Chapter 6: School Daze
Never did Billy Cranston ever think that he would be going back to high school, this time as a teacher in history and mythology.
A year ago, he'd gone on an expedition to the Middle East with his assistant from the museum, as well as Doctor Tommy Oliver. However, after the pyramid housing the body of King Tut exploded into nothing but ash, Billy instantly knew he had to hide the crystals that he had found while on the trip. So he asked Erika to hide four of the five crystals in the museum in secret, particularly in the Egyptian Mythology room. However, in his research on the crystals that had been locked away in the pyramid, he read in an old, college textbook that those crystals contained power … power of ancient animals, and that upon finding them in the pyramid, hell had been unleashed upon Earth in the form of a demigod known as Lucius. It stated in the book that Lucius was suspected to potentially have taken on the form of the serpent that tricked Adam and Eve into eating the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden.
Whether that was true or not, Billy did not know.
But he did know he had to protect those crystals no matter what it took.
So, he decided to go from museum curator, to high school teacher.
Why he thought that would be a good idea to deal with hormonal-driven teens, Billy did not know.
Nonetheless, that did not mean he wasn't going to put his all into it.
Walking through the hallways of Crystal Cove High, he could see the familiar environment of high school kids. Though it had not occurred to Billy just how long it has been since he'd been in school. The sight of kids with their faces shoved in their cellphones was the first sight that greeted him. He remembered the good old days with Jason, Zack, Trini, Kim, Tommy, Rocky, Adam, Sha, Tanya, and Kat; how they would entertain themselves by hanging out at Ernie's Youth Center or the park. They did not have access to the technology kids these days had. There had been no such thing as social media, unless you counted the slow Wi-Fi that granted access to online chat rooms for instant messaging.
Billy breathed out a heavy sigh as he walked the halls with the newest principal, Principal Florence.
"So, why did you decide to be a high school teacher, Doctor Cranston?" she asked out of curiosity.
"I need a little normal," Billy said. "This is the closest thing to that. It's as quiet as it gets. It's not the Indiana Jones life I'd had before, but I'm starting to wonder if maybe that's a good thing."
"I suppose you're right," said Principal Florence. "So, you are in classroom 133. Good luck to you."
"Thank you." Billy smiled at his new boss and stepped into the teacher's lounge, grabbing a mug to make a cup of coffee, but he noticed there wasn't a coffee machine in sight.
"There is no coffee machine," said a teacher with red hair and blue eyes.
"Why?"
"Budget cuts," said a science teacher. "Prepare to bring your own coffee to work."
"No need to fear anything, anyone. I've got you covered," said a voice that sounded familiar. Turning around, he saw it was Ashley, the former yellow Space ranger. However, when she noticed Billy, she grinned. "Billy Cranston."
"Ashley." Billy went over and hugged her, grinning as she handed him a cup. "What are you doing here?"
"I'd started teaching here last year while you were off having your adventure in the Middle East," Ashley explained. "I'm the assistant cheer coach and gym teacher."
"So, we will be encountering each other quite frequently, I suppose," Billy said.
Ashley grinned. "I figured everyone here would be looking for coffee. Plus, a huge part of that budget cut was because money had to get put in towards the cheer squad. Alright, well, I better get to the gym and prepare. I'll see you around."
"Thanks a lot, Ashley," Billy told her.
Little did Billy realize, his quiet morning would soon be interrupted.
In the parking lot of the school, Beth Sampson sat in the passenger's side of her mother's car, her arms crossed over her chest.
Ever since the events that had occurred the year prior, Beth's world turned upside down. She lost her position as head cheerleader, had been found guilty of assault against Paul Hadlock even though he had raped her and humiliated her publicly, spent a year in a juvenile prison, and was now on severe probation for a year and for a month had daily detention.
Dressed in her black, tight jeans, blue button up shirt and grey vest, Beth felt naked not wearing her cheer uniform, especially with the ankle monitor around her ankle. Part of her probation was seven o'clock curfew and not being allowed to put her hands on Paul or Brandon.
"I hope that you learn, Bethany Clair," her mother said with a shake of her head.
"What's there to learn, Mom?" Beth asked. "Paul Hadlock assaulted me first! I don't know what else could be said!"
"How's about not being allowed to put your hands on people?" her mother demanded. "And now? Now, you're stuck in daily, after school detention for a whole month! It doesn't matter what Paul did. It's a matter of what you did!"
"Yeah I love how you pick his side over mine!" Beth shouted, getting out of the car and slamming the door shut behind her. As she entered the high school, she was greeted with cat calls from the students. However, the other sight that greeted her was Paul Hadlock and Brandon Munroe taunting Chloe Cambridge and JT Sterling. However, Chloe seemed to be holding her own using her mouth.
