Head in the Clouds
Chapter Four
A Bad World
She lived in her own world
Revised: 11/7/10 (originally chapter three)
Like a sleeping giant entering a feverish nightmare, Lark Creek Elementary stirred, as if in response to the rise of the Sun.
Members of the student council manoeuvred their way around the gym hall in the early morning light. Such was the responsibility they held, they took it upon themselves to enter school at such an ungodly hour to prepare the preliminaries for the dodgeball tournament.
In completely unrelated matters, it allowed some of the more brazen members the lucrative opportunity to 'inspect' their fellow classmates' lockers in the otherwise deserted school.
Many students used the school's mailing system for expense purposes, and the council had graciously accepted the responsibility of delivering packages to lockers courtesy of their universal key.
This key allowed them access to every possible facet of the school building – save for the principal's office. Even that didn't stop them, on occasion, from eyeing up the obstinate door curiously every once and a while.
The boy with the abnormally large glasses kept his eyes closed as he stretched his rigid limbs on the corridor wall outside the gym. The lights above slept peacefully, sunlight creeping in rudely from a nearby window.
Honestly, the things he did for this school... If it hadn't been for them none of these ungrateful twerps would even have a gym to play in. Certainly he would be the first to admit it wasn't exactly state of the art, he snorted, more like a glorified shed put to creative use. But still, he didn't see anyone else coming up with ideas.
That was what they did, the student council. They solved problems. Time was a problem, as was money. Thus, the principle was more than happy to let them share the load – with a few added incentives thrown in to sweeten the deal.
While his weary body was slowly awoken by the unforgiving stone cold corridor wall, he listened with disinterest as Susie directed some of the other members like a well-versed general.
"No, that bench goes there."
"Come on, faster."
He pushed his glasses back to the peak of his nose, blowing on them sporadically to blur his vision even further as he waited in peace. Susie had sent a few of the more robust in their entourage to 'solve a problem', and he was waiting for their return.
They were subtle about all this, of course, although he couldn't help but feel they needn't have bothered. The majority of pupils were perfectly conscious of what went 'bump in the morning'. The council was viewed as merciful when they didn't steal anything of value, and justified in enforcing established rule when they occasionally did.
There was a pervasive feeling around the school that the act of telling a teacher was considered 'snitching', which suited him just fine.
Susie was one of those idealists, he reflected, like the old president. She genuinely believed that, since the 'nannying' approach had clearly failed miserably, that they could change people forcefully, like clay sculpted by hand. She took a greater interest than the rest on the younger pupils. believing that through discipline they could be conditioned and manipulated into aspiring young, intelligent people.
Discipline, the boy rolled his eyes, taking a large whiff of the stale morning air. What the kids wanted, in the end, was a quiet life. They were sheep. He nodded. They wanted to fit in, be accepted into the hierarchy, of course they did. Who would willing ostracise themselves? Who would dare stick their neck out. Who would instigate change.
"Leslie Burke." Even the name grumbled between his teeth spitefully.
It wasn't as if the council were unreasonable in their treatment. Heck, they'd worked diligently for years trying to better this school. They didn't ask for anything in return, nor did they receive it, thus the school was in their debt. A debt that was within their right to exercise every once and a while. Sure people would moan and grumble, but did any of them really do anything to stop them? No. And there was a reason.
He noticed from the corner of his eye the girls slowly making their way back from the school office. "Find anything for the girl?"
He was presented with a large object wrapped furiously in packaging that completely hid its true form from the world. The boy smiled crookedly, straightening his posture. They were one step ahead of her. They knew her gimmicks from word of mouth, knew the way she liked to operate. After they were done humiliating her in the tournament, they would find out what nefarious object she had tried to bring into school to save. Then it would be relatively easy to take it back to the locker and catch her red handed.
Result: Expulsion. Problem: solved.
He felt his body almost brighten simultaneously with the others as the last restraints of sleep left them. He traded places with Susie, who was much more restless, pacing the corridor as she mulled over things in her mind.
She found herself staring at her reflection in a nearby window, embracing the unforgiving light as the girls carried the package away to store it in the clubroom for 'safekeeping'.
Susie's eyes lingered on her reflection further as it took on a transparent, almost ethereal complexion; battling with the light for survival. The president had warned her that sometimes good people had to do bad things in order - Susie felt something ache in her chest as she though of him, the feeling turning to a nervous anxiety as the her skin tingled. She would follow his example. Make him proud. Surpass him.
This, this thing. It was unfortunate, difficult - but that made it even more beautiful when it worked, that's what he had said. The president knew, had dealt with arrogant fools who thought they knew best, knew best without even trying.
"We aren't bad people," she recited to the reflection, under her breath. "We just live in a bad world."
Susie abandoned her reflection, returning to the the gym and her band of allies, dutifully readying the school while everyone else slept... and criticized. If being strong enough to do whatever it takes for the greater good made them bad – so be it. Why should she care what they thought? Those ignorant, foolish people... Susie's hand balled into tight, wounded fists as her mind trickled briefly back to her family.
