Día de los Inocentes
Chapter Three
Midday Lunacy
It was finally lunchtime in Ocean Shores High and all the students were happily getting their lunches! The cafeteria was packed as everyone sat at the tables and devoured their various snacks and caught up on the latest gossip. We now join Reggie and Sam, who were sitting across from each other.
"…And then Lars chased after him." The blond finished his story. "I haven't seen him so mad before, not even when he lost to us in last week's hockey game."
"Man, talk about being absolutely lame." Reggie said, taking a sip of her chocolate milk. "It's good to know you made it out of there in one piece. That Izzy's a real lame-o."
"Yeah, no kidding." Sam sighed, taking a bite out of his ham sandwich. "But at least Iggy didn't get hurt for once."
"Poor kid. He needs to break away from his brother and make his own friends." She bit into her salad.
"I doubt that'll happen anytime soon. He's too dependent on Izzy." He said that name with a growl. "He wouldn't have any direction in his life. He'd just fall apart."
"Man; that psychology class must be paying off, huh?" Reggie remarked.
"Heh, I suppose." Sam said with a bashful blush. He quickly shook it off as he took a sip of his milkshake. "But you have to admit, he sticks way too close to his brother."
"I guess…" The female sighed guiltily.
"So anyway, have you seen Otto and Twist?"
"I have no clue where Otto is, but Twister's been acting strange all day."
The blond raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"I mean he hasn't been thinking straight at all!"
"And that's different from every other day how?" Sam asked, finishing off his sandwich. Reggie rolled her eyes.
"I mean worse than usual. He's been walking crookedly and his face was all red! He also had this goofy grin on his face. When I asked him what was up, he took one look at me and ran away screaming." She explained. The blond slurped his milkshake as he gave her a strange look.
"That doesn't sound like him at all." He commented.
"Yeah, and every other time I saw him, he was shaking and shuddering like he was afraid or something."
"Weird…" Sam said thoughtfully. "I wonder what's going on here."
.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Meanwhile, at the other end of the cafeteria, Twister entered, looking very distraught. He was pale and trembling badly. He was almost like those old motorized football games. He looked around nervously, as if expecting someone to jump out at any minute. He was shaking greatly as he approached the kitchen, holding an opened letter.
'I-i-i-i-i-i-it can't be…' He thought to himself as he grabbed a tray and waited in line. 'It just can't be her…'
He gulped as a lunch lady put an indescribable brown substance on his tray.
'But if it is, what'll he say? He'll kill me if she sent it…'
.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
At the opposite end of the room, a severely angry Izzy limped inside, along with his brother. There were cuts, bruises, and other matters of damage on the older boy's face. A bandage was on his left cheek, which was swollen. Both of his eyes were even worse than they were this morning. His clothes were so ripped up and dirty, it looked as if he walked in from the street. His hat, shirt, and shorts were covered with red stains. Of course, it was hard to tell if they were paint or bloodstains. Most likely the latter. He was holding a brown bag in his left hand. He growled and snarled as he walked along, thinking of different ways to torture and humiliate those responsible for his pain and suffering.
Iggy, meanwhile, was walking nervously. It seemed like he was having second thoughts about something. Something important. He had a good reason to be jittery. What if what he was planning backfired? He wanted this to be as perfect as possible. But what if she didn't believe him? Everything would be ruined! He clutched his Looney Tunes lunchbox to his chest as he gulped.
"I-I-I-Izzy…?" He spoke up.
"What?" Izzy hissed, turning to him with a dark look. Iggy shuddered at the ice in his eyes before gulping again.
"A-a-a-a-a-are you s-s-sure this'll w-w-work…?" He asked, losing all confidence he had in his plan. The older brunet sighed, forgetting his rage for the moment.
"Don't worry about it. Just tell her the exact same way I showed you the last couple of weeks and everything will be fine." He answered, rolling his eyes.