"How's about you fuck off and quit worrying about JT and what we choose to do in our free time?" Chloe yelled.
"He's a fag anyway. Why do you care?" asked Brandon.
"Oh, I don't know? Because it's not right?" Chloe retorted back. "Paul, I swear to God, you try putting your hands on me, you're done! I wouldn't mind knocking the rest of your teeth out. Not that anyone in this school would care, though. You've got nothing intelligent or nice to say anyways!"
"What did you say?" Paul shouted.
"I think you heard me loud and clear, dickwad!" Chloe growled, flipping him the bird.
"I would have to concur with her," said JT.
"I don't know what that means, freak!" Brandon said.
"It means open a dictionary and learn English you dumbass," Chloe retorted, and Paul shoved her hard. However, that was when Miles Robins stepped in.
"Hey, what the hell are you, five?" Miles demanded.
"This don't concern you, Robins!" Brandon said.
"Oh, I think it does, Munroe." Before Brandon could aim a punch at Miles, Miles dodged it and slapped Brandon hard across the face.
"Did you just slap me?" Brandon asked as a teacher came into the halls.
"Oh, I did! Weird, right?" Miles asked, smirking.
"You wanna know something, Miles?" Beth asked. "I'm glad you did that. Because Munroe, Hadlock, you two white trash dicks are lucky I'm on probation! Otherwise I'd knock those fillings out of your mouth, Hadlock!"
The teacher, Mrs. Holmes, stepped into the scene. "What's going on here?"
"I'll tell you what's going on here," said Paul. "I was just minding my own business, when the resident freaks of Crystal Cove High, started threatening me! And then Robins over here slapped me!"
"No, it's not fucking true!" shouted Chloe.
"He was threatening us! Now if you're stupid enough to believe them –!" JT said.
"Mr. Sterling, I do not want to hear it. You, Mr. Robins and Miss Cambridge will join Miss Sampson in detention, after school today."
"WHAT?!" shouted Miles.
"You heard me, Mr. Robins. Now go to homeroom, right now!" the teacher said.
Grumbling, the four teens proceeded to go to their homeroom class, finding that they were all in the same homeroom, but at least they did not have to share it with Brandon or Paul. Taking their seats, they noticed their Mythology teacher standing in the front of the classroom as all the other students piled in. However, when Paul and Brandon walked in, their hopes of not having homeroom diminished.
"Great, we need to share homeroom with the ignoramuses of Crystal Cove," muttered JT. However, their teacher rose from his desk.
"Good morning everyone. My name is Doctor William Cranston. I will be your history and mythology teacher. Now, just a thing or two about me. I graduated from Harvard with doctorates in history and mythology, and just last year, I'd gone on an expedition to the Middle East as I was working as a curator at Crystal Cove Museum," Billy said. "Time for role call, everyone. Daniel Alvarez … Nicholas Avant … Samuel Baker … Thomas Bright … Chloe Cambridge."
"Present," Chloe said, raising her hand.
Billy nodded, continuing to take role call. Once he finished, he said, "We will start by passing you all out a copy of my syllabus. Now, I do have some ground rules in here. No cellphones. If you have an emergency call, take it outside the classroom. Otherwise, if your phone is out, you are using it for research and only research. All writing assignments I expect to see handwritten, and they will be at least one to two pages minimum. This is an English class, so affirmative, I will be assigning you writing assignments. No food or beverage is permitted here. And lastly, every week, I will be assigning text book readings that will be due every Friday. Also, once every month, we will be viewing a movie that has to do with mythology. On the syllabus is the list of films we will be viewing in this class. Any questions anyone?"
The class shook their heads.
"Alright. Now, let's get into what the study of Mythology is," Billy said, pleased to see hands already raising to answer the question. He called upon JT. "Yes, James. However, it would suffice me to know if you have any nicknames you wish to be called upon."
"JT is fine," JT replied. "Mythology, by its definition, is a collection of myths, especially one belonging to a particular religious or cultural tradition."
"Affirmative," Billy said. "That definition was textbook perfect. Rather impressive if I may say so myself."
"Thank you," JT said.
"Now, we will be examining different types of Mythology from various cultures, and yes, religions. However, that does not mean we will be by any means studying Christianity or Islam or Judaism since I do truly wish to be respectful towards everyone's religious affiliation. Nonetheless, we will be looking at various forms of Mythology especially from Christianity regarding things such as Noah and the Flood. And, various readings will include Lord of the Rings, CS Lewis' works, as well as Mythology from ancient Greece. Also, we will watch movies such as Noah, Percy Jackson and the Olympians as well as Sea of Monsters. Other films that will be viewed will include Wonder Woman, Thor, Aquaman, and Batman vs. Superman. The viewing of these films are only part of your education to help you with further understanding. We will also study dreaming and watch Inception."