She hesitated for a second as her reflection receded to the light... even despite herself, she still wished they could see.
The delectable scented fragrance was inescapable. Jess followed it like a loyal puppy; enchanted, he walked doggedly towards it. Finally, there was nothing between them - although it hardly seemed to matter. He would do anything for her, any possible challenge devised by man.
An impatience born out of years of frustration, of 'almosts', of 'could've beens' and 'should've beens' overtook him. He ran. Continued to run. The desire to end the agony of the wait, standing on the precipice. Limbs weary, sweat dripping, he felt faint, weak, unworthy and then... finally...
She sat there, with a natural grace that one was born with, no, given, given from a higher power; a benevolent God. Strength seemed to be seep into every fibre of his being.
"Jesse."
She said his name... it made his heart flutter that she, Miss Edmunds, would give his name the honour, no, the privilege of gracing her lips. He felt like weeping, like falling to his knees and consecrating this most sacred temple, this, this – no, he refused to describe, to taint. Divulging in words what he was seeing would risk sharing, risk word getting out.
This was his... His greatest strength, his source. Only she could say his full name, she had that right – it was hers. Lord, was it hers!
"Miss Edmunds..."
"Jesse..."
He felt like he had just run a marathon. Breathless and weary, he desperately tried to gather himself. "Miss Edmonds, I've always, always-"
Miss Edmunds leaned in towards him. Jess felt his heart attack his chest with abandon. Her slow, gradual breathing delicately tickled his cheek, turning him giddy.
She wanted to say it first. How noble of her; it shook him to his very core that someone as courageous as her would give him the time of day.
"Jesse... do you hear the water?"
Huh? Here he was, announcing his undying love for her and she was talking about... come to think,yes, he could hear water. Jess looked around. Where was it coming from?
He felt the warmth of Miss Edmonds leave him. No, don't go. He tried to yell, but found that words didn't come out. No! No! He scrambled around, feeling a sudden shiver contort his every crevice, like thinly veiled icy spikes.
"Jesse..." Miss Edmonds called, but now it was faint, far away – behind the water. "Time to wake up."
The voice of his younger sister, Joyce Ann, was like a cold, hard slap to the face. He awoke, coughing violently, once again denied the resolution to his fantasy.
"You lie!" Joyce Ann said as she continued pouring water on his bed from a canister she held above her head. What was this? She sounded like something out of a bad movie. He jumped from the bed, snatching the bloody thing from her grubby hands.
"Joyce Ann," Jess started, rubbing the icy cold water from his eyes to stay calm. The insolent brat scowled right back at him, unashamedly recalcitrant.
"What... are... you going on about?" he said in between coughs, water straining his weary throat.
"You said we'd play!" she snapped, folding her arms and lifting her head in a very familiar way.
"It's not my fault you bloody fell asleep," he mumbled hoarsely, trying to cope with the disturbing image of Leslie multiplying.
He eventually wheedled the truth out of her like a dentist pulling on a rotten tooth. Leslie had told her about this fun they liked to play and... Jess bent down so he was eye to eye with Joyce. She scowled at first but his serious tone kept her at bay.
"Joyce Ann... If you grow up to think, talk, look or even breath like her then me and Mr Tibbles are disowning you on the spot."
Mr Tibbles was the name of her darned toy bear, the very mention of him perked her interest, eyebrows shooting up. "Disown?"
He placed a hand on her shoulder gravely. "It means you'll be left on your own... forever."
Joyce Ann jerked away from his hand, scandalised as she shook her head in furious denial. "Mr Tibbles wouldn't do that!"
"Wanna bet?"
It weakened her. He watched as an internal dilemma was waged between her ears, her body squirming like a trapped worm. She lasted all of ten seconds before cracking.
Crying out, Joyce Ann rushed away to find her toy bear for reassurance. No doubt having hid it in some secret place before Leslie came in a desperate attempt to show how grown up she was.
Jess wasn't done by a long shot, one look at the current state of his bed was enough to focus he mind. He traversed through the house with deliberate menace. His gait now reduced to a trudge with the added water creating a slushing sound whenever he took a step - much to the amusement of Brenda and Ellie, who congratulated Jess on finally taking that shower as their paths crossed.
In no mood for games he went straight for their heart, blocking the TV with his drenched attire - much to their anguish.
"Jess, what the hell? Move!" They both screamed in between heartfelt moans of agony, heads bending like contortionists to see their beloved idols.
"Where is she?"
"Out with the kid in the back." They forfeited immediately, faces like sour puss. "Now move, come on."
Jess quickly made his way, making sure to dry out his drowning t-shirt on their breakfast.
"Jess," they yelled simultaneously, but the mesmerising lure of the TV was much too strong. He didn't acknowledge his mother as he trudged past her in the kitchen, in no mood for more chores.