"R-really?" Iggy asked, his eyes brightening. Izzy shuddered at the display.
"Yeah, really." He confirmed. His brother nodded happily.
"Ok! Let's go!" He shouted eagerly.
"Hmph! Fine." Izzy grunted, walking again. "Come on. I see her."
"Yay!" Iggy cheered, following with newfound confidence.
.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
"What?.! You don't think he—"
"I don't know for sure." Reggie cut Sam off. "But yeah, it looks like he's—"
"Hey guys…" A new voice said with a loving sigh.
The purple haired girl and the blond raised an eyebrow at Otto, who set a tray down on the table and sat down next to the latter. Their eyes widened when they noticed the look on his face. His eyes had a half-lidded expression. His cheeks were a bright red as he leaned on the table and propped his head on both hands. He gave another longing sigh as he stared ahead. Still keeping that weirded out expression, Reggie and Sam followed his gaze to the cafeteria's south wall where the cheerleaders' table was. They gasped in understanding when they figured out the redhead was staring at Clio who was sitting at the head of the table.
"Woah! Otto and Clio!.?.!" They exclaimed, looking at each other. They then looked at Otto. "When did that happen!.?"
"Ahhhhhh… Clio…" Otto simply sighed in response. Without another word, he got up and walked over to a table that was closer to the cheerleaders. Reggie and Sam blinked before turning to each other.
"Things just keep getting weirder and weirder." The former said.
"Yeah." Sam said, nodding in agreement.
Just then, the two juniors saw Twister approach the table. He had a distant look on his face as he sat down, like Otto, next to Sam. It was clear that he wasn't all there as he stared at the brown slop on his tray in dismay. It looked as if he was torn in two directions. He sighed in agony.
"Hey, you alright Twist?" Reggie asked.
"Wha?.?.?" The redhead in the cap sputtered, looking up. He looked around himself in confusion before settling his eyes on the girl across from him. His eyes widened when he noticed her looking at him in concern.
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!.!.!.!.!.!" He screamed, shooting up and running out of the cafeteria. Reggie and Sam sweatdropped as the dust trail he created dissipated. They then turned to each other.
"Do you have the feeling we're missing something important?" The former asked the blond. Sam could only nod in response.
Just then, Reggie felt someone tapping on her right shoulder.
"Yes?" She asked, turning around.
She groaned inwardly when she saw Iggy standing there, sweating as he gulped nervously. Sam suppressed a growl when he saw the older Lopez Brother standing behind the younger one. Iggy gave another gulp before turning to his brother. Izzy put on his usual glower as he nodded. The shorter brunet returned the nod as he turned back to Reggie.
"Reggie, I have something to tell you." He said with a strangely stolid expression.
Both members of the Rocket crew gave him a strange look. Normally, Iggy was extremely goofy and nervous around Reggie. It was no secret that the younger of the two dark haired brothers had a crush on her. He always presented her with flowers and chocolates on Valentine's Day, a basket full of colored eggs and candy around Easter, a toy of some sort on her birthday, and a grand gift around Christmas. Needless to say, the elder Rocket sibling ignored his advances and just shrugged him off.
Today, however, he had a completely stone faced expression. Whatever he needed to say, it was important. Or at least that's what the violet haired girl thought.
"Yeah? What is it?" She asked. Iggy took a deep breath and closed his eyes as he prepared to speak.
"I just wanted to say that I no longer like-like you." He replied, giving her a look of dislike. "In fact, I don't like you at all."
She gave him a bewildered look, but it quickly turned into a small glower as she looked at Izzy, who was snarling at Sam. It was apparent that he put Iggy up to this. Her glower turned into a glare. While she didn't feel the same way as Iggy did, she found his antics and attempts to get her attention cute. In fact, she made a small collection of the different toys he sent her over the years. The majority of them were Hot Wheels cars and little toy soldiers, but the gifts were admirable. And now, he no longer felt anything for her because of the hate his brother had for her blond friend. Did Izzy even have a heart? She felt herself shake in anger.
