Phantom of the Elementary 2
August 11, 2022
6 AM
J.D. woke from his slumber, minutes before his alarm clock would have buzzed, waking him up for work anyways. He shut it off to keep it from waking the wifey, who was still lost in peaceful dreams.
"Oh wow! Thank goodness I'm not in jail! It must have all just been a dream!" He said with great relief. "It was all just a dream, right?"
He sat up and let out what was supposed to be a quiet yawn, but instead he uncontrollably let out a sound that could have been mistaken for a dying whale.
That caused the wifey to wake up. Most days she might have been somewhat upset about getting woken up by such an annoying sound, but today wasn't most days, today was J.D.'s 46th birthday. "Happy birthday, honey." She said softly just before rolling back over to get a little more shut-eye.
"Thanks." J.D. whispered, putting his hand on her shoulder, hoping she could get back to sleep easily. "Okay, good. She said happy birthday, so it must have just been a dream." He thought.
He got up from out of the bed and stretched a couple limbs, almost letting out another whale-like yawn, but catching himself just in time, placing his hand over his mouth before the deep moan could exit through his vocal-cords.
He then crept towards the bathroom, looking back to make sure the wifey hadn't moved. It was still a bit dark, but he heard no sense of motion from her.
Suddenly, just before entering the bathroom, the family dog, who had been lying still at the foot of the bed, noticed that J.D. was awake and moving about.
J.D. turned around. He knew exactly what the dog was about to do next, so he tried putting his hand out, whispering the word "NO" as quietly as he could. Despite J.D.'s best effort, the dog was too excited and then jumped off of the bed, and despite his small frame, he could make quite a loud thump when his paws hit the floor.
Then, the dog ran up to J.D. and began jumping up and down to get some attention, panting loudly as if he had just ran ten miles in the scorching heat. "Shhhh… Pepper. You're going to wake mommy." J.D. warned.
"It's okay. Mommy's awake." His wifey muttered, throwing off the blanket which was covering her, getting out of bed, and brushing past J.D. to get to the bathroom before him. "I'll make you a small birthday breakfast after I get out." She mentioned just before shutting the door.
"Wow! Talk about deja vu." J.D. remarked.
J.D. looked down at the dog, which was still posturing for attention, madly wagging its tail back and forth. "You dodged a big one that time, buddy." J.D. said while bending down to pet the dog. "You're lucky it's daddy's birthday, or we might have been eating YOU for breakfast." He teased, stroking the dogs back. "That's funny, I swear I just had this conversation with you, buddy."
After giving the dog a little bit more attention, J.D. walked over to his closet to search for something to wear. Normally he would wear something a bit 'humdrum,' on the dressy side, because he was a fifth grade teacher at an elementary school, but today was his birthday, so he wanted to wear something different, something that would manage to get the attention of the faculty members and his fifth grade students. He was a huge fan of the comic book character, Batman, so he slid open the side closet door where his entire cosplay outfit of Batman was hanging separately from his other clothes. He almost picked it up from off of the hanger, but then he thought about it for a second. "Nah, I don't need THAT much attention." He said, looking back down at the dog as if he was seeking his opinion. The dog seemed to agree by nodding his head off to the side. "Smart dog." J.D. praised.
J.D. then glanced over to the other side of the closet where a few of his Batman themed t-shirts were hanging. He began sliding them left to right, trying to find the best one. Finally he came upon a t-shirt that showed Batman in an action stance with a backdrop silhouette of Gotham City behind him. "Nah. That was the t-shirt I wore in my dreams. Seems a little boring to wear it now." J.D. declared, once again looking down at Pepper, the dog nodding again as if he agreed with his choice. "Ah… Here we go… I'll wear the shirt that only shows the Bat-symbol. Not too flashy, but it should still draw some attention."
6:30 AM
J.D. traveled down the staircase. He could smell eggs and toast getting done. "Eggs and toast, huh? I had a crazy dream last night and that is exactly what you made for me in the dream."
