'TIL I COLLAPSE - PART NINETEEN: DITCHING TOWN (PG-13)
SEQUEL TO: ORDINARY WORLD
SUMMARY: Members of the Yearbook Staff make a startling discovery about their former editor that has anger raging beyond description.
DISCLAIMER: Power Rangers is not mine. I just own this adventure and the series this connects to. If you haven't read my past work better fall back and look back on those. I also own the property of those evil guys destroying the lives of the rangers, just to let all ya'll know.
A/N: This is, in fact, based on a true story, and I really wanted to put it in because it did piss me and my fellow Yearbook Staff members. It may be out of the blue, but I figured I'd put a few random chapters in to compensate for the other chapters of the story. So, enjoy and tell me what you think. I also want to welcome in the newbies to the story. I thank you for putting up with me and I hope ya'll enjoy your stay here. I also want to thank some of you guys for your reviews. Without them, this may not have gotten this far either. Thanks again, and onto the adventures of the DT team.
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X
"I will say this. Do not settle down unless you know you really want to. You got your entire life to look into it. Just be careful how you decide to settle down. Regret is one of the hardest things to overcome." -Eclyptyk Neo
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X
Days later.
In the days after their last battle, the teens had gotten more done then they had in weeks. It was rather scary, but sorta upsetting. They had to admit it was hard to look beyond it and not begin to think about Mindshatter, but they somehow got by.
Adam agreed to stay on for a few weeks and keep the progress of the team in check. Rocky and Tanya, as much as wanting to, didn't. They had to get back to their normal lives, but they would stop by whenever the team needed an extra set of hands. No one blamed them when they hadn't been in suit for nearly nine years now, to officially call it coming back.
But even if the ranger thing had been pushed aside, it was still locked away in the back of their minds. They were in search of finding more answers to this, especially the technical directors. But it was more of getting the okay from the medical doctor to file back into the limelight of going back on active duty.
And he hadn't given them the okay at all. He kept his options open for anything out of the ordinary, but he was probably the more focused around the situation. He made sure the team had been following up on his requests. They had, very slowly, but more then they had in the passed few weeks.
Kira and Trent had been spending more time together, their relationship becoming more evident to people at school. But it still seemed to be in the early stages, if anything at all. There were no simple gestures as a hug, holding hands or possibly a kiss. But that's only because they did it on their own time when it was just them. They didn't need others to butt into their business, and it was understandable to their round of friends.
Ethan had gotten back with his hip-hop roots, showing off in the gym some moves at lunch. Many weren't convinced he had anything going for him, and when battles went down, it was a big deal to anyone in the gym. He still would occasionally hang out with his computer club crew, and his popularity was slowly increasing. More girls had noticed him now, shocked to find a guy of his intellect into such a thing as dancing or computer gaming. But he still wasn't up for a relationship or attempting to create one. He was still trying to bridge the gap for his own needs, not that he was trying to be selfish. He just had to keep his eyes open for things his comrades may not see, as Adam had put it.
Conner and Krista had gone back to their daily routines of hanging out. And if one could say, a few people could get sicken by their public display of affection (PDA) a few times. But that didn't seem to be too much of a bother to them. Conner had to admit, he was glad to be back in his own body before his little date with Krista. He feared that Ethan would have done something wrong, and like always, when he was with her nothing else really seemed to matter.
Tommy and Kim had been more cautious about the stress that came with teaching. It was more evident in Tommy for not issuing out huge amounts of homework to his students. They were relieved, especially the seniors. Kim had taken it a little more easier around the house, and gotten used to Tommy doing quite a bit of pampering to her needs, no matter how much effort went into it.
But that was the thing. In the few days that passed since their last battle, things were feeling almost normal. They were nearly living a life without being a ranger. It was sorta scary, but somehow relieving. It was one of those times they had to cherish.
Trent had gone to school early that day, January 26th, 2005, to get a pass from Ms. Obie, the Yearbook Advisor, to complete his work for the upcoming deadline.
"Not that Dr. O would have anything for me to do 2nd hour like always," he told himself as he walked into the English hall. He had gotten used to not doing a lot for his science teacher. It was merely a study hall in a science room. And he somehow managed to get more work done there than he ever could in the regular study hall setting.