"Jess, could you ask the girls if they want something to eat?"
Lord, he supposed he should just starve then? He grunting in response, teeth rattling together as he left the house, the accused's voice already in earshot.
"You gotta put it there, and that's the magic," the squeaky voice of May Belle recited in a poor imitation of their father.
"Magic, huh?" Leslie stared intensely at her own flower pot, her pupils turning black in the reflection of the soil. "Hhhhhmmm, nothing's happening."
Jess sighed at the stupidity of the girl as he entered, his wet grip slipping slightly on the door as he momentarily forgot why he'd come in the first place. "Leslie, it takes days, no weeks for anything to happen."
"Weeks..." Leslie's brow knotted in irritation, shaking her head violently as if she had a foul taste in her mouth. "I'm not going to sit around like that, how tedious – you."
Leslie poked the stoic soil. "Are you just going to sit there like some vegetable, wasting your life away? That's no way to live – you've been given an opportunity, a chance. Are you going to waste it? Or are you going to be something, to make an impression that no one can ignore? You know..."
She rubbed her chin, eyes lifting to the sky. "I'm very well connected – being the queen has perks. I could – if you want – get you a position in the court, how does-"
Jess had heard enough. "Leslie. It's a vegetable, and it's not listening."
Leslie's eyes spun back down to the soil with malice. "You mean it's ignoring me?"
Her eyes shifted jarringly from the fiery red anger of the Sun to a constellation of young twinkling stars with a more contemplative gaze. "Or maybe there's a special incantation, May Belle, you did say there was magic involved?"
May Belle looked terrible confused, as if her I.Q results had come back negative. She rubbed her temple, coaxing the answer. "Yeah, but I dunno abou-"
"Leslie!" Jess said, ignoring May Belle's conflicted mumblings. Leslie finally looked in Jess' direction, eyebrows lifting in incredulity as she watched him shiver incessantly.
"Jess, the whole concept of bathing is that you're supposed to dry afterwords. Jeez, look what you're doing to the floor."
"You did this." Jess said, pointing.
Leslie raised her head in a dignified manner, lightly emitting a few 'tsks' in disdain. "Jess, the first conclusion you reach is also reached by the enemy first. Never look for the obvious answer and don't believe in such subterfuge. War is based on deception."
Before he could protest further Leslie grabbed his hand, directing him towards the plant pot she'd been ogling over.
"This." Leslie beamed, shaking his hand excitable. "This is the future of Terabithia."
"A plant pot?"
"No, no, no. Okay, I'll start from the beginning." She theatrically turned to May Belle like a conductor weaving together a piece of music. "Beautiful, get the lights."
"Let's just get on with it okay, " Jess said, holding onto May Belle so she wouldn't get any ideas.
Leslie shrugged. "Very well then. Okay, well you know that Terabithia has long been at war with the Dark Master?"
"No."
"Fighting valiantly to purge an evil that endures to this day?"
"No."
"Our forces are purely defensive minded," Leslie continued, apparently becoming conveniently deaf. "Don't you think it is time to take the initiative? Our Kingdom has become stagnant, our forces lazy. When was the last time we increased our numbers – no, we've been going in the opposite direction. No more: 'Nothing Crushes Us', it is time for: 'Nothing Is Gonna Stop Us Crushing You'."
Jess pressed a finger gingerly to his forehead, she appeared to be satisfied now so he responded. "That's great, but what does this have to do with the plant pot?"
"This plant will allow us to increase our territory and act as a first line of defence." She kind of rubbed her head against the pot like a disturbed mother out of an old Asylum. "Just think, we can conquer Narnia, Middle Eart-"
"Why do we have to increase our territory," Jess reasoned. "We've already got about ten acres–"
"We must expand the Empire." Leslie jumped into the air, fist pumped like Superman as she apparently waited for a freeze-frame that wasn't forthcoming.
Leslie's ideas were about as easy to digest as the Empire State Building. "Since when did Terabithia become some violent ra-
Leslie wasn't listening, too absorbed with her own brilliance, eyes shining like twelve suns at their peak. "'Cause that's what you humans do. Expand! From primordial soup to the flesh and bone you are today. Expansion. You start out so tiny and then: whoooosh! Moving upwards and onwards like a tenacious rodent fleeing its captor – fantastic!" Leslie began the rapturous applause befitting such a monumental declaration...
Lord, stop addressing humans as 'you', you idiot. And stop applauding yourself.
"Interesting simile." Jess turned to be greeted by the familiar speckled face of Bill, waiting at the door and waving a phone in his right hand in way of a welcome. "But I'm a metaphor man myself, infinitely stronger."
"Can I help you, Bill?" Leslie said, bizarrely shielding her plant from his gaze.
"Phone call from some German-"
"Thanks!" Leslie said in a blur as she snatched the phone and ran outside, leaving Bill standing oddly, mouth half-open.
