Chapter Two
"Very
nice," Michael sighed.
"She must
be new," Randy decided.
Jessie
looked straight ahead and saw a tall blond girl walking along the side of the
building. Her golden hair shined against the morning sun and bounced
slightly across her shoulder as she walked briskly by.
Claire put her head in the hands and
tried not to laugh as the two boys behind them ogled the new girl from a far.
"Who," Randy whispered. "Who is that?"
"I don't
know," Michael replied in the same breathless manner. "She looks younger
though."
"If a girl looks like that she's
allowed to be younger."
The two
laughed at what Jessie thought was a really bad male estrogen driven joke and
she watched their backs as they walked away.
"Never thought I'd be so happy to see a
'Barbie Doll' walk by," Claire sighed heavily and smiled with relief.
"Yes," Jessie barely heard her friend's
remark. Her mind was busy running in circles over what she had just
heard. Her dark green eyes searched the distance for possible answers.
"You
know," Claire stood up and dusted herself off. "Curiosity killed the cat."
"Did it?" Jessie rose to her feet as well
and smiled slightly. "Good thing I'm not a cat."
"Right,"
Claire arched a brow and the two girls headed towards the school.
Randy
walked confidently down the hall. Students moved around him and faculty
smiled with approval when he went by. He stopped at his locker and moved his
wire-framed glasses up before he started moving the small knob to work his
locker combination.
"Hi
Randy!" called a cheerful voice.
"Hi,"
Randy turned and gave a smile as his eyes found a medium sized woman coming
towards him. "How are you Mrs. Hamilton?"
"Fine, thank you for asking." She brought
her plump hand to her chest and looked away briefly. Randy was use to this
reaction. Being polite knocked a lot of his teachers off their feet. "I just
wanted to ask if you could help tutor a student on Mondays and
Wednesdays?"
"Sure," Randy
replied obediently. "I'd be happy to."
It
will look good on my recommendations for college. He decided as he
started to open his locker.
Mrs.
Hamilton pulled out a small sheet and gave it to him with a smile.
"You're
such a polite good boy." She spoke loudly and Randy blushed.
I bet
this is how she speaks to her dog. Randy smiled as he took the slip of
paper and looked down at it.
"She's
new," Mrs. Hamilton quickly explained. "She just transferred here. Maria
Ellison. She's a very bright girl. Just has some difficulty with
math."
Randy
studied the paper. Studied the ink that looped around and spelled out the
name. That name, it sounded and felt familiar. Then he
remembered. He became cold inside.
"I really
appreciate it." Mrs. Hamilton continued to gush.
"No
problem," He assured, regaining his composure.
Randy
opened his locker and Mrs. Hamilton gasped.
"What in
the world?" She stepped back and her eyes were as large as saucers.
Randy was
frozen. His arms felt like lead and he dropped his books. He was
moving in slow motion but the world was moving at a faster rate. Mrs. Hamilton
rattled on about the principal hearing about it and students gathered with
curious eyes. Their whispers joined together behind him and became a
drumming chorus.
In large
red streaked letters, a sign fell out. The sign read simply:
Rule #1. . . No Girls allowed
The sign
wouldn't have been so bad, but everything in Randy's locker was missing and the
inside was painted red. All he had were the books he'd spilled onto the
floor.
"I'll get
the principle." Mrs. Hamilton's last words as she left him standing stunned.
Michael
stood to the side and watched with a grim expression.
Randy was next.
The onlookers
continued to watch as the principle came and asked Randy questions. He
apologized that such a 'model' student had to be the victim of such a foolish
prank. Stories began to circulate around the group even as they were shooed
away.
Randy gave a dark look over to Michael as
he allowed himself to be escorted to the Principal's office. Michael nodded his
head and returned his dark eyes to the locker. No one noticed this. No
one, but Jonny Quest who put his head down and walked away.