He walked into Ms. Obie's classroom, realizing no one was there. Aside from yearbook, she was an English teacher at the school. And if anyone knew her, she was two different people when it came to making the yearbook for the year and teaching an English class. But she was cool. Much like Dr. Oliver, a person to talk to, more so gossip to, about their problems.
Yet, Yearbook was a whole other story. And compared to what work was done in the previous year, a lot more changes had occurred. They had an editor-in-chief who had graduated at semester who could almost pass as the female version of Hitler. She was a dictator, which would fire up rage in the other members, but only so few would challenge her about it. They were glad she was gone. Things had settled down. They just had to worry about the other editor-in-chief, which at times followed in her footsteps. But it was a very dramatic class. Things would be said or done there not seen in other classes. And in the times that Dr. Oliver would come by and help, he got a whole lot more than he expected from them. But he loved to help out where he needed and see the progress of the work the staff had done to remember the year.
Trent collapsed on a desk, waiting for the Yearbook Advisor, figuring she should be back soon enough. He looked around the room. Though he hadn't had her as an English teacher, he could tell by the set up in her room things were different from her two objectives at the school. Not that it was a bad thing, he was just surprised that there was a huge gap between the two.
Time passed slowly. And still no teacher. He knew it would never take this long to get things done and be back, even though she didn't have a class to teach first hour. He had to get to class, and he knew that Dr. Oliver didn't have the key to the Yearbook room.
He paced the room as he heard the warning bell ring. "Five minutes, and still no teacher. C'mon, Ms. Obie, where you at?"
He peered out into the hall as he watched people head to class. It was always easy to distinguish who was an underclassmen and who wasn't by who rushed to class. Upperclassmen didn't care too much. They were in no rush to get to class. They've already gone through eleven+ of school, and they were just wanting to get out of there. Especially the senior class.
Time passed. Still no teacher.
Okay, something must be up if she hasn't returned by now. He thought to himself. He figured he could skip out on it today, but this deadline was, in fact, the following week, and he just wanted to chill by week's end. He wanted to get his page done
"Hey, Trent," a voice had greeted him from behind as he nearly jumped out of his skin.
But as he turned around, he relaxed realizing it was only Kira.
He let out a breath as he light smile passed his lips. "What's up, Kira? How are you?" he asked.
Kira shrugged. As much as putting up the morpher had done a lot to the psyche of the team, she was probably having the worst sinking feeling about it next to Conner. But with Trent, he managed to relay all thoughts about it. "I'm fine. But shouldn't you be heading off to class now? I mean, Dr. O can be cranky sometimes if people are late."
"I would, but I gotta get my work done for yearbook. But Ms. Obie isn't in her classroom. And Dr. O doesn't even have a key to the Yearbook room, so I can't bug him," Trent sighed as he looked through the hall hoping to see his teacher in the mist of people. But still, she was not in sight. "And I know she is here because her stuff is in the room."
"Well, you did mention that she can get pretty wired about yearbook. And don't you guys got a deadline coming up?"
Trent nodded. "Yeah, we do. But she doesn't flip out all the time, or is gone this long. And sometimes, yearbook can stress a person out to nightmares. But things have been pretty calm since Nicole graduated."
"Yeah, no one really liked her anyway," Kira sneered shaking her head. "I can't believe she got editor-in-chief over you."
"Yeah, maybe it was because I came a few months later last year. So, I didn't have full advantage over the spot. And I did so much for them last year. Taking pictures, review people's pages. I don't know." Trent sighed as he shrugged.
He was a great addition to the yearbook staff. But he didn't actually come into school until a month or so after the first day of classes. He was constantly keeping people in check during his time in yearbook, but since Christmas hit, he was sorta slacking just a little, but presented one of the best set of pages a few staff members could get jealous at. He knew the odds and ends of the computer work, cropping pictures, and anything to make a good yearbook, but he had been over looked during the end of last year, because he didn't have a page and he was just hanging out in class. He had gotten over the dictatorship of the past year, but still upset he couldn't hold the position as editor-in-chief. It would have gone more smoothly if he had taken up the position. But past is past.
And Kira had Nicole in class, in Speech class last semester, and she would always put up an act that everyone knew was fake. She was merely a suck-up who wasn't afraid to spray her life story on the side of a building. And if need be, she could go into detail about it. Most of the popular people were interested in it, but for the many who just didn't care, literally didn't care and wanted to strangle her neck. Kira looked around the hall, realizing no one was really left. "Um..I should go before Mr. Rodriguez flips out about me being tardy. See you later?"