"What's up with her?" Jess said, motioning to the door as May Belle resumed her guardianship of the plants.
Bill chuckled, flicking his hair back behind his ears as he explained. "My new book. It's set in the midst of a futuristic conflict between..." Bill then indulged Jess in a four minute synopsis of all the major plot points. It's not that he wasn't interested, he just wondered if Bill had ever heard of spoilers.
Bill eventually paused for a second, asking with an off the cuff shrug, "Hey, you don't think it's going to her head, do you?"
"No, not at all..." Jess said dryly, holding in a sigh. Yes, declaring war against the student council was perfectly normal behaviour. Well, in Leslie's case...
"You should join us sometime," Bill said, a jovial sort of glint in his eyes as he continued. "It's fascinating stuff. There was this one quote from Sun Tzu – nothing but inspiring - 'The good fighters of old first put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, and then-"
"Waited for an opportunity of defeating the enemy," Leslie finished, appearing out of nowhere and rolling her eyes as if she were bored.
"Short phone call?" Bill said with a friendly lopsided grin.
"Yes," Leslie said cryptically as she tossed the phone back to Bill, returning quickly to her vulnerable plant.
Bill caught the phone nimbly with one hand. "Your memory is up to scratch, but there's a difference between knowing something and actually understanding it."
Leslie turned, a slow, methodical twist of the body as her eyes shrink to two tiny slits of concentration, quickly mirrored by Bill. The two fierce rivals locking themselves into a deadly stare... Lord, they were a pair of children. No, Jess shook his head as May Belle diligently tended to her subjects, comparing the Burkes to children was an insult to children everywhere.
"She's in the middle of writing a book, you know how she gets funny when she's unstuck," Leslie said while continuing to stare at her father, a competitive smirk forming on her face, the type you gave when you openly admired and respected your opponent, knowing you were in for a hell of a grand stand off.
Jess didn't even have time to dissect the irony of Leslie calling someone else 'funny'. "Leslie, you read thoughts now?"
"Don't need to, that absent stare you have nailed down whenever you're thinking has about the subtly of a - see, there it is, now you're thinking about how amazingly perceptive-"
"Leslie!" His thoughts were currently dominated by the more violent variety. The louder than normal shout emitted startled Leslie, who blinked on impulse before huffing.
Bill bowed his head. "You still have much to learn..."
Competitive edge not dulled, they started bickering over Star Wars like two hungry cubs fighting over the last piece of meat.
"Try to work on the specifics a little more, junior," Bill said finally, waving once more before taking his leave.
"Pppffffttt." She waved her hands to dismiss him, turning to caress her plant pot while mumbling something about 'regicide'.
It seemed like a touching scene of a mother encouraging their child to grow. That was until one looked at the demonic blue eyes emitting some sort of threatening dark energy with a clear message: grow or else.
He thought nothing of it as he remembered something. "Oh, yeah, mum wants to know if you want something to eat?"
"I do, I do!" May Belle yelled excitably, plant forgotten like the turning out of a light.
Leslie gave one of her odd looks, the kind he couldn't read whatsoever. "I'm fine."
"I'm fine as well." May Belle quickly corrected herself before returning to work as if nothing had happened.
Just when Jess was about to reprimand May Belle for her 'Jekyll and Hyde' lunacy, Leslie sprung back into life.
"Do you remember?" Leslie said softly to her, sprouting up beside the girl and giving May Belle her full attention.
May Belle looked up from her plant, expression blank for a moment before biting her lip indecisively. "But Leslie, what if I forget to do it?"
"Don't try to remember the words, words are fleeting, momentary – words can be silenced. Just remember the meaning: never give up, never give in. That lasts... forever." Her eyes seemed to brighten even more if possible by the end, the enthusiasm was infectious it seemed.
"Right!" May Belle nodded firmly, determination etched on her face. Jess grimaced, where did she come up with this stuff?
Leslie clasped her hands onto May Belle's shoulders, rustling them as she winked. "Ka-kah, and don't worry – I'll be there in no time."
May Belle blushed, stealing a glance at Jess briefly before trying to distract herself with tending to the plants.
Leslie followed the interaction closely, mouth forming into an 'o' as she began hopping happily. "Yaahhhooo. I think I have it. Beautiful, you spoke with the female pronoun when discussing matters involving the timorous beastie in our midst's?"
"Huh?" May Belle was naturally more confused than before. Jess sighed, wondering if Bill had mistakenly fed his daughter a dictionary when she was younger. It certainly fit with her confident demeanour towards Mrs Myers, whose main method of punishment was making people copy it out word for word during recess.
"She means you called the plant a she," Jess said, wondering why he even bothered any more.
"Oh!" May Belle's eyes lit up and she nodded hurriedly. "Yeah, yeah – I did do."
Leslie hummed in satisfaction, arms folded and eyes closed as if the job was already done. She motioned towards the barren plant pot. "The poor girl has a reason to be reluctant to reveal herself considering she doesn't have any clothes, of course, I figured this out long ago."
