Chapter One: Goddamn it, Hilbert.
~Calem~
Calem was trying to relax on his bed when his phone started to buzz like crazy. Picking it up, he looked at who was messaging him. To his annoyance, the texts were coming from his friend, Hilbert.
[3:45 PM] Hilbert: Bro!
[3:45 PM] Hilbert: Bro!
[3:45 PM] Hilbert: Cal!
[3:45 PM] Hilbert: Bro I got a question
[3:46 PM] Calem: what
[3:46 PM] Hilbert: Hypothetically speaking
[3:46 PM] Hilbert: If I asked you to back me up tomorrow at school
[3:46 PM] Hilbert: Like for a fight
[3:46 PM] Hilbert: Would you?
Setting his phone down, Calem stared at the ceiling in vexation. All he wanted to do was chill after a long day at school but now he has to think about the fact he might get into a fight. All because of something Hilbert did. Wouldn't be the first time he got into some sort of trouble that wasn't brought on by himself.
'Goddamn it, Hilbert.' he thought.
[3:48 PM] Hilbert: Bro?
[3:48 PM] Hilbert: Cal?
[3:48 PM] Calem: call me
[3:49 PM] Hilbert: Alright
"What did you do?" Calem asked once he answered the call.
"What makes you think it's my fault?"
"Because chances are it is."
"I mean, you prolly low-key right, but you still could've sided with me."
"Just tell me what you did," Calem demanded while rubbing the bridge of his nose. He felt a headache coming on.
"Some freshman tried to press me in sixth today. I was planning on just forgetting about it but he said he and his friends were gonna jump me at lunch tomorrow."
"Oh my god! Seriously?"
"Yeah, I know right! This kid for real thinks he can beat us in a fight."
"What? No, not that. I'm talking about the fact you're seriously dragging me into a fight with freshmen."
"He deserves it alright? Trust me!"
"Dude, I wish you would just stop doing stupid shit."
"You gonna back me up or not?"
"Look, if I see you fighting at lunch and you start losing, I'll get involved."
"Deal. So how's it going?"
"Annoying. Couldn't you have asked someone else? What about Red?"
"I tried, but he said he wants to finish high school without problems. He is a senior now after all."
"You ask Brendan?"
"He's not even gonna be there at lunch! He's going off-campus, for whatever reason. I already tried other people alright? It's just going to be us."
"Great, two juniors fighting a group of freshmen. I swear to god if we get our asses kicked..."
"It'll be fine!" Hilbert paused. "Oh, I gotta go help my mom with something, I'll talk to yuh later."
"Peace."
After hanging up, Calem forced himself out of bed and went downstairs. He knew he would be home alone for at least a few more hours, so he figured he'd try to have some fun. Taking his phone back out he began calling up another friend.
"Hello?" a girl's voice said.
"Sup, Shauna."
"Oh, hey Calem! How are you?"
"I'm alright. What about you?"
"I'm doing great!"
"That's good. Hey, I'm gonna be alone for a little while, wanna come over?"
"Aww, I would but..."
'FUCK!' he thought.
"...I'm with Serena right now."
"Hi, Calem!" he heard the other girl shout.
"Sorry."
"Eh, don't worry about it. We can hang out some other time."
"I'll call you later, promise!"
"Alright, see ya."
Sighing, he sat down on the couch. Most of his friends were busy, with either school or work still. Since he had done all of his homework before coming home, he was left with nothing to do. Turning on the TV, he tried to find something that would entertain him. After flipping through dramas, sitcoms, cartoons, and old re-runs, Calem realized that nothing that was on seemed interesting. In the end, he just put a random show on for background noise, then went on his phone to distract himself.
~Hilbert~
"It'll be fine!" Hilbert paused. "Oh, I gotta go help my mom with something, I'll talk to yuh later."
"Peace."
As he set his phone now on his nightstand, he heard his mom shout.
"Hilbert! Hurry up!"
"Coming!" he yelled as he ran out of the room and down the stairs, almost falling in the process.
"Yeah, Mom?"
"Help your sister get the groceries out of the car."
"Alright."
"About time," Hilda said as she walked in with two plastic bags. "You take forever to get downstairs."
"Aw, shut up. I was calling Calem."
"Whatever, just help with these."