Trent nodded again as a smile passed his lips, again. "Yeah, I'll see you when I do."
They had said good-bye and Kira raced down the hall to her classroom. Trent slowly moved back into the classroom, figuring Ms. Obie should return before Channel One would be over. He wanted to get this page done. He just needed a break and relax.
Time passed. Not that he was used to watching the school news on a TV in the English hall, it was sorta weird sitting there alone. He knew the policy around students being in a room left unattended, and he hoped he wouldn't get caught. That was the last thing he needed to deal with, an administrator riding his ass for failing to follow rules.
Then he heard footsteps, boots clanking to the ground in the hall, he could only conclude belonging to one person. His Yearbook Advisor. He slowly got to his feet, walking over to her desk as she walked into the room.
She was a few years older than Dr. Oliver, her third year of teaching at the high school. And though the typical stereotype of being a blonde considered her dumb, she really wasn't. She was a person anyone could talk to, if they were willing to give her a chance. And that was the thing, the yearbook staff were the only ones who really saw her any other way. It wasn't a bad things, just something unique.
She rubbed her forehead as she noticed the visitor in her room. It was clear that something was bothering her, and the concern on the teen's face grew with worry. She greeted him with a smile, making one conclusion to why he was there. To get a pass to work on his page for yearbook. "Lemme guess, Trent. You need a pass to go work on your page?"
Trent nodded as he knocked absently on the side of her desk. He looked at her again, unsure what to make of the way she stood. Something happened, and he wanted to know what. "Ms. Obie, is everything okay?"
She signed the pass and handed it over to Trent. She sighed, rubbing her forehead before looking up at the teen. It was evident in her eyes that she had wanted to cry, but a rage stood there, too. "I just had to take care of some big yearbook business."
"Anything I should know about?" he asked slightly hesitant.
"All you need to know is that it has to do with one of the members on the staff, and what she did. But, I would rather tell you guys as a whole. Do you think you can give Dr. Oliver the head's up? I want him to hear this, too," she said calmly.
The teen nodded, but was really worried about the teacher's state of mind. Something did, in fact, happened, and he wasn't sure what to make of it. He just hoped that it wasn't anything too extreme.
The teacher wrote him another pass to get him back to class. He had wished her a good day, hoping to see she will be a little better by yearbook, but he doubted it. Not by the way she had looked and acted toward him right now. It wasn't like her, even for a bad day.
He slowly headed back to class, thinking to himself. He wondered what was up, and knew he would have to give Dr. O the head's up about coming by the yearbook room for the day.
As the door opened to Dr. O's room, eyes averted from the TV to the person who stepped into the room. Trent felt all eyes on him, except his teacher, as he moved toward the teacher's desk. He set the pass beside the teacher.
Dr. Oliver peered from his work on the laptop to the note. He peered over at Trent, eyebrows raised. "Gonna go work on your page for yearbook?"
Trent nodded. "Just so I can relax for awhile. But something is up."
Dr. Oliver turned to looked at his student furrowing his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"
Trent could only shrug. "I don't know. Ms. Obie just wasn't looking like herself today. She said she needs to tell us something as a whole. Think you can stop by?"
The science teacher nodded, looking over at the board to see what his Geology class was doing. They were just watching a movie on glacial activity around the world. "Yeah. Do you have any idea what it's about?"
Trent shook his head. "As far as I could tell, it has to do with one of the members in yearbook."
They looked at each other and shrugged. Trent slowly turned and headed to his seat. But he was still wondering what was bothering his yearbook advisor. And now, he knew his science teacher would be the same way, and would probably talk to Ms. Obie regarding the issue before class.
Hours later.
Most of the teachers who didn't have a fifth hour class were usually seen leaving campus to go eat out. Since, the issues regarding possible monster attacks, or threats, Reefside High went from an open campus to closed campus. Not many students left unless they had the right to for elementary assistant, work, class off-campus or just no class.
And as much news that had gone around regarding the recent marriage of two staff members at Reefside High, Dr. Oliver and Coach Hart-Oliver, they were never seen hanging around each other much on school grounds. They were always busy doing other things regarding their department or club they were associated with.