Leslie flicked her forefinger as if she were ticking off criteria from a list. "From what I know of typical girl behaviour, they seem to be very cautious in exposing themselves around the opposite sex... And you know who we currently have in our midst." Leslie tipped her head pointedly at Jess but May Belle just frowned at him with confusion.
Leslie patiently added. "Beautiful, what is Jess?"
The gears in May Belle's head clicked. Her brown eyes widened as if she were using them for the first time.
"Whow, Jess is a boy, so that's why they don't grow right – hey, does that mean they don't like dad, either?"
Leslie licked her teeth, squinting into the distance as she stretched her neck. "Hhhhhmmm. Maybe your dad only deals with boys, explains why he offered you the task of looking after the girls."
Okay, this had gone far enough. Jess was convinced that there was a white hole in Leslie's head because her logic seemed to come from another universe. Wasn't she supposed to be worrying about the student council?
"Puh, I can multi-task." Leslie answered, completely ignoring the hole she'd dug for herself, never mind her damn plant.
"I'm going to school," he said, stamping his feet grumpily. He took one surreptitious glance backwards to see if Leslie was following and was dismayed. "Leslie, you're not taking that bloody plant to school!"
And so, Jess found himself wallowing in self-pity as he collapsed into his chair ready for another lesson in diatribe courtesy of good old 'Monster mouth.
"Jess... why does Leslie have a plant on her desk?"
He shrugged off Mai's irritating question, resting his head on the worn desk and wishing it would suck him in. He barely registered Mai's continued prodding or the coarse ink ridden wood that rubbed into his cheek. Leslie had run off to get some package or whatever – like he cared - leaving the class in a state a flux, the moment before a reluctant burgeoning young soul dipped their toes into the water.
Ah, his desk. A trench to hide from the onslaught of Myers and Leslie. His eyes briefly stopped on that heart with two pairs of initials: B.R and S.K. He remembered agonizing over it many a time during fifth grade. He still hadn't figured out exactly who they belonged to, nor did he want to, really. Some things were better left a mystery.
He could almost feel Leslie dispute the point; her breath tickling his cheek as she leaned in, enjoying his discomfort as she admonished him with bemusement rather than anger. Lord, had it really been that long? At the thought something jiggled inside Jess, an uncomfortable sort of jolt, like when you were shaken by...
He could hear the violent vibrations of chairs moving as people took their seats. There was a lively buzz around the room. Mrs Myers was late now, and such a rare event was not to be taken for granted.
The thought occurred to him then, completely unwanted and at random, that despite being in the same laboriously painful class since almost before he could even remember anything, he knew next to nothing about them - what a relief. As if to prove a point, he stared absently at his nearest neighbours.
Marie Loo, Wonda Kay's old apprentice before she was infected with the Leslie virus, was well on her to filling the spot of snottiest in class. He watched with unease as her prissy face scouted the class, looking for any poor soul to pick on.
"Madison, don't lean on your desk."
Lord, why couldn't they leave people in peace? What harm was Madison doing anyway, she could do what she darn pleased. There were thirty one people in the class and not one of them looked even remotely interested. Momentarily forgetting his pledge to keep a low profile; he glared at Marie Loo hard - fortunately she sat back down before he was spotted.
Then there was - oh lord, Earl Watson. He had easily soaked up the vacuum left by Scott Hoager. If Hoager was an unseemly spot on the tip of your nose, Watson was a darn knife in the back.
For some inexplicable reason Earl felt the need to voice his thoughts to the world. Every thought. No matter how mundane.
He'd been announcer for the recess races they'd used to have, mostly on account of him being as slow as a damn turtle. Jess supposed his plight was on Leslie's head as well, considering she'd wrecked the whole aura of the thing by winning all the time. And just when he had had victory in his grasp...
"The old bat is loosing her touch, getting sloppy," Earl Watson declared pompously, convincing Jess that the loud-mouth actually thought people gave a damn about what came out of his mouth.
Still, like it or not, Earl did bring up a valid point: just where was Mrs Myers? He looked around slyly. Everyone else was sitting down – if a little slackly - they were all well versed in the rules of the 'Monster Mouth'. Being constantly alert was a functional prerequisite in surviving life with Myers – who could strike at any moment with little warranted provocation.
Jess suddenly felt a sinking sensation in his stomach. It would be incorrect to say everyone was here... and he knew that she revelled in making an entrance.
Leslie was like one of those songs he'd heard playing in the ghastly programmes Brenda and Ellie religiously followed. The annoying ones that were starved of even the smallest modicum of musical talent - yet bizarrely still catchy. Those darn songs that weasel their way into his head like uninvited guests and then proceed to stink up the inside of his cranium by playing themselves over. And over. And over. And over - and no amount of screaming, pounding, protesting or banging his head into his desk would get them out.
And like those songs, Leslie could pop up anywhere, regardless of occasion.