…That is, until she heard the younger Lopez Brother's snickering.
"Huh?" She turned to the boy, whose snickers turned into full blown laughter.
"Ha ha! April Fools!" Iggy shouted, pointing at her. "I can't believe you fell for it! Hahahaha!.!.!"
Both Reggie and Sam sweatdropped at the display. Izzy only crossed his arms in slight annoyance.
"I could never stop like-liking you, Reggie-Poo!" The boy in the purple cap said, rubbing against her like a purring kitten. "I just wanted to play a little joke since today's April Fools Day and all."
He stood straight up and pointed at his brother.
"Izzy taught me how to look mean and serious for weeks just so that I could trick ya!" He then grinned at Reggie, who had an expression that was somewhere between appalled and seriously freaked out.
"Isn't that funny? Hahahaha—"
"Knock it off already!.!.!" Izzy roared, punting him clear across the room.
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!.!.!.!.!.!"
°CRASH!°
"Idiot. I'm starving over here and he's acting stupider than usual." The brunet in the blue hat muttered. He then turned and bowed respectfully.
"Reggie."
He then growled and shook a fist at her companion.
"Blondie…"
He then stomped over to where Iggy landed.
"That does it." Reggie started, staring after him. "Next April Fools Day, I'm staying home."
"Ditto." Sam agreed.
.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
"Tchahahahahahahaha!.!.! There's no way Rocket Dork will beat this!" Lars sniggered.
The bringer of doom and despair in the gray hat was waiting and watching as kids filed into the classroom for the next period, Driver's Ed. Lars had this class along with Otto and Twister. The reason: It's a special class that anyone sixteen and older can participate in, regardless of what grade they're in. He would've taken the class long ago had it not been introduced this year.
Soon, everyone aside from the two redheads in question was inside. Most were chatting amongst themselves while everybody else (including the teacher) watched eagerly as Lars climbed up a ladder and adjusted the door so that it was ajar.
"Ok, this one's kinda old, but nothing beats the classics." He said to those listening as he climbed down and grabbed a bucket full of ice cold water. "You know how it works: I put the bucket on top of the door. When Rocket Dork and my brother come in, it'll drop on them, soaking them to the bone!"
Everyone in the class roared with laughter at the plan. Lars silenced them with a wave of his hand as he climbed up the ladder again and placed the pail atop the door. The brunet climbed back down and ran to his seat, which was in the back row closest to the door.
Not even five seconds later, the door was slammed open. The bucket, which was already teetering, plummeted on the poor victim's head.
°SPLASH!°
"APRIL FOOLS!.!.!" The entire class shouted, laughing and pointing at the figure, who was standing there with the bucket covering his head. Lars raised an eyebrow. He had expected to get both of the best friends, but instead, only got one of them. Did he drench Otto? Or did Twister suffer this fate?
"Well, it doesn't matter which one of them I got!" He bragged, walking over to the boy, whose fists were clenched dangerously at his sides.
To the student's dismay, the brunet grabbed a nearby hammer, no doubt left behind by a janitor, and banged the pail, creating dents all over it, not to mention giving his brother or rival a massive headache. The mystery person shook and shuddered in a mixture of extreme anger and extreme cold. About five minutes passed before the master of mischief stopped his assault and grabbed the sides of the bucket.
"And now place your bets folks!" He continued the torture. "Which of the miniature dork twins did I just—"
"Hey, sorry we're late." A voice interrupted.
The class (and Lars) gasped in shock when they noticed Otto and Twister standing in the doorway. The shorter of the two redheads, who delivered that last statement, walked inside, followed by his best bro.
"Yeah. We had to do something for a teacher out in the hall." Twister explained. He then gave Lars a strange look. "Why are you looking at us like that?"
The brunet in question was looking at them with a wide-eyed look. His face was drained of all color as he stuttered. In other words, he was flabbergasted.
