January 4, 2016

Woodshop

1:58 P.M.

DA stepped through the heavy metal doors to the school's workshop, as punctual and put together as ever, and breathed in the unfamiliar woody scent of the classroom. In all her time at Walkerville High, she'd never had a class in the large, open workspace, nor even in any of the adjacent classrooms used for Home Economics and Theatre Design. As luck would have it, though, not all was entirely unfamiliar about the room; on the far end, seated on a metal stool at a large, wooden table, Ralphie lounged casually, chatting with a group of boys she didn't know.

As she crossed the room to where her friend sat, DA apprehensively eyed the machinery lining the back wall: hand saws, drill presses, and more sat ominously, waiting in silence for their work to begin. She passed these machines quickly, trying not to consider the great power behind each. Despite her wide range skills, construction was not a hobby she'd ever given much attention, and she knew a wrong move with such technology could have serious ramifications.

It wasn't until she sat down beside him and cleared her throat that Ralphie noticed DA's arrival to the class. He grinned for a moment, but quickly the smile contorted into concerned wince. "DA! You're in Woodshop? I didn't know you liked this sort of stuff."

"I don't, really," she remarked lightly, hoping her apprehension wasn't apparent through her words. "But I needed another elective for this semester, and it fit my schedule, so… Here I am."

"Oh… Cool!" Ralphie beamed, satisfied with the brief reply.

DA eyed the boy up and down. "And you? I didn't expect to see anyone else in here."

"Are you kidding? Do you see the cool tools you get to play with?" Just the thought was enough to light up Ralphie's entire face. "It's going to be awesome!"

"Those machines are not toys," DA chastised firmly, unimpressed. "You have to be serious when working with such powerful-"

"Serious, smerious – I'll be fine! Jake's really into building stuff, and he's been letting me help on his projects. Its super fun!"

DA raised a brow. "You've used this kind of equipment before?"

"Mm-hmm! It's not that big a deal, really."

Though she couldn't exactly name why, the thought that Ralphie was already comfortable with this machinery made DA squirm. Was it really so important that she be the most competent student in the room? Did it matter that her friend had a bit of a head start on the material? Or did being less knowledgeable than her spacey friend just too big a hit to her ego to stand? In any case, Ralphie's laisse-faire attitude did little to calm her stressed mind.

The bell rang to signal the beginning of class, and Ms. Burke wasted no time addressing her new students. "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back from vacation. And welcome to your first day of Woodshop!" A few students around the room clapped, even if none were all that happy about vacation ending. Maybe, like Ralphie, they were simply excited at the thought of playing with big machines. "Over break, you had the opportunity to study the basic instructions for working the tools you'll need to complete your assignments. So, while I could stand up here and lecture you on each unique screw and nail, you should already understand the basics of Woodshop. I believe the best way to learn an art is to experience it firsthand. This first week, then, will be your opportunity to get to know your wood, your tools, and most of all, your potential.

Your assignment for this week is purposely vague – I simply want you to do your best to craft a stool. Don't expect your first work to be perfect, and don't stress if you don't feel successful in this task: your grade for this project will be based on your effort, not your results. Your real objective is to practice with different tools, methods, and techniques, and to ask any questions before we get to the more serious work. So, get creative and have fun – all the materials in this room are at your disposal!"

As students began walking about the room, collecting wood pieces or sketching out design ideas, DA turned to Ralphie, surprised. "Wait, we're just… Starting?"

"Yeah, isn't that cool? I figured we'd spend forever just talking about dumb stuff." Ralphie looked around the room, assessing the tools at hand. "This is way better."

"But I don't-" DA caught herself. Though Ralphie was a friend, she didn't want to admit she felt unprepared to dive straight into her first project. She'd studied the text sent home over break multiple times, of course, but she'd thought she'd get at least a brief recap before having to try out her knew knowledge. "-Shouldn't we be talking about safety, or basic operation instructions, or… Something?"

