Chapter 5
Vaughn refused to talk to Marshall or Lucas anymore about the kiss or Josie's visit. Now wasn't the time or the place for that kind of torture—as was exhibited earlier. Corrine, on the other hand, was more than willing to talk to them all. Even Marshall. About everything.
Josie kept silent for the duration of the day. Until it was time for the last class—science.
"First day back, and already a science class," Josie muttered. "Go figure. At least Z will be happy to see me. Right?"
They all looked their own ways.
"Alright class," Durst announced. "Due to Professor Zachary's sojourn to elsewhere actual reality, we have had to look for a permanent substitute, incase—however unlikely—he doesn't return."
"I present to you Miss Meeder, a close friend of mine," Durst said moving out of the way for the younger, more attractive friend of hers.
Josie leaned back in her chair and dug her fingers into Vaughn's hand. "Z isn't here? Why was I not told Z was gone? Gone where? Gone why? Gone how?"
"First, I think you drew blood," Vaughn complained as she retracted her fingers. "Second, he left about a month ago—we think it was to look for you—and third, it doesn't matter."
For me? She thought, it seemed so unlikely. Yet, so obvious. "Why doesn't it matter?"
"Well, we haven't had a science club meeting since before you left, and we've had plenty of other teachers filling in," Vaughn replied. "Besides we—"
Miss Meeder cleared her throat to signal silence. She nodded for Durst to leave, and once she was sure she was gone, she began to talk. "Alright, now, I'm not sure what you're up to in science. I don't even care. Today, you're just going to pretend to do something while I get to know you all. Or you can leave. Your choice."
"Anyone else want to marry Miss Meeder?" Stew piped up.
"Get in line," Josie concurred, amidst the chatter.
"No one ever wanted to marry Z," Marshall said sullenly.
"My name is S. Meeder," she said. "Why don't I tell you my first name? Silly, silly, students. It's irrelevant. It all is. Everyone's just a shadow, so why get involved in that sort of chicanery?"
"I think I'll put the wedding on hold," Stew muttered.
Josie turned around in her chair. "Too complicated for you?"
"Phht. What do you know about complicated?" Madison said snidely. "I mean apart from your mental state..."
"This isn't a bar," Miss Meeder interjected. "Of course, I'm more than willing to take wagers on who would win if they fought."
Josie slumped down in her seat. Miss Meeder took out the role and seating arrangements, and pointed at random people around the room asking them about themselves—and what science meant to them. Overall, she didn't seem very passionate about science at all. Or teaching.
Until she reached Vaughn's name. As if she was caught off guard by it, she pulled back a look of shock on her face as she dropped the role. She shook her head slightly, as she picked it up, and gave a sideways glance at him.
"Sorry about that," she apologized. "I didn't realise there was a Pearson in this class. I... used to know a Victor Pearson—it ended badly. A relative of yours perhaps?"
"My father," Vaughn said.
She said nothing in response and continued on down the role.
"Weirdness, thy name is Meeder," Lucas whispered to Marshall.
"Hmmm," Marshall whispered back in response. "She's different to Z in every way, but... I... I like her."
"Of course you do," Lucas said.
Yawning loudly, Marshall muttered something under his breath that Lucas couldn't hear. He rubbed his eyes and leaned back in his chair.
"You okay?" Lucas asked, concern showing in his face.
The words seemed so far away. He wasn't sure if he even heard them correctly. He turned back around to answer Lucas when he noticed no one else was around him. His first instinct was to blame the wormhole.
"Marshall, you coming?" Josie asked. "Or are you just going to sleep for a while longer?"
"Longer?" Marshall echoed. "What do you mean?"
"She means, Mr. Wheeler, that you fell asleep in my class," Miss Meeder explained before Josie could answer. "And you looked so peaceful that I didn't want to wake you."
"Uh, thanks, I think," Marshall said quickly as he gathered his things and left the room with Josie and Lucas.
All five of them sat around a table in the cafeteria with Josie pushing Corrine to tell them something. Obviously, it was important, because Corrine wasn't about to say a word of it to anyone. Especially with Marshall around.
Finally, Josie was the one to break her silence. "Alright, you want to know who Corrine wants to get all sweaty with?"
A small gasp/scream escaped Corrine's throat as she clamped her hand over Josie's mouth. "Ignore her please. I'll tell you when I want to tell you."
"Kill joy," Josie muttered. "So, anyone care to elaborate for our hero... ine... why Z left for me? Come on guys, I've been gone for two months! Me, in and the filling thereof would be greatly appreciated."
"You didn't have to leave," Lucas murmured, not expecting her to leave.
"I'm not getting drawn into this with any of you," Josie said adamantly. "I don't need to explain my actions. All you need to know is—"
"She's right. You're right," Vaughn said cutting her off. "We don't need to know, unless you want to tell us."
"See, if he understand, all of you should," Josie said, selecting her words with a certain evenness. "I just had some things going on in my mind."
And thus the conversation died. Silence ran rife through the group, as they all sat in their seats looking uncomfortable.