After about fifteen or so minutes of bringing groceries in and putting them away. The two siblings crashed on the couch. One of them switched on the TV and they began watching some random show together.
"So, what did you call Calem about?"
"This kid in one of my classes was trying to fight me. And I called Cal to see if he'll back me up."
"You're gonna get him in trouble because you couldn't handle some guy on your own?"
"If it was gonna be a one on one then I wouldn't have asked, but he said he was gonna try to jump me with his friends. So I need someone to back me up."
"What did he even do?"
"Well, you know how I was sick and missed a few days?"
"Sick," she said in air quotes.
"I was!"
"Mhm."
"Anyway! When I came back today I sat in my normal seat, right? But this dude, I guess he's new to the class or something, came up to me telling me to get up."
"And what did you do?"
*Sixth Period of that Day*
"What? No," Hilbert looked at the kid, perplexed. "The fuck?"
"That's my seat!"
"No, it's my seat! I've been sitting here since school started."
"This is the first time I'm even seeing you here."
"Yeah, cause I was sick. But that doesn't change the fact that it's mine." Hilbert stood up and got in the face of the other kid.
"Too bad, it's my seat now."
The kid attempted to push Hilbert to the side, but Hilbert saw it coming and braced himself. When the kid was close, Hilbert pushed him back, causing Elio to stumble but not fall. By this point, the entire class had their eyes on them, including the teacher.
"Hilbert! Elio! Is there a problem?" their teacher asked angrily from behind his desk.
"No, there isn't," Elio said with his hands up, showing he wasn't going to do anything.
"Mr. Blacte?"
"No problem, sir," Hilbert said as he sat back down at his desk, looking up at Elio. The two of them stared at each other with disrespect in their eyes. After a few moments, Elio turned away and walked to another empty seat.
*Present*
"I say you should've just let him have the seat."
"No way!"
"Wait, sixth period? Isn't that when you have woodshop? We don't even have assigned seats in that class."
"They're unassigned-assigned seats alright? And I've been sitting there all year."
"School started a month ago. So it's not like that's a long time."
"The point is, that this dude deserves to get his ass beat tomorrow."
"You're a dumbass for fighting a freshman for something that stupid," Hilda said while laughing and getting up. "Well, I have homework to do."
Hilda went up the stairs and Hilbert heard her bedroom door close, then loud music beginning to play. Turning up the volume of the TV, he sat thinking about how the day could go tomorrow.
'God I hope we don't get lose.' he thought to himself.
~Calem~
All Calem could do was stare at his ceiling. He kept on thinking about what could happen at school tomorrow. Two things he imagined were he and Hilbert beating up some freshmen and his other thought was them getting their asses kicked by freshmen.
He doesn't even know why they were going to, just that he agreed to do it if he had to. He figured it wouldn't be too bad to go through with it anyway. At most, they get a few days' suspension, and if one of the freshmen throw the first punch, they'll be punished less. It did also seem like a good way to let off some steam.
Suddenly, a loud noise came from downstairs, which he immediately recognized as the front door slamming shut. Turning his back to the door, he hoped they wouldn't try to bother him.
Then he heard a loud creak. Like what his aged staircase commonly did. The person must have been drunk, as Calem kept hearing thuds coming from the hallway. As if they kept walking into the walls due to a lack of balance.
As the steps got louder and closer, Calem grew ever more uneasy. He couldn't help but feel that the air was getting heavier and heavier, causing his breathing to change. Despite what he wanted, his body tensed up. He was able to smell the pungent odor of cigarettes. Plugging his nose, he waited for the person to just go away, but then he heard his doorknob begin to rattle. Luckily, he had locked it before going to bed.
It started with light shaking, but then it evolved to the handle being pulled and banging on the door. Calem tried to cover his ears with his pillow. At most, it lasted five minutes. To Calem, however, it felt like hours of having to listen to fists beat on the wooden door. But eventually, the person gave up and walked off to their room. Finally, he was able to close his eyes in peaceful silence. It took a while, but he did manage to calm down and fall asleep.
Waking up to near darkness, Calem checked his phone. Almost six in the morning. Perfect.
Getting out of bed, he quickly got dressed in a black t-shirt, his lightly destroyed jeans, and his pair of Old Skool white Vans. Then he made his way over to the bathroom, which he spent no more than a couple of minutes in, before heading downstairs, grabbing his backpack, and hastily walking out of the house.