Ralphie shrugged. "Eh. We got goggles," he commented, tapping on the glass of the lenses he'd picked up over break. "And we got gloves." He held up his hands and wiggled his fingers. "What more do you need? As long as you know how to use them, you probably won't go too wrong with the tools, right?"

"I guess…" DA was unconvinced. She didn't want Ralphie to question how capable she was of acing Woodshop. Nobody else seemed hesitant about starting their project, so why should she? She just needed to get out of her own head and get to work.

January 4, 2016

Physics

2:11 P.M.

"So, as you can see, even though sphere A is significantly heavier than sphere B, gravity acts upon the two at the same rate – who remember what that rate is?" Mr. Holder glimpsed at the class over the thick, black frames of his glasses, searching for hands. Though several shot up, he gaze fell upon the girl in the back of the room, doodling aimlessly as the lecture dragged on. "Ms. Li?"

Wanda looked up at the teacher. Despite being distracted, she had actually been paying enough attention to hear the question. Unfortunately, she still couldn't wipe that smug smirk off of his face; she couldn't, for the life of her, remember the answer. To be fair, she hadn't thought about this crap in weeks; how was she meant to remember what they discussed before vacation?

Before Wanda had the chance to open her mouth, the class was interrupted by the lights in the classroom flickering before shutting off. The room was silent for several seconds as everyone waited for the lights to return, but nothing came.

From the light shining in from the classroom's back windows, Wanda could still see most of the room. There was no making out any of the notes Mr. Holder had scribbled on the board, so the lesson would have to be halted, but in the dim classroom, Wanda could make out 25 pairs of eyes dart in her direction.

Wanda frowned at the sudden attention. "What?"

January 4, 2016

Walkerville High Hallway

2:12 P.M.

Meanwhile, Phoebe had just been walking out of the bathroom when the blackout had occurred. "Shoot…" she murmured to herself, now unable to see anything in the long, window-less hallway. She made her way over to the wall. Using the wall as a guide, she managed to stumble her way down the hall and back to her Geography class, only occasionally tripping and crashing along the way. At the door, she twisted the handle, but was quickly met with resistance; it was locked. Confused, she knocked on the wood. "Hello?"

From inside the room, there was no response. Phoebe knocked again. "Um… Could someone unlock the door, please?"

"No can do," came a voice. "The door has to stay locked in case you're a stranger who wants us all dead."

Phoebe rubbed the back of her neck. "I'm pretty sure that's only during the intruder drill."

"Well… We're not taking any chances."

"But I'm Phoebe! I'm in this class!"

"If this is your class," the voice responded sceptically, "then why don't I recognize your voice?"

Phoebe thought for a moment. "Well, I don't talk much… But this is definitely my classroom."

"We're not falling for that old trick," the voice reaffirmed. "The door stays locked."

Phoebe's shoulders fell and she looked around the dark hallway. Her eyes were beginning to adjust, but she still wouldn't be able walk far in the dim light. Slowly, she made her way to the opposite side of the hall and felt around for another door. Soon enough, she found one and knocked.

To her relief, this time the door swung open, revealing the familiar form of Mr. Scott, the English teacher. Mr. Scott cocked his head. "Phoebe?" he questioned, barely able to make out the girl. "Can I help you?"

"Can I stay in here?" she asked softly. "My class thinks I'm an intruder trying to kill them."

Mr. Scott seemed concerned at the response, though not entirely surprised. He stepped aside. "Of course, come right in."

Phoebe smiled gratefully. "I'm not interrupting, am I?"

"Oh, no," Mr. Scott responded, seeming almost bitter. "The class has decided that there's no way to discuss Of Mice and Men in the dark, so I had to pause the lesson."

Phoebe stepped into the classroom, choosing not to comment on the teacher's last remark. The far wall was lined with windows, so the room was actually fairly well lit, especially in comparison to the dark hall she just escaped. In the back of the room, Phoebe spotted Tim sitting with a group of boys she'd never met and, gratefully, she began to walk towards her friend. As she did, she bumped shoulders with a tall figure.

