my mother will kill me, thought ay, gulping. Or worse, she'll send me to a private school where I'll have to wear something like, ugh, skirts
"Your actions were totally stupid, dangerous and inadecuadas" continued Fury. "And I think you both understand that is reason enough to expel you from the Academy and agency"
"It wasn't his fault" she quickly said. "I conviced him on leaving"
"No, Mel, we..."
"Nice try, but I seriously doubt the director will be any interested in hearing that" his s.O cut him odd, letting out a snort of disdain. "You were together in the girls room after sleeping hour, you went down the fire escape, stole a motorcycle and ran out of the building, and what you have to say in your defense?"
They just gulped. Fury stood, showing them an ax. Putting on his best Jack Torrance-psychopath-face, he raised the ax. It was a joke, actually, but they were too exhausted to think about it so they just remembered the film and screamed at the top of their lungs,
"No, please!" Said Coulson.
"We didn't even scratch her!" cried May, as they covered their faces.
"We are so sorry!"
Fury smiled, amused by the pannick in the pair of freshmen who had dared to escape the Academy. He put the ax asides and couldn't help but laugh.
"Your, your faces" he said, sitting down again, holding his stomach as he laughed. "Oh, God, your faces... Open your eyes, kids, I'm not going to kill you... yet"
Coulson and May looked at them and a dark red stained their faces. They pulled apart, as they had hugged each other in a last act of desesperation.
"So, they movie scared the hell out of you, huh?" the s.O continued, smiling. "Geez, you were about to cry"
"You didn't watch it" murmured May.
"Wait, how did you know about the ax?" asked Coulson, gently patting her shoulder.
"Because I saw the trailer" he admitted. "And you shouldn't have gone, May, you are sixteen and it had a R rating"
"Lesson learned" she said.
"And, about the scratch, I said that to scare the others, I already knew it had been you two. Come on, I'm pretty sure you knew about the cameras. But that's not the point. "Fury sighed, finally weeping away his anger. "Guys, I should really deport you to the Academy council. But they would expel you, and I don't want to loose my two best students, do you want to get kicked out?"
"We are sorry" they apologised. "For real"
"All Right. I will not inform anyone else about this ... but that doesn't mean that you will escape from punishment,"Fury pulled out a folder. But it was not any folder, no, this was the folder, known throughout the Academy to contain the worst punishments that could be allocated to students. "Let me see ... The kitchen? Humm, no ... Clean the roof with toothbrushes? Maybe some other time ... Here it is. You will have to clean my bike, obviously. Melinda will copy four chapters of the book of theory ..."
"WHAT?" she exclaimed.
"... every saturday morning... for two months" he finished, who really seemed to be enjoying their suffering. "And you, Coulson, you will have to clean the gym every three nights for a whole month"
"Can't we change?" they asked in unison.
"No way. Now get the hell out of here, if you don't want me to change my mind and use the ax"
Seeing her opening her mouth, Coulson grabbed her arm, dragging her out of the office. Fury sighed, but smirked slightly at the two friends. When the alarm from his keys had sounded last night, telling him that his precious bike was too far away, he had run to check security systems. He had seen the two young crawl balconies and jump to the fire escape. Damn, that girl had opened the lock on his bike with a clip. Shaking his head, returned to save his precious folder on the desktop. Those kids were going to accomplish great things, he thought, he just had to guide them.
Once outside, Coulson let go of May and began to walk in the opposite direction.
"Phil ..." she said, following him.
"I hope you're happy now" snapped him without looking at her.
"Look, I'm sorry" she insisted. He was at least ten five inches taller, so she was forced to trot to achieve his long hasty strides. "I swear I'll help you to clean the gym ... No, I'll clean the gym. It was the most stupid idea ever"
Phil stopped. He sighed and turned to face her. May really seemed to feel it, she probably did, and couldn't help but give her a small smile of sympathy.
"It doesn't matter, Mel. You don't have to help me, I could use some company, though... Besides, anyway it was fun"
"Wasn't it?" she grinned. "In that case... what do you wanna see next time?"
"Don't even think about it, you are already a legend"
"Not yet... So, the bet is still on, huh?"
Yeah, this was a long one... Did you like it? The next chapters won't be that long, though, and more funny I promise. Please post reviews, I'm not sure if you want me to continue so please post your comments! :)
Some clarifications:
1. I don't own anything
2. The shining was actually premiered in may, but I put it in november due to some date issues
3. Fine, Fury's bike is not as badass as how it would be, but he put it a lot of tech and modifications to make it look more cool ;)