The sun was just barely poking up over the horizon, casting Calem's neighborhood with some light but letting it still be a tad dark and cool. He preferred it this way, watching the sunrise as he made his way to school, which was about a good half-hour walk. By the time he normally gets there, the kids with a zero period are just starting.
After making it to his destination, he went to the entrance of the football field. Once he showed his school I.D. to a member of security who was watching the gate, he made his way to the bleachers where some students were sitting. Seeing Hilbert, he walked past all the random kids who were there for whatever reason. Not knowing or caring who any of them were.
"Sup," Calem said as he sat on the cold metal bench with his backpack in between his legs.
"Hey, Cal. Aren't you cold?"
"Nah, I'm fine."
"Fucken weirdo. Anyway, Hilda and the other people in her class are just doing stretches right now but should be done soon. Then the show will begin," Hilbert chuckled.
Not long after he spoke, the girls and guys who were in track stopped stretching and began just sitting around. Though Hilda did see the two boys and ran up to them.
"Hey, Calem. What are you doing here so early?" she asked. He saw she was wearing a pair of dark grey joggers, and a thin grey jacket.
"What? Is it weird that I felt like watching a friend practice?"
"A little bit. But since I like the attention, I'll let you continue," Hilda said with a smile.
Looking down, he noticed she wasn't wearing her normal shoes. She was quick to see the confusion on his face and followed his gaze. Smiling more, she lifted her leg and placed her foot next to him.
"I got them yesterday. Nike Structure 22, pink quartz of course. You like them?"
"Yeah, they look nice, you Nike fanatic."
"Shut it," glancing back to her class, Hilda saw her class starting to get ready to run.
She left to get back with the class, but instead of lining up, she stopped at a bench. After taking both of her shoes off, she pulled her joggers down, revealing her long legs and that she had on a pair of pink shorts with white stripes on the sides underneath. Putting her shoes back on, she unzipped her jacket and tossed it onto the bench. Wearing a white Nike tank top, Calem could now see that Hilda was, of course, sporting a full Nike outfit.
Running to the back of the group, Hilda took up a sprinter's position. Calem couldn't see it, but he knew she must have been smiling. The coach raised her whistle to her lips and blew. The sound contrasting with the morning quietness. All the runners took off, all except one. Hilda hung back for a few seconds before running.
"God she's conceited," said Calem.
"Yeah, but she can back it up," Hilbert stated.
Despite the rest of the class getting a headstart, Hilda still managed to pass all of the girls and even some of the slower boys before anyone got halfway around the track. By the time she had finished her first lap, only a few boys were ahead of her.
No more than six minutes after starting the run, Hilda had already finished the warm-up mile. She was the first girl to finish and only four boys managed to beat her. Though none by a large amount of time. Even after running as hard as she could for six minutes straight, Hilda didn't look that exhausted. If anything, Calem thought she looked content.
After running back up the bleachers, Hilda sat in between the two boys.
"Girl, I swear, you'll be breaking records once you're older!" Hilbert exclaimed with excitement.
"Boy, tell me something I don't know! If I was a few inches taller I'd probably already be breaking them."
"Well, too bad you're still short," Calem chuckled.
"Oh shut up, you're both only an inch taller than me."
While Hilda rolled her eyes, Calem and Hilbert shared a laugh. Eventually, the rest of the class had finished their mile and she had to go back down to continue her practice.
Calem spent the remainder of the morning before school watching Hilda beat people in other things, such as short impromptu relay races, and even jumping hurdles. If it involved her legs, all three knew she was going to be one of the best. Finally, the class was over, and everyone started to disperse before school started.
Hilbert and Hilda didn't have the same first-period class as him, so Calem went on his way alone. Since school was going to start in just a few minutes, there were a lot more people around then when he first arrived. After making it to his building, the bell rang. The next two minutes were him pushing through a two-lane stream of people. It felt like each side kept pushing him around.
'God this place fucking sucks...'
Someone even stepped on his shoes, that he only had for less than two weeks, then proceeded to give a half-ass "sorry" without even looking at him. If it wasn't for the fact he was supposed to fight at lunch, Calem would have jumped on the kid immediately and pounded him until someone got him off. Since he was unable to do that, he clenched his fists in his pockets and stomped up the stairs.
