Chapter Seven:

The three of us strutted back into the room as if everything were fine, as if nothing were different. Things were very different – though only temporarily, I knew. Upon returning to my world, this man and all the others would be alive and well. This somewhat disappointed me. But things couldn't be the same – that would be too risky. This was a place where I could get my anger out, where I could say and do things I wouldn't have been able to otherwise. This was as good as it could get.

Back in the classroom, the students quickly noticed the absence of Mr. Fletcher.

"What happened to him?"

"Oh, well..." I tried to think fast. "He suddenly had this incredible urge to go to the bathroom. And since there isn't a men's bathroom up here, he had to go down to the teacher's lounge place. He could be a while."

"Nice one, Sam," Emma whispered sarcastically. "Mr. Fletcher just suddenly had an overpowering urge to take a shit."

But everyone believed me, and of course, in the absence of a teacher, started talking ridiculously loudly. This pissed me off beyond belief. And while everyone in the class was talking away, two sixth graders entered the room with a plateful of cookies.

"These are extras from a party we just had in French class," one of them said cheerfully. "Where's Mr. Fletcher?"

"He's in the bathroom," Jade said.

"Yeah, and he's gonna be awhile," someone added. "You shouldn't stay and wait for him, so...bye! But before you go...can I have a cookie?"

"No!" another girl bitched. "I want one! Just me!"

"Will you all stop fucking whining!" Johnny screamed. He had finally lost it. "None of you are going to get anything, so just fucking SHUT UP! Do you really think your bitching and moaning is going to get you anywhere? Just accept that you're not going to get a fucking cookie, and MOVE ON!"

The class stared at him, their mouths dropped open. The two small girls quickly ran out of the room, their shoes stomping noisily on the floor. Then the intercom screeched on, and the principal's voice came sounding through the speaker.

"Attention all students, this is a very important announcement – we have just found the bodies of various teachers strewn across the school. For the safety f the students and remaining teachers, there will be an early dismissal today. The bell will ring in just a few moments, and all other classes will be shortened to fifteen minutes! Unfortunately, the busses cannot make it to the school in time since the drivers and monitors have lives during the day, and you'll all have to walk home. Thank you!"

The intercom made a loud shrieking noise as it shut off. Everybody cheered at the news, save for Johnny, Emma, and myself.

"If they really worried about the kids," Johnny muttered, "wouldn't they have let school out right now?"

Emma looked at him, confused. "Why would they do that?"

The bell rang. There was a mad dash for the door by the other students, leaving me, Johnny, and Emma standing in the midst of a sea of flying papers. Then, slowly, we walked through the door – and bolted down the hall and stairs. We ran through the tunnel to avoid any unfortunate run-ins with the children. When we finally got back to the highschool building, we went down to the chorus room on the first floor. There, I began having second thoughts. Despite what people said about Mrs. Kreeli, I had never seen it actually happen. And she had helped me that one time when I had almost fainted during class in eighth grade. She went through cancer, and had just recently been cured – and now she was going to die anyway?

"Everybody...wait." I hung my head in embarrassment. "I think I've changed my mind about Mrs. Kreeli."

"Well we're not going back now," Johnny said, annoyed. "Are you sure there isn't anyone out there who you could get instead?"

"Actually, I'm not sure. Well, there has to be. I just...don't know who."

We entered the room, and I took my seat. Johnny and Emma stood by the door. I racked my brain, trying to think of the people in the class. Who could I...?

Anabel. Anabel, Anabel, Anabel. How could I have forgotten her? She was the quiet sort, though none too bright. But she was still an extremely obnoxious girl convinced she was right about every solitary thing.

An older-looking woman with short dark hair entered the room and took a seat at the piano in front of the class. It was our substitute teacher, Ms. Mooney.

"Um...Ms. Mooney," I said over the loud chattering of other students, "where's Mrs. Kreeli?"

"Oh, yes, Mrs. Kreeli," she said. She cleared her throat. "Okay, class, quiet down!"

"Hey!" someone yelled. "Where's Mrs. Kreeli?"

"I was just about to answer that!" Ms. Mooney said, becoming testy. "If you would quiet down, I would tell you!" After a few more seconds, the class settle down considerably. "As I was saying, Mrs. Kreeli is getting a little sick again, and was advised to stay home today. She'll be back soon."

