"FATHER DOMINIC! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?" I yelled as I slammed his office door.
Okay, I think this deserves an explanation. I know, yelling at a priest is low…but when they do stupid things, you gotta bring it to their attention.
Okay, rewind button…
All of the members of the junior class at Mission Academy were standing in the assembly yard, awaiting the ever-popular roll call before we boarded the huge bus. I was standing next to CeeCee and Adam, who were chatting casually about something.
"At least we get a week's break from this hell hole," Adam said. "Come on, Adam, it won't be that bad. I mean, we might actually learn something," CeeCee pitched in. "Exactly! Who wants to get out of school to take a trip and then have to learn something?" Adam asked as he folded his arms.
"What do you think, Suze?" CeeCee asked. "Uh…it may be kinda interesting. But if they want to unify the junior class, they need a different strategy," I said, looking around the crowd of faces. Everyone was in a different clump of about 5 people. Except for Adam, CeeCee, and me…we were just the three amigos, on our own. Yeah, that's some real junior unity for you…
"I see what you mean. I'm totally feeling the love," Adam said sarcastically as Kelly Prescott swiped by and nearly pushed him over.
"Well, they tried. And you never know…maybe there'll be a weird bonding moment," CeeCee said, sounding pretty serious. Adam heaved a shudder. "Bonding? Gross, I shudder at the thought!" Adam exclaimed, exaggerated disgust on his face.
"That's exactly the attitude that will destroy the goal of this trip, Mr. McTavish," Mr. Walden told Adam as he brushed past us. CeeCee and I looked at each other for a moment and then started laughing.
"Junior class, may I have your attention?" Mr. Walden asked in vain. Everyone went about his or her business, still chatting away. Mr. Walden jumped on one of the picnic tables in the assembly yard and blew a shrill whistle, causing everyone to jump and cover their ears.
"Juniors! Roll call will now begin," he began again, pulling out his list of names. He cleared his throat and started naming names…
"Bradley Ackerman?" Mr. Walden announced.
Everyone started giggling or snickering. Some of the jocks went, "Bradley! WHOOP, WHOOP!" "Right hurr!" Dopey answered with a very unattractive snort that sent him and the rest of his friends in to a fresh peel of laughter. "Real mature, guys," CeeCee said over her shoulder to them.
Mr. Walden rolled his eyes and continued.
I started thinking if it was possible to get a new stepfamily. Well, except I'd keep Doc and Andy, and possibly Sleepy. Doc helped me with my homework and with the researching of my ghostly clients. Although, he just thought I had a weird obsession with history. Andy cooked like a gourmet chef, and he was handy around the house. Plus, he was kind of growing on me a little. I nearly called him 'dad' as I was about to leave for the trip. Now that's a scary thought. Sleepy was never home, because he was too busy "studying" in college. Dopey…he was just useless…and disgusting!
"Kelly Prescott."
"Present," Kelly said calmly as she filed her fingernails. She looked a little too dressed up for spending a few hours on a bus. She was wearing a light blue sleeveless turtleneck with bold patterned capris, her blonde hair teased up into a half-up half-down style, complete with a light blue headband. Her robot-followers wore practically the same outfit, but in different colors. I think that's the farthest junior unity ever went. Everyone started chattering as Mr. Walden was trying to find where he left off.
"People! The sooner we get this roll call done, the sooner we can leave!" Mr. Walden reminded us. But that never stopped anyone…
"Where was I…I already said Kelly, didn't I?" Mr. Walden asked as he was searching for his spot.
"Oh, here I am…"
"Paul Slater"
"I'm here, Mr. Walden," a familiar voice called. Paul emerged from behind the bus with his luggage cooly, shaking a fallen brown curl from his tennis-tanned face. Debbie Mancuso let out a sigh, only to be elbowed severely by Kelly who was fuming.
No…no way…no freaking way! Paul Slater, here…there had to be a mistake. Oh my God.
"Susannah Simon"
That meant…I was going to have to spend a whole week with Paul Slater…
"Susannah Simon?"
And Father Dominic wasn't going to be there. And neither was Jesse…
"SUSANNAH SIMON! Are you here?"
Why was everyone looking at me? I mean, just because I was the one person most commonly associated with him…
Oh…they weren't looking at me because of Paul…
"Oh, um…here!" I called out sheepishly. I felt pretty small under everyone's gaze. Even Paul was looking at me, with one of his dark brown eyebrows raised slightly. I let out a cautious smile and I took off for the principal's office…
So that brings up back to where we began…
"What in the WORLD possessed you to let Paul Slater go on this trip?" I continued yelling.
"Susannah, it was out of my hands," Father Dom replied calmly.
"What do you mean…out of your hands? You're the principal! Can't you, like, veto this kind of thing?" I asked shrilly.
"Sister Ernestine said he seemed very contrite. He even went to reconciliation," Father Dom said, still as calm as ever.
I sat down in the chair and started banging my head on his desk multiple times. "Susannah, stop being childish," Father D chided me. "How can you be so calm about this, Father D?" I asked, looking up at him.
"He sent a letter of apology to the novice and to Miss Prescott, asking of their forgiveness. The novice showed it to Sr. Ernestine, who was shocked at its sincerity. After a short meeting with him, Sr. Ernestine was convinced that Mr. Slater was truly sorry for his actions and decided that he should get to go on the trip. And besides, Susannah, he's new. We couldn't deny him the chance to get to know his fellow classmates better. The week's suspension that he served was punishment enough."