"I'm sorry," she quickly apologized to the boy. To her dismay, the person she'd bumped into was Curt, an angry boy whose tough guy antics had gained him an unpleasant reputation around the school.

Curt narrowed his eyes at her. "You'd better be," he muttered, a snarl crossing his face. A girl quickly ran up beside Curt and placed a gentle hand on his arm.

"Don't worry about my boyfriend," the girl reassured. "My Curty-Wurty may act tough, but he's nothing but a big teddy bear!"

Curt continued to glare at Phoebe and, despite the girl's words, she didn't feel any better. To her relief, she didn't have to face the pair for long; noticing the disruption, Tim darted across the room and pressed himself between Phoebe and Curt.

"We're going now," Tim assured Curt, placing an arm around Phoebe's shoulder and leading her away from the boy. Once out of earshot, he turned to Phoebe. "You okay?"

Phoebe nodded hesitantly. "I'm fine, nothing happened. Don't worry about it."

Though unhappy with the situation, Tim accepted the reply. "What are you even doing in here?" After hearing a quick summary of the situation, he chuckled. "Figures. Might as well come sit with us, then. I'll introduce you to the guys."

Finally, Phoebe began to relax, hopeful that the mayhem of the blackout would soon become of thing of the past.

January 4, 2016

Woodshop

2:14 P.M.

Staring in horror at the handsaw before her, DA swallowed back the lump in her throat. After seeing how confident Ralphie was standing at the large devices, how casually her classmates discussed plans to hammer and nail and drill, DA had refused to be left behind. In her haste to begin her own work, though, she had rushed to begin building her own furniture.

Hands-on learning worked for some, perhaps. But for DA, anxiety and unfamiliar tools had a predictable result, and in no time at all she had sawed through a loose cord running behind the machines.

If that weren't bad enough, the blackout that immediately followed suggested just one horrible possibility: that cord, in one way or another, had been connected to the entire school's power supply.

Something told DA that this would not reflect well on her final grade in Woodshop.

In the dim workshop, unable to work on their plans any longer, the other students began chatting cheerfully with one another. Woodshop had the potential to be fun, sure, but having no work at all? That was even better. Following the lead of his classmates, Ralphie picked out his friend standing in the back of the room and maneuvered his way to her side.

He tapped her shoulder, trying to get her attention, but the action made the girl jump several inches off the ground. He threw his hands up defensively. "Woah, chill! It's just me!"

Ralphie. Crap. DA was panicking as she tried to figure out how to deal with this mess; she didn't need a friend poking their nose around. It was too late to play casual, though. Even Ralphie must have noticed that something was up.

"I need your help, Ralphie," DA whispered quickly, eyes darting about as she checked if anyone were around. It was bad enough to admit her stupid mistake to one person. She had to make sure word didn't spread. "Please."

Ralphie was caught off guard, to say the least. Since when did DA come to him for help? He wasn't exactly known for his sound judgment. "Uh… Okay? What's up?"

Satisfied that no one else was paying attention to the pair, DA pulled Ralphie closer to the hand saw she'd been using and held up the sliced cord. "I think… This blackout might be my fault…"

"Did you-" Ralphie's eyes went wide at the sight of the cord, but DA covered his mouth with her hand before he could blurt anything out.

"Quiet!" She hissed.

Ralphie nodded, and slowly, DA removed her hand. He skeptically eyed the cord. "You did that?"

"It was an accident!" DA insisted anxiously. She groaned. "Just before the lights went out. Damn it, I knew Woodshop was a mistake."

"Calm down," Ralphie assured, patting her on the shoulder. "There's no way one that one wire was powering an entire school. And even if there was, they wouldn't store it in the Woodshop classroom, would they?"

DA snorted, not at all comforted by the comment. "Are you kidding? This whole school is a mess, you know that! You know they just built this workshop a few years ago? And student council suggested they add Workshop as an extracurricular, the school needed a classroom for it. So, they slapped up a wall in the middle of the boiler room and called it a day."