Ms. Mooney proceeded to call out the attendance and lead us through the usual voice exercises. I eyed Anabel the entire time, wondering when to make my move. Time was drawing short.

Panicking, I raised my hand. "Ms. Mooney...I have to go."

"You can't go," Anabel said in a voice that set my teeth on edge. "It's too early. We still have seven more minutes."

Barely thinking, I grabbed a pen from the floor and threw it in her direction. Amazingly, it tore straight into her left eye. She screamed, grabbing at the pen, as the entire chorus went from singing to screaming along with her. With all of them distracted, I took my chance to rejoin Johnny and Emma at the door.

"You know...I don't think that'll kill her," Emma said. "She'll be blind in one eye, sure, but she won't die."

I smiled, shaking my head. "Don't worry. Really, that was good enough."

We left the high school building and headed to the gym.

When we finally got to the building, we had to wait for a ridiculously long time before someone would open the door. After that, we made a mad dash for the classroom, we were already almost out of time.

This time, I stood by the door with Johnny while Emma rushed to her seat and dropped into her chair.

"Is there any reason you're so late?" Miss Cummings said condescendingly. "Class started almost ten minutes ago. Fifteen minutes isn't enough time to learn anything! You must know about the terror of STD's!"

I could hear Johnny's breath catch in his throat. Clearly this wasn't going to be easy.

"But you teach us about those every day!" Emma protested. "Since 8th grade, they're practically all you talk about!"

"I need to jam it into your brains!" the teacher insisted. "If I don't teach the same thing repeatedly, you'll just forget it and you'll never learn anything new! If you continue to fail all your quizzes we'll never get to teen pregnancy!"

I almost fainted when I saw the look on Johnny's face. It wasn't one he used often – he looked absolutely horrified.

"Well, you know," Emma said, poking her fingertips together, "we don't forget. Obviously some of us don't care. And you know...if they choose to whine and bitch about how miserable they are because they thought protected sex wasn't good enough for them...well they can go ahead and rot in hell!"

The entire class stared at her, open-mouthed. Miss Cummings was outraged.

"How dare you say things like that in the classroom! How dare you interrupt me while I'm speaking! How dare you – "

She was interrupted yet again as a sword flew through the air and hit her square in the head. It bounced off and onto the floor, the teacher herself following.

"What the fuck?" Emma said incredulously. "How did that miss?" Infuriated, she leapt up from her chair, ran to Miss Cummings's unconscious form, and began jumping up and down on it. The bones could be heard cracking underneath Emma's gigantic boots.

When she was satisfied, she grabbed my hand and pulled me through the door. Johnny followed just as the bell rang.

Once we were safe inside the highschool building, we stopped to lean against the lockers, breathing heavily.

"Okay...period five now." I grinned mischievously. "Religion...that should be fun!" Emma raised her eyebrows as I completely cracked up in the middle of the hallway. People stared at me as they passed by. Johnny, obviously embarrassed, pressed himself against a locker.

Emma slapped me before I collapsed from air-loss. "Sam! Snap out of it! And let's go...this is what we've been waiting all day for!"

I nodded, gasping, and headed down the hall to the religion classroom; which was also, luckily, the English classroom.

"So, for this class you're getting rid of some bitch nun," Johnny said. "What about your next class? Is your English teacher some kind of hideous bitch, too?"

"Oh, hardly," I said. "Miss Jones is awesome. But then...there is this one girl..."

"Sabrina Bishop?" Emma said, nodding. "That's who you were going to say, right?"

"Of course, was there any doubt?" I laughed. "Come on, sit down."

I took my seat, and Emma sat behind me. A little later, Jade sat down next to me.

"Wanna read the latest edition of 'Gothic Scrawny-Ass White Boy and the Booby Cheerleader'?"

"Um...no thanks."

"Suit yourself," she said, shrugging.

I looked up and saw the teacher, Miss Sewell, sitting at her desk and sorting through papers.

"Hey..." someone said. "Where's Sister Pleasant?"

"She's feeling ill today." My face fell. "She will not be coming in."

Suddenly, in a flash of gray hair and dowdy clothes, a figure ran into the room clutching a large wooden cross in its hand.