"Ka-kah! Are you all sitting comfortably?" A blur of blond hair sped into the classroom before standing proudly with hands on hips as if she were surveying her loyal subjects.
You should be sitting down too, Jess thought with chagrin. A few expressed their indifference, most simply ignored the rumbustious girl. Unperturbed by the less than welcome welcome, Leslie sauntered merrily to her seat, taking the phrase 'a spring in your step' to new - and even more irritating - heights.
Jess noticed her nursing a brown package, curiosity got the better of him. "Just what is that?"
Leslie smiled coyly, relishing in his interest. "It's part of the plan," she said, winking as if he had already been informed.
Jess frowned, correcting his posture slightly. "I thought you didn't do plans?"
"I don't," she said suggestively, staring at him intensely for just a second before turning back to her package, indicating that the conversation was over.
And so they all continued waiting, each growing more anxious whether through faster chewing, louder announcing - or in Jess' case - an increase in envisioning dark scenarios. In fact the only one who didn't seem the least bit unnerved was Leslie.
"Problem, Jess?" Leslie asked, noticing his comical expression.
Jess eyed up her benevolent stare, growing unsettled by the blue orbs that looked a little too innocent to be trusted.
"You haven't... killed her, have you?" He felt like a novice fisherman testing out new waters for sharks.
Leslie gave him a quizzical look. "Who?"
"Mrs Myers."
Leslie's response was non-committal. "You think I should?" she said, dead serious.
Jess gulped, face turning pale at the thought. "Lord, Leslie..."
Leslie erupted into fits of laughter, smacking her desk for applause. The sound rung around the room, breaking the uneasy atmosphere and turning the class into an awkward set of voyeurs as they didn't quite get what was so funny. Jess grew embarrassed at the unyielding stares, particular the ones that read 'shut her up, the noise might attract a teacher'. Since when was he her keeper?
"Lord, Leslie, be quiet," he whispered, but she was in no mood.
"Ah, so I'm your lord and master now, am I?" She placed an elbow on her desk, fingers toying with her face as her eyes twinkled. "You really shouldn't misaddress your queen."
He sighed, turning and keeping his head straight on the absent desk of Myers. "Too early in the morning... Open the package or something and leave me alone."
He did his best to remain rigid, but his stricken heart was still human, and he couldn't resist a peak once he heard the excited ruffling of packaging. A noise so synonymous with the yearning of children on Christmas day that your mind couldn't help but – eh?
"Leslie, what is that?" he hissed.
She was holding some sort of metal container in her hands, moving it around as if she were unsure what to do with it. Biting her lip anxiously as she studied it, Leslie looked like a sheepish kid who stole their parents credit card.
"This isn't what I ordered," she mumbled. Jess noticed how she rubbed her face with her hands as if she was trying to... wake up?
Leslie rose purposefully from her desk, not even bothering to push her seat under the desk. "Look... could everyone leave this here till I get back?"
"What is it?" said Earl instantly, never missing an opportunity to open his darn mouth. His arms were folded and he was swinging contemptuously on his chair, apparently unafraid of any potential encounter with Mrs Myers. Apparently, Jess thought with irritation – the smug git.
"Just don't touch it," Leslie said as she placed the package on Mrs Myers' desk. Why didn't she take it with her if it was so precious? It was like running a criminal organisation outside a police station.
Giving one last nod to the class as if they were her allies, she left, leaving them all in an uneasy truce. Said truce was short lived. The package stared tantalizingly at them, all alone...
"I'm taking a look," Earl said with an arrogance that made Jess want to throw him out of the window.
"It looks like perfume," Marie Loo whispered coyly with an undercurrent of greed as she followed swiftly behind. Oh, lord! On instinct more than anything he jumped from his seat, not even reacting as his chair smacked onto the floor with dismay.
Come on! They had a head start on him but he could do it. Scrambling in between desks - much to the protest of their inhabitants - he tensed, air whipping against his face, just like the old days when he'd run till his guts felt like they were about to spit out of his mouth, the rest of the world sleeping.
Come on! He had eyes only for the package, rivals merely dots in the corner of his eyes. He'd done this before, he'd do it again. His head pulsed as he readied his hands, feeling two more pairs directly behind him.
Come on. Just a...
And like some cheesy action movie a mysterious stranger entered the class and, as if in slow motion, lifted the package with insulting ease from their wanton grasps. Seemingly unaware of the fervour it was demanding, said stranger waved jovially to Jess. Unfortunately for Jess he knew this stranger all too well.
"Yo, Jesster. How's it – well, hello, gorgeous." Richard completely switched his attention mid-sentence, mesmerized by the 'charms' of Marie Loo.
"My head's up here you pervert," Marie said, turning away from his wandering eyes haughtily.
"Don't wor-ry, I'll get to that part soon e-nough." Richard said, licking his lips.