"So, you're saying-"

"The power supply is just on the other side of this wall," DA summarized dismally. "There's a good chance that cord was connected to it."

"Shit."

DA buried her face in the palms of her hands. "This is a disaster, Ralphie! What if they fail me? Or worse? Or what if this goes on my permanent record? No college is going to accept a vandal! I'm going to die poor and alone and a complete failure!"

Ralphie cocked his head to the left. "Really? All that?"

"What do I do, Ralphie?"

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Well… what if we just hide the wire?"

DA frowned. "They'll find it eventually. This is the first place they'd check."

"We don't have to hide it forever," Ralphie explained thoughtfully. "I bet by the time we leave today, no one will remember who was working at which machine."

"That's true…" Finally, DA felt her heartbeat begin to resume its normal pattern. "I just have to get through this class."

"And between the two of us, we can definitely keep Ms. Burke away from this saw for…" he checked his phone. "30 minutes."

Relieved, DA nodded and smiled. "Definitely."

January 4, 2016

Physics

2:16 P.M.

"What?"

"Don't play dumb, Wanda," Keesha retorted from the neighboring desk. She leaned across the aisle. "Unexpected power cut in the middle of the school day? This has your name written all over it."

Carlos nudged the boy beside him. "How do you think she did it, huh? Hired a hacker to break into the system's circuitry?"

"Too fancy," Arnold replied casually, smirking in Wanda's direction despite the darkness. "I'm going… Fireworks on the generator."

Wanda rolled her eyes at the accusations. "Very funny. But in case you haven't noticed, I've been sitting right behind you dweebs all class!"

"She could have convinced someone else to do it," Keesha proposed. She tapped her chin. "Maybe Ralphie? Or that freshman that's terrified of her?"

"Or, how about no one?" Wanda deadpanned. "Because, believe it or not, I'm actually innocent this time!"

All three of her friends glanced at each other before replying in unison, "Not!"

Frustrated, Wanda put her head down on her desk. "Such disrespect," she murmured, knowing she had a long afternoon ahead of her.

January 4, 2016

English

2:17 P.M.

"How long have we been stuck in here?" Tim complained, leaning his head on his hand.

Phoebe glanced at her watch. "About 10 minutes."

He groaned.

"Try not to think about the time," Phoebe suggested, patting her friend on the back. "Why don't you introduce me to your friends now?"

"These guys?" Tim glanced at the boys gathered around his table and shrugged. "I guess. Pheebs, these are Carson, Sam, and Andy," he introduced, gesturing to each of the boys in turn. "You'll like them, probably." He considered the sentiment for a moment. "Well, maybe not Carson."

One of the boys—Carson, apparently—crossed his arms, pouting. A cooler-looking guy, Sam, chuckled at the comment before leaning forward towards Phoebe. "Tell us about yourself."

"Oh, um…" Phoebe thought for a second. "Well, I'm Phoebe. I, uh… I like dogs."
"I have a dog," the third guy murmured.

Carson rolled his eyes. "Can we talk about anything besides Andy's sick dog? Just this one time?"

As the trio began to bicker, Phoebe leaned over to Tim. "I didn't know we were allowed to have other friends," she whispered into his her.

"I'm not really sure if we are," Tim replied. "That's why I keep these guys a secret."

"Fair enough." She turned back to the argumentative boys at the table. "Let's just talk about something happy, okay?"

Andy frowned. "Like?"

"What're you going to do when we get out of school?" Sam asked.

Carson clicked his tongue. "If we get out of school," he remarked, tone dark.

Sam furrowed his brow. "Don't be melodramatic; of course we're leaving eventually."

Tim's expression grew thoughtful. "We'd probably get out of here, head for our friend's basement," Tim motioned to himself and Phoebe. Carson raised a brow. "I know it sounds lame, but that basement… It's our own place. A place where we can do whatever we want, where we can be free…"

"Arnold's basement…" Phoebe added dreamily. "That's the dream…"

"You just... Hang out in a basement?" Sam clarified unsurely.