Once he got into his classroom, he sunk into his seat and placed his elbows on the desk to prop his head up. After being a few minutes late, a substitute teacher came into the class. Calem took this as an opportunity to zone out and use his phone instead of paying any attention to what the sub had to say.
~Hilbert~
*Begining of Fourth Period*
"One more period!" Hilbert loudly whispered to his sister.
"Boy, you should've just walked away."
"Hell no. If he wants the seat so badly he better beat me in the fight. Which, is only about forty minutes way," he said as he stared at the clock on the wall.
"If he beats your ass I'ma be laughing until we graduate!" Hilda said as she nearly fell out of her chair.
"Quiet back there!" the teacher yelled from the front of the room, causing most people in the class to turn their heads to the two twins in the back corner.
"Sorry..." they both said in embarrassment.
As the teacher went back to instructing the class, the two continued their talk of how they think the fight would go. Hilbert claimed he would win easily, while Hilda admitted to wanting him to lose.
For most of the period, they just jot down short notes or took pictures of the board. Neither one cared for the class at that moment and just wanted it to be lunch already. They had hyped themselves up too much. Even Hilda, who was the better student, was bouncing her knee up and down while watching the clock tick. Waiting for the bell.
After what felt like an eternity, they heard the class ending ring of the bell, and the two jumped out of their seats and ran out the door. They were in such a rush, that they both had forgotten to get the homework.
Lucky for them, their class was close to the exit of the building. Otherwise, they would have been pushing down people to get outside faster. When they were outdoors, the two slowed down to a fast walk and headed towards the cafeteria. Once inside, the two went to where the lines started and waited.
"Oh, I'll be right back, I'm gonna go get Roxie for this. She loves fights!" Hilda said as she ran through the back doors.
Scanning the room, Hilbert couldn't see Elio anywhere. Though he did notice many people were watching him and also took glances around the room. Presumably, they were looking to see if Elio was a no show or not. After some time had passed, he was about to just get in one of the lines and go about his day, when he heard someone shout his name.
"Hilbert!"
Turning back around, he saw Elio standing with three other kids. Grinning he began walking up to the group.
"Wow such a tough guy, bringing three guys to help you fight me. I'm so scared!"
When there was no more than a few feet of space between the boys, a crowd began to form around them. If any of them wanted to back out, it was too late. Hilbert looked Elio directly in his eyes, not a single sign of cowardice was shown between the two of them.
"How come you didn't want to keep this one on one?"
"Shut up. This is what you get for pissing me off."
"Oh, for fuck's sake. All of this over a seat?" a familiar voice came from behind Hilbert.
Turning his head enough to see who it was, but also enough to keep Elio in his peripheral vision, Hilbert saw Calem walking over to him. He noticed that Calem looked quite annoyed. Behind him was Hilda and her friend Roxie, but both of them stopped when they got to the front of the crowd. Roxie, with a smile on her face, pulled her phone out and aimed it on the group of boys.
"Four on two. Ready, Ellie?" Hilbert smirked as he and Calem dropped their backpacks.
Without saying anything, Elio charged Hilbert. His friends were right behind him but neither Calem or Hilbert hesitated. They rushed forward as well. The crowd began to cheer, causing security to begin trying to disperse the group.
Elio had gotten a quick jab on Hilbert's face, causing Hilbert to stumble back and the other kid to push him down. Getting himself up as fast as he could, Hilbert ran back a few feet before turning around and raising his fists in a defensive position. The boys rushed him again but Hilbert jumped to the side causing the two to be unable to seize him.
However, Hilbert was able to grab Elio by the shirt, and due to Hilbert being bigger, he was able to shove Elio into the other guy. The boys both fumbled a bit before Hilbert went forward and sent a punch in Elio's face, hitting him right in the chin.
Elio's knees immediately went weak, and he fell on the floor, slightly dazed. Being a one on one now, Hilbert and the other kid grabbed each other with one hand and punched with the other. The kid got a couple of knee strikes in, but Hilbert could tell the boy was hurting more. Before the fight could go on much longer though, a large man wearing a tan shirt that read "SECURITY" on the back had grabbed both of them by their collars and pulled them apart.