"Y-y-y-y-you m-m-mean neither of you just got soaked?" He asked slowly.
Otto and Twister raised an eyebrow at him. "No…"
Again, Lars gulped. "Th-th-then that means…"
A low, but lethal snarl dripping venom was heard from inside the bucket. It sounded like a million livid bees that just had their hive destroyed. Slowly, the brunet in the gray hat shakily lifted the pail off the boy's head, revealing…
"IZZY!.?.!" Lars, Otto, and Twister gasped, stepping back.
Indeed, Lars had just dropped the bucket on the one person he didn't need to prank! The junior didn't look the least bit pleased. His face was red in pure, unadulterated rage. His eyes were just as venomous as his snarling. They were two orbs of intense, crimson flames. Due to the extreme heat given off by the boy's rage, the water he was just soaked with evaporated instantly, creating a barrier of steam around him.
Before anyone can do anything, a tanned hand stretched out of the cloud and grabbed onto Lars' shirt. Izzy, huffing and puffing through gritted teeth that looked like they could crack any minute, pulled the older boy in and fixed him with a deadly glare.
"You…" He seethed, tightening his grip.
Regaining his control as both an upperclassman and a bully, he broke out of the younger brunet's grasp and stood back. After dusting himself off, he crossed his arms and snickered at the other prankster. Scratch that. He went into full blown laughter after looking at the outraged boy.
"Heh, heh, sorry kid. That—HAHAHA!.!.!—wasn't meant for—TCHAHAHA!.!.!—you! But it—PAHAHAHA!.!.!—was PERFECT!.!.! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!.!.!"
Lars fell to the ground and banged it as he kept laughing. Meanwhile, Otto and Twister edged away as Izzy shook all over and clenched his fists. There was no way he was going to take this lying down.
"Screw realism…" He growled, reaching behind him. "You're mine!.!.!"
With that, he pulled out a huge wooden mallet! The older brunet stopped and gasped upon seeing the weapon. He then glowered at the younger boy as he stood up.
"You wouldn't dare…" He challenged, holding up his fists.
"You wanna try me!.?" Izzy roared, lunging with his hammer drawn back. "KIAAAHHH!.!.!" At the arch of his jump, he brought his weapon crashing down.
"Woah!" Lars shouted, narrowly avoiding the mallet, which plummeted into where he was standing, creating a huge hole in the floor. The rest of the class gasped as Izzy picked it up and charged at him again.
"Lopez! Stop this at once!" The teacher ordered. He was ignored as Lars barely dove out of the way of the hammer. He then ran for it, laughing all the while.
"Get back here, you swine!.!.!" Izzy yelled, running after him. The chase continued into the hall.
Everybody in the room sweatdropped as the brunets' laughs and war cries echoed in the empty (or at least the teacher hoped it was empty) corridor. They cringed as they heard several massive crashes and felt the school shake on its very foundation.
"I need to transfer outta this school…" The instructor groaned, holding his forehead. He then turned to the class. "Well let's get started, shall we?"
.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
'Aw man… This can't be happening…' Twister groaned inwardly.
The current period was about half over. At the moment, the class was working on an assignment, but the redhead in the striped cap couldn't concentrate for two reasons. One, Lars and Izzy ran past the classroom every few seconds, still going at it. The sounds of that mallet crashing into the walls and floor of the hall plus the screams, shouts, and taunts were enough to give anyone a headache, but he was especially distracted.
That was the second reason. His mind was clearly on something else, which truthfully wasn't all that different from every other day, but what he was going through at the moment was extremely important. It was a matter of life and death!
'She couldn't have sent this! It's impossible!'
Making sure the teacher wasn't looking; he reached into his book bag and pulled out the source of his anguish. The envelope from this morning. It was the same way he remembered it. His name was written in ink that alternated colors every letter. The first letter was written in black ink while the second one was in blue ink. The pattern continued like this for every other letter. From the moment he noticed this, it was obvious who sent it. The rocket-shaped sticker on back of it only confirmed his suspicions.
