Author's Note: Thank you guys for reading and reviewing! I have to admit, the first chapter, I had the help of a Beta reader because my grammar is not that good. I now have her as a cowriter for a small part of this chapter, and most of you may know her because she's one of the good writers for the Phantom fandom on this site. I didnt want to take all of the credit! XD
And to a reviewer, Guest, yes there will be different perspectives. Not too many though just with Sam and Paulina mainly. I wrote Danny's perspective in this chapter and my cowriter wrote the part with Sam and Paulina. If you all would rather just one perspective let me know C:
Chapter 2
"All right, all right!" Mr. Lancer returned to his desk shortly after the girls were removed from the room and raised his tone of voice at any students standing out of their seats. "Return to your seats and resume working, now!"
Danny was one of the students standing up as well. As soon as the fight broke out, he was the first one out of his seat. He would've intervened, but Mr. Lancer threatened suspension on anyone who didn't immediately back away from the pair. All he could do was stand to the side and helplessly watch the brawl escalate along with his classmates.
It wasn't like they were much help anyway. Majority of them were just cheering and egging on the fight while everyone else gasped and silently watched with wide eyes. He and Tucker almost jumped in to break them apart once they saw Paulina head butt Sam to the ground, but security rushed in at that point to separate them.
He couldn't help but wonder what exactly was said and done that pushed Sam to the point of violence. Paulina had been picking on her since they were Freshmen, so it couldn't be because of any insults thrown at her. All he knew was that Paulina got beat up in front of everyone, so she wasn't going to ease up on Sam anytime soon.
"Bro, Manson totally handled Paulina! That was the wildest shit I've ever seen."
"I know, man. Did you see the size of those knots she left on her forehead?"
As the two boys adjacent to Danny's group conversed about the fight, he couldn't help but mentally agree with them. He was able to catch a good look at both girls as they were torn apart and hauled out of the room, and it looked like Paulina received the more awful result of the fight because she had two swollen, painful-looking welts on her forehead.
Sam, on the other hand, only had a large scratch on her cheek. Her hair was disheveled from being yanked on, and Danny was positive that her head was throbbing from it. The more the fight replayed in his head, the more he could feel his anger and concern spiking. Sure, she handled herself pretty well, but he didn't like the idea of her getting into a fight with anyone.
Tucker shifted slightly in his seat before twisting to the side to face Danny. "Dude," he whispered, "I don't even have words for how shocked I am right now. I didn't think I'd ever see the day where Sam actually beat up Paulina."
Truthfully, Danny didn't think he'd ever see the day either. Sam was usually good at ignoring jabs from Paulina, so the fact that she just snapped that day and swung on her completely caught him off guard. He knew she had been having a bad morning, so something Paulina said or done to her probably flared her temper.
He crossed his arms and shrugged. "I knew that Lancer partnering them up together was going to prove to be a bad idea. Those two can't stand each other now more than ever." After grabbing his pencil and scribbling a circle in the corner of his paper, he shook his head and sighed. "That was bizarre. I can't help but be worried about her right now."
Tucker perched his cheek against his right palm and hummed softly to himself. "Well, I highly doubt she started the fight, so hopefully the worse she'll get is detention.
Meanwhile...
"Suspended?" With furrowed brows and a sharp tone of voice, Sam leaned forward in her seat and gaped at Principal Ishiyama. "Why am I the one getting suspended? She started it!"
Paulina scoffed and flicked her hair behind her shoulders. "Uh, hello? She's suspending me, too. I really hope all those Gothic voodoo products you use didn't give you amnesia, either."
Sam flattened her hand and shot it up beside her head. "Not talking to you."
"Well, you're talking around me, which is pretty much talking to me." Paulina rolled her eyes and leaned back in her seat. "I don't know about you, but I came here to talk to Principal Ishiyama, not to sit here and die of boredom from listening to you complain in that dreadfully monotonous tone of voice you always have."
"Monotonous... interesting vocabulary choice. Are you able to spell it, though? I know that's an awfully big word for you."
Principal Ishiyama exhaled slowly through her nose and stacked her hands on her desk. "Ladies, I don't have time for this, but yes, suspension for both parties will be necessary in this situation. Our school has a strict zero tolerance policy on fighting."
"But she started—"
"Regardless of who started it, Miss Manson, both of you threw a punch, so both of you will be held accountable for your actions." Sam's shoulders wilted in defeat and Paulina groaned. Principal Ishiyama rose from her chair and brought her hands behind her back. "I don't think three days of suspension will be too harmful."
"Three days?"
"I can't do three days!" Paulina's brows pulled together as she leaned in closer to the desk. "I have boys— I mean, I have people I need to see and things I need to do!"
"Do those things involve you standing up or being on your knees?" Sam muttered, and in response, Paulina crossed her arms and sharpened her glare. Principal Ishiyama mumbled something underneath her breath before walking to the left.
"In addition to suspension, I have a little task for you ladies to do." She stopped in her tracks and peered out the small window of her office door. "As an apology to Mr. Lancer for today's incident, I want you girls to write one thing that you like about each other each day and read it out loud before your class for a week."
Paulina snorted in response. "I don't know how you expect me to read a blank paper out loud."
"For once, I agree with it," Sam retorted, jerking her head towards Paulina for referencing purposes. Paulina sucked her teeth, which was disregarded as Sam continued. "If I'm already doing three days of suspension, then there's no way I'm doing that. Sitting here beside her is punishment enough."
"Yes, you're doing it, and on top of that," Principal Ishiyama returned to her initial spot at her desk and lowered herself into her seat. "I'm signing you both up for our school's character education club. I could always transfer you two to an alternative school or even expel you for such behavior. Trust me. This is considered a good-spirited favor."
Sam pursed her lips and tried to think of a decent response, but Paulina beat her to the punch. "Why? What's the point of this?"
"Suspending you is just a slap on the wrist. This experience seems like a much wiser approach to ensure that something like this never happens again, and plus, it'll teach you both how to better respect each other and everyone around you."
"Is this an after school activity? If so, I can't do it. I have cheerleading practice everyday after school."
Principal Ishiyama shrugged her shoulders and curled her hair behind her ear. "Should've thought about that before getting into a fight. Now, the program is only a month in length and the group meets after school on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays until about five o'clock."
Sam raised a hand to her forehead and massaged her temples. "With all due respect, Principal Ishiyama, don't you think this is a little too much? You know, especially for a first offense on my end?"
"Hey!" exclaimed Paulina, swinging her glare towards Sam. "Believe it or not, this is my first offense, too."
"I'll choose the "or not" part of that sentence."
Principal Ishiyama sliced her hand through the air and raised her voice. "Enough!" Both girls immediately clamped their lips shut and looked to their principal with wide eyes. The women pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed heavily. "This is not up for debate. If you agree to go through with the program, I'll knock off a day from your suspension."
Sam and Paulina glanced at each other again, seemingly coming to a silent and mutual agreement before grumbling the word, "Fine."