"It's gonna be a long day," he said as he sat back down with a nervous expression. He started chewing on the chicken patty again, his former air of humor gone.
"You could say that, yes. What'd you do to him to get him that angry anyway? I haven't seen him that furious since you left a stink bomb in his locker," Susie asked matter-of-factly.
"Oh, nothing much," Calvin whispered weakly, not believing a word he was saying, "just rewrote his records. D-did you know he was responsible for the noodle incident?"
Calvin tried to smirk timidly at his own joke, but Susie's gaze just grew harsher.
"Calvin, that's a crime and grounds for expulsion."
"H-hey, don't worry, I was careful," Calvin responded, most of his usual indignation gone. Susie just sighed,
"Well, if the school doesn't punish you severely, Moe and his friends will. You reeeally did it this time Calvin."
"Aw, they're not so tough," Calvin continued his in nervous voice, "He was just blowing off some steam, and he's all talk anyway."
"You honestly can't believe that. Last kid they did this too ended up in the hospital. They're going to beat you up until high school!" Susie said with that small bit of youthful indignation Calvin had learned to dread since he first started clashing with her a seven years ago.
"Susie," Calvin said, his tone turning grim, "those guys are going to be beating me up end high school anyway. They can't do anything they haven't done already to me. When I crossed them, it was a nothing to lose, everything to gain situation."
"You're brave Calvin, I'll give you that, but you're also completely insane and beyond hope. Why do I even bother talking to you, that hasn't changed since the first grade. Are you ever going to grow up?"
"Having seen what growing up did to my parents, I think we both know the answer to that," Calvin said, somewhat relieved to be back in the comfortingly familiar territory of verbally sparring with Susie. It was then the bell announcing the end of lunch echoed across the hallways. Calvin leaped out of his seat and dashed out into the open field that had all the kids were herded into for a short period of time that had essentially replaced recess. Calvin couldn't understand why they didn't just call it that; he suspected it couldn't be recess without a playground. He dashed out into the field barren of everything save grass that was either overgrown or ragged from being trampled by thousands of steps a day and a few chain link fences, heedless of anything that might be after him. The clouds refused to lift for his time outside, casting the entire field in weak light. Something about the bleak atmosphere stirred Calvin's imagination.