Inside School Walls

Chapter 5

Lita sighed to herself as she made her way to the buses. She really didn't want to be alone with any of her friends, especially Stacy. God, she knew how much the blonde would rip on her for going out with Matt again... It was something that she wasn't looking forward to at all. Try as she might, Stacy never really could understand when it came to Matt. The redhead felt a little pang of jealousy as she thought of Randy and Stacy. They never had any problems! Never! Stacy had laced one of the biggest 'playboys' in the school and literally had him in the palm of her hand, he was so happy with their relationship. Lita swallowed, pushing the jealousy away from her thoughts, sickened that the feeling had overcome her.

Suddenly, a hand clamped down on her shoulder just as she was stepping onto the sidewalk. Lita whirled around, and felt every muscle in her body snap to attention, realizing that it was Edge. She inwardly cursed and struggled to keep the surprise on her face there, lest any other emotion show. His steely eyes met hers. "We need to talk."

Stephanie McMahon sighed to herself as she clambered onto her bus. How sad was this? She was the principal's daughter, she had a perfectly good car, but her dad forced her to ride the bus everyday in order to provide a 'proper example of standard quality and trust in our system'. Whatever, Stephanie thought crossly, setting her books down in her lap, staring outside of the window at all of the students moving around, going to their cars and buses.

"Hello, baby," her eyes snapped up to see Hunter Hearst Hemsley slide next to her. She glared at him.

"Number one, I'm not your baby, and I'll never be. Number two, someone is going to sit there, so I'd suggest you move."

"And if I don't?" he suggested, a smirk on her face.

"Then I'll tell Daddy you were being a jerk," she said with a sweet smile. All feelings for her father aside, he'd do anything to make sure the school maintained a good image.

Well, except enforce the dress code on anyone else but her.

"One day you'll miss me, Stephanie," he whispered, and moved out of her seat, and went back and to the left a seat. Stephanie rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, the day hell freezes over," she muttered crossly.

"So who's your friend?" Hunter asked from his spot. Stephanie continued looking straight ahead, completely ignoring him as Shawn Michaels stepped onto the bus with that grace of his.

"Shawn!" Stephanie called, waving to him. He smiled, and walked over to her, sitting down beside her.

Stephanie grinned at the incredulous look on Hunter's face.

Lilian Garcia was sure that she had already paced a rut through the floor. Over the booming noise from the CD playing, she had pondered, considered, contemplated, and mulled over her situation. Yet...she was still at square one. There was no way that she could see out of this.

Chris could find a way.

The thought was a stray one, but it hit her with promise. Lilian grinned, flashing a glance at her clock. Chris would be on his way home about now. He always had his cell phone on, no matter what the school rules were. She smiled, rushing toward the jade portable phone and picking it up.

There was no dial tone. Lilian frowned, pressing the 'TALK' button a few times when a voice came over the phone: her mother's voice.

"Don't even think about calling Chris, young lady," she said in a dark voice. "I expect you to be down here for dinner at six, and I want to be here when you call to break up with Chris. I—"

Lilian slammed her thumb down on the 'TALK' button, hanging up, her heart pounding in her chest. The sense of helplessness that claimed her before did so now. She sunk down on her bed. She desperately needed to talk to Chris without her mother interfering. And just the notion is stupid! What are you doing, Lilian? she asked herself. You're not going to do anything against the rules, you've never done something like that.

The blonde felt her eyes travel to the window in her room. As if drawn to it, she walked toward it. Suddenly, she made her decision, her fingers working around the screen frame, and then using the crank to open the actual window. Lilian was suddenly grateful for the roof siding beneath her window. She closed the curtains in her room, and shimmied out the window. The roofing was loose and slippery, but her feet slid to a good position. Carefully, she pulled one screen out and replaced it, and then the other. Lilian pushed her body weight against the open windows. The first shut with a bang. The blonde froze, certain her mother had heard it, but she heard no noises from inside or out. She carefully pushed the other one so there was just enough room to grip the window to come back in. Lilian slid feet-first to the edge, swinging off of it, her hands gripping the gutter. She winced at the sudden jolts of discomfort and pain along her fingers, and let go. Even though she landed in the grass, the small fall still hurt.

She wiped her hands on her clothes, not caring about their condition much. Her heart continued to pound in her chest, but she knew by instinct that she couldn't remain there long without being spotted. She couldn't rely on the neighbors, they would surely tell her mother. Lilian frowned. The school was barely a ten minute walk. There were pay phones she could use to call Chris on the outside. Done reasoning, Lilian began to run in the direction of the school, ignoring the derogatory thoughts in her head.

Because, after all, she reasoned, there's a first time for everything.