Chapter Eight
Most of the next day passed without fault for Ivy, up until Science. English had been alright, Maths had been exhausting (Finn decided to be himself, and that was mentally draining) and Drama hadn't actually been very dramatic, for once. The moment Ivy walked into Science, however, she immediately regretted the slight bit of happiness she had been feeling.
Reed Terrell was at the front of his classroom, frantically scribbling notes and ignoring the rowdy bunch of teenagers behind him. Ivy hardly knew anyone in this class, so she grabbed the nearest seat that she could find without making eye contact with anyone.
"Alright, class." Mr Terrell turned to face them. "I have decided to implement a seating plan since you all seem so keen to get started."
Everyone groaned and stood up, and began to disperse as Mr Terrell forced them into seats next to people they hated. So when it came to Ivy's turn, she avoided staring at her partner and focused on getting out her equipment instead. But when she did turn to see who it was, she was torn between whacking him with her revision guide and running out of the classroom; Brent Ferguson.
They made awkward eye contact for a few seconds, before hurriedly looking away. Ivy forced herself to focus on what Mr Terrell was saying, but sitting next to this guy was making it incredibly difficult. She really should punch him or something. But maybe not now, in the middle of a classroom.
"A practical now!" Mr Terrell gestured towards the Bunsen Burners at the front of the classroom, the test tubes and the variety of ingredients. "Come and grab what you need and please don't be silly. You'll be working with your partner."
Ivy followed numbly behind Brent, who was already scooping up equipment and ingredients, as if it were a world catastrophe. She grabbed a Bunsen Burner and returned to her table, setting it up and mentally preparing herself. They had done this experiment numerous times before and Ivy could remember every step of it, but Mr Terrell went through it all anyway. What he was saying was ignored and the students carried on with what they were doing.
The peace didn't last long.
"You got a broken Bunsen Burner." Brent said, pointing at it. "That won't exactly help us, you know."
"Go get a new one, then." Ivy blinked and forced a smile.
He stared at her. She stared back. "You got this one, so go get a new one." He replied.
"No." Ivy raised an eyebrow.
They both went silent and eventually Brent gave up, returning with a decent enough Bunsen Burner. Ivy mixed the chemicals and placed it above the Bunsen Burner, and both of them began to wait.
"You're doing it wrong." Brent rolled his eyes. "You have to move it slowly, so that it doesn't burn."
"You do it then, if you're so sure you know everything." Ivy pressed her lips together.
"I never said that."
"You act like it."
Brent stood up and placed his book on the desk. "Stop acting like you're all high-and-mighty. Frankly, I think you're a bit hypocritical."
"So are you." Ivy shot back. "You act like I do everything wrong."
"Because you do!" Brent fumed. "I've never once seen you put effort into anything!"
Ivy felt her cheeks burning and her heart pounding. "You don't know anything about me!"
"So don't act like you know me!" Brent's voice was rapidly raising.
"How can you say I do everything wrong?" Ivy decided to match the intensity of Brent's voice. "You bully everyone I care about, don't ever say I do everything wrong! I don't hurt people, like you do!"
And that's when a bright spark lit up the room and made a gigantic "BOMF" sound. Ivy felt the heat from their experiment and she flinched away with a yelp. Brent did the same, but instead of a confused expression, he took a few steps back and motioned for Ivy to get away. She stepped back and turned to look at the Bunsen Burner. It was glowing a bright orange/red, and the glass was starting to melt slightly. But Ivy wasn't concerned about that and nor was anyone else.
They were more concerned about the chemicals inside the test tube.
Mr Terrell rushed forward and forced Ivy and Brent back, as well as the rest of the class. He turned and faced them. "Alright, no one panic. In theory this shouldn't actually-"
He was cut off by numerous sounds. A large "POP" sound and the sound of shattering class, as a roaring flame leapt up and the chemicals caused a reaction. Mr Terrell jumped away and stared in dismay at the glass and fire. Smoke began to fill the classroom and no more than five seconds later, the fire alarm was ringing frantically.
"Out, everyone." Mr Terrell waved his arms. "Sports field, now. Just like we always practise, don't panic."
Ivy trailed behind her class, the annoying fire alarm droning on and on, her classmates stunned silent. Those also in Science, but in different classes, were filing out with confused looks. She tried to hide her face, so that no one could see how red she was, but found that she couldn't look away from Brent Ferguson, who was striding as if nothing had happened.
So much for an ordinary day, Ivy mused. Then she wondered how much trouble she was going to be in.
Her answer?
Loads.
Thank you so much for reading!
I hope you enjoyed it. Yes, this is actually important for the story line.. you'll see.
Anyway, please shoot me a review at some point, I'd really appreciate it!
QOTD: Favourite character?
(Either my portrayal or the original WC characters?)
COOKIES FOR EVERYONE!
(:;) (:;) (:;)