Dr. Oliver was just returning from a little lunch-in at Sonic as he strolled into the English Hall to the main office to sign back in. He held a strawberry shake in hand, a small black slingbag with some school work on his back, as he continued on. But as he rounded the corner, one of the English teacher's strolled into the hall to close the door, noticing the science teacher. It was Ms. Obie.
She greeted him with a smile as he nodded a greeting. "Hey, Dr. Oliver. Got a minute?"
Dr. Oliver nodded as he took a drink of the shake, stopping to make small conversation with the yearbook advisor. "I hear from Trent that something happened in yearbook. Mind giving me the head's up?"
She nodded slowly as a line of emptiness, anger and sadness fell over her. She looked away for a moment then turned to look at the science teacher again. "It's kinda hard to say without saying so much. I would rather wait until we can all hear it. But I will say it has something to do with a certain graduate from the staff."
Dr. Oliver thought for a moment, thinking back to the few members who graduated at semester in the class. And the only one that stuck out was the one person who had some charge on how the yearbook was being created, the editor. He nodded slowly, looking at the silent woman in front of him. "Is everything okay?"
"For the most part. Anika and I took care of it," she said, but it was clear that there was something more there. Her eyes glistened with what looked like the start of tears.
The science teacher nodded slowly, taking her word. "That's good. But, hey, I should let you go back and teach your class. Are you sure you're okay?"
The English teacher nodded as she wiped away the pools of tears forming in her eyes. "I'll be fine. I just want you to come down and hear the news, too. As little as you maybe around, you've also helped in creating the yearbook for this year. And you could give your own advice regarding it."
Dr. Oliver nodded again, said he would be down there and slowly left. He had quickly checked into the main office and headed over to the gym to talk to his wife. He walked passed the students using the gym during the late hour, some greeting him as he passed to the hall where the P.E. teachers had their offices. Some jeered him, making the assumption that he was there for something more than to see his wife.
He let it go as he walked into the distant hall. He felt slightly jealous that she had gotten sorta the star treatment for her work in the Olympics. She had gotten the best office in the P.E. department, which connected to the locker rooms by means of another line of halls. It hadn't quite been given the feel for a female teacher to use, but she still managed to make it her own with pictures of friends and family. There was a small basketball wastebasket located on the far end of the room. A few file cabinets and a few rewards and trophies hidden behind a glass case on another side of the room. There was also a couch in the room. And it even had its own working shower and toilet, which had been used a few times in the late hours or early morning hours of the day. And it was clear between both Kim and Tommy that whatever happened in that room stayed in there.
He peered into the glass frame on the door, seeing Kim sitting at her desk working on the computer. He knocked quietly before opening the door and stepping in. "Hey, you."
Kim smiled lightly as he walked over to lay a kiss on her lips, rubbing her shoulders. "What are you doing here? And you didn't get me anything to eat?"
"Hey, I offered, but you didn't want anything," he shrugged as he took another sip of his drink. He moved over to the couch and sat down.
Kim glared at him as she moved from the desk over to his lap. Though she was rather light compared to him, she rammed into him, making him wince. And with a baby on the way, it was another thing coming. "No. I said I didn't want you to go through the trouble, but thought it would be nice if we had lunch together."
"How about dessert instead?" he suggested as he moved a line of hair away from her neck, laying a few kisses on her neck.
She giggled under his touch, but pushed him away shaking her head. "Lemme guess, you want me to watch your class today while you go to the Yearbook room? That's usually the reason why you always come to see me 5th hour."
He smiled lightly, chuckling. "Yeah, basically. We got another deadline comine up. I just got to make sure everything is all set before we send it off."
She nodded, but it seemed like she wasn't up for doing it. But she knew she couldn't say no to him when he was just as much an important part to capturing the year's memories as anyone else on the yearbook staff. "You're welcome, Handsome."
"Thanks, Beautiful," he met her mocked tone. He pulled the slingbag from behind him and opened it up to pull out a bag full of food. Kim smiled happily as she pulled open the bag and pulled out a burger to eat. "Now, you know I was kidding when it came to getting you something to eat. Besides, aren't I supposed to be getting used to your strange cravings?"
She gave him a mock glare before stuffing a few tater tots in his mouth. "I am tired of you making all these pregnancy jokes, Tommy. Stop teasing me."
"Yeah, but it's gotten you off all this stress, just like Adam said. And speaking of that, he said we might actually get to go back to wearing our communicators by the end of the week."