"Are you kidding me?" I asked incredulously.
"No, I'm not. I wish you'd take this more like an adult, Susannah," Father Dom said as he folded his arms on his desk.
How did he expect me to be calm about this? Paul Slater was going on the trip. I couldn't escape from him. I should have known this was all too good to be true. What am I going to do?
I sat there, shocked and appalled by Father Dom and his actions. How could he? He knew what Paul did last summer! Paul Slater can't change…he's way too stubborn. Oh, but Father Dom thinks everything is always butterflies and rainbows. Well, Father Dominic, it just isn't!
Is there, like, some sort of dark cloud hanging around me? One that soaks all the fun out of everything, making it all turn for the worst?
That would be a yes. And his name is Paul Slater.
I left Fr. Dom's office without any goodbye. You'd be furious too if the principal whom you practically trusted your life with practically hands your stalker a free pass. Life is so unfair!
I walked back into the assembly yard, getting a few suspicious glares from my classmates. I seemed to be getting a lot more of those lately. Ever since that party…
Wait a minute…why was everyone all paired off?
"So…Adam, CeeCee…what did I miss?" I asked as I scanned the yard.
"Oh, not much…oh, you and I are roomies!" CeeCee said cheerfully. "Awesome!" I exclaimed. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all. It would be like a weeklong slumber party. She could even help me find ways to avoid the 'dark cloud' (a.k.a. Paul).
"And we picked buddies," Adam said, "I got dibs on CeeCee."
"Buddies? As in the buddy system?" I asked with a laugh. I hadn't used the buddy system since second grade!
"Yup, you're on your own, Simon," CeeCee said.
Ah, well, I let the kids have their fun. They just looked so cute together, linked arm in arm. I smiled and scanned the crowd for a buddy. It seemed that everyone was taken.
"Well, Suze, it looks like we're in the same boat…again," someone said close to my ear. My blood began to boil, even though my heart was seemingly frozen…it was Paul.
"Um, Adam. I think I would feel more comfortable with a partner of the female persuasion," I said, hoping he'd take a hint. "Sorry, Simon, you're out of luck. I already have to room with him…no way am I gonna be his buddy too," Adam told me as he shook his head.
Well, it could have been worse. I could have been Adam.
CeeCee shot me an apologetic look. Yeah, I'm sorry too, Cee. I turned to Paul in defeat.
Now I won't lie to you. If I were lying I'd tell you I would have rather killed myself. Truthfully, I felt like it might be a little fun. Paul was so unpredictable, so much so that it could turn this trip into an adventure. But I wasn't looking for and adventure…I was looking out for not only my well being, but for Jesse's.
Paul extended his hand to me. I looked down at it and then looked back up at him. His brown wavy hair fell in his eyes again. I flinched in order to stop myself from brushing it out of his face, which would reveal his bright blue eyes that were hidden behind it. He smiled victoriously, showing all of his pearly white teeth. I bet Rick and Nancy spent a pretty penny on that smile.
"Suze," he said calmly, still smiling, "I don't bite."
I can admit that I did not in any way trust Paul Slater. Not in the least! I knew he was dangerous. And if it were at all possible, he looked even more feral at that moment. He was dressed in a black polo shirt that made the muscles in his arms look bigger, along with these black denim jeans that fit him very (and I mean very) well. I know a polo shirt! How hazardous can a guy be in a polo shirt? Let me tell you...you can't judge a book by its cover.
"All right, juniors, now that we all have our buddies we can begin loading the bus," Mr. Walden called out. Everyone packed by the entrance to the bus, making Mr. Walden's statement pretty hard to achieve.
"Single file, guys. SINGLE FILE!!!" Mr. Walden yelled. Some semblance of a line was formed, and the bus was nearly loaded in ten minutes. When it was my turn to get on the bus, I pushed my way in and beat Adam to the aisle seat next to CeeCee. I shot him a sympathetic glance, but Adam just scowled at me and took the seat behind us.
The last person on the bus, obviously in no hurry was Paul. And since Adam was considered a "freak", then the only seat left was the aisle seat next to him. Well, actually Paul was now considered a "freak" too. So Paul winked (at me) and took the seat behind me. Oh, goodie.
Adam immediately put on his headphones and blared his music loudly. CeeCee and I giggled quietly and started chatting about the trip.
Even among one of my best friends, I had to filter my words. Because I had a feeling Paul was listening to it all. Did I mention how bad this trip was going to suck? I had a bad feeling that I would be right…
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A/N: Hey there lovely darlings! To all of you Paul fanatics (join the club), did you really think I was going to deprive Paul of the opportunity to have some fun? Of course not, you silly geese! Plus when I pitched the idea to him that he should lay low for a bit, he got pretty peeved. Go figure. So did you like it? I need some constructive criticism/praise terribly, so if there's something you want or need, just let me know. You guys are the coolest ever! You guys make this all so much fun! Give yourselves a pat on the back! Oh, and Muzacgurl, I have never been to OC before, so sorry if I describe it inaccurately. I'm basing most of my tale on stuff that I've researched, so please pretty please help me out! Thanks everyone! 9 pages, folks…I hope they were good. I'm so nervous!