'Reggie…'
He sighed as he pulled out the message contained within. Like his name on the envelope, it was written in ink that alternated between black and blue after every letter. He gave a mournful whimper as he read it to himself.
Dear Twister,
This is going to sound kind of strange,
so I hope you're sitting down when you read this.
I'm in love with you. I've felt this way for the longest time.
I don't know exactly what it is I find so attractive about you.
Your strong physique, your overwhelming camera skills,
your cute freckles, that adorable cowlick,
those lips I long to kiss. And of course,
let's not forget that hot body I want to…you know…
It doesn't matter. What does matter is that I love you
and I want to wrap my arms around you and never let go.
I want to make you mine and shout out to the world that
I love Twister Rodriguez!
Meet me at the gym at 3 o'clock.
Love,
Your secret admirer
P.S: Don't tell anybody (especially me!) and come ALONE!.!.!
Like the last few times he read it, he found himself blushing profusely. But also like previous times, he found himself thinking (if you can imagine it). The strange thing about the letter was that she signed it "Your secret admirer." But he figured out who wrote it before even opening the letter. Twister knew that she always wrote in black and blue for two reasons. One, to be different from everyone else. And two, to signify that she would give anyone a black and blue if they mess with her or any of her friends.
He gave a small grin. So Reggie loved him, huh? That was completely unexpected. He had always thought of her as sort of a big sister. Sure, a bossy and overprotective big sister, but a big sister nonetheless. Besides, he had a crush on someone else for awhile now, but he knew it would never happen. The other person he liked would never like him back in a million years. This'll be his big opportunity to finally get with someone. After all, he was sick and tired of Lars bragging every time he brought a new girlfriend home.
He nodded, making up his mind. He'll go to the gym at three and confront Reggie. He shrugged. He never knew. Maybe the relationship would work out and they'll get married someday. But if it didn't, no prob. They'll just be friends again like they were now and forget it ever happened.
'But still… What would Ottoman say?'
He gulped as he turned towards his best bro, who was snoozing on his desk. Drool was coming out of his mouth as he snored. Twister then crossed his arms and leaned back into his seat.
He knew how jealous Otto can get. He didn't like anybody hanging around with the taller redhead for anything. Needless to say, if he ever found out that Twister was dating someone, he'd go ballistic. Of course, because of the fact that this was Reggie, Otto's big sister, there was an added risk. If the relationship fell through and Twister wound up hurting Reggie, either accidentally or otherwise, he'd have to answer to Otto. Never mind being friends with the purple haired girl, he'd lose his best friend if anything happened!
Twister gulped again. And that was where he stood. If he got into a relationship with the elder Rocket and it didn't work out or if they have a messy break-up, he could say adiós to being friends with Otto. He'd hate him for life. They'd fight every day until they are as old as—
His thoughts were cut short as the bell rang. Sighing sadly, he packed up his things and shook the smaller redhead. After complaining that Twister interrupted his dream, the duo made their way to their next class.
An hour later…
°FLUUUUUUUUUUUUUUSH!.!.!°
"Ahhhhhh… That felt so good…" Sam sighed as he walked out of the boy's bathroom, rubbing his stomach. "That ham sandwich really took a lot outta me." He chuckled as he walked back to class.
As he approached the main doors, a figure lied in wait, ready to do one final evil deed for today. As soon as the boy saw the blond walk in front of the doors, he charged forward with his hands held out forward. It took all of his strength, but he managed to shove Sam right out of the school!
"Woah!" The bespectacled teen gasped, barely catching the railing. He sighed with relief as he sat down on the steps. "Man, what was that?"