"Yeah, just remember that you won't want to mess with me farther down the line. I hear these hormones could be quite fiery. And remember, you contributed to this. You said you wanted kids," she shot back.
He held up his hands, holding an innocent look. "Did I say that? Maybe back in high school, but now it's kinda hard to pull off. I mean, with all that's happened..."
She gave him a look, stopping him short of what he had to say. "Don't give me that bull. You said after that last battle with Mesogog months ago, you could handle anything. You even joked about saying a kid would be easier to raise than going on somesuicide mission to protect the planet."
"Did I say that?" he breathed, but knew she was right. He had said that as much as he had wanted to forget about that joke. He knew now he had to be careful about saying things around his wife because she had a sharp mind like a computer. She could remember things, almost to the littlest detail if she wanted to. And when she had looked at him again, he knew he couldn't win the conversation. "All right. All right. You're right, Kim. I did say that."
She smiled brightly, taking his drink before he could take another sip. She took a drink, teasing him with it, licking the straw before sipping it again.
"Now you're just making fun of me," he took the drink back before she could do anymore damage to his psyche. "But I should go. I need to get a few things done before my AP Bio class."
"Why? Not up for dessert?" she matched his wit about his earlier thoughts.
He managed a sly smile, but shook his head. With the few times they might have slipped a quickie on the couch or whatever they could concoct, they still were serious about their jobs as teachers. And it was only fair that they kept their love life out of their profession as teachers in fear of getting caught. He got to his feet and placed a quick kiss on her lips. "Maybe later. I gotta go. Just don't forget."
"7th hour. I watch your class. Got it," she nodded, before pulling him down by his collar for another kiss. "Love you, Handsome."
"Love you too, Beautiful. I'll see you later." he turned and headed for the day, saying one last good-bye.
-XXXXXXXXXX-
7th hour.
It was the moment of truth. It was that time of day where both Dr. Oliver and Trent had wondered what was bothering the yearbook advisor's mind. And if word hadn't spread to the other members, they were just as anxious to hear the news, too.
The students were slowly filing into the room located in the basement area of the cafeteria. It wasn't a bad place to be as long as the job was getting done. Dr. Oliver had headed down there straight after 6th hour, hoping to get more answers before everyone else, but it was clear he didn't. He sat on the metal stool in the front of the room with Ms. Obie. He was more quiet than usual, though, everyone had greeted him with a simple handshake or not.
Though he was no genius with computers, he knew the odds and ends to what must be done and should be done to make it an effective yearbook. Either way, no one of them was any less important than the other, even if there were the few that set ranks for who knew better. But somehow they got by.
The bell rang and though class had started, it was hard to get started when the students had their own conversations going.
Ms. Obie called out to them, telling them to stop all work and avert their attention to her at the front. But only a few did.
"Guys, settle down," Dr. Oliver called out, as the room slowly fell silent.
Moments passed slowly as the students slowly put down their things and stopped their conversations. They turned to look at their teachers, waiting to see what was up. And by the looks on Ms. Obie's face, they knew they had something to worry about.
"So, what's up, Ms. Obie?" Caleb asked.
"Yeah, I hear that something is up," John nodded.
"Something is up," Anika said mostly under her breath.
Some of her classmates looked at her with raised eyebrows as they turned back to their yearbook advisor.
Ms. Obie took a breath before looking up to meet the eager and concern looks on her students' faces. "As you're all aware, one of our editors has graduated at semester, and most of the hard work has been put on Anika. And she has really done a lot for you guys since Nicole left. But just yesterday we made a startling discovery. Several of the pages -- the baby pages, actually -- were still found in the brown dividers over in the corner of the room..." she started.
"Wait, I thought those were supposed to be sent out last year," Trent called out slightly confused.
"They were, but someone failed to send them in," Ms. Obie nodded.
"Nicole," some of the other students could conclude in a growl.
"And that's not all," Anika spoke slowly.
"The pages were all set to be sent before Christmas Break, but they've been sitting in there for nearly two months now. And we almost couldn't find some of those baby pictures. We tore this whole room apart last night just trying to find them. And many words were exchanged that I never would have thought came out of my or Anika's mouth. Luckily, none of them were lost. We found them all. Thank god. And I would have hated to have called parents to tell them we lost their baby pictures or we would have to refund all that money to those that lost a picture. And Trent, you would have been one of them," the yearbook advisor spoke.
