Chapter 6
"Hey Rachel!" called Karen, patting the seat next to her. For once everyone was there. They were all sitting in their respective spots. I smiled as I sat next to Karen.
"Hey guys. You're all here." They all gave me weird looks.
"All of the activities have been cancelled, didn't you hear?" asked Gar, scratching his nose as he did. My eyes unintentionally grazed down to his lunch. He was eating some kind of white, mushy substance that looked like toothpaste. He kept claiming that it 'saves animals and plants the grief of being eaten'. But I'm pretty sure that's tofu, and tofu is soybean, and that is just taking food from the animals. Or is that just me.
"No. I didn't." And lunch went on as usual. We talked and ate. Karen and Victor fed each other. Gar and Terra stared at each other. And that left Richard and I, single and alone. But something was off with Gar and Terra. They seemed…tense. On edge, maybe. Like they were waiting for something to happen. I think I was the only one who could tell. But something was different. And it started when Principal Wilson's voice chorused over the intercom.
"Will Terra Marvok and Garfield Logan report to my office?" Everything went silent. People stopped eating. People stopped breathing. You knew you were screwed if you're sent to the principal's office. Our school isn't very big on discipline. Although our principal is, our teachers don't take it very seriously. Mr. Wilson does, though.
Slade Wilson was a very intimidating man. He had grey hair cropped into a ponytail. It was pulled back in the most menacing way possible. He was wrinkly and pale, and his voice was deep and offsetting. Sounds pretty normal, right? Wrong. He wouldn't be half as intimidating if it weren't for his eyepatch. On his right eye he wore it. There were many rumors as to why he might've gotten that eyepatch. The truth was he was shot in the eye. He used to be an assassin. He killed people all over the world. One day, though, he bit off more than he could chew. He was offered to kill fifty-four people in one day for one million dollars. He took it. But the people were very clever and hid in the most unimaginable places. He was shot in the eye as punishment. Or at least, that was the folklore. He could've been in a war.
As soon as the two left, the lunchroom erupted in whispers. What did they do? Why are they going there? Even we asked those questions, and we were their best friends!
"Yo…what do you think they did?" Victor forced his loud voice to a hushed whisper. We all shrugged in unison.
"I don't know. They seemed pretty normal to me. But I did smell something on Terra's breath…" mused Karen, her hand on her forehead. Wait a second…wait a second! This has something to do with their smoking didn't it? Oh crap.
"Well…um…I saw them…" All eyes turned to me. I hunched over my shoulders in attempt to make myself smaller.
"What'd you see, Rachel?" whispered Richard calmly. I braced myself and shut my eyes tightly.
"I saw them…smoking…in the back of the school." I opened one eye to see their surprised faces.
"What? They were smoking?"
"Man…"
"Why did you keep quiet, Rachel?"
"I…don't know…I just…." A tear fell onto my lunch. Karen rubbed my back.
"C'mon little lady; don't be sad. But you still should've told us." Victor's voice was chiding.
"Why?" Richard's voice was small.
"Because I didn't want to encroach on their personal lives. I know it's dangerous! I saw all of the documentaries! I just-"
"Would the following students please report to my office; Victor Stone, Karen Beecher, Dick Grayson, and Rachel Roth." My eyes went wide. We got up and walked out of the cafeteria.
The sight we walked in on was truly terrifying. There were Gar and Terra, sitting in two separate chairs across from each other. Principal Wilson was scowling as he looked at us. There were FBI agents pacing around the office, looking around and picking things up. We stood in the doorway, awkwardly swaying there. One of the agents walked up to us.
"Miss Rachel Roth?" I slowly raised my hand. He stared me up and down.
"…that's me…" He scowled.
"Come with me please." And I was led back into a room. And I was sat down on a plastic chair. And the man sat down. And the man got out a recorder.
"Tell me your relationship with Miss Marvok." I swallowed the bile in my throat.
"Well, we met in middle school. She was new to the school and she tried to join our group. She was the first person who tried, so we let her in. She started acting suspicious in seventh grade. She started to wear these giant muddy hiker boots and I figured she was a tomboy. She certainly seemed like it." That was all I was willing to say. So far, at least.
"She always wore those giant hiker boots huh?" I nodded.
"I figured they were a fashion choice, you know?" He gave a light chuckle.
"A fashion choice huh? What if I told you she was keeping drugs in those boots?"
So...yeah. Imagine having Slade as a principal. That'd be pure hell. Review and Favorite. Grammar Nazis and Flamers welcome.