Seconds later, he heard a slam behind him. Eyes widening in fright, he stood and turned towards the front doors, which were closed tight. The clicking he heard moments later confirmed his worst fears (at least for this situation). He was locked out of school! While most people would take this as an opportunity to go home, Sam was one to always stay in school the whole day if he could help it. He growled angrily when he realized the only one responsible for this.
"Izzy…"
Sam stood there, mentally cursing his rival, when he noticed a white slip taped to the left door. Curiosity getting the better of him, he walked up to it and took a look.
"Let's see here…"
Dear Blondie,
If ya wanna get back into school
(though I have no clue why you'd wanna come back inside),
follow the arrows. You'll find my remote control for the doors.
Hatefully yours,
Izzy Lopez
P.S: You SUCK!.!.!
"Grrrrr…!" Sam ripped off the sheet and tore it to shreds. "Wait until I find him! Now where are those arrows?"
He looked to his left and found arrows drawn sloppily in yellow paint pointing around the left corner of the school. Among the arrows were paintings of flowers, skateboards, half pipes, roller blades, and strangely the word "Ow!.!.!" followed by a full-sized body print. The blond sweatdropped and sighed. Needless to say, this one was a joint effort by both brothers.
He walked, following the arrows and drawings, until he turned at the corner. He found himself standing in the school's garden. It consisted of several trees, as well as many areas where flowers grew. Sam moved forward, treading cautiously. He knew this was just another trap cooked up by the elder Lopez Brother. What he didn't know, however, was his plan.
He neared one of the trees when he saw the black remote control Izzy used both this morning and last year when he pulled that pie prank on him. The device was surrounded by a ring of leaves. Sam looked around. There wasn't a sign of Izzy or Iggy anywhere. He then looked carefully at the area around the remote. There wasn't anything suspicious either. The blond sighed with relief.
"Whew… Guess he was telling the truth for once." He surmised. "Maybe pushing me out the door was the prank."
With that cheerful thought in mind, he walked towards the tree. As soon as he stepped within the ring of leaves, it happened.
"AAAAHHHH!.!.!" He yelped as a rope wrapped around his ankles. He was then pulled upwards. He hung upside down helplessly as he was lifted a few feet into the air, just out of reach of the remote.
"Gwahahahahahahahaha!.!.!" That familiar voice laughed.
Sam looked and saw Izzy and Iggy walk towards him. The younger brother was covered with yellow paint as the blond suspected earlier.
"Well, well, well. Look at what we have here, Iggy." The older one bragged, crossing his arms. "A blond sap completely at our mercy!"
"Wow, I can't believe this actually worked!" Iggy said as Izzy grabbed the remote. Sam reached out for it, but it was no use.
"Heh, I knew I wasn't losing my touch." The one in the blue hat snickered, tossing the remote up and down. "I may have had some screw ups this year, but now I've finally succeeded! Now all that's left to do is decide how we'll deal with you, Blondie. Any requests?"
"Uhhhh… Let me down?" Sam tried. To his utter misery, his rival only laughed in response.
"I'm sorry, that's not on the menu. Today, we're serving humiliation with a side of sweet revenge!"
"Ohhhh…" The blond moaned.
"Oooh, oooh! I know what we can do, big brother!" Iggy shouted, hopping up and down as he raised his left hand.
"Yeah? What is it?"
Izzy bent down so that his sibling can whisper his plan. When the freshman was done, the junior laughed evilly.
"Why Iggy! That's brilliant! I'd say you're becoming more and more like me each day!"
The younger brother giggled as Izzy patted his head. Sam gulped. He didn't like where this was going one bit.
"Wh-wh-what did he suggest?"
"Patience, Blondie. You'll find out soon enough." Izzy turned to walk away. "Iggy, set him up while I go to my last class and grab my camera, as well as our…other surprise."
"With pleasure, bro." Iggy sniggered as he drew closer to Sam menacingly.
"Izzy! Don't you dare leave me here!" Sam screamed at the boy in question, who unlocked the nearby school doors and walked inside. "Come back! …Please?"