Just seconds later Hilbert, along with all the other boys in the fight, was being escorted out of the cafeteria with a crowd of teens hollering at them. Whether they were good things or bad things being said, he couldn't tell. Either way, he felt pretty confident in the fight.
~Calem~
At the start of the fight, Calem went low and managed to get underneath one of the kids who, unluckily for him, seemed lighter than the others. Calem placed one of his arms through the boy's legs and the other went over the guy's shoulder. Quickly picking the kid up, Calem then slammed him as hard as he could on the ground.
The kid mostly landed on his back, but his head did manage to smack the tile and he started gripping it tightly and balled himself up to be kept from getting hit anymore. The second kid threw a punch towards Calem's head. Going low once more, Calem attempted to pick up the boy as he had done to his friend, but the kid was quick and sent his knee to strike Calem in the chin. Shocked by this attack, Calem fell on to his hands and knees. Calem felt a swift kick go into his ribs. Bearing the pain, he got to his feet and faced the kid.
To Calem's surprise, the smaller kid took up a stance that reminded him of UFC fighters he sometimes watches.
"Fuck..." he muttered under his breath.
Calem knew the kid wouldn't be a pushover. He had an actual technique on his side, unlike Calem who's fighting style was not much more than just trying to punch and kick your opponent when you can. But he pressed on, running up to the kid with his fists raised, sending a punch towards his face. The freshman dodged and went down to grab Calem's legs.
Calem felt himself get swept off his feet. His back hit the tile, causing him to let out a grunt. The kid was quickly on top of him, sitting on Calem's stomach making him be able to do nothing more than cover his face with his arms while the freshman pounded away, trying to get good hits in. A few seconds later, Calem felt the weight on his body go away and looked up to see security had pulled the boy off of him.
As they were being escorted out of the building, Calem couldn't help but feel red in the face. Both from anger and embarrassment of the outcome of the events that had transpired. The whole way to the school's office he kept cursing himself for agreeing to help Hilbert.
Not long after security ended the fight, the boys were sitting in the office of the school. Calem just stared at the door to the principal's office. Hilbert was currently in there already, and knowing Hilbert, he was probably saying it was all Elio's fault. Or maybe he took the blame on himself but was saying that Calem just happened to be there and defended his friend. Never telling what Hilbert would say when he got in trouble.
He didn't have much time to think as Hilbert came walking out of the room, with a stupid grin on his face, giving Calem a quick thumbs-up before sitting down on the other side of the office. Calem noticed Hilbert had a white slip of paper and read the words "Suspension Notice" in bold letters at the top of it.
"Mr. Xavier, come into my office please."
'Please, he says. As if I have a choice,' He silently thought to himself.
Sitting down in a leather chair, the cushion sunk as Calem went down. He looked at the older man in front of him. Calem thought that he didn't look like he was a high school principal. If anything he thought he could be a college professor, with the way he speaks and carries himself. But he wasn't, the plaque on his desk said "Principal Rowan".
"I hope you don't mind, but I'm just going to get straight to the point. Why did you fight?"
"Hilbert told me that some kid might jump him with his friends. I was backing him up."
"Really? Because that's not what Mr. Blacte said."
"Well, I don't care what he said. I'm saying what I know," Calem crossed his arms.
"If he told you he might get jumped, why wouldn't you inform a teacher?"
"Because teachers don't do jack shit."
"Now why do you say that?"
"A freshman threatening a junior? Teachers would probably think the older student was messing with the other kid first."
"You could've seriously hurt him, slamming him like that. It's lucky he only barely hit his head.
"It was a fight. Can you just suspend me already."
"This is the second time you've been in my office this month. Are there any home troubles that are causing you to be more aggressive towards your fellow students?"
"No, there isn't."
"Are you sure? If you need help with anything, the school is more than capable of getting it."
"I don't need help with anything."
"We aren't able to help someone who doesn't want it. Keep that in mind."
"Fine, whatever."
Not saying anything, Rowan let out a sigh before pulling out a stack of papers like what Hilbert had walked out with, Rowan filled one out. Then after tearing it off the connected papers, he gave it to Calem and told him to wait outside.
After leaving the small office, Calem could see Hilbert sitting in a chair still smiling. Seeing Calem, Hilbert showed him his paper and Calem saw he got a five-day suspension. Looking down at his own paper, Calem saw he was given seven-days. He let out a sigh and sat down.
