Welcome to NHS

By Swifty Li, as told to Keza: Queen of Procrastination

AN: Aye. Yi yi.

+

"You guys have to hear this! Oh… but… well first of all, I was only in the principal's office to make a phone call, I swear!" Snitch was talking inhumanly fast, eyes wide and breath heaving - for once he seemed to have dropped the whole "gangsta" demeanor. Boots was right beside looking equally frightened, one side of his headphones off of his ear and blaring obscenities. He seemed to have a permanent slouch due to all her chains and "bling bling" and the like.

"Yeah?" Lute challenged, the bitter sarcasm in her voice not quite matching the affection in her eyes. "A phone call - to who?"

"It's not important," he said quickly, ears turning pink.

A whole group of us were lounging outside around a picnic table, enjoying the last few minutes before lunch was over.

"Naw, come on, G, tell 'em!" Boots urged, punching Snitch in the arm none too lightly. "Remember the looks on their faces, dawg?!" Snitch's own face lit up.

"Oh, yeah! Yo, hah, you guys have to gotta hear what we did to the freshmen girls'-"

"Snitch," Slick said patiently. "You were saying?" Snitch's face fell, his expression looked blank. "The principal's office…" Slick prompted, an eyebrow raised.

"Oh, right, but it's only for two days this time!"

"SNITCHY! You were suspended again?!" Lute's voice was so shrill I could have sworn I saw Lyr's glasses crack. Lyr herself just cringed and unwrapped another chocolate coin. Ruin, who had previously just been stand up on the table, dipping her French fries into Tabasco sauce and looking amused, jumped down and joined the protests.

"Come on Snitch, just tell us what you heard!"

Snitch basked in the attention happily. Then Lute smacked him upside the head.

"OW! FUCK IT!"

Lute just giggled, Snitch whimpered and rubbed at his cheek.

"Jesus, ok, it's nothing big. Just the principal on the phone with somebody, something about… uh… debt, no funding." He frowned in thought. "People losing jobs and the school being knocked down to make room for-"

"A highway," Boots supplied.

"Right. A highway."

Stunned silence met this. Specs and Dutchy even stopped snogging to stare. I took a shot at piecing it all together.

"So…" I began slowly. "Our funding has been cut, the school and the town are in debt, and now the town wants to liquidate the school so they can have another highway…?"

Someone snickered. Dutchy was the culprit.

"I don't believe it," he said decisively. "I mean… he, Specs, stop it… well, Snitch has been truthful before, but are we sure he isn't… stretching it?" Snitch looked hurt.

"Bu-" Snitch started to protest, but Lute ruffled his hair and shushed him.

"He has a point," Slick said, spitting out a watermelon seed. Others agreed, Snitch did have a reputation to exaggerate. Only Ruin didn't speak.

"So boys," she said finally. "Tell me about this Freshmen thing…"

+

The subject was dropped, presumably forgotten - but then study hall happened. I was in my usual position, hunched over some random bit of homework and doing my best to block out the obscene (yet still fascinating) conversation Chattah and Babble (don't worry, I get them mixed up too) were having.

"No, no, not there," Babble was saying. You don't know how hard it was for me to keep from turning around. "Right, right. Exactly. You got it now! Hey Swifty!"

I jumped, dropped my pencil, then turned around, feeling a blush rise in my cheeks. Babble pretended not to notice.

"Chattah wants to join band," she told me. I couldn't help but look skeptical.

"I can do other things than just cheer!" She said, frowning and looking a bit hurt.

"And talk," added Glitter, who had just sat next to me. Chattah grinned.

"Yeah, I'm good at that too."

"I told her she could be a flute," Babble continued. "So she can stick around me and hopefully not get raped."

"Raped? What?" I'm sure Chattah's alarmed look matched my own. Babble shrugged calmly.

"Lute gets testy sometimes. And her flute is… well…"

"Right."

"Yep."

