Chapter 11. I'll be honest, I wondered if I'd ever get this chapter poster. And I realize the interaction between Kiran and Mr. Simpson is pretty unlikely but I like the idea of her using his fear of Mrs. Torres against him. And besides, Kiran doesn't really even exist, does she? Anyways, I hope you like it. If you do, let me know. If you don't, you can let me know that, too.
Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.
"What do you have to say for yourself, Miss Buckley?" Mr. Simpson demanded as Kiran sat across from him at his desk. "This video is humiliating."
"So is wearing the same thing as everyone else every single day," she shot back. "You are literally killing creativity with these uniforms."
He frowned. "We had too many problems before."
"So punish those kids!" she cried. "There are 800 kids at this school and about ten of them royally messed up. You tell me how it's fair to the other 790 of us to be stifled ingeniously because of less than two percent of the student population? What happened to the Mr. Simpson who gave respect where it was warranted? I liked him."
"He was blindsided," Mr. Simpson responded. "I trusted several of those students that let me down and I lost faith."
"That's so glass-half-empty of you," she mused. "Look, I have a feeling you don't want the parents' board to see that video so maybe we can strike a deal."
Mr. Simpson shook his head. "I don't barter with students."
"I could always send Mrs. Torres an email then," she stated. "I know Drew pretty well but it's really up to you here."
"What are you offering?" he grumbled.
"Lose the uniforms and metal detectors," Kiran advised. "You can keep the random locker checks and cell phone ban. In exchange, I'll give over the video and show you the computer I made it on so you can wipe all the files. To be fair, I'll also take a suspension."
The principal considered this. "Tell me how you got into the AV room."
"I swiped keys during lunch," she lied. "I don't even know the kid."
"All right," he sighed after much contemplation. "And you're sure you did this all on your own? Before this, you'd never registered on my disciplinary radar."
Kiran frowned. "I was getting restless in all this wool and khaki."
"Fine," he murmured. "I'll take your offer."
She held out her hand to shake on it. "Lovely."
Ten minutes later, they emerged from his office to find a group of people waiting for them.
"Let's go, Miss Buckley," Mr. Simpson said sternly, leading her down the hallway. "Let's delete those files and then your suspension begins."
"Suspension?" Holly J snapped. "She releases an incriminating video against you and all she gets is a suspension?"
"Yep," Kiran confirmed. "See you later, asshole."
Holly J paled as Kiran and Mr. Simpson walked away. "I was certain she'd be expelled."
"Could you live with yourself if you'd done that?" Anya murmured. "Eventually you're going to realize that she did you a favor and you just tried to have her expelled. Think about that, Holly J."
"Oh, shut up, Anya," Holly J snapped. "I saw you with Sav after lunch. I'm just so thrilled you're getting your happily ever after while I'm falling into a black hole."
Anya looked over Holly J's shoulder briefly. "Maybe you should look at what's been right in front of you all along."
Holly J spun around to see Declan standing in the middle of the hall. "What do you want?"
"The better question is this, Holly J—what do you want?" he replied. "I'm not sure why you think the way you do but not everyone in your life is always going to bow down to whatever it is you want. You can blame Kiran all you want for what happened with Sav but she didn't do anything."
"Of course you'll defend her!" Holly J cried. "To be honest, I'm not sure what you're even doing here with me because you're so clearly in love with her!"
Declan closed the space between them and kissed her. "No, I'm not."
"Stop it," she whimpered. "I don't deserve you, I don't deserve Sav, I don't deserve anyone."
"Holly J, would you just shut up?" he smirked, kissing her again. "I've been in love with you for a very long time and you definitely deserve the world."
"But I do bad things to good people," she whispered. "Look at what I just did to Kiran." She paused. "Though she certainly had it coming."
Declan frowned. "You just had her suspended, Holly J. Is that really fair?"
"She broke up my relationship!" Holly J exclaimed.
"A relationship everyone—except you and Sav—has known was completely ridiculous," he added knowingly. "Kiran was just the first person to openly say it to your face and you're not used to having insurgencies amongst the troops."
Holly J sighed. "Do you think what I did was wrong?"
"You do," he corrected. "You wouldn't have asked me that question if you didn't."
"It's the only thing I knew to do that would hurt her," she murmured as they walked down the hallway. "Kiran has nothing else going for her." She paused. "Except an exceptional collection of shoes and jackets."
He led her outside to the car Fiona was leaning against.
"Um, why did Kiran just storm out and avoid me at all costs?" Fiona asked as the three of them climbed into the Towncar. "I didn't do anything."
"No, but Holly J released that video and attached Kiran's name to it," Declan explained. "As Holly J's best friend, you're in the line of fire."
Fiona raised an eyebrow at the two of them. "And what is the status of your relationship?"
"It's a work in progress," Holly J declared. "There's still a lot for us to work out."
"What are you going to do about Kiran?" Fiona wondered. "Is she expelled?"
"Suspended," Holly J clarified. "And I'm still not entirely sure she doesn't deserve it for what she did."
Fiona rolled her eyes. "There's a good chance she's not going to graduate on time now if she's been suspended; that will take about Columbia. How would you feel if you weren't going to Yale? This is her entire future on the line, Holly J. If anything, she's done nothing but help you out."