"Well, if you wake me up tomorrow morning with your loud yawning, that bread ain't the only thing that's gonna be toast." She said, giving him the side eye. "That goes for you too, Pepper!" She playfully scolded, causing the dog to put his head down as if he had done something wrong. "Oh, I could never stay mad at you, Pepper. It's not your fault your daddy sounds like a dying beach whale when he wakes up.
J.D. didn't remember having any conversations like that in his dream, almost now assuring him it was definitely a dream.
6:45 AM
"Oh shoot! I'm going to be late for work! I usually leave by 6:40!" J.D. exclaimed, giving his wifey a kiss one last time and headed off to work.
Just after pulling out of the driveway, his wifey had realized J.D. forgot his lunch. She tried running out after him, yelling for him to stop, but he was already blaring the radio so loud that he didn't even hear her.
J.D. started driving a little faster because he was hoping to make up some of the time he lost by leaving the house five minutes later than usual.
He was approaching a traffic light, it was green. "Awesome! If I can make this light, I should be able to get to the school nearly on time.
Just as he said that, the light started turning yellow, and he was still about one-hundred feet away. "No No! Don't turn red, you bastard!" He said, gritting his teeth and stepping on the gas in hopes of making the light.
The light turned red just before he made it to the intersection. "Looks like I might be running this one!" He said, hoping there were no police cars around.
Suddenly- SCREEEEEEEECH! Just as J.D. made it into the intersection, another car nearly hit him, causing the other driver to slam on the brakes and vear off of the road. The other car hit a curb and the tire blew out. J.D. looked back to make sure the driver was okay, but he didn't stop. He just didn't have the time, and besides, the other car seemed okay. However, J.D. thought the driver of the vehicle looked rather familiar, but he just couldn't place where he had seen the man's long face before.
7:02 AM
As J.D. pulled into the school parking lot, he realized he had forgotten his lunch. "Dang it!" He furiously bellowed. "Well, I guess I don't need to park on the side where the teacher's lounge is at. Plus, it looks like I'll be eating school lunch today. YUK! I would rather have the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that they hand out during the summer break months.
J.D. entered the school near his classroom. This way he could sneak past the principal's office. It was only the second day of school, and he didn't want the principal seeing him come in late already.
All of the rushing around made him thirsty. Class wouldn't be starting for a few more minutes, so he decided to head towards the cafeteria area to buy a Diet Pepsi from out of the soda machine.
Clink! Clink! Clink! The quarters entering the machine made a loud noise, especially since the cafeteria was completely empty. He then opened up the Diet Pepsi and began taking a drink, when suddenly he was startled.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BUDDY!" The principal blurted from behind him, causing J.D. to spill a few drops of his soda onto the Bat-symbol on his chest.
"Thank you." J.D. replied, brushing the soda off his shirt.
"I didn't see you come in. How did you manage to sneak past me this morning?" The principal piped up.
"I guess I'm just sneaky like that." He replied, turning around and starting to walk back towards his classroom.
Just as he turned the last corner, about to walk down the fifth-grade hallway, "Happy Birthday!" A woman's voice yelled out. "We must have just missed each other in the teacher's lounge."
J.D. nearly spilled more of his drink. He then turned to look and see who it was. "Aww… Thank you, Ms. Haley. "I was running a little late and forgot my lunch."
"Well, I see you didn't forget your Diet Pepsi." She noticed. "Plus, nice shirt! You will definitely draw some attention to yourself wearing that shirt today."
"Woe!" J.D. muttered, putting his hand on his forehead. "Now that feels like deja vu."
"What does?" Ms. Haley asked.
"Oh, nothing. I could swear you have said that to me before. But I think it was in a dream I had."
"Oh really? I'm in your dreams? How sweet."
"Actually, more like my nightmares." He replied.
"Oh. My bad. I didn't know you thought so terrible of me." She retorted.
"OH NO! Sorry, I didn't mean it like THAT! It's hard to explain." J.D. apologized, feeling like he just hurt Ms. Haley's feelings. He then tried to change the subject. "So, I heard the Kerrington boy has already managed to get himself in trouble."