Carson leaned over to Sam. "Sounds like code for drugs or something."

Andy shook his head. "No, I get the appeal. Always having a place to go, where no one can order you around?" Andy turned to Tim and Phoebe. "I will give you guys my entire life savings if you let me hang out with you."

Before Tim or Phoebe could comment on the strange offer, the class was interrupted by a loud shouting from the center of the room. "I can't believe you, Curt! You're nothing but a jerk!"

Curt glared at his girlfriend. "Will you shut up? You're making a scene."

"I'll make a scene if I want to!" In a huff, Curt's girlfriend stood up from her desk and huffed over to where Tim and Phoebe were seated, flumping down on a chair in between the two. "What an asshole."

Awkwardly, Phoebe pat the girl's back. "I'm sorry."

The girl looked shocked. "You're so sweet; I don't even know you and you're trying to comfort me."

"Well, no one should be treated like that," Phoebe replied sympathetically, voice full of concern. "He doesn't seem to respect you very much."

The girl considered the words. "You know what? You're right. I don't need that kind of guy in my life!"

Phoebe nodded enthusiastically. "You should be with someone who cares about you, who listens to you and respects your opinions."

"Thank you for talking to me," Curt's girlfriend replied. She stood up and turned to face Curt. "Hey, jerkface—we're over!" Confidently, the girl strutted out of the room. Mr. Scott raised a finger, about to point out that class wasn't over, but eventually decided it wasn't worth the effort.

Andy stared at Phoebe with wide eyes. "What did you just do?" He hissed intensely, unblinking.

Phoebe was taken aback by the harsh tone of his words. "What do you mean?"

"You just convinced Curt's girlfriend to break up with him!"

"I was just trying to be supportive," Phoebe defended quietly. "Curt was being rude."

"It doesn't matter," Carson replied bitterly. "We're not supposed to get caught up in Curt's business. Don't you know what he'll do if he figures out what you did?"

Andy nodded. "Kiss goodbye to that pretty little basement of yours, because Curt will make sure you never go back."

Phoebe scooted closer to Tim, feeling rather intimidated by this sudden change in mood. "Technically, it's not my basement…"

"Curt won't care. This is his turf, and you just came in and ruined everything. He'll have your head for this."

Sam looked to Tim, a hint of fear in his eyes. "And you… Tim, you invited her in. Curt will take any excuse to punish you for this."

Though he reminded quiet, Tim was certainly nervous about the comment. After all, while Phoebe could leave class once the power came back, Tim was stuck in this class until the end of the year. Did he really want to make an enemy out of Curt?

But Phoebe was his friend. What was he supposed to do? Turn on her?

When did blackouts become so stressful?

January 4, 2016

Woodshop

2:26 P.M.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Burke!" Ralphie chirped with an exaggerated grin, sidestepping between his teacher and the handsaw as he spoke. "What, uh… What brings you to this side of the classroom?"

If Ms. Burke picked up on the boy's frantic attempt at sounding casual, she gave no indication that he could tell. Then again, in the dark workshop, there wasn't exactly a whole lot that he could tell. "Good afternoon - Ralphie, is it?" Ralphie nodded. "Well, I thought this would be a fantastic opportunity to get to know my new students. Why let this time go to waste? And, let's see… You must be Dorothy Ann!"

Ms. Burke extended a hand to DA, and stiffly, DA reciprocated. "I'm very excited about this class," she commented, hoping the comment was convincing. She might not be good with a saw, but hopefully she could at least rely upon her skills of sucking up to adults.

"That's what I like to hear!" Ms. Burke's upbeat demeaner suddenly faded, replaced by a look of concern. "Oh dear, what's happened here?"

In an incredible feat of vision, Ms. Burke had spotted the wire stuffed lamely behind the table. As she reached out to investigate the scene, a sense of light-headedness came over DA. Ralphie tried to come up with a good distraction, anything to deter the teacher's search, but he was no good at thinking on his feet and time was up. In just a few seconds, Ms. Burke had discovered the severed cord.