Jess sighed. This was the guy who'd graded every female in the school on a scale of 1 to 10. What he graded them on left nothing to the imagination and would leave any decent human being flushed at the vulgar indecency.
"Richard, last time I checked this wasn't your class. Why. Are. You. Here?" Jess said the last part with unrestrained vehemence, knowing all too well that Richard could rival Leslie's perpetual state of obliviousness. Lord, if that was a word...
Richard gave an exaggerated wince as he clutched his apparently broken heart. "Ouch, such a cold response. Do I need a response to visit my best-est bud and – hey, where's the babe?"
"Don't call her that, And that isn't a reason." Jess snapped.
"Hey, she doesn't seem to mind."
"Well, I do, and besides, she's Leslie. " Jess quickly shook his head to keep his mind on the topic at hand, suddenly remembering comically: the package. Unfortunately it seemed his rivals had also come to their senses at the same time.
"Hey, you don't mind if I have a little drink." Richard said for the sake of propriety as he did away with the torn packaging, licking his already dry lips; failing to notice the abrupt change in atmosphere.
With no time for pleasantries, Jess rushed for Richard, taking it all in one big jump.
"Hey, come on, Jess," Richard said, a little uneasy now. "I just want a little sip."
"Give it to me, idiot." Marie Loo demanded impatiently, arms open wide.
"With pleasure." Richard said, instantly handing it to he, thirst forgotten.
Before Marie Loo could even revel in her victory, Earl jumped her, snatching it from her grasp and rushing for the relative safety of the door while gloating. "I think I wanted this first."
"Guys stop this" Jess said urgently – wait, Mai came flying past him. How was she that quick? Before Earl could blink Mai had prized it from his own grasp. Crap! Jess cursed in mid-jump, he couldn't readjust in time. Closing his eyes, he braced himself for impact.
Jess connected sickeningly with Mai's elbow of all places, leaving him in limbo as he toppled to the unforgiving floor. His plight was quickly accompanied by the weight of Mai, Earl and, much to her displeasure, Marie Loo.
"Stop holding on to me." Marie Loo screamed, but her protests were overshadowed by Richard's cry of determination.
"I got it!"
Jess felt a heaving, breathless stab as someone kneed him in the stomach, air leaving him faster than a blow-up doll as a dozen limbs struggled for freedom. He didn't have the equilibrium or the room to adjust to see what happened. The dull thud and prompt curse afterwords was all the confirmation he needed.
Afraid of what would meet him, he pushed off a dangling leg, peering through the shapes and blurs that pervaded his vision to the welcome of the package, nestled comfortably on the floor – in pieces.
"Sorry, I thought I had it." Richard shrugged lamentable as he sheepishly smiled. Lord, the one guy everyone, whether athletically inclined or not, was loathed to be partnered with on sport's day.
A strange colourless liquid exited from the wreckage, prowling along the floor. Those nearest the mess shrieked in horror as they tried despairingly to get away. Such was the tight, compact nature of the room it was no easy task, with the narrow spaces between desks hardly accommodating freedom of access.
As the liquid reached Mai's shoes Jess wondered how it could get any worse. Marie Loo duly stomped on his face in her desperation to get upright.
"What happened – who did this?"
Leslie entered the room, followed by an exasperated Mrs Myers after what had been the most hastily conceived clean up in Lark Creek history. Leslie was, of course, aggrieved at the now cleared desk of Mrs Myers, who was already narrowing her eyes at the class on impulse, jaw set in suspicion.
Jess gulped, trepidation practically written into his expression with a felt-tip pin as he sunk back into his chair, massaging his bruised cheek. A few followed his lead, all looking like they were already in the principals' office awaiting punishment.
Leslie took a deep breath to calm herself. "Okay, I promise I won't get mad or ask for money, just tell me what happened."
"Les- Leslie." Jess cracked as he raised his voice, motioning to the bin.
She took one look at its contents and cursing severely, much to Jess' immense surprise. Out of all the reactions he had expected, a curse seemed too... normal?
Richard coughed awkwardly He stuck out like a sore thumb considering he didn't have a seat, reduced to swaying beside Mrs Myer's desk, covered his face with his palm for obscurity. "I think I'd better be going..."
Richard took the first haphazard steps to freedom before he was cruelly caught.
"Don't move." Leslie said, pointing with malevolence at Richard; who froze, right leg left in the air.
"What... I didn't do... anything... it was, it was that idiot, Earl Watson." Richard, a virtuous hero, was quite the stuttering picture of nerves as he twiddled his fingers guiltily.
Earl looked understandably livid, body boiling with rage as he starting hurling insulting left, right and centre. Jess would've found it all quite amusing if not for Leslie's brooding expression coupled with what appeared to be a very dire situation. The chit-chatter around the class grew more urgent as people questioned what was interrupting their daily learning.
Richard continued spluttering apologies until Leslie physically dragged him away from the safe haven of the door. With a tight grip on Richard's shirt, Leslie used her free hand to create a screeching sound on the blackboard.