""Yeah. Lucky me. We have three fourth grade classes, and the little bastard had to end up in mine." She whispered a bit loudly, looking around to make sure nobody else heard her. Not that it would have mattered, everyone that ever taught a class with Joseph Kerrington knew he was quite a handful. Laughing, giggling, shooting spit wads, releasing nasty stink bombs in the boy's restroom. Last year he even managed to blow up part of the science lab when he brought a dysfunctional volcano into the school for his science fair project.
"Dang! There it is again! Deja vu. I swear you have said that to me already." He continued on about the dream.
"I'm sure you have heard that before… probably from every teacher in this school."
"Okay, well, I've got some things to do in my classroom before all the students get here." J.D. fibbed, using the excuse to get out of any further conversation. "Good luck with the boy! Hopefully he doesn't set your class on fire!"
7:40 AM
The final bell rang, letting the students know that they should be in their classrooms by now. J.D. checked the hallway one last time before shutting the door and locking it after all the children were seated. He just wanted to check to see if any tall lanky men were roaming around. "How goofy." He thought to himself. "It was just a dream."
Some of the children giggled aloud when they noticed he was wearing a Batman t-shirt.
"Okay. Okay. Settle down. I know why you are laughing. But… Do any of you guys know why I'm wearing this shirt today?" He asked the class.
He could see that Oswald was about to say something. "Because your-"
"No, Oswald! It's not because I'm gay!" J.D. said with assertion, cutting Oswald off during mid-sentence before he could say another word, causing the other kids to start laughing again.
"I wasn't going to say that, Mr. D. I swear." Oswald piped up, revealing a smirk on his face.
"Well, good. I wouldn't want to have to send you to the principal's office." He replied.
"I know why you are wearing that shirt today, Mistah D." Harleen piped up. "It's because today is your birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MISTAH D!" She announced with an abundance of joy.
"Cor…rect! And… thank… you!" He replied with a slow draw in his voice, feeling that sense of deja vu again.
Just then, he noticed someone looking through the window of the classroom door. He turned to get a better glance, but the mysterious figure walked away before he could get a glimpse of what he looked like. "Hold on for one second, everybody. Someone just peeked through the door and I want to see who it was." He said, quickly walking towards the door.
When he looked out of the window he could see a boy looking into some of the other classrooms. The boy was wearing a bright purple bandana on his head.
It bothered J.D. that the boy was roaming the halls after everyone was supposed to be in class.
J.D. decided to investigate. "Everyone stay in your seats. I'll be right back." He instructed the class, unlocking the door and headed out into the hallway to confront the boy.
As he got closer he could hear the boy humming a song. He wasn't quite sure what the song was, but that wasn't important.
"Why aren't you in class yet?" J.D. announced as he approached the young boy.
The boy turned around and faced J.D. "None of your business is why I'm not in class yet."
J.D. recognized who the boy was right away. It was Joseph Kerrington. "That's no way to talk to an adult, young man!"
"Pff.." Joseph scoffed. "You ain't my teacher. Go back to your own classroom."
"YOU DON'T TALK TO ME LIKE THAT!" J.D. said with authority, causing an echo to travel throughout the hallway. "Now, why are you wandering around out in the hallway?"
"Alright, alright. I forgot my lunch at home today and my father was supposed to bring it to me, but he never showed up. I figured he might have gotten lost since it's such a big school and all."
"You're father?" J.D. asked, remembering his dream he had last night.
"Yeah. My father. Did I st st stutter or something?"
"Okay, that's it! I'm tired of your mouth!" J.D. exclaimed. "I know who you are, Joseph! You think you are funny, but believe me, nobody is laughing at you. In fact, nobody will ever laugh at you. Maybe you should stop acting this way and try to grow up a little."
"Who are you supposed to be, my counselor now?" Joseph asked sarcastically. "Maybe I'll just blow up the school. Then you guys won't have to put up with me anymore."
J.D.'s eyes widened. "Why did you say that? What are you planning?" He interrogated.
"Chill dude, I was just joking. Lighten up a little." Joseph piped up. "And what's up with that shirt? I didn't know teachers could wear that crap to school."
"It's not CRAP! I wore it because today is my birthday. I left my teacher's clothes at home today." J.D. replied. "So, your father is supposed to be bringing you your lunch, huh? What is your father's name? Maybe he left it at the front desk. Why don't you get back to class now before I have to call down to the principal's office."