Awkward pause. I was about to seize the day and get back to my homework, then Chattah stopped me.

"So… ah... Swifty, what do you know about the new guy?"

"Oh, Mr. Perfect?" I muttered sardonically.

"Yeah, that's the one," Chattah said, the sentence followed by a classic dreamy sigh. Babble and Glitter mimicked the noise. I hoped my vomit would cover them all. Realization struck, and hard.

"Oh."

Chattah snapped out of her daydream. "What?"

"That's why you want to join band. Because… 'He' is in it."

"Well, duh."

"Jeez Swifty."

"Yeah, a little slow on the uptake today?"

"Ladies," I said. "I have homework to do." And with that I turned back around, feeling quite proud of my timely conclusion. And timely it was, for at that moment Angelic One burst into the room, and I had a better view than I would have before. She ignored our supervisor's disapproving look and darted over to my table. I must have been the only sane looking person in sight. That's not a rare occurrence.

"Swifty?"
"Mmm?" I tried to appear uninterested.

"Remember that thing Snitch and Boots were rambling about earlier?"

I thought hard… they do ramble a lot.

"Emm… nope."

"About the school being demolished?" Her voice started to rise, octave by octave.

"Right! Yeah, so they made up a story to scare us. What's that have to do with anything?"

"I think it's true."

My own panicked silence was broken by Glitter and her, "what the hell are you two talking about?"

"I was making copies in the office and I overheard Seitz yelling like crazy. You know, more than the norm. Anyhoo, I busied myself shuffling the papers into place and slid closer to try and make out what he was saying…" During the course of this tale Angelic One had leaned forward and dropped her voice, causing us all to edge closer in anticipation. Then she straightened up and shrugged, ruining the whole effect. "It's true," she said simply. "Funding has gone down the drain, we're up to our asses in debt, and the state is demanding a highway." She sighed. "Schools out, boys and girls. Not only that, since they won't build a new school for us, we'll have to go to another town's school - and pay for it too!"

Chattah summed it up best. "Well, that sucks!"

Angelic One kept her eyes on mine. "Do you believe me?"
"Yes," I answered levelly.

"Good." She sat down. "Now what're we going to do?"

"Tell the others, I guess."

"Wait, wait!" The news seemed to have just registered with Babble. "We're going to have to move? Split up? Pay to go to a freaking public school??"

"Well… yeah."

"My parents are going to flip."

"Are you sure it's definite?" I asked Angelic One.

"Almost positive," she said. "Seitz was talking on the phone, then with the vice principal."

"Jeez woman, how long were you in there?" I couldn't help a smile from creeping onto my face. Angelic One grinned back. "Most of this study and the period before. Hey, being true to my nick name does come in handy. A lot."

"Ok, so, what's the plan? What are we going to do?" Glitter asked.

A bell rang.

"Nothing," I said, closing up my folders. "Study is over." Then to Angelic One, "d'ya think Seitz will tell us?"
"Truthfully? I don't know. I wouldn't think he'd have anything to lose by letting everyone know, but then again…" She shrugged. "Who knows what corrupt politics happen behind those fuzzy office windows."

I ignored the comment.

"I wonder if we could do anything about it? Raise the funds needed or something."

"Yeah," she snorted. "Bake sales to save the school. Face it, Swifty, we're in it deep."

"Bake sale? Who, where, and what kind of cookies?" Ali appeared at Angelic One's side as if by magic. We exchanged glances.

"This is gonna be interesting," I muttered. She nodded in agreement and we trudged out together to the parking lot.

Ali bounced along behind us.

"Guys, what? Guys, come on guys, tell meee! What're you talking about? Can I help? Come on, I wanna know!"

I had a feeling that a lot of people would want to know.

But should we tell them?

+

Well, now that I have a plot and all, chapters will come quicker - in theory (shut up Lute). You all can thank FictionHobbit for the plot idea. Now go read "Stand by Me" by her and try to get her to update it. ^^