The Extremely Crappy Days at Ashfield High:

Chappy Four: The Dinner Party; Part ONE

Joshua reached for the phone, picking it up and holding it to his ear. "Hello…?"

"Joshua? Hey, it's me Christian!"

"How did you get this number!"

"I, uh, looked in the phone book for, 'Townsend'; amazingly, you guys are the only Townsend family in Ashfield…"

"Yeah… I guess…"

"So, anyway, I just called to make sure you're okay; you acted weird at lunch."

"Yeah, I know, my dad had to pick me up and bring me home; it's been really boring… But how was your day?"

"Oh, my last two class periods were fine. Science was pretty good; last period."

"Science? With Mrs. Lockhart?"

"Yeah."

"Hmm… Lucky son of a gun; she was the only nice teacher. Strange how she kept her maiden name though…"

"Why?"

"She got married last June."

Joshua sighed and glanced at the clock, grimacing. "Damn, just remembered I have to go to some dinner tonight; a friend of my dad's just became president of some company…"

"When is it?"

"8:30."

"Hmm… I guess I'll see you at school, then, bye."

"Yeah, bye."

He pushed the, 'OFF' button and placed the phone back before beginning to walk to his room.

Ever since the first day he began attending Ashfield High School, Joshua never felt good there. It didn't have the warm feeling his elementary and middle schools did, rather, it was chilly; all of his teachers except his Science; practically hated him, and now, the puppy had returned.

After his very first class with Ms. Mason occurred, the puppy would appear constantly, tormenting him. Whenever she was absent, it wouldn't show up, and every time it appeared, something bad would happen. Joshua would spill something, trip, sneeze, cough, fall, get punched; everything.

Yet, this year felt different; except for the fact he had Ms. Mason again and the puppy started coming out after class with Mr. Wells.

Now, Joshua's parents had to drag him along to an extremely boring dinner party, but he didn't mind it much. Actually, he always had a peculiar relationship with his father and mother. He was an only child, they would usually buy him anything he wanted, and he would do many things with them.

It was only a year after Walter Sullivan's death that Henry Townsend married. Two years later he discovered his wife was pregnant, and, sixteen years after that is where we are now.

Joshua never knew about the events concerning Walter and Silent Hill, and Henry and his wife thought it best he didn't. Besides, how would he benefit by knowing a psychotic, blonde- haired guy was trying to 'free' his 'mother' by killing 21 people, two of which he failed to sacrifice. The guy even killed himself with a spoon! It wasn't even a Spork for crying out loud!

"What is it with this rain?" Joshua thought as another red light flashed and the car was forced to stop. "Are you feeling all right?" asked his mother as she turned her head to stare at him in a concerned manner. Her head and face were cast in shadow because of the many lights before her, but he nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine…"

"Good… I heard you saw the puppy again?"

"Uh… yeah, but I'm okay, no big deal."

His mother smiled briefly before looking back out the windshield as the green light faded on.

Henry parked his vehicle carefully into a slot near the back of the parking lot, glancing around as he did so. "How big is this place? Never heard of it…" his wife asked as Henry unlocked the doors. "It only opened up a few months ago; seems packed…"

As his parents conversed, Joshua had already left the car and was inspecting the restaurant from afar. He shook his right wrist, moving the cuff of his dress shirt back so he could see his watch.

Oh, his watch; a gift from both his father and mother at a very young age. Joshua would never take it off, even in the shower; he would place a plastic bag over his right hand.

Anyway, he groaned at the time displayed. "Dammit, have to waste three hours of my life…" he thought as his parents exited the car.

Suddenly, though, his gaze targeted a cobalt blue van park a ways off. "Wait a minute… I've seen that car before… I swear I've seen it before…"

Joshua thought back to earlier in the day; he had seen the car in the parking lot of his school… He cocked his head to the left when he saw who got out.

"Mr. Wells? Shoot! If he's here, my parents… he's knows who I am… I think…"

"Is something wrong, honey?"

"W-What? Oh… No, I'm fine, just thought I saw something…"

The three then walked up to the building, Henry carrying an umbrella over his family and himself.

Joshua leaned against the bathroom door, sighing.

"I'll be right back; have to go!"

He rubbed his eyes and looked around the restroom before gliding over to a stall and glancing around. "Okay, just have to think…" Suddenly, though, the lights flicked on and off, making Joshua jump against the stall door. "Ow!" he exclaimed as his watch slipped off and fell.

Splash!

"No… way…" he muttered while sitting up and staring at the toilet. "How the hell did my watch come off? All I did was jump a little…"

He bent over slightly and looked into the water. "My watch… no… I can't leave you in there!" After considering his options, Joshua whimpered. "Oh crap!" he muttered before glancing around to make sure the coast was clear. He then lowered his right sleeve and attempted to plunge his hand into the toilet, but hesitated.

"Am I really going to risk my hand just for a watch that I can easily replace at the mall… Yeah!"

Slosh!

As Joshua fished around in the bowl, he heard the door open and close silent, and the sound of footsteps nearing became apparent. "Oh… no!" he screamed in his mind as the footsteps stopped, causing Joshua to turn slightly and look up. "Uh… it's, um... not what it looks like!"

"So you just put your hand in the toilet for no reason whatsoever?"

"N-Not exactly… Uh…"

"There has to be a reason you have your hand in the toilet."

"I know!"

"Then why are you doing it… Joshua?"

The teenager chuckled nervously as his Mathematics teacher smiled.

(Crappy chapter Alert!)