Trent looked away for a moment, a line of hurt and anger ran through him. Lucky, they did find the picture, but if theydidn't there was hell to be paid. And as much as his father wasn't around, if he was he would chew out Nicole with no questions asked.
"So, do we got everything squared away?" Brittany asked.
"We've called the company up and told them the situation. Lucky enough, they will be accepting those pages along with this next deadline with no charge to us," the yearbook advisor nodded.
"We just have a few changes to make. All I ask is for some of you guys to pitch in and help me get it done," Anika spoke from her place at the main computer.
"So, they were just sitting there waiting to be sent and no one sent it?" Cristina furrowed her eyebrows slightly confused.
"No one noticed they were there?" Ms. Obie countered.
The room fell silent as no one seemed to say anything. Yet, it was hard to keep track of pages that have and hadn't been sent considering the little breaks that came between each of them. Yet, after all the chaos of trying to get back on track, it was hard to notice such things as that. And it was a serious issue that they all failed to look into.
"Well, what about Dr. Oliver? I thought you were the guy to make sure that everything was sent," Steve countered.
"I'm hardly down here. Sometimes, I can't come down because technically speaking, I have a class to teach this hour. Besides, I do got other things to worry about. Yearbook isn't the only thing on my agenda," Dr. Oliver sent back, his voice slightly angered, but calm.
"So, where's Nicole now?" Katie asked.
Once she had said that, a line of rage and betrayal fell over the yearbook advisor's face. She forced out another breath as a pool of water began to form in her eyes. "Ya know, Nicole must have done one of the most stupidest things anyone has ever done to me or anyone else." She caught her breath as her voice began to crack. Tears began to form as she tried to force them back. "First off, she failed to send off a butt load of pages, ones that parents had paid for. And second, she hasn't been very much help to us since she graduated when she said she would." She hesitated again hoping to clear away some of the pain. "And lastly, I heard that she had ditched town and went to New Mexico with her ex-fiancé."
Some protesting and chatter fell over the room.
"They got back together?"
"Apparently so," Ms. Obie nodded. "And there is no means of contacting her. She has disconnected her cell phone and her parents don't even know where they have gone. No one does."
"So, they just got up and left?" Cristina couldn't believe her eyes.
"That about sums it up," the yearbook advisor nodded as her voice cracked again. The tears became more evident as they streaked her face, as she wiped them away. "But I want you guys to know something. Never, in all my years as a teacher, have I ever felt more betrayed by anyone than her. She has literally disowned me, and made me look bad as an advisor and teacher. She made you guys look like idiots for ever putting your trust in her. I felt like she had this entire thing plotted against us. She was gonna do this."
"She hated this school as much as dogging us on every little thing we do wrong in this class," Ryan shook his head.
"I say we all go to New Mexico find her and beat her dead," Caleb announced.
Many of the other yearbook members didn't have to disagree. Many of them hated Nicole's guts anyway and it was clear that she had deserted them. Even as editor.
"How are you gonna take a job up like editor and not follow through on it?" Lexy shook her head.
"Well, if I was a Jan. grad, I probably wouldn't want to come back anyway," Dr. Oliver spoke with no real hesitation, sighing. Though he had already had his own senior year, two of them, many of his students were starting to rub on him, getting him into the senioritis mood.
"And that was basically her motive," Ms. Obie had to agree with him. "Somehow, I swear she knew. She probably failed to sent them on purpose just to make us look bad. And personally, I find that to be full of shit." she paused for a moment, seeing a looks on her student's face. But it wasn't like they weren't allowed to cuss in there, they just never herad it much coming from their teachers. "Excuse my crude words."
"Amen to that, Ms. Obie," several students preached.
"So, she plays editor like she loved that job. Loved being a dictator, and then turns her back and backstabs us?" Brittany shook her head in disbelief.
"Man, the only thing she really liked about that job was to tell us what to do," Katie stated.
"Look, you guys," Ms. Obie began as the tears slowly resided. "I don't want you to be like her. You know, get all attached to someone and claim it to be love. That you want to marry this person right out of high school and start a family. But you know what, go to college. See other people and just take a break to find out who you are as a person and what you really want out of life. It's okay to meet other people. Most people meet their significant other in college..."
"Not everyone," Steve blurted out, looking at the science teacher.
Dr. Oliver shook his head. "But I didn't get settled down out of high school. It's been a few years. And she's right. Don't get attached. Go out with other people."