"Can we not talk about Kiran?" Holly J demanded. "I need to be dropped off at the Dot for work."
Kiran walked past the Dot on her way home and stopped. Peter was inside, wiping down the counter, waiting for the afternoon rush once schools let out for the day. She knew he deserved an apology for the way she had acted Saturday night but she wasn't quite ready to give it to him yet. As she turned to walk away, the Coyne's car pulled up and Holly J climbed out.
"If you want to talk to Peter, I won't bother you," Holly J said to her.
"I honestly couldn't care less what you do, Sinclair," Kiran murmured, putting on her Ray-Bans aviators. "You could jump off the Fourth Street Bridge and I wouldn't bat an eyelash."
Holly J rolled her eyes. "Now you're just being dramatic."
"Am I?" Kiran smirked, walking away. "Have a lovely afternoon, HJ."
Peter looked up at the sound of the door opening and frowned upon seeing Holly J. "I was sort of hoping you were off today."
"I take it you're blaming me for the fact that Kiran probably hasn't spoken to you since Saturday?" Holly J realized.
"Well, I doubt she'd have thrown everyone out without some kind of stressor," he muttered. "You're pretty good at stressing people out."
Holly J scoffed. "Why am I suddenly taking the blame for everything?"
Before Peter could respond, his cell phone vibrated in his apron. He pulled it out and saw a text from Sav.
Kiran was suspended today. Holly J had something to do with it. Anya won't tell me any details but that much is true.
"What did you do to get her suspended, Holly J?" he demanded, holding up his BlackBerry. "The most important in the entire world that she cares about is school and you screwed that up for her."
She threw up her hands. "Okay, I'm sorry! What do you want from me, Peter? She's made my life hell for two weeks and the first time I retaliate, everyone sees me as a bitch."
"She was honest about your relationship," Peter stated. "If you want to blame her for breaking you and Sav up, that's fine but it was fixable if you wanted it to be. There's not a whole lot she can do to fix her academic records once she's back at school."
"It was the only way I knew I could make it count," she whispered in defeat. "Like you said, she doesn't really care about too much else."
Peter leaned against the counter. "Well, from what I've gathered, that's not entirely true. She cares—or cared—about me and Declan's her best friend. Why not attack one of us?"
"I needed it to count," Holly J admitted. "Her relationships with you and Declan have been intact for two weeks; she's had school for almost thirteen years."
"You should confess," Peter advised. "She shouldn't take the fall for your anger, not like this."
"How is it you're so defensive of her when she's not even speaking to you?" she wondered, tying on her own apron.
"Cause I like her," he answered. "And I know she was upset when she kicked us all out so I don't hold that against her." He walked away from the counters. "Get to work. I need you to wipe down the tables before the afternoon rush."
Later that night, Kiran pulled back her door to let Declan into her apartment. "What do you want?"
"I just came to see how you're doing," he explained. "Holly J said you were suspended."
"Of course I was!" she cried angrily. "She released that video and then finked on me."
"Well, there's a silver lining," he offered. "Simpson sent out an email letting us know the uniforms are no longer necessary and the metal detectors have been removed; that's because of you, Kiran."
"Great," she muttered angrily. "So Fiona can wear her new Prada boots tomorrow and I'll be sitting here eating cheese doodles, hoping to get into community college."
Declan rolled his eyes. "My father knows the dean so if they revoke your acceptance to Columbia for this, I'll have him make a call."
"I don't need your daddy," Kiran snapped. "I got in on my own accord and I can fix my own mistakes." She smirked. "Besides, my mother is friends with Jean Bollinger, the president's wife."
"It never hurts to have connections," he stated, sitting down on the couch. "Nepotism can be your friend."
Kiran sat down across from him. "So, how smug is she?"
"Not very," he answered. "She isn't entirely remorseful but she's getting there."
"Right," she scoffed. "Fiona text me and said my end goal came to fruition this afternoon. You got her back?"
"Slowly but surely," he confirmed. "I kissed her twice and she didn't slap me."
"Success," Kiran smiled. "You know, despite my current anger towards her, I'm glad things worked out."
Declan eyed her. "Have you spoken to Peter?"
"No," she shook her head. "He's called a couple of times but I've ignored him because I don't know what to say."
"We saw him today when we dropped Holly J at the Dot," Declan admitted. "He appears to really miss you, Kiran."
"And I'm going to miss my stellar academic record," she muttered. "What am I supposed to do about it, Declan?"
"Fix it," he shrugged. "Go talk to him; he at least deserves that. In all of this, Peter is the only one who hasn't done anything bad."
She sighed. "You're right. If anything, I'm the one who doesn't deserve to have him around."
"Well, lucky for you, he doesn't agree," Declan grinned. "Now go find him."
Kiran stood up and pulled on her black motorcycle boots. She grabbed her leather jacket from the hook in the foyer and turned to Declan as she opened the front door. "Wish me luck."
"Luck!" he called after her as she raced down the hallway
She hit the button to call the elevator but when it opened, it wasn't empty.
"We need to talk," Holly J declared. "And I won't leave until we do."