"The Lord Christ has saved me!" she screamed, holding the cross high above her head. "There I was, sick in bed, when I was miraculously cured by the power of the Almighty Lord!"

Sister Pleasant.

Johnny leaned over to me and whispered, "Is she..."

"Insane, yes."

Miss Sewell's face lit up, and she ran to Sister Pleasant's side, taking hold of the cross. "You are certainly a Chosen One! You have received a sign from the Lord Jesus!"

The two prayed together for about seven minutes, completely unaware of the stares they were receiving.

"Girls, remember this moment," Sister Pleasant said, sighing passionately, "for you have just witnessed a true miracle."

"Ah yes," Miss Sewell said, sighing also. "Now, back to the lesson plan. We have to go through this quickly, since class is almost over." She laughed loudly. "Take this as an example of how caring our school is. A mass killing and class is shortened to only fifteen minutes! Isn't that righteous? Getting you home quickly and giving you your full education!"

I groaned and turned to Emma. "Come on, let's think of some way to get these people out of the room."

We quickly devised a plan and relayed it to Johnny. He nodded.

"I've just...received a call from the government..." he thought hastily. "I need to see Samantha and Emma in the hallway...uh...now."

When we got out of the room and were free to roam the hallways as we pleased, we first went to the bathroom and grabbed a paper towel. And after, when we had found what we were looking for, I covered my hand with the paper towel – and pulled the fire alarm.

The astonishingly loud buzzer echoed throughout the halls. The three of us rushed back to the classroom.

"Everyone! Out! Out! Quickly but quietly!"

Sister Pleasant ushered people out into the halls. Miss Sewell left the room first, followed by my classmates. When they were out of sight, and Sister Pleasant went to go pull up the rear, we pushed her back into the room and closed the door.

"Girls! This is a fire drill! We need to do it right, or we disgrace the entire school!"

"Is the person who owns this school by any chance an obsessive-compulsive who threatens to do something remarkably horrible to one who doesn't perform fire drills exactly the right way?" Johnny asked.

"Why, of course not!" Sister Pleasant said exuberantly. "We just feel a need to show other schools that we are better than them!"

I rolled my eyes. "Sister Pleasant, we have a confession," I said lamely.

"Well, girls, you might want to talk to a priest for that..."

"No. We're the ones who have been killing everyone today." Emma smiled devilishly.

"Y-you're kidding, right?"

"No, they're telling the truth," Johnny said simply. "And by the way, they're obviously not Catholic, you stupid bitch. And correct me if I'm wrong, but I think they're sick of you pushing your worthless beliefs on them."

"What?" Sister Pleasant shrieked. "I'm only trying to make them see that the Catholic religion is the one and only right religion! Do you want them to go to Hell? I'm only trying to help them! You, you're their guardian...why aren't you stopping them?"

"Actually, I gave them the whole idea."

Sister Pleasant, looking faint, grabbed her cross again and sat on top of a desk. I drew out my knife in one fluid motion.

"He says it's for our own good...so I believe him."

"Yeah!" Emma said, nodding her head vigorously.

Sister Pleasant panicked and tightened her grip on the cross. The wood began to splinter in her hands. "W-well...since there is no priest here...I'll help you! I'll start off by asking you some questions."

I raised my eyebrows. "Sure. Go right ahead."

"First...what would make you want to kill? There is nothing you can't overcome! Just learn to ignore things that bother you! Put your faith in Christ, and he will show you the way!"

"You can ignore something and still be insane with anger," Emma said, running a finger up and down the length of her blade. "That doesn't seem like a win to me."

"C-care to explain?"

"No," I said coldly. "That would be time-consuming."

Emma and I ran her through with our knives simultaneously. Then, a loud noise sounded from the lower floor.

"They're coming back!" I said, looking around frantically. When everyone returned to see us in the room with a dead teacher, we would have some explaining to do. Then, I was hit with a brilliant idea.

"Okay, I've got it...we found her this way!"

"What else would you say?" Johnny said derisively.

"Here's what," Emma said. "Miss Sewell...we're so sorry, but we killed Sister Pleasant. You see, she kept trying to convert us, and she annoyed us, so now she's dead!"

"She what?"

Our class was back.