"And he's not saying that as in sleeping around with other people," Ms. Obie defended him as she saw the look on some of the guys' faces. "It's okay to date other people. It gives you more variety. But don't assume that you're ready to say, let's settle down right out of high school. That is far too early. There is so much you still gotta see."
"But somehow some people gotta go back to a past relationship," Steve had to correct.
Dr. Oliver forced out a breath. As many times as he was down there, he could easily get annoyed of Steve. Anyone in the class could because he had put himself at a higher level than everyone else. Many claim it is the money, as the son of a rich guy, and the spoiled factor, but Trent was nowhere compared to him. Trent was more approachable without one fearing what opinion or child-like activity Steve would get into. "This isn't all about me. What we're concerned about, as teachers, is your outcome. Your future. Your place in this world. There is an entire world out there for each of you to look into. Things are different in college, and I can admit those were some years that leaves priceless memories engraved in your mind."
"So, what were you, Dr. Oliver, the party kinda guy?" Caleb laughed.
"Not the point," Ms. Obie stopped the interrogation. "But I just want you guys to know that I really care about you. That's why I decided to help out with this class, because this is the only class in this school that really gives you a first hand experience in the real world. We're like employees of each other and we have deadlines to meet. It is a lot of work, and I thank all of you here for putting in the time and effort to make this yearbook that much more special. I stayed on, even after I threatened to leave, because I was able to meet such an awesome group of people. Sometimes, too dramatic and informative, but sometimes, it's what we need to get something off of our chest."
Some of the members gushed over the comment, some laughed and cracked a joke. But all just to set the mood into something better. After hearing such tragic news as that, they needed a good laugh.
"Hey, is there a way to get rid of all of Nicole's names and work on the yearbook?" John asked.
"It would cost a lot of money. Most of the book has already been published," Ms. Obie stated. "And yearbook isn't exactly one of biggest funding programs at this school. Personally, if she ever comes back, I would strangle her neck for putting us through all this shit. She had a lot of guts doing that to me, let alone to you guys and this school."
"I think we can make it official. Anyone who says the name 'Nicole' should get a huge beat down," Megan stated.
"I'm still up for a manhunt down to New Mexico to find her. We can get a whole bunch of people who despise her anyway," Mike raised a hand in an offer.
The others had to agree as they began to start their own conversations and ideas to seek revenge on their former editor.
"Well, I guess I'm done talking. Guys, get on those computers and get those pages done. You guys only got a week left for it," Ms. Obie called out. "Find something to pass your time, if you don't got anything to do."
And that was it. As painful as the news was, the staff had to move on. They had to prove they were way better than this, and this setback wouldn't crush them completely. But by the look on the yearbook advisor's face, it was clear she was saddened and upset at the outcome of all that's happened.
Dr. Oliver sat there in silence, sucking up the news, and still not believing that a person could stoop so low. Well, he did, he just never thought it could happen now. Not in a part of his life where he had so much to worry about. It was too hard to say anything without saying so much. He was just as upset about the situation. He felt the anger, the rage, the fury. Never once could he admit that he liked Nicole, even though he never had her in class, he didn't want to. She had a big ego that could set up ranks just because that person is so much better than everyone else. She could pass as Cassidy, but worse. Far more worse, trying to make friends where she could, even if the other person didn't like her. She felt like the queen, and others were her servants, even teachers.
Throughout the hour, as personal as that class could be, students would stop and ask questions to their advisors. They were mostly about relationships, marriage, habits. And even the sex life, which was nowhere near the point of what was going on.
But, if they ever say sight of Nicole again, she would be dead before she goes anywhere near that room again. Even on the street, they wouldn't fail. She no longer existed to them, and it was a good thing.
They didn't need her now after what stunts she had pulled against them. Now, it was up to finding out if they could really take out her name from the book. If not, during yearbook distribution, they were all gonna scratch out every bit of her existence in their books.
to be continued...
A/N: Whoo, I didn't mean to make it that long. Sorry, but all this dialogue had to get put in. And I won't lie to you. This did happen, or along these lines. It left us all in a state of anger. And I swear, I want to kill our editor for doing that. However, that's not the point. You came here for more PR adventures, so gotta focus on that. Let's just say that's not the only news that Dr. Oliver will hear that will surprise him. See you next chapter. May the Powers Always Protect You All.