He didn't care for school, but it did give him something to do. Now he was going to have to spend more time at home. The place he hated the most.
Since they were technically supposed to already be on suspension, they had to wait for the school day to end while sitting in the office. Unable to use their phones or listen to music, they just had to sit there and do nothing, for another two periods since they decided to fight at lunch. Finally, the last bell rang. Now all they had to do was wait for Hilbert's mom to pick them up, and they can start to enjoy their suspension.
Another fifteen-minute wait later, Calem could see Mrs. Blacte's car pull into the parking lot in front of the office. He then saw Hilda, who must have been waiting for her mom like them, but outside the office instead of inside. Mrs. Blacte was coming up to the door, but when Hilda walked up to her, she stopped for a second. Then she grabbed Hilda by her ear and walked into the building.
"Where's Hilbert?" She said to an office lady, with a great deal of annoyance and anger in her voice. Slowly, Hilbert got up.
"Ow! Mom! Let go of my ear!" Hilda cried while being pulled. Her mother just ignored her complaining.
"Ma'am, please sign this. We've already called Calem's parent and have gotten their permission for you to take him home."
"Calem, you better hurry up before I leave you here."
Wanting to leave as soon as possible, Calem listened and made his way over to her while she signed a paper saying who she was. Once she finished, the four walked back to her car and got in, Hilda in the passenger seat and Hilbert and Calem in the back together. For the entirety of the ride, Calem was silent, while Hilbert argued with his mom.
Even when they got home, Hilbert was still trying to implore his mother to lighten his punishment.
"I'm telling the truth! It was self-defense!" Hilbert pleaded.
"I don't believe you. So until your suspension is up, you're staying home!"
"Come on! It wasn't my fault!"
"Haha, now you're gonna miss the party tomorrow," Hilda said while laughing at her brother.
"I don't know why you're laughing. You're not going anywhere either," Their mother said.
"What did I do?! I didn't fight anyone."
"You knew it was gonna happen and you just let it. For that, you're grounded all weekend. And until Hilbert's suspension is up, you can only leave for school."
"Mom, please!"
"No! Just be lucky your father is away, otherwise, he would've picked the punishment," Mrs. Blacte said while entering her house and slamming the door.
"Aw, man," The twins said in unison.
"So, who's having a party?" Calem said with interest.
"Oh fuck, I forgot you were here Cal."
"Serena is. At Shauna's house."
"Cool."
"You're gonna go?" Hilda questioned, surprised.
"Don't have anything else to do, so might as well. I'm guessing you guys won't be able to."
"Eh, we'll try to sneak out. But don't expect us."
"Alright. Well, I'm out. See ya."
"Later."
Turning away from his friends, Calem began his walk, which was slightly longer from their house than from school. It was also much hotter now than it was in the morning. Wiping the sweat from his eyebrows, he trekked through the neighborhood for a few more minutes before getting onto one of the main roads of the town. He followed it until he found a street near his house.
Not much longer after that he was walking up to his porch and entering his home. After the day he had, he threw his backpack to the side and crashed on his couch. He stared up at the ceiling, thinking about everything. From last night, all the way to his suspension.
Pushing all of his negative thoughts away, he began to think about the party that Serena was throwing. While Calem didn't know her too well, only having talked to her a few times, he figured it wouldn't hurt to check the party out. He could see and chill with people from school. Meet new people. Maybe even get to know Serena better privately. The more he thought about it, the more he smiled. A party might be just what he needed.
And the first chapter of my new story is complete. I originally wrote a rough draft of this in 3 days. Then took way longer than necessary to finish editing. So this really should've been released maybe two weeks ago. But anyway, it's released now.
As you can see, it is "Another Highschool Story".
Set mostly with the characters from the games but might do a mix from the anime/manga for fun. Let me know what you think of it in a review. If you like it, leave a fav or follow.
Fun Fact about Calem: He originally tried to get with Hilda, however after meeting Hilbert the three became good friends and Calem no longer felt attraction towards Hilda in any way other than a friend.
Fun Fact about Hilbert: He once broke his ankle trying to do a backflip.
Hopefully, you enjoyed the small facts because I'm doing them at the end of each chapter and you can't stop me. Anyway, peace.
~~~Sikahdik