She frowned at the sight. DA was still floundering for words when Ralphie at last spoke up. "Sorry, yeah. I, uh… I got kinda carried away with the saw."

"You did?"

DA's eye grew wide as she stared at Ralphie's shadowy figure. "You did?"

Ralphie gave a small smile towards DA and nodded. "Yeah. Sorry, I swear I didn't mean to cause this power to go out or anything. I guess I just wasn't ready to work the machine."

Ms. Burke sighed and rubbed her temples. DA gulped. "He's… Not going to get in trouble, right? I know it was an accident."

She shook her head. "Forgive me, I'm not upset with you, Ralphie."

"Really?"

"These things happen. It's part of the learning process." Ms. Burke scowled at the saw once again. "I just can't believe that the administration would leave such an important cord lying around in the same room as the saws."

DA relaxed at the reply. "And you're not mad at him?"

Ms. Burke smirked in the blonde's direction. "No, I'm not mad at anyone. But next time, please just tell me if there's an issue, okay? Accidents happen."

From her tone, it was clear that Ms. Burke suspected who really cut the wire. It didn't matter, though – they were both in the clear. Ralphie gave a thumb's up to the teacher, and content, Ms. Burke left to explain the situation to maintenance, leaving DA and Ralphie to breath a deep sigh of relief.

January 4, 2014

Physics

2:29 P.M.

Carlos's face lit up. "Okay, I got it! She trained a gerbil to crawl through the vents to the boiler room and chew through the wires. She released it at the end of lunch, and it only just finished gnawing through the last one!"

"Or," Keesha cut in, to Wanda's disdain, "Maybe she's just run an invisible wire from her desk all the way to the breaker box. The moment she got a question she didn't know the answer to – boom, lights off!"

"She could have pressured William to do something," Arnold suggested. "Or even Mikey. She's pretty intimidating."

Wanda slammed her fists on the table and shot up. "I didn't do anything!" she cried, silencing the room for a few seconds.

Carlos turned to Arnold. "I think you're on to something there."

January 4, 2014

English

2:31 P.M.

Phoebe needed a break from the tension around the desks, so she and Tim has found a new space to pass the time in the front of the room, away from Carson and Sam and even Curt's glares. And while the change in pace was more than welcome to Phoebe, Tim couldn't help but reflect upon what his friends had said to him.

He enjoyed spending time with his friend – he and Phoebe rarely had one on one time, and the girl was a welcome calm presence compared to Wanda or Carlos. Still, this classroom held his future for the next few months. Could he let his loyalty to his friend destroy the life he had built for himself here?

He knew what he had to do.

"Phoebe," he murmured, distracting the girl from the lazy doodle she'd been drawing in her notebook. "Arnold's basement is going to be fun, isn't it?"

Phoebe grinned fondly. "Of course," she replied sweetly. "We'll play games together, and tell stories – I bet Wanda will have some good tales about this blackout. And we'll be there, soon."

Tim nodded, stepping towards the girl slowly. "That's right. And the snacks?"

"Arnold's parents always get the best snacks," Phoebe continued, now in a world of her own. "Sweet and spicy and every flavor you can imagine. I think they even restocked the pantry last weekend!"

"They did…" Tim braced himself for what would come next. At least Phoebe was content; the peaceful expression she wore was everything. "They really did…"

Tim gathered his nerves. Then, in a swift motion, he swung open the classroom door, pushed she girl out into the hallway once more, and shut the entrance behind her. Phoebe turned in shock back towards the classroom, and through the glass panel in the wood, she could just make out Tim's regretful face.

"I'm sorry, Pheebs. But… You're dead to this classroom."

Sam walked up behind the boy and pat him on the shoulder. "You did the right thing, Tim. It's the way things had to be."

Phoebe watched the two disappear back into the darkness of the classroom, a look of confusion upon her face. Why was her life like this?