"Okay, I obviously offended you in all in some way," Josie commented softly. "I didn't mean to."
"I forgive you," Corrine said warmly. She looked Marshall directly in the eye. "Understand me? Our friendship, it will never be the same. You need to understand that as well. And... I don't think I have anything else to say."
Marshall looked around hoping someone else would say something. No one did. "I understand. I think it would be best if we didn't go into each other's rooms for a while. You know, not see each other outside of the school part of school. The part where we're not in class."
She nodded slightly.
"I'm not about to let the awkward silence creep back in," Vaughn said loudly. "So, Miss Meeder, interesting, isn't she?"
"She was friends with your dad," Josie reminded them. "That can't be good."
"Interesting, yes," Marshall answered him. "She won't replace Z though."
"Few teachers could," Josie said agreeing. "But she made an impact with the class. How many people will want her to leave?"
"She's a friend of Durst's as well," Lucas said. "And since Z went AWOL with little notice..."
"You think she might be a permanent replacement? In the Stone-Henge sense of the word?" Corrine asked. "I wouldn't be surprised. There's more to her than meets the eye, though."
Old news is so exciting," Josie said tartly. "Name one new person that hasn't been obvious and boring and normal. I mean we had me, god knows who before that, the Janitor, John and now Meeder. Noticing a pattern?"
"Not so much a pattern as a large number of strange individuals," Marshall noted, yawning.
"Sure you're okay?" Lucas asked, readjusting his glasses. The concern there once more.
"I actually think I might get some rest," Marshall said, rubbing his forehead. "You want to come with?"
"Yeah, I think I will," Lucas said quickly. "We'll see you all later."
And like that, they were gone.
"Nice to see everything getting back to normal," Vaughn remarked. "Except for the sleeping problem."
Josie swallowed hard. "It's been changed around more than you think."
Vaughn and Corrine looked at her, expecting more words like that to flow out.
"I'm... going to go see Miss Meeder, see if I can get some catch up work," Josie eyeing Madison. "And I'll try to dig up some dirt on her."
"You're such a nice girl," Vaughn said off-handedly.
She grabbed him by the front of the shirt and pulled him in close for a short kiss. "Don't I know it. Aren't you just getting kissed by everyone lately?" She asked amused.
Vaughn touched his lips as she hurried off.
"What's wrong?" Corrine asked.
"Her lips," Vaughn said vaguely.
"What about them?" Corrine asked, a flash of annoyance in her voice.
Vaughn glanced at her. "I have to go."
And as he ran off, Corrine was alone again. "It's okay, I have someone to see about passing a class."
Vaughn refused to talk to Marshall or Lucas anymore about the kiss or Josie's visit. Now wasn't the time or the place for that kind of torture—as was exhibited earlier. Corrine, on the other hand, was more than willing to talk to them all. Even Marshall. About everything.
Josie kept silent for the duration of the day. Until it was time for the last class—science.
"First day back, and already a science class," Josie muttered. "Go figure. At least Z will be happy to see me. Right?"
They all looked their own ways.
"Alright class," Durst announced. "Due to Professor Zachary's sojourn to elsewhere actual reality, we have had to look for a permanent substitute, incase—however unlikely—he doesn't return."
"I present to you Miss Meeder, a close friend of mine," Durst said moving out of the way for the younger, more attractive friend of hers.
Josie leaned back in her chair and dug her fingers into Vaughn's hand. "Z isn't here? Why was I not told Z was gone? Gone where? Gone why? Gone how?"
"First, I think you drew blood," Vaughn complained as she retracted her fingers. "Second, he left about a month ago—we think it was to look for you—and third, it doesn't matter."
For me? She thought, it seemed so unlikely. Yet, so obvious. "Why doesn't it matter?"
"Well, we haven't had a science club meeting since before you left, and we've had plenty of other teachers filling in," Vaughn replied. "Besides we—"
Miss Meeder cleared her throat to signal silence. She nodded for Durst to leave, and once she was sure she was gone, she began to talk. "Alright, now, I'm not sure what you're up to in science. I don't even care. Today, you're just going to pretend to do something while I get to know you all. Or you can leave. Your choice."
"Anyone else want to marry Miss Meeder?" Stew piped up.
"Get in line," Josie concurred, amidst the chatter.
"No one ever wanted to marry Z," Marshall said sullenly.
"My name is S. Meeder," she said. "Why don't I tell you my first name? Silly, silly, students. It's irrelevant. It all is. Everyone's just a shadow, so why get involved in that sort of chicanery?"
"I think I'll put the wedding on hold," Stew muttered.
Josie turned around in her chair. "Too complicated for you?"
"Phht. What do you know about complicated?" Madison said snidely. "I mean apart from your mental state..."
"This isn't a bar," Miss Meeder interjected. "Of course, I'm more than willing to take wagers on who would win if they fought."
Josie slumped down in her seat. Miss Meeder took out the role and seating arrangements, and pointed at random people around the room asking them about themselves—and what science meant to them. Overall, she didn't seem very passionate about science at all. Or teaching.