As Miles and Chloe heard this, their eyes lit up. Just knowing their teacher was up to date with such great films made them feel genuine excitement to be in the class.
They had a feeling even though they would be stuck in detention that afternoon, that Mythology class was going to be the best part of their day.
At the end of the school day, Billy was wrapping up his AP History class when Principal Florence arrived. He had plans to speak with his former assistant, Erika, at the museum in his old office about their research on the crystals he'd found in Egypt.
"So, how was your first day of classes, Dr. Cranston?" she asked him.
"It was good. Kids were well-behaved," he said.
"Well, I hate to say it, but I really need you on detention duty for today. The four kids that are in detention are waiting in the classroom for afterschool detention right now. And unfortunately, they, I believe, are all students of yours," Principal Florence said.
"Which ones?"
"James Thomas Sterling, Chloe Cambridge, Bethany Sampson, and Miles Robins. They apparently started a fight with Brandon Munroe and Paul Hadlock. However, Bethany Sampson has a month-long detention to serve, because she just got out of juvenile detention for assault on Hadlock last year. She knocked his teeth out of his mouth and she alleged that he raped her. As sad as it sounds that this happened to her, I'm only the new principal. I have to continue enforcing the punishment given to her," said Principal Florence.
"But what about Brandon and Paul? Were they punished for assaulting her?" Billy asked, concerned.
"There are no signs that Paul had raped her. There were no bruises from a struggle," the principal explained. "And the others, well, I am only told. However, I am going to investigate both Paul and Brandon, and if I catch them, they will both face retribution for their actions against students. However, I just need you to deal with James, Chloe, Bethany, and Miles."
Billy nodded, breathing out a sigh. He did not think that he would have detention duty to serve, but he knew he could not complain about it. That was especially since his student Bethany was on probation. Following Principal Florence towards the classroom where detention was, he ran a hand through his hair. He then walked into the classroom.
"Let me guess. You're in charge of us?" asked Chloe dryly.
"Affirmative," Billy said, leaning against the desk.
"This is unreal," JT said with a shake of his head. "As far as I know . . . Brandon and Paul got what they deserved."
"I'm sure that they did," Billy said. "But it takes a lot more courage to walk away than to start a fight."
"Yeah, I hear it all the damn time at home," Beth said with a heavy sigh, twirling her hair in her fingers.
"Well, look guys, I need all four of you to come with me by the Crystal Cove Museum, right now. Because I've got something that I must tend to. Here's the deal. You find something in there related to the material that will be taught in Mythology, you get extra credit," Billy said to them.
"Are you sure about that?" asked Miles.
"Certainly," Billy told them, gathering his car keys. "C'mon guys. Think of this to improve your grades before you even get homework or tests assigned to you."
"Why are you willing to do this?" asked Chloe.
"Because I may not know you guys, but I do know that you don't do anything without a real reason behind it," Billy said.
The four teens didn't say anything afterwards. They did not know why Doctor Cranston was going to be bringing them to a museum of all places to spend detention, but in a way, they were thankful that they weren't stuck in a classroom for two hours. However, Beth stopped in her tracks.
"I have to go to the ladies' room," she said.
"Go on ahead. We'll wait outside for you," Billy said.
Beth proceeded to enter the girls' bathroom with full intention to just pee and get out so she could head back to detention. However, as she walked into the bathroom, she saw two of her former teammates, Sasha and Brittany, walking out of a stall, clearly gossiping.
"Oh, hello, Beth," spat Brittany.
"Look, guys, I don't want any trouble," Beth said.
"Oh, we know. We just find it hilarious that you are spending all your time afterschool in detention rather than at cheer practice with the rest of us," said Sasha. She proceeded to pull out a photograph of Beth and the other girls at a cheer camp from almost two years ago, as well as a pair of scissors. "This is us . . . cutting you out, forever." Sasha proceeded to cut Beth out of the photograph, and she threw the piece down on the floor. Beth leaned over and picked up the portion of the photo that had her in it, and looked darkly at it.
It just reminded her of how she used to be.
She used to be such a bitch and so cruel. Seeing her former teammates turn on her like that brought forth the sickness in her stomach as she stared at herself in the mirror. She pulled her long, black, wavy hair out of its ponytail, and clutched it in her hand, glaring at it.
It was another reminder to who she used to be before she ended up going to juvie.
She knew she wanted to let it all go and cut it off.
Grabbing a chunk of her long, chest-length hair, she held it in her hand to her shoulder, and chopped it off, before going to the other side of her hair and chopping that off, too.
It was her final goodbye to who she used to be.