Lord, Leslie, give some warning.
Jess covered his ears at the intruding sound which was like a cacophony of Miss Bessie and the roosters worst moments rolled into one. A constant thin screech that seemed to come straight from his ear buds deafened him, a horrible, gnawing, chilling like sound. Ggggrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
He could feel sweat build up on his forehead but his hands were preoccupied with his ears, he felt like if he didn't hold them tightly they might just fall off forever, such was the... until mercifully Leslie relented.
"Right, now that I've got your attention, let me explain a few things." Leslie said, unabashed at the thirty pained expressions wincing at her. "First thing first – always a good way to start. Okay, I hereby cancel school for today."
Mrs Myers' lips thinned as she sought to contain herself. He had almost forgotten about her. She seemed to have been mulling over the situation as if she were a detective gathering incriminating evidence, rubbing her chin all knowingly as she spoke at last. "Leslie, what is the meaning of this?"
Leslie bowed her head in apology before continuing. "Right, explanations. I'm sorry to inform you but this class is now the site of an unmitigated disaster..."
At least try and look upset, Jess thought with exasperation, ears still whimpering. Every sound was now a painful whine like a car skidding to a halt right beside his face. He remembered Leslie telling him about how ears popped on planes – he hadn't fully appreciated such a thing until now.
Unable to clearly hear Leslie's diatribe, he instead observed the distant, almost clouded expressions of his fellow students. The word 'bacteriological weapon' seeped through his pain-filled hearing, accompanied shortly by anguish filled gasps. What the heck was going on?
Mrs Myers couldn't help but interrupt Leslie, her face a terrifying mixture of shock and fear that seemed synonymous for anyone caught near Leslie Burke's own gravitational pull of horror and madness. "So let me... You're saying that this, this is a bacter-iologi-cal weapon developed... in another, another country?"
Mrs Myers' speech was slow, weary and sporadic – like the heart of an old lion clinging to the last shreds of its leadership. To see such a... look on her face, well, it was like looking at the Hollywood sign in Chinese. Jess felt a cold chill swamp the area, although Leslie looked as if she'd suddenly turned into a well-versed businesswomen, expression conspicuous by it's expressionlessness. Just what was her middle name anyway?
"Not just any weapon, an incredibly dangerous bacteria created with the latest in biotechnology courtesy of the big thinkers in Germany. It is insatiable in its desire to hunt and destroy, killing indiscriminately through the air." Leslie glanced with nonchalance at a piece of paper she'd picked out from the bin before shrugging. "At least that's what the instructions say. It als-"
"Leslie," Jess said as he watched Mrs Myers visible begin to convulse in fear. "This isn't helping."
Leslie took a step back in offence, holding her hands up innocently. "I was only reading what the manual says – it also states-"
The strained voice of Mrs Myers broke with the fragility of a thin slither of glass hanging by a thread. "It travels through the air, you say?"
"Yes, " Leslie said, nodding matter-of-factly.
"And it's right here, in this room?" Mrs Myers asked again with the same strained voice that was only growing in fragility. Jess felt his stomach squirm, the unmissable nervous shifting of feet nearby.
"Yes," Leslie said, again nodding matter-of-factly as if it were all business as usual.
Mrs Myers took the type of long, deliberate and even treasured breath that one only took when they knew it was their last. "So, Leslie, what you're trying to say is that... my class... my class and I have been poison-ed?"
Leslie offered a weak laugh to lighten the mood – which Jess thought was woefully inadequate considering the room possessed less cheer than a graveyard - before nodding wearily and bracing herself, quite rightly expecting Mrs Myers to explode. Jess sighed, turning around to avoid the barrage of abuse that would undoubtedly follow.
A dull thud echoed around the otherwise deathly silent class. Lord, Myers had killed her. Edging his head fearfully over his shoulder he – wait, where was Myers? He followed Leslie's shocked face down to her feet, Myers lay flat on her back – she'd fainted!
Earl started the panicking in full swing, nearly toppling his desk over in his urgency. "What are we gonna do now, we're doomed. "
"I'm getting the hell out of here," Marie Loo said before making for the door. Jess was struck by a sudden inexplicable feeling that if he didn't leave this room right now he would surely die. This feeling appeared to be unanimous as the whole class rushed as one, elbows and shoulders swinging like barricades to ward off challengers.
They were all halted, however, by the slight frame of Mai standing in the doorway defiantly, her opinion made clear: no one was getting past.
Author's Confessions: Probably the weakest chapter in the story. It's a little too long and the writing gets very lazy by the end. Still I've edited it around a little and the final version is okay. The beginning and the ending both illustrate the conflict and humour within the story effectively, although the bits in between are a little hit and miss.
I was tempted to savagely cut the whole bloody plant pot scene, the joke wore a little thin on me, although I suppose reading it over so much has that effect. Gah, I sound like Jess.
Thanks for reading and feedback is always appreciated
Shamo9