Until she reached Vaughn's name. As if she was caught off guard by it, she pulled back a look of shock on her face as she dropped the role. She shook her head slightly, as she picked it up, and gave a sideways glance at him.
"Sorry about that," she apologized. "I didn't realise there was a Pearson in this class. I... used to know a Victor Pearson—it ended badly. A relative of yours perhaps?"
"My father," Vaughn said.
She said nothing in response and continued on down the role.
"Weirdness, thy name is Meeder," Lucas whispered to Marshall.
"Hmmm," Marshall whispered back in response. "She's different to Z in every way, but... I... I like her."
"Of course you do," Lucas said.
Yawning loudly, Marshall muttered something under his breath that Lucas couldn't hear. He rubbed his eyes and leaned back in his chair.
"You okay?" Lucas asked, concern showing in his face.
The words seemed so far away. He wasn't sure if he even heard them correctly. He turned back around to answer Lucas when he noticed no one else was around him. His first instinct was to blame the wormhole.
"Marshall, you coming?" Josie asked. "Or are you just going to sleep for a while longer?"
"Longer?" Marshall echoed. "What do you mean?"
"She means, Mr. Wheeler, that you fell asleep in my class," Miss Meeder explained before Josie could answer. "And you looked so peaceful that I didn't want to wake you."
"Uh, thanks, I think," Marshall said quickly as he gathered his things and left the room with Josie and Lucas.
All five of them sat around a table in the cafeteria with Josie pushing Corrine to tell them something. Obviously, it was important, because Corrine wasn't about to say a word of it to anyone. Especially with Marshall around.
Finally, Josie was the one to break her silence. "Alright, you want to know who Corrine wants to get all sweaty with?"
A small gasp/scream escaped Corrine's throat as she clamped her hand over Josie's mouth. "Ignore her please. I'll tell you when I want to tell you."
"Kill joy," Josie muttered. "So, anyone care to elaborate for our hero... ine... why Z left for me? Come on guys, I've been gone for two months! Me, in and the filling thereof would be greatly appreciated."
"You didn't have to leave," Lucas murmured, not expecting her to leave.
"I'm not getting drawn into this with any of you," Josie said adamantly. "I don't need to explain my actions. All you need to know is—"
"She's right. You're right," Vaughn said cutting her off. "We don't need to know, unless you want to tell us."
"See, if he understand, all of you should," Josie said, selecting her words with a certain evenness. "I just had some things going on in my mind."
And thus the conversation died. Silence ran rife through the group, as they all sat in their seats looking uncomfortable.
"Okay, I obviously offended you in all in some way," Josie commented softly. "I didn't mean to."
"I forgive you," Corrine said warmly. She looked Marshall directly in the eye. "Understand me? Our friendship, it will never be the same. You need to understand that as well. And... I don't think I have anything else to say."
Marshall looked around hoping someone else would say something. No one did. "I understand. I think it would be best if we didn't go into each other's rooms for a while. You know, not see each other outside of the school part of school. The part where we're not in class."
She nodded slightly.
"I'm not about to let the awkward silence creep back in," Vaughn said loudly. "So, Miss Meeder, interesting, isn't she?"
"She was friends with your dad," Josie reminded them. "That can't be good."
"Interesting, yes," Marshall answered him. "She won't replace Z though."
"Few teachers could," Josie said agreeing. "But she made an impact with the class. How many people will want her to leave?"
"She's a friend of Durst's as well," Lucas said. "And since Z went AWOL with little notice..."
"You think she might be a permanent replacement? In the Stone-Henge sense of the word?" Corrine asked. "I wouldn't be surprised. There's more to her than meets the eye, though."
Old news is so exciting," Josie said tartly. "Name one new person that hasn't been obvious and boring and normal. I mean we had me, god knows who before that, the Janitor, John and now Meeder. Noticing a pattern?"
"Not so much a pattern as a large number of strange individuals," Marshall noted, yawning.
"Sure you're okay?" Lucas asked, readjusting his glasses. The concern there once more.
"I actually think I might get some rest," Marshall said, rubbing his forehead. "You want to come with?"
"Yeah, I think I will," Lucas said quickly. "We'll see you all later."
And like that, they were gone.
"Nice to see everything getting back to normal," Vaughn remarked. "Except for the sleeping problem."
Josie swallowed hard. "It's been changed around more than you think."
Vaughn and Corrine looked at her, expecting more words like that to flow out.
"I'm... going to go see Miss Meeder, see if I can get some catch up work," Josie eyeing Madison. "And I'll try to dig up some dirt on her."
"You're such a nice girl," Vaughn said off-handedly.
She grabbed him by the front of the shirt and pulled him in close for a short kiss. "Don't I know it. Aren't you just getting kissed by everyone lately?" She asked amused.
Vaughn touched his lips as she hurried off.
"What's wrong?" Corrine asked.
"Her lips," Vaughn said vaguely.
"What about them?" Corrine asked, a flash of annoyance in her voice.
Vaughn glanced at her. "I have to go."
And as he ran off, Corrine was alone again. "It's okay, I have someone to see about passing a class."