"Okay, okay. You don't have to be a square about it. I will head back to class right now if it makes you feel better." Joseph replied, continuing to make his way down the hallway, and also continuing to hum a tune.
"Well… That was certainly weird," J.D. muttered to himself as he walked back towards his classroom.
As soon as he got back to his classroom and locked the door, J.D. called down to the front office. "Hey, do you guys know there is still a boy wandering around in the halls? He said his father was supposed to bring him his lunch."
"Not to my knowledge." The front desk secretary replied. "Should I send a security guard to look?"
"That might not be a bad idea." J.D. replied. "You can't miss him. He is wearing a bright purple bandana.
"Alright. I'll send someone to go take a look right away."
9 AM
J.D. walked his class down the hall and dropped them off with the music teacher. He enjoyed the forty-five minutes of peace because it allowed him ample time to grade papers and check his phone for current events.
Before going back to his classroom, he decided to stop by the front desk to see if anyone had brought in Joseph's lunch.
He approached the secretaries desk. "Hey, a boy by the name of Joseph Kerrington was roaming the halls earlier. He said his father was supposed to be dropping off his lunch, but he never showed up. Did anybody weird show up? Perhaps a tall lanky gentleman with a bright purple suit on?"
"Nope. I haven't seen anyone that fits that description today." The secretary replied.
"And what about the school's security guard? Is he okay?"
"Yeah, he's fine. He's just being lazy at his workstation. Heck, he probably fell asleep."
"So, just to be clear, nobody has brought in a lunchbox for any of the students."
"Nobody has brought one in, however the security guard did find one while he made his last rounds outside. I guess it was sitting on the bench just outside the school." The secretary replied, pointing towards the back near the lost and found area.
J.D.'s eyes widened when he looked back towards the lost and found. "A PURPLE LUNCHBOX!? Did you guys see what was inside of it?"
"No, it was locked." She replied. "Is there something wrong? You are acting like you've seen a ghost."
"I'm not sure. Does the lunch box belong to a boy named Jack?" J.D. asked.
"I doubt it. I figured it belonged to a girl since the thing is purple. What type of boy would like the color purple?" She retorted. "Either way, I'm sure once it gets closer to lunch, some hungry kid will try and claim it."
"True." J.D. replied. "Well, stay safe." He said as he started making his way back to his classroom.
Within seconds of him leaving the office and walking down the hallway-
BANG! The sound of a small explosion went off in the direction of the office causing the fire alarms to start ringing.
J.D. quickly made his way back towards the office. "What was that? Is everyone okay?" He asked, waving his hand, trying to see his way through the smoke and dust. "Do we need to evacuate the students?"
Suddenly the school security guard emerged from the smoky fog. "No! We don't need to evacuate! It was a false alarm! One of the students must have been playing pranks because they put a large firecracker in one of their lunchboxes. It must have been set on a timer."
"Did the explosion come from a purple lunch box? And… did it have a white flag popping out of it that read 'BANG!'
"Maybe. I don't know. I'll be able to get a better look at it after some of the smoke and dust settle. Why? Do you know who did it?"
"No. It just feels like I've been through this before. Hopefully it was just a prank like you said."
"I'm sure it was. It didn't even do much damage other than causing a few office papers to scatter. Just go back to your class, and I'll let you know if there is anything to worry about."
9:40 AM
J.D. went back to his classroom and sat down. He only had a few minutes left before he would have to go get his students from the music class.
He then looked out the window. He could see some of the kids heading out for recess. He wasn't sure which class it was at first until he saw Joseph Kerrington. He knew it was him because he could see that Joseph was already badgering a couple of the other students.
"Oh crap! It's the fourth grade recess!" J.D. exclaimed as the revelation entered his mind.
KABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
August 11, 2022
6 AM
J.D. woke from his slumber, minutes before his alarm clock would have buzzed, waking him up for work anyways. "Ah!" He suddenly rose up screaming with a splitting headache, placing his hand on his temples. The last thing he remembered was the explosion of his elementary